Waste-to-fuel developer WasteFuel launches a new green technology the WasteFuel Methanol Module for Shipping

Waste-to-fuel developer WasteFuel, this week launched a new technology the WasteFuel Methanol Module 

The modular design of the process means it can be built efficiently where waste is located and scale production efficiently and rapidly

Shipping companies including Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, Stena Line, and Proman have committed to using methanol to power their vessels

WasteFuel, a leading developer of bio-refineries focused on converting Municipal Solid Waste into low carbon fuels, announced today - during the UN United Nations General Assembly and New York Climate Week - the WasteFuel Methanol Module.  A new technology that will significantly accelerate the use of organic waste to produce green methanol.

Methanol has quickly emerged as the most cost-effective fossil fuel alternative for shipping companies around the world. Major shipping companies including Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, Stena Line, and Proman have committed to using methanol to power their vessels.

The WasteFuel Methanol Module is designed to produce up to 100 metric tons per day of fuel grade methanol from a variety of waste sources including landfill gas and biogas from anaerobic digestion. The process is designed in a modular fashion to improve the overall utilization of resources and allow for cost-effective, quick scaling.

WasteFuel has filed a provisional patent application directly related to the novel approach and unique configuration. The process is engineered to simultaneously wet and dry reform to convert waste into green methanol. The technology will be available for licensing meaning even greater potential for adoption and decarbonization.

When utilized at a commercial scale the WasteFuel Methanol Module will produce green methanol fuel that can achieve up to 90% reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gases and pollutants compared to conventional fuels.

"Green methanol is critically important in decarbonizing global shipping and the supply chains of companies who depend on it. There is also a vast market for green methanol in the petrochemicals space. The WasteFuel Methanol Module will allow WasteFuel and companies who license the technology to convert municipal waste more efficiently into green methanol around the world,” said Trevor Neilson, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of WasteFuel. “Consumer product companies who have made net zero commitments will not be able to meet them without a dramatic expansion of green methanol supply," Neilson added.

WasteFuel aims to produce green methanol that can be used in a variety of markets including shipping, marine transport, and petrochemicals, as well as to license its proprietary process to customers across markets, such as waste owners, biorefinery developers, and petrochemical companies.

Existing WasteFuel Methanol efforts include a commercial-scale partnership with Maersk, who has announced their intent to purchase 30,000 tons per year of WasteFuel’s bio-methanol.

WasteFuel’s solutions go beyond green methanol. The company has several biorefinery projects underway that will produce low-carbon fuels to revolutionize mobility across the transportation sector and to address the climate emergency.

WasteFuel uses proven technologies to address the climate emergency and revolutionize mobility. We convert municipal and agricultural waste into low-carbon fuels including green methanol, renewable natural gas, and sustainable aviation fuel.

All About the 53-foot containers

All About the 53-foot containers

General purpose 53’ containers were introduced in the United States in 1989. These containers are widely used both in the US and Canada, mainly for domestic road and rail transport. They are considered High-Cubes, based on their 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) ISO-standard height. Their width of 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) however makes them 6 inches (15 cm) wider than ISO-standard containers.  These large boxes have 60% more capacity than 40’ feet containers, enabling shippers to consolidate more cargo into fewer containers

Quick Facts: In the United States, the domestic 53-foot container represents the largest size a standard truck is authorized to carry on roadways, namely the Interstate. Therefore, it is the largest road transportation unit in most of North America (road trains of two trailers can be used in some states and Canadian provinces). 

Shippers began using 53-foot containers in the 1990’s for their many benefits including ability to easily transition from various modes of transportation and significant cost savings with additional capacity. While this size box is standard for domestic freight.

The containers in the above photo belong to J.B. Hunt, one of the largest road carriers in the United States, and are arriving at the Corwith railyard in Chicago. It represents an eloquent example of intermodal integration as both modes focus on the haulage distances that are the most suitable; long hauls for rail and short “last mile” hauls for trucks. The rail cars (well cars) in which these domestic containers are been carried on have been designed to handle a wide variety of container sizes, including two 20-footers, 40-footers, 48-footers, and 53-footers (as depicted above). The well cars are owned by TTX, which is a corporation specializing in leasing intermodal rail equipment to the major rail carriers in North America.

