Technical Information

News Brief MSC 109

This Brief provides an overview of the significant issues discussed at this session, which include matters pertaining to amendments to the IGC and IGF Codes, the safety regulatory framework to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships using new technologies and alternative fuels, goal-based new ship construction standards and the latest developments on Marine Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). A review of the Committee’s activity can provide insight into upcoming regulations adopted by the IMO and a forecast of future regulatory developments.

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FuelEU Maritime

The maritime industry is rapidly approaching January 1, 2025, when the new FuelEU Maritime Regulation will take effect. Under this Regulation, the greenhouse gas intensity of energy consumed on board vessels on European voyages will be evaluated on a well-to-wake basis. The ABS sustainability team can assist you in preparing your fleet for FuelEU Maritime.

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Turning Hydrogen Demand Into Reality: Which Sectors Come First?

This report identifies the key sectors that drive hydrogen demand, sets out barriers and opportunities for growth, explores geographical demand hotspots, and outlines a timeline for sectoral adoption. It concludes that more infrastructure is required to support the emerging hydrogen economy.

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DNV's new Maritime Forecast to 2050

The 8th edition of DNV's Maritime Forecast to 2050 report, Available for download. Explore the latest insights around the maritime energy transition and download your complimentary copy today!

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MEPC 82 News Brief

The IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) held its 82nd session from September 30 to October 4, 2024, discussing matters pertaining to the development of a draft legal framework (IMO net-zero framework) to include candidate mid-term measures, the review of the short-term greenhouse gas reduction measures, energy efficiency of ships topics surrounding the CII Guidelines, actions for reducing marine plastic litter from ships, draft amendments to the BWM Convention and associated instruments, and adoption of the Canadian Arctic and Norwegian Sea Emission Control Areas.

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Realizing the AOPVs' Potential

In this article, the Operations Coordinator onboard HMCS Frédérick Rolette, PO1 Douglas Theedom offers thoughts on how to get more from Canada's premier Arctic platform.

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2024 Canadian Arctic Climate Change and Security Impact Assessment

This report effectively applies the NATO framework to elucidate how climate change poses myriads of challenges in and across the land, sea, air, space, cyber and information domains in the Canadian Arctic and North.

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Securing the Seas

A comprehensive assessment of Global Maritime Security.

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Zero Carbon Shipping: Majority of Canadians willing to pay extra to offset emissions

Opinion poll as Canada consders green hydrogen, Canadians prefer it used for domestic decarbonization over export.

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Training Standard for Handling Alternative Fuels in the Maritime Sector

This document provides a standard intended to offer guidance to organisations that deliver, or are considering delivering, training to seafarers and others involved in the handling of alternative fuel. This training standard focuses specifically on ammonia, methanol and hydrogen, and seeks to be consistent with international regulations and good practice.

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Beyond The Horizon-Opportunities and Obstacles in the Maritime Ai Boom

This report, commissioned by Lloyd's Register and crafted by Thetius, delves into the dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape of operational Ai in the maritime industry.

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Climate Change Vulnerability of the Canadian Maritime Environment

This report highlights the climate hazards affecting Canadian waterways and the maritime industry’s response to these challenges. Developed with Dillon Consulting Ltd., it offers tools and strategies for adaptation, drawing insights from global examples like the U.S., Norway, and the Netherlands. The findings aim to support proactive decision-making for safe and sustainable waterways.

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MEPC 82 Summary Report

The IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is where the reduction of shipping’s impact on the marine environment is discussed. MEPC oversees the work of several sub-committees and influences subjects which cut-across the work of several committees, covering many key regulations.

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Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS)

The maritime industry, in line with many other industrial and transport domains, is undergoing a significant and unparalleled technological change driven by increased automation and digitalisation. One of the most direct examples of this trend is the ongoing development of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS)-a paradigm shift with the potential to significantly impact many of the critical issues faced by the sector today.

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Regulations Brief

An overview of the more significant issues discussed at the 10th News Brief session, which include finalization of the interim guidelines for ammonia as fuel, the draft revision of a new consolidated IGC Code, and a revision of the current recommendations for entering enclosed spaces aboard ships.

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Alarm Management in the Maritime Industry

Research into best practices and challenges on alarm management on operational ships.

