By Marek Grzybowski

In January, DNV and the Swedish Responsible Shipping Initiative (RSI) launched a study on the renewal of fleets sailing in the Baltic and North Seas. Poland has the design and shipbuilding potential to join this initiative of replacing traditional ships with zero-emission vessels. PRS knows how to certify innovative solutions on zero-emission ships.

Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and the Responsible Shipping Initiative (RSI) have started work on a feasibility study to develop regulations and parameters according to which ships should be introduced to the waters of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.

DNV is the world’s leading quality assurance and risk management company and operates in over 100 countries. RSI is a non-profit organization connecting owners and operators of bulk carriers who operate mainly in the surrounding seas, especially in the Baltic and North Seas.

Time for the synergy of shipping, ports, cargo operators

RSI members focus on promoting responsible shipping, including working conditions, health and safety and environmental protection. Standards are maintained by checking the conditions on ships operating in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.

– For this purpose, RSI carries out inspections of ships chartered by its members – informs the board of the association.

“This initiative is a great opportunity to share knowledge, define [ships – MG] parameters and standards, find common ground and discuss possible synergies to identify what is achievable for future transport needs,” explains Sebastian Tamm, President of RSI , sustainable development and logistics manager at EFO (RSI member).

– Buyers of transport services may lack information about available solution options and practical [economic – MG] implications for their value chains. We started by mapping the current transport routes, cargo volumes, ship and port utilization of each company participating in the study, in order to understand the logistics and transhipment requirements and identify areas with the greatest potential for green fleet renewal,” says Hannes von Knorring, Principal Consultant, DNV Maritime about the project.

Poland has potential

Poland has the design and shipbuilding potential to join this initiative, especially since it will be implemented in the Baltic Sea. Polish design offices StoGda and Remontowa Design as well as CRIST and Remontowa Shipbuilding shipyards are already participating in the introduction of hybrid or electric ships to the maritime transport market.

Remontowa Group converted the Stena Germanika ferry to run on methanol a few years ago. Polish ports have already mastered LNG bunkering. In the public ferry terminal in Gdynia, there is a connection for the electric supply of ships from land.

And the Gdynia – Karlskrona service is served by two innovative Stena Line ferries, which can be powered by ecological fuels, and use electric propulsion for up to 11 hours.

PRS participates in the work of IMO on an ongoing basis, and through its unit implements, among others, regulation aimed at decarbonising maritime transport. Poland has the potential to become actively involved in the development of responsible shipping in the Baltic and North Seas.

More: Skandynawski kurs na ekologiczny transport morski

By Marek Grzybowski

Women on ships still have to break stereotypes among the male part of the crew. Especially when they hold managerial positions on ships. Recognizing the problem of gender tensions, WISTA International, Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, the International Seafarers Welfare Assistance Network (ISWAN) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) conducted an online survey to find out how seafarers perceive ‘discrimination’ and how on board based on their personal experiences.

Over 1,100 women inform about discrimination

The study, using an online survey, was intended to determine how female seafarers perceive discrimination and how it manifests itself in working on a ship. The study placed particular emphasis on communicating personal experiences. The questionnaires were completed by 1,128 women from 78 countries.

Most of the respondents were from the Philippines (399). 98 surveys were completed by women on ships flying the US flag, 57 from Great Britain. Women from South Africa completed 51 questionnaires, from Brazil – 47. They were followed by women from India (41), Peru (36), Colombia (35) and Indonesia (35).

Discrimination on board

As many as 60% of women reported that they faced gender discrimination on board. 66% of respondents report that their employees have started harassing and intimidating co-workers. 25% of female shipboarders said that in the maritime transport sector, physical and sexual harassment is widespread, occurs on board and is an invasion of their privacy.

The analysis of the research results shows that discrimination is one of the main challenges that needs to be solved comprehensively in shipping.

