Tidewater Orders NES Battery Package for PSV
Tidewater, one of the world's largest owners of offshore support vessels, will upgrade one of its platform supply vessels (PSV) North Pomor with a new battery package.Norway…
Crowley Wins Navy Contract Worth Up to $343.3 Million
Crowley said it has been awarded a contract for the operation and maintenance of six government-owned Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) vessels, a unit of the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC).Crowley Government Solutions will carry out the contract, providing crewing and sustained support to enable rapid deployment of equipment and supplies as needed to aid U.S. military operations in remote regions around the world.
Seattle Dispute Disrupts US West Coast Port Labor Talks
A work assignment dispute in Seattle is interrupting labor talks covering 29 U.S. West Coast ports and 22,000 employees that handle almost 40% of U.S. imports, the union representing dockworkers said on Tuesday.International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) employer group have been negotiating a new contract since July 1. The ILWU's announcement on Tuesday comes after the two sides have traded jabs in the media about automation…
Op-ed: Jones Act Waivers Do Little as Disaster Relief
Like swallows arriving in the spring, a chorus for Jones Act waivers can reliably be anticipated to accompany the annual parade of hurricanes across the geographical region covered by the Act. The logic: emergency situations dictate maximum emergency relief, and the Jones Act is perceived to be an obstacle to providing that relief. That perception is wrong.A review of hurricane induced disaster situations…
Inchcape Reopens Its Guam Office
Having recently reopened its Guam office after a three-year hiatus using a partner agent, Inchcape Shipping Services resumed direct control over all operational matters on the Pacific island.Inchcape had a permanent presence in Guam since the 1990s but opted to close its office on the Pacific island in 2018. “Given the volume of business in Guam at that time, it made better financial sense to use a partner agent instead.
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Awarded Fire Island Dredging Contract
Houston-based dredging contractor Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform dredging near New York's Fire Island.Great Lakes was the sole bidder for $24,498,050 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of the Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point dredging Moriches and Shinnecock Inlets.Work will be performed in Bay Shore, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of March 17, 2023.
US Coast Guard Decommissions Bahrain-based USCGC Baranof
The USCGC Baranof (WPB 1318) was decommissioned during a ceremony aboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain, Monday.“USCGC Baranof’s exemplary service to our nation is a testament to both the Island-class platform and the crews that have manned Baranof over the past 34 years,” said Vice Adm. Kevin Lunday, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, who presided over the ceremony. “Whether it was conducting law enforcement and search and rescue in the Caribbean…
US Offshore Oil Output Drops as Hurricane Ian Approaches
U.S. offshore oil producers on Tuesday were keeping a wary eye on Hurricane Ian's track as the powerful storm shut-in at least 480,000 barrels of oil production as it heads toward Florida.The hurricane entered the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and is forecast to become a dangerous, Category 4 storm over the warm waters of the Gulf, according to National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecaster Eric Blake.Ian weakened after crossing Cuba and was packing winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour)…
What is Known About the Nord Stream Gas Pipeline Leaks?
Unexplained gas leaks detected in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines from Russia to Germany have prompted investigations by European countries into the cause, including possible sabotage.Denmark's armed forces on Tuesday released video showing bubbles rushing to the surface of the Baltic Sea above the pipelines, and said the largest gas leak had caused surface disturbance of well over 1 kilometer in…
GTT's 'POWER' Digital Solution Gets LR AIP
French engineering firm GTT reports it has been granted an approval in principle (AIP) from classification society Lloyd’s Register for a new digital solution, “POWER” (Prediction of Operational Windows to Enable Regas operations).POWER has been designed to optimize the regasification operations of offshore units (FNLG or FSRU) and the transhipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) between these units…
New Workboat Delivered to Long Island
Mobile, Ala. boatbuilder Silver Ships recently delivered a multi-mission Explorer 40 Landing Craft vessel to the Suffolk County Public Works Department located on New York's Long Island.Suffolk County Public Works Department oversees all county properties and projects while maintaining safe public navigations including waterways, bridges, docks, marinas, sewerage systems and more. The custom-built…
Port of Corpus Christi Obtains Texas Cybersecurity Certification
The Port of Corpus Christi has become the first port in the state to obtain the Texas Cyberstar Certification, issued by the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR).The Cyberstar Certificate Program was launched in May by the Texas DIR to recognize public and private organizations in the state that voluntarily meet specific criteria for cybersecurity best practices.“We remain committed to our CyberSecurity program at the Port of Corpus Christi.
New Bill Aims to Increase US Federal Funding for Public Ferry Service
A new bill recently introduced by Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) aims to increase federal funding for public ferry services in the United States.The “Ferry Service Expansion Act” would boost funding for both the Federal Highway Administration’s formula and the Federal Transit Administration’s competitive grant programs to the levels requested by the Public Ferry Coalition…
Capesize Dip Drags Baltic Dry Index Lower
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, edged down on Tuesday pressured by a dip in rates for the larger capesize vessel segment.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 6 points, or about 0.3%, to 1,807.Even after an improvement in both basins (Atlantic and Pacific) last week for the capesize segment…
Petrofac Hires AHTS to Assist with Northern Endeavour FPSO Disconnection
Akastor's subsidiary DDW Offshore has won a one-year contract with Petrofac for the AHTS vessel Skandi Atlantic. The AHTS will support the disconnection of the FPSO "Northern Endeavour" together with towing and well isolations work in the Laminaria Corallina oil fields in the West Timor Sea. The contract start date is September 27th, 2022.The Australian Government earlier this year awarded London-listed…
NOV Launches Solution that Promises to Cut Offshore Wind Blade Installation Cost
GustoMSC and NOV Lifting & Handling said Tuesday they had developed a solution to improve offshore wind turbine blade installation efficiency."Blades are highly susceptible to wind loads, so they currently take the most time to install," the companies said.The solution has been named Sjøhest - Norwegian for “seahorse.""Like the seahorse’s unique and strong grasping tail enables it to resist ocean currents…
Greater Tortue Ahmeyim FPSO Returned to Quayside after Drifting Off Due to Typhoon
Oil and gas company Kosmos Energy said Tuesday that the FPSO for the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project had been returned to the quayside of the COSCO shipyard in China, following the recent incident in which the vessel drifted away due to the impact of Typhoon Muifa.The floating production, storage and offloading vessel (“FPSO”) for the GTA development in Mauritania/Senegal is being constructed at the COSCO yard.
Uniwise Offshore Boosts OSV Fleet Cyber-Security with Inmarsat's Fleet Secure UTM
Uniwise Offshore, a Thailand-based offshore support vessel (OSV) company, has boosted cyber-security standards across its OSV fleet by adopting technology from Inmarsat, a mobile satellite communications specialist."With reliable connectivity delivered by Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress, Fleet Secure Unified Threat Management (UTM) provides Uniwise with end-to-end functionality to protect its network from cyber-attacks and intrusion via infected devices…