Consulting News

Moorestown, N.J. based Gallagher Marine Systems (GMS) and Wilton, Conn. based ECM Maritime Services (ECM) have merged as of June 30, 2023, forming a single maritime regulatory consulting, compliance, emergency preparedness, security and response firm.All key personnel from both companies will remain intact as the combined companies integrate software platforms, workflows and staff into a combined organization. In the interim, both GMS and ECM operations will continue unchanged.The collective company will be led by current GMS president and former ECM employee, Thomas Wiker.

Chad Verret, a former executive in the offshore marine services business, has started a new marine consultancy called Verret Marine Consulting, LLC. The Louisiana-based company has offices in the Houston area and in Morgan City, La. and will be focused on areas such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, alternative fuels and marine based liquefaction projects.Verret got his start in the offshore industry nearly 40 years ago, signing on with Tidewater Marine as a deckhand in 1985…

Energy and marine consultancy ABL Group has appointed Maria Dragoumerli to head up the company’s operations in Greece, with specific focus on the country’s maritime industry.Based in Piraeus, Dragoumerli will be in charge of driving the development of ABL’s service offering in the Greek market, in particular provision of support to the country’s extensive shipping and maritime industries.Dragoumerli joins ABL from Helikon Shipping Enterprises Ltd in London, UK, where she held the role of fleet technical superintendent.

shipping, navigation and maritime risk consultancy NASH Maritime Ltd. announced the opening of an Edinburgh office, it’s first in Scotland.Formalizing its existing presence in Scotland is another milestone for the company, as it continues to see increasing demand for its services, the company said.NASH Maritime Director, Jamie Holmes, said, “Our extensive portfolio of work in Scotland and growth of the team here on the ground, coupled with future pipeline of opportunities brought us to a clear conclusion regarding an investment in an office in Edinburgh.”NASH Maritime Director, Dr.

Long-serving marine, energy and industrial market consultancies International Maritime Associates and World Energy Reports have merged to form Intelatus Global Partners.While Intelatus is a new name, its team of business consultants has nearly five decades of experience across the entire maritime supply chain, producing multi-client analytical studies for sectors including offshore oil and gas, renewables and the energy transition, ports and terminals, transport and logistics…

Maritime security risk management firm Dryad Global announced Tuesday it has appointed Teresa Peacock as its first non-executive director.Peacock is currently managing director at maritime staffing and recruitment firm Spinnaker Global and a member of the Maritime UK’s Diversity Taskforce, a board member of the Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA UK) and a part of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women and Work. Her experience spans a career in recruitment of over 30 years…

The Hepburn and Sons LLC team welcomed David Rice, CAPT David Bauer, USN (Ret), and Gary Loberg as their newest members. David Rice serves as Senior Consultant, Material Science. David Bauer will serve as the Senior Manager, Material Science. Gary Loberg serves as Senior Manager, Advisory Services.David Rice comes to Hepburn and Sons, LLC after a career spanning 45 years at Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS). During his time at NNS he served as the Manager of Contracted Research & Development and was responsible for Research & Development Programs funded by ONR/ManTech…

ONE SEA has appointed Capt Eero Lehtovaara as its new Chairman. Lehtovaara, a Master Mariner and Associate Fellow of the Nautical Institute, is Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs at ABB Marine & Ports.He brings a wealth of experience to the expanding ONE SEA alliance where he has been a Board member for two years, as well as Vice Chairman. His past experience at sea provides a unique understanding of the challenges set by new regulations, human resource management and technological developments…

Lloyd's Register (LR), the technical and business services organization and a maritime classification society, said that it is is collaborating with COSCO Shipping LNG Investment, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry, Jiangnan Shipyard, MARIC, SSSRI and CCS to develop 220k LNG carrier with Mark III containment system.LR has signed an agreement with COSCO Shipping LNG Investment (Shanghai) Co., COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co., Ltd, Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co., Ltd. (JN), Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC), Shanghai Ship and Shipping Research Institute (SSSRI) and China Classification Society (CCS) to design and develop the first 220k LNG carrier with a GTT Mark III membrane containment system.The seven parties will use their expertise…

