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Wärtsilä comes onboard the Mayflower Autonomous Ship Project

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Wärtsilä comes onboard the Mayflower Autonomous Ship Project. Image: Wartsila
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Retracing the voyage of its famous 17th century namesake vessel, the Mayflower Autonomous ship is set to become one of the world’s first fully autonomous, unmanned vessels to cross the Atlantic. Led by marine research organisation, ProMare, the project is developing autonomous systems that can later be deployed commercially, offering a window into the future of shipping and marine research.

Wärtsilä has joined a global consortium of technology partners that includes IBM. IBM is providing the AI, cloud and edge computing, and power systems behind the Mayflower’s AI Captain that will enable the vessel to sense, think and make decisions at sea.

The Wärtsilä RS24 system is a ground-breaking high-speed, high-resolution FMCW K-Band radar (24GHz) designed to provide high levels of situational awareness – especially in densely populated marine environments. The RS24 radar system will work in tandem with the Mayflower’s onboard cameras, AIS, and navigational systems as a core part of the AI Captain. The AI Captain constantly evaluates the Mayflower’s environment and long-term goals, and modifies the ship’s course in order to avoid debris and storms which could threaten the ship at sea.

The RS24 is already established as one of the primary sensors onboard the Wärtsilä IntelliTug – the first commercial Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship, which underwent successful trials in Port of Singapore waters last year.

The Wärtsilä RS24 has a five times higher resolution than existing marine S and X-Band radars with spin cycles of 60 rpm. This enables resolution separation of small crafts in crowded waters, especially in close proximity to the vessel, and will allow the Mayflower to navigate safely in complex situations. By identifying potential hazards, and through fusing data with that from the video recognition and AIS, the Wärtsilä system helps produce a high-fidelity map of the operating area.

“Our team has followed the development of technologies applicable to ship autonomy, and when selecting systems for the Mayflower project, we quickly recognised that the Wärtsilä RS24 was the perfect radar solution. Having Wärtsilä as a partner really helps the project; they understand the marine environment and how the various instruments should be designed, deployed, operated and maintained, plus they have tremendous experience in integrating systems, says Brett Phaneuf, Co-Founder of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship Project.

“We are pleased to provide our latest, high-resolution radar technology, the RS24, as an integral component of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship project. This will form the primary instrument for acquiring and tracking targets, and maintaining situational awareness at a scale that allows for early path planning and hazard reduction. This is a unique and highly significant project, and Wärtsilä is honoured to participate in this partnership,” says Dr Sasha Heriot, Business Development Manager, Wärtsilä Voyage.

Wärtsilä’s experience in integrating complex systems, and its know-how in manned and unmanned marine operations, were cited as being of huge importance to the project. The company’s Smart Marine approach emphasises the value in collaborating with qualified partners to achieve greater efficiencies throughout the maritime ecosystem. It is anticipated that when completed, the Mayflower voyage will represent a major step forward in bringing autonomous shipping to realisation.

The Mayflower will support the development of a flexible and cost-effective platform for oceanographic research. It will also act as a testbed for new navigation software, renewable energy, and propulsion systems for marine vessels.

At 15m in length and weighing a mere 5 tons, the Mayflower is small and fast. Performing nimble manoeuvres to avoid other ships and marine debris, the Mayflower will benefit from a highly responsive short-range radar to help detect and avoid potentially show-stopping objects in the water. Specifically designed to look for potential hazards at close range, up to 1000m, the Wärtsilä RS24 radar will play a fundamental part in securing safe passage as she traverses oceans.

The new-generation Mayflower is set to take to water for sea trials in the summer of 2020.

Wärtsilä Voyage radically transforms the way vessels perform their voyages by leveraging the latest digital technologies to deliver a step-change in safety, efficiency, reliability and emissions.

Container Terminal

Kloosterboer starts construction of Cool Port II

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Kloosterboer starts construction of Cool Port II. Image: Kloosterboer
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New state-of-the-art fully automatic high-rise cold store at City Terminal Rotterdam

July 13 Kloosterboer starts construction of a new state-of-the-art fully automatic multi-customer high-rise cold store with a storage capacity of 60,000 pallet places at City Terminal Rotterdam. The building is expected to be completed in January 2022.

Two years after the realization of Kloosterboer Cool Port I, an ultra-modern fruit terminal with a combination of cooling and freezing capacity, Kloosterboer is now building a state-of-the-art fully automatic high-rise cold store at City Terminal Rotterdam. Pallets are supplied by self-unloading or conventional trucks and automatically go from the dispatch hall via roller conveyors, turntables and locks to the cold store, where cranes automatically put the pallets in place.

