International Maritime Organization News

Number of Indian Seafarers Grows 45%

Employment of Indian seafarers on Indian and foreign ships witnessed a growth of 45 percent in the last three years.The Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya informed the Parliament that the number has increased from 143940 in 2016 to 208799 globally in 2018.The Minister informed that the Government has taken several initiatives and policy decisions to  help increase the share of Indian seafarers at the global level.For example, seafarers are being employed on ships through secured paths i.e.

Joseph Angelo Wins Global Maritime Prize

The prestigious International Maritime Prize for 2018 is to be awarded to Joseph J. Angelo, a former United States Coast Guard (USCG) and International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) senior executive who participated in International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings for many years, providing leadership on a number of key regulatory developments.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council, meeting for its 122nd session in London (15-19 July) decided to award the Prize to Angelo…

Singapore Fuel Stocks at Eight-month Low Ahead of IMO 2020 Deadline

Oil product inventories in the Singapore storage and trading hub fell to an eight-month low in the week ended July 17, official data showed, in one of the latest signs that suppliers are gearing up for rule changes to make marine fuel cleaner.Singapore onshore stocks of petroleum products, which include gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and residual fuel oil, came in at 38.372 million barrels, down from 41.725 million barrels in the previous week and their lowest since the week ended Nov.

JIT Trial Cuts Emissions

"Just-In-Time" (JIT) operations have the potential to cut the time ships spend idling outside ports and help reduce harmful emissions as well as save on fuel costs.According to International Maritime Organization (IMO), this can be achieved by communicating in advance the relevant information to the ship about the requested time of arrival - allowing the ship to adjust to optimum speed. A desktop trial in Just-In-Time ship operations has yielded positive results, showing emissions…

More Women Joining Maritime Industry

More women are joining the maritime ranks in a variety of professions within the industry, said International Maritime Organization (IMO).To encourage this trend, IMO supported a training course aimed at female officials from maritime and port authorities.According to the UN body, 25 women from 17 developing countries took part in the two-week "Women in Port Management" course, hosted in Le Havre, France (24 June - 5 July).The course covered lectures on port management, port security, marine environment, facilitation of maritime traffic, marketing, port logistics and other topics.

ICS: Counting Down to IMO 2020

With six months to go until the implementation of the 'Global Sulphur Cap' the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has issued updated guidance to help shipowners comply with new UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations. Taking full effect on January 1, 2020 the legal framework will require merchant ships worldwide to use fuel with a sulphur content of less than 0.50 percent or use alternative mitigation technologies.The ICS guidance incorporates the latest IMO decisions addressing issues such as fuel oil non-availability reporting, fuel safety and fuel quality.

6 Months' Countdown to Global Sulfur Cap

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has issued updated guidance to help shipowners comply with new UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations, with just six months to go until the implementation of the ‘Global Sulphur Cap’ICS said that taking full effect on 1 January 2020 the legal framework will require merchant ships worldwide to use fuel with a sulphur content of less than 0.50 percent or use alternative mitigation technologies.“These new regulations are good for human health and good for the environment.

Shipping Giants May Miss Climate Targets

A new report says shipping companies failing to push for the critical technologies required to reduce their carbon footprint, such as emission-free ships.CDP, an international non-profit that drives companies and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, said that the world’s shipping heavyweights are not investing in key technologies to reduce their carbon footprint, with the sector at risk of not meeting the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) targets to…

Storm Approaching: Firms Fear IMO's 2020 Rules

U.S. furniture company RC Willey Home Furnishings is so concerned that new global clean air rules will cause transport disruption that it brought forward the shipment of arm chairs and sofas from China by two months.The tougher regulations, set by the United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), come into force on Jan 1. Costs will rise for ships towards the end of this year and there will be a knock on effect for trucks and other transporters…

Vitol Builds Refinery for New Ship's Fuel

Vitol, the world's largest independent oil trader, has started building a small oil refinery at its storage terminal in Malaysia that will provide low-sulfur fuel for ships, a senior company official said on Monday.The project consists of a crude distillation unit that can process 30,000 barrels per day of crude and is located on the same site as Vitol's oil storage terminal at Tanjung Bin in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, Vitol Asia's President and Chief Executive Officer…

Being Green: Banks Consider CO2 Emissions in Shipping Loans

A group of leading banks will for the first time include efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions in their decision making when providing shipping company loans, executives said on Tuesday.International shipping accounts for 2.2% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO), has a long-term goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2008 levels by 2050.Working with non-profit organisations the Global Maritime Forum, the Rocky Mountain Institute and London University's UCL Energy Institute…

Fuel Futures: Diesel Will Spike on IMO2020

New marine fuel rules to boost diesel prices for at least a year -analystsGlobal prices for diesel and marine fuels should rise by October ahead of a January switchover to new, very low-sulfur marine fuels, and remain higher for at least a year as refiners shift production to make more of the new fuels, analysts said.Marine fuels containing no more than 0.5% sulfur by weight, down from the 3.5% currently used, to power ocean-going vessels will be required for ships without exhaust scrubbers on Jan.

IMO's Gender Program in Spotlight

In a year when promoting and empowering women is a dominant theme throughout the maritime community, International Maritime Organization (IMO) hosted a special event at the Nor-Shipping exhibition (6 June) to highlight the some of the challenges – and the solutions – around encouraging women to take up seafaring roles.An all-female panel of experts, with many years' combined seagoing experience, spoke of some of the issues they have faced and which still need to be tackled. Many…

Marine Interiors 2019: Designers on Board

Ship designers and architects are experts at merging design and safety on board cruise ships. The considerations that make the difference will be on top of the agenda of the Marine Interiors specialist panel discussions during the Seatrade Europe conference program.To make sure that cruise passengers will feel comfortable in every respect, designers and architects leave nothing to chance when designing ship interiors. Based on the shipowner’s suggestions they develop restaurants, bars, suites and spas down to the tiniest detail.

