At least 27% of the energy consumed in the European Union by 2030, should come from renewable energy. One of the possibilities next to wind energy, sun panels, tidal energy etc. is the increased use of biofuels in mineral oils. (See the promotion...
The United Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has issued a revised Marine Guidance Note on the implementation of the EU Port Reception Facility Directive (EC/2000/59).
Waste is one of the main focus areas of the "Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials Challenge" in Horizon 2020. In this sense, the main concern is to support the transition towards a more circular economy,...
The dreaded tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) is among a tiny minority of fish species (<1%!) whose distribution spans oceans, according to a new paper
A large attended general assembly was held in Lisbon. Participants discussed a whole day about the future of our association resulting in a sharper mission statement, vision, ethics code, and best practices.
Ecoslops has an innovative technology, enabling the transformation of maritime oil residues into valuable new fuels and light bitumen. A first micro-refining plant is already fully operational since June 2015 at the Port of Sinès, Portugal...
The Ballast Water Management Convention will enter into force on September 8, 2017. It means ships should invest in an IMO-approved ballast water treatment system on which depends the renewal of a ship’s IOPP certificate. In the period till...
Floating platforms, floating storage units (FSUs) and floating production, storage and offloading units (FPSOs) (i.e. floating offshore installations at fixed locations) are normally not required by the Convention to undergo surveys or to have...
With the increase in fuel and operating costs, ship owners and operators try hard to maintain their profit levels. The profit of shipping companies depends on the efficiency of their operations linked to the quality of the crew and the machinery...
Demulsifiers, or emulsion breakers, are a class of specialty chemicals used to separate emulsions, for example, water in oil. They are commonly used in the processing of oil-water mixtures originating from shipping, which is typically produced...
Many of our members continue to operate in challenging circumstances. Shipping is in a deep crisis. Overcapacity in the shipping sector is a fact, prices are weak putting shipping lines’ prices and profitability under severe pressure....
Capturing and recovering hydrocarbon vapors to reduce emissions of environmentally hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOC) is a vital concern in modern oil and gas production and transportation. Most of the larger oil companies worldwide have...
Emission Controlled Areas (ECAs) (North Sea, Baltic Sea, English Channel and alongside North America) already exist for some years.
Every year ships carry an estimated 5 to 10 billion tons of ballast water in order to provide ships with the draught and stability needed. However, ballast water also contains “alien” invasive species which can destroy local fauna and...
The PRF-Directive, alias the Directive 2000/59/EC, is being evaluated and amended.
The IMO has agreed a 0.5% global sulphur cap on emissions by ships from 2020.
Coastal states alongside the Baltic Sea have taken the initiative to remove broken and lost fishing nets in the Baltic Sea.
The adoption of Finland of the International Convention for the Management of Ships’ Ballast Water has triggered the entry into force of a key international measure for environmental protection that aims to stop the spread of potentially...
I read in the maritime press that several associations are complaining about conventions and rules not always being clear and about standards differing from one continent to another, or even within the EU or the US themselves.
At the world's biggest ship-recycling yard at Alang, India, life is becoming harder as fewer ships arrive. Here's why. Photo: Karan Deep Singh/The Wall Street Journal
In Europe ca 2.000.000 tons of oily-water mixtures are collected from seagoing ships. Ca 1.500.000 tons is collected by EUROSHORE members. As a result Euroshore represents ca 75% of the market. The collected oil-water mixtures are de-watered...
In its 10th year, the GreenPort Congress held in October 2015 provided decision makers from the port community - port authorities, terminal operators, shipping lines, logistics operators - with a meeting place to both learn about and discuss the...