Rise of Bitcoin and crypto currencies as alternate investment options to gold

The ‘Captain going down with the ship’ is held up as a great tradition by mariners and land-lubbers alike. This tradition is in fact so ingrained in the psyche of society, that it is arguably almost the unquestioned expectation. Numerous movies have glamorised the valour shown by Captains, as the last person standing on the sinking ship, after evacuating all passengers and crew, or going down with the ship trying to do so. At one point, the Captain on the Ship while being hig

"Transcript of a recent interview with TBS eFM news broadcaster & current affairs host Mr. Henry Shinn on the impact of Qatar Petroleum's $19.1 billion newbuilding order for South Korean shipyards & what they must do to ensure their survival." Qatar is the world’s leading LNG exporter next to Australia. Could you first tell us about its volume and major destinations? When we talk about revenues both from oil & gas, Qatar Petroleum alone is responsible for about 60% of the GDP

How the crude oil tanker sector is going to evolve when we emerge from the pandemic remains to be seen

"Transcript of a recent interview with TV news anchor & presenter Ms. Sooyoung on the impact of Qatar Petroleum's $19.1 billion newbuilding order for South Korean shipyards & what they must do to ensure their survival" Qatar’s state-run LNG producer signed agreements with South Korea’s “Big 3” shipyards on Monday to secure more than 100 ships through 2027, in the largest-ever single LNG vessel order. How significant is this deal in the industry? This deal is without any doubt

Humans have been using maps for thousands of years. It is therefore not surprising that ‘Cartography’ as a subject exists, which is the art and science of making maps. The oldest known maps are preserved on Babylonian tablets from 2300 BC. They were later depicted on scrolls and paper. But it’s not until the electronic age that maps have come alive. Google Maps and ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) can be considered to essentially serve the same purpose.

In 2015 a company operating in a niche area with a unique use-case approached us with a specific request. They wanted to know if we could provide the technology to operate semi or partially remote operated vessels. When asked if they meant manual operation with the capability of remote operation, we were surprised by their response. Their ambition was fully unmanned vessels, remotely operated with the capability of autonomous operation. Installation was completed, and the ves

The terms autonomous and automated are often used interchangeably in the marine industry. This is not unique to the marine industry, but is done so in other industries too. The difference between the two is dictated by the degree of human intervention. An automated vessel does not have the level of intelligence or independence that an autonomous one has. The range between Manual - Automated - Autonomous tends to be a sliding scale of different capabilities of man vs machine.

As a student of the future, I find myself in uncharted territory. The future appears to be uncertain and yet constantly changing. This unpredictability of the future is fascinating. The future is incredibly dynamic and constantly evolving, as every new discovery, invention, development or change happening around us impacts the trajectory of our future. On this basis, the future is changing in real time, which makes it a really challenging subject to study. The future therefor

In recent months there has been significant discussion on the subject of net-zero emissions and what our journey there may look like. When it comes to the IMO 2020 emission regulation, not only do we have solutions for compliance in place, but in most cases we already have the technology available to meet the IMO 2030 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. Considering this, many in the industry are asking whether the IMO 2050 target of 50% reduction in GHG emissions

Looking ahead, there is an avalanche of regulations headed our way. While some are truly international coming from the IMO or applicable by region such as the ones put forward by the EU, there are others that are national such as those enforced by the USCG for example. However, what is confusing most people is how varied some the regulation are in scope. The EU MRV regulation is a classic example that appears to clash with the IMO reporting system, causing concern in the ship

The European Union (EU) Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) regulation is something we discussed in 2013 in our blog MRV more teeth than SEEMP. At the time, the regulation was perceived as something that was a long way on the horizon. Things have since begun to heat up and some of the requirements under the EU regulation must be complied with, in 2017. After the EU set itself on a clear path towards the MRV of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from ships, the IMO has em

Although generally accepted as a promising fuel saving solution, there are only a handful of vessels fully installed with the Air Lubrication System (ALS). Results from CFD simulations and towing tank tests indicate a change in performance, even up to 10% depending upon the hull form. For ALS it appears that having a large flat bottom surface area increases the benefits. ALS works on the basic premise that using air bubbles at the interface between the hull and water will red

The shipping industry appears to be transmuting and adapting to the current world scenario. We find ourselves with fuel prices still low, some sectors are struggling with excess tonnage while other sectors have higher than break even earnings. Regulatory compliance, monitoring and reporting requirements are either piling up or just around the corner. As the industry transforms, data driven services and analytics are being brought to the forefront and are being rapidly adopted

With sensor information on board LNG vessels and enrichment using the laws of physics and mathematics, companies have developed the technology to precisely ascertain the real time rate of boil-off on an LNG vessel at any instant and in any situation that the vessel finds itself. The LNG rate of boil-off is not an unknown entity as such, as it can be calculated in test conditions in a laboratory. This has however not until recently been attempted on board in a scientific manne

Virtually every shipping company today uses noon reports to understand and monitor what is happening on their ships. These reports are traditionally sent by the Captain every day, based on data gathered manually by the crew. The content and format of the report is usually pre-agreed by the company and sent at noon. The noon report has grown over the years to give a snapshot of what has happened on board the ship since the previous noon i.e., in the last 24 hours. Since the ti

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their mind, cannot change anything – is a saying that we must constantly remind ourselves. Most people agree that the pace of change today is faster than it has ever been before. All indications are that change is only going to get more rapid. The maritime industry is characteristic of being steeped in tradition. While upholding tradition is honourable and is of utmost importance, I suspect that what it also m

The European Commission’s Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) rules to collect emissions data officially entered into force on July 1, 2015. MRV Regulation 2015/757 is a first step towards cutting CO2 emissions from maritime transport and requires operators of ships exceeding 5,000 gross tons to monitor and report their carbon emissions on all voyages to, from and between E.U. ports from 2018. What happens to compliance and technology in the face of increasing emissi

The industry-wide trend of digitalisation means many companies now find themselves overwhelmed with large amounts of data. When the data begins streaming in, there naturally arises the question as to what is to be done with all this data. Data naturally brings with it new set of issues to tackle, the chief among them being accuracy, storage, security, transfer, sharing, and filtering. Most companies do not have the expertise to deal with large amounts of data. Just dealing wi

In the past data was only collected if it was required and most likely by whoever needed it. Therefore the amount of data being collected was relatively small. Gradually the value of the data became apparent when it was understood what the data could reveal. When analysed by an expert set of eyes it could give insights and trends that could not be easily picked up otherwise. This made people wonder what does the data that they are not yet collecting reveal. Thus began the rac