More: Discrimination against female seafarers

Dr Magdy Sadik talk to GAVIN ALLWRIGHT, Secretary General of the International Windship Association (IWSA). He is IWSA Secretary General since it was established in 2014. This not-for-profit grouping of maritime wind propulsion companies and projects supported by academia & NGOs is working to promote and facilitate the uptake of wind propulsion solutions in commercial shipping. He sits on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Maritime Technology Cooperation Centres (MTCC) stakeholder’s advisory committee and is a non-executive board member of the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA).

Gavin has presented and chaired numerous international fora including the Royal Institute of Naval Architects (RINA) Shipping Efficiency & Wind Propulsion conferences and led the team that organized the ground-breaking Ambition 1.5C: Global Shipping’s Action Plan summit at COP23 in Bonn, Germany

He is an advisor on several EU and international research projects, including WASP, WiSP, VTAS, and Decarbonising UK Freight. Gavin holds a Masters’s degree in Sustainable Development, specializing in small-scale sustainable shipping and logistics in developing countries. He has contributed to numerous studies on alternative propulsion solutions and most recently contributed as an expert reviewer to the IPCC Special Report on 1.5C Global Warming.

Do you have any ideas or research papers to contribute to this Cop27?

Through our efforts at IMO and our continued engagement in the industry, the NGO community, and with policymakers worldwide the message we will send to the summit is that shipping, which makes up around 3% of human greenhouse gas emissions, has a toolbox of solutions that can decarbonize this nominally labeled hard-to-abate sector, quickly, deeply and effectively free of charge.

“How can that possibly be true?” will be the cry from policymakers, “this sounds too easy to be true”, and usually that means it is, however shipping has unique access to an inexhaustible, abundant, globally available, and free energy source that doesn’t require additional infrastructure and can be rolled out extensively through the fleet today. Can we power the modern fleet? Ought to be possible though with a combination of retrofits and increasing numbers of optimized newbuilds the ability to cover 20% of the fleet’s energy needs is feasible. This capability could, with a systematic rollout, deliver that within this decade.

What that then means, is wind alone at this level would save enough on fuel costs to pay for itself within a few years at today’s prices, but more importantly effectively cover the entire $1.4-$1.9 trillion required to fully decarbonize the global fleet by 2050. Moreover, if you link this with operational changes such as reductions in speed, weather routing for wind, etc. And energy efficiency measures, you could be looking to reduce the energy required by the fleet by an additional 40%+. This is all using readily available practices and technologies – thus unlocking the decarbonization puzzle today.

What do you think about cooperating with the Maritime Transport Authority?!

We always cooperate with policymakers and those in charge of steering the maritime transport decarbonization pathway, at either regional or international levels. By the end of this year, we will have 25 demonstrator vessels sailing in the world fleet. While this is still a small number, it has effectively provided three or more points of reference to the industry on a technology basis and increasingly on a ship segment basis. Thus, the MPA and other actors have an increasing number of examples of vessel operation. In addition, they also have a better understanding of how and where these can be used. This virtuous circle will be further boosted by the surge in additional vessels slated for 2023, with anything from 20-25 additional vessels and installations on the books. We would also love to see a ‘wind propulsion incentive’ during the transit of the Suez Canal, as that would send a significant message to the industry and the world that this is a key and zero-emissions option that should be supported.

What do you expect from the results or recommendations of this summit?!

This is a difficult question to answer. I would like to see a renewed commitment to all of the pledges made in shipping and energy at COP26, but the critical thing is action not more words. Developed countries have an extremely terrible record of not living up to their climate commitments as they pertain to funding the climate fund (which is frankly a drop in the ocean despite its size), but also by lowering the bar to accessing funds, technologies, and expertise. Unfortunately, I don’t expect much movement there, just words, however with Egypt’s strong leadership, that could change.

