Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced that it has started demonstration tests of a new windshield for containerships, which has the potential to reduce wind resistance, save fuel, and reduce CO2 emissions.

Estniska Saaremaa Shipping Company tar två moderna, isförstärkta färjor ur trafik från färjelinjerna till Dagö och Ösel

Den 19 augusti får de estniska färjorna Muhumaa och Saaremaa nya namn och inleder den 20 augusti trafik mellan Cuxhaven och Brunsbüttel i Tyskland med estniska besättningar. Fartygen döps om till Grete och Anne Marie och trafiken opereras av det tyska rederiet Elb-Link, som har liknande ägarstruktur som Saaremaa Shipping Company. Endast den nyaste färjan i trion – Hiiumaa – blir kvar i trafiken mellan de estniska största öarna och fastlandet.

As part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the EU has awarded funding of EUR 17.9 million jointly for Finnlines and its affiliates for investments in liner services.
Finnlines’ three major liner services are part of the European Motorways of the Sea programme and form an essential part of the necessary time scheduled liner service infrastructure, benefiting the Finnish foreign trade and connecting Finland to the rest of Europe. Together with partners consisting of ports and port operators from Finland, Germany, Belgium and Spain, investments of about EUR 60 million will be done to overcome the challenges brought by the new sulphur directive and thus avoiding unwanted modal backshift of cargo from sea to land on these three lines.
The core of these actions is Finnlines’ environmental investment programme for emissions abatement technology (exhaust gas scrubbers) and energy efficiency improvements by changing propeller blades and improving rudder hydrodynamics.

Sweden’s Stena RoRo has reached an agreement with the Finnish shipping company Godby Shipping to long-term charter their three RoRo vessels: Misida, Misana and Miranda.

The multipurpose vessels can be employed in both the Stena RoRo and the Stena Line networks.

The fixtures are the first to be based on the Bimco ROPAXTIME charter-party, which was launched at the end of June and specifically developed for the RoRo/RoPax industry.

GE Marine. The marine industry is rapidly evolving. While new technology means that vessels are more efficient, the need to keep up with the demands of globalisation has also meant that we’re seeing faster and larger ships at sea. GE technology has been at the forefront of some of these developments. The recent launch of GE Marine, which combines expertise from several areas into a single business, will also help to ensure that GE is fully dedicated to making the naval, marine and offshore industries more efficient, safer and cleaner.

Here are five facts about the marine industry that have been shaped by these recent trends.