First Containership with Integrated Automation Systems Departs Korea
South Korea highlights that the first containership designed with an integrated automation system has completed its installation and testing and is now starting international service. The project which was supported by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is designed to advance and commercialize autonomous shipping. The automation systems for the vessel, POS Singapore (22,867 dwt) were designed in South Korea as part of a government-sponsored program to develop the new technologies. PAN Ocean, South Korea’s bulk shipping company, is participating in the program and worked to integrate the systems into the 1,800 TEU vessel. POS Singapore was ordered in 2022 and built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan. It measures 576 feet (172 meters) in length and is registered in Liberia. The ship was floated in March and delivered in April. Since then, it has been undergoing the outfitting and testing of the automation system. During today, September 23, sendoff ceremony, government officials highlighted that the ship will be used for the next year in testing and validation of the automation systems. The ship is currently underway bound for Shanghai. It will operate for…
Denmark Sets Restrictions for Transit of Ammonium Nitrate Laden Vessel
The saga of the bulker Ruby, laden with a potentially explosive cargo, continues with the authorities in Northern Europe closely tracking the vessel’s movements. The resolution of the situation remains unclear as the ship continues to hold 20,000 tons of ammonium nitrate which is causing concern over the dangerous nature of the cargo under certain conditions. Reports say it has seven times the amount of the material that caused the devastating explosion in Beirut in 2020. The vessel arrived off Denmark on Friday, September 20, continuing to declare it is bound for Klaipeda, Lithuania where it was scheduled to undergo repairs. The vessel’s hull cracked in an Arctic storm in late August, which was confirmed in a Port State inspection in Norway. Media reports are saying the rudder and propeller are also damaged. Ruby has been holding near the entrance to the Skagerrak, the first leg of the passage around Denmark and into the Baltic. The vessel has been sitting there for approximately 24 hours with an anchor handler tug, Amber II, also registered in Malta, appearing to be escorting the ship. For a time earlier in the week, the vessel…