Vessel Crew News

Finland-headquartered maritime tech company Groke Technologies (Groke) is working with BAR Technolgoes (BARTech) design and develop of situational awareness systems for the U.K. marine engineering consultancy’s WindWings wind propulsion technology.The companies have signed a partnership agreement following the debut installation of two 37.5 m (123 ft) tall WindWings sails on board MC Shipping-owned and Cargill-operated Kamsarmax bulker Pyxis Ocean. Groke’s camera and imaging solutions were also installed.Groke Technologies’ CEO Juha Rokka said…

A Singapore-flagged tanker, Pearl Kenzo, collided with a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel, Suiyupu on December 26 at about 12:08 am (Singapore Time) near Chengshan Jiao, China. Eight fishing vessel crew are missing.The tanker was on its way to Zhoushan from Penglai, China, when the incident happened, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).The China Maritime Safety Administration informed MPA that the fishing vessel had sunk and that the Chinese authorities…

The Indian Navy will deploy guided missile destroyer ships in the Arabian Sea as a deterrent after an Israel-affiliated merchant vessel was struck off the Indian coast over the weekend.The navy was investigating the nature of the attack on the vessel, MV Chem Pluto, which docked in Mumbai on Monday, and initial reports pointed to a drone attack, a navy statement said."Further forensic and technical analysis will be required to establish the vector of attack, including type and amount of explosive used…

The crew of the Galaxy Leader commercial ship seized by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis last month have been allowed "modest contact" with their families while various countries push for their release, the vessel's owner said this week.The Bahamas flagged car carrier was taken to the port of Hodeidah in the Houthi controlled north of Yemen after being boarded at sea on November 19 by commandos with the group.The vessel's crew is made up of nationals from Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Philippines, Mexico and Romania, Galaxy Maritime said.

The transportation of hydrogen, a key fuel of the energy transition in maritime, is another step closer to supporting projected market demands thanks to newly published industry-leading requirements from ABS.The ABS Requirements for Liquefied Hydrogen Carriers address safety and technical standards for vessels carrying liquefied hydrogen, expanding on the corresponding IMO Resolution MSC.420(97) that was adopted in November 2016. The ABS publication provides further support on criteria such as risk assessment…

Chinese shipbuilder China Merchant Heavy Industries (CMHI) has contracted TMC Compressors (TMC) to deliver the completed marine compressed air system to a newbuild FPSO the Chinese yard is constructing for the Dutch FPSO leasing firm SBM Offshore.Under the contract, TMC will provide a large-capacity marine compressed air system, including compressors for control and service air on board the FPSO.TMC will manufacture and assemble the equipment in Europe and deliver it to CMHI in China.

Subsea services company DeepOcean and the Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP have agreed to "pioneer" the use of an unmanned surface vessel (USV) for subsea inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) and survey work.The first USV is planned to be ready for offshore operations from 2025, when it will go on an eight-year charter agreement with DeepOcean from specialist provider USV AS."Aker BP and DeepOcean already cooperate under a frame agreement for subsea IMR and survey work, and Aker BP has contributed to the development of the USV.

A crewmember has died after falling overboard from a tanker vessel near Boston.A frantic search commenced shortly after 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday in response to a mayday call from the Singapore-registered MTM Dublin, which reported the mariner had fallen overboard.The man had reportedly been swept into the sea while a ladder was being lowered for the boarding of a Boston Harbor pilot, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.The search was performed in rough sea conditions near Boston Harbor…

California’s maritime sector is essential to America’s role in the global economy and to the supply chain. Yet, a mandate from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has cast a shadow over the safety and efficiency of this sector, which will have far-reaching effects on the nation.While CARB’s intentions to bolster air quality are commendable, and California’s maritime industry has a proven track record of working to lower emissions, the hasty directive for tugboat operators…

Singapore-based offshore wind vessel firm Cyan Renewables said Friday it had acquired its first vessel from DEME Offshore NL - the Service Operation Vessel (SOV) Groenewind, for an undisclosed fee.The Groenewind is a SWATH vessel used to service offshore wind farms. The vessel hull is designed and optimized for safe transfers of service technicians to offshore wind turbines in all weather conditions.It can accommodate 24 service technicians in spacious single cabins and with large modern lounge areas allowing for social interaction for the service technicians and vessel crew"In its first years of operation, the vessel set new standards for transferring service technicians allowing them to access turbines in more than 3 m significant wave heights…

For companies active in all parts of the commercial maritime sector, finding and holding onto the workers they need to build, operate and service the industry’s wide range of vessels has been challenging. Simply put, the labor market is tight, and the problem is not getting any easier to solve.Mike Ellis, CEO at American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL), said a continued shortage of qualified personnel has been the most pressing issue for ACBL—and probably for the barging industry as a whole. “There's been so much demand on people.

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a crewmember from Allseas' pipelayer Solitaire Tuesday approximately 13 miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.Coast Guard Eighth District and Coast Guard Sector New Orleans command center watchstanders received a report at approximately noon Tuesday from the Solitaire of a 65-year-old male crewmember experiencing heart attack-like symptoms. Sector New Orleans watchstanders diverted a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to assist.

