News

With the climate change apparent, the threat of wildfires has been increasing every year now for over a decade. This sort of calamity needs quick response in hard to reach areas to save the forests in the area, as well as to curb the air from travelling across cities nearby. Albion Marine’s R&D team has come up with a unique and innovative solution to fight forest fires in coastal areas, like California, Oregon, Washington, Australia and British Columbia. This service involves purpose-built drone base and is cost effective, highly sophisticated, safe and efficient. Our team will continue our efforts in looking for solutions to save and preserve the environment. Contact us for more information.

Many predictions were made in the run up to the imposition of the MARPOL 2020 sulphur cap, none of which was that the transition to Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) would be smooth sailing. In 2019, there were numerous discussions in the marine industry over how the transition to 0.5% fuels would pan out, with concerns about a wide variety of issues. Gard held a series of webinars in July 2020 to discussed the technical, compliance related, and legal challenges which owners, crew, and charterers faced when using very low sulphur fuel oil in the first six months of 2020. A number of important and pertinent questions were posed by the attendees during and after the webinars, touching upon technical, contractual, insurance and enforcement related areas. Read more: Gard

Albion Marine Solutions team is currently performing an onsite supervision and assisting one of our major clients with a Ballast Water Treatment retrofit in a Singapore shipyard. The project is going along smoothly, despite COVID-19 challenges and restrictions. The retrofit is moving forward and should be completed according to schedule.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued interim guidance aimed at protecting the health of seafarers working on cargo ships and fishing vessels amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This specific guidance (download here) addresses the unique situation of seafarers, who work in close contact environments and often embark on ships for extended periods of time, generally without a medical doctor on board. The document provides guidance to shipowners, seafarers, unions and associations and competent authorities. It includes advice on pre-boarding screening, hand hygiene, physical distancing and the use of masks, as well as recommendations on how to manage suspected COVID-19 cases on board. The importance of mental health services and psychological support for seafarers is also covered. The WHO also reminds Member States that they must ensure that seafarers in need of immediate medical care are given access to their medical facilities on shore. More information: IMO News