BIMCO expects to release autonomous ship contract next year

LNG and hydrogen fuel option to help shipping meet IMO targets

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen have been named as frontrunner fuels that could help the shipping industry meet IMO decarbonisation ambitions, a new survey by ABS suggests.

In the ABS Future Fuels LinkedIn Survey, 47% of the respondents mentioned LNG as the solution to the 2050 emissions target while 40% selected hydrogen.

Only 8% of the stakeholders opted for ammonia as the future fuel and 5% mentioned methanol.

For the 2030 industry targets, LNG was chosen by 64% of the respondents as the dominant fuel option.

Approximately 22% of the respondents said they believe hydrogen could be the option while 7% each considered ammonia and methanol.

The results demonstrate the challenges faced by the shipowners in developing fleets that meet and exceed IMO targets, ABS noted.

ABS chairman, president and CEO Christopher Wiernicki said: “Owners of internationally trading ships are facing increasingly complex investment decisions as they try to navigate the most efficient course to the low-carbon future, which is why ABS has moved to simplify the landscape by identifying three fuel pathways potentially open to shipping.”

The first pathway identified by ABS is called ‘Light Gas’. It uses generally light, small molecule fuels with high energy content but more demanding, mainly cryogenic fuel supply systems and storage.

The group includes a relatively mature methane solution, leading towards bio-derived or synthetic methane, and ultimately, to hydrogen as fuel.

LNG can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 20%. Bio-methane can be carbon neutral while hydrogen is a zero-carbon fuel.

While Hydrogen is viewed as an optimal solution, it requires major technical advances to put it into practice. Wiernicki said it may even take a decade or more.

The second pathway is defined as ‘Heavy Gas’. It includes the use of generally heavier, more complex molecules but with less demanding fuel supply and storage requirements than the light gas pathway.

Three Carnival cruise brands affected by cyberattack

Carnival Corporation has revealed that the cyberattack that occurred in August affected three of its brands and casino operations.

The three affected brands are Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, and Seabourn .

In August, the company identified unauthorised third-party access in parts of its information technology systems.

The Information Security at Carnival Corporation worked to shut down the intrusion, restore operations, and avert further unauthorised access.

It also worked with a cybersecurity company to launch an investigation and informed the law enforcement and appropriate regulators.

During the investigation, it was found that the unauthorised third party accessed some of the personal information of some guests, employees, and crew of the three companies.

Along with the cybersecurity consultants, Carnival worked to recover the files and said that there is a low likelihood of misuse of data.

It is currently working to identify the affected guests, employees and crew.

In a statement, Carnival said: “The company expects to complete this process within the next 30 to 60 days and will then send notifications to potentially affected individuals whose current contact information is available to the company.

“Along with those individual notices, affected individuals will be offered complimentary credit monitoring as appropriate.”

Additionally, it has put up website notices and set up a call centre to answer queries. After the completion of the investigation, people may call to confirm if they were affected or not.

Last month, shipping and logistics group CMA CGM confirmed that it has been subject to cyberattacks, affecting its peripheral servers.

CMA CGM was the fourth shipping line to have been hit by a cyberattack. Previously, MSC, Cosco Shipping and Maersk were also affected.