First Year News

2023 was the first year of real recovery for owners in the offshore supply market and yet we have barely skimmed the surface of what’s to come.The market is still on an upward trajectory with charter rates accelerating month-by-month, availability changing day-by-day, leading to earnings doubling and, in some segments, tripling since the lows of 2020. Current rates will remind many of the glory days of pre-2014 with the demand for OSVs projected to remain elevated for years to come.In general…

Angela Chao, chair and CEO of the Foremost Group, has died in a car accident, the New York-headquartered dry bulk shipping company announced on Monday.Angela Chao was an experienced and well-respected shipping executive, having worked her way up through several leadership positions at the company founder by her father, Dr. James S.C. Chao, with her mother, the late Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, in 1964.Before joining Foremost Group in 1996, Angela Chao worked in the mergers and acquisitions department of Smith Barney…

Inbound cargo volume at the United States’ major container ports should continue to slow in the final weeks of 2023 after reaching its peak later than expected this fall, according to the Global Port Tracker report recently released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.“We originally thought peak season would come in August but imports kept growing in September and again in October,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.

Kongsberg Maritime, a Norwegian maritime equipment and technology specialist, announced a 23% reduction in CO2 emissions on the 121-meter passenger vessel MS Richard With, which is owned by Hurtigruten, a coastal ship operator and adventure travel company.The vessel finished an extensive refit last summer using Kongsberg Maritime engineering and technology and has now completed its first year back in service.Last year, Kongsberg Maritime partnered with Myklebust Verft shipyard to convert three Hurtigruten ships to hybrid technology, promising reduced emissions and quieter operations.

Babcock International Group continues its successful delivery of the Royal Navy Type 31 frigates with the keel laying of HMS Active, the second of the five-ship Inspiration class program.The two warships are being built simultaneously, with work continuing only meters away on the first of the Inspiration class, HMS Venturer.In keeping with tradition, Babcock asked their youngest apprentice, first-year Electrical Fitter, Robbie Dick, to place the specially designed coin under the keel.Babcock’s Type 31…

ABB has received an order from the Guangzhou Shipyard International to supply an Azipod® DI propulsion system for the new compact icebreaker of China’s Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering. The ship is expected to be delivered in 2025, after which it will begin to carry out operations in the Arctic and Antarctic Ocean.A complete electric propulsion system including two 4.5MW Azipod® units will drive the vessel through harsh weather and thick first-year ice to enable research on behalf of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

BW LPG has demonstrated the value of dual-fuel LPG operations beyond the company’s initial aim of meeting IMO 2020 Sulphur Cap regulations.In October 2020, the LPG carrier BW Gemini became the first very large gas carrier (VLGC) to have its low-speed main engine converted to an LPG dual-fuel engine. The project started several years earlier, sparked by Oslo-listed BW LPG’s preparations for the IMO’s 2020 Sulphur Cap regulations.Compared to heavy fuel oil, LPG reduces Sox emissions by approximately 97%…

Cruise operator Hurtigruten Norway has unveiled early concept plans for its first zero-emission ship.Initially announced in March 2022, under project name ‘Sea Zero,’ the ship is being touted as "the world’s most energy-efficient cruise ship". Tasked with developing energy-efficient and carbon-neutral technology solutions, Hurtigruten Norway and its consortium of 12 maritime partners and research institute SINTEF shared key findings following its first year of research."When we initially announced the ‘Sea Zero’ project over a year ago…

Japanese FPSO supplier MODEC has won a contract with Equinor to supply an FPSO vessel for the BM-C-33 block of the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. The order comes just days after Equinor and its partners Repsol Sinopec Brasil, and Petrobras took the $9 billion investment decision to develop the BM-C-33 project in Brazil. Located in the Campos Basin, BM-C-33 comprises three different pre-salt discoveries – Pão de Açúcar, Gávea and Seat – containing natural gas and oil/condensate…

Maersk Supply Service's cable-laying vessel Maersk Connector has secured a contract to continue operations on behalf of Seaway 7 until December 31, 2025.The extension follows a successful first year of working on Seaway 7’s projects in both Taiwan and the United Kingdom, the shipowner said.The vessel first started cable-laying provision for Seaway 7 in October 2021, initially working in the North Sea at the Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm project. On completion, the vessel relocated to Taiwan to work on other Seaway 7 projects…

Mercury Marine opened its new, purpose-built distribution center to support its parts and accessories business. The new 512,000 square foot facility is located near Indianapolis, Ind., a major thoroughfare connecting Mercury’s global customers that will improve delivery and service and will add much needed capacity for scale, stability, and reduced logistics costs, the company said.Mercury’s current distribution facility at its global headquarters in Fond du Lac, Wis., will be repurposed to support its propulsion systems…

