Nor-Shipping 2022 - the successful restriction-free restart for the maritime industry!

Nor-Shipping 2022 marked the successful restart of the leading maritime trade fair. The event was also one of the first trade fairs in Norway to not feature strict Covid-19 safety measures. Nor-Shipping 2022 took place between 04.04.2022 and 07.04.2022 at the NOVA Spektrum in Oslo, Norway. The event featured a diverse programme with a range of highlights.

The trade fair took place between 04.04.2022 and 07.04.2022 at NOVA Spektrum as a hybrid event. It comprised a digital platform that complemented an in-person exhibition. The venue did not have any Covid-19 safety measures in place. This was due to Norway removing its Covid-19 safeguards between February and March. The event was quite welcome as a change from all-digital formats. This is due to the trade fair providing an opportunity to meet face-to-face. This resulted in a high-energy, optimistic, and energetic atmosphere at the event. A setting that enabled attendees to conduct business, network, and share ideas. This served as a respite and a positive change given the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nor-Shipping 2022 featured four central themes as part of its support programme. These were sustainability, technology, competence, and innovation. The selection of themes reflected the current megatrends of the industry. Several changes inspired these trends, such as the world’s decarbonisation goals. The representation of these central thematises occurred through several means. Among them was the choice of discussion topics, such as green shipping. It was also reflected through the presentation of a diverse range of innovations. Among them were collision avoidance and voyage optimisation solutions. Many of the sub-events also featured themes that related to the central ones. One such example was the Blue Talks. It discussed digitalisation, collaboration, influencing change, and financial scaling.

Nor-Shipping 2022 incorporated a diverse range of highlights. This included the Quality Flag Forum as well as the Ocean Leadership Conference. Also featured were the Technical Seminars. So were the Blue Talks and the Blue Economy Startup Day. The International Ship Autonomy and Sustainability Summit was also a highlight. So was the Young@Nor-Shipping programme. The highlights furthermore incorporated the Brazil@Nor-Shipping and the Shortsea Business Hub. Likewise, they included the Maritime Hydrogen Conference. They also featured the Nor-Shipping After Work@Aker Brygge. The Maritime Battery Forum was furthermore among the highlights of the fair.

The Quality Flag Forum allowed participants to learn how to maintain the "Quality Flag" standards. The sub-event, furthermore, provided opportunities for sharing knowledge by discussing the latest developments. Green shipping, decarbonisation, maritime security, and diversity were some of the topics that were discussed. The guest speakers included Knut Arild Hareide, Harald Solberg, and Turid Elisabeth Solvang.

The theme of the Ocean Leadership Conference was #ACTION. The thematic focused on how companies can improve resilience, profitability, and environmental responsibility. This included providing examples of actions that allow enterprises to achieve such goals. Additionally, the Conference enabled attendants to learn about new challenge-managing techniques. The Ocean Leadership Conference incorporated a diverse programme. This included the presentation of the winners of three important Awards:

• Ocean Solutions
• Young Entrepreneur
• Next Generation Ship Awards

The most important parts of the programme included the keynotes Inter#Action and Power: Pro#Action. As mentioned, the programme incorporated the award ceremonies for three leading awards. The winner of the Ocean Solutions Award was Daphne Technology from Switzerland. They received recognition for their emission-reducing solution after extensive discussions among the jury. The debates were necessary due to the many presented innovations. One such strong competitor was a retractable bow foil that reduces fuel consumption.

Christiaan Nijst, the founder of Value Maritime, received the Young Entrepreneur Award. The Award lauds emerging international maritime innovators under 40. This includes ones that enhance efficiency, adopt best practices, and handle sustainability issues. The jury has stated that Christiaan Nijst has earned the Award for his novel Filtree System. This is an Exhaust Gas Cleaning System created using one-of-a-kind and patented technology. The system filters sulphur and ultra-fine particle matter out of the exhaust. It also has the wash water undergo thorough filtering and neutralisation before discharging. This will aid ships in reducing the number of emissions and pollution during use. The third prize ceremony to take place was the Next Generation Ship Award. It lauds maritime vessels that incorporate the latest and most novel sustainability technologies.