53-foot container for International Transport? 

North American 53-foot containers were not constructed strong enough to endure the rigors of ocean transport, but in 2007 container carrier American President Lines introduced the first 53-foot ocean-capable containers. All new, reinforced 53-foot boxes were built specifically for international trade and designed to withstand ocean voyages on its South China-to-Los Angeles service. In 2013 however, APL stopped offering vessel space for 53-foot containers on its trans-Pacific ships. Nevertheless, In 2015 both Crowley and TOTE Maritime each announced the construction of their respective second combined container and roll-on/roll-off ships for Puerto Rico trade, with the specific design to maximize cubic cargo capacity by carrying 53-foot, 102-inch wide (2,591 mm) containers. Within Canada, Oceanex offers 53-foot-container ocean service to and from Newfoundland. Fifty-three-foot containers are also being used on some Asia Pacific international shipping routes

New 53-foot container service 

A New Shipping line Carrier53’ specializes in the transport of 53 ft containers from China to the USA. Established during June 2021 by container lessor Lotus Container Group and ship manager Schulte & Bruns, Carrier53’ was spun off as a fully independent entity in March 2022 having grown rapidly since its formation. 

By September 2022,  Carrier53’ had performed 41 sailings with its six vessels, which occupy the 32,000-38,000 dwt range. The primary revenue generator, thus far, has been front haul – namely 53 ft containers from China to the North Pacific, and a swift ballast back to China.

World Direct Shipping’s M/V Queen B III, carrying newly acquired 53-foot-long containers, is the latest and largest addition to the Port Manatee-based line’s vessel fleet, which offers the fastest short-sea link between Mexico and key U.S. markets.

Bigger containers can be better for shippers. Here are four advantages of utilizing a 53-foot container to move your cargo.

• These containers offer 37% more capacity than their 40-foot counterparts, typically 416 square feet compared to 320 square feet with a 40-foot box. Additional capacity means more room for cargo, which lowers the per-unit shipment cost for customers, reduces the overall supply chain footprint and shortens the time to deliver to the end-user.
• The additional capacity allows for better equipment allocation. Designed for intermodal transportation, you can load the 53-foot container at the manufacturing facility, transport it to the ocean or railyard and deliver the goods to the final destination by truck – all in the same container. Reducing the number of cargo touchpoints and increasing cost savings.
• An industry standard in North America, 53-foot containers require no special modifications or specialized equipment. The containers can move throughout the supply chain without costly delays caused by repackingcargofor various modes of transport as well as reduced risk of damage to the goods as they remain in the container from ramp to ramp.
• Transporting more cargo or larger equipment with an additional foot of headroom with a 53-foot container.
  
  
  

Egypt to raise Suez Canal transit fees for ships in 2023

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority  said that it will increase transit fees for vessels, including oil-laden tankers, passing through Suez Canal, one of the world's most crucial waterways. The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement on September 17th that it will add 15% to the fees for tankers carrying oil and petroleum products, and 10% for dry bulk carriers and cruise ships.

The authority's chief, Osama Rabie, said the hikes, which will take effect on Jan. 1, are inevitable and a necessity. He blamed booming global inflation rates, which have increased the cost of the waterway's operations, maintenance, and maritime services.  He said the SCA adjusted the tolls through clear mechanisms incorporating the changes in the maritime transport market, noting the Suez canal remains the most efficient and least costly route compared to alternative routes.

Quick Facts:  About 10% of global trade, including 7% of the world's oil, flows through the Suez Canal, a major source of foreign currency to Egypt, the most Arab populous country with over 103 million people. 

Authorities said 20,694 vessels passed through the canal in 2021, a 10% increase compared to 18,830 vessels in 2020.  In 2021, some 1.27 billion tons of cargo were shipped through the canal, earning $6.3 billion dollars (5.5 billion euros) in transit fees, 13 percent more than the previous year.

Suez Canal achieved its highest annual revenue in its history during the fiscal year 2021/2022 at $7 billion, compared to $5.8 billion in 2020/2021, marking an increase of 20.7 percent.

Egypt has faced towering economic challenges and is running low on foreign currency needed to buy essentials such as grain and fuel.

