China is Putting New Energy and Investment Into Tidal Power

Guodian United Power / Zhejiang University

PUBLISHED FEB 5, 2023 6:22 PM BY CHINA DIALOGUE OCEAN

 

[By Han Qin]

The ebb and flow of the tide powers a turbine while the sun shines on solar panels. In May 2022, China’s first combined tidal and solar power station started feeding electricity to the grid, and the media waxed lyrical: “The sun and moon work together to generate power both above and below the waves.” This is a new model for power generation in China and marks an important step forward for integrated ocean energy. It is expected the electricity generated will power 30,000 homes.

With the need to achieve a global energy transition ever more pressing, the ocean and its vast and widespread energy are getting more attention.

The EU, US, Australia and China have all put policy frameworks in place to promote development of ocean energy. The EU has moved fastest. In terms of generating capacity, the bloc accounted for two-thirds of new tidal installations worldwide in 2021, and half of all wave energy.

According to estimates from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), generation capacity from ocean energy installations could reach 3 gigawatts (GW) in the next five years, then 70 GW in 2030 and 350 GW in 2050 – the equivalent of over 100 Three Gorges Dams.

That might seem a drop in the ocean given China’s total installed power generation capacity of 2,000 GW. But ocean energy is being seen as key for energy security, relieving coastal and island energy shortages, and boosting international competitiveness in marine tech. China has, therefore, put top-level plans in place to encourage research and utilisation in the field. According to a 2019 report from the Ministry of Natural Resources’ National Ocean Technology Centre, by the end of 2018 China had 7.4 MW of ocean-based generating capacity, which had produced a total of 234 GW hours of electricity since being installed.

There are ocean energy installations scattered along China’s coast. But the overall amount of energy available for exploitation is low. Below we will explore in detail the development of the five types of ocean energy and their future prospects in China. In short, tidal barrages are already in commercial use, while tidal stream generation, after almost ten years of development, is in the early stages of commercialisation. Wave power installations are undergoing sea trials. China’s technology in these fields is among the best in the world. In March, the country’s first megawatt-scale tidal stream station was hooked up to the grid in Zhejiang and is expected to generate at least 1 GWh a year. Meanwhile, ocean thermal energy is undergoing scale-model tests and salinity gradient energy is being tested in laboratories.

However, Wu Lixin, head of Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, and vice president of the Ocean University of China, says China still lacks strategic plans and policy support for ocean energy, while construction and generation costs remain high. To accelerate growth, he calls for mid- and long-term development plans, regulation and funding.

Tidal barrages

Tidal barrages work much like hydropower dams. A dam-like structure is used to retain tidal waters and the differences in water level are then used to drive turbines. This is currently the most commercially viable form of ocean energy and has been in use for decades. France’s Rance Tidal Power Station, an early tidal barrage, has been in operation since 1966.

In China, tidal barrages can be traced back to the 1950s. Over the past seven decades, China has built over 100 small-scale tidal barrages, but due to technical problems, planning issues and operational factors only two are still running, in Jiangxia and Haixia, both in Zhejiang province. The Jiangxia Experimental Tidal Power Station has been expanded and upgraded several times and is now the world’s fourth largest, with a 4.1 MW capacity.

Unfortunately, China’s coasts tend to see only small differences in water levels between high and low tide, which reduces efficiency. Between 2009 and 2015, China carried out initial feasibility studies at a number of locations suitable for tidal barrages between 10 and 99 MWs. It found the “factory gate” cost of electricity would be between 1.386 yuan and 2.6 yuan per kilowatt hour. This was similar to costs seen internationally, but higher than hydropower or solar. In 2021, wind and solar power in China was generating electricity for no more than 0.50 yuan per kilowatt hour.

However, new tech could make up for the limitations of tidal barrages. Combined tidal and solar generation can’t reduce costs yet but can increase stability of supply. Meanwhile, researchers in the UK, Holland and Australia are working on “open barrages” which will not block waterways and so would have less environmental impact.

In May 2022, China’s first combined tidal and solar power station started feeding electricity to the grid, in Wenling, Zhejiang province (Image: Alamy)

Tidal streams

Unlike tidal barrages, tidal stream generation relies not on differences in water levels between high and low tide, but on tidal water flowing in and out. They work in a similar way to wind turbines, converting flow into electricity.