The Award winner was Havila Voyages’ coastal cruise ferry known as Havila Capella. The vessel earned the prize due to several reasons. When possible, the ferry will transit to hydrogen. Additionally, the craft features the greatest-at-the-present battery pack. This allows it to sail for four hours without activating the engines. It can be beneficial when arriving and staying at the port. This is due to the pack allowing it to reduce the need for fuel. Havila Cappella also incorporates a waste energy recovery system. This enables it to use 65% of the fuel energy lost via exhaust and cooling water installations. The cruise ferry also incorporates the Wavefoil retractable bow foil device. This allows it to increase its fuel-saving capacity by a further 5%. Like the previous two awards, the winner encountered intense competition. Potential winners included Sleipner (Wallenius), SC Connector (Sea-Cargo), and Aurora (Höegh Autoliner).

One of the contributing highlights of Nor-Shipping 2022 was the Technical Seminars. They served as an opportunity for attendants to present the latest solutions. This included ones that aid in solving issues related to competence and sustainability. Among the prominent seminars were:

• Enhancing safety navigation via AI
• Four ways predicated voyage data can streamline operations
• Container vessel jumboisation and LNG retrofitting
• Digitalising ballast treatment

The session Enhancing safety navigation via AI discussed a novel maritime system that provides intelligent navigational solutions. This helps to prevent collisions between vessels and thus saves lives. The AI provides an accurate, real-time environmental view. This grants the captains and crews enough time to elect the correct decision.

Streamlining operations through predicted voyage data detailed the uses of such information. This included how to reduce costs via accurate predictive vessel movement. It also detailed how to plan successful business ventures using 5-days-in-advance vessel predictions. Additionally, it described how to provide high-quality customer service using potential delay predictions. Furthermore, it included how predicted voyage data can increase efficiency.

Vessel jumboisation discussed how the methods help in meeting future IMO regulations. It also detailed how they can extend vessel life without affecting cargo capacity. Digitalising ballast treatment showcased and discussed the novel OptiLink technology. This included how shipowners can use it to track and assess fleet treatment system use. The software features various dashboards, reports, and map overlays to complete the task. These enable shipowners to perform several vital steps. Among them are downtime reduction and optimised fuel consumption planning. They furthermore incorporate unauthorised ballast water discharge prevention.

The International Ship Autonomy and Sustainability Summit were also among the highlights. It was the gathering location for thought leaders, authorities, owners, and key stakeholders. It allowed attendees to share the latest maritime shipping developments and potential opportunities. In particular, they could debate the newest efficiency and environmental performance breakthroughs. The Summit featured a detailed discussion programme, including four panels. The topics of the panels were:

• Regulations - should they be national, regional, or international?
• What is the industry’s outlook seven years after MUNIN?
• Zero-emission solutions - what must the new supply chains and business models include?
• How to integrate shore, port, and hinterland services into maritime transport systems?

An impressive array of expert speakers discussed each panel. This included Adina Vălean, Magda Kopczynska, and Katrina Kemp.

A must-attend highlight of the trade fair was the Young@Nor-Shipping programme. This was a programme dedicated to the newest maritime industry talents. It comprised a three-day activity schedule that addressed decarbonisation. This included how young talents can reduce GHG shipping emissions. The highlights of the programme incorporated three panels. These featured the topics of:

• Green Funding
• Green Tech
• Green Decisions

Each panel discussion placed focus on a specific aspect related to decarbonisation. This included Green Funding discussing the role of financial stakeholders in promoting sustainability. Green Tech focused on how the current and future technologies will address decarbonisation. Green Decisions debated what the essential market drivers should be.

The Brazil@Nor-Shipping was also among the notable sub-events. It focused on Brazil’s offshore renewable energy sector. This included how to reduce gas and oil production emissions. The topics also incorporated green shipping port modernisation. Lead speakers discussed each subject during Brazil@Nor-Shipping. Among them were regulators, energy giants, industry bodies, and stakeholders. Example topics included energy security, the ESG agenda, and ship financing. Among the speakers were Rodolfo Saboia, Eduardo Nery, and Marcio Pereira.

