Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Diane Lebouthillier, has released the names of the Canadian Coast Guard’s two future Polar Icebreakers: the CCGS Arpatuuq and CCGS Imnaryuaq.

The vessels’ names were chosen in collaboration with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami for their cultural significance to Inuit. The CCGS Arpatuuq references Akpatok Island, an uninhabited island in Nunavik, on the northern coast of Quebec. The island is an important geographical landmark in Ungava Bay that has been used by Inuit of Nunavik for centuries. It is named for the Akpa, a thick-billed murre that is one of the many seabird species in the region.

The CCGS Imnaryuaq’s namesake is a cape located at the southern end of Banks Island that extends into the Amundsen Gulf. Also referred to as Nelson Head and meaning “big cliff,” Imnaryuaq extends over 300 meters almost vertically from the water’s edge and is a culturally significant area for Inuvialuit.

The construction of the two Polar Icebreakers is projected to support approximately 300 jobs per vessel at the shipyards, and 2,500 jobs across the marine supply chain. Vancouver Shipyards in British Columbia will build one Polar Icebreaker, and Chantier Davie in Lévis, Quebec, will…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and a group of industry partners have launched a study into the benefits of producing biomethane from cow dung.

The dung is expected to be sourced from the thriving dairy industry in Hamanaka, Hokkaido, and be used for industry and shipping fuel.

MOL points to its desirability as it biomethane can be used in existing gas infrastructure and transport.

The European Biogas Association states that using manure from livestock farming for biogas production has positive environmental and economic impacts including reducing GHG emissions by replacing fossil fuels, mitigating air, soil, and water pollution through improved manure management, and diversifying farmers’ income.

The partners are Hamanaka Town, JA Hamanaka, Takanashi Milk Products, Hokkaido Gas Co. and MOL Sunflower.

Bardex completed its phase of floating production system (FPS) for the Shenandoah project: delivering its Off Vessel Tensioning (OVT) BarLatch mooring system. 

When installed, the FPS will be located in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico at more than 1800 m water depth. This is the second FPS project in which Bardex partnered with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to supply its patented OVT BarLatch system. The first was the King’s Quay FPS, also moored in the Gulf of Mexico, which marked the inaugural implementation of Bardex’s OVT method. 

In May of this year, the OVT BarLatch system earned Bardex the Woelfel Best Mechanical Engineering Achievement award, conferred by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Bardex designed the OVT method to work with its patented BarLatch Fairlead Stopper technology, developed when a client wanted to address the longstanding industry concern with in-plane and out-of-plane bending fatigue and chain wear at the
conventional 7-pocket underwater fairlead. Additionally, the client wanted to eliminate deck tensioning equipment. The BarLatch Fairlead Stopper solution for off-vessel tensioning of mooring lines uses an Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) or similar vessel to apply the tension.

The OVT and BarLatch system…

A series of new recommendations have been published Danish Shipping that aim to end bullying and harassment onboard Danish-flagged ships.

The recommendations were announced at Danish Shipping’s annual Blue Pride Bar event and handed over to the Minister of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Morten Bødskov.

The move follows the announcement in January 2024 by Bødskov of a series of initiatives to prevent bullying and harassment on Danish ships. One of these initiatives was the creation of best practice recommendations, which include effective and visible whistleblower schemes and complaint procedures.

The best practice recommendations were developed by Danish Shipping in collaboration with member shipping companies, Metal Maritime and Danish Engineer’s Association.

“Harassment and bullying are unacceptable, regardless of one’s gender, ethnicity, religion, or whether one works on water or land,” he said. “With these, all seafarers, regardless of gender, can hopefully board knowing that their time at sea will be a safe and secure experience.”

There are three main recommendations, supplemented by several action proposals:
·         Lead from the top
·         Focus on the challenges and implement training
·         Measure and…

The US Coast Guard will homeport its commercially procured icebreaker Aiviq in Juneau.

The vessel was originally built to serve as an Arctic oil exploration support vessel and has an icebreaking capability sufficient to serve as a Coast Guard medium polar icebreaker, following modification.

The Coast Guard was appropriated $125 million in fiscal year 2024 to purchase a commercially available icebreaker. Currently, the Aiviq is the only US built commercial vessel meeting necessary icebreaking standards. The Service anticipates the vessel will reach initial operational capability in two years.

