Sacramento has done it before — regulating the environmental footprint of ships at sea rather than waiting for action by the International Maritime Organization. And now officials in the California capital are considering doing it again — this time for greenhouse gas emissions. We talk to University of California Berkeley’s David Wooley, Pacific En…

In San Francisco, the first hydrogen-fuelled ferry in the US is gearing up for operations. We talk to Switch Maritime chief executive Pace Ralli and Zero Emission Industries chief executive Joe Pratt about what it means for the future.By TradeWinds

Tomoaki Ichida is a rare shipping executive in Palo Alto, where he’s leading Mitsui OSK Lines’ MOL Switch as it looks to spend $100m on start-ups and venture capital firms that are rethinking energy. The podcast caught up with him at his Silicon Valley office.By TradeWinds

UK-based shipowner Union Maritime says it will fit 34 ships on order with wind propulsion systems. This is the biggest single wind propulsion order. “Our big ticket play,” according to Union Maritime. In this episode, TradeWinds Technology editor Craig Eason spoke to Union Maritime boss Laurent Cadji, and John Cooper, from BAR Technologies about th…

UK-based shipowner Union Maritime says it will fit 34 ships on order with wind propulsion systems. This is the biggest single winder."Our big ticket play," according to Union Maritime.In this episode TradeWinds Technology editor Craig Eason spoke to Union Maritime boss Laurent Cadji, and John Cooper, from BAR Technologies about the order and its im…

At a time when Houthi attacks on shipping are highlighting risks facing the industry, another is looming in the background. A recent report by insurance giant Allianz highlighted decarbonisation as a key challenge. We speak to Allianz Commercial’s Rahul Khanna and Ocean Arena’s Gina Panayiotou.By TradeWinds

Two major US offshore wind projects began construction as the former president vying to win the White House back threatens to put a stop to the sector’s growth. We talk to Recharge’s Tim Ferry about the intersection of politics and renewable energy.By TradeWinds

As the shipping industry changes as new fuels, new technologies and digitalisation make their mark, so it will need people from all walks of life to be part of it too.This calls for diversity and a sense of belonging.Craig Eason spoke to Heidi Heseltine, founder of the shipping focused Diversity Study Group, about a new initiative with shipping com…

Green Seas boards the Carnival Celebration to talk to key company executives about climate action and circular economy. We hear from Carnival Corp’s William Burke and Tom Strang, Carnival Cruise Lines’ Richard Pruitt and more.By TradeWinds

TradeWinds technology editor Craig Eason talks to Hing Chao, executive chairman of Wah Kwong the dry bulk owner about the company's strategy and which technologies he thinks will work for his fleet. Also why he is such a keen supporter of ZESTAs the zero emissions ship technology association.By TradeWinds

Danielle Southcott’s Veer Group is working to make zero-emission container shipping a reality. Her company has just signed a letter of intent to build vessels powered by wind, with hydrogen fuel cells in port. She spoke to Eric Priante Martin live at the TradeWinds Shipowners Forum USA.By TradeWinds

The European Union’s Emissions Trading System can be daunting for shipowners, so the shipping’s third-party technical managers are aiming to help them navigate it by adding emissions management to their services catalogue.We talk to Carl Schou of Wilhelmsen Ship Management, Mathavan Subbiah of Synergy Marine and Frederic Bouthillier of Vertis Envir…

The carbon credits that shipping companies have to buy for European voyages have regained some ground after crashing to unexpectedly low levels. Where are they headed next? We speak to Mattia Ferracchiato of BRS Shipbrokers and Frederic Bouthillier of Vertis Environmental Finance.By TradeWinds

Shipowners need to order vessels with new fuel capabilities and new cleantech solutions, but this ups the price, complexity and slot times that shipyards offer. Shipyards seek clarity, certainty. How can they work together?By TradeWinds

Eric Priante Martin sits down with Alexander Saverys, the chief executive who is working to turn Euronav, soon to be rebranded CMB.Tech, into a multi-sector play on ammonia and hydrogen-fuelled shipping. He explains why he’s forging ahead with ammonia even though there are not enough green molecules of the fuel to fill his planned ships.We also spe…

Norwegian shipowner Hoegh Autoliners has ordered 12 very large car carriers to be built in China. The first eight will be built between 2024 and 2027 to be fuelled with LNG and then later retrofitted to use ammonia as a fuel. The last four, starting in 2027, will be built with engines that can use ammonia even though engine makers have not yet fini…

In a bonus episode, TradeWinds technology editor Craig Eason interviews a second officer from the Philippines about her experience in a shipping industry with too few females at sea.By TradeWinds

