The vessels are designed to transport liquid CO2 with purpose-built pressurised cargo tanks. The primary fuel for the ships will be LNG, keeping emissions low. Other innovative technologies, such as a wind assisted propulsion system and air lubrication will be installed to reduce carbon intensity by around 34% compared to conventional systems. The ships are the first of its kind and will potentially set a new standard for CO2 shipping on coastal trading routes.

Japan’s NYK Shipmanagement company appointed its first Indonesian seafarer as a captain of one of the company’s LNG carriers. The appointment is part of a program that NYK has been running since 2008 designed to develop Indonesian seafarers and a broader training program in operation since 2007 to develop deck and engine officers for NYK’s vessels.

The Mexican Secretariat of the Economy (SE) has signed a Memorandum of Understand with the World Logistics Passport (WLP), establishing the SE as a co-ordinating partner in the country which became a WLP Hub earlier this year.

Imports at the nation’s largest retail container ports should remain at near-record levels this month but could see a slight dip from last year’s unusually high numbers as congestion slows the movement of backed-up cargo, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

For the fifth time since announcing the plans to merge two of South Korea’s leading shipbuilders, Korean officials confirmed today that they have yet again agreed to delay the scheduled closing of the merger between Korea Shipbuilding Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) and Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering Co. (DSME). The Korea Development Bank which would sell its shares in DSME to Hyundai Heavy Industries agreed to an extension for the deadline to the end of 2021, while reports in Korea suggest efforts are underway to find alternatives to speed the completion of the transaction first announced in February 2019.

Cruise industry executives sounded an optimistic tone on the recovery of the business expressing satisfaction with the industry response to the COVID-19 crisis and the progress being made on the restart. Speaking at the opening session of the Seatrade Cruise Global conference, they pointed to a quicker than anticipated recovery in segments of the industry and believe with mind shifts about acceptable risks more travelers are returning while regulators have grown more comfortable with the ability to manage the operations despite the pandemic.

Construction of China’s first domestically built large cruise ship marked a key milestone in mid-September as structural work was completed. Assembly for the 135,500 gross ton cruise ship began in November 2020 with construction scheduled to be completed in 2023.

Two cruise ships have joined in the efforts to aid New Orleans and Louisiana in the recovery from the damage left behind from Hurricane Ida. The cruise industry has a long history of working with both public and private enterprises in these situations and currently two ships have been chartered to act as housing for the relief efforts.

The rapid growth in shipbuilding orders in 2021 has now reached the Great Lakes with one of the largest newbuilding orders for the waterways. Canada’s dry bulk shipping group Fednav placed an order for 10 new ocean-going lakers. It represents a nearly 10 percent increase over the company’s current fleet of 120 vessels with the order being a key element of fleet modernization and designed to support Fednav's sustainability goals. 

The unabated strong demand in the container shipping markets and positive long-term is continuing to drive the orderbook towards an all-time high while also attracting new investors into the segment. Among the areas seeing the strongest growth is the charter market, which permits the shipping lines to expand without upfront capital outlays and provides a strong, steady income for investors building the new ships.