Hepburn and Sons LLC team has welcomed CAPT Timothy Crone as its newest Director. CAPT Timothy Crone, USN (Ret) will serve as Hepburn’s Director, Advisory Services.CAPT Crone, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the US Naval Academy and completed a Master of Science in Justice, Law and Society from American University. He has also received a Master of Arts in National Security Policy and Strategic Studies from the U.S.

Tightening ballast water treatment regulations are driving shipowners down many paths to compliance. One thing they all have in common, though, is the need for efficient and reliable retrofitting of their ballast water treatment systems (BWT).Goltens is a market leader in BWT retrofits, with a wide range of shipowners who have chosen Goltens to keep them BWT compliant while minimizing asset downtime and cost. The reasons for their BWT choices vary, from beating the rush to compliance, to ensuring the necessary flexibility for vessels calling at ports around the world.

DNV GL has appointed Neil Jamieson Fraser as its new head of Noble Denton marine services in the UK and West Africa. The role will focus on marine warranty, marine advisory/assurance, technical assurance, and advanced engineering services. Fraser  has worked with DNV GL for more than 25 years and has held a number of senior positions within the company in the UK, West Africa and most recently, in South America. He recently returned to the UK after nearly four-years based in Rio…

Monaco-based container ship company Navios Maritime Containers has filed with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. The information of IPO was originally provided by the IPO investment manager Renaissance Capital. The Navios Holdings company run by Angeliki Frangou was founded in 2017 and booked $69 million in sales for the 12 months ended March 31, 2018. According to the company website: "We are a growth-oriented international owner and operator of containerships. We were formed in April 2017 by Navios Holdings, which owns, operates or manages one of the largest shipping fleets by capacity, to take advantage of acquisition and chartering opportunities in the container shipping sector. It plans to list on the Nasdaq but has not disclosed a symbol. J.P.

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised ING Bank (“ING”), as agent, security trustee and the syndicate of lenders on the US$252m financing of the world’s first ever LNG-powered aframax tankers for leading Russian shipowner Sovcomflot Group (“SCF”). The six 114,000dwt, ice-class vessels are being built by Hyundai Samho, with two of the vessels to operate under time charter to Shell for up to ten years. Shell will also provide LNG fuel for all six tankers across north-west Europe and the Baltic. In addition to ING, international lenders ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Citibank, KfW IPEX-Bank and Société Générale were part of the financing syndicate for the facility.

Singapore is set to get new technology to help in preventing ship collisions.The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it has engaged the services of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), Singapore Management University (SMU) and Fujitsu to develop new predictive technologies for maritime vessel traffic management. These predictive technologies will tap the power of artificial intelligence and big data analytics, to enhance navigational safety within the Port of Singapore. The initiative is in line with the Maritime Transformation Program unveiled during this year’s MPA budget…

Oil Plus has secured contracts worth more than $1.5m over the past three months and has significantly expanded its footprint in the Middle East. The company has also reported a strong start to the year with sales up by 285% compared to the last quarter of 2017. Due to the surge of new business, the Newbury-based company, which employs in excess of 30 people, plans to recruit another eight over the next 12 months. The contracts will see Oil Plus deliver reservoir souring modelling, production chemistry and iron sulfide studies for several international oil companies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Brazil, Thailand and Europe. Oil Plus has gone from strength to strength under its new ownership and management team having achieved significant growth since it was acquired by Mark Cavanagh last year.

