Maritime news . Week 18
ClassNK Issues New Ship Management Guidelines To Enhance Operational Safety
ClassNK, a leading classification society, has released a new set of “Prime Shipmanagement Guidelines” to make ship operations safer and more efficient by learning from real-life success stories.
The classification society developed these guidelines to help the maritime industry handle today’s fast-changing environment, including fuel transitions, stricter global regulations, and crew shortages.
The guidelines are designed to support flexible decision-making during unpredictable situations at sea. According to studies, human error is still one of the main reasons behind most maritime accidents.
Mediterranean ECA starts
Today sees the Mediterranean Sea officially become an emission control area (ECA) for sulphur oxides (SOx).
All vessels operating in the region must now comply with stricter environmental standards whereby they either use maximum 0.10% sulphur content in fuel, or use approved exhaust gas cleaning systems also known as scrubbers.
The new Northeast Atlantic ECA, due by 2027, stretches along coastlines from Portugal to Greenland, joining existing nearby ECAs in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean.
https://splash247.com/mediterranean-eca-starts/
Plug-and-play solar power solution launches
Wattlab, the Netherlands-based maritime solar specialist, has introduced its SolarDeck technology to the seagoing shipping industry.
SolarDeck is a modular and scalable system of deck-mounted solar panels that yield significant reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Moreover, based on installation on a seagoing general cargo vessel, SolarDeck combines substantial savings via Fuel EU Maritime and EU ETS regulations and an expected return on investment of three to five years.
https://splash247.com/plug-and-play-solar-power-solution-launches/
Jan De Nul Installs First Foundation For Denmark’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm
On 29 April 2025, Jan De Nul kicked off the installation campaign of the monopile foundations for RWE’s Thor offshore wind farm.
Heavy-lift vessel Les Alizés installed the first of 72 monopiles for Denmark’s largest wind farm to date. When finished, the wind farm will provide enough renewable energy to power more than a million Danish households.
More than a million Danish households will receive renewable energy produced in the North Sea. The 72 wind turbines will find their home near the west coast of Jutland, some 22 kilometres offshore.