Monthly Archives: April 2024

World’s Largest Hydrogen-Powered RoPax to be Built at Norway’s Myklebust

The designs have been finalized and the shipyard was chosen for an ambitious project to build two of the world’s largest hydrogen-fueled passenger and car ferries. The project has been in development for several years with the designs initially approved in 2022 and now with the shipyard selected, Norway expects the vessels will be delivered in 2026. “There are no other maritime hydrogen projects internationally that come close to the scale and ambitions of this project,” says Marius Hansen Managing Director of Norwegian ferry company Torghatten Nord. He recognizes that extensive time was spent developing the designs for the pioneering vessels noting that there has been a strong focus on safety and developing the Norwegian suppliers. The project selected Myklebust Verft to build the two ferries. They are calling it a big boost for Norwegian technology and the shipyard. The project is expected to set the standard for a new class of ship and continue Norway’s leadership in sustainable shipbuilding. The two hydrogen fueled RoPax ferries were designed by Norwegian Ship Design. Each vessel will be approximately 380 feet (117 meters) long with a capacity to carry 120…

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Japanese Partner Up on Anti-Roll Tank Research for Large Containerships

ClassNK has signed a joint R&D agreement with Nihon Shipyard and IMC to ensure the safety and performance evaluation of anti-roll tanks (ART) installed on large containerships. Under the R&D agreement, Nihon Shipyard, IMC, and ClassNK will work together to expand the application of ART to large containerships. Utilizing the obtained data and knowledge, each party will collaborate to ensure the safer application of ART on an actual ship and performance evaluation. AS part of the partnership, Nihon Shipayard will design of optimal installation plan of ART on large containerships, IMC will conduct demonstration of ART's reduction effect on ship’s roll, while ClassNK establish the appropriate evaluation methods for ART. An ART is a device designed to suppress the ship's roll by moving liquid, such as water, within the tank. Consideration for ART installation on large containerships is advancing due to the expectation of improving container loading efficiency by reducing roll motion and preventing parametric roll, which is regarded as one of the causes of container collapse accidents. The parametric role is a type of resonance phenomenon where ship’s roll amplifies, that occurs when the natural roll period…

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Baltic Dry decreased 406 points or 19.39% since the beginning of 2024

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, a measure of global shipping costs, eased two points to 1,683 points on Wednesday, after an uptick in the previous session, as the supramax index shed 7 points at 1,478 points. Meanwhile, the capsize index, which typically transports 150,000-ton cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose by 0.8% to 2,116 points, still hovering around three-month lows; and the panamax index, which usually carries about 60,000-70,000 tons of coal or grain cargo, added 2 points to 1,847 points. Forecast Baltic Dry decreased 406 points or 19.39% since the beginning of 2024, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Baltic Exchange Dry Index is expected to trade at 1770.77 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts’ expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 2055.19 in 12 months’ time.

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