In this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, we dive into the world of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and their impact on maritime operations — from commercial to research to national security. Featuring insights from retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral and current Saildrone President John Mustin, ABS Senior Vice President of Global Engineering Gareth Burton, and ABS Director of Government Engineering Jihed Boulares, the discussion explores the key elements of successful autonomous s...

In this episode, Senior Project Manager Konstantinos Vouroutzis and Sustainability Engineer Tim Badalotti join host Brad Cox to explore the latest findings from the seventh edition of the ABS Outlook series, Beyond the Horizon: Vision Meets Reality. As lead authors, Vouroutzis and Badalotti, discuss the maritime industry’s ambitious emission goals and the market realities that challenge these targets. They highlight key checkpoints on the horizon, emphasizing the role of alternative fuels, en...

As regulations and economic considerations continue to shape the future of the maritime industry, energy efficiency technologies (EETs) have emerged as a key avenue to mitigating higher fuel costs and reducing emissions. In this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, Oliver Woodard, Sales Director for Silverstream Technologies, and Jessie Wilson, Manager of the ABS Houston Sustainability Center, joined host Brad Cox to discuss the driving forces behind EETs, their role in enhancing effici...

With the demand for methanol as a marine fuel expected to grow rapidly over the coming years, can green methanol production scale enough to help shipowners comply with evolving regulations? Join us in this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, as we bring together leaders from across the methanol value chain to discuss the growing methanol-ready fleet, scaling production, reducing fuel costs, and expanding port and bunkering infrastructure. Featured: Greg Dolan, Former Methanol Institute...

Hydrogen’s potential as an alternative energy source reaches well beyond marine fuel applications. It also has potential for on-land commercial energy and in energy-intensive industrial operations. As such, the transportation of hydrogen by ship could play a key role in the emerging hydrogen value chain. In this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, Martin Carolan, Managing Director and CEO of Provaris Energy; Stergios Stamopoulos, Director of Global Sustainability for ABS; and Ibrahim ...

On this special episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, Jean-Charles Rinaldi, SBM Offshore Group Director of Sales and Marketing, and Miguel Hernandez, ABS Senior Vice President of Global Offshore, joined host Brad Cox, ABS, in the ABS booth at the 2025 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, to discuss offshore innovation and the future of the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) sector. Share this episode with your friends, leave a review on your favorite podcast p...

As nations around the world continue to explore diversifying their energy sources, floating offshore wind platforms offer an option for countries where fixed-bottom offshore wind developments are limited. On this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, Sam Kanner, Aikido Technologies CEO, and Rob Langford, ABS Vice President of Global Offshore Renewables, join host Brad Cox, ABS, to discuss the commercial viability, manufacturing scalability, safety considerations and global potential for ...

The 83rd meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is fast approaching, with potentially industry-shaking decisions set to be discussed and possibly agreed upon. On this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, Sanne Henriksen, Head of IMO and EU Public and Regulatory Affairs at A.P. Moller-Maersk, Philippos Philis, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Lemissoler Group, and Stamatis Fradelos, ABS Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, ...

As autonomous technologies rapidly evolve, institutions like Texas A&M University are pioneering research into how the technologies can be virtually verified and validated before they are deployed on real-world maritime vessels. This special episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, was recorded at the ABS Laboratory for Ocean Innovation at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, where the university and ABS are researching the implementation of autonomous navigation — just one of many ...

Using additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, to produce replacement parts on demand can support just-in-time operations and potentially mitigate supply chain disruptions for the maritime and offshore industries.On this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, Daniel Tan, Pelagus 3D Chief Technology Officer, and Dr. Gu Hai, ABS Vice President of Technology, joined host Brad Cox to discuss the potential for on-demand AM for the maritime industry.Learn more about how ABS is su...