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Your Guide to Understanding Well-to-Wake Fuel Options

Download the Beyond the Horizon: Carbon Neutral Pathways and Transformational Technologies report to learn more about the fuel pathways and timelines to implementation to meet the IMO’s emissions reduction targets.

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NGen Report-An Assessment of the Changing Skills Needs of the Canadian Manufacturing Workforce

This report explores the future needs of the manufacturing sector, focusing on how well the OaSIS database can support those needs, the alignment of key skills across sub-sectors, the availability of a skilled workforce, and the national support required to help the sector thrive in the age of Industry 4.0.

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The Paradox of Petroleum

This special report, gathers insights from nearly 450 senior oil and gas professionals to examine rapidly evolving trends and the near-term outlook for the oil and gas sector.

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River-Class Destroyer

Information about the Royal Canadian Navy River-Class Destroyers. They are fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warships capable of conducting operations, escorting larger vessels and defending against a wide range of threats..

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Ammonia Bunkering Advisory

This ABS ‘Ammonia Bunkering: Technical and Operational Advisory’ considers the aspects of bunkering ammonia as a fuel, providing the maritime industry with a better understanding of the challenges involved and how best to address them.

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The Bridge: A Systems View

Sometimes fixing the problem really is as simple as, ‘check that it’s plugged in’ or ‘turn it off and on again,’ and it will start working. But knowing which input to turn off and on again, when there are multiple inputs? For that, you need to understand the system. Consult this article about systems.

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Uncrewed Maritime Systems

This article will briefly discuss examples of unmanned systems in the maritime arena, and point out the challenges and concerns inherent in the employment of these systems. The changes are occurring so rapidly that this article can only provide a snapshot of what is happening in the development and use of these systems. Note that the article will generally focus on the Atlantic/Western arena and not on developments by China. It will not focus on Canada – if you are interested in what the Royal Canadian Navy is doing with regard to these systems, please see NAC Briefing Note #17.

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Update of the Manoeuvring Information After Installation of Overridable Power Limitation

In March 2024, the IMO adopted the MEPC.390(81), an amendment to the MEPC.335(76), which provides guidelines on the shaft/power limitation system in order to comply with the EEXI. These guidelines now also include updating the manoeuvring characteristics for situations when shaft or engine power has been limited. Discover the details in the statutory news.

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Blackout-Causes, Prevention, Effective Recovery

DNV News that highlights some of the most common causes of blackouts and aims to provide ship managers and crews with guidance to help prevent blackouts and mitigate potential consequences.

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Guidelines to Develop and Implement a Safety Management System for Alternative Fuels On Board Ships

In these guidelines, MTF members followed a method to assess these gaps by reviewing ISM Code's Part A implementation for each section, and identifying areas that may be relevant to alternative fuel implementation on board. Industry stakeholders were consulted during the development of these guidelines to strengthen the document with their different sector experiences. The list of these industry stakeholders can be found at the end of this document.

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IMO MEPC 81: Negotiations on New GHG Reduction Requirements Continue

The 81th session of the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 81) continued its negotiation of GHG fuel intensity requirements, potentially in combination with a GHG pricing mechanism. Other important decisions include the reporting of transport work and more granular fuel consumption date in the data collection system, and approval of proposals to designate the Canadian Arctic and the Norwegian Sea as NOx, SOx and PM Emission Control Areas.

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Feasibility Study of Future Energy Options for Great Lakes Shipping

The report, prepared for the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration, scrutinizes the feasibility of diverse future energy options for Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway shipping through 2050. It evaluates alternative fuels and power options against a backdrop of environmental regulations and the pressing need for the maritime industry to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

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IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE 10)

SSE 10 agreed on a road map for considering the adequacy of the fire safety system requirements for ships carrying new energy and electrical vehicles, and initiated the consideration of measures for detecting and controlling fires in cargo holds of container ships. Clarifications of the requirements for the maintenance and testing of life-saving appliances were considered to ensure uniform implementation.

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Actors and Stages of Warship Procurement-Naval Affairs Program Briefing Note #45

An attempt to simplify warship procurement which is a tremendously complicated and slow process. This Briefing Note should be read in conjunction with BN#8 below.

