Russians attack and sink Dominica-flagged vessel in Mariupol
The Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Administration reports that motor vessel AZBURG IMO number 9102899 Call Sign J7BG6 MMSI number 325116200 was indiscriminately attacked, sank and completely destroyed while at berth in Mariupol, Ukraine.
The vessel was struck by two missile shells while at berth in the port of Mariupol, Ukraine on 3rd of April 2022 at 11:36 UTC. On 4th April 2022, around 22:40 LT the vessel was heavily fired upon by Russian armed forces after intentionally shelling the vessel twice a day earlier. Specific characteristics of firing on the vessel remain unknown, crew reported shelling, bombing and repeated hits by missiles, causing a fire in engine room. Further reports of heavy fighting and intensive shelling in the port area by Russian armed forces were received by the Administration
On 4th April 2022, the Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Administration received information that as a result of the attack and spreading fire, m.v. AZBURG sank at berth 16 in the port of Mariupol Port, Ukraine.
The crew managed to evacuate and found refuge on board of neighboring vessels. One person was found wounded and received medical assistance. The crew currently remains under an immense amount of fear and stress and needs to be evacuated to a safe area immediately.
No further information is available, communication with people in the area is very difficult.
The Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Administration urges the Russian Federation to withdraw its forces from Ukraine and respect its obligations under relevant international treaties and conventions. The immediate evacuation of all civilians from the port of Mariupol, including the entire crew of mv Azburg, should be organized with the highest degree of priority and urgency.
The Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Administration furthermore wishes to emphatically point out the current risks the crew and the environment is facing. People are facing the risk and reality of loss of life and/or serious injury and are likely to be deeply traumatized by the current events. On top of that, current events are seriously damaging the marine environment. Normal safety requirements and (port) emergency response plans are currently not fully operational or completely absent. Medical emergencies, firefighting operations, oil spill response, abandon ship and safe navigation is currently not sufficient or not possible at all.
We urgently call upon all relevant UN, governmental and industry bodies to take immediate and direct action to address this serious issue for health and wellbeing of humans, the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ships.
All efforts to speed up establishing humanitarian corridors, as decided upon during the thirty-fifth extraordinary session of the Council, should be taken and executed with the highest degree of priority and urgency. Resulting in enabling the safety of seafarers by allowing them to leave the conflict zone immediately.
ShipIn Systems Secures Funding for Innovative Visual Fleet Management Platform from Munich Re Ventures
BOSTON – ShipIn Systems, the world’s first Visual Fleet Management Platform, today announced an investment by Munich Re Ventures, the venture capital arm of Munich Re Group, one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance, and insurance-related risk solutions.
“By partnering with Munich Re Ventures, we are helping to build a safer and more productive future for the maritime industry,” said Osher Perry, Co-Founder and CEO of ShipIn Systems. “The reality is that as ships are getting bigger, crew are getting smaller. ShipIn’s mission is to give seafarers the advanced digital tools required to do their jobs better and fleet managers the experience and benefits of working ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ with their seaborne teams. We believe every ship will have Visual Fleet Management in the near future.”
By deploying AI-powered cameras and real-time visual analytics, ShipIn proactively alerts shipowners, managers, and seafarers to onboard anomalies around bridge activities, safety and security, cargo operations and maintenance. With real-time notifications, benchmarking of vessel performance, and remote audits, ShipIn delivers a reduction of 40% in incidents and increase of cargo operations efficiency by 8%, directly improving financial performance of global fleets.
"By investing in ShipIn, Munich Re Ventures has clearly shown their belief in the platform and the power it has to reduce incidents onboard ships, making voyages safer with AI technology,” said Dr. Kirsi Tikka, ShipIn Advisor and Maritime Leader. “I can foresee a future where having ShipIn onboard may reduce the cost of insurance for ship owners and will benefit the insurance industry as well."
The maritime industry transports more than 90% of the world’s goods and energy, accounting for $14 trillion in world trade. The partnership with Munich Re Ventures will support ShipIn’s expansion, broadening access to Visual Fleet Management for fleets worldwide.
“ShipIn’s patented platform brings the vision and capability to support the broader digitalization of the marine and cargo shipping industry,” said Timur Davis, Investment Principal, Munich Re Ventures. “We see this trend as an important enabler for marine organizations to make more informed decisions in managing assets at sea. Munich Re Ventures looks forward to collaborating with ShipIn to reduce incidents on a ship, improve overall safety and operations, and ensure effective and timely resolution to on-board incidents.”
With more than $1 billion in assets under management, Munich Re Ventures invests in the most innovative startups engaged in developing new technologies and business models that will transform the future of risk and risk transfer. With its inaugural maritime investment, Munich Re Ventures supports a future of marine insurance and reinsurance driven by ShipIn’s innovative AI solutions to de-risk the future of transportation.
“It’s clear to see the potential in ShipIn’s advanced AI technology for the maritime industry.” said Ronald Kargl, Chief Underwriting Officer for Marine Reinsurance, Munich Re. “We’re excited to see a solution that can make shipping safer for all onboard.”
About ShipIn Systems
ShipIn Systems is the world’s first Visual Fleet Management Platform, enabling seamless ship-to-shore collaboration for maritime fleets. By deploying AI-powered cameras and real-time visual analytics, ShipIn’s platform proactively alerts shipowners, managers, and seafarers to onboard anomalies, reducing incidents onboard and increasing cargo operations efficiency. Creating a digital bridge between ship and shore, ShipIn provides objective insights into safety, security, cargo operations, maintenance, and more. With all tracking rolling up to an analytics dashboard, the platform makes it easy to benchmark performance, conduct remote audits, and improve the operational ROI of your entire fleet. Learn more at ShipIn.ai.
