Nor-Shipping award finalists announced

Five finalists have made it to the shortlist for the second Nor-Shipping Ocean Solutions Award after o a heated jury debate.

The accolade aims to showcase breakthrough innovations at, or approaching, commercialisation stage. Daphne Technology won the inaugural prize in 2022, with this year’s winner set to be revealed at the Nor-Shipping Ocean Leadership Conference on 6 June.

The 2023’s shortlist consists of: VARD Group’s Ocean Charger Concept; Silverstream Technologies’ air lubrication system; the Oceanbird wind assist technology from the Alfa Laval/Wallenius joint venture Alfawall; WinGD’s variable compression ratio technology for two-stroke marine engines; and Kongsberg Digital’s Vessel Insight and Kognifai Marketplace.

“There was a vast field of entrants this year, covering a broad spectrum of maritime technology and innovation,” comments Sidsel Norvik, Director, Nor-Shipping.

“The standard was so high that it proved impossible to identify only four stand-out nominees, leaving five to fight it out – all of whom can be rightfully proud of their achievement so far.

“Each of these solutions demonstrate how the industry is rising to challenges, realising opportunities and setting course for a more sustainable, profitable ocean future. I’m looking forward to seeing the eventual winner crowned and celebrated in front of an A-list crowd of industry executives in June.”

The entries on the shortlist were selected by an international jury of experts, each of who was tasked to assess nominations on the criteria of: originality of the service, design, concept or equipment item; impact with regard to either ocean sustainability, logistics, or ship operation; addressing current or anticipated challenges for the industry; expected benefit for the industry generally, and to users/customers specifically; and applying best practices or ideas from other industries.

Tough competition

VARD’s Ocean Charger project aims to develop an offshore charging solution for battery-powered ships, while Silverstream Technologies’ air lubrication system is already enjoying commercial success reducing friction, and enhancing efficiency, for ship hulls.

AlfaWall’s Oceanbird folding wing sails, which have more in common with airplane wings than traditional sails, can transform the viability of wind power for large deep-sea vessels, while WinGD’s variable compression ratio technology allows for enhanced fuel consumption and emissions, delivering the flexibility needed for optimal use of alternative fuels.

Finally, Kongsberg Digital’s Vessel Insight infrastructure service, which gives access to the Kognifai marketplace, is the only open ship-to-cloud data infrastructure on the market. The solution enables ship owners and operators to connect any data source onboard from any manufacturer, transmitting the data to the cloud for standardization and contextualization.

Nor-Shipping has revealed the final shortlist for this year’s Next Generation Ship Award, with the winner to be announced on Monday 5 June at Oslo City Hall. The prestigious accolade, now in its tenth year, pits newbuilds, retrofits and conversions against one another, with the title going to the project trailblazing new industry standards for smart, sustainable maritime operations.

The jury decided on three newbuilds and one retrofit: Misje Eco Bulk’s Misje Vita, built at Colombo Dockyard in Sri Lanka; Terntank’s Hybrid Tankers, currently under construction; Neoline’s Neoliner 136, now being built in Turkey by RMK Marine; and Mitsubishi Corporation’s Pyxis Ocean, which will be retrofitted with innovative wind assist technology under the CHEK project.

Nor-Shipping 2023 runs from 6-9 June in Lillestrøm and Oslo. In addition to the main exhibition and the Ocean Leadership Conference, a range of themed conferences include the first ever Nor-Shipping Offshore Wind and Offshore Aquaculture Conferences, the Second Maritime Hydrogen Conference, and the Fourth International Autonomy Summit.