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Articles by Mark Riggio
Mark Riggio Responds To “Getting The Numbers Right”
Wendy Laursen’s article Getting the Numbers Right, published in the August issue of Maritime Reporter, sparked debate from ballast water management experts. Here Mark Riggio, owner of Simplify Ballast, LLC, provides his feedback on the article which outlines the challenges the industry has faced trying to reduce the occurrence of invasive marine species transferred by ballast water.
Manufacturers and suppliers supporting global implementation of biosecurity regulations
During the SAFETY4SEA Hamburg Forum 2024, Mark Riggio, Technical Director, BEMA, highlighted the critical importance of Ballast Water Treatment (BWT). He emphasized that while ballast water is indispensable for ensuring ship stability and safety, its proper treatment is crucial in preventing the spread of invasive aquatic species. Ballast Water Treatment: Why was that important again?
Op-Ed: Navigating uncharted waters for BWMS operations
March 24, 2022 Environment, Op-Eds, Technology Written by Mark Riggio, head of marine for Filtersafe talks BWMS. By Mark Riggio, Head of Marine, Filtersafe As the sun sets on the first quarter of 2022, the world may seem a more frightening and unstable place than it did three weeks ago.
Advancing ballast water industry standards helps achieve compliance
August 06, 2021 Environment, Op-Eds, Perspectives, Technology Written by Heather Ervin By Mark Riggio, Head of Marine, Filtersafe Most ballast water management system (BWMS) testing is based on theoretical means that do not reflect the challenging conditions found in locations where sediment-rich waters can cause systems to fail. In light of MEPC 76, Mark Riggio, Head of Marine at Filtersafe, explains how and why the industry needs to drive higher testing standards.
DNV GL Energy Transition Outlook: Stronger policies needed to meet climate goals
Our work...gives us the confidence to say that technology can deliver the future that we desire – including meeting the 1.5°C warming limit established by the IPCC. The critical questions are how and when that technology is to be applied in the context of the policies – for example the 2020 update of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – and market mechanisms driving decarbonization, ...says Remi Eriksen, Group President and CEO, DNV GL.
Maersk issues Environmental Fuel Fee, updates Bunker Adjustment Factor
Thus, Maersk provides an update on its Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF). [The Bunker Adjustment Factor is designed to adjust contract rates within the duration of a contract, based on fluctuations in fuel-related costs. It applies to contracts with validity longer than 3 months.] Maersk adds that in 2019 they calculated the BAF using the fuel price for high-sulphur fuel (3.5% sulphur).
Grand Bahama shipyard back in operation after Dorian
Specifically, the shipyard confirmed that it will commence its operations on Wednesday, September 11. The shipyard's vice president, Graham Couser, stated There is no significant damage to the shipyard. However, the island has suffered badly with personal tragedies and major infrastructure damages.
Norway discovers seabed minerals using AUVs
3,900 line kilometres of geophysical seabed data was acquired using three AUVs operating simultaneously, collecting data as they passed about 50 meters above the seabed at a speed of three knots. The data acquisition has provided seabed maps with a resolution of one meter in water depths up to 3,000 meters.
AIDAperla receives largest battery storage system
Specifically, the batteries are to be produced in Norway in 2020. The 300-meter-long cruise ship receives a battery pack capable of generating a total output of 10 MWh. As of today this will be the largest battery storage system worldwide to be ever installed on a passenger ship. The company informs that the technology will be rolled out to other AIDA and Costa cruise ship.
SAFETY4SEA Megabox Forum: Key challenges as growth in containership sizes continues
Sponsors of the first Megabox Forum were: Alaska Maritime Prevention & Response Network, Albatross Adjusters Limited, Braveheart Marine BV, Clean Sea, Combi Lift, C Solutions, DÖHLE GROUP, Pro Liquid, The Standard P&I Club, T&T Salvage, Taylor Marine TR Little and TCI Maritime Consultants. Opening the event, Olivier Texier, Department Director – Marine Safety Environment Division, CMA CGM and Mauricio Garrido, President, T&T Salvage LLC welcomed delegates, introducing briefly the agenda.
Project eyes sustainable heat using sources from Port of Rotterdam
The Ministry announced this week that energy network operator Gasunie will be responsible for the further development of the first phase of a main heat transmission grid in the province of Zuid-Holland. The delivered heat will replace the use of natural gas in homes, businesses and greenhouses. The resulting reduction of CO2 emissions are expected to contribute significantly to achieving the climate objectives. It is expected that the first deliveries of heat will take place in 2023.
Taiwanese offshore wind farm produces its first power
The generated power set a milestone for Taiwan's offshore wind industry and marked the first step towards achieving the Taiwanese government’s ambitions of installing 5.7GW offshore wind by 2025. The 20 wind turbines for the second stage of Formosa 1 are expected to be in operation in the two months following. Overall, wind turbine commissioning is the final stage of completing an offshore wind farm.
