Maritime Technology and Research

Is hydrogen a decarbonizing fuel for maritime shipping?

Nitin Agarwala — 2024-06-05

To meet the targets for carbon emissions as laid out by the Paris Agreement, the International Maritime Organisation has experimented with several technological, operational, and incentive-based methods. However, to date, a viable and reliable method or technology has eluded humankind in meeting the desired carbon emission standards of the shipping industry. Since LNG, so far considered as a potent decarbonizing candidate, has fallen short, efforts to experiment with hydrogen as an alternative candidate for decarbonization have found traction with researchers. Using desk-based qualitative research, the author aims to analyze the use of hydrogen in the shipping sector as a means of achieving decarbonization. In doing so, the future use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel for the shipping industry to achieve net-zero emission targets is examined, evaluated, and discussed. The study shows that, while hydrogen as a decarbonizing fuel in the shipping industry has high potential, its use as a zero-emission fuel is feasible only if either the technology of hydrogen production using renewables advances, or increased taxations and subsidies make the costs comparable to currently cheaper production methods using fossil fuels.

Highlights

IMO has committed decarbonisation of the shipping industry but has not been able to identify a fuel, process or technology to achieve this target
Many fuel options have been experimented with but with limited success
Hydrogen as a fuel offers high promise to achieve the committed target of IMO
Hydrogen can be the desired decarbonising fuel if either technology for hydrogen production is refined or increased taxations and subsidies can help renewable energy to achieve cost comparison with fossil fuel energy

21st century learning skills of maritime faculty in the Province of Antique, Philippines

Peter Ralph Galicia — 2024-06-11

The demands of the 21^st century require educators to adapt and empower themselves with essential traits and skills to cope with the changes and bridge the gap, as they play a significant role in shaping the lives and careers of their students. This descriptive-correlational study aimed to determine the 21^st century learning skills of maritime faculty in the Province of Antique, Philippines. The data gathering instrument used was a researcher-constructed questionnaire on 21^st century skills, adapted from the study of Kelly et al. (2019), which was revised, contextualized to the local setting, and duly validated by a jury composed of five members. The statistical tools were mean, frequency, and percentage for descriptive analysis; the Mann-Whitney U test; and the Kruskal-Wallis H test for inferential analysis. The alpha level was set at 0.05. The study found that, generally, maritime faculty had a high level of 21^st century learning skills. A significant difference existed in the maritime faculty’s level of skills in 21^st century learning in terms of communication and media fluency when classified as to the length of service as a seafarer. No significant difference existed in the maritime faculty’s level of skills in 21^st century learning in terms of collaboration, teamwork, and leadership skills; critical thinking and problem-solving skills; or creativity and innovation skills when grouped according to age, civil status, length of service as faculty, length of service as a seafarer, and educational attainment. Further, in terms of the communication and media skills of maritime faculty, no significant difference was found to exist when they were grouped according to age, civil status, length of service as faculty, and length of service as a seafarer.

Highlights

21st-century skills are essential in the modern classroom
By participating in capacity-building workshops, maritime faculty can enhance their 21^st century skills
Young maritime faculty with short seafaring experience must gain more seafaring experience to integrate those experiences into teaching strategies essential to the 21^st century classroom
To benefit digital natives, old and experienced maritime faculty must embrace change by using modern teaching methods and strategies
Lifelong learning must be encouraged among maritime faculty, which is an essential tool for the development of their 21^st century skills

Introducing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to multi-criteria performance assessment of inspection techniques for port concrete infrastructure

