September 15, 2023
Danish container shipping company Maersk has launched the world’s first container ship to run on green methanol in its fleet. The ship, the ‘Laura Maersk’ was christened in Copenhagen by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “This ship embodies Europe’s decision to be a pioneer in the fight against climate change,” von der Leyen […]
September 08, 2023
The Global Maritime Trends 2050 Report, commissioned by Lloyd’s Register, revealed that some of the world’s largest ports could become unusable due to rising sea levels. According to the study, efforts to decarbonize the maritime shipping sector and introduce new technologies will be crucial. Weather-related disruptions are already impacting ports across the globe. These include […]
September 05, 2023
The transport of goods by inland navigation from the North Sea Port, the merger of the ports of Ghent, Terneuzen, and Flushing, to the hinterland has continued to increase. In five years, it rose from 54% to 60%. The port reports this based on the fifth survey conducted among companies in the 60-kilometer-long cross-border port […]
August 16, 2023
After the fire on the car cargo ship ‘Fremantle Highway’ off the Dutch coast, many popular media hastily identified an electric car as the cause. Now it turns out that this is untrue. Many publications used the fire accident to highlight the (real) difficulties of extinguishing a fire on an EV. Still, they immediately concluded […]
July 13, 2023
The Port of Brussels terminal will expand from 1,67 hectares to an area of 6 hectares. It has concluded a service concession for the container terminal and the development of a logistics zone with Van Moer Logistics. The agreement is part of the regional strategy to supply the Brussels service economy with goods in a […]
July 10, 2023
The international shipping industry is going to reduce emissions from cargo ships. An agreement to this effect was reached between 175 countries at the International Maritime Organization headquarters in London last Friday. The sector, which accounts for almost 3% of global CO2 emissions, aims to cut polluting emissions by at least 20% by 2030 to […]
May 19, 2023
As already mentioned earlier, BMW will launch its dedicated electric ‘new class’ of cars in 2025, with initial production in Europe and also in the United States. Today, the Munich car manufacturer announced that the ‘Neue Klasse’ will also be built in China. Meanwhile, the Group showed off on another level in Cannes (where the […]
April 26, 2023
Maritime contractor Jan De Nul has been indicated to pull the cables for the Thor project, Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm. The company announced the news on Tuesday. Jan De Nul was awarded the contract together with partner Hellenic Cables. The latter will design and manufacture all cables in Greece; Jan De Nul will perform […]
April 12, 2023
In Germany, Freudenberg e-Power Systems and the MEYER WERFT shipyard are working to equip a new 728-passenger cruise ship with a huge fuel cell and battery system that will support all the hotel functions of the ship, promising zero emissions. A world first, sponsored with €15,6 million by the German government. Now under construction in […]
April 12, 2023
The waterbus between Brussels and Vilvoorde carried 45 535 passengers in 2022. This reports the operator Rivertours, which has been offering waterbus trips since 2013. The figures are more than a five-fold increase compared to the launch year. Because the boats’ capacity was limited during the corona years of 2020 and 2021, comparison with those […]
March 15, 2023
The planned connection between the Belgian and Danish energy islands will be delayed. The Danish authorities estimate that the project will be finalized by 2033 and not in 2030. Nevertheless, Minister for Energy Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) is planning a meeting with her (new) Danish colleague Lars Aagaard (Moderates) to shorten that period. Denmark […]
March 09, 2023
The Belgian marine engineering companies DEME and Jan De Nul and engineering office Tractebel have jointly developed new floating solar technology capable of operating in harsh marine conditions. This summer, they will set up a test installation off the Belgian coast for experiments. SEAVOLT, as the project is called, combines the expertise of solar, environmental, […]
March 08, 2023
In the port of Esbjerg, the first ship with captured CO2 from Belgium arrived to store the carbons in a depleted oil field in the Danish part of the North Sea. Called the Greensand project, this is considered the first cross-border offshore CO2 storage project in the world. With the incoming CO2 from the port […]
March 03, 2023
Wouldn’t it be a great idea to have today’s giant car carriers sailing the world’s oceans on merely wind power like the square-rigged sailings ships of centuries ago? The modern descendants of the Vikings, with Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a global ro-ro shipping company from Norway, and Swedish carmaker Volvo among others, are dreaming of realizing this […]
March 01, 2023
Dredging companies DEME and Jan De Nul, world leaders in dredging and constructing offshore wind farms, are joining forces to create the energy island that will be built off the Belgian coast. Both Belgian companies – eternal competitors but now united in a new consortium called TM Edison – have won the tender for constructing […]
February 28, 2023
