A massive blast in Ningo-Zhoushan port, building a regional carrier in the Middle East, and the X-Press Pearl master held in Sri Lanka for over three years. Maritime in Minutes runs through the editors' picks from the news in August 2024.

Seatrade Maritime News’ Marcus Hand and Gary Howard reflect on the month of August, with their highlights from the news in maritime and shipping, from the biggest stories to those that simply piqued their interest.

Hear more about:

In connectivity reliability and service matter not brand: Inmarsat

Newbuilding orders at Chinese shipyards up 43% in H1

Port of Hueneme to use exhaust-sucking barges to control emissions

Massive blast on Yang Ming container ship in Ningbo

Podcast: Building a new regional shipping player with Folk Maritime CEO Poul Hestbaek

US East Coast port strike the next spanner in supply chains

Bahri inks $1 billion deal to buy nine VLCCs

X-Press Pearl Captain trapped in Sri Lanka for over three years

Seafarer charities propose strengthened shore leave regulation

Eidesvik Offshore to operate world’s first ammonia powered PSV

The ​comparison ​between ​the ​shipping ​and ​the ​aviation ​industries ​is ​a ​common ​one, ​with ​it often ​felt that ​maritime ​lags ​behind.

Bringing ​systems ​over ​from ​aviation ​to ​maritime ​has ​proved ​to ​be ​more ​difficult ​than ​it ​sounds, but ​this ​is ​something ​that ​SITA, ​through ​SmartSea, ​is ​looking ​to ​change.

Seatrade Maritime News Editor Marcus Hand sits down with Julian Panter, CEO of SmartSea, to discuss the transformative potential of bringing aviation technology to the maritime industry.

The discussion covers:

• The setting up of SmartSea and the company’s aims
• Comparisons between shipping and aviation
• Immediate technological solutions for shipping
• Challenges in the maritime industry
• Unifying maritime digital language
• Collaboration with Columbia Ship Management
• The future for SmartSea

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Connect with Marcus Hand, Editor of Seatrade Maritime News:

Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/marcushand1

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Efficiency is key to commercial and environmental performance in shipping, in this episode we discuss efficiency as an ethos and the technologies that enable more efficient tanker operations.

With SMM 2024 and its environmental conference gmec just around the corner, Seatrade Maritime’s Gary Howard spoke to Ardmore Shipping technical manager Suraj Batra about the importance of operational efficiency in the Ardmore fleet, and some of the technologies the company has trialled and adopted in its pursuit of optimisation.

Tune in to hear Ardmore’s transition plan as the company prepares for the retirement of CEO Anthony Gurnee, and Batra’s thoughts on the most impactful efficiency strategies employed across the company’s product tanker fleet.

The episode previews a topic at gmec 2024, where Batra joins a panel session on decarbonisation through fleet efficiency alongside Harriet Hunnisett-Johnson, head of maritime at Signol, Yarden Gross, CEO & co-founder at Orca AI, and Cristina Aleixendri, COO & co-founder at bound4blue, moderated by Thetius founder Nick Chubb.

The conversation on the day will combine the expertise of the wider panel to cover AI technology in operational efficiency, wind assisted propulsion, and the role of organisational and behavioural change in bringing about decarbonisation.

Claus Ulrich Selbach, Business Unit Director Maritime and Technology Fairs at SMM organiser Hamburg Messe und Congress also joins the episode to give an update on the gmec 2024 programme. Uli shares new innovations on the show floor at SMM this year such as the AI center, start-ups@SMM, and the future fuels area, and the show’s own environmental efforts such as removing carpets and embracing public transport.

SMM takes place in Hamburg from September 3-6, 2024, with its flagship environmental conference gmec on September 4. Open to all ticket holders, gmec will be located on the Green Stage in hall A4.