News

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 environmental and opex benefits of energy storage are driving more North American owners to opt for all-electric propulsion for their coastal passenger vessels. Developments in battery technologies, energy management systems and shore power charging, however, are making ‘ditch the diesel’ decisions a lot easier in certain harbour and coastal vessel applications. That is the case for two new all-electric tour boats built for US-based Maid of the Mist, which sails scenic cruises to the base of Niagara Falls. Using the power of Niagara Falls itself to propel the vessels, the all-electric boats, James V. Glynn and Nikola Tesla, will recharge shoreside each time they dock to load and offload passengers. Recharging to 80% capacity takes about seven minutes, with all of the renewable electricity generated by the Falls – one of the largest sources of hydropower in North America. These true zero-emission passenger vessels – the first newbuilds of their kind in the US – are each powered by a pair of battery packs with a total of 316 kWh, split between two catamaran hulls. This creates two independent power systems providing full redundancy. Read More: Riviera News

The global shipping industry is continuing to explore the news sources of fuel that will help it to reduce its environmental impact and meet the industry goals of reducing emissions. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is exploring the viability of hydrogen and fuels derived from it as a possible fuel source for the future for container shipping. While the efforts continue to develop hydrogen as a fuel source. MSC reports that it is increasingly pioneering the use of biofuels within its existing fleet. While actively exploring and trialing a range of alternative fuels and technologies, MSC is currently actively bunkering biofuels at scale. Fossil-sourced LNG remains a transitional option, while carbon capture and storage, if perfected for marine use, could be useful. More information: Maritime Executive

Seeking to lay the groundwork for the resumption of the UK cruise industry, the UK Chamber of Shipping working in partnership with key stakeholders produced a framework to guide the process for restarting the cruise industry. While recognizing that there is currently no restart date, the framework, however was shared with the UK government to lay the foundation for a safe resumption of cruising when the time is right and public health conditions allow. The framework documents provide specific guidance in separate documents for cruise operators, passengers, and seafarers. The documents explore the changes required to cruising as well as managing the process from staffing and preparation to passenger communications and operations. Read more: Maritime Executive