First hybrid cruise ship completes Northwest Passage crossing
Only a few years ago, building cruise ships with battery packs was considered impossible; now the MS Roald Amundsen pays tribute to the great explorer she is named after by traversing one of the world’s most fabled stretches of sea by hybrid propulsion, ...says Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam. For centuries, the renowned passage connecting East and West has spellbound ocean explorers.
China launches maritime surveillance drones in South China Sea
Specifically, the drone network consists of a number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UVAs), equipped with high-definition cameras, road-mobile communication vehicles which act as transmission relay stations, as well as a satellite-based maritime information communication network. Moreover, the signals can be uploaded to the satellite network as images or live streams and be used at the bureau’s command headquarters in the southern province of Guangdong.
Polish forces board Greenpeace vessel, detain protesters
Greenpeace is protesting to stop the use of coal, the most carbon-intensive fuel source presently available on the market. Greenpeace was protesting against the bulker Indian Goodwill as it arrived at Gdansk from Mozambique, where coal production is undergoing a revival after years of stagnation. In its twitter account, Greenpeace published a video presenting Polish customs officials breaking into the vessel's wheelhouse and ordering the crew to lie on the deck.
New report unveils steps to grow UK maritime businesses
The report, entitled 'Catching the Wave' has been authored by the consultancy PwC and was published on 9 September on the sidelines of London International Shipping Week 2019. The UK has long been the global leader for professional maritime services, but faces increasing competition from centres including Singapore, US, China and Norway. The global market for maritime services is estimated to be worth $20bn.
ITF calls for transparent resolution on Stena Impero case
We strongly urge a swift and transparent resolution to this matter so that we can also celebrate their safe return home, ...said Dave Heindel, ITF seafarers section chair. In line with an ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the British-flagged Stena Impero was detained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on July 19 in the Strait of Hormuz, for alleged marine violations. Iran released seven of the 23 crew members of the Stena Impero last week- one Russian, one Latvian and five Indian nationals.
BP to monitor methane emissions in oil and gas projects
According to the company's statement, the technology has already been tested and installed in existing facilities, as BP’s giant natural gas Khazzan field in Oman. The data gathered from the new technology will be used to help BP tackle methane emissions and develop the best practices, following its aim on delivering and improving BP’s methane intensity target of 0.2% from its upstream operations.
IMO's meeting considers implementation of international regulation on ports
During the meeting, the IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim reminded the audience that the IMO Convention does give the Organization a mandate to regulate in ports and some current IMO regulations do indeed extend to port operations, such as those surrounding security, reception facilities and the Facilitation (FAL) Convention. GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX! Name: He continued that there are additional things to explore and improve the cooperation between shipping, ports and logistics.
UK announces further investment on low carbon shipping
The announcement was made by Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani on 10 September and comes in continuation of an earlier £1 million UK investment to support early stage clean maritime projects. This brings a total of £2.3 million grant by UK to support the development of trailblazing maritime technology. I am delighted to announce this fantastic funding for pioneering research, bringing the UK ever closer to zero emission shipping.
One attempted armed robbery against ship off Indonesia
While the ship was at Tanjung Uban anchorage, Pulau Bintan, Indonesia on 7 August, three perpetrators using grappling hooks attempted to board the chemical tanker from a small craft with outboard engine. Upon sighting of the perpetrators, the crew sounded the ship's horn and general alarm. The perpetrators subsequently aborted the attempt. The crew was safe, and nothing was stolen. The incident was reported to the local port authority.
Georgia fourth country to join EU LRIT Cooperative Data Centre
Following, authorised users from Georgia are able to access LRIT information on Georgian flagged vessels worldwide and foreign vessels approaching their ports in a cost effective way. The application made in November 2017 was considered in light of the criteria listed in the Council Resolution concerning the EU LRIT CDC, and was accepted in March 2019. The additional IMO assessments were completed in July 2019.
UK, port of Southampton launch UK first port economic partnership
This initiative is part of UK's strategy 'Maritime 2050-Navigating the Future'. The British Government supported that the creation of Port Economic Partnerships will enable the creation of a strong business environment for ports to thrive, in turn, boosting trade and driving the national economy.
Cargo ship refused access to Paris MoU region
The ship flies the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis which is grey on the current Paris MoU WGB list. Therefore under the provisions of section 4 of the Paris MoU, Article 16 of EU Council Directive 2009/16/EC, the ship will be refused further access to any port and anchorage in the Paris MoU region, except a port and anchorage of the ship’s flag State. This refusal of access will become applicable immediately after the ship is authorized to leave this port and anchorage.
Major shipping stakeholders discuss maritime's future during LISW
As IMO's sulphur cap regulation is approaching - January 1, 2020 - the shipping industry is at a transformation stage, there is still an uncertainty about the worldwide supply of permissible fuels and concern about the safety and compatibility of fuel options.