The Suez Canal Authority have been working to widen and deepen the waterway's southern part, since Evergreen Marine’s giant container ship Ever Given ran aground and closed off the canal in March 2021. The six-day blockage disrupted global shipment.

An oil tanker had ran aground on 31st August 2021, briefly blocking the waterway before it was freed.

World’s largest shipping company reroutes ships to protect world’s largest animals

The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has started to reroute its ships on the shipping lanes off the Sri Lankan coast to save the massive blue whales that have been on a deadly collision course with large ships.

The world's largest container carrier said it has voluntarily adjusted its routes around Sri Lanka in the northern Indian Ocean to reduce the risk of accidents involving whales, dolphins and porpoises. The container carrier has also encouraged other shipping lines to take a more southerly route south of the official Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) shipping lane to avoid colliding with the endangered mammal.

According to the report, Maersk, another major shipping line, is also considering the same. The coast, which has an unusually high density of blue whales, is one of the world's busiest international shipping lanes, where nearly 200 ships transit daily.

The blue whales are non-migratory and resident in these waters year-round and have been classed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The Geneva-based MSC has adopted a new lane for commercial shipping about 15 nautical miles south of the current TSS. MSC was also the first major shipping line to re-route its ships on Greece's west coast in January to reduce the risk of collision with endangered sperm whales in the Mediterranean.

The company said its move could reduce the strike risk by as much as 95 per cent.

"We believe that the commercial shipping sector has an important role to play in protecting cetaceans, specifically in helping to reduce the risk of ship collisions with whales," said Stefania Lallai, vice-president of sustainability at MSC.

A spokesperson at Maersk, also told, "We follow all mandatory speed reduction schemes at sea and avoid restricted zones to reduce risk of whale strikes and disturbing whales breeding, and we have in addition adopted voluntary restriction zones for whale protection, most recently adding two zones in the Mediterranean Sea."

All about The Flag of the Ship..

All about The Flag of the Ship

Like people, a ship also has a nationality assigned to it.. This is represented by a flag that the ship flies at all times.. A ship is assigned a flag through registration with a Ship Register or Ship Registry and the ship is expected to follow the rules and regulations enforced by this register at all times.

The nationality or port of registration is shown on the stern of a ship.. In the above example, the marking on the stern tells the world that the ship called MOL PRIDE has been registered in Monrovia in Liberia (flying the Liberian flag)..

Any ship over 100 GT (Gross Ton) irrespective of whether it is a cargo vessel, fishing vessel, passenger vessel etc, has to be registered.. This registration grants the ship physical and legal protection of that flag/flag state which may be applied to vital areas such as safety of cargo and life of those on board the ship..

Ships need not necessarily be registered under a country’s own flag.. For example a ship owned by British nationals need not be registered mandatorily under the British Flag or UK Ships register.. It may be registered with registries other than the British Registry..

Types of ship registers

What is a ship register - shipping and freight resourceSome ships fly the flag of their own country, meaning it is owned, operated, and manned by nationals of that country..

This form of registration is called “Traditional Register” wherein the owner of the ship should necessarily be from the country of registration and the place of business should be in the country of registration..

Some ships fly the flags of other countries, like a ship owned by a Japanese firm flying a Maltese flag.. This form of registration is called an “Open Register“..

Many ship owners also opt for what is known as a “Flag of Convenience” (FOC).. An FOC is a type of open registry that offers (among other things) an attractive fiscal regime, substantially lower administrative fees, flexible to loose maritime safety policies, and lower costs for the ship owners..

FOC is a pejorative term used for an open registry and a FOC usually has no genuine link between the state and the ships that are flagged under that state..

For example, the ship is not owned by anyone from that country of registration, the ship is not operated by anyone from that country and the country of registration has no crew members or any other kind of administrative, technical, or social connection with that ship..

Because of this, organizations like the ITF (International Transport Workers Federation) find it difficult for unions, industry stakeholders and the public to hold ship owners to account as they may not follow the various regulations set..

The list of countries that have been declared as FOCs by the ITF’s fair practices committee can be viewed here..

Why is a flag important in shipping ?