In 2003, the world’s first tidal stream installation, a 300-kilowatt turbine, was placed in the waters off Lynmouth in the UK. The technology has been improving ever since. In 2015, the UK, Switzerland and other partners started work on the world’s largest tidal stream power station, Meygen, in Scotland’s Pentland Firth. A year later, it had a generating capacity of 6 MW. Eventually it is slated to have a capacity of 398 MW, almost 100 times the output of China’s Jiangxia site. That success spurred the tidal stream market and shifted the technology from pilot projects to commercial operation.

Globally, tidal stream is now the focus for commercial ocean energy generation. A report from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre listed ten emerging ocean energy technologies. Of those, four were tidal stream technologies and three are relevant to the field of ocean power generation.

China has been researching tidal stream generation since the 1980s and is one of the few countries to have mastered its use at scale. One project near Xishan Island, Zhoushan, Zhejiang has been creating electricity since 2016. In March 2022, a 1.03 MW turbine was added – reportedly the world’s largest individual tidal stream unit.

As of 2021, China ranked second globally for installed tidal stream generation, behind the UK. The prospects for commercial operation see bright.

The country does have plenty of resources to exploit. According to 1988 mapping, China had 13.95 GW of tidal energy generation potential in its waters. But that estimate would have been limited by the technology and survey techniques of the time, and the real number is likely to be larger. The province of Zhejiang is particularly rich in tidal stream potential, with 40% of the national total. In particular, Hangzhou Bay and the islands of the Zhoushan archipelago are world-class sites and it is fair to say China has a natural advantage here.

Wave power

The wind makes the waves, and their energy can be harnessed to drive generators. But capturing energy from waves is less efficient and less stable than doing so from tides.

Significant investment by countries including the UK, US, Australia and China has led to rapid development, but many different methods are used and the technology is mostly still in the demonstration stage. There is still some way to go before sea trials and commercial application.

Some technologies have progressed more rapidly through the research and development, sea trials and commercialisation stages. In the US, Ocean Power Technologies’ PowerBuoy uses a direct drive generator; while Denmark has the Wave Dragon overtopping device. These have all undergone extensive sea trials and are being hooked up to the grid.

Because China has a long coast, it has a lot of wave power resources to exploit. Geographical factors and monsoons make Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian particularly suitable. But wave intensity – wave power by area – is relatively low. Even China’s most wave-intense sites are only a tenth as powerful as the global average. That makes it hard to scale up devices and bring costs down.

Wu Bijun, an ocean energy researcher at the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, has said in a media interview that there are also challenges associated with protecting installations from typhoons as well as increasing efficiency.

Wu and his research team have focused on oscillating water column systems, which are relatively simple, safe, reliable and efficient. One such device developed in Scotland features a partly-submerged concrete structure that’s open at the bottom. As the sea oscillates up and down, it forces air through a turbine.

In 2019, tests by the National Ocean Technology Centre saw conversion efficiency of 50.73%. Such devices could be used to power marine instrumentation, marine ranches or islands.

Thermal and salinity gradients

The possibility of generating power from thermal and salinity gradients is also being investigated, but commercial use remains a way off.

Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) harnesses the temperature difference between the sun-warmed surface and colder deeper waters. This technique was initially proposed in the 19th century, while the first OTEC installation was built early in the 20th century, in Cuba. The 21st century has seen renewed interest in OTEC systems, thanks to improvements in heat circulation technology and on-land thermal gradient systems.

This form of ocean energy has more potential in Chinese waters than any other. According to calculations by Wang Chuankun, a researcher at the State Oceanic Administration’s Second Institute of Oceanology, and others, developing 1% of the potential (about 360 GW) would generate more power than all of China’s PV solar installations. But China only started research in this field in the 1980s and systems are still undergoing sea trials.

Salinity gradient systems, meanwhile, are even more recent and high cost. This technology remains in the proof of concept and lab test stage. Salinity gradients are found between seawater and freshwater, or two bodies of seawater with different levels of salt. This most commonly means where rivers flow into the sea.

In 2009, Norway’s Statkraft built a 10-kilowatt demonstration system. Seawater and freshwater are filtered and placed on either side of a membrane, creating an osmotic gradient. Water molecules from the freshwater side cross the membrane, creating pressure which can be used to drive turbines.

Interest in this technology is increasing around the world, particularly for the manufacturing of hydrogen from seawater and in deep-water aquaculture. Liu Weimin, a researcher at the First Institute of Oceanology who studies ocean renewables, has written that thermal gradient technology is suitable for remote islands in tropical waters, both in terms of potential resources and feasibility. The power generation could be combined with sea water air conditioning and desalination, he added.

