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…

Iran has sent small shipments of crude oil to new destinations such as Bangladesh and Oman, according to shipping sources and data, the latest sign of Tehran pushing to sustain output at close to its highest in five years.

Oil sales are Iran’s major revenue source and the country has been looking for ways to sidestep U.S. sanctions on its crude exports that former president Donald Trump re-imposed in 2018 over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iran, which is exempt from output quotas set by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is striving to maximize production and exports.

Oil Minister Javad Owji said in July that Iran was selling crude oil to 17 countries, including those in Europe, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency. The details could not corroborated.

In one new trade, the Golden Eagle tanker sailed near the port of Chittagong in Bangladesh earlier this year after receiving oil from another vessel that loaded it from Iran’s Kharg Island according to available evidence based on shipping data, Claire Jungman, from U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, told Reuters.

The Golden Eagle offloaded parts of the cargo to smaller tankers in ship-to-ship transfer operations around Chittagong in April, said Jungman,…

As the international shipping industry continues to explore measures to conserve and protect underwater life, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is proposing the future monitoring of Underwater Radiated Noise (URN), which may lead to the establishment of thresholds combined with long-term monitoring requirements for certain regions.

Underwater noise from ships can significantly impact marine life by disrupting communication, navigation, and feeding behaviors in various species. This noise pollution can cause stress, disorientation, and even physical harm to marine animals, particularly those that rely on sound, such as whales, dolphins, and fish, leading to potential long-term consequences for their populations and ecosystems.

In the HyPNoS (Hydrodynamic Propeller Noise Monitoring System) research project, international propulsion specialist SCHOTTEL, together with project funder Transport Canada and partner BC Ferries, investigated the emission of URN from ship propulsion systems in the waters off Vancouver, Canada. The focus was on developing methods for measuring, predicting and reporting URN and deriving optimized design measures to reduce it. The research now culminates in the development of an on-board, real-time URN reporting…

A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) is in the process of signing newbuilding orders and time-charter contracts for LNG dual-fuel container ships.

The new orders for 50-60 vessels will match its planned renewal pace of around 160,000 TEU per year.

The new orders are a continuation of its fleet renewal program initiated in 2021 which has seen orders placed for 25 methanol dual-fuel vessels, five in service and 20 on order providing around 350,000 TEU of dual-fuel capacity.

The exact split of propulsion technologies for the new vessels will be determined considering the future regulatory framework and green fuels supply.

Maersk has commenced the work of securing offtake agreements for bio-LNG to ensure that the new dual-fuel gas vessels provide greenhouse gas emissions reductions in this decade.

Maersk says its mix of methanol and LNG dual-fuel propulsion choices will ensure the long-term competitiveness of the fleet and its ability to deliver on the decarbonization goals. While green methanol is likely to become the most competitive and scalable pathway to decarbonization in the short term, Maersk also foresees a multifuel future for the industry which includes liquified bio-methane.

Once the vessels have been delivered, around 25% of the Maersk fleet will…