The ship.energy podcast

This week’s podcast guest is Ahila Karan who is the Senior Lead on Green Initiatives at the Lloyd’s Register (LR) Maritime Decarbonisation Hub. In this role she led the launch of The Silk Alliance Green Corridor Cluster to catalyse the bunkering of alternative fuels in Singapore, as well as the Maritime Fuel Supply Dialogues, a regional initiative facilitating public/private dialogues across the energy and transport sectors to accelerate hydrogen-based fuel supply development across Asia Pacific and Africa. 

Ahila has more than 7 years’ experience covering global energy markets, with a particular focus on transportation fuels and the cleaner fuels transition. 

She holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from University College London and previously worked at oil trading company Trafigura as the Global Distillates Analyst where she was also involved in producing analysis on shipping industry trends and fleet analysis. Prior to this, Ahila worked at S&P Global, reporting on major energy news and the latest environmental policy changes affecting the shipping and road fuels industries. 

The Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub is an independent, not-for-profit social purpose organisation, working towards a safe, sustainable, and human-centric decarbonised shipping industry for the benefit of society.  It was formed in 2020 with a grant from Lloyd’s Register Foundation.

ship.energy marks a new month with a new podcast, featuring Alexandre Tocatlian, Head of Business Development at Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) Commercial Division.

Taking a deep dive into all things LNG, Alexandre will discuss GTT’s work on LNG containment systems, explain the characteristics of bio and synthetic LNG, and consider how LNG can maintain its reputation as a low-emission fuel on a well-to-wake basis.

Alexandre Tocatlian graduated in 2011 from the Ecole Centrale de Lyon, with a specialiaation in Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London. 

He joined GTT in January 2014 as a Technical Project Manager on LNGCs and FSRUs projects. In September 2016, he moved to the LNG Fuel Division, as a Product Line Manager for the passenger ship market. From July 2019 he managed the Product Lines team, delivering solutions for all types of LNG-fuelled ships and LNG bunker vessels. 

Since July 2021, Alexandre has been heading the Business Development team covering all GTT products and services for Europe, Russia, Middle East, Africa and India.

In this week’s podcast, we discuss the issues surrounding the commercial viability of nuclear-powered ships and how they could change the shipping industry. 

In conversation with Mark Williams, Chirayu Batra, an independent expert on advanced reactors and small modular reactors, addresses technical questions on nuclear reactors. They are joined by Amelia Hipwell, Decarbonisation Innovation Manager at Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, who offers her perspectives on the business case for nuclear-powered shipping as well as the challenges, including overcoming public perceptions about the use of the technology. 

Amelia is the Decarbonisation Innovation Manager of the Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub (LR MDH). She manages the Hub’s proprietary Zero Carbon Fuel Monitor website which provides an insights-based assessment of the readiness of zero carbon fuels for maritime applications and industry-wide comparisons of alternative solutions across the entire fuel supply chain. 

Amelia joined Lloyd’s Register in 2016, after graduating with a Master of Engineering (Mechanical, Design and Operations) degree from the University of Durham. She joined LR on the graduate scheme before moving into the role of an Additive Manufacturing Inspection Surveyor, developing LR's additive manufacturing expertise and value propositions, and then as a Business Model Innovation Architect. 

At the LR MDH, Amelia has grown and evolved the Zero Carbon Fuel Monitor, which assesses the readiness levels of shipping’s most promising zero-carbon fuels and energy sources in three main areas: technology, investment, and community. She has authored two published update reports for the Monitor – the Zero Carbon Fuel Monitor October 2023 update and How close is the shipping industry to adopting nuclear for propulsion? She has also worked with the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) on the report, Green Steel and Shipping.

Chirayu Batra has over a decade of experience in advanced nuclear technology. Currently, he is channelling his expertise into a new stealth-mode venture, focused on advancing nuclear technology. 

Previously, as Chief Technology Officer at TerraPraxis and LucidCatalyst, Chirayu worked on large-scale deployment strategies for nuclear energy. Prior to this, he served as a Project Officer for advanced reactor technologies at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

As a subject matter expert, Chirayu has in-depth knowledge of nuclear reactor design, safety, and technology development. His advanced degrees in Nuclear Engineering and Nuclear Reactor Physics, complemented by research experience in neutronics and thermal hydraulics, underpin his technical and project management proficiency. 

