ACI’s Maritime Newsletter – August Edition

03/08/2021

Through this newsletter, we aim to share with you some lesser-publicised news on developments in the maritime industry. Our Producers have put together the below selection of recent news articles they have identified for this edition. We hope you find these as interesting as we do and welcome your comments and feedback!

In this issue:

• Ballast Water Management
• Crewing & HR
• Ports

35,000 Ballast Water Management System Installations Needed in 40 Months (Source: Ship & Bunker) 

Photo: mit.edu
Industry experts warn of a ‘Tsunami’ for shipping as a large share of the global fleet will need to rush to install ballast water management systems (BWMS).

This will definitely have an impact on the prices and the delivery times and the quality of the work done.
View full article here

SpaceX May Have the Largest Unmanned Merchant Vessel in Operation (Source: The Maritime Executive)

No bridge, no lookout, no windows: the flat-sided deckhouse of SpaceX’s new self-driving deck barge (Elon Musk)

Elon Musk’s commercial space launch company, SpaceX, may have deployed the largest fully unmanned commercial vessel in operation today.

The 10,000 dwt, 300-foot deck barge Marmac 302 was recently converted at Bollinger’s Port Fourchon yard and renamed A Shortfall of Gravitas. She’s been outfitted with a wider deck and a set of four thruster pods, enabling her to hold station and catch SpaceX’s booster rockets on their return to earth.

SpaceX owns two similar vessels built from the hulls of Marmac 302’s sister barges, the Marmac 303 and 304 and both are DP-capable without crew on board. However, SpaceX says that A Shortfall of Gravitas (dubbed ASOG by SpaceX fans) can drive itself to and from port, without crew and without a tow.
View full article here

Cosco Orders 10 Boxships with a Planned $1.5B Investment to Grow Fleet (Source: The Maritime Executive)

Cosco Pacific at Hamburg (file photo)

Cosco Shipping Holdings, the parent of Cosco and OOCL, became the latest among the major carriers to announce a significant building program to expand and modernize its container operations. The state-owned shipping company reported orders totalling nearly $1.5 billion that will add a total capacity to the Cosco fleet of nearly 150,000 TEU.

Unlike some other major carriers, Cosco’s order is for what is now considered to be mid-sized containerships, similar to the sector that Seaspan is also focusing on with its orders.
View full article here

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