LOC Group has today announced the appointment of Dr RV Ahilan to the position of joint CEO, alongside Jerome Rutler. Ahilan brings a strong strategic and technical understanding of LOC's key offshore markets to the leadership team. Over a 30-year career in maritime, oil and gas and renewable energy consulting, Ahilan served as Executive Vice President of the Renewables Advisory Division at DNV GL, President of GL Garrad Hassan and MD of GL Noble Denton in Americas and Europe before he joined LOC Group in February 2016. Commenting on his appointment, Ahilan said: "We must be prepared as a business to serve our industry as it continues to evolve, and to provide support to all our clients for the successful construction and operation of shipping, energy and power assets.

Shipping confidence reached a four-year high in the three months to end-February 2018, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. The average confidence level expressed by respondents was up from 6.2 out of 10.0 in November 2017 to 6.4 this time. Confidence on the part of owners was also at a four-year high, up from 6.4 to 6.6, while managers’ confidence was up too, from 6.1 to 6.4. The rating for charterers, however, continued its recent erratic performance – down to 5.0 from 7.7 in November 2017, but up on the 4.7 recorded in August 2017. Confidence on the part of brokers, meanwhile, was down from 6.3 to 6.1.

As per January 1, 2018, Hoppe Singapore Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hoppe Group headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, has opened. “The decision to set up Hoppe Singapore, enhancing the already existing Hoppe network in China and South Korea, proves Hoppe’s commitment in ensuring a reliable and timely response on service and spares support to customers in the region,” said Marc Rohde, Managing Director of Hoppe Marine GmbH, Germany. Hoppe Singapore is headed by Dr. Wilfred Rachan as Managing Director with his team of Service Engineers and Administration Staff.

Dutch firm HMC and U.S. based JF Moore group announced the establishment of a joint venture under the name JFMooreHMC, enabling both organizations to broaden exploration of technology and innovations in the maritime technology field. Jim Moore II, CEO of The JF Moore Group, said, “Our joint venture will allow The JF Moore Group to create a new strong base in Europe. Combining our mutual global contacts and the collective expertise of both organizations creates a unique, independent engineering partnership that provides all kind of maritime services worldwide. This alliance brings together two companies that are culturally aligned, geographically complimentary, and most of all share a history of pushing the leading edge in maritime engineering.

Deltamarin Ltd has signed a contract with Chinese Guangzhou Shipyard International Co, Ltd (GSI) for consultancy and engineering services for the DFDS ro-pax ferries. Deltamarin earlier carried out contract design of the ship concept for GSI in cooperation with the owner. Deltamarin will provide the yard with basic (approval) and detail design together with Safe Return to Port (SRtP) documentation. The contract covers all disciplines and all areas. The value of Deltamarin’s contract with GSI is about €5 million ($6.2 million). The work will be carried out at Deltamarin’s offices in Finland and China with the assistance of network companies from Europe over an estimated period of 13 months.

Fitch Ratings-London-01 March 2018: Sustaining last year's improved profitability in 2018 may prove challenging for container shipping companies, Fitch Ratings says. The fact that some companies are likely to have remained loss-making in 2017 highlights the ongoing weakness in sector fundamentals due to persistent overcapacity, which may undermine a longer-lasting recovery. Financial reports or preliminary results released so far indicate that container shipping companies had stronger performance in 2017 than 2016. We expect most carriers to have boosted profitability, although performance varies company by company. Maersk Line generated EBIT of USD634 million in 2017 compared to a loss of USD421 million in 2016…

About 500 people gathered at the Long Beach Convention Center for the event, which brings together a panel of shipping and trade experts to offer their perspectives on industry trends and how they affect the San Pedro Bay port complex. One of the panelists, Drewry Maritime Research Senior Quantitative Economist Mario Moreno, predicted Asia-U.S. trade will grow 6.8 percent in 2018, the fastest pace in more than half-a-dozen years. He also estimated the overall U.S. economy will expand 2.8 percent. While President Donald Trump and China have proposed higher tariffs, an all-out trade war between China and the United States appears unlikely, according to Moreno. “Both nations have a lot to lose,” Moreno said.