EMSA's RPAS participate in oil response exercises in Denmark and Germany
In late December 2018, EMSA signed four contracts for maritime surveillance services based on remotely piloted aircraft systems, as the demands on surveillance were increased. This service is characterised by an automatic observation pattern navigation for target tracking and identification of potential polluters, and for oil spill characterisation -size, thickness, subparts, etc.- using the appropriate sensors.
Transocean Barents suspends operations due to worker's injury
Specifically, the Canadian regulator informed that an employee on the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Transocean Barents was injured while preparing the rig for forecasted weather. The worker was caught between a steel adapter weighing 1400kg and a rail during crane operations. In light of the injury, the operations were halted and the medic and response team were called.
ClassNK establishes cross-sectional cyber security team
Cyber security for ships is entering a practical stage, including the IMO's MSC resolution encouraging administrations to ensure that cyber risks are appropriately addressed in existing safety management systems, no later than the first annual verification of the company’s Document of Compliance after 1 January 2021. At the same time, consideration of more high level countermeasures envisaging the future of autonomous ships is also required of the industry.
Washington sees hybrid-electric ferry building programme
Namely, Vigor is a firm supporter of hybrid-electric solutions, while also the Governor aims to accelerate the state's transition into achieving a cleaner energy future. Vigor has constructed the last twelve ferries in the WSF fleet and is following the evolution of hybrid-electric solutions.
DP World to complete merger of Topaz and P&O by end 2019
DP World bought Dubai-based oil services company Topaz in July with the intention of combining it with P&O Maritime, as part of efforts to diversify beyond its core port operations to other marine-related sectors. The merged entity, to be known simply as P&O, is expected to give Topaz a presence in new markets, including Australia and South America, Reuters reported. We certainly see this as a pathway to continue and perhaps accelerate…growth as a combined entity under DP World.
Stena Impero could soon be released, Iran says
I hope the procedures will be completed soon and this tanker will be released, ...Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi was quoted as saying by Reuters. In line with an ongoing crisis in the Middle East, Stena Impero was detained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on July 19 in the Strait of Hormuz, for alleged marine violations.
Japanese oil company stocks VLSFO at Chiba
Specifically, Cosmo Oil produces VLSFO at its residue desulfurizer (RDS) unit at its Chiba refinery near Tokyo to build stocks. Cosmo Oil’s President Shunichi Tanaka said on Sunday, ahead of the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC) stated that We still have some spare capacity at our residue desulfurizer so we can produce more low-sulfur fuel oil to supply to the bunker market.
UK ports should serve Strong Ports features to succeed after Brexit
Drewry conducted a research resulting to some key factors that will make a port resilient and robust through all weathers, such as: Productivity and efficiency – fundamentally, the success of any port will remain underpinned by the competitiveness it offers to customers both on the water and inland; Active role in supply chains – A compelling proposition to customers has to be more than just the traditional role of goods handling.
ABS: Guide for exhaust emission abatement
This Guide focuses on the safety and reliability aspects of exhaust emission abatement equipment that fall within the scope of traditional Classification requirements and is to be applied to those Exhaust Gas Cleaning (EGC) systems covering SOx scrubbers, SCR systems, and EGR arrangements.
Smart Green Shipping Alliance to develop a digital tool quantifying the wind
When commercially available, the digital evaluation system will provide projected annual fuel savings accrued by retrofitting any ship with SGSA’s FastRig wingsail technology or by integrating the technology in to a new-build ship design. GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX! Name: By using this systems, the users will be able to quantify potential fuel savings for any ship sailing specific routes at different speeds.
ESPO: The Ten-T review must recognize the new roles of ports
The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is a planned network of roads, railways, airports and water infrastructure in the European Union, firstly adopted in 1990. European ports remain strong supporters of the 2013 Europe’s Transport Infrastructure Policy, which literally put the seaports on the TEN-T map. It is now time to adapt the framework to the new market realities, new challenges and new needs.
Inmarsat: Startups play a crucial role in maritime digitalization growth
Namely, the report focuses on the term 'startup' explaining that startup is a temporary organisation built to explore and identify a business model that is viable, repeatable, and scalable. The research into maritime startups was conducted for Inmarsat by UK GovTech venture firm and research house, PUBLIC. The report was co-authored by Nick Chubb, technologist and founder of Thetius, a technological company and Leonardo Zangrando, Founder of Startup Wharf Ltd.
Port of Long Beach marks 87% cut in diesel emissions
In addition to diesel particulates, the study found the Port’s smog-forming nitrogen oxides have reduced by 56% since 2005. Sulphur oxides were down 97% and greenhouse gases are 16% lower. While emissions remain dramatically lower than they were in 2005, the Port-funded study for 2018 found a small increase in diesel particulates and GHG emissions from the previous year’s inventory.