Conclusions

China has funded over 100 ocean energy research projects since the 1980s. Currently, hundreds of researchers are working on these issues, with notable results. Costs remain the main obstacle, but as development of the coasts, islands and ocean continues, we will better know where to place such projects.

According to Li Wei, chief ocean energy researcher at Zhejiang University’s Ocean Academy, ocean energy can be located close to island power users. As the diesel-fuelled power generation currently used on islands can cost between 2 and 6 yuan per kilowatt hour, ocean energy is already a viable alternative. Also, offshore and underwater facilities have a pressing need for ocean-generated energy.

As Li Wei says, ocean energy is a triple-win for China’s strategic goals on carbon neutrality, renewable energy and high-end manufacturing. “We’ve got a good research foundation and conditions for commercialisation, representing a major opportunity.”

Han Qing is a former environmental journalist for Jiemian and Beijing News, with a focus on climate and biodiversity.

This article appears courtesy of China Dialogue Ocean and may be found in its original form here. 

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

 

Study: UK Offshore Methane Leakage is Five Times the Official Estimate

File image

PUBLISHED JAN 29, 2023 7:31 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Climate-warming methane emissions from offshore oil and gas production in the UK are likely far higher than the British government's estimates, according to a new study from Princeton University's Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment (C-PREE). 

Methane, marketed as natural gas, has a global warming potential about 80 times higher than CO2 over the first 20 years of its lifespan. It is emitted during oil and gas production, transportation and processing, and is also produced in quantity by livestock and by landfills. It is the second-largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide, but it breaks down on a relatively short timeline - so cutting methane emissions is a quick way to slow down global warming in the short term. In recognition of its importance, over 100 nations have pledged to cut methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030. 

According to a new study by researchers at Princeton University and Colorado State University, the UK's current methods for estimating methane emissions from the offshore oil and gas sector are "systematically and severely" undercounting the true level. The study finds that up to five times more methane is released into the atmosphere on the UK Continental Shelf than the government currently reports. 

The study covered all stages of offshore E&P, and it took a close look at the UK's standard emissions factors for various activities, like flaring, processing, onboard power generation and pipeline transfer. The research team found that the UK's estimates rely on emissions factors that would tend to underrepresent the true values. Some are outdated; some come from industry research that is not available to the public; and some are generic values from global averages. Few can be adjusted to account for weather conditions or procedural changes that could affect each activity's emissions levels. The government estimation method also leaves out leakage from idle rigs. 

Riddick and Mauzerall created an updated estimation technique based on factors from the scientific literature, as well as direct boat-based measurements of methane concentration in the air around North Sea platforms. Their final result suggests that emissions are five times higher than the UK government's estimates. 

Many other nations use similar methods of counting, so "this severe underestimation is likely not confined to the UK alone," the authors suggested. 

“We hope our work will facilitate improved emission estimates and reductions not only from the UK but also from other countries producing methane from oil and gas extraction,” said Denise Mauzerall, a co-author and core faculty member of the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment at Princeton University. 

 

Denmark Awards First CO2 Storage Licenses Seeking to Build Industry

(Photo by Michael A. Orlando - CC BY-SA 3.0)

PUBLISHED FEB 6, 2023 6:08 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Denmark selected projects from Total Energies, INEOS E&P, and Wintershall DEA to receive the country’s first full-scale CO2 storage permits for projects in the North Sea. The recommendation from the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities marked the conclusion of the first of an annual tender for licenses for the exploration of full-scale CO2 storage on the Danish continental shelf as the country looks to the development of a new industry that will contribute to meetings its goals to reduce emissions.

The licenses pave the way forward for Denmark as an important puzzle piece in realizing the growing demand for CO2 storage capacity in Northern Europe the agency said in announcing that it had completed evaluating the applications. The Danish Energy Agency (DEA) reported it received two applications in the first round of licenses for CO2 storage in the Danish North Sea and that they had both met the requirements evaluated the technical and financial capacity as well as the technical content of the work programs presented by the companies in their applications. The final awarding of two licenses to TotalEnergies and one to the partnership between INEOS and Wintershall DEA will take place after a report is presented to the Climate, Energy and Utilities Committee of the Danish Parliament.

“Granting the first exclusive permits for full-scale CO2 storage in the North Sea is an important step into the future. CO2 capture and storage is an important element in the green transition. Today’s licenses are the result of effective implementation of the first Danish political agreements on CCS," says Kristoffer Böttzauw, DEA’s director.

