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MMEA ‘Ops Jangka Haram’ a success, plans collaboration to increase region security

71 vessels were evicted, 18 detained, 9 chose to pay the anchorage fee and MMEA awaits further instructions for 7 vessels which ‘stubbornly’ remain.

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The Johor state division of Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Wednesday (31 March) reported the results of its ‘Ops Jangka Haram’, a special operation to crack down on foreign vessels anchored illegally in eastern Johor waters.

‘Ops Jangka Haram’ was launched when the MMEA discovered that waters east of Johor has become a “hotspot” for foreign vessels to anchor illegally and conduct unlawful activities such as  illegally releasing oil into the ocean. In a single sweep, the patrol team detected 105 vessels anchoring illegally.

It was conducted over seven days from 24 to 30 March and involved five of MMEA’s ships, four patrol teams, two helicopters and two teams from the Special Task and Rescue Force (PTK).

“The location is attractive to these vessels as the waters are deep enough for them to anchor as they wait to enter a port lay-up as operating procedures for the shipping industry have changed due to Covid-19 related issues,” said the MMEA. 

“However, the vessels are meant to pay an anchoring fee should they choose to anchor in the area and the number of illegal vessels pose a threat to the safety of the community as well as the environment.” 

In total, MMEA reported it has detained 18 vessels, almost all of which are foreign flagged vessels. After being warned by the patrol team, nine vessels chose to pay the anchorage fee, and 71 other vessels left the area.

 At present, the MMEA is waiting on a decision by the Malaysian Marine Department as to which course of action is to be taken for seven remaining vessels that ‘stubbornly’ choose to remain. The detained vessels will be brought to court for further investigations under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952.

While ‘Ops Jangka Haram’ managed to effectively curb the number of vessels anchored illegally in eastern Johor waters, MMEA said it believes this to be a potentially recurring issue as the area is a high traffic location with merchant vessels and passenger ferries crossing the Singapore Strait. 

Therefore, it plans to propose the following including some collaborations with neighbouring countries to manage the security of the region in a ‘holistic’ way:

  • Establish trans-border data to track the movement of vessels between borders
  • Amendment of the law to invoke heavier penalties on offenders
  • To pool information with neighbouring countries and conduct joint operations
  • To increase awareness of the law amongst the maritime industry
  • To obtain more assets and increase man power for its operations

A series of earlier MMEA detentions have been reported by Manifold Times (below):

Related: Malaysia: MMEA detains five more oil tankers in special ops, total detentions stand at 18
Related: Malaysia: MMEA reports no new vessels anchoring illegally, five days into special ops
Related: MMEA search detects 15 illegally anchored oil tankers in latest aerial sweep
Related: Malaysia: Government losing out on millions in revenue from unpaid anchorage fees
Related: Malaysia: MMEA launches special ops to evict 100 illegal vessels in eastern Johor
Related: MMEA reports Johor eastern waters to be ‘hotspot’ for vessels to anchor illegally
Related: MMEA detains Liberian registered tanker for allegedly anchoring illegally in Perak
Related: MMEA detains Panama registered tanker for allegedly anchoring illegally in Selangor
Related: MMEA detains Thailand registered tanker for allegedly anchoring illegally in Selangor
Related: MMEA detains Singapore flagged tanker suspected of illegal oil transfers in Selangor
Related: MMEA detains Panama flagged tanker for anchoring illegally in eastern Johor
Related: Malaysia: MMEA detains loaded oil tanker for allegedly anchoring illegally in Perak
Related: MMEA detains tanker ‘MT Tahiti’ in Malacca waters for anchoring without a permit
Related: MMEA detains St Kitts & Nevis registered tanker for anchoring illegally in eastern Johor
Related: MMEA detains Malaysia & Mongolia registered tankers for anchoring illegally in Johor
Related: Malaysia: MMEA detains tanker for anchoring without a permit in southeastern Johor

Photo credit: MMEA
Published: 1 April, 2021

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ICS and 47 governments submit GHG pricing mechanism proposal to IMO

Key purpose of mandatory GHG charge will be to reduce cost gap between zero/near-zero GHG emission fuels and conventional bunker fuels to incentivise accelerated uptake of green energy sources.

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The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) on Thursday (9 January) said it has joined 47 governments in a joint submission to the final round of negotiations at the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) to adopt a maritime greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pricing mechanism to achieve net zero GHG emissions from international shipping by 2050. 

The joint text is supported by major shipping nations such as Greece, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom, the world’s largest flag States including Bahamas, Liberia, Marshall Islands and Panama, all EU States (and the European Commission), other African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya, plus Small Island Developing States from the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The joint submission by governments sets out convergent regulatory text for amendments to the IMO MARPOL Convention, which will require shipping companies operating ships on international voyages to make GHG contributions per tonne of CO2e emitted to a new “IMO GHG Strategy Implementation Fund”.

ICS said the key purpose of this mandatory GHG charge will be to reduce the cost gap between zero/near-zero GHG emission (ZNZ) fuels such as green methanol, ammonia and hydrogen and conventional bunker fuels, to incentivise the accelerated uptake of green energy sources. 

