Aronnax

Hello again and welcome to a new episode of the Aronnax podcast.This is the podcast looking at the transformation of the shipping, ocean and maritime space. It is a podcast looking at the people, the technology and the environment of the seas, which if you did not know is why I chose the name Aronnax.My name is Craig Eason and I run the Fathom World news website and help organisations with their events.Now, staying in the realm of French unwater science fiction, today’s episode is about one dream to turn science fiction into a science fact.Fabien Cousteau is the grandson of Jacques Cousteau the French underwater explorer who revolutionised deep-water diving and filmmaking.His family has since taken up the storytelling and sense of underwater wonder he developed and it is his grand-son Fabien who has launched Proteus Group, a philanthropic business venture very much about opening a window to the opportunities under the ocean waves.A well-known diver, documentary film maker in his own right Fabien Cousteau launched Proteus Group with the aim of raising the funds to build a permanent deep water research habitat. A place where scientists could live for months at a time to conduct their search, and film makers can reveal the wonders of the seas.It was while I was moderating the recent IMO biofouling research and development Forum in London that I met Mark Patterson, Proteus chief scientist and experienced diver himself as well as Gary Rosewell, Proteus Partnership Director. Its their job to promote Proteus before any sponsors and to help make the Cousteau dream of a space station of the seas a reality. I sat down with Gary and Mark in a quiet room at the headquarters of the international maritime organisation to ask them about the project, and started by asking Mark Patterson where the original idea for the project came from

Danielle Doggett againThis is the women that is building a wooden cargo ship in the Costa Rican jungle (listen to her first appearance on the Aronnax Podcast here) has just bought a second vessel in Europe and about to put it on trade shipping Colombian coffee to American coffee lovers, and is now doing the rounds to secure financing for a fleet of wind powered (steel) container ships.Where on the wind does she get the energy?Full transcript of this episode at:https://fathom.world/aronnax-veering-windward/

While moderating the IMO's Glofouling R&D Forum I heard some deep discussions about invasive species, biofouling risks and the very close link between fouled hulls and new measurers to create greater fuel efficiency and ship emissions (that could be dangerous for operators who do not take note)The recent IMO Glofouling report can be found here

This is the final episode of the six part mini series produced in co operation with Re-Flow, where Rasmus Elsborg Jensen (ReFlow)and Craig Eason (Fathom) talk life cycle thinking, ships fuels and circularity.Life cycle assessments are becoming big business in manufacturing. This is not something that shipping companies and other transport and logistics providers can ignore as LCA's call on an understanding of a company's scope 3 emissions (those made by a supplier as it performs the service required of it).So what of the future? As shipping decarbonises the importance of emissions accounting will play an important role, as will circularity, the ability to reuse parts of a vessel, or to maintain it, or scrap it (and order a new one).In this episode Rasmus and I talk with Christopher Rex, Head of Innovation at Danish Ship Finance about the restructuring of our industry in the face of global trends.

In the fifth episode (of six) Rasmus and Craig discuss the way life cycle assessments can be undertaken on a ship. With the help of Dewi Wesselman from Damen Shipyards, and Ann O'Connor from the Maersk McKinney Moller Centre for Zero Carbon Shipping, they discuss how a ship will have multiple LCA's linked to it, from its many different components and not just the fuel.Shipyards, says Dewi, are beginning to take note and realise they have a role to play right from the design and the vessel and the selection of the steel.