Denmark believes that there are strong opportunities for this developing industry. The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has previously demonstrated that the Danish subsurface is particularly suitable for CO2 storage, both offshore and onshore, thus enabling the opportunity for Denmark to serve as a commercial hub for CO2 storage from all of Europe. They estimated that the Danish subsurface theoretically can store up to 22 billion tons of CO2. They said that would be equivalent to between 500 and 1000 years of total Danish emissions at current levels.

All the licenses contain the necessary geological structures that are suited to serve as permanent CO2 storage locations in the future. Under Danish regulations, permissions can initially be granted for exploration for up to six years, during which the exploring company has exclusive rights to the area. If a suitable location for CO2 storage is found, the permit can be extended for up to 30 years for storage operations. The specific storage projects must be approved by the DEA.

Denmark highlights that full-scale storage of CO2 offshore is a known technology that has been in operation in Norway since 1996. In Denmark, the technology will be tested in connection with Project Greensand, which is a pilot and demonstration project by INEOS E&P funded by the EUDP. Test licenses have previously been granted with the first injection programs being conducted in the first months of this year.

By 2025, INEOS and Wintershall expect that they can commence full operations at the Greensand project. Initially, they expect to inject up to 1.5 million tons of CO2 annually and by 2030 increase to an annual capacity of eight million tons. TotalEnergies' Bifrost project is expected to be operating by 2027 with an initial capacity of up to three million tons and expanding by 2030 to inject up to five million by 2030.

Nordsøfonden, the Danish national oil and gas company, will represent the interest of the state and participate with a share of 20 percent in each of the new licenses.
 

Top photo by Michael A. Orlando (CC BY-SA 3.0)

 

Alarm as Cases of Seafarers Abandonment Hit New Highs in 2022

Crew abandon in Taiwan in 2022 receiving help from local charities (Stella Maris photo)

PUBLISHED FEB 8, 2023 4:39 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The commercial shipping industry is grappling with growing condemnation after the number of abandoned seafarers continued to surge, hitting a new high of 103 in 2022. The trend is growing with the number of seafarers abandoned fast approaching the 10,000 mark in a span of two decades with just over 700 vessels involved according to a new report from the ESG platform RightShip.

Just a day after four seafarers were forced to seize a cargo ship off the port of Dakar in Senegal after months without pay and mounting danger to their lives, RightShip is reporting that 2022 saw the highest number of seafarers’ abandonment with 103 cases reported involving 1,682 seafarers. Equally concerning is that the growth is part of an ongoing trend over the past five years. In 2021, the number of reports stood at 94, up from 77 in 2020, 51 in 2019, and 50 in 2018. It has been five consecutive years of increases coming up from a low of mostly under 20 cases a year between 2000 and 2016.

The group reports that abandonment rates remained high in 2022 despite the resumption of access to global ports and the smoother movement of cargo as the disruptions created by COVID-19 eased. However, the fact that especially smaller shipping companies are still recovering from the pandemic’s impact as well as the collapse of freight rates in some segments while costs skyrocketed means that smaller ship owners and managers are still struggling financially and cannot meet their financial and welfare obligations to seafarers.

According to RightShip, the financial cost is mounting with the group estimating that over the past 20 years, unpaid wages to seafarers amounted to nearly $40 million. They noted that the current upward trend is similar to 2009, immediately after the global financial crash, when due to deep financial problems in the maritime markets when vessel and freight prices plummeted cases jumped to 65 in one year.

They also contend that the 2017 Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) rules, which empower seafarers abandoned and unpaid for two months to claim their wages via mandatory insurance, have also contributed to the rising cases. The rules compel shipowners to have insurance to assist seafarers if abandoned.

“When seafarer abandonment still happens, it is largely down to the ruthlessness of capitalism. Wanting to eliminate the issue means putting in place your best management practices to stop it. You can do this,” said Steen Lund, RightShip CEO.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) defines abandonment as when a shipowner can’t cover the cost of a seafarer’s repatriation or fails to pay wages and provide maintenance and support for at least two months. RightShip, however, highlights that the consequences can be far more dire. The reality they report is that crewmembers are being left without food, water, supplies, or medicine and are often cut off with little ability to communicate. 

According to the report, a total of 106 countries across the globe and 85 flag states have been involved in the abandonment cases with the United Arab Emirates being the worst offender with 89 cases. It is followed by Spain at 45, Turkey at 37, Iran at 34, and Italy at 25. RightShip’s data also shows that the most people abandoned by nationality are from India, with 1,491 seafarers. Ukraine and Russia are also recording a hike in the number of abandonment due to the current conflict.

