Report: U.S. Coast Guard Must Improve How it Handles Bullying

By The Maritime Executive 2019-12-11 19:23:54

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, have released a joint staff report finding that the Coast Guard mishandled complaints of harassment and bullying and failed to hold those in leadership accountable for their actions. Based on the review of thousands of pages of documents and information obtained through interviews with Coast Guard personnel, as well as a staff visit to...

Winning Combination

By Charlie Bartlett 2019-12-11 21:25:00

Requiring minimal refining, LNG is the least CO2-emitting fossil fuel out there, both in the well-to-tank process and in burning as a fuel. Recently, however, its primacy has been supplanted by hydrogen, particularly in Europe, as hydrogen is zero-emissions at the point of burning. While hydrogen might be an effective strategy in the future when new renewables’ capacity can be built and dedicated to its production, currently all hydrogen is produced using LNG as a precursor. And in the process...

How Can E.U. Ports Tackle New Cyber Threats?

By The Maritime Executive 2019-12-11 21:15:01

ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, has published Good practices for Cybersecurity in the Maritime Sector - Port Security, a report providing guidance for ports to strengthen their cybersecurity. The agency says ports must address cybersecurity as a top priority in order to ensure their safety, security, compliance and commercial competitiveness, while unlocking the full capabilities of their digital transformation. The report lists a set of security measures that port authorities and terminal operators can adopt to develop a...

Credit: Georgia Ports Authority / Stephen B. Morton

Intermodal Efficiency Boosts Savannah's Container Volumes

By The Maritime Executive 2019-12-11 21:00:10

The U.S. Port of Savannah moved 363,000 TEUs in November, a 5.4 percent increase over the same month last year. For the fiscal year to date (July-November), the Georgia Ports Authority has handled nearly two million TEUs, an increase of 109,000 TEUs, or 5.8 percent. The positive numbers achieved last month mean Savannah's Garden City Terminal mark year-over-year increases for five consecutive months, and 34 out of the past 36 months. "After nearly three...

Global Infrastructure Is Available For Marine LNG

By Peter Keller 2019-12-11 20:34:48

Recent media coverage has highlighted misconceptions about LNG bunkering infrastructure development. The often misquoted views are misleading and ill-informed, especially given the dramatic improvements that have been made globally to the LNG bunkering infrastructure. Driven by a requirement to supply LNG-powered new builds, LNG bunkering infrastructure has, and continues, to expand rapidly. LNG Bulk infrastructure is already developed in many ports and matches up well against existing liner trades. Of the top 25 global ports ranked by volume of trade,...

Amnesty International Protests Weapons Ship Visit to Spain

By The Maritime Executive 2019-12-11 20:20:40

Amnesty International has protested the arrival of the Saudi Arabia state-owned cargo ship Bahri Abha this week at the port of Sagunto, Valencia, Spain. The vessel arrived despite calls from organizations such as Amnesty International, FundiPau, Greenpeace and Oxfam Intermón for the government to prevent its entry into a Spanish port. The organizations, which make up the Spanish Control Arms campaign, protested at the port, demanding that the Spanish government prohibit the transit and loading in Spain of weapons likely...

The Boom in Plastics

By Tom Peters 2019-12-11 20:00:00

The increase in the production of petrochemicals, spurred by the abundance of shale gas as feedstock and the demand for ethane – a key component in plastics – has prompted energy companies to continue investing billions of dollars in the petrochemical sector. “The global petrochemical sector continues to expand exponentially as developing nations' demand for petrochemical/chemical products continues to increase,” says Petroleum Economist, a highly respected energy industry publication. Harrison Carroll, a chemicals and plastics consultant writing in London-based Petrochemical...

Rystad Energy: Fields with Break-Even Above $60 to be Priced Out

By The Maritime Executive 2019-12-11 19:45:58

Energy projects that need oil prices above $60 per barrel in order to break even risk being commercial viability going forward, according to Rystad Energy. However, massive investments in exploration and sanctioning are still needed to meet growing global demand. As the world transitions to a less carbon-intensive future, Rystad Energy forecasts that the global inventory of already discovered oil fields with a breakeven oil price of below $60 Brent (real) is sufficient to meet demand growth and offset declines...

Carnival Corporation Pilots Food Waste Bio-Digesters

By The Maritime Executive 2019-12-11 18:39:35

15 Carnival Corporation ships are testing food waste bio-digester machines that separate plastics from food waste while naturally breaking down the food. Throughout the day, as food scraps are added to the system, a mix of microorganisms, including microbes and enzymes, rapidly and naturally digest the organic waste. The machines operate 24 hours a day. Carnival Corporation is testing three different bio-digester machines, including systems that can evaluate a variety of parameters and produce data, including the weight and volume...