At the IAEA, Chirayu was the first scientific secretary for the agency’s platform on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), coordinating the development of the IAEA’s medium-term strategy for near-term deployment of SMRs. He also led the creation of the international SMR Coordination and Resource Portal for Information Exchange, Outreach, and Networking, which is currently the primary source of information for all relevant activities on SMRs at the IAEA. 

Additionally, Chirayu spearheaded the IAEA’s activities on codes and standards, design engineering, and manufacturing of SMR components. His contributions extended to several international scientific committees, where he regularly provided technical insights. 

Chirayu holds a double master's degree in Nuclear Engineering and Nuclear Reactor Physics, along with an undergraduate degree in Material Science. 

On this week’s ship.energy podcast, Paul Stuart Smith, Managing Partner, JS Global Advisory, and Mark Williams discuss whether, in the light of recent announcements from energy companies and recent election results, decarbonisation is going backwards.

They consider the progress and challenges of decarbonisation and the broader ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) framework. 

Paul emphasises the need for increased investment in renewable energy and alternative fuels, as well as stronger government support and regulatory clarity. 

He also highlights the importance of ESG reporting and the pushback it has faced, but notes that companies are increasingly focusing on ESG issues and adopting reporting frameworks like TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) and TNFD (Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures).

Paul is a former Executive Director at the Baltic Exchange where he led its regulated subsidiary from 2009-17. He previously held high-profile roles in Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley and Chemical Bank in London and New York. His experience includes managing Morgan Stanley’s financing and borrowing activity in Europe, as well as managing significant risk positions for both firms in bond, currency and derivatives markets.

As a consultant he has advised the Climate Bonds Initiative on its Shipping Criteria and a UK bank on the structuring and roll out of a ground-breaking green finance product based on Green Bond & Green Loan Principles and the EU Taxonomy.

He works with listed companies across sectors and geographies with a particular focus on decarbonisation, the energy transition, and corporate reporting of climate-related risk in line with the TCFD recommendations, including scenario analysis and selection and reporting of KPIs. Other current projects include advising on the development of the business model for a new Global Biodiversity Standard which aims to provide much needed assurance to carbon sequestration projects and carbon credit markets world-wide.

In 2023 he contributed to a report from the UNDP which calls on regulators and policymakers to integrate social inequality-related risk fully into financial stability and disclosure frameworks. 

He is an Oxford-educated mathematician and trained as a barrister

On this week’s ship.energy podcast, Mark Williams talks to Giampiero Soncini, Managing Director of the digitalisation and decarbonisation company, Oceanly.

In the course of his career, Giampiero spent 20 years at SpecTec - the company behind the AMOS software - including 11 years as its CEO. During this time, he played a significant role in establishing the company as a major player in IT for the shipping industry. 

Giampiero believes that the future of digitalisation in shipping lies in achieving complete control over all aspects of navigation planning, fuel consumption, and emissions. As a result, he is convinced that Oceanly Performance will become a crucial element of fleet management. For this reason, he decided to join the company as CEO. 

In this podcast, Mark and Giampiero discuss trends in onboard data collection, analysis and reporting, automation, decision support and autonomy, and the benefits and limits of voyage optimisation. 

Giampiero served as an officer in the Italian Navy for 14 years, and for 13 years was the Technical Manager for NATO Research Vessel Alliance, the world's first ship to be equipped with both GPS and Inertial Navigation System technology. During this time, he became passionate about integrating technology into ships.

In this week’s ship.energy podcast, the spotlight is on the Maritime Fuel Supply Dialogues, an initiative from Lloyd’s Register’s Decarbonisation Hub. The Dialogues were launched at a first roundtable discussion on 16 April during Singapore Maritime Week which was hosted by the Ocean Stewardship Coalition of the United Nations Global Compact in partnership with the LR Maritime Decarbonisation Hub.

The initiative is a dialogue series focused on scaling fuel supply development across Asia Pacific and Africa to support regional maritime decarbonisation, that brings together stakeholders across energy and transport sectors. The series aims to unlock the potential for clean and sustainable fuels, especially hydrogen-based fuels, and to foster a thriving blue economy.

In this ship.energy discussion, contributing editor Mark Williams finds out more about the focus and aims of the Dialogues in conversation with Karan Sawhney, Senior Project Manager, Ocean Stewardship Coalition, United Nations Global Compact and Carlo Raucci, Director of Sustainable Fuels and Strategy, Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub.

Karan Sawhney is a Senior Project Manager at the Ocean Stewardship Coalition of the UN Global Compact with a background in the maritime and energy sectors.