The case of imprisoned seafarer Denys Korotkiy has rekindled a debate over US prosections of oil dumping in international waters by ships at sea. Are these cases overreach? Or are they an essential tool for fighting pollution?We speak to Edward MacColl of Thompson, MacColl & Bass; Gregory Linsin of Blank Rome; George Chalos of Chalos & Co and John …

In 2025, shipping will have to comply with FuelEU Maritime, a law limiting the industry’s carbon intensity, but companies will have to have a plan in place well before then. We talk to Benjamin Lechaptois of Bureau Veritas and Inesa Ulichina of Transport & Environment about the impact of the new law, and we hear from the European Commission’s Ricar…

TradeWinds technology editor Craig Eason reports from onboard a chemical tanker having wind propulsion systems installed, talking to Chemship chief executive Niels Grotz and Econowind CEO Frank Nieuwenhuis, and gets the thoughts of Norsepower CEO Tuomas Riski as the company ramps up its production in China after winning an order for 16 rotor sails …

Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk has become the first shipping company to have its carbon goals validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. Pacific Environment’s Grace Healy and Stand.earth’s Jim Ace explain why they applauded the achievement and what more they’d like to see from the container ship company.We also talk to a company tha…

An oil sheen off the coast of Brazil made headlines when an environmental group said it believed a tanker was to blame and asked authorities to investigate. SkyTruth chief executive John Amos explains why the suspected oil discharge is a daily occurrence.By TradeWinds

Guy Platten of the International Chamber of Shipping; Oistein Jensen of Odfjell, Reflow’s Rasmus Elsborg-Jensen and Pia Meling of Grieg Green join TradeWinds’ Craig Eason in this week’s Green Seas podcast.By TradeWinds

Hosted by Craig Eason, this edition of the TradeWinds Green Seas podcast dives into the environmental impact the Red Sea attacks on shipping are having as shipping reroutes. TradeWinds’ Eric Priante Martin gets the details from CargoMetrics chief Jeff Scully.And we explore how environmental lobby groups hope a legal challenge of the European Union …

Euronav is a major owner of oil tankers, but chief executive Alexander Saverys is working to move it in a much greener direction. Is there an appetite on Wall Street for a company that reinvests tanker profits into a more sustainable future?This week’s episode includes Saverys’ recent presentation to investors, and we talk to TradeWinds reporter Ga…

There is enough oil in the world’s shipwrecks for some 500 Exxon Valdez-size spills, and the clock is ticking to deal with the problem before an environmental catastrophe. A project led by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation is on the case.We speak to the foundation’s Benjamin Ferrari and Louise Sanger, and the Ocean Foundation’s Ole Varmer.…

In 2023, the International Maritime Organization adopted a new strategy for shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions, targeting net zero emissions by around 2050. In the year ahead, it will carry out important work to turn its ambition into action. We interviewed UCL Energy Institute’s Tristan Smith, and hear from IMO secretary general-elect Arsenio Dom…

The COP28 climate conference has concluded with a new global goal: “transitioning away” from fossil fuels. It’s an outcome that was disappointing for those calling for the agreement to include a phase-out, but for others it was historic for even oil producing nations to sign up to the commitment.It’s a goal that shipping has already been grappling …

Shipping stakeholders are out in force at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, with some seeing more attention to the industry than ever before. But what do they want to see happen in the global climate discussions?We talk to Jesper Kristensen of DP World and Unifeeder and David Cummins of the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition, and we hear parts of a C…

There has been a standoff in the Pacific Ocean between Greenpeace activists and The Metals Company, which is carrying out an expedition on the Coco to collect data for its plans to begin mining the ocean floor for what are called polymetallic nodules. Is deepsea mining a threat to untouched underwater wilderness? Or is it a way to obtain the metals…

The Panama Canal is facing a water crisis that fuelled restrictions on the number of ships transiting the waterway, and climate change experts predict more droughts are in the future. We talk to Panama Canal Authority water department head Erick Cordoba and pilots union president Gabriel Aleman about the short-term solutions to today’s crisis and t…

Ship recycling in Bangladesh has already made leaps and bounds since Norwegian officials began working to make the industry greener and safer in 2015. Now, the project is entering a new phase as new global rules loom.We speak to Espen Rikter-Svendsen, the Norwegian ambassador in Dhaka.By TradeWinds

Mitsui OSK Lines is one of the biggest shipowners and operators in Japan and the world, and it wants to set a clear and achievable pathway toward its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Chief executive Takeshi Hashimoto spoke to TradeWinds editor-in-chief Julian Bray at a forum in Tokyo.…

Ships tend to speed up to get to their destination and then wait in port queues, wasting fuel and leading to unnecessary emissions. Two interrelated words that start with “O” offer a solution: optimisation and operational efficiency. But while both can reduce shipping’s carbon footprint with today’s technology, shipping’s complexities create barrie…