The Maritime Hydrogen Conference was also a notable sub-event at the trade fair. It discussed the potential of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source. It gathered in one location key industry players. The Conference featured three main sessions, each with a central focal topic. These were:

• Partnership-based models
• Analysis of internal combustion engines and fuel cells
• Analysis of the infrastructure from the shipowner and energy supplier perspectives

The leading speakers included Knut Nyborg, Torben Norgaard, and Maersk Mc-Kinney.

The Blue Talks were one of the central highlights of Nor-Shipping 2022. They comprised a series of one-hour debates related to key industry developments. The sub-event took place in Hall E, with the host being Craig Eason. Attendees inquired critical questions about the maritime and ocean industry during the disputes. This included fuel selection, digitalisation, collaboration, influencing the change, and financial scaling. There were twelve topics and sessions. These were:

The Blue Economy Startup Day focused on climate and business challenge solutions. It was a dedicated day for start-ups and investors and featured a “reverse pitching.” This comprised venture capitalists, angel investors, and established companies pitching to start-ups. This allowed attendees to network and gain recognition. Among the pitching companies were:

The Nor-Shipping After Work @Aker Brygge was one of the most welcome sub-events. It served as a one-of-a-kind in-person networking hub. Attendees could gather to discover and promote industry potential. It was held in partnership with Aker Brygge, who created a dedicated “neighbourhood”. This allowed attendees to gather in an informal atmosphere to conduct face-to-face meetings.

The Maritime Battery Forum was likewise a lead highlight. It allowed cargo shipowners to network with leading battery manufacturers. Each manufacturer presented themselves for 10 minutes, followed by 5-minute Q&As. The Forum also included a post-presentation stage. It was where attendants could continue their networking in a relaxed setting. Among the battery manufacturers that presented themselves were:

• Kongsberg Maritime
• Corvus Energy
• Praxis Automation
• ZEM
• EST-Floattech
• Spear Power Systems

The ZEEDS Press Conference held significant interest among many attendees as it provided an update on the ZEEDS Initiative. This was a project that began during Nor-Shipping 2019. Six industry players started it to fulfil a bold decarbonisation idea. This included the creation of an offshore energy hub chain. This would allow ships to access a diverse range of renewable fuels in high-traffic lanes. The Initiative has attracted since its beginning over 60 participating companies. It operates in three aspects:

• Green ammonia propulsion
• Green ammonia onshore supply chain infrastructure
• Green ammonia distribution vessels

The Press Conference featured journalists interviewing representatives of the founding six companies. The founders announced that ZEEDS reached a new milestone at the press conference. This was the class approval of a proposed bunkering fuel transport tanker - the MS Green Ammonia. The vessel will both transport and use green ammonia as a fuel source. They set the planned delivery year for the new build to 2024.

The Shortsea Business Hub was also a notable highlight of Nor-Shipping. It was held via the association efforts of the Shortsea Promotion Centre. The Hub enabled knowledge sharing by engaging in conversations with experienced cargo owners. Additionally, attendees could explore potential opportunities, including new partnerships. The Hub featured speakers such as Lars Erik Marcussen and John Christensen.

Many notable companies attended Nor-Shipping 2022 as exhibitors. They debuted innovative technologies, products, services, and solutions. Among them was Offshore Monitoring Limited and its debut Smooth Sailing— Courtesy VoyOpt™. This was a novel voyage optimisation and collision avoidance system. It detects, identifies, classifies and monitors submerged objects. This allows it to provide around-the-clock alerts, thus reducing the loss of lives. One of the notable exhibitors at the trade fair was Vestdavit. They showcased a full-size PLR-5000 davit. The vessel was the largest-ever davit to be displayed at a leading trade exhibition. Norsap was also a notable exhibitor at Nor-Shipping 2022. The company debuted their Norsap 150 Performance, Norsap 500 ECO and 4000 Agile seats. These products will allow users to improve performance while bettering comfort.

Nor-Shipping 2022 featured quite a high participation rate given the pandemic. For instance, between 04.04.2022 and 06.04.2022, the trade fair received 18,000 visitors. This included 592 exhibitors and 900 maritime leaders. All participants experienced high enthusiasm at the opportunity to meet once again face-to-face. This led to Nor-Shipping 2022 being an immense success. Additionally, being able to network without restrictions in place was quite welcome.