Karan began his professional journey in the shipping industry in Singapore. He then ventured into entrepreneurship by founding his own company in the offshore oil and gas sector. 

Seeking to deepen his understanding of energy and environmental issues and pursue his passion for sustainability Karan left the industry to pursue a Master's degree in Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), complementing his Bachelor's degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington.

Karan then joined the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) as a Program Advisor, where he played a crucial role in international conservation projects. His work in project management and sustainability led him to his current role at the UN Global Compact, where he is responsible for developing and managing sustainability linked initiatives within the maritime sector. Karan is currently leading the establishment of Ocean Stewardship Centers in the global south, as well as  spearheading an international ports working group, focusing on high-level policy recommendations to be presented during the UN General Assembly Week.

Dr Carlo Raucci is a highly regarded expert in maritime decarbonisation, with over 15 years of experience driving change in the industry. As Director, Sustainable Fuels and Strategy at the Lloyd's Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, he spearheads efforts to accelerate the adoption of sustainable fuels for shipping.

Dr Raucci’s study "A framework for first movers in shipping's decarbonisation (2021)" played a pivotal role in establishing the Silk Alliance, a green corridor cluster in Singapore, which is currently managed by his team. He is accountable for the First Mover Program of the Hub, where he supervises a team and supports stakeholders across the maritime industry to embrace sustainable fuels and expedite the transition to a clean future.

His expertise extends beyond hydrogen, encompassing fuel mix projections, production cost models, and decarbonisation strategy development. 

Dr Raucci has authored numerous publications, including: “The scale of investment needed to decarbonise international shipping”, “The Potential of Zero-Carbon Bunker Fuels in Developing Countries”, and The Future of Maritime Fuels. 

Dr Raucci's research from his PhD at University College London (2016) was the first to propose hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels as a viable option for decarbonising shipping.

On the ship.energy podcast this week, Dan Slater, VP Sales and Business Development at Scanreach, takes a deep dive into the world of digitalisation to explain the importance of IoT for smart shipping and how data can be collected, reported and acted on to improve vessel efficiency. 

Dan has a BSc in Applied Chemistry from Cardiff University in Wales. He has three decades of experience in telecoms and data sales and business development. He joined ScanReach in 2022 after a number of years at GreenSteam. He has also held senior positions at i4-Insight and Eniram.

ScanReach is a maritime IoT company based in Bergen, Norway. The company was founded in 2015 with the mission of developing affordable and user-friendly live lifesaving technologies for vessels and offshore installations, in particular for Personnel On-Board (POB) Control.

The company has developed a wireless IoT platform for complex and confined steel environments such as ships and offshore structures. This means that the inside of vessels and rigs can be wirelessly fully covered. Other IoT applications also include wireless control of assets, equipment, room conditions, and cargo monitoring and gas detection.

Julian Boulland, head of the sustainable shipping commercial department at Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, is this week’s podcast guest.

In a wide-ranging conversation with ship.energy’s contributing editor Mark Williams, Julian considers the challenges and potential timelines for scaling up the availability of next generation shipping fuels. He also looks non-fuel tech options which are going to be vital in meeting the IMO’s intermediate emission reduction targets. 

Julien has represented Bureau Veritas for over 18 years in positions around the world, including a decade based in South East Asia. An expert in gas technologies, he has worked on various aspects of LNG in shipping related to Classification, Certification, Regulatory Compliance and Innovation. He frequently delivers workshops and trainings on technical aspects of LNG shipping and Code compliance (IGC Code and IGF Code) and is a well-known speaker at forums and conferences.

Julien has an MSc in Naval Architecture / Naval Engineering from the University of Southampton in the UK and aMSc in Engineering from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Nancy in France. 

This week’s ship.energy podcast features Matt Dunlop, Group Director, Sustainability & Decarbonisation at V Ships

Matt is a Master Mariner and has sailed on Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels. His career ashore began in 1996 with Acomarit which was later acquired by V.Ships in 2001. His roles have included time spent as a Ship Operator, Fleet Operations Manager and Fleet Manager, before taking up the role of Divisional Risk, Safety and Quality Director, Chief Operating Officer, Group Director Marine Operations and latterly Group HSSEQ Director.

As Sustainability & Decarbonisation Director, Matt has the responsibility to drive V.Group’s partnership with the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping to help the industry transition to a net zero future. He is working closely with the Center to support its work and provide practical guidance regarding safe solutions to achieve decarbonisation aims.

Matt is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.