Wasted time spent in ports means unnecessary carbon emissions, but there are companies that are trying to do something about it. Digital technology firms focused on port time optimisation are working to save time, greenhouse gas footprints and, importantly, money.We talk to Leon Gommans of Teqplay and Abhishek Nair of PortXchange.…

We travel to Singapore to discuss the demolition sector after new global rules on recycling ships safely and in an environmentally friendly manner became law. Mohammed Zahirul Islam of PHP Ship Breaking and Recycling Industries, Anil Sharma of GMS, Wolfram Guntermann of Hapag-Lloyd, Kumiko Iwasa of the Japanese Shipowners’ Association, Anette Ronno…

More ships and a wider variety ships, including older vessels not built for ice, are transiting the Arctic as Russia looks to up use of the Northern Sea Route. But while this may be an opportunity for shipping, it also has significant environmental risks. We take them one by one with Clean Arctic Alliance’s Sian Prior and Margaret Williams of Harva…

Almost 90% of pure car and truck carriers under construction at shipyards around the world are being built to run on alternative fuels. We interview Hoegh Autoliners chief executive Andreas Enger as his company looks to add ammonia to the mix, and we talk to MAN Energy Solutions’ Thomas Hansen about how shipowners in this sector are looking at alte…

When a fire strikes a car carrier, the first question asked is often whether it was started by an electric vehicle. But while the growth of electric car shipping and the hazards of lithium-ion batteries do require special measures, a growing body of evidence suggests they may not be more dangerous than conventional vehicles.We talk to Andreas Enger…

In Copenhagen, shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk has christened the first container vessel fuelled by methanol, which will be followed by more than 100 more by the Danish company and others. Will there be more in the near term, and will they find green methanol to meet decarbonisation goals? We talk to Richard Wetzki of TCT Shipbrokers and Ahmed El-H…

In Nairobi, leaders agree at the Africa Climate Summit that shipping’s carbon should be taxed, adding to calls for the International Maritime Organization to adopt a levy on the industry’s emissions. And in London, new research shows the IMO targets agreed in July may have been more aligned with the Paris Agreement than we at first thought.We talk …

The European Union is adding new regulations to the alphabet soup of sustainability disclosures. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or CSRD, and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, or ESRS, will require a daunting list of data points on environmental, social and governance topics. We talk to Position Green’s Joachim Nahe…

Carbon offsets have faced criticism in shipping for not tackling emissions within the sector. Enter carbon insets, tokens that allow a company to pay for greenhouse gas reductions within the maritime supply chain.We talk to Jeroen van Heiningen of 123Carbon, Tom de Ruyter of Titan and Guillaume de Roys of Verifavia.…

Shipping companies are exploring an array of technologies to reduce fuel by adding wind propulsion to their vessels, including a ship chartered by commodities giant Cargill that’s using wingsails designed by a company that has its roots in the America’s Cup sailing race. How quickly can this new but old technology make a difference in maritime gree…

The Biden Administration is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act and its spending on green energy and climate change. But while the US government has pushed to decarbonise shipping, its climate funds have yet to make their way to the industry.We talk to Holland & Knight’s Sean Pribyl and Chamber of Shipping of America…

As shipping gears up to enter the EU’s Emissions Trading System at the start of the year, companies will have to pay for the right to pollute, but the price will vary with market whims. Where are those prices headed? BRS Shipbrokers head of carbon markets Mattia Ferracchiato and Vertis Environmental Finance shipping head Frederic Bouthillier provid…

The European Union is gearing up to fold shipping into its Emissions Trading System starting next year. How much will it cost, and what will be the impact of the EU’s new regulation on shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions? We talk to Mattia Ferracchiato of BRS Shipbrokers and Jacob Armstrong of Transport & Environment. We also hear from Ingrid Kylst…

After the International Maritime Organization decided to target net-zero emissions by “around” 2050, the UN body will now have to turn ambition into regulation that will push shipping toward that goal. Green Seas explores the mechanisms under discussion with Carnival Corp chief maritime officer William Burke and Global Maritime Forum chief executiv…

Experts hope that, within the next few years, enough nations will ratify the High Seas Treaty for this convention to become law and protect biodiversity in the areas of the ocean that are unprotected by national legislation.We talk to World Ocean Council chief executive Paul Holthus, Wikborg Rein partner Oddbjørn Slinning and The Ocean Opportunity …

Many were disappointed when the International Maritime Organization approved new greenhouse gas targets that fall short of alignment with the goal to stop global temperature rises at 1.5C. But Tristan Smith, an associate professor of shipping and energy at University College London’s UCL Energy Institute, tells the podcast that by adopting a goal f…