A coalition of companies including oil major Shell and no. 1 container line MSC on Tuesday launched an initiative to explore ways to cut climate-warming methane emissions from ships, which pose a major risk to industry efforts to go greener.Scientists have warned that countries must make rapid reductions in methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas (GHG) than carbon dioxide, to stave off the worst effects of global warming.Shipping is already grappling with ways to cut CO2 through developing fuels of the future such as ammonia and methanol.As a more immediate solution…

NOAA Fisheries announced proposed changes to vessel speed regulations to further protect North Atlantic right whales from death and serious injuries resulting from collisions — part of a multifaceted approach to stabilize and recover this endangered population. The changes would expand the current mandatory seasonal speed restrictions of 10 knots or less in designated areas of the ocean and extend to most vessels measuring 35 to 65 feet in length.In addition, the agency is releasing a draft “roadmap” for public comment about on-demand…

America’s marine economy contributed about $361 billion of the nation’s gross domestic product in 2020. That is according to the most current results of the annual Marine Economy Satellite Account released today by two Department of Commerce agencies, NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).These numbers are from the first year of the coronavirus pandemic and represent a 5.8%, or $23 billion, reduction in real terms (adjusted for inflation) from 2019, outpacing the general…

An upgrade by Kongsberg Maritime of the waterjets on a catamaran ferry operated by the family-run firm of AG EMS brings a new level of efficiency and environmental consideration to a route traversed by the company for 143 years.Claus Hirsch, the fleet manager with AG EMS, is a likable and personable individual. His easy demeanor suggests that he is contented with his lot in life, and no one would blame him for that. The company he works for is a family-run concern with a benevolent…

The Metals Company (TMC), a company extracting battery metals from seafloor polymetallic nodules, said Friday its subsidiary NORI had signed a non-binding term sheet with its strategic partner and shareholder, Allseas to develop and operate a commercial nodule collection system. The system has a targeted production capacity of 1.3 million tonnes per year of wet nodules and expected production readiness by Q4 2024.According to TMC, formerly knowns as DeepGreen Metals, polymetallic nodules contain high grades of nickel…

Offshore installation company Heerema Marine Contractors said Thursday that its largest semi-submersible crane vessels, Sleipnir and Thialf, recently switched from using their engines to using Shore Power in the Port of Rotterdam."The successful commissioning of the Shore Power project is the result of a partnership between Eneco, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, and Heerema with the support of the Gemeente Rotterdam. There is a global demand to reduce our impact on the planet and the partners involved in the Shore Power project are all dedicated to supporting the energy transition…

As companies around the globe seek to optimize operations through digitization, ESAB Welding & Cutting Products announced that its Aristo 4004i Pulse, Aristo 5000i and Aristo U5000i advanced welding power sources are sold exclusively as WeldCloud-enabled systems. The Aristo 500ix will continue to be sold as A WeldCloud-optional system. To encourage use, ESAB will offer Aristo purchasers a free three-month trial period, which can be activated at any time.WeldCloud is a suite of online data management applications that enables users to improve overall operational efficiency by monitoring…

Sea ice predictions have improved markedly since the founding of an international forecasting and monitoring network 14 years ago.“These forecasts are quite encouraging in their increasing accuracy,” said Uma Bhatt, an atmospheric sciences professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. Bhatt spoke about the Sea Ice Prediction Network at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting last month.As the amount of sea ice in the Arctic declines, thins and becomes more mobile…

With more wind farms sprouting up in Europe, Asia and now here in the United States, a steady stream of crew transfer vessels (CTV) will be needed to support their construction, maintenance and operation. Typically aluminum catamarans, these vessels are deployed to ferry personnel and light equipment to and from offshore wind farms on a daily basis.While a solid portion of CTVs in the established European offshore wind market are propelled by waterjets, Adam Mills, sales director at Marine Jet Power…

Carnival Corp.'s Princess Cruises has again pleaded guilty to violating its probation imposed as a result of its record $40 million criminal conviction for its "magic pipe" environmental crimes.The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday that Princess failed to establish and maintain an independent internal investigative office as required after pleading guilty to felony dumping and attempted cover-up charges in April 2017. An engineer aboard the Caribbean Princess revealed…

DSC Dredge announced it has welcomed Mitchell Duplantis as the newest member of its information technology (IT) team.As a former IT support analyst and helpdesk specialist, Duplantis brings experience in applying technical and problem-solving skills to improve both team and organizational performance and the ability to leverage existing technology with internal resources to facilitate DSC achieving its technological goals. He joined DSC Dredge on October 26, 2021As IT specialist for DSC…

Net Income of $4.65 Billion, Adjusted EBITDA  of $6.60 billion, and Adjusted EBIT of $5.82 billionAs the containershipping industry enjoys its greatest boom of a generation, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) announced its consolidated results for the three and 12 months ended December 31, 2021.Net income for the fourth quarter was $1.71 billion (compared to $366 million in the fourth quarter of 2020), a year-over-year increase of 366%, or $14.17 per diluted share…