Panama Canal partners with Port of Rotterdam in support of global trade
Both parties will be able to exchange expertise and knowledge on their technological capabilities, aiming at implementing digital tools and applications to enhance transport efficiency and cost reduction. The MoU includes the exchange of market studies, transit data and modernizations plans, as well as joint training programs, studies and marketing activities between the two parties.
Smart Watch - Digitalization and automation: friends or foes?
Digitalization and automation: friends or foes? Are they going to help us to move forward? Dimitris Patrikios, CEO, Kyklades Maritime Corp. Instead of digitalization and automation, I would use the word modernization and adaptation. We are living in a digital world where we have availability in data; however, we need to change the way people think and use these data within the organizations. That means, from abundance of data, we need to make valuable information.
Mexico busts 49kg cocaine hidden in cargo vessel in Altamira port
According to local sources, the Cyprus-flagged general cargo vessel arrived at the port of Altamira on September 5 from Colombia's Barranquilla port. After arriving at the port, the vessel was inspected and the authorities located the drugs in the bulk carrier’s cargo hold that was loaded with iron ore. The Mexican Naval forces continued supervising the discharge of the ship’s cargo in order to rule out the possibility of more hidden packages.
Crane vessel accomplishes a world's first 15,300 tonnes lift
Specifically, Sleipnir installed the two main topsides with a total weight of 24.500 tonnes in less than 20 hours. According to the company, Sleipnir was opted for the operation to save budget; as Sleipnir is capable of lifting large and commissioned modules, the installation process takes less offshore time and is therefore less costly. GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX! Name: Moreover, Sleipnir began operations last July and belongs to Heerema Marine Contractor’s fleet.
CHIRP issues paper on critical decision making at sea
The paper was issued in collaboration with the Arts & Sciences and Neuroscience Departments at University College London. Overall, the report focuses, further explains and covers the following: making critical decisions as an individual; making critical decisions as a group communicating in challenging conditions; creating a positive error culture around mistakes and responsibility; understanding the role of intuitive decisions; how to develop critical decision-making abilities through training.
UK invests in new ship to boost safety in domestic waters
General Lighthouse Authority is responsible for providing more than 600 aids to navigation around UK waters, including ships, lighthouses and buoys, and helping thousands of mariners every year. The vessel – which is yet to be named – is expected to replace the ageing THV Patricia that has been in service since 1982.
SeaSense – Expert Thinking on ISPS Code - SAFETY4SEA
Is the ISPS Code sufficient and relevant for modern security threats? John Southam Loss Prevention Executive The North of England P&I Club Dr . Philip Belcher Marine Director INTERTANKO YES – The Code is worded so it can cover the changing landscape of security threats. Whether ship operators and crew can enforce the requirements through attending short courses and using limited equipment is another matter.
Royal Navy deploys additional medical military personnel to the Bahamas
Specifically, the 18 medical personnel are military personnel who work among the UK National Health Service and they are sent anywhere in the world to provide medical help when it is needed. They are able to provide a higher tier of medical support – known as a Role 2 capability. A Role 1 team, which can deal with everyday illnesses and injuries, is already embarked.
Federal agents issue search warrant on operator of ill-fated Conception
For the time there have been no criminal charges filed, whereas the Santa Barbara County sheriff's Lt. Erik Raney stated that the search warrant is a typical process of an investigation. GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX! Name: The owner of the Truth Aquatics, Glen Fitzler, commented that the company has filed a pre-emptive civil lawsuit claiming that its liability for the fire is limited to the value of the vessel itself.
USCG: Preventing potential spreading of stony coral tissue loss disease from ballast water
USCG and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as participants of the Caribbean Coral Reef Partnership, were recently provided information regarding the rapid spread of SCTLD throughout the Caribbean, a lethal disease that rapidly destroys the soft tissue of many different species of coral. The disease first appeared off the coast of Miami-Dade County, Florida, in September 2014.
Lessons learned: Non-compliance linked to fatal vessel sinking
The incident On the 23rd May 2018, the casualty, operating a 21-foot open boat departed from an unidentified location near Clifden, believed to be a pier close to the townland of Coolacloy, Co. Galway, to commence laying lobster pots. He was on his third run of the day and departed in the late afternoon. After approximately one hour, he contacted a friend by mobile phone saying the vessel was taking on water and he was in trouble.
UK to launch Caribbean-based disaster relief ship
Specifically, Tony Graham, Cammell Laird Chief Operating Officer, informed that the vessel's design is based on a variety of Cammell Laird’s Ro-Pax platform, while developed with ship designers Leadship; The vessels was first unveiled at the Nor Shipping trade fair. Also, Cammell Laird comments that it's a first-of-its-kind disaster relief and training vessel that will have a strong, versatile commercial ro-pax capability.
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