Revenue generated will be used to reward the production and uptake of ZNZ marine fuels, whilst also providing billions of US dollars annually to support the maritime GHG reduction efforts of developing countries.

International Chamber of Shipping Secretary General, Guy Platten, said: “The industry fully supports the adoption by IMO of a GHG pricing mechanism for global application to shipping.”

“The joint text put forward by this broad coalition is a pragmatic solution and the most effective way to incentivise a rapid energy transition in shipping to achieve the agreed IMO goal of net zero emissions by or close to 2050.”

“We are very pleased that such a large and diverse group of nations now firmly supports a common approach to maritime carbon charging. This proposed joint text has been hard fought and is broadly based on ideas which ICS has been advocating for the past ten years.

“While a large number of governments now support a universal flat rate GHG contribution by ships – or something similar – a minority of governments continue to have concerns. Working in co-operation with all IMO Member States we will do our best to allay such concerns during the final stages of these critical negotiations about regulatory text.”

This mature regulatory proposal will be considered by a critical IMO meeting in February – in the week of 17 February 2025 at ISWG-GHG 18. 

If the MARPOL amendments are approved by IMO in April 2025, they should enter into force globally in early 2027, with the collection of annual GHG contributions from ships commencing in 2028.

Note: The joint proposal to IMO for a maritime GHG emissions pricing mechanism can be found here.

 

Photo credit: International Maritime Organization
Published: 10 January, 2025

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LNG dual-fuel tugs begin operations in Hong Kong Terminal

Built by Cheoy Lee Shipyards, “LNG Sentinel I” and “LNG Sentinel II” were specifically designed for service at the Hong Kong LNG Terminal Limited import terminal.

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LNG dual-fuel tugs begin operations in Hong Kong Terminal

A pair of dual fuel (diesel and LNG) RAstar 4200-DF standby vessels have recently entered service with Hongkong Salvage & Towage (HKST), according to naval architect company Robert Allan Ltd recently.

Built by Cheoy Lee Shipyards, LNG Sentinel I and LNG Sentinel II were specifically designed for service at the Hong Kong LNG Terminal Limited (HKLTL) import terminal.

Featuring a unique electrical propulsion system with Z-drives that can receive power from both diesel and dual fuel (diesel and LNG) propulsion gensets, these vessels will help maintain a safety zone around the terminal and assist with berthing of LNG carriers to the jetty. 

They will also transport personnel plus equipment between Hong Kong and the floating regasification and storage unit (FSRU) and jetty. Their standby duties may include emergency towing of the FSRU, fire-fighting, spill response, and rescue.

Working closely with both HKST and Cheoy Lee Shipyards through the design process was key to enabling Robert Allan to design this vessel pair that are customised for the missions for which they will be tasked.

These vessels are the 8th and 9th LNG dual fuel tugs completed to five different Robert Allan designs, with three classification societies, and for service on three continents.

 

Photo credit: Robert Allan Ltd
Published: 30 July 2024

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LiqTech, Danbee Marine partner on marine scrubber water treatment solutions for South Korean market

‘We are excited to expand our presence in the Korean ship building market through this partnership agreement with Danbee Marine who has a strong network in the South Korea marine market,’ said Fei Chen, CEO of LiqTech International.

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Dan Freeman on Unsplash

Filtration company LiqTech International on Thursday (25 July) said it has entered into a partnership agreement with and Danbee Marine, a South Korean-based maritime representative to the shipping industry, to market LiqTech’s marine scrubber water treatment solutions within South Korea.

Established in 2009, Danbee Marine, has been focused on delivering fuel treatment chemicals to reduce fuel consumption and emissions within the Korean maritime market. 

“Danbee Marine has a strong presence and foothold with major ship owners and shipyards with a deep insight into marine engineering and equipment. The addition of LiqTech’s compact and efficient marine scrubber water treatment system offering is a synergistic extension of their existing product offerings,” LiqTech said in a statement. 

According to LiqTech, its marine scrubber water treatment system for both closed-loop and hybrid scrubbers “outperforms discharge limits regulated by the IMO Marpol VI”. 

LiqTech’s solutions remove unburned fuel oil, soot particles, ash, and heavy metals from marine scrubber wastewater and take an active role in reducing world pollution. 

Since LiqTech’s first marine installations in 2017, the company has successfully installed retrofit and new-build marine scrubber water treatment systems on more than 170 large commercial ships for many global ship owners. 

“Furthermore, ship owners have gained tremendous fuel savings leveraging LiqTech’s water treatment units, providing for enhanced ROI,” the firm said. 

“We are excited to expand our presence in the Korean ship building market through this partnership agreement with Danbee Marine who has a strong network in the South Korea marine market,” said Fei Chen, CEO of LiqTech International. 

“As the second largest ship building market in the world, we have had a presence with a small number of key customers, including Hyundai Merchant Marine over the years, but have lacked the large-scale presence across a wide variety of ship builders that Danbee can provide.”

“I look forward to working with the capable team at Danbee to deliver our advanced and proven marine scrubber water treatment solutions to help ship owners and ship builders in South Korea fulfil regulatory requirements.”

 

Photo credit: Felix Fuchs on Unsplash
Published: 29 July, 2024

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