Lim to Outline Future of Ocean Regs at Nor-Shipping

Kitack Lim, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), will be taking the stage at Nor-Shipping 2019’s Ocean Leadership Conference on June 4, to talk about the future of maritime regulations. Lim will join an elite group of global thought leaders at the Thon Hotel Arena Lillestrøm, adding to a program designed to deliver insights on issues ranging from cyber security, to economic strategy, sustainable development, geopolitical forces, future energy demands, and much more.Nor-Shipping has refined its traditional opening conference this year to create a new format.

Diesel Traders See Shortage, but not yet

Gasoil traders expect the middle distillates market to stay well supplied until almost the end of 2019 before swinging into deficit with the introduction of new maritime fuel regulations.Calendar spreads for low-sulphur gasoil delivered to Europe's Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub are currently in contango through until October before shifting to backwardation from November onwards (https://tmsnrt.rs/2WgXabR).In futures markets, contango structures, where future contract prices are higher than front-month prices, are associated with expectations of adequate or rising inventories.

IMO 2020: Total Lubmarine 'Road Show' in NYC

On Thursday, May 9, 2019, Total Lubmarine brought its "Total Global Sulfur Cap Forum" to New York City, a meeting including of Total Lubmarine business and technical executives and shipowners.The event, held aboard the historic Aircraft Carrier Intrepid Museum, gathered a full-house of local shipowners, and New York was the sixth stop on an 11 city world 'road show' of the forum to deliver insight on the soon-to-be-implemented fuel rules from the International Maritime Organization (IMO)…

Shipping to Halve Carbon Footprint by 2050

The world's principal shipping organisation, representing around 80% of the world’s merchant tonnage, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS)  remains confident that shipping will improve its carbon efficiency by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 2008, in line with the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This follows important decisions made by the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 74) which met in London this week…

NIMASA Makes IMO Representative Director

The Governing Board of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has approved the promotion of the Nigerian Alternate Permanent Representative at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr. Dikko Bala, to Director. Also elevated to the position of Director in the Agency was the Deputy Director, Maritime Labor Services, Mrs. Rita Uruakpa.Other beneficiaries of the promotion exercise were Mr Kazir Musa, who was promoted to Deputy Director, and 18 officers, who were elevated to Assistant Directors.

HMM to Enhance Global On-site Management

The new head of South Korean flag carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) Jae-hoon Bae is on a charm-offensive trip to Europe to cement the shipping line's relations with global majors.HMM said Bae, who became HMM's president and chief executive last month, will meet this week with executives at A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S and Mediterranean Shipping Co.First of all, Bae plans to visit the European headquarter of HMM, located in London, to encourage its employees and make sales strategies based on the character of each region after gathering the various opinions from the site.Furthermore…

V.Group: Proactive Approach to 2020 Needed

V.Group has urged shipowners and operators to take a proactive approach to 2020 compliance. With the global sulphur cap less than nine months away, V.Group is seeing growing numbers of shipowners and operators developing Ship Implementation Plans (SIPs) to mitigate risks and minimize disruption.It is predicted that most ships will burn ultra low sulphur fuel oils (ULSFOs) to comply with the suplhur cap legislation, switching from high sulphur fuel oil (HFO) to ULSFOs with a sulphur content at, or below, 0.50%, unless equipped with scrubbers.

Rotterdam Port Hails North Sea Agreement

The Port of Rotterdam Authority considers it vital that the North Sea Consultation works towards a North Sea Agreement in the coming six months. This consultation is investigating where on the North Sea the challenges regarding food, energy and nature can be combined and where choices will need to be made.The Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) is initiator of this consultation. The consultation concluded on 23 April, after which an in-depth meeting will be held with the representatives on 8 May.“The North Sea is not only our front yard…

IMO 2020: Total Plans NY Event

As the IMO 2020 Global Sulfur Cap draws nearer, confusion among shipowners remains. To help inform, experts from Total Lubmarine and Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions (TMFGS) are embarked on a global conference tour, with the next event coming soon to New York City on board the USS Intrepid, which now serves as a museum and a coveted event space.Following a series of successful events in Europe during March, Total Lubmarine and Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions (TMFGS) will be visiting industry professionals in the U.S.

Study: EC Shipping Emissions Study Released

Shipping emissions: International measures needed to cut operational greenhouse gas emissions of existing fleet by 2030 – new studyThe international shipping sector needs to quickly adopt short-term policy measures to cut operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the existing fleet, according to a new study. The study concludes that only a subset of potential policy options, namely those that mandate changes in how the existing fleet is operated can achieve the significant effect required to meet the sector’s emission reduction objectives.

Hapag Lloyd: Calm Passage Despite Trade War

Hapag-Lloyd is optimistic about the year ahead, despite global trade tensions, the German container shipping company's chief executive said on Thursday after a first quarter earnings rise."Despite all the uncertainty, we see a somewhat stable development," Rolf Habben Jansen told Reuters, adding that trade wars have so far had a limited effect on Hapag Lloyd's business.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that China had broken the terms of a trade deal, adding he would…

First Woman President for BIMCO

The world’s largest shipping association BIMCO has elected Şadan Kaptanoğlu, managing director of HI Kaptanoglu Shipping, as its new President.“It is a great privilege for me to chair the BIMCO Board of Directors in this crucial time of change for shipping. The environment and climate change are key public concerns and getting the shipping industry to embrace this reality - and delivering the solutions to meet the world’s environmental expectations – will be my priority,” Kaptanoğlu…