May 05, 2022
Starting this week, passengers can again take the Waterbus between Brussels and Vilvoorde through the canal. Weekly operations come first, from July the service is extended to the weekend. From 2 May to 31 October, the Vivaldi Waterbus will run every weekday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. and between 1 July and 15 August […]
April 29, 2022
The new Port of Antwerp-Bruges, a fusion of the harbors of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, wants to become “the green entry to Europe”. Its ambitions are not to be sneezed at: Port of Antwerp-Bruges wants to become Europe’s largest international export harbor, and at the same time reconcile economy and climate. Port of Antwerp-Bruges is determined […]
April 11, 2022
Belgian oil tanker giant Euronav and its Norwegian peer, Frontline, want to merge into what’s to become the world’s biggest oil tanker company. The new fleet will consist of 115 tankers, 69 Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), 57 Suezmax tankers, and 20 smaller Aframax ships. But after the news of negotiations starting broke last week, […]
March 23, 2022
A team of Belgian researchers is analyzing the effects of offshore wind farms on marine life. The nature reserve of the Princess Elisabeth Zone in the North Sea can only be used for energy production if the impact on plant and animal life is limited. The ‘EDEN 2000’ research project – ‘Exploring options for a […]
March 22, 2022
Last week, Norwegian-Swedish, shipping and car handling company Wallenius Wilhelmsen, has received the first shipment of 3 000 Polestar EVs at its new expanded marine terminal, Bastenaken West, at the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium. The company accelerated the planned 50-hectare expansion project of the marine terminal to cope with the increasing demand for EVs […]
March 02, 2022
The car carrier Felicity Ace, catching fire nearly two week ago passing by the Azores with some 4 000 vehicles aboard, has sunk on Tuesday to a depth of more than 3.000 meters on the ocean floor. Several EVs on board kept on burning for days, but apparently, the massive smoke was no longer seen. […]
February 22, 2022
Six days after a fire broke out on car carrier Felicity Ace, some 90 nautical miles SSW of the Azores, the abandoned ship is still burning. Apparently, the electric vehicles (EVs) onboard – all from the Volkswagen Group – keep the fire raging. It’s not clear yet whether an EV caused the fire initially. The […]
February 07, 2022
The Energy Observer, the experimental zero-emission catamaran of French entrepreneur Victorien Erussard that circumnavigated the globe twice, gets a commercial successor in what has to become one of the world’s first fully-electric cargo ships, powered with hydrogen and fuel cells and Aerowings. The Energy Observer 2 will be 120 meters long, 22 meters wide, and […]
February 02, 2022
Despite being a small manufacturer of hypercars in a small town in Sweden, Koenigsegg has never been shy of developing pioneering technology. With the electric dawn settling, the company confirms its reputation by introducing a revolutionary electric motor, which packs massive power without a weight penalty. Or, you could argue Koenigsegg is showcasing two such […]
February 01, 2022
Last Sunday, marine services provider Jan De Nul has launched ‘Voltaire’ on the Cosco Shipping yard in Nantong (China). It is the world’s largest installation vessel for constructing wind farms at sea. Wind turbines are becoming larger and larger, and most installation ships today will not be able to transport and install next-generation wind turbines. […]
January 28, 2022
Aquafin, Ekopak, Water-Link, and PMV signed an agreement to build a new water purification plant in the harbor of Antwerp. The idea is to improve purified wastewater from Antwerp households and upgrade it to be used as process water for the industry. The project will cost 108 million euros and is expected to be operational […]
December 08, 2021
The inland container barge FPS Maas is the first of the fleet to start sailing between Rotterdam and Antwerp on hydrogen-powered fuel cells. Dutch shipping company Future Proof Sailing just signed a long-term agreement with AirLiquide to supply green hydrogen in specially designed multi-modal hydrogen storage containers on deck. As a zero-emission vessel owner, FPS […]
November 23, 2021
In Norway, the world’s first fully electric and autonomous sailing container ship Yara Birkeland has successfully completed its maiden trip last week under human surveillance, but without help. The short 7,5 nautical mile trip (13,7 km) offered several challenges like maneuvering out of a small fjord, avoiding other commercial ships, pleasure craft, and kayaks. The […]
November 10, 2021
On Tuesday, Antwerp has officially inaugurated the new ferry connection between the left and right banks of the river Scheldt. The ‘Marnix van Sint-Aldegonde’, as the boat is called, replaces the 90-year old ‘Simon Stevin’ and is far more sustainable. The name refers to Philips de Marnix (1540 – 1598), Lord of Saint Aldegondis, writer, […]
September 21, 2021
If your ‘flygskam’ (flying shame) level is high and you can spare a few extra days, why not take a sailboat for your next trip? To Corsica or the Americas – like Greta Thunberg did – instead of flying? Sailcoop, a French cooperative society, wants to organize regular services for passengers to traverse the Mediterranean […]
September 17, 2021
The British-Dutch oil and gas company, Shell, plans to construct a large production unit for biofuels at the Shell Energy and Park Rotterdam (the Netherlands), formerly known as the Pernis refinery. The Rotterdam plant will produce 820 000 tons of biofuels a year. “A facility of this size could produce enough renewable diesel to avoid […]
August 27, 2021
Danish shipping giant Maersk announced this week it has ordered eight new ocean-going container ships that will run on carbon-neutral methanol instead of heavy fuel. The vessels will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) by 2024 and have a capacity of approximately 16 000 containers (Twenty-Foot Equivalent – TEU). Methanol can be burned in […]
August 11, 2021
In Japan, the first passenger ferry for commercial use with two hydrogen diesel combustion engines has been officially launched on Tuesday. The ‘HydroBingo’ was developed by Belgian shipping company CMB’s tech daughter, CMB Tech, together with Japanese shipbuilding and shipping firm Tsuneishi in a 50/50 joint venture. It is a 19-tons ferry accommodating 80 passengers […]
August 03, 2021
Almost without a wavelet, unnoticed by the media, Europe’s first fully autonomous – solar-powered – water taxi has been commissioned in a pilot project in Teylingen, near Leiden in the Netherlands. Residents can call up the water taxi with an app to bring pedestrians and cyclists across the Groote Sloot to the recreational areas of […]
July 27, 2021
Italian-Swiss shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) will study the next twelve months the feasibility of an oceangoing cruise ship on hydrogen as a zero-emission alternative. The study will be carried out together with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and Italian gas group Snam. The three companies formulated their intention to build the world’s first hydrogen-powered cruise […]
July 16, 2021
The EU Commission Fit for 55 proposals are finally targeting the maritime shipping sector left undisturbed for decades regarding CO2 emissions. Shipping will be included in the Emissions Trading System (ETS), where companies will have to buy CO2-quotas from 2023. In Europe, shipping companies are not averse to using the EU ETS system, although it’s […]
