Fortnightly maritime news for the industry and PortXL community
Top 5 sustainability pioneers in Europe
4 – RanMarine Technology (Netherlands): An unexpected side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the unfortunate increase in marine litter pollution. Dutch drone technology firm RanMarine is the company behind the innovative WasteShark – a product designed to clear plastic and other waste from all manner of waterways. The firm secured a Series-A investment in 2020, allowing it to scale-up its operations this year and beyond.
World’s first hydrogen cargo vessel set for Paris debut
The European innovation project Flagships will deploy the world’s first commercial cargo transport vessel operating on hydrogen later this year, plying the river Seine in Paris, gliding passed the Eiffel Tower. The hydrogen cargo transport vessel will be owned by French inland shipowner Compagnie Fluvial de Transport (CFT), a subsidiary of the Sogestran Group. The company is currently developing a new business for urban distribution using vessels in the Paris area.
SEAFAR’s Smart Shipping Live Demo
This week Seafar officially opened a Shore Control Center in RDM Rotterdam, from where operators will support projects in the Netherlands. As a first project, Seafar is cooperating with Rijkswaterstaat to showcase remote-controlled and semi-autonomous operations with the RWS77 on the IJsselmeer. Would you like to watch it live? You can register via SMASH!
Coronavirus and seafarer mental health – the good news
While the pandemic has taken its toll on seafarer mental health, it has also offered hope for the future, by pushing us to a tipping point where the importance of wellbeing cannot be denied. As more and more research is done, like the study above, the conservative late adopters will join in, the laggards will eventually throw in the towel and join the choir as they recognise the vital importance of seafarer wellbeing to our industry.
Singapore Looks to Tech to Bolster Its Role in Shipping
Singapore is looking to build on its pivotal role in the world’s oceangoing trade lanes, aiming to bring in investment of $15 billion across all aspects of maritime trade—with an eye on tech. Senior minister of state for transport Chee Hong Tat last month said the government would provide incentives to attract funding for shipping management firms, maritime lawyers, insurance executives and other companies behind the movement of international freight.
Shipping celebrates best Q1 since 2008
Shipping has enjoyed its best Q1 since before the global financial crisis, with the second quarter on track to post equally high gains. The ClarkSea Index, a weighted average of tanker, bulk carrier, containership and gas carrier earnings managed by Clarkson Research Services, averaged $17,461 a day in the first quarter, the best Q1 average since 2008, prior to the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
CMA CGM details its plans to rebuild Beirut port
France’s CMA CGM, whose founding family hail from Lebanon, has presented a plan to rebuild Beirut port within three years. A huge chemical explosion last August decimated the port and killed 200 people. CMA CGM plans to rebuild Lebanon’s main maritime gateway are estimated to cost between $400m to $600m. CMA CGM is not alone in being linked to resuscitating the Lebanese port. On Friday, German companies presented a separate multi-billion-dollar plan to rebuild Beirut’s port while Chinese interests and Dubai’s DP World have also been reported looking at the huge project.
