Wavelength Plus: A podcast by TradeWinds

Each month until October, TradeWinds will publish a profile of a finalist in our Guiding Stars series, a project highlighting the people making change in shipping. Our second Guiding Stars finalist is Scarlett Barnett-Smith, working deck officer and founder of The Scarlett Box. Her company has developed boxes with emergency period products for women working onboard ships, but The Scarlett Box has a wider mission to make shipping more inclusive of women to help attract and retain female talent.TradeWinds' 10 Guiding Stars finalists have been nominated by our readers and editorial team. These are people who are innovating and creating real, tangible change in shipping and tackling some of its biggest issues.Later this year, we will ask you to vote on who will receive our TradeWinds Guiding Star award for 2026, which will be announced in November.

Interest in using nuclear power in shipping has exploded.Whether it is on the argument that there is a need for energy security, clean power or potentially cheaper power, many countries are developing national nuclear programmes.In this first of two episodes, Craig Eason examines the latest developments by talking to start-ups developing new nuclear reactors and why they eye shipping as a market and how projects are identifying potential ship types and routes to create so-called pink corridors.The episode also begins examining how nuclear fuel be handled safely and securely.Read more about the regulatory drive: Rewriting the rules: Winning hearts and minds for a nuclear futureRead more about the project and technology developments: ‘Going critical’: Shipping takes a step closer to nuclear realityIn this episode:Emerald Nuclear chief executive, Wesley DeasonDeployable Energy Chief Executive, Bobby GallagherNorwegian professor Jan Emblemsvag (Head of SAINT nuclear centre)Greenpeace NL, Jan HaverkampRead more: ‘Going critical’: Shipping takes a step closer to nuclear realityRead more: Rewriting the rules: Winning hearts and minds for a nuclear futureHost and producer: Craig EasonA TradeWinds/DN Media podcast

Before he joined the shipping business his family is known for, Laurence Odfjell worked with his father to build a unique winery in the Maipo Valley winemaking region in Chile. Odfjell Vineyards has since forged new paths in producing highly-rated, organic wines using biodynamic agriculture in a competitive winemaking country. TradeWinds paid a visit.

Each month, TradeWinds will publish a profile of a finalist in our Guiding Stars series, a project highlighting the people working to make shipping’s future brighter. This week, we focus on the first nominee: Odfjell SE chairman Laurence Odfjell. He explains why sustainability is rooted in the Odfjell family’s Norwegian identity and why fuel efficiency is just good business.

V.Group is one of a handful of ship management firms that have been spearheading a significant revamp of the shipping industry.Ship managers are the companies hired by shipowners to operate and manage their vessels and fleets while they focus onother things - like making money.While it is an incredibly fragmented industry, the trend for shipowners to sell off or outsource their ship management divisions to third party managers is a growing trend.Meanwhile acquisitions, mergers, and an expansion of service offerings are common. Third party ship managers are also hugely in favour of digitalisation and the use of AI in operations.And this is why TradeWinds Craig Eason spoke to V.Group CEO Rene Kofod-Olsen.V.Group just bought a technology consultancy, Njord, off or Maersk Tankers that helps shipowners make decarbonisation investment decisions.  V.Group has also built its own AI and digitalisation tools.Kofod-Olsen is also outspoken about modern ship management getting more value for its role, and the opportunity to enhance seafarers by empowering them with technology, not replacing them with it.It's a fascinating interview. A TradeWinds/DN Media Podcast.

While marine casualty investigations tend to narrow down their conclusions to a single probable cause, the depth of the probe into the shipping accident that destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge also uncovered a variety of other safety issues that. And while many weren’t causal, some impacted the container ship Dali’s ability to prevent a catastrophe after its power outage just four minutes from the bridge, while others made investigators’ jobs harder. We explore three safety issues in the final episode of our series investigating the incident.

Investigators responding to the shipping accident that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore faced a needle-in-a-haystack search. An electrical failure had caused the 9,971-teu Dali (built 2015) to lose power just three ship lengths from the bridge.But the ship’s thousands of wires stretch for miles. Which one caused the problem? In the fourth episode of our Marine Investigation series about the deadly incident, Wavelenth Plus explores the hunt for this fault, which National Transportation Safety Board chair Jenifer Homendy compared to searching for a loose bolt on the Eiffel Tower.

Removing wrecks is an expensive business. And the bill continues to rise as governments and the public demand cleaner, clearer oceans. TradeWinds counts the costs of retrieving stricken ships.by Paul Peacheya TradeWinds/DN Media podcast

In this episode TradeWinds's Asia correspondent Huaqing Ma talks to John Rowley, chief executive of Hong Kong-based Wallem.Wallem is one of the leading ship managers in the maritime sector. Huaqing and John talk about the challenges of being a modern ship manager in a competitive world and why the company is so closely bonded with Hong Kong.Read Huaqing's full articles here: From combat zones to ship decks: The making of Wallem’s CEO