About Munich Re Ventures
Munich Re Ventures is the venture capital arm of Munich Re Group, one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance, and insurance-related risk solutions. With more than $1 billion in assets under management, Munich Re Ventures invests in the most innovative start-ups transforming the future of risk and risk transfer. MRV’s experienced investors are financially driven while focused on the strategic interests of Munich Re and the broader insurance industry. MRV works closely with Munich Re Group businesses across the globe to fund and partner with the best emerging companies developing new technologies and business models – and risks – for tomorrow’s world.
NAMEPA receives grant from Cargill to implement program for educating students to become Marine Environment Protectors
April 12, 2022 - The North American Marine Environmental Protection Association (NAMEPA) has received funding from Cargill to implement an afterschool enrichment program for youth in grades 6-8 in underserved communities in the greater Miami area with a goal to educate and activate students to be “Marine Environment Protectors”. The project will help “Save Our Seas” by encouraging this generation to become responsible stewards of the marine environment through hands-on educational programs and projects. NAMEPA’s Marine Environment Protectors program increases ocean literacy among underrepresented youth, highlights workforce development in marine fields, allows for long-term scientific research, and creates a framework for similar projects to expand across North America.
“Cargill believes in being strong community partners and actively supports valuable programs that protect and promote our planet,” explained Jan-Willem van den Dijssel, Cargill’s Americas Lead for Ocean Transportation. “We are partnering with NAMEPA to help foster ocean literacy amongst students of today and steer them to become ocean ambassadors of tomorrow. This program supports this goal and will drive lasting positive change.”
NAMEPA Co-Founder and Executive Director Carleen Lyden Walker commented, “NAMEPA is grateful to Cargill Cares Community Fund for providing opportunities for organizations such as NAMEPA to engage with students in local communities to be better overall stewards. Marine Environment Protectors will provide hands-on educational programming by utilizing the natural environment, scientific instrumentation, and immersive classroom instruction. This funding allows NAMEPA to continue our educational outreach toward the goal of activating communities to ‘Save Our Seas’.”
NAMEPA - The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) is a marine industry-led organization of environmental stewards preserving the marine environment by promoting sustainable marine industry best practices and educating seafarers, students and the public about the need and strategies for protecting global ocean, lake and river resources. Visit us at www.namepa.net.
CARGILL - Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive.
We combine 157 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture.
For more information, contact: Carleen Lyden Walker, Co-Founder/Executive Director, NAMEPA, 203-255-4686, executivedirector@namepa.net
Jan-Willem van den Dijssel, Cargill’s Americas Lead for Ocean Transportation
Blue Sky Maritime Coalition Releases Position Paper on Decarbonization “Pathways to Net-Zero 2050” Summarizes Work Product Since Inception
HOUSTON- April 14, 2022 - Blue Sky Maritime Coalition (BSMC) President and CEO, David Cummins, announced the publication today of the Coalition’s inaugural position paper, “Fuels and Propulsion Systems,” the first in the series “Pathways to Net-Zero 2050 in the North American Marine Shipping Industry.” The white paper was written by Blue Sky Founding Member Vanderbilt University Climate Change Initiative based on the work performed by the Coalition since its launch last June, as well as some of the work underway at other global organizations.
“This position paper is a starting point for developing Blue Sky’s overall roadmap to 2050,” stated Cummins. “While this report is not meant to prescribe the exact solutions that we must execute, it does provide a summary of our Coalition’s initial thoughts on how to best accelerate a transition of the maritime value chain in the U.S. and Canada towards net-zero emissions. From this starting point, we plan to leverage industry information and collaborative insights from across our diverse membership to pursue, challenge, and update this positional thinking as a critical approach to achieving our goals.”
The Coalition plans to build upon this work to look at the transition of other key areas beyond fuels and propulsion systems, including implications for supporting policies and regulations, financial and commercial contracting, and measurement, digitalization and industry-wide optimization practices that will collectively lead to a net-zero future by 2050.
“The marine shipping sector is complex, varied, and presents unique challenges to decarbonization,” stated Vanderbilt’s Dr. Leah Dundon, architect of the paper. “With incredibly long-lived infrastructure, the practical reality is that achieving net-zero will take time and there will not be a single solution for all marine shipping applications. LNG and other low-carbon based fuels will serve as important transition fuels that lower carbon emissions while carbon-neutral and no-carbon fuels and propulsion systems begin to reach commercial viability and scale. Concerted study and efforts directed to decarbonization are more likely to be successful where they include input from the full value-chain of stakeholders. This report from Blue Sky Maritime Coalition is an important guidance document as marine shipping stakeholders navigate the transition to a low- carbon economy.”
“Dr. Leah Dundon and her team at Vanderbilt University Climate Change Initiative, a Blue Sky Founding Member, adeptly led this initiative, and I am proud to share the results of this successful collaboration with the maritime community,” concluded Cummins.
For access to the position paper, go to Fuels and Propulsion Systems or for more information contact communications@bluesky-maritime.org.
About Blue Sky Maritime Coalition
Blue Sky Maritime Coalition (the Coalition) a non-profit corporation, is a strategic alliance formed to accelerate the transition of waterborne transportation in Canada and the United States toward net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Coalition brings together industry, community, government, academic leadership and other stakeholders across the waterborne transportation value chain to action projects that remove barriers to accelerating development, encourage innovation, and promote policies in support of zero emissions. Learn more at www.bluesky-maritime.org.
About Vanderbilt Climate Change Initiative (VCCI)
VCCI is a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at engaging government, civil society, business and academia to address the challenges and harness the opportunities climate change presents.