General cargo ships at 31.2 percent, bulk carriers at 8.2 percent, and chemical product tankers at 7.2 percent have been identified as the worst offenders topping the list of 60 vessel descriptions cited as being involved with abandonment. In terms of age, vessels between 26 and 30 years constitute 16.7 percent of the total 703 abandoned vessels.

RightShip contends that with abandonment cases rising each year, the pressure is increasing for the IMO to come up with solutions that align with the MLC and go further to help seafarers. They note that the rising number of cases has led to a backlog of cases before the IMO. They report that a total of 247 cases are awaiting resolution. For 2022, 34 remain open, 17 are in dispute, and 41 were resolved.

RightShip wants to drive meaningful change calling for a better sharing of data while also citing the new efforts from the joint International Labor Organization–IMO Tripartite Working Group. RightShip has also launched its Crew Welfare Self-Assessment as a tool for companies to access and improve their crew welfare standards while they also call on charters to review a ship and owner's records and factor that into their business plans.

 

Seafarers Seize Ship Over Owed Wages and Owner Neglect

Image courtesy ITF

PUBLISHED FEB 7, 2023 11:14 AM BY INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT WORKERS' FEDERATION

 

Four seafarers, with assistance from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), have seized a cargo ship off the port of Dakar in Senegal after months without pay and mounting danger to their lives.

The four crew of the MV Onda (IMO 8912467) had been battling to have the engine of their vessel repaired. Port authorities have ignored their requests for help for more than a year.

Acting on behalf of the four crew, the ITF went to a Senegalese court to have the ship legally seized, as its ongoing position near a busy shipping lane left crew and others vulnerable to collision at night, with no engine to power the vessel’s warning lights.

The vessel remains seized until the owners pay the more than USD $84,000 owed in wages to the beleaguered crew. Seizing the vessel means the ship cannot be used by its owner until the debts are settled.

The ITF is also claiming costs from the owners as they left the ship at anchor for lengthy periods without providing adequate provisions for the crew, as a shipowner is obliged to under the Maritime Labour Convention and most seafarer contracts. The ITF has stepped in on several occasions to ensure the seafarers did not starve.

The ITF has confirmed that Mr Nguetsop Pierre Robinson, of Cameroon, has presented himself to the crew as the new owner of the ship. He has attempted to trick the crew into putting the vessel back into operation in exchange for empty promises that they will be paid at some point in the future. The crew have been advised that they stand very little chance of recovering what they’re owned if they accept this kind of deal.

In late January, the lawyers of the owner made a new approach, upping their offer to get the Onda moving. In trying to cut a deal with the Master of the vessel to get the vessel moving, they offered him a paltry USD $33,000. Well short of the $55,000 in wages the captain is owed. With his consent, the ITF rejected this insulting offer on behalf of the captain.

Senegal violates international law

However, the crew find themselves in limbo because they cannot leave the ship to go home while the dispute continues and port authorities have refused help despite clear obligations under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006) which Senegal has ratified. The MLC is also known as the 'Seafarers’ Bill of Rights'.

However, the authorities in Dakar refused to allow the ship into the port, claiming the port was too busy. The officials have persistently ignored requests from the ITF to intercede on behalf of the seafarers. They are effectively violating the terms of the MLC which gives them a clear responsibility to protect seafarer welfare when neither owner nor flag State steps in. In this case, the owners allowed registration of the ship to lapse some time ago, meaning there is no flag State. 

Video footage from French journalist Hugo Clement of TV Station France 5, who visited the ship in the last few weeks, shows it in an unsafe state of repair with dangerous control systems and unusable life boats. As the ITF reported last year, the ship is in a busy anchorage and has intermittently been left without lights at night putting the crew, and the crews of any ship that might collide with the Onda, in peril. 

“The Onda has been described as a ghost ship,” said Steve Trowsdale, Inspectorate Coordinator at the ITF, “left to its fate by the owners and authorities. Both have completely neglected their responsibilities to look after the crew. They seem not to care that four human beings have been left to rot with inadequate food and water and no way off the ship.”

“The ITF has seized the ship and is demanding that the owners pay the crew what they are owed, together with expenses the ITF has incurred, and the cost of getting the seafarers home. If they don’t respond, the next stage will be to go back to court to have the ship auctioned off to recoup this money," said the ITF's Trowsdale.