Sustainability is paramount at Kloosterboer. The high-rise cold store is about 35-45% more energy efficient compared to a conventional cold store. The 40 meter high building is built according to the high BREEAM requirements. The intention is to place 2,700 solar panels on the roof. With the existing solar panel installation of 11,000 solar panels on Cool Port I, Kloosterboer is a forerunner in the port of Rotterdam in generating solar energy for its own use.

Launching customer is Lamb Weston / Meijer, one of the largest producers of frozen potato products. They opt for logistics service provider Kloosterboer to have its export products handled by Kloosterboer via the port of Rotterdam. In the future, Lamb Weston / Meijer goods will be delivered from various production locations in the Netherlands to Cool Port II, among others. From there, the containers are loaded and then transported by barge to the container terminals on the Maasvlakte for further export. 

Kloosterboer is an enterprising, innovative and sustainable logistics service provider. With the construction of Cool Port II, Kloosterboer still has enough space for the next phase; Cool Port III.

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Maritime

Damen delivers five zero emissions propulsion ferries to Arriva in Copenhagen

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Damen delivers five zero emissions propulsion ferries to Arriva in Copenhagen. Image: Damen Shipyards
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Damen Shipyards Group has delivered five Damen Ferries 2306 E3 to Arriva Denmark in Copenhagen. Arriva is operating the vessels on behalf of Danish public transport agency Movia. The vessels are based on Damen’s E3 philosophy – environmentally friendly, efficient in operation and economically viable.

Towards a zero emissions future

When Movia issued the public tender for waterborne public transport in Copenhagen, its aim was to upgrade the service, making it cleaner and more sustainable. In this the agency was aligned with both Arriva, which embraces innovation in order to reduce environmental impact, and Damen, whose aim it is to become the world’s most sustainable shipbuilder.

The ferries make significant strides towards a zero emission service, reducing Copenhagen’s public transport NOX emissions by 2.5%, CO2 emissions by 10% and particulate emissions by 66%.

Resistance is futile: shaping efficiency

The vessel’s sustainable credentials are powered by a series of innovative, digital shipbuilding techniques. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were applied to the hull design, minimising resistance in the water, while cutting-edge software measured the relationship between engine torque and propeller speed. This resulted in the optimal use of battery packs for reduced weight, energy consumption and – ultimately – costs of operation.

The potential of connectivity

The ferries are prepared for remote monitoring. Informed by a network of sensors incorporated into the vessel, Damen’s remote monitoring department is able to set up a dashboard tracking such things as sailing patterns, battery lifecycle and swell dynamics. This allows fine-tuning of the operation towards greater efficiency and reduced downtime for maintenance.

Full service provision

For this project Damen has undertaken its role as integrator, or complete solution provider. This has involved, for example investigating shore solutions for electricity supply – in alignment with Movia’s requirement that 60% of the electricity for the operation comes from a sustainable source.

Martin Verstraaten, Damen sales manager, says, “This, in my opinion, is where Damen really add value to a project. Our involvement is not limited to the shipbuilding scope alone, we take responsibility for the entirety of the project. We provide a focal point where all partners involved the project come together to fulfil their individual roles in alignment with one another. With this, the project benefits from cohesive, centralised direction for maximum efficiency.”

Working closely together with Echandia Marine, Heliox and Staubli, Damen developed a solution that takes just seven minutes to charge the ferries at the end of each trip they make. The charging solution features an innovative auto-mooring system to ensure a secure connection between the vessel and charging infrastructure.

Transforming the current

Having recently unveiled the Electric Cutter Suction Dredger 650, Damen continues to work on a number of hybrid and electric projects. These include two fully electric ferries for Ontario, Canada, four (having delivered two to date) hybrid vessels, easily convertible to full electric propulsion in the future for BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada and the world’s first fully electric harbour tug with 70 tonnes bollard pull for the port of Auckland, New Zealand.

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Maritime

APM Terminals Buenos Aires facilitates first ever export of lemons from Argentina to China

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APM Terminals Buenos Aires facilitates first ever export of lemons from Argentina to China. Image: APM Terminals
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For the first time in history, a cargo of lemons has been exported from Argentina to China.

A container with 24 tons of lemons, produced in Tucumán, was shipped on the Maersk Labrea from APM Terminals Buenos Aires in Argentina to the Port of Hong Kong, on June 30, 2020. This was made possible due to the agreement and adherence to phytosanitary requirements by both countries.

To facilitate this premier, the terminal offered exclusive use of its cold-store chamber under the supervision of specialist refrigeration staff. The cold-store chamber offers sufficient flexibility to reach constant temperatures down to -35°C, according to the need for each cargo.

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