A gala night of achievements at the Marine Propulsion Decarbonisation 2023 Awards

The number of nominations for the Marine Propulsion Decarbonisation 2023 Awards were at an all-time high, testament to the innovations and developments that have taken place as shipping tackles the difficult issues arising from decarbonisation.

The Awards took place during a gala dinner sponsored by IRI/The Marshall Islands Registry with the first Award of the evening for Start-Up of the Year Award. The shortlisted nominees were FuelTrust, Bearing.ai, Ankeri, Norsjór, ZeroNorth and Seabound. FuelTrust was presented with the Award and Jacob Knol, board advisor from the company, stepped up to accept the Award on behalf of FuelTrust.

In the Green Finance Deal of the Year Award, the shortlist comprised Hapag-Lloyd, Furetank, Okeanis Eco Tanker Corp, Klaveness Combination Carriers, MISC Sustainability and Navigator Holdings, with Navigator Holdings being the eventual winner.

Five ports were shortlisted for the Port Decarbonisation of the Year Award including Port of Rotterdam, Port of Amsterdam, Port of Tenerife, Port of Barcelona, and Port of San Diego. The Award was presented to Port of Rotterdam with Abhishek Nair from associated company PortXchange accepting the Award.

The Award shortlist for the Retrofit Project of the Year Award was hotly contested, with several companies nominated, including SodaFlexx and Bontrup, Wärtsilä, Berg Propulsion, Norsepower, Anemoi, Alfa Laval and VAF Instruments. Wind-assisted propulsion specialist Anemoi took home the award.

Eight companies were nominated for the Technology of the Year Award, a shortlist comprising some well-known names and a host of strong contenders.

The shortlist included SurvivAll Waste2Fuel technology, Shorelink self-propelled CMS, TruCare, Corvus Energy, Cathleco, ERMA FIRST BLUE CONNECT, Thordon and ABB, with Cathleco taking the prize.

A surprisingly wide field of entries comprised the Turbocharger of the Year Award nominations, including Mitsubishi, PBST, Accelleron A200-L Turbocharger, MHI MET-MBII Turbocharger, Hedemore HS5800 Turbocharger, KBB Knowledge 2 Swap System, and MTU’s electrically-assisted turbocharger.

The winner was PBST, which is an associate company of MAN ES, and MAN ES global director cruise, Sokrates Tolgas was on hand to pick up the award.

In a first for the Marine Propulsion Decarbonisation Awards, the Vessel of the Year was shared between two winners.

Nominees in the category comprised the following vessels: Stolt Ludwigshafen, New Splendor, Medstraum, Nukumi, Shofu Maru, Hydra, Flanders Innovation and Silver Nova.

The Vessel of the Year Award was presented to representatives from the vessels Medstraum, operated by shipowner Kolumbus, and Nukumi, developed by Canada Steamship Lines’ in collaboration with Windsor Salt, and the award was presented by sponsor NAPA sales manager Ossi Mettälä.

The Operator of the Year was another strong category, with the winner chosen from a shortlist of Hafnia, Svitzer, Eidesvik Offshore, Columbia Ship Management, Stolt Tankers, Ponant, MSC Cruises and Klaveness Combination Carriers.

Sustainability and CO2 performance manager Anders Mjølsnes Sørheim accepted the award on behalf of Klaveness Combination Carriers.

The Main Engine of the Year Award was sponsored by lubricant specialist Castrol, whose account manager Peter Hartman had the honour of presenting the award.

The engines shortlisted for the category included MAN B&W ME-GA, Volvo Penta D13 engine range, Caterpillar C32 engine, and WinGD 12X92DF dual-fuel engine, with WinGD’s design winning the award.

As the awards ceremony drew to a close, a special tribute was paid to a well-known name in the marine engine business, a man who has spent foiur decades developing and explaining the intricacies of engine developments. Former MAN ES engineer and director new technology two-stroke promotion, now heading his own company, Aabo Marine Consultancy, Kjeld Aabo was recognised with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

In accepting the Award, he related how, as a young engineering student, he took part in a competition and helped the development of a bio-methane-powered engine using agriculture by-products, and while the engine operated well, the fuel proved too expensive for commercial operation – much the same situation as today, some 40 years later, he noted.