The technology group Wärtsilä has won the contract to supply the engines and a range of its electric solutions for two new ferries under construction at the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai) in China. The ships are being built for Finnlines, a part of the Grimaldi Group, and are designed to incorporate the latest technical and environmental concepts. The order for the engines was placed in July 2020, with the remaining Wärtsilä equipment ordered in September 2020.

From January 1, 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will enforce a 0.5% global sulphur cap on fuel content for areas currently with 3.5% limit. In these areas, all vessels will be required to use fuel with a maximum sulphur content of 0.5%, unless they use exhaust gas cleaning systems. Neste helps shipping companies to respond to the tightening regulation on sulphur dioxide emissions by offering them a new IMO2020-compliant marine fuel.

The Finnlines Group’s revenue for January–March 2019 was EUR 137.6 million, which was an increase of 2.0 per cent compared to the same period last year. The result for the reporting period was EUR 16.2 million compared to EUR 16.5 million in January–March 2018. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, EBITDA, was EUR 34.2 million compared to EUR 34.3 million in January–March 2018.
– This result can be considered to be very good taken into account the fact that the growth of Finnish exports and imports has slowed down compared to the previous year, says president and CEO Emanuele Grimaldi.

Novate will launch a medium-scale LNG plant in Vysotsk (Leningrad Region) with a capacity of 600,000 tonnes by April 2019, Kremlin cites Novate CEO Leonid Mikhelson as briefing Vladimir Putin on the company’s current activities and development plans.

 Oceania Cruises, the upper-premium subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. Has announced an order for two new ships from Fincantieri S.p.A. The ships will be delivered in 2022 and 2025.

The participants include ocean carriers CMA CGM, COSCO SHIPPING Lines, Evergreen Marine, OOCL, and Yang Ming; terminal operators DP World, Hutchison Ports, PSA International Pte Ltd, and Shanghai International Port; and software solutions provider CargoSmart.

The shipping industry is pressing for a phased start when tough new rules governing vessel fuel get under way in fewer than 16 months’ time.
Three trade groups and four countries where thousands of ships are registered made a joint proposal to the International Maritime Organization on Aug. 31 for what they called an “experience building phase,” according to a copy of the document obtained by Bloomberg. The suggestion, if adopted, would avoid individual ships being “unduly penalized” if they can’t get the right fuel.