Poland. GL Exchange Forum Szczecin: Managing Environmental Obligations in Shipboard Operations - BYM Marine & Maritime News

Posted - Wednesday, 04 April 2012 - BYM Marine & Maritime News

The challenges of preparing to meet the next generation of shipping regulations were very much on the minds of the participants at Germanischer Lloyd's (GL) latest exchange forum in Szczecin, Poland. Reducing the impact of global shipping on the environment and making improvements in efficiency are the focus of looming legislation that over the next few years, seems certain to change the maritime landscape. 

More than 40 representatives from the maritime industry, shipping companies, ship management agencies, maritime journalists and stakeholders met to hear presentations from GL experts and discuss how the incoming regulations would impact upon the industry. Presentations examined the regulations in terms of their implementation, commercial implications, operational and design challenges, and how the shipping community must step up to prepare for their introduction sooner rather than later.

The Ballast Water Convention requires the further ratification of countries representing only 8% of global gross tonnage before it will enter into force, said Christopher Peickert, GL's Deputy Head of the Stability Department. Mr Peickert looked at the requirements of the regulation and at the many methods of treatment and systems available to shipowners and builders. Every vessel would need to have a Ballast Water Management (BWM) Plan prepared by a shipyard or design office, he noted.

To aid ship-owners GL has issued a guidance paper for Ballast Water Treatment Systems and a BWM Model Booklet is also available for GL customers. There are about 40 ballast water treatment manufacturers in the market, Mr Peickert said, and about 10 systems with full certification approval. The majority of manufacturers have designed their systems in modules to serve retrofitting requirements in narrow engine rooms as well as to cope with the need to treat high volumes when systems can run in parallel assembly. GL provides consulting services to owners and shipyards on spare space and additional power supply in the engine room in order to accommodate a possible retrofit of ballast water treatment systems.

Complete Post at:
http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=101010

Conference Tackles Impact of Shipping on the Environment - MarineLink.com

Posted - Press Release - Wednesday, April 04, 2012, 10:47 AM - MarineLink.com

Szczecin, Poland  - The challenges of preparing to meet the next generation of shipping regulations were very much on the minds of the participants at Germanischer Lloyd's (GL) latest exchange forum in Szczecin, Poland. Reducing the impact of global shipping on the environment and making improvements in efficiency are the focus of looming legislation which, over the next few years, seems certain to change the maritime landscape.
More than 40 representatives from the maritime industry, shipping companies, ship management agencies, maritime journalists and stakeholders met to hear presentations from GL experts and discuss how the incoming regulations would impact upon the industry. Presentations examined the regulations in terms of their implementation, commercial implications, operational and design challenges, and how the shipping community must step up to prepare for their introduction sooner rather than later. The Ballast Water Convention requires the further ratification of countries representing only 8 percent of global gross tonnage before it will enter into force, said Christopher Peickert, GL's Deputy Head of the Stability Department. Peickert looked at the requirements of the regulation and at the many methods of treatment and systems available to shipowners and builders. Every vessel would need to have a Ballast Water Management (BWM) Plan prepared by a shipyard or design office, he noted.

Complete Post at:
http://www.marinelink.com/news/environment-conference343583.aspx

Nippon Yusen : NYK's Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan First in the World to Be Certified - Complying with Guidelines Adopted by IMO, the Company Voluntarily Sets Target of 10% CO2 Reduction in Advance of Regulations - - 4-Traders.com

Posted - 03/31/2012 | 02:50am - 4-Traders.com

NYK's Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan1 (SEEMP) and the company's implementation procedure have been certified by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) to be in compliance with the IMO Guidelines adopted by MEPC 63, making the company's plan and implementation procedure the first in the world to receive this certification  
SEEMP was developed by a specialized working group on greenhouse gas emissions convened by the International Maritime Organization's2(IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) and will incorporate best practices for the fuel efficient operation of ships, such as better speed management throughout a ship's voyage. Such efficiency measures will significantly reduce fuel consumption and, consequently, CO2 emissions. NYK's certification recognizes that its SEEMP complies with the formulation of guidelines adopted at the 63rd session of MEPC (MEPC 63), which was held from February 27 to March 2, 2012.
SEEMPs will be mandatory for all ships from January 2013. Ahead of the international regulations, NYK formulated its own NYK Save-Bunker Manual by incorporating specific action plans aimed at efficient ship operation. By having each vessel make use of this manual since January 2009, NYK has been able to proactively enhance the efficiency of its ship operations. In addition, in the IBIS (innovative bunker and idle-time saving) project that NYK has implemented on its containerships to achieve optimal and economic ship operation, NYK has utilized a weather routing service and effective management of vessel speed, just-in-time arrivals, and optimal trim, all of which have been recommended in SEEMP formulation guidelines as means to improve efficiency.
 