The construction of new wind farms at sea risks being delayed, reports research company BloombergNEF. The reason for the delay is the shortage of large vessels used for the installation of wind turbine foundations on the ocean floor. Offshore energy is considered a crucial alternative to fossil fuels. It should help reduce CO2 emissions and […]
February 24, 2023
Vattenfall, a state-owned Swedish multinational power company, and Stromma Group, a sightseeing bus and boat service provider operational in six countries, are investing in emission-free, electric sightseeing boats. They will kick off their project in Amsterdam, and electrify Stromma’s boat fleet to provide fossil-free transportation. Vattenfall will supply the battery system for the emission-free operation […]
January 11, 2023
The intended merger between the Norwegian oil tanker shipping company under Cypriot flag, Frontline, and the Belgian sector peer Euronav is definitely off. Frontline pulls the plug, and the company does not give an official reason for abandoning. In reaction to the news that came like a bolt from the blue, Euronav management says that […]
January 03, 2023
The ferry connection on the Belgian river Scheldt, the so-called Antwerp ‘water bus’, is a huge success. The number of annually transported passengers increased year after year, growing from 105 000 to 775 000 in five years. That is why Aqualiner decided to deploy larger ships this year. The water bus has been operational since […]
December 23, 2022
Today, traffic will be able to cross the steel arch bridge over the Albert Channel in Viversel (Heusden-Zolder, Limburg, Belgium) again. That is what the Flemish Waterway (Vlaamse Waterweg) announced on Thursday. All bridges on the Channel had to be raised to allow inland shipping barges with four containers stacked on deck to pass under […]
December 15, 2022
IKEA launched its first ‘low-carbon’ delivery operation to customers in Paris on Wednesday, with the help from the Belgian inland waterways specialist Blue Line Logistics. From now on, IKEA will use the Seine river and electric last-mile delivery vehicles to bring the furniture to the customers’ homes. “We are the first major distributor to serve […]
September 27, 2022
Belgian CMB.Tech and Dutch-British based Windcat Workboats, both daughters of bulk shipping giant Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB), announce they will build six extra hydrogen ships to transport personnel to and maintain offshore wind farms. The catamarans will be delivered in 2022, 2023, and 2024 to be used by joint venture partners Thomas Services Maritime (TSM) […]
September 06, 2022
French RoRo-ferry company La Méridionale has equipped as the world’s first one of its ships, the Piana, linking Marseille with the Ile of Corsica, with a diesel particle filter. It eliminates up to 99,9% of fine particulate matter and 99% of sulfur emissions. Today there are no regulations for ships on these particles, known to […]
August 30, 2022
American electric outboard manufacturer Vision Marine Technologies has set a new ‘electric’ speed record on the water, breaking the 100 per hour barrier at 109 mph (175,4 km/h) with a 32-foot (9,7 m) catamaran equipped with two E-Motion 180E outboards. The world’s most powerful electric outboards currently. At the wheel of the purpose-built one-off speed […]
August 24, 2022
Two Swedish EV pioneers, Volvo-sister Polestar and electric ‘flyboat’ inventor Candela, found each other on the water. Polestar will supply the battery and charging systems for Candela’s revolutionary hydrofoiling speedboats, giving the startup a boost in scaling up. “To make electric boats mainstream, we need to build thousands of boats every year. Working together with […]
August 11, 2022
Nippon Express (NX) Italia has launched an ‘eco-friendly’ last-mile delivery service in Venice, Italy, using hydrogen-powered boats to navigate the canals. Venice just got its first public hydrogen filling station in June 2022, only the second in the whole of Italy, one of the laggards in Europe regarding this alternative zero-emission fuel. Nippon Express Group […]
August 11, 2022
Due to the persistent drought and record temperatures, the water level in the Rhine near Kaub, between Koblenz and Mainz in Germany, is dropping so low that many cargo ships will no longer be able to sail there as of Friday. That is a problem for the industry. The Rhine, one of the busiest waterways […]
August 11, 2022
On Wednesday, the new Willems quay in Balen along the Dessel-Kwaadmechelen channel has been officially inaugurated. “The installation of such quays has to promote inland shipping and inspire other companies,” said Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) at the inauguration. Inland shipping has the capacity to remove another 160 000 trucks from the […]
August 10, 2022
In Antwerp, the 2,5 millionth passenger on the Waterbus that travels down the Scheldt was honored on Tuesday. According to the Flemish government, which is funding the project, the Waterbus is very popular and has left behind the logical dip of the corona period. One in three passengers also takes a bicycle on board, which […]
June 28, 2022
A new study on the cost of decarbonizing European shipping shows that running ships on green hydrogen-based fuels would hardly make consumer goods more expensive. On the contrary, green shipping would add just a few cents to most consumer goods. “Green shipping would add less than 10 cents to a pair of Nikes,” says Faig […]
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 […]