"The owners have been put on notice. These seafarers have suffered for long enough. I will have no hesitation in taking that step if they do not respond promptly," he said.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

 

Claims of U.S. Involvement in Nord Stream Attack Draw Scrutiny

A U.S. Navy EOD diver participates in the Baltops 2022 exercise, June 2022. Seymour Hersh's new report alleges that a U.S. covert operation used the exercise as cover (U.S. Navy file image)

PUBLISHED FEB 9, 2023 10:10 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Seymour Hersh has self-published a bombshell report suggesting that the Nord Stream pipeline attacks were carried out by the U.S. government, using a NATO minehunting exercise as cover. Russia and China have embraced the allegations and called for a closer investigation, while the Biden administration and U.S. security services have denied involvement.

Hersh has spent most of his multi-decade career studying sensitive national security secrets. He won a Pulitzer for breaking the story of the My Lai massacre in 1969, published extensive details on Israel's covert nuclear weapons program in 1991, and exposed the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in 2004, with many highlights in between. He has been lauded as a "quintessential investigative reporter" for his work, but in recent years he has also attracted criticism for his sourcing - in particular, a heavy reliance on a single anonymous source.

His latest report, released on his personal Substack page, suggests that the high-profile attack on the Nord Stream pipeline system was orchestrated by the Biden administration. Drawing primarily on information from a single anonymous source in the intelligence community, Hersh asserts that Biden's White House and the CIA planned a covert, time-delayed attack on the pipeline complex, executed months before the actual explosions. 

According to Hersh's source, an elite U.S. Navy dive team placed the explosives on all four Nord Stream pipes during the NATO BALTOPS 22 exercise in June 2022, with cooperative assistance from the Norwegian Navy. The source claimed that the detonators were fitted with hydroacoustic receivers, and on September 26, a Norwegian aircraft flew over and dropped a sonobuoy to trigger the blasts. Three out of four pipelines were destroyed, but the fourth remains intact; Danish and Swedish investigators have not released any conclusions as to the identity of the culprit, but have confirmed that the attack was sabotage.

Few leading American news publications have covered Hersh's independently-published report, and the reception has not been positive in Washington. The White House dismissed Hersh's allegations as "utterly false" on Wednesday, and the Pentagon told reporters that “the United States was not involved in the Nord Stream explosion." Hersh also quoted a CIA spokesperson as responding that his report was "completely and utterly false." 

The report received a somewhat warmer reception in Russia. On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state-owned RIA Novosti that the report generally aligns with Russia's perspective, and said that there would be "consequences" for the pipeline attack. "By and large, [Hersh's] publication confirmed a conclusion we made for ourselves—the official representative of the foreign ministry said yesterday that we never had any doubts that the United States, possibly other NATO countries, were involved in this outrageous sabotage," Ryabkov said. 

In Beijing, the story made the top page of state-owned China Daily. The Global Times, an English-language division of the People's Daily, made an in-depth review of Hersh's report its top story on Thursday. "Given previous US behaviors, Chinese experts believe that the Hersh report is highly credible and Washington's denial cannot hinder Russia's determination to dig out more evidence," Global Times assessed.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

 

Why ESG Matters for the Decarbonization of Shipping

PUBLISHED FEB 12, 2023 3:04 PM BY BRIAN GICHERU KINYUA

 

The Potential for ESG Strategies in Shipping’s Decarbonization

With shipping companies making ambitious investments in decarbonization, the debate around creation of robust ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategies for the industry has become imperative. New regulations - such as the inclusion of shipping in EU’s Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), as well as IMO’s EEXI and CII ratings - are also pushing shipping lines to consider sustainability.

It is apparent that sustainability has shifted from just a positive differentiator to increasingly becoming tomorrow’s license to operate. As a result, shipowners and operators face mounting pressure for environmental compliance from customers, regulators and investors.

Indeed, the shipping industry continues to lag behind other industries, with limited environmental transparency and climate actions largely in their infancy. Only 46 percent of the largest shipping companies have made pledges in line with IMO net-zero commitments and only 41 percent have GHG and sustainability reporting.

To navigate the changing business landscape, some industry stakeholders believe it is time for the shipping industry to embark on the ESG journey. This is the argument embodied in a new ESG Playbook for Shipping prepared by the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

“ESG compliance can drive commitment and action towards decarbonization and help shipping companies meet the rising request from customers and investors to deliver on environmental, social and governmental practices,” said Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO of Maersk- McKinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon shipping.

While the ESG concept may be relatively new in the shipping industry, it is a common feature of corporate disclosures, especially for listed companies. Essentially, ESG was born from UN Principles for Responsible Investment in 2004. The climate crisis has fueled popularity of ESG policies, mainly seen as an investment risk management framework and tool to encourage responsible investing. Thus, the Environmental, Social and Governance factors have become critical in investment decisions.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is the agency charged with the mandate to develop standards for ESG frameworks, but a customized industry-specific format - as provided for in the new ESG Playbook for Shipping - is highly beneficial.