Lithium-ion batteries and other possible ignition sources could pose a fire safety issue in the transportation of scrap materials as cargo, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.Although scrap metal cargo is typically nonhazardous and poses a low fire risk, there have been several recent fires involving such cargo. In January 2022, a shoreside pile caught fire in Newark, N.J. Two international vessels carrying scrap material experienced cargo fires in 2022…

The maritime industry’s movement toward remote vessel operations will not only build a more diverse workforce, it will benefit from it, argues marine robotics company Ocean Infinity.Greater workforce diversity, whether it be considered along lines of ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, age, socioeconomic status, neurotype, physical ability or any other parameter, has shifted over the course of the last decade from a ‘nice to have’ to a fundamental value. The modern view of society that the thought leaders at Ocean Infinity subscribe to, is often characterized as ‘intersectionality’.

ClassNK granted its Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions to an object recognition system on machine vision and sensor fusion called Groke Pro developed by Groke Technologies Oy.In order to promote the spread and development of innovative technologies, ClassNK has offered Innovation Endorsement as a swift certification service in cooperation with technological front runners to establish appropriate evaluation criteria. Among the certification categories, "Products &…

Five mariners were rescued by the crew of a U.K. Royal Navy patrol ship after their tug started to sink in rough seas last week in the Caribbean.The oceangoing tug began taking on water after suffering an engine failure some 20 miles west of Sint Maarten. The vessel's crew sent out a distress call around 1 p.m. on Friday and took refuge on the large sand barge their vessel had been towing.Patrol ship HMS Medway, the Royal Navy’s permanent presence in the region, was slightly more than a dozen miles away and promptly responded to the Mayday call.

Singaporean shipbuilder Strategic Marine on Tuesday announced it secured a four-vessel crew boat order from Malaysian operator Surya Nautika.Slated for delivery to the licensed Petronas contractor progressively from the first quarter of 2023, the newbuilds will be Strategic Marine's 40-meter Gen3 Fast Crew Boat (FCB) designed by Southerly Designs of Australia in collaboration with Strategic Marine, with bespoke layout and features for Surya Nautika.The new vessels will feature a remote-controlled water monitor with a capacity of 1200m³/hr…

With shipowners pressed to upgrade machinery to meet strict new emission targets, there’s much confusion with chatter surrounding ‘decarbonization’ and ‘future fuels’, solutions that don’t exist today – and may not exist in mass for another generation – cluttering the conversation. Enter Wabtec, formerly GE Transportation, which today offers a Tier 4 compliant engine with no need for urea. Is it the cheapest propulsion solution on the market? No. But the Pennsylvania-based engine builder mounts a compelling case for its 250MDC diesel engine based on performance…

For 20 years, I represented operators of OSVs, jack-ups, semi-submersibles, oil and gas production platforms, harbor tugs, towboats and barges in state and federal court personal injury litigation arising in the Gulf of Mexico, across the Great Lakes and on the inland waterways. For the last decade or so, I have been representing injured crew. In the case of a death or serious injury, sometimes there is little a vessel operator can do to prevent being sued. In my experience, though, many expensive lawsuits could have been avoided had the marine employer handled the situation differently.1.

The number of containers being lost overboard from ships at sea has been on the rise, according to a recent report from the World Shipping Council (WSC).In 2021, international liner carriers’ onshore staff and crews managed 6,300 ships, successfully delivering vital supplies worth $7 trillion to the people of the world, in approximately 241 million containers. The WSC Containers Lost at Sea Report covering 2020-2021 shows that containers lost overboard represent less than one thousandth of 1% (0.001%).

A passenger vessel lost steering and went a drift in a highly trafficked area near Galveston, Texas, on Saturday.The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector Houston-Galveston received a call on VHF-FM channel 16 at about 11 a.m. from the captain of the Baywatch Too stating the dolphin sightseeing vessel had lost steering and was drifting toward a dredge pipe near Seawolf Park with 33 people on board.The Coast Guard issued an urgent marine information broadcast and directed the launch of a Coast Guard Station Galveston 45-foot Response Boat–Medium (RB–M) crew.

Offshore wind developer Ørsted and Taiwanese vessel company Ta San Shang Marine Co. Ltd. held a ceremony in Taichung on Tuesday to christen and name the first-ever purpose-built Service Operation Vessel (SOV) "TSS Pioneer" in the Asia-Pacific region. The vessel, built in Vietnam, will be used to service the 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind farms in Taiwan. "TSS Pioneer” is the first Taiwan-flagged SOV customized to meet the specific requirements of the Greater Changhua offshore wind farms and Taiwan Strait conditions.Andreas Munk-Janson…

Empire Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Equinor and BP, has awarded Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) a long-term service operations vessel charter. The vessel will service the Empire Wind offshore wind farm project located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island.Edison Chouest Offshore's plug-in hybrid service operations vessel (SOV) will be the first in the US offshore wind sector capable of sailing partly on battery power.The vessel will accommodate up to 60 wind turbine technicians…