A flag provides an identity to a ship which means the ship’s national state has exclusive dominion over the ship and no other nation can exercise dominion over that ship although a ship of any nation can navigate the oceans freely under the “guiding principle of the sea” which is freedom..

Of course, there are caveats here in the form of sanctions against certain countries which are enforced in shipping based on the flag/nationality of the ship..

As an example, the International Association of Classification Societies has withdrawn the Russian ship register’s membership after Russia’s attack on Ukraine..

This means ships flying the Russian flag are under sanction and any country doing trade with Russian flagged ships do so under risk of such sanctions.. There are political caveats to this as well which you can read about here..

The registration of a ship plays an important role in ensuring safety and security of the ship and significantly contributes to the protection and preservation of the marine environment..

As per IMO regulations, all ships must be surveyed in order to ensure that the ships under their register/flag are structurally sound and subscribes to design and safety standards and issue certificates that establish a ship’s seaworthiness..

The registration and linking to a national registry in a traditional register means that these ships may be requisitioned at time of war for the transportation of goods and people in the service of the nation..

The ship’s flag is also of importance in identifying specific registries or flag states that do not take action or turn a blind eye against shipowners who violate the rights of seafarers and in 2022 we are seeing a shameful record of seafarer abandonment.

What factors may play a role in a Shipowner choosing to register their vessel in a particular flag state for their ship registration

1. Restricted cabotage on ship registration

– Cabotage is the transport of goods or passengers between two places in the same country by a transport operator from another country (e.g. a bahamian ship transporting something from Liverpool to Edinburgh). Cabotage rights are the right of a company from one country to trade in another.

Exclusions:

– A small number of countries have what is known as restricted cabotage. The three most significant of these are Brazil, Japan and the USA. If a ship owner wants to carry goods from one port in the USA to another in the USA then they would need a US flag flying from their vessel.

2.Flag administration.

– Ship owners want to choose a flag where the flag administration is helpful, is commercially aware, responds to their needs swiftly, and is competitive in terms of price.

3. Flag reputation

– If the flag a ship owner chooses has a poor reputation they will find that their ships are inspected more frequently than ships that fly under the flag of a state with a better reputation.

4 Cost of operation.

– As above, ship owners will consider the cost of ‘flagging’, the cost of registering, and the cost of getting the necessary certificates can be a big factor. There is often a big disparity in terms of cost between different flag states.

5 Insurance

– Some underwriters will demand that a ship owner chooses a flag from certain states as the insurer can then be assured that the standard of flag meets their own requirements.

6 Naval protection.

– The diplomatic and naval protect ion of the flag state may be important to some ship owners and may be particularly important at times of political crisis.

7 Other factors on ship registration

– Finally many other owner specific requirements like sponsorship to their employees, owners interests, and especially s vessel type. If a flag state has significant experience of registering cruise ships, and the ship owner owns cruise ships, then they may wish to choose that state. Ex: Bahamas which has a very good track record of registering cruise ships.

Flag of convenience?

– Effective jurisdiction, control, and enforcement of Flag State regulations upon vessels is frequently impossible because operations often take place vast distances away from the ship’s country of registration and shielded from the eyes of observers. Open registries have absorbed the M/V SAIGA ruling and evolved into ‘flag of convenience’ states, allowing any owner an opportunity to register their vessel while maintaining little tangible oversight over their vessels.

– This flag of convenience and open registry system exponentially complicates jurisdiction,  accountability, and oversight. Shipowners can simply change vessel registration from one open registry to another, which converts the nationality (and therefore Flag State Jurisdiction) of the vessel in order to place it under a jurisdiction with greater or lesser leniency in accountability and oversight depending on t heir wishes. Shipowners trying to avoid stringent compliance with Flag State

requirements will simply register their vessels in a state that is not willing or able to exercise jurisdiction and control, especially in matters often relating to fishing, pollution control, and labour practices.

– For example, a shipowner with a tanker flagged in a country with stringent environmental and security legislation, who desires more flexibility, can simply reflag to a state that is not willing or able to exercise jurisdiction and control, in order to ease regulations aboard his/ her vessel. This is similarly done to dodge taxes, fees, and proper treatment of the crew, as well as to avoid Flag State-imposed pollution control measures.