As shipping grapples with decarbonization, an ESG strategy is a concrete approach to identify the most valuable focus areas, set specific targets and ensure organizational readiness to a new business landscape of sustainability.

There is a significant decarbonization potential in wider adoption of ESG practices in shipping. Thousands of vessels, millions of seafarers and gigatons of CO2 are currently not covered by any ESG ambitions.

“Those who do not act are leaving value on the table and will face mounting pressure from the entire shipping ecosystem, including customers and regulators, to act. They are at risk of deteriorating their current value by facing unmitigated risks while others unlock new value pools from ESG,” noted Peter Jameson, Partner and BCG’s global lead on maritime sustainability and decarbonization.

 

Michelin Receives Design AiP for First Inflatable Wing Sail

Michelin is developing an inflatable wing sail for commercial vessels (Michelin)

PUBLISHED FEB 10, 2023 2:26 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

France’s Michelin Group has been awarded an Approval in Principle (AiP) for its design for a wing sail system designed for commercial ships and pleasure crafts. Unlike other sail concepts, the Michelin design is an inflatable wing sail that is automated and full retractable. The design approval comes as Michelin is moving forward with tests of the system on an in-service Ro-Ro operating in Europe.

Introduced in 2021, the system which is known as WISAMO (Wing Sail and Mobility) was developed jointly by Michelin’s research and development department in collaboration with two Swiss investors and involves famed French long-distance sailor, Michel Desjoyeaux, the only person to twice win the Vendée Globe race. They said the design is suitable both for retrofits and new construction and especially suited to ro-ro ships, bulk carriers, and oil and gas tankers. 

The initial tests of a WISAMO sail were carried out on a sailing yacht in late 2021 and early 2022. In the second phase of the testing, they are installing a 100 sq. meter prototype which will help them to refine the technical aspects of the concept. 

The first technical tests demonstrated, Michelin reports, that the wing sail system offers a wide range of use, including “close-hauled” (headwind), providing what they believe is one of the widest operating ranges for modern sail technology. They project that it can be used on all maritime routes and because it is retractable, it provides easy access for navigation in ports and under obstacles such as bridges. The company expects to achieve up to a 20 percent energy saving from the use of the sail and reduce emissions.

“We are very pleased to receive this AIP for the WISAMO solution,” said Gildas Quemeneur, Initiative Leader at Michelin. “It is a very important step forward the further development of this innovative solution to contribute to maritime transport decarbonization. We are now ready for the wing sail usage on MN Pelican Ro-Ro that will allow experimental tests in heavy maritime conditions. All returns of experience will now contribute to build the larger WISAMO wing sail.”

The first installation on a commercial vessel, the 8,600 dwt Compagnie Maritime Nantaise ro-ro cargo vessel Pelican began in late 2022. The 508-foot-long vessel operates under charter to Brittany Ferries and sails between Poole, Great Britain and Bilbao, Spain. This installation will allow testing of the system under commercial maritime navigation conditions.

 

UK Grants Protection to Wreck of 19th Century Emigrant Ship

Among the wreck divers found rare examples of Victorian export ceramics (© Stefan Panis courtesy of Historic England)

PUBLISHED FEB 10, 2023 7:03 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The wreck of a 19th-century wooden sailing ship that represents the emigration and trade between the United Kingdom and New Zealand is set for long-term preservation after being listed for protection, some 167 years after it sank off the Kent coast. Historic England announced that the wreck Josephine Willis, which sank in 1856 killing 70 people including its captain, has been granted protection by scheduling by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in part because it has a cargo of exceptionally rare ceramics on board.

The British packet boat foundered approximately four miles south of Folkestone Harbour in Kent following a collision with the steamer Mangerton on February 3, 1856. Today the ship lies in two parts on the seabed approximately 75 feet below the surface. The wreck was identified by divers from Folkestone 501 diving club in 2018 and reported to Historic England via Wessex Archaeology.

Historic England explains that medium-sized packet ships were commonly used in the 18th and 19th centuries for transporting people, mail, and freight to Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Accounts by the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand show that Josephine Willis, a new 1,000-ton vessel, met its tragic fate during its second voyage to Auckland. Its first trip was also eventful, characterized by a mutiny by the crew, before the second trip ended in tragedy colliding with the Mangerton.

