Fortnightly maritime news for the industry and PortXL community

Ocean Microplastic Pollution Can Now Be Tracked By Satellite

Plastic is the most common type of debris floating in the world’s oceans. Waves and sunlight break much of it down into smaller particles called microplastics – fragments less than five millimeters across, roughly the size of a sesame seed.

Maersk signs up for world’s first container fuelled by carbon neutral methanol

Maersk has finally revealed details of the construction of its first methanol-fuelled boxship. The Danish container shipping giant has signed with South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard to build a dual-fuelled 2,100 teu ship that will trade in northern Europe.

Østensjø plans emission-free propulsion system based on hydrogen in oil

Østensjø Group is looking to develop and market emission-free onboard propulsion systems for the shipping sector based on organic oil loaded with hydrogen. The Norwegian shipowner has founded a joint venture company with Germany’s Hydrogenious LOHC Technology, which has developed the so-called liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology – a process of loading hydrogen into thermal oil as well as releasing it where and when it’s needed. Hydrogenious LOHC Maritime is aiming to have a megawatt-scale commercial product ready by 2025, and its initial project, HyNjord, is supported by Norway’s Enova with NOK26m ($3m).

High-tech investor FORWARD.one launches second fund

Three years after the start of its first fund, Venture Capital fund FORWARD.one has set up a second fund with a target size of 100 million euros. A large part of this has now been pledged by high net worth entrepreneurs, most of whom were already involved in the first fund. FORWARD.one invests in young companies that develop the technologies of the future with the use of innovative high-tech hardware.

Breakthrough as cargo owners sign up for pioneering ammonia-powered shipping project

Ammonia-powered shipping startup Viridis Bulk Carriers has signed memoranda of undertanding with cargo owners Elkem, Vestkorn, BioMar, Franzefoss Minerals and Saltimport. Together, the partners are setting out to develop a zero emission freight network based on Viridis’ ships and cargo volumes from each client partner. In addition to further developing the ship technology platform, the partnership will explore a zero-emission logistics system comprising ships, fuel logistics and flows of cargo from the five cargo owners. The end goal of the project is a flexible bulk shipping network, served by a fleet of ammonia-powered ships, based on long term contracts of affreightment.

First carbon-neutral freight offering from a pool operator completed

US tanker operator Penfield Marine, with help from Macquarie, claims to have completed its first carbon-neutral voyage via offsets to cover the carbon footprint of an entire voyage, including emissions associated with the vessel’s ballast leg, positioning the vessel to perform the voyage, the laden passage, and all in port load and discharge operations. Penfield believes that this is the first carbon-neutral freight offering from a freight pool operator globally.

Is this floating wind turbine the start of an offshore energy revolution in China?

The typhoon-proof unit, a MingYang MySE5.5MW machine mated to a semisubmersible platform from Wison Offshore & Marine, will be trialled for the next six months at the site in 30 metres of water, making it an ideal candidate to test the role of floating wind turbines – generally thought-of as a technology for depths of 50 metres and greater – for ‘shallow water’ projects.

Companies collaborate to help decarbonize the industrial basin of Normandy in France

Air Liquide, Borealis, Esso S.A.F., TotalEnergies and Yara International ASA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the development of a CO2 infrastructure, including capture and storage, to help decarbonize the industrial basin located in the Normandy region, France. With the objective to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 3 million tons per year by 2030, which is equivalent to the emissions of more than 1 million passenger cars, the first phase will consist in studying the technical and economical feasibility of this project.