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21 Feb 2024

Ship Hit by Missiles and Abandoned in Red Sea Faces Unknown Fate

© Eugene / Adobe Stock

A cargo ship abandoned four days ago in the Gulf of Aden after it was hit by missiles fired by Yemen's Houthis is still floating despite taking in water, and could be towed to nearby Djibouti, industry sources said on Wednesday.Shipping risks have escalated due to repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait by the Iran-aligned Houthis since November. U.S. and British forces have responded with several strikes on Houthi facilities but have so far failed to halt the attacks.The crew of the Belize-flagged Rubymar abandoned the vessel after it was hit on Sunday…

15 Jan 2024

Exploring 'Future Fuels' - Methanol’s Superstorage Solution

Image courtesy SRC

Technical inquiries to SRC Group ramped up after it received Approval in Principle (AIP) for a concept which ‘reinvented methanol fuel storage’ on board ships. Delivering the answers has seen technical talk converting into project discussions        ‘Green’ methanol has the ability to one day run vessels almost emission-free, and commercial shipping increasingly investigates. Derived today principally from natural gas, methanol is nonetheless available, relatively easy to handle and predictable.

30 Dec 2023

UKMTO Receives Report of Incident Near Hodeidah Port

© AytugAskin / Adobe Stock

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on Saturday received a report of an incident approximately 55 nautical miles (nM) south west of Yemen's Hodeidah port where "the master reported a loud bang and a flash on the port bow of the vessel."The vessel is proceeding to the next port of call, UKMTO said in an advisory note.Authorities are investigating and vessels are advised to transit with caution, UKMTO added.Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of Yemen including the capital Sanaa…

28 Dec 2023

Low Flashpoint Bunkers Identified in Indonesia

© TED / Adobe Stock

Singapore-based CTI-Maritec has found that seven samples from four different suppliers representing HSD and Bio Distillate grade deliveries in Indonesia have a flashpoint as low as 35°C.The samples were taken between December 10 and 19 2023.The company reminds that SOLAS Chapter II-2, Part B, Reg. 4. Clause 2.1.1 states: “The following limitations shall apply to the use of oil as fuel, except as otherwise permitted by this paragraph, no oil fuel with a flashpoint of less than…

06 Nov 2023

Neste, PTL Marine Supplying Renewable Diesel to Vessels in California

(Photo: Neste)

Neste is partnering with PTL Marine to provide Neste MY Renewable Diesel to the marine sector across the State of California.California’s Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) regulation, established by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), took effect on January 1, 2023. This regulation requires commercial harbor craft vessels in the state to use renewable diesel (also known locally as R99 or R100) instead of ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD), to limit emissions such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides for vessels operating in the state’s ports and near the coast.

31 Aug 2023

Kongsberg Digital to Supply Methanol Dual-Fuel Engine Room Simulator to AAMS

Source: Kongsberg Digital

Kongsberg Digital is providing a second Full Mission K-Sim Engine simulator package to the Danish training institute Aarhus Maskinmesterskole (AAMS).The delivery, scheduled for February 2024, also includes three engine models to achieve specific training objectives for a range of modern propulsion and engine types. Notably, the package features a cruise ferry model tailored to facilitate mandatory IGF Code training for personnel serving on LNG-fuelled vessels.Kongsberg Digital…

14 Apr 2023

Cyclone Ilsa Hits Australia's Northwest, Misses Iron Ore Export Hub

00:30 AEST on Friday 14 April 2023 | Cloud/surface composite, Australia - Credit: Australian Bureau of Meteorology

A tropical cyclone smashed into Australia's northwest coast as a category 5 storm, setting new wind speed records, but has largely spared populated regions including the world's largest iron ore export hub at Port Hedland, authorities said on Friday. Cyclone Ilsa made landfall early Friday morning with the highest intensity rating on a 1-to 5 scale and then moved inland as emergency crews urged several remote communities along the storm's path to seek shelter and remain indoors."Port Hedland ... escaped the brunt of the cyclone at this stage.