One thing that I do expect is that the impasse in the agreement for protecting our oceans will be moved and that is paramount. Our oceans have been in crisis for decades, but only recently was an ‘ocean emergency’ declared, which is difficult to understand. Our impacts and actions in the marine environment will be by far the deciding factor on climate change. This is due to ocean acidification, blue carbon sequestration, underwater noise, pollution, biodiversity, and so on. This all may be out of sight to many policymakers and people, but in shipping as in fisheries, we know this instinctively. Shipping has the opportunity to step forward as a pioneer in this field through the many actions it is already taking, but we have to be realistic, our scorecard is not stellar – emissions from shipping continue to rise and many unsustainable practices continue but as I said before we have the tools to get the job done, and as I have already stated, I and our association members believe that we are developing the critical key to unlocking that potential.

We will also likely see further movement on the life cycle of fuels and alternative energy sources. We should fully embrace what we call a Well-to-Wake appraisal of fuels in the shipping world, including materials circularity, embedded energy, and externalities as part of our assessment of fossil fuel (and alternative energy) sources. We are facing serious climatic jeopardy, and a business-as-usual approach simply won’t cut it and I think policymakers are increasingly aware of that. I expect further pressure to adopt a 20-year Global Warming Potential (GWP) in all fuel and energy source assessments will be seen. This means that the leakage of methane and hydrogen and the release of black carbon to name a few are very serious climate forces. That message seems to be resonating. If we face potential environmental tipping points, which could signal uncontrollable climate feedback in the next 20 years as most scientists agree we are, then holding to a 100-year GWP makes no sense whatsoever.

More: Cop 27 – Dr Magdy Sadik talk to GAVIN ALLWRIGHT

Polish Register of Shipping – PRS is a new member of BSSC

Polish Register of Shipping S.A. (PRS) is an independent expert institution with a wide range of global reach services guided by the public interest in conducting its business. It is a Polish classification society and a member of IACS, a notified body for products and personnel assessment, and an accredited management systems certification body. PRS holds the recognition of the European Commission for sea and inland navigation vessels and the authorization of 42 maritime administrations to act on their behalf.

The company’s mission is to help ensure the safety of people, floating and land objects, cargo, and environmental protection.

PRS’ areas of activity include:

• classification, convention, appraisal, and technical supervision over the construction, reconstruction, and operation of ships, yachts, and floating objects, including warships and special units;
• technical supervision over the production of materials for the construction, repair, and equipment of ships;
• recognition of products and companies;
• technical supervision over the design, construction, and operation of various types of technical infrastructure facilities and devices, including offshore installations;
• certification of products and management systems;
• certification and examination of welding personnel;
• training.

PRS also conducts research and scientific work on issues related to the safety of ship’s structures and creates tools enabling the necessary analyses and simulations of the ship’s behavior, structure, and equipment in conditions affecting vessel safety.

The second day of the ZEVInnovation Project Workshop in Poland was held in CRIST, October 13th. The workshop was held in Gdańsk and Gdynia from 12 to 14 October 2022. Companies from Poland and and Croatia presented their production potential during two workshops.

The ZEVInnovation Workshop of the Project and BSSC Partners began with a study visit at the CRIST Shipyard. The Croatian side was represented by: Boris Cosić and Lovro Frković from CTT, and Bojan Bajić and Vedran Didara from IIR. The Norwegian Maritime Cluster was represented by: Barbara Salopek and Solene Fereon from VINCO, and Erlend Rodal and Per Ingeberg from ÅKP.

The guests and Polish participants of the meeting were welcomed by Marek Grzybowski, President of the Board of the Baltic Sea and Space Cluster.

12 innovative projects in production

– Currently, CRIST is implementing 12 innovative projects, including an electric ferry for a recipient from Finland. The production site of CRIST occupies over 28 ha adjacent to the port of Gdynia. As a relatively warm area, ice-free harbor waters, with good navigation conditions and with almost no tidal effects, it is easily accessible from the Atlantic through the Baltic sea – says Mirosław Roliński. He added – The production processes are performed in 4 production halls with 61 gantry cranes and portal cranes with a lifting capacity of up to 120 tons.