A revolutionary vessel design with a novel aft layout could reduce a vessel’s environmental impact and promote efficient operations.Craig Carter, Thordon Bearings Vice President of Business Development, and Dr. Chris Leontopoulos, ABS Vice President of Technology, joined host Brad Cox on this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, to discuss the Blue Ocean Alliance’s design for a sterntubeless propeller shaft bearing arrangement and its potential for the maritime industry.Learn more about...

The emergence of 3D model-based design and engineering for the maritime industry is changing the way ships are designed, engineered, built and classed.This special episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, was recorded on board the Signet Capella tugboat at the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center near Corpus Christi, Texas. The Signet Sirius, sistership of the Signet Capella, was the first commercial U.S. vessel designed, built and verified using an end-to-end 3D design process.In this episode,...

Ammonia offers interesting potential as a zero-carbon marine fuel. Several companies are developing technologies to support ammonia’s application by taking advantage of its energy density and mitigating its toxicity risks.Jan Chow, Senior Manager of Applications and Services Engineering for Amogy, and Michael Kei, Vice President of Technology for ABS, joined host Brad Cox on this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, to discuss Amogy’s ammonia cracking technology, the company’s ammonia-p...

The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is at the center of the action for the shipping industry’s decarbonization.With MEPC’s 82nd session coming up, we had several IMO delegates from across the industry join Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, to discuss what they expect from the meeting, the hottest topics that will be discussed, and issues future meetings will need to address.If you like this episode, share it with your friends, leave a r...

ABS recently launched the sixth edition of its sustainability Outlook series, Beyond the Horizon, Carbon Neutral Fuel Pathways and Transformational Technologies. The new Outlook provides a forecast for net zero scenarios factoring in the future fuel mix, energy efficiency technologies and shipyard capacity for retrofits.On this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, Stergios Stamopoulos, ABS Director of Global Sustainability, and Ushma Ahuja, ABS Senior Sustainability Engineer, join host ...

Once considered future fuels, options like LNG, methanol and ammonia are quickly becoming current fuels for the maritime industry. However, as alternative fuel-enabled ships start hitting the water, challenges remain for both availability and risk assessment.On this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, Dinesh Balraj, Maersk Head of Fleet Operations East, and Shu Yong Koh, ABS Director of Global Sustainability, explore some of the biggest challenges of methanol as a marine fuel with host...

As the maritime industry grapples with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we have seen a multitude of regulations intended to drive progress. Now we have the FuelEU Maritime Regulation, which introduces the concept of well-to-wake carbon equivalent emissions per megajoule of energy and it enters into force in January 2025.On this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, Francesco Bellusci, Managing Director of Scorpio Ship Management, Ricardo Batista, Policy Officer with the European Commis...

Digital twins have captured the maritime industry’s attention amid the global journey toward digitalization and decarbonization. However, confusion remains about what exactly a digital twin is, what it isn’t and how it can be used.On this episode of Setting Course, an ABS Podcast, Eric VanDerHorn, ABS Technology Manager, joins host John Snyder, Managing Editor of Riviera Maritime Media, to discuss digital twins and the potential benefits for the maritime industry. If you like this episode, sh...

As the commercial spaceflight industry continues to grow, so does the need to support offshore operations such as launch and recovery. Enter a new type of offshore support vessel (OSV) that can play a vital role in this skyrocketing sector.On this episode of Setting Course, Captain Bryan Dietz, Master of Space Perspective’s MS Voyager, and Tyson Breedlove, ABS Manager of Business Development for Global Offshore, join host John Snyder, Managing Editor of Riviera Maritime Media, to discuss thes...

The rapid pace at which technologies are evolving and emerging within the marine and offshore industries requires an agile approach to asset design.On this episode of Setting Course, we discuss ABS’ risk-based approach to its Rules with ABS Chief Engineer, Derek Novak; ABS Vice President of Class Standards, Dan Cronin, and host John Snyder, Managing Editor of Riviera Maritime Media.Key PointsABS is adopting a risk-based approach to rules in response to industry changes.The risk-based approach...