The Cathay Pacific Airbus A350’s in-flight engine failure earlier this month was caused by a damaged fuel hose that also showed signs of a fire, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing the results of a probe by Hong Kong’s aviation accident investigation agency. The investigation also found a ruptured fuel hose in the second engine on the aircraft, and five other secondary fuel hoses with evidence of wear and tear. The agency warned that “if not promptly detected and addressed, this situation, along with further failures, could escalate into a more serious engine fire, potentially causing extensive damage to the aircraft.”

ICYMI- Cathay Pacific announced it was inspecting all the Rolls-Royce-made engines on its Airbus A350 jets after the in-flight engine component failure. The problem surfaced on a Zurich-bound flight several minutes after take-off from Hong Kong, forcing the plane to turn back and land 75 minutes after departure.

AirAsia and Airbus partner up for SAF in ASEAN: Malaysian airline AirAsia inked an MoU with Airbus to explore the production and expand the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, according to a statement released on Thursday.

The focus: The partnership will explore the decentralized production of SAF using alternative feedstock and tech, according to the statement. The endeavor seeks to determine chances to support the continued commercial growth of promising projects to increase SAF supply in the area.

Formula 1 invests in SAF with DHL: The Formula 1, the motorsport championship, has made an investment in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by entering a "book and claim" agreement with air cargo partner DHL, according to a press release issued on Friday. By the time of the Singapore Grand Prix, around 20% of the Formula 1 cargo flights to races outside Europe this year are planned to utilize DHL’s GoGreen Plus service with SAF, the statement said.

Book and claim? This system enables the separation of specific environmental attributes, like reduced greenhouse gas emissions, from physical products and allows them to be transferred to another party via a registry, the statement explains. Buyers and sellers can engage without direct involvement in the physical fuel supply chain. When making a purchase, buyers “book” a certain amount of sustainable fuel and “claim” the associated emissions reductions to support their sustainability goals.

Consortium conducts ship-to-ship ammonia transfer in Australia: Japan's Mitsui Lines, Norway's Yara, and Singapore's Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation have completed the world's first ship-to-ship ammonia transfer at anchorage in Australia's Dampier port, Reuters reported last week. The operation simulated real bunkering conditions and involved two transfers of 4k cubic meters of ammonia between a Mitsui gas carrier and a Navigator Gas carrier. The Pilbara region, known for its ammonia production, is expected to become a hub for ammonia bunkering.

US suing cargo ship owners over Baltimore bridge collapse: The US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit seeking more than USD 100 mn from the two Singapore firms that operated the ship, the Dali, that ran into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge back in March, Reuters reported last week. The department is seeking compensation from Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited for the money spent to recover from the incident, including to remove over 50k tons of debris.

Was there negligence? Justice Department official Benjamin Mizer says that the ship’s owners were aware of longstanding issues with the Dali’s electrical and mechanical systems and failed to correct them “out of negligence, mismanagement, and at times, a desire to cut costs… as a result, when the Dali lost power, a cascading set of failures led to disaster.” The lawsuit was brought as part of a legal action initiated by Grace Ocean and Synergy to limit their liability for the crash to USD 44 mn, which department officials described as “woefully inadequate.”

REMEMBER- Baltimore Port’s main shipping channel fully reopened back in June, nearly 11 weeks after it was closed when a cargo vessel crashed into and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The Dali was exiting Baltimore’s port when it reported a problem with power and signaled a “ mayday ” before striking the bridge. Footage of the incident shows the vessel hitting one of the bridge’s columns, causing it to collapse into the water in seconds, with some parts of the bridge falling onto the Dali and resulting in a fireball.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING THIS MORNING-

  • FedEx launches new digital platform: Delivery giant FedEx is launching its new data-driven platform fdx, with customizable end-to-end e-commerce for businesses across the US. (FedEx)
  • India eyes second-hand vessels for fleet expansion: India is looking to add second-hand vessels to its national fleet to expand its container shipping capacity. The new vessels are expected to cut down export times and boost the nation’s container capacity by 10% to 12%. (Reuters)
  • Pertamina to double its fleet by 2030: Indonesia’s state-owned energy firm Pertamina intends to double its fleet of 320 tankers within the next 10 years. The move aims to reduce the average age of the company’s fleet and will include adding vessels to transport LNG. (Reuters)
  • Brussels Airlines canceling most 1 October flights amid strike: Brussels Airlines will cancel most of its flights on 1 October because of Belgian security workers going on a national strike. The airlines will need to cancel 80% of the 203 flights scheduled for that day. (Reuters)
  • American Airlines seeks to delay resuming China flights: US carrier American Airlines has asked the US Transportation Department for permission to delay the resumption of two daily flights to China because of passenger demand that is still below its pre-pandemic level. (Reuters)
  • Lufthansa could cancel Frankfurt-Beijing route: German carrier Lufthansa is considering canceling its Frankfurt to Beijing flights because of increasing costs and competition from China. A final decision will be made in October. (Reuters)
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