“The United States is an Arctic nation, and the Coast Guard is vital to providing presence in our sovereign waters and the polar regions,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, Coast Guard vice commandant. “As we continue to build the Polar Security Cutters, acquiring a commercially available polar icebreaker will enable the Coast Guard to increase our national presence in the Arctic, and homeporting this cutter in Alaska demonstrates the Service’s steadfast commitment to the region.”

The Coast Guard has been the sole provider of America’s polar icebreaking capability since 1965 and is seeking to increase its icebreaking fleet with new Polar Security Cutters. The…

ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) cannot learn independently or acquire new skills, meaning they pose no existential threat to humanity, according to new research from the University of Bath in the UK and the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany.

The study, published as part of the proceedings of the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics, reveals that LLMs have a superficial ability to follow instructions and excel at proficiency in language, however, they have no potential to master new skills without explicit instruction. This means they remain inherently controllable, predictable and safe.

The research team concluded that LLMs – which are being trained on ever larger datasets – can continue to be deployed without safety concerns, though the technology can still be misused.

With growth, these models are likely to generate more sophisticated language and become better at following explicit and detailed prompts, but they are highly unlikely to gain complex reasoning skills.

“The prevailing narrative that this type of AI is a threat to humanity prevents the widespread adoption and development of these technologies and also diverts attention from the genuine issues that require our focus,”…

One of the world’s leading LNG project developers New Fortress Energy (NFE) has completed the first cargo load and sail operation from its floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit offshore Altamira in Mexico.

The first cargo has been loaded onto the Energos Princess LNG carrier and will be delivered to NFE’s La Paz terminal.

“We’re excited to begin supplying our customers with our own LNG – a significant milestone for our company and the world of LNG,” NFE said on social media.

The operation follows the first production of LNG at its first 1.4 MTPA FLNG unit Fast LNG unit, FLNG 1, achieved on July 19, 2024.

NFE also secured a $700 million loan for the FLNG unit in Mexico.

The new loan will fully fund the construction of FLNG 2, and the new liquefaction unit will incorporate the same proprietary modular technology as FLNG 1.

The FLNG 2 is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026.

The Middle East and global ship recycling markets need a serious push on the pause button, says cash buyer GMS, as this week the world has seen:

• increasing security bulletins surrounding an imminent Iranian / Hezbollah threat against Israel,

• the U.S. repositioning two aircraft carrier / destroyer fleets off the Gulf of Oman & Eastern Mediterranean leaving the entire region on high alert,

• PM Sheikh Hassina abruptly resign as Prime Minister of Bangladesh and fled to India in a government helicopter,

• Indian steel prices nosedive into the nether, all ship recycling nation currencies devalue in unison against the U.S. dollar again, and finally,

• witness the top placed ship recycling destination in the world i.e. Pakistan, report no fresh arrivals at its waterfront and have nothing to show for their firmer levels.

This is the tragic reality of ship recycling in 2024 today, says GMS. “It’s safe to say the world is in need of a serious break before a modicum of stability can return, not only for the sake of global peace but also for ship recycling so that our industry has a chance to revive its confidence and offer meaningful levels on fresh tonnage once again.”

Ever since the unexpected results of India’s recently concluded general…

Jeffersonville, Ind. based marine transportation company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) announced it has promoted George Piccioni to vice president of business development.

As ACBL’s senior director of business development since 2016, Piccioni has helped to maximize the company’s land holdings and assets, including leading the $1 billion transformation project at the site of its former Jeffboat shipyard.

In his new VP role, Piccioni will continue these functions while also assuming an expanded leadership position, with Michael Shea, market analyst, reporting to him. Together, they will provide ACBL with strategic insights into economic trends, industry and market dynamics and policy changes that impact operations.

“George’s value to ACBL has been immeasurable, and we look forward to the continued growth and development he will foster within our Commercial Team,” said Ricky Stover, ACBL chief commercial officer. “We are confident that he will continue his outstanding leadership, empowering others to achieve success and driving our company forward.”

“I have been extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to work with so many talented and dedicated ACBL team members on numerous exciting and challenging projects,” Piccionni said. “I am…