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Naval Procurement-Naval Affairs Program Briefing Note #8

This Briefing Note depicts only the major activities involved in Canada's process for buying equipment for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and makes many simplifications and generalizations for the sake of brevity.

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IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 10)

The 10th session of the IMO’s Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 10) was held from 22 to 26 January 2024. Issues ranging from the setting of guard rails to underwater radiated noise were discussed.

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Preventing and Responding to Emergencies

Explore publications focused on strategies for preventing, preparing for, and responding to emergencies.

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Ship Safety Bulletin

This bulletin gives general information about the Vessel Construction and Equipment Regulations and related standards. The Regulations and standards came into force on December 20, 2023.

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Roadmap to Net-zero Emissions North American Waterborne Transportation

The maritime sector is experiencing a technological revolution that must mature in less than three decades to meet 2050 net‑zero ambitions. It requires a complete transformation of the operational technologies and business models that have dominated for nearly a century. Unprecedented levels of collaboration are required to accelerate and achieve these transformations for emissions reduction. This is why Blue Sky Maritime Coalition (“Blue Sky” or “the Coalition”) was launched to facilitate collaboration across the maritime shipping value chain to accelerate the transition of waterborne transportation in the United States (U.S.) and Canada toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

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Oil in the Sea IV

Oil and natural gas represent more than 50 percent of the worldwide energy supply, with high energy demand driven by population growth and improving standards of living. Despite significant progress in reducing the amount of oil in the sea from consumption, exploration, transportation, and production, risks remain. This report, the fourth in a series, documents the current state-of-knowledge on inputs, fates and effects of oil in the sea, reflecting almost 20 additional years of research, including long-term effects from spills such as the Exxon Valdez and a decade-long boom in oil spill science research following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

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What We Heard Report-Marine Pollution Preparedness, Response and Recovery Discussion Paper

There is a link to the report, in which was summarized many of the key points from the submissions that were received from coast to coast to coast. The paper shared details of a proposal to develop a national integrated system to prepare for, respond to and recover from marine pollution incidents that involve oil and/or hazardous and noxious substances. The coordinated system also proposed to clearly defined roles and responsibilities for all partners involved – including developing a formal role for Indigenous communities.

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Oily Water Separator-Further Clarifications on Requirements for Sampling Points

This technical news provides further clarifications regarding the oily water separator sampling point referred to in Technical and Regulatory News No. 15/2023.

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Applying Alternative Fuels to Existing Ships-Engine Retrofit Report 2023

This report examines the application of alternative fuel technology solutions to vessel conversions. For in-depth information on the properties of alternative fuels themselves-including their safety characteristics and emissions profiles-explore Lloyd's Register's Fuel For Thought series here: www.lr.org/fuelforthought.

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Best Practice & Recommendations for the safe carriage of electric vehicles (EVs)

This paper will focus on risks and risk mitigation options associated with the carriage of electric vehicles (EVs) on two different ship types, i.e.Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTCs) and roro/ropax vessels. Hybrid cars and other alternative fuel vehicles are not considered since the largest share of new energy vehicles are EVs. The proportion of other AFVs in the global car fleet is currently limited and unlikely to grow significantly in the near future.

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View List of Fire Safety Measures for the Maritime Transportation of Electric Vehicles Here

Ship-to-Shore Connector Barges

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) will acquire four¹ self-propelled modular barges, to be built by Navamar of Montreal for the Department of National Defence’s (DND) Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) project, that project part of the larger Joint Support Ship (JSS) project. The SSC barges will provide an enhanced capability primarily to Protecteur-class ships being built by Seaspan for the JSS project, enabling those ships to transfer to and from shore, mission essential equipment, stores, and personnel for various Canadian Armed Forces missions.

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IMO III: Guidance on Remote Survey and ISM Code Audits Finalized

The 9th session of the IMO Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments (III 9) agreed on guidelines for remote surveys and ISM Code audits in extraordinary circumstances, and on updates to the survey guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC) and the procedures for port state control.

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Getting to Zero by 2050-Technical Regulatory Details Matter In Accelerating Decarbonization of Marine Fuels

Action at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to regulate emissions from fuel production, and to consider all types of greenhouse gases (GHGs) — not just CO₂ — is moving slowly and not receiving much attention. But these regulatory details are probably more important than the headline-grabbing move to target net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. Here’s why.

