Vard Brevik

An innovative ship is being designed to collect plastic waste from the world’s oceans and then convert it into clean hydrogen, allowing surplus hydrogen to be shipped back to shore.At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This type of debris—which is currently the most abundant type of litter in the ocean, making up 80% of all marine debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments—could more than double in oceans and other bodies of water by 2030, an assessment by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) found.

Retlif Testing Laboratories, a globally recognized, independent EMC/EMI and environmental testing organization, welcomed New York State Congressman Andrew Garbarino to its secure facility for an escorted tour of their EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) and Environmental Simulation Services (ESS) laboratories. The tour was followed by a roundtable discussion in support of military contracting and defense manufacturing on Long Island, logistics and supply chain issues, and the growing employment opportunities within the contracting space.

The Port of Virginia and the US Army Corps of Engineers today signed the agreement committing the federal government to begin its financial investment in the construction effort to widen and deepen the commercial shipping channels and Norfolk Harbor.With a group of federal and state officials in attendance, Virginia Port Authority CEO Stephen A. Edwards and Col. Brian P. Hallberg, the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Norfolk District commander, signed the Project Partnership Agreement. The document formally commits the port and the Army Corps to collaborate to deliver the Norfolk Harbor widening and deepening project.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index rose on Friday to gain for a sixth consecutive week on stronger vessel rates across segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, gained 55 points, or 1.7%, to 3,344 points. It rose 7.7% for the week.The capesize index rose 141 points, or 3.2%, to 4,526 points. The index rose for a sixth straight week, up 14.7%.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were up $1,170 at $37,538.

U.S. shipowner Eagle Bulk's 2018 decision to outfit the majority of its dry bulk fleet with scrubbers has proven to be an environmentally sound and profitable decision, with an expected payback on investment by the end of 2022.The company's CEO Gary Vogel and Chief Strategy Officer Costa Tsoutsoplides said in a recent trade press interview that Eagle Bulk answered the MARPOL 2020 0.5% emissions ceiling with a $100 million investment to equip 47 ships—89% of its fleet of supramaxes and ultramaxes—with CR Ocean Engineering (CROE) scrubbers.