Christina N. Tsaimou — 2024-04-23

Port infrastructure plays an important role in the economic and social activities of the regions they serve. Pressures induced by the corrosive marine environment and weather conditions, unexpected events associated with climate change, the usually high freight and vehicle loading conditions, the dynamic load of the equipment, and insufficient maintenance and rehabilitation measures that sometimes are not enough to repair an in-service facility, increase the susceptibility of port structures to rapid aging and deterioration. To ensure port infrastructure safety and reliability, and to maintain operational efficiency, port managers are tasked with forming successful inspection schemes for structural condition monitoring. Within this context, identifying the capabilities and prioritizing existing inspection techniques allow for optimizing resources (cost, time, personnel). The issue of performance assessment for commonly used Non-Destructive Testing techniques has received significant research interest. However, state-of-the-art Unmanned Aerial Vehicle techniques have not been previously involved in studies that assess the performance of various inspection techniques. Hence, the present research seeks to introduce Unmanned Aerial Vehicles techniques into multi-criteria performance assessment practices of inspection techniques for port concrete infrastructure. Three Non-Destructive Techniques: a) Infrared Thermography, b) Ground Penetrating Radar, and c) Impact-Echo, are compared to camera-based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle techniques linked to Close Range Photogrammetry applications. A qualitative approach, including a literature review and expert judgment, is applied to acquire data required for Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis practices with the Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluation methodology. The ranking output of the applied model is validated with other multi-criteria methods to ensure the robustness of the results. The obtained results for the specific set of criteria will assist decision-makers in selecting the most suitable technique for inspecting surface or sub-surface defects in port concrete infrastructure.

Highlights

The integration of UAV-driven techniques into current practices for assessing the performance of inspection techniques affects the ranking order
The prioritization of the inspection techniques is conducted qualitatively (expert judgment and literature survey) by implementing the PROMETHEE method
A camera-based UAV technique improves the practical part of inspections and provides flexibility
A camera-based UAV technique is the optimal inspection technique for detecting surface defects, while Impact Echo is preferred for sub-surface defects

Not all that glitters is gold: Glitter causes acute toxicity to nauplii of Artemia sp.

Denis Moledo de Souza Abessa — 2024-05-02

Glitter has been reported as a relevant pollutant, as it is widely used in cosmetic and textile products and craftwork, and often associated with domestic sewage. The particular glitter is composed of thin layers of plastic and metal. This study assessed the acute toxicity of glitter dispersions in the brine shrimp Artemia sp. Nauplii of Artemia sp. that were exposed to glitter dispersions (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 mg/L), obtained by diluting a stock solution in seawater; the control consisted of filtered seawater only. Three replicates were used per treatment and consisted of glass tubes filled with 10 mL of the test solution, and ten nauplii aging over 48 h. After 48 h, the survivors were counted and examined under a microscope. The mean size of glitter particles was 3.94 (±0.98) µm; approximately 44 % of particles were in the range of very fine sand, and 27 % coarse silt. Significant lethal effects (p < 0.05) occurred from 0.1 mg/L (Lowest Observed Effect Concentration - LOEC); the lethal concentration to 50 % organisms (LC50-48h) was 0.350 (0.348 - 0.351) mg/L. The exposed organisms also exhibited patches in their digestive tracts, and particles were stranded in their appendices. The results indicate the toxic potential of glitter to brine shrimp. This investigation indicates the need for further studies on the toxicity of glitter to marine invertebrates.

Highlights

Glitter includes particles of sizes similar to those of marine microalgae
Exposure to glitter suspensions caused toxicity in brine shrimps from 0.1 mg/L
The nauplii of Artemia were more sensitive to glitter than echinoderm embryos
Metallic parts of the glitter were observed in the digestive tract of the brine shrimp nauplii

Assessment of water quality and heavy metal contamination in ballast water: Implications for marine ecosystems and human health

Amarachi Paschaline Onyena — 2024-04-28

The global menace of non-compliance with ballast water management poses a pressing environmental threat, as it facilitates the transfer of harmful organisms and sediment contaminants. This study investigates the environmental impact of ballast water discharged by ships, focusing on water quality and heavy metal concentrations. The release of ballast water, often containing elevated levels of heavy metals like mercury, lead, and cadmium, poses a significant threat to marine ecosystems. The research, involving water sample collection from ten different vessels across various countries, assesses physicochemical parameters and heavy metal concentrations. Results indicate variations in temperature, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and pH levels among samples. Turbidity values surpassing WHO limits suggest potential anthropogenic pollution. The study identifies significant differences in pH values, potentially influencing microbial populations. Total dissolved solids and total suspended solids values vary, affecting the distribution of potential pathogens. The results reveal varying total concentrations of heavy metals (mg/L) in the following decreasing order: SA>SE>SF>SB>SC>SD>SH>SI>SG>SJ(6.07 >4.95 > 2.07 > 1.59>0.24>1.22>0.09>0.04>0.03>0.01). The highest concentration of heavy metals is recorded for iron (SA= 5.78), zinc (mg/L) (SB = 1.36, SE = 1.30, and SF = 1.35) and lead (Pb) (SE = 2.39). The elevated iron levels in vessels from SA are potentially linked to corrosion processes. Cadmium, lead, and nickel were not detected, except for lead in the sample from SE. Copper concentrations were aligned with EU standards in the vessels. Proper ballast water management is vital for monitoring water qualities, preventing environmental spread of heavy metals, ensuring marine ecosystem health, and developing compliance strategies for ships docking in ports.

