SBM Offshore Closes $1.75B Financing for Its Largest FPSO Yet
Dutch FPSO leasing specialist SBM Offshore said Thursday it had completed the US$1.75 billion project financing for the FPSO One Guyana. The company has previously said that this would be the company's largest FPSO so far. It will be deployed at ExxonMobil's Yellowtail development, offshore Guyana.The Dutch firm, which is behind all four FPSO projects in Guyana, said the One Guyana project financing was secured by a consortium of 15 international banks.
US Cruise Operators' Recovery Runs Into Rough Weather
Andrea Mather's plans for a long-awaited summer cruise around the Hawaiian islands with her financial analyst husband unraveled after her booking with Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America was canceled due to a staffing shortage.It was the second time this year that the 55-year-old homemaker's plan to go on a cruise was scuppered.The cruise industry is sailing in choppy waters yet again as it has to deal with a storm of labor problems…
Cameras to Replace Peacekeepers at Strategic Red Sea Strait
Remote-controlled cameras will take over responsibility from U.S.-led peacekeepers for ensuring international shipping retains freedom of access to the Gulf of Aqaba, whose coastline is shared by Israel and three Arab nations, officials said.Tiran island, which lies in the straits of the same name at the mouth of the gulf, was handed to Saudi Arabia from Egypt along with next-door Sanafir island in 2017.During a visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia last week, U.S.
Protests Halt Cargo Movement at Port of Oakland
Protesting truckers stopped traffic on Wednesday at a Northern California port, one of the busiest in the United States, as they demonstrated against a new state labor law that makes it harder for independent truckers to operate.Drivers picketed gates and blocked other truckers from hauling cargo in and out of the port. The protests in Oakland began on Monday and have grown larger and more disruptive with each passing day.Late on Wednesday…
Higher Rates for Smaller Vessels Lift Baltic Dry Index
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index rose on Thursday as an uptick in rates for smaller panamax and supramax vessels offset weakness in the capesize segment.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up 5 points, or 0.24%, at 2,118 points, snapping two sessions of losses.The capesize index fell for the third straight session, losing 66 points, or 2.4%, to 2,653 points.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 1
US Watercraft Building New Oyster Farm Support Vessel
US Watercraft, the commercial boatbuilding division of Waterline Systems, said it is building a new oyster farm support vessel for Matheson Oyster Co., a sustainable oyster farm located in Virginia.Matheson Oyster came to the Hubert, N.C. boatbuilder with a specific request: build a low-freeboard vessel that can hold position safely and travel quickly in the choppy waters of Chesapeake Bay.US Watercraft’s…
W&O Supply Acquired by MiddleGround Capital
Private equity firm MiddleGround Capital has acquired PVI Holdings, Inc., the parent company of W&O Supply, Setpoint Integrated Solutions and A-T Controls.“It was a cultural fit from our first meeting. MiddleGround brings a unique style to private equity that has my team fired up about the future,” said Brad Bergeron, PVI CEO. “We value their operational expertise, passion for continuous improvement…
Shrugging off Russia Maritime Business Loss, Cyprus Targets Asia Shipping
Cyprus has already overcome the loss of Russian maritime trade due to European sanctions and the Mediterranean shipping hub is chasing business expansion in Japan and elsewhere in Asia as it looks to grow its flag, a senior government official said.Cyprus, together with Greece and Malta, which have the largest shipping fleets in the 27 member EU and host large ship-management centers, have been the…
Passenger Vessels Collide Near Rotterdam's Erasmus Bridge
A sightseeing boat and a water taxi collided on Thursday near Rotterdam's iconic Erasmus Bridge, local emergency services said, and six people were "helped out of the water".Images of the incident on social media showed the collision between the two vessels, with the smaller water taxi being pushed under water of the Nieuwe Maas river.ANP news agency reported that the six rescued were all passengers and the captain of the water taxi, which it said later sank.
Interview: Jörg Franzke, President, Scania USA
Jörg Franzke, the newly appointed president of Scania U.S.A., Inc., is a company veteran, having been with the Scania group since 1995, building a wide experience in various positions such as Services, Truck Sales, R&D, Network Development and Quality Management. And prior to his current role, Franzke was the Head of Power Solutions at Scania Germany for 10 years.He weighs in on how Scania is helping customers meet their decarbonization agendas…
U.S. President Biden Visits Prysmian's Subsea Cable Plant Site in Brayton Point, Mass.
Prysmian Group, the energy and telecom cable systems provider, on Wednesday welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden on a visit to the site of its new subsea power cables plant in Brayton Point, Massachusetts. Prysmian said it was set to transform the area, home to the former Somerset coal plant, into a high-tech hub for the energy transition process.The Brayton Point factory will manufacture subsea inter-array and export cables up to 275 kV AC or 525 kV DC…
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha Revises Financial Outlook
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha has upgraded its financial outlook for the fiscal year ending March 2023, projecting higher revenue and operating profits across the board in light of changing market conditions across multiple sectors it serves, inculding containershipping and bulk carriers. In a statemetn the company said:"The forecast at the beginning of the current fiscal year assumed a decline in demand related to general consumer goods considering lockdowns in China…
ABB Intends to Spin Off Its Turbocharging Business
ABB announced its intention to spin off Accelleron (formerly ABB Turbocharging) turbocharging division, by way of a dividend in kind of Accelleron Industries Ltd’s shares to ABB’s shareholders. Accelleron’s listing on SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich is planned for October 3, 2022, and is subject to, among others, approval by ABB’s shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting scheduled for September 7…
Sea Freight Rates to Drop Further, CMA CGM Boss Says
Sea freight rates, which over the last weeks started to decrease after reaching a high, are likely to fall further, the head of French shipping giant CMA CGM said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday.Asked by Le Figaro whether container rates will keep dipping, Chief Executive Rodolphe Saade replied, "This is very likely," saying that reduced consumer demand for goods amid high inflation was leading to a downward trend in international trade.(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Ma
Rain Helps Rhine River in Germany But Shipping Problems Remain
Heavy rain is helping stabilize the river Rhine in Germany as it suffers low water levels, but it is unlikely to be enough to solve freight shipping problems, navigation authorities said on Thursday.Shallow water is hampering shipping on the entire river in Germany south of Duisburg, and freight shipping on the river continues but with vessels carrying greatly reduced loads, said a spokesman for German…
Biden Moves to Expand Offshore Wind to Gulf of Mexico
The Biden administration on Wednesday said it had identified 700,000 acres for possible offshore wind energy development in the Gulf of Mexico, seeking to expand a growing clean energy industry to a major U.S. oil and gas hub.It also said President Joe Biden would direct his Interior Department to move ahead with offshore wind development in areas of the Atlantic coast where former President Donald…