Complete Post at:
http://www.4-traders.com/NIPPON-YUSEN-6491189/news/NIPPON-YUSEN-NYK-s-Ship-Energy-Efficiency-Management-Plan-First-in-the-World-to-Be-Certified-Com-14250390/

Thai PM urges ASEAN to play crucial role in regional security - MCOT.NET

Posted - PHNOM PENH, April 4 - MCOT.NET

Thai premier, Ms Yingluck said that maritime cooperation would become ASEAN important agenda and the regional grouping should cooperate with its dialogue partners in tackling problems such as its anti-piracy mission, search and rescue operations, and maritime environmental protection. – 

Complete Post at:

http://www.mcot.net/cfcustom/cache_page/349781.html

Large scale CO2 storage site discovered in the East Sea - Arirang News

Not sure how I feel about this  - Terry

Posted - Thursday, April 05, 2012,  (KST) - Arirang News

The Korean Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime affairs has confirmed this week the discovery of a suitable underwater site in the East Sea that could hold up to 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
The discovery in the southwestern seabed of the Ulleung Basin is significant environmentally and economically, as it would help combat global warming and save the country an estimated 90 billion U.S. dollars.
As part of measures to reduce Korea's carbon emissions, the Ministry of Land had been researching and developing projects into storing CO2 underground for the last two years.
Over the past few months, surveys and studies of the Ulleung Basin indicated a promising storage location 800 to 3,000 meters below sea level.
The marine geological discovery could provide a permanent storage location of CO2 waste for the next 150 years, putting away an annual of 32 million tons of air pollution by 2030.
The relatively new process of carbon capture and storage would involve taking compressed CO2 from factories and power plants, and injecting it deep into the ocean sediment.
The trapped CO2 would eventually dissolve into the water or react with minerals to create calcium deposits.

Complete Post at:
http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=127610&code=Ne6&category=7

Total to send expert team to assess gas leak soon - Reuters

Posted - By Oleg Vukmanovic - ABERDEEN, Scotland | Tue Apr 3, 2012 12:56pm EDT - Reuters

(Reuters) - France's Total plans to send a team of experts on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning to assess the steps needed to stop a large and potentially explosive gas leak at its North Sea Elgin platform, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Helicopter flights resumed carrying crews to North Sea oil and gas rigs on Tuesday afternoon, after adverse weather conditions offshore grounded traffic overnight, preventing the oil company from beginning its relief efforts on the platform.
Strong east to northeast winds are expected in the area on Wednesday evening and early on Thursday with a risk of gales, forecasters from the Met Office said, potentially hampering relief efforts if conditions deteriorate further.
"The team of engineers will be on a mission to assess conditions," Total's UK Public Affairs & Corporate Communications Manager Andrew Hogg said.
Hogg said part of the mission would be to find out whether a so-called "well kill" was feasible through pumping mud into the well and whether any other measures would be necessary.
Another, much more expensive option being pursued in parallel is to dig two relief wells to the source of the gas at 4,000 meters depth, far below the sea bed.
Experts have said that this option could take up to six months to complete and could cost the company billions of dollars.

Complete Post at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/03/us-total-elgin-gas-idUSBRE8320EE20120403

Corvus Energy’s marine lithium polymer battery used in Europe’s first hybrid tugboat - Market-Watch

Posted - Press Release - March 29, 2012, 3:15 p.m. EDT- Business Wire

RICHMOND, British Columbia, Mar 29, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Corvus Energy's battery packs, the world's most powerful and energy dense lithium polymer batteries, were recently installed in Europe’s first hybrid tugboat, the Rotor®Tug RT Adriaan of KOTUG, an international maritime service provider headquartered in The Netherlands. This diesel-to-hybrid retrofit represents Europe's first low emissions hybrid tugboat.

The conversion features Corvus’ AT6500 48 volt lithium polymer battery packs. Corvus’ lithium polymer batteries last up to 10 times longer and have up to 10 times more power and energy storage than lead acid batteries. This translates to improved fuel economy, maintenance savings, increased usable battery power, a significant reduction in harmful emissions, and less weight on the vessel.

“Corvus is proud to have been selected as the battery supplier and to be part of this milestone project in Europe with AKA (Aspin Kemp & Associates) and KOTUG,” said Corvus Energy’s CEO Brent Perry. “This installation demonstrates our company’s ability to provide sustainable industrial solutions that delivers significant impact to the bottom line--a capex driven solution with long term return on investment.”

Completed on March 6, 2012, the converted RT Adriaan, now renamed E-KOTUG RT Adriaan, has rejoined the KOTUG fleet. The tugboat is located in Port of Rotterdam, one of the largest ports in the world, where it is fully operational and is optimizing its hybrid modes. 

Complete Release at:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/corvus-energys-marine-lithium-polymer-battery-used-in-europes-first-hybrid-tugboat-2012-03-29