Highlights

Global shipping causes heavy metal pollution, affecting human and ecosystem health
Physicochemical parameters variations suggest potential pollution and microbial impact
Mercury, lead, and cadmium in ballast water (BW) pose threats to marine ecosystems
Increased iron levels could be associated with corrosion processes
Effective BW management is crucial for environmental conservation

An integrated intermodal freight transportation system to avoid container supply chain disruptions in Chattogram Port of Bangladesh

Razon Chandra Saha — 2024-04-04

An integrated intermodal freight transportation system is a derived demand to transport shipping containers from/to the seaport to/from the hinterland, instead of undertaking cargo loading and unloading activities in port-protected areas. The concept of the intermodal system is to transfer containers to nearby hinterland nodes, such as dry ports, inland rail, road, and river terminals as a part of port development, as well as increasing port efficiency and productivity. Lloyd’s List ranked Chattogram Port as the 67^th busiest container port in the world as per container port throughput in 2022. Chattogram Port has small-scale intermodal facilities for off-docks/ICDs in the port city only. In addition, a pure intermodal system has been developed by one rail ICD in the capital city, Dhaka, and two RICTs nearby Dhaka, but less than 5 % of port throughput. A large-scale intermodal for serving the major cities, SEZs, EPZs, and industrial areas is absent due to planning and policy problems, as well as the unavailability of intermodal infrastructure and network. Due to an improper hinterland intermodal chain, the port faced container supply chain disruptions at the port yard and exceeded port capacity, resulting in container vessel congestion at the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port. By developing rail and road infrastructure, and utilizing natural river connectivity, it is possible to develop road, rail, and river intermodal systems, and shape an integrated intermodal freight transportation system to avoid container supply chain disruptions in Chattogram Port. To develop an integrated intermodal system, this research chose a quantitative research methodology for port throughput data analysis and forecasting future throughputs that are advanced to the intermodal model for Chattogram Port. Overall, this paper aims to develop an integrated intermodal freight transportation system to support Chattogram Port to keep and increase the record of port productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness actively.

Highlights

Intermodal system is a derived demand for managing hinterland and port terminals of a seaport that needs to be implemented in Chattogram Port
Container supply chain disruptions to be avoided to increase the port productivity and efficiency
Inland intermodal connectivity will help to increase hinterland of a seaport
It is necessary to develop an integrated intermodal freight transportation system to support Chattogram Port to keep and increase the record of port productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness globally

Employability skills of maintenance technicians in container ports: Implications for maritime technical and vocational education and training

Harsha Fernando — 2024-04-08

The study investigated the employability skills of maintenance technicians engaged in container ports in Sri Lanka. The specific objectives were to investigate 1) employability skill gaps between technicians’ evaluations of the level of current possession and the expected level to be possessed for the current job tasks, 2) employability skill gaps between technicians’ evaluations of the expected level of skills for current job tasks and immediate superiors’ evaluation of the importance of the same for current tasks, and 3) maintenance technicians’ exposure to skill development strategies after joining the respective container port terminals. The study was conducted in the two main container ports of Sri Lanka- Colombo and Hambantota. Responses were pooled from two independent sample groups- maintenance technicians and their immediate superiors. Maintenance technicians had graduated from technical and vocational education and training institutions with levels 3 or 4 National Vocational Qualification. Findings identified employability skill preferences of maintenance technicians and their immediate superiors, which led to possible skill gaps. The findings highlight the importance of TVET institutions identifying the preferences of business sectors, they should be prepared to impart employer-preferred skills to their trainees and to bridge any gaps in expectations. This will lead employees to develop realistic expectations of employer preferences. Hence, the findings of the study have implications for technical and vocational education and training institutions, students enrolled in these institutions, employees engaged in container ports, and their employers.

Highlights

Employability skills are vital to be employed and to remain employed
Skill gaps have consequences for job seekers, employers, and training institutes
This study investigated employability skills of technicians in container ports