Protection of the wreck and its large cargo of ceramics, many of which are unknown in current museum collections, now means that recreational divers can dive to the wreck but its contents cannot be touched or disturbed.

 

The Josephine Willis featured in Illustrated London News 1856 - courtesy of Historic England

 

“The sinking of this passenger ship is a sad story of ordinary people being lost to the sea while taking the risk of a long journey to New Zealand in the search for a better life,” said Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England. “The other side to this story is of the rare cargo on board which gives us clues to help improve our knowledge of the Victorian export ceramics industry in the mid-19th century. The Josephine Willis fully deserves protection by scheduling.” 

Despite sitting at the bottom of the sea for more than a century and a half, some of the ship’s cargo of ceramics are still in their crates and several unknown patterns have been discovered on cups, plates, and bowls which have no equivalents within museum collections. There are also examples on the seabed of other patterns which were previously only known from ceramics that had been discarded at the kiln after becoming damaged or deformed during the firing process. The ceramics are all close in date and can be traced to three Staffordshire-based potteries namely Mexborough, Charles Meigh, and Davenport.

Although no plans of the ship have been found to date, documentation relating to the role of the vessel as an emigrant packet is known to survive within the National Library of New Zealand.

James Canney, a great, great, great, grandson of Captain Canney who died in the sinking, has been carrying out research into the construction of the ship and the people who chartered it. “I’m pleased the story of the loss of the Josephine Willis is being told and that the shipwreck is being protected,” he said.

According to Graham Scott, a Marine Archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, most of the ceramics being carried by ship were ordinary, affordable, mass-produced goods that most European settlers in New Zealand could at least aspire to own. However, by being relatively plain they tended to be of little interest to collectors and are often absent from museum collections.

 

 (© Stefan Panis courtesy of Historic England)

 

“So, these ceramics are both ordinary and special. Not only do they help shine a light on Victorian industry and trade and the lives of emigrants, but they also help fill important gaps in the collections that those museums preserve and display for us,” he noted.

Historic England said that only one other record for a ship of this type is held on the National Record of the Historic Environment, the 1877 wreck of the iron-hulled sailing vessel Avalanche, which is located outside territorial waters off the coast of Dorset.

The wreck of the Josephine Willis together with the scheduled wreck of the clipper ship South Australian, located in the Bristol Channel off Lundy, hold the potential to add to the knowledge of emigration to Australia and New Zealand during the second half of the 19th century.

 

Photos: Wreck of X-Press Pearl Lifted from Ocean Floor off Sri Lanka

Stern section of the X-Press Pearl was lifted in mid-January for transport to a recycling operation (MEPA)

PUBLISHED FEB 9, 2023 3:58 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Officials from Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment Protection Agency (MEPA) are reporting that they expected the remaining components of the containership X-Press Pearl which burnt and sunk off Colombo to be removed by this week. The second phase of the salvage operation was due to conclude with the removal of the wreck and a final clearing of remaining debris from the ocean floor.

The 37,000 dwt containership was anchored off Colombo in May 2021 when crews were unable to stop the spread of a container fire believed to have been caused by leaking or improperly packed chemicals. The fire burnt for days and the vessel sunk in an attempt to move it out to sea away from the anchorage causing one of the worst environmental disasters in history. Plastic nurdles washed ashore and chemicals were released into the ocean.

The China-based Shanghai Salvage company was hired to undertake the second phase of the salvage operation which began in November 2022. During this phase, the crews successfully cut the 610-foot hulk into two sections while also clearing equipment and debris from the deck. A previous operation headed by the American Resolve Marine had cleared loose debris, containers, and equipment that had fallen to the ocean floor. 

 

 

The lifting operation was carried out in two phases with the aft section of the vessel with accommodation block lifted onto the Chinese Fan Zhou 10. That lift took place in mid-January and the aft section has now been transported to Singapore. It will be dismantled and recycled. The second lift of the forward section of the vessel was scheduled to take place last week. 

As part of the removal effort, the salvage companies were tasked with surveying and clearing a more than half-mile radius around the wreck site. While the wreck has now been cleared from the site, the environmental damage is expected to last for years. 

"The MEPA prepared the first interim environmental damage report in 2021. The second interim report was prepared this January and handed over to the Justice Minister,” said Mrs. Dharshani Lahandapura, Chairman of the Marine Environment Protection Authority. She said the second report set the preliminary damage estimate at $6.5 billion. A final report will not be completed until all the removal operations were finished and a further study was conducted on the condition of the water and ocean floor in the area around the wreck site.

 

 

 

(Photos courtesy of the Marine Environment Protection Agency)