The visit to the shipyard was a chance to present the production process of innovative ships. Currently, almost every ship build in the shipyard has the character of a unique project. The presentation of the shipyard began in the production halls and went through the prefabrication hall and the module assmble workshop. In the halls, steel structures are cut, cleaned of rust, painted, and welded into structural elements of ships.

[…]

Round table discussion

After the presentations of the Baltic Sea and Space Cluster companies, together with partners from Norway and Croatia, a Round Table discussion was held.

On the Polish side, the discussion was attended by BSSC Memebers representatives and Marek Grzybowski, BSSC President, Krzysztof Anzelewicz, Vice President of BSSC, and Jacek Milewski, Financial Director of CRIST, Member of the CRIST Board, Coordinator of the Polish ZEV HUB.

The main goal of the Round Table was the use of the potential of ZEVInnowation HUB for international cooperation in the production of electric ships and innovative solutions that can be used in the design of ZEV.

Representatives of maritime clusters from Croatia, Norway and Poland have the potential to jointly create innovations supporting the design and production of ZEV on the international market – this is the general conclusion of the Round Table discussion.

ZEV Warkshop in CRIST with StoGda

ZEVInnovation Project 3 days Workshop in Poland was held in Gdańsk and Gdynia, from 12 to 14 October 2022. Companies from Poland, Norway and Croatia presented their production and service potential during two workshops.

ASE Group companies were presented during the 1st day of the meeting, 12th October. The companies representatives presented their experience, competences and market potential in creating innovations and new ideas.

The workshop participants were welcomed by Marek Grzybowski, President of the Management Board of BSSC, and Boris Cosić, Managing Director at Center of technology transfer, LLC (CTT), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb.

Baltic Sea and Space Cluster is a partner of the ZEVInnovation Project for strengthening transnational cooperation, knowledge and technology transfer in development of electric vessels and fostering innovations in SMES.

Among the participants were Boric Cosić and Lovro Frković from CTT, Bojan Bajić and Vedran Didara from IIR, Barbara Salopek and Solene Fereon from VINCO, Erlend Rodal and Per Ingeber from AKP.

On the Polish side, the meeting was attended by: Arkadiusz Marat and Patryk Jeż from ELMECH, Dariusz Jachowicz, Adam Jachowicz and Mateusz Cieślak from ASE Group, Andrzej Rapicki from WAELLER, and Krzysztof Anzelewicz from BSSC.

[…]

Energy Storage

The operation and use of the energy storage was explained by Arkadiusz Marat, CEO of Elmech. The energy storage presented is within the area of the ASE Group operations. It stores the energy obtained from solar panels.

So we have many questions, including the most important: How does energy storage work?

– The energy storage process involves transformation and containment of electric energy from a specific source, now from the solar panels, into another form of energy which can then be transformed back into electric energy. Furthermore, the energy storage facilities are a key element in the improvement of both the stability of power supply and the quality parameters of the provided Energy – Arkadiusz Marat.

What are the advantages of energy storage? – we are asking.

– Provision of power supply during halted production, satisfying increased demand, stabilisation of voltage and other parameters of electric Energy, increased effectiveness of the management over the produced or purchased electric energy, minimisation of energy costs, instant energy source, an adjustment function during peak load, energy network balancing, energy stability, independence from selling/purchasing energy within the partial recovery system – these are the main advantages of energy storage, says Marat. Then Mateusz Cieślak showed the production part of Automatic System Engineering.

The workshop were conducted by Marek Grzybowski, President of the Managemnt of the Baltic Sea and Space Cluster. CTT and IRR from Croatia and Vinco and ÅKP from GCE Blue Maritime Cluster Norway participated in the meeting. Elmech, Biproraf, Projmors and CNK/LKK and ASE Group representatives, members of the Baltic Sea and Space Cluster, participated in the meeting.

More: ZEV Workshop in ASE TECHNOLOGICAL GROUP