The EU is planning to create a Black Sea Maritime Safety Hub.
It’s important because of the adversarial maritime climate there. The Black Sea is used by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and other nations as a port to the world. It’s busy, and there is danger of interference or attacks due to the war in Ukraine.
“The EU is committed to help turn the Black Sea into a mine-free sea basin through enhanced cooperation with its member states, the Black Sea partners, like-minded countries, and partner organizations,” it declares.
The plan does not propose a specific location for the hub but outlines a role in building maritime situational awareness through monitoring efforts. It would include a focus on submarine cables and offshore assets including gas and wind energy infrastructure. It would also focus on the dangers created by the shadow fleet of tankers involved in the Russian oil trade.
These are all useful functions for international trade in the area. Kudos to the EU for stepping up.
I don’t usually write about air, but in this case I have two connections.
First, Aether Fuels is a new Chicago-based concern with an innovative approach to the Fischer-Tropsch process for making fuel from waste. When I was in Chicago, I participated in some of the planning for the South Chicago airport, which sparked my interest in airport development. If you’ve flown through O’Hare, you have some idea of how jammed-up air transport is in Chicago, and why new venues are needed, especially for freight.
Second, I’m interested in new technologies for sustainable fuels. What caught my eye here is the point at the end. The process can also be used to produce sustainable marine fuel! That really caught my eye.
The company is called Aether; they are well-funded by big corporate names. The article discusses a bit about the process, which is being developed now. A pilot plant is in the offing, maybe in the next couple of years.
One of the advantages of their process is its ability to use carbon-capture output as a feedstock. One of the big problems of carbon capture technologies is what to do with the output. Bury it? Crazy and costly! Another use for CO2 would be useful.
The article mentions that while the company’s goal is SAF fuel for airplanes now, the process could also make fuel for maritime transport. That’s a huge market, with a present-day need. There’s a risk that air carriers might have to compete for sustainable fuels with the maritime transport industry.
We can use all the sustainable fuels production we can get. It’s nice to see a startup that’s not “AI” or software, that can acquire funds to move a worthwhile effort ahead.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Office of Marine Safety released a report on the Dali bridge ‘allision’ (not a collision) that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore MD USA.
We all read with amazement at the destruction of this major bridge, which carries much East Coast auto and truck traffic between New York-Philadelphia and Washington DC. The cost to repair it is estimated at well over a billion dollars.
What caused the accident? The ship owner, ship operator, captain, and many insurance providers will be anxious to find out who can be held financially responsible— who is to blame.
The report indicates there was prior knowledge before the voyage of a loose cable connection which could have been responsible for the ship’s major 440V power system blacking out. That could be a cause of the accident since it would include the steering system and engines.
The team performing the investigation had a wide variety of members including the shipbuilder, classification society, flag-state port authorities, shipowner, and ship managers.
It may take a year to get the final report out. So no decisions are possible for quite a while.
It seems like a potential for a loose cable is something that should have been taken care of immediately if discovered. The accident occurred on 26 March. Why was it not discovered and fixed in prior inspections? I believe fixing it would have been time-consuming, causing quite a bit of lost steaming time. Were prior inspections not rigorous enough to disclose such problems? Or were the possibilities simply ignored? Maybe the lawyers will find out! See the second article below. And the US government is getting into the act (third article).
With the bridge repair costs so high, the stakes are large.
Supply Chain and Logistics 