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Halifax-Class Frigates Naval Affairs Program Briefing Note # 13

An excellent brief summary of the Halifax-Class frigates by the team at the Naval Association of Canada.

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Accelleron rR-Imagines Turbocharging with Launch of Next Generation x300-L Low-Speed Series

Accelleron has unveiled the next generation of turbochargers for two-stroke engines, the X300-L series. The platform-based and easy-service concept complemented by Accelleron's Turbo insights digital technology sets a new benchmark for turbocharging that will offer ship operators the flexibility to respond to uncertainty around the fuels they will use and how they will operate their vessels in the future.

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Siemens-White Paper: Getting Started with Ship Lifecycle Management

Shipbuilding companies implement product lifecycle management (PLM) systems to provide their diverse and widely dispersed enterprises with access to a single source of product and process knowledge. Once a PLM system is in place, shipbuilding companies can leverage this knowledge to improve productivity, reduce ship design and engineering costs as well as operational expenses, facilitate global collaboration and provide the visibility needed for better business decision-making. This white paper from Siemens identifies the best-practice capabilities that a PLM system should provide to facilitate these fundamental business needs.

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Use of EPL/SHaPoLi Power Reserve

To meet EEXI requirements, many ships have applied EPL or SHaPoLi as an overridable power limitation. In this case, the available power may be insufficient and overriding the power limitation may be necessary, which requires reporting and follow-up. This statutory news aims to inform on the release and use of power reserve.

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Lithium-Ion Batteries in Containers Guidelines

These Guidelines produced by the global carrier CINS Network is intended to highlight the risks that Lithium-Ion Batteries can present and provide suggestions for identifying those risks and ensuring the safe carriage of Lithium-Ion Batteries.

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Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment

Canada is a signatory to a NATO Standardization Agreement which provides descriptions of types of naval and non-naval vessels for use by planners, operators and analysts. A naval replenishment oiler, defined in the guide as an auxiliary vessel and written per naval writing convention as "auxiliary oiler replenishment" is designated as an AOR. The definitions and comments explain terms are identified in the following document.

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Strong Seawater-Lubricated Bearings Could Result in Reduced Underwater Radiated Noise, Says THORDON

Thordon Bearings has indicated a polymer propeller shaft bearing lubricated by seawater could generate significantly less underwater radiated noise (URN) than metal bearings lubricated by oil.The Canadian polymer bearings specialist says the low URN of a ship operating with seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearings is one of the reasons why the arrangement is favoured by the naval, cruise and fisheries sectors.

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Controlling the Northern Seas

We are presenting something a little different in our Technical Section this week but definitely of interest to many of our readers. Dr Tim Choi of the University of Calgary has just released his doctoral dissertation titled: Controlling the Northern Seas: The Influence of Exclusive Economic Zones on the Development of Norwegian, Danish, and Canadian Naval Forces. There is much to explore in his work that is relevant to many of us.

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Green Shipping Corridors: Leveraging Synergies

As part of COP 26, 24 countries including the Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Chile, and Australia, signed the Clydebank Declaration, with the goal of supporting the establishment of at least six green corridors by the middle of this decade. The ABS publication, Green Shipping Corridors: Leveraging Synergies, provides the foundation needed for making informed decisions regarding selecting, establishing and utilizing green shipping corridors.

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Alternative Fuels Outlook For Shipping

This white paper by Bureau Veritas details alternative fuels for the shipping industry, considering technological maturity, availability, safety, emissions and regulations. Adopting a well-to-wake approach in its evaluations, our analysis covers the industry’s changing needs resulting from its energy transition and decarbonization ambitions.

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A Blueprint for Building Sustainable Operational Technology Cyber Security Programmes

In most organisations, a gap still exists in understanding how OT security programmes, controls, and solutions differ from existing IT security solutions. The increase in cyber-attacks targeting OT environments in several companies worldwide and in regulatory requirements may have triggered a willingness in organisations to plan, create, and employ viable OT security programmes to achieve a more robust OT security maturity level.

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Impact of Manufacturing Tolerances on Propeller Performance

This report evaluates experimental data on the manufacturing tolerances of propellers and the resulting defects, with the conclusion that the current ISO 484 standards needs to be thoroughly evaluated as defects have effects on efficiently, cavitation and noise.

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