19 Dec 2022

How Climate Change is Altering River Shipping

© Rob Sheppard/Danita Delimont / Adobe Stock

Rivers are critical corridors that connect cities and ecosystems alike. When drought develops, water levels fall, making river navigation harder and more expensive.In 2022, water levels in some of the world’s largest rivers, including the Rhine in Europe and the Yangtze in China, fell to historically low levels. The Mississippi River fell so low in Memphis, Tennessee, in mid-October that barges were unable to float, requiring dredging and special water releases from upstream reservoirs to keep channels navigable.Conditions on the lower Mississippi may be easing somewhat…

03 Oct 2022

Ship Recycling Prices Soften (again)

Copyright Mulderphoto/AdobeStock

Sentiments have softened across sub-continent markets once again this week, as buyers appear increasingly reluctant to commit on fresh tonnage while fundamentals remain so shaky – especially as the markets have witnessed across the last couple of weeks, where currencies and steel plate prices took turns in tumbling.The Pakistani Rupee has breached historical lows and despite the odd flash of appreciation, has given Gadani Buyers extreme discomfort over the course of a torturous year of monumental declines.Bangladesh…

16 Sep 2022

Jan De Nul's Newbuild Jack-up Voltaire Suffers 'Limited Damage' in China Typhoon

Credit: Jan De Nul

Offshore installation specialist Jan De Nul Group said Thursday that the shipyard in China where its flagship jack-up installation vessel Voltaire is being built, was hit by typhoon Muifa in China during the night of 14 to 15 September 2022."The eye of the typhoon passed over the shipyard, causing the vessel to come loose from its moorings. Fortunately, no one was injured. Voltaire is now safely moored back in the shipyard and first sight assessments show limited damage to certain parts of the crane and the helideck.

06 Sep 2022

ABB Unveils New Solid State Circuit Breaker

(Image: ABB)

ABB is launching a new solid state circuit breaker to enable the next generation of safe, energy-efficient direct current (DC) power systems. DC power distribution is at the forefront of strategies to make shipping and marine vessels more sustainable and energy efficient – the SACE Infinitus circuit breaker makes it simpler to integrate, protect and control these new DC network architectures for ships of all types and sizes.DC power systems improve fuel efficiency by up to 20 per cent.

02 Sep 2022

London Fire Brigade Adds Two New Fireboats

(Photo: London Fire Brigade)

The London Fire Brigade has added a pair of new fireboats on the Thames as part of a £40 million investment made by City Hall to expand the Brigade’s fleet of equipment and vehicles.The new 16.2-meter-long boats, Tanner and Errington, are named after Auxiliary Fireman Harry Errington and Auxiliary Firewoman Gillian Tanner, who in the Second World War were both awarded medals for bravery. The call signs for the boats are H23A and H23B, a reference to Adam Mere and Billy Faust, two London firefighters who died fighting a fire in 2004.Built by Holyhead Marine…

01 Nov 2021

Retrofitted Pair to Be First Tier III Tugs in Italian Ports

Ali Gurun, Vice President of Sanmar, and Alberto Dellepiane CEO Italy for Rimorchiatori Mediterranei. (Photo: Sanmar Shipyards)

Sanmar Shipyards said it has signed a contract to deliver two cleaner and greener versions of its Bogacay series of tugs to Sicily-based operator Rimorchiatori Augusta Srl. BOGACAY LII and BOGACY LIV have been refurbished and their propulsion systems upgraded using the latest technology to make them IMO Tier III emissions compliant. They will be delivered to Augusta Port in Sicily towards the end of 2022.The 24.4m x 12m x 5.45m sister tugs will be powered by two Caterpillar CAT 3512E C rating main engines…

04 May 2021

US Coast Guard Rolls Out New Mentoring Program

(Photo: Jonathan Lally / U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard launched an innovative and modernized approach to mentorship Saturday, to offer expanded leadership opportunities to the Coast Guard active duty, reserve and civilian workforce. The program goes beyond traditional mentoring and provides four types of mentoring tracks or connections tailored specifically to individual needs and scheduling preferences. Additionally, program participants will have the opportunity to network with people who work in a wide variety of fields across the organization.

17 Feb 2022

Want to stop a Drug Smuggling Boat? Try out a High Power Microwave Weapon Systems

Nhan Bui, a statistician with the High Power Microwave (HPM) Weapon Systems Division at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, works on an HPM system. HPM is designed to be a safer alternative to other vessel stopping mitigations, using nonlethal methods.  Phouto courtesy Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division

Videos of U.S. