DNV has alerted to the major changes facing the future of the shipping industry, and with environmental preservation high on the agenda, a significant reduction in fuel consumption has been stressed along with new standards for ice navigation being drafted into force, as Arctic routes are forecasted to become a significant fixture in future trading routes.

Despite a major battle against carbon emissions, the rapidly shrinking ice plains of the Arctic will soon open up a whole ocean of possibility for shipping activity, but environmental concern is still a prominent issue and poses the shipping industry some major challenges for the future.

In a bid to underline its commitment to environmental safety and awareness, DNV has urged shipowners and operators to embrace a proactive approach in the reduction of fuel consumption both to save costs and ‘clean up’ the industry’s emissions levels, claiming that the industry has failed to implement proven methods and strategies under comprehensive energy management.

Dr Espen Cramer, head of DNV Maritime Solution, warned that “the industry’s piecemeal approach to reducing fuel consumption has slowed the efforts of shipowners to make a real difference.

“Most companies have not allocated internal resources to optimise fuel consumption, lack clear goals and ambitions, fail to communicate their efforts effectively, do not benchmark and report fuel reduction obtained, and many simply outsource the problem to ship managers rather than work with them,” he added.

With annual carbon dioxide emissions reaching a colossal 1.12 billion tonnes in 2007, according to research by the IMO, the industry makes up approximately 3.5% of total global carbon emissions, yet shipowners and operators are lacking the drive to make real changes in the fight against climate change.

DNV has insisted that the industry takes more responsibility for energy consumption, with the adoption of new techniques and practices to better accommodate for such global concerns. Supplementing this, it has stressed the initiatives the industry needs to employ in developing training and competence for sailing in Arctic ice-covered waters with its new Ice Navigation Standard.

“The standard will assist the maritime industry in training, recruiting and assessing officers who can safely pilot ships through ice. Maritime training centres can use it as a guide for developing course sin ice navigation, which DNV can in turn certify against the standard,” said DNV SeaSkill Project Engineer Steven Sawhill.

With Arctic regions posing major climatic hazards, navigational challenges and damage risks, the market opportunity opening up will require new skill methods and trained competence, and DNV has alerted to an imperative need for safety awareness to reduce the potential risk element created by previously unchartered waters.

“Since we foresee increasing shipping activity in the northernmost waters, we cannot continue to build on our traditional safety approach. There are additional hazards in the Arctic compared with any existing sea routes and the consequences of failure are greater. We have to be proactive, and we have to prepare for a safety regime that focuses on the technical as well as the human elements,” said Tor Svensen, COO of DNV.

As environmental concern is at the pinnacle of today’s shipping climate, DNV’s assertion to the burgeoning risks and imminent changes that face the future of shipping are a major step towards raising awareness over the concern currently spanning the industry on a global scale.

A jet-skier has been prosecuted and fined almost £2,500 (GBP) for riding his jet ski at nine-times the speed limit within the port area at Southampton, UK on an exceptionally busy day.

The incident happened when Cunard’s flagship liners, the QEII, QM2 and Queen Victoria, were in port.

As statutory harbour authority, Associated British Ports (ABP), which also owns and operates the port, is the prosecuting authority for Southampton Water and the port’s Harbour Master, Captain Philip Holliday, took the decision to prosecute under byelaws that enforce a 6-knot speed limit.

The British magistrates’ court heard that on 22 April local man Adam Robert Langdown rode his jet ski at high speed through the Eastern and Western Docks.

Mr Langdown was cautioned by marine police before being allowed to proceed, but then broke the speed limit again by travelling even faster. A police launch, RIB Mariner V, gave chase and Mr Langdown was apprehended.

After appearing in front of Southampton Magistrates on 17 September, Mr Langdown was fined a total of £2,429.

Captain Holliday said: “Although we are keen that Southampton’s leisure-marine community should co-exist with the port’s commercial shipping traffic, our paramount concern is for the safety of all.

“In this instance, Mr Langdown was not only travelling at excess speed – on a day when the water was very busy and extra care would have been preferable in any case – but he had the audacity to ignore his initial warning from the police and to then actually increase his speed. I believe the penalty given to him is therefore appropriate. Any mariner who does not comply with the law is posing an unacceptable risk to all users of the port – both commercial and leisure – and I sincerely hope that this penalty will serve as a warning to others.”

Sergeant Andy Simpson, Hampshire Police Marine Support Unit, who intercepted Mr Langdown, said: “Speeding on the water is as unacceptable as it is on land, and, in this particular case, was potentially extremely dangerous.
When we stopped Langdown his jet ski was clocked at 46 knots. This is the equivalent of a motorist doing 230mph in a 30mph limit. Speed limits exist to keep people safe, and the six-knot speed limit in Southampton Water is all too often ignored.

“This conviction should stand as a warning to boat users that we have the capability to intercept marine craft in all circumstances.”

The UKHO (United Kingdom Hydrographic Office) has underlined its commitment to the future of safe shipping navigation by teaming up with navigational chart suppliers Kelvin Hughes and Transas.

Fully pre-loaded with the UKHO’s Admiral Vector Chart Services (AVCS), both suppliers’ Electronic Chart Display Systems (ECDIS) will comply with the future mandatory implementation of AVCS by the IMO in 2012.

The robust partnerships not only pave the way for shipping navigation and the imminent regulations coming into force; but Kelvin Hughes’ ‘ChartCo’ and the Transas Admiralty Data Service (TADS) both offer a ‘one-stop-shop’ for Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs), with data all loaded onto one system at the touch of a button.

AVCS integrates the electronic charts from national hydrographic offices across the world, and through the amalgamation, the comprehensive system will only need updating prior to sailing. This thereby allows the mariner a much greater degree of concentration on the bridge, by lessening the complications surrounding the download of the electronic charts required for specific waters.

UKHO Chief Executive, Mike Robinson said that the product ranges offered by both Kelvin Hughes and Transas, when coupled with AVCS, will provide a safer and highly efficient solution to navigation in which the international mariner can have confidence.

“UKHO recognises that this partnering agreement is a major step towards creating a compliant digital service that not only fulfils the requirements of the mariner, but assists them during the transition towards the proposed ECDIS mandation that comes into force from 2012,” he said.

“It is fundamental that we foster relationships with them to allow our customers to derive the proven benefits from the use of ENC data whilst removing some of the complexities and inconsistencies that have inhibited use to this point. This close level of collaboration will ensure that data displays appropriately and that the hardware and software work seamlessly for the mariner,” he added.

Spike Hughes, Marketing Director for Kelvin Hughes, said: “This co-operation with the UKHO to pre-fill ECDIS displays with AVCS data will make a significant contribution to the increased take up of official electronic charts. The parallel initiatives of the UKHO AVCS service and the Kelvin Hughes inclusion of chart radar functionality combine to attack the main barriers to the comprehensive adoption of electronic charts; namely lack of official data and the cost of implementation.”

Peter Mantel, Deputy Managing Director of Transas, also commented that the “through the UKHO, we have access to comprehensive ENC data from the international hydrographic community. The combination of official Admiralty data from the UKHO and the DNV type-approved Transas ECDIS system creates the optimal package for mariners worldwide.”

Both UKHO initiatives offer user-friendly services that will aid mariners with automated and semi-autmoated charts, and hope to deliver a fully IMO-compliant, safer and more technologically-advanced solution to shipping navigation.

The Maritime Administration has appointed Christopher McMahon as the next Deputy Associate Administrator for Environment and Compliance and Director of the Office of Safety.

McMahon has worked for the Maritime Administration for many years including time as an Associate Professor and Director of Waterfront Activities at the US Merchant Marine Academy. Most recently, he served as the Academy’s Deputy Superintendent, and was the founding Director of the Academy’s Global Maritime and Transportation School. In the five years to 2005, he served the Department of Transportation as Special Assistant to the Secretary and as Acting Director of the Department’s Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency response. In 2004 to 2005, McMahon served in Baghdad as Transportation Counselor to the US Ambassador to Iraq and to the Multi-National Forces Iraq as well as Director of the Iraqi Reconstruction Management Office of Transportation.

McMahon is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. He holds an unlimited master’s license for steam and motor vessels with a master of sail endorsement. He has graduate degrees from American University, Long Island University, and the University of California, Berkeley (GTU).

Singapore Telecommunications has signed a shareholders agreement to form a joint venture with Chunghwa Telecom to build the ST-2 satellite. This satellite is targeted to be delivered in 2010 and will replace the ST-1 satellite, which will be retired in 2011. Under the deal, SingTel will have approximately 62% share in the joint venture while Chunghwa Telecom will own the remaining 38%.

Bill Chang, SingTel’s Executive Vice President for Business, said: “The ST-2 satellite will offer significantly greater capacity than ST-1 and wider coverage to also include emerging markets such as the Middle East. We are well placed to meet the strong demand for fixed and mobile satellite services, including our innovative IP-based solutions, which are transforming the way our customers do business. Even before its launch, about two-thirds of ST-2’s capacity has been pre-booked.”

SingTel is Asia Pacific’s largest provider of fixed and mobile satellite solutions.

A 1964 Ministry of Defence warship has been contracted by the Port of Liverpool for ‘green’ recycling, the first vessel to be recycled in the UK for over a decade.

Falklands War veteran HMS Intrepid will see the last stage of its life unfolded over the course of five months, as a skilled workforce of 50 will carry out the recycling project under the DEFRA Guidance Notes on Ship Recycling and the IMO’s Green Passport Scheme.

Mersey-based Leavesely International hope the former Royal Navy assault ship will be just the first in a series of grand recycling projects to be undertaken at the Port, under strict health, safety and environmental controls.

Stuart Halsey, Project Leader and Head of Business Development for Leavesley International, said: “There is no shortage of ships out there waiting to be responsibly dealt with. Their recycling is an inherently sustainable activity where over 95 per cent of the vessel’s material can be reprocessed.

The dry dock is also the right size for such projects. The port has major metal processing operations, it is centrally located and easily accessible by motorway and it has an existing skills base,” he added.

Given the go-ahead from both Liverpool City Council planning permission and the Environment Agency’s Waste Management Licence, the project will undergo immediate commencement at Liverpool’s Canada Graving Dock.

With growing demand for a high quality recycling facility in the UK as an alternative to the disposal of decommissioned warships in the Far East, the Liverpool operation hopes to strengthen an already vibrant maritime sector.

London is under serious threat unless tax regime supports the industry, the UK Chamber of Shipping has warned as the government issued new statistics showing sustained shipping growth.

While the UK registered fleet is almost five times its size since the introduction of tonnage tax in 2000, the Chamber of Shipping has warned that its continued strength is dependent upon the UK’s ability to offer shipping businesses a stable and ‘safe’ tax regime that encourages long-term investment.

According to the Transport Statistics, including the merchant fleet at end 2007, issued by the Department for Transport (DfT):

o The UK registered trading fleet increased by 17 to 646 ships during 2007. Overall deadweight tonnage totalled 13.0 million tonnes (5% up on 2006, and 439% up on 1997)

o The UK registered trading fleet included 134 tankers, 133 ro-ro vessels, 165 container vessels and 38 passenger vessels

o The trading fleet owned by UK companies increased by 10% to 19.6 million deadweight tonnes during 2007, 85% higher than in 1997

o Of the 738 trading vessels owned by UK companies, 168 were tankers accounting for one third of deadweight tonnage. There were also 138 ro-ro, 101 container and 52 passenger vessels

o World tonnage of trading vessels totalled 1,092 million deadweight tonnes

This continued growth – founded on the fiscal and regulatory reforms of the late 1990s – has enabled the UK to take advantage of the long shipping boom.

What is clear is that the next few years will see more difficult trading conditions and uncertainty, said the Chamber, as the markets digest the effects of the turndown in British and other economies, the expectation of continued high prices for fuel, the worldwide shortage of skilled seafarers and the uncertainties of the eventual application of climate-change policies to shipping.

At the same time other global shipping centres – notably Dubai and Singapore – are aggressively marketing themselves as shipping business centres, determined to usurp London’s pre-eminence.

Uncertainties over the taxation status of non-domiciles and tonnage tax has already had an impact on the industry, with some shipping business already migrating away from the UK.

The challenges and opportunities are great – but a constant eye on the ball is required, both in Westminster and Brussels, to ensure British shipping stays strong and London maintains its status as the centre of the maritime world, it said.

Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, has signed a contract with Marlink for a large-scale retrofit of Inmarsat FleetBroadband across its Maersk Supply Service and Maersk Tankers Fleet. The two-year retrofit programme is believed to be the largest in the history of maritime satellite communications, with over 150 vessels being converted to FleetBroadband in the first phase. The vessels will be equipped with Thrane & Thrane Sailor 500 terminals.

The order covers vessels operating in all parts of the world. The first vessel in commercial service to be fitted with FleetBroadband was the ‘Maersk Challenger’, a Maersk Supply Service vessel The programme includes the possibility for a second phase to convert up to another 150 vessels operated by the Danish shipping group.

“We are dedicated to crew welfare and installation of the relatively small FleetBroadband terminal ensures that we can offer internet to our crews by this autumn.” said  Peter Faurhøj of Maersk Supply Service.

“The installation of the FleetBroadband terminals has been ‘outsourced’ to the crews, on all our vessels and they have received an installation pack with a computer, Lan Switch, radome mast and fittings. Feedback from the vessels has been that it was easy to do the job, and they are very happy. At present the record installation took three hours so we can conclude that , ‘size matters’,” he said.

Piers Cunningham, Head of Maritime Business at Inmarsat, added: “A retrofit of this scale, with one of the world’s most established and respected shipping companies, is the strongest possible endorsement of our revolutionary FleetBroadband service. This is a ground-breaking deal.”

Shipowners are turning to green technologies in an effort to save on bunker costs, according to a new report by European bank HypoVereinsbank.

The international survey questioned both German and international shipowners andshowed that two thirds had already introduced environmental management procedures into their companies. Of those questioned, 94% considered hull design improvements and better engine efficiency as a way of helping them increase their mileage.

About 86% said they would consider using new coatings and enhanced propeller designs to help cut back on fuel consumption. Many shipowners also said they are trying to upgrade their fleets ahead of International Maritime Organisation regulations. Many of those questioned confirmed they were turning to greener shipping technology as a way of not only reducing emissions but also to cut their fuel costs.
About 23% believe that the SkySails GmbH & Company KG towing kite system will play a bigger role in the future of shipping and 65%  believe that a CO2 index for vessels would help form the basis to include shipping into emissions trading.

All the shipowners questioned said they would not be put off calling into certain ports because of stricter fuel quality rules.