The recently approved amendments to MARPOL Annex VI to introduce requirements to the operational efficiency of ships, the Carbon Intensity Indicators, promise to introduce a completely new compliance regime in the sector. The introduction of carbon intensity targets to existing ships will be calcula
The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Committee of Experts issued a ruling that governments have failed in their duty of care towards seafarers under international law during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first ruling of its kind, the committee of 20 jurists found that governments failed abj
Energean has completed its acquisition of Edison E&P. Energean has also entered into new gas sales agreements to supply the gas in Israel.
Forty-five IMO Member States and one Associate Member, Hong Kong, have now designated seafarers as key workers, a key step in resolving the ongoing crew change crisis. Key worker designation is essential to exempt these professionals from specific COVID-related travel restrictions, allowing them to
With the first lockdowns in place in March 2020, the Internet and social media were buzzing with posts and images of empty cities, and in some cities, even wild animals were pictured roaming the streets as if nature was reclaiming the world from humanity. As governments across the globe shut down th
Member unions of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have helped recover more than $1.7 million in wages owed to seafarers amid a concerning rise in abandonment cases by shipowners. The national union affiliates have assisted more than 135 seafarers across 12 ships in the Arab Worl
The United Nations has adopted a resolution that calls on its members to designate seafarers and other marine personnel as key workers and implement relevant measures to allow stranded seafarers to be repatriated and others to join ships. The UN pointed to the need for an urgent and concrete respons
Uniper Energy DMCC (UED), a supplier of very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), and Neutral Fuels, a pioneer of net zero biofuels in the UAE, have teamed up to provide maritime biofuel in Fujairah, UAE. The two companies plan to blend UED’s VLSFO and Neutral Fuels biofuel, creating a maritime fuel that m
On 26 October, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), and the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum, representing America’s latest attempt to increase economic
The United States is sanctioning six Chinese entities and two individuals over business relations with Iranian shipping company IRISL and its subsidiary Hafez Darya Arya Shipping Company (HDASCO). The State Department designated IRISL and IRISL’s Shanghai-based subsidiary, E-Sail Shipping Company Lt
Trafigura, one of the world’s largest ship charterers, has proposed that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) introduces a carbon levy to help boost competitiveness and uptake of alternative fuels. The company is proposing a levy between $250 and $300 per metric tonne of CO2 equivalent on s
With the EU advancing on its plans to include international shipping in its Emissions Trading System (ETS), the pressure is on for the international maritime industry to introduce a market-wide measure to pay for its share of emissions. Under the plan, the EU wants to include the maritime sector int
An industry survey into the transition to using compliant low-sulphur fuel oil since the beginning of 2020 shows that the switch hasn’t been completely pain-free for shipowners as fluctuating fuel oil properties lead to a myriad of issues. The survey focuses on issues such as increased sludge discha
Saudi Ports Authority is the latest port to prohibit discharges of exhaust wash water in its waters from ships fitted with open-loop scrubbers, one of the alternative measures of being compliant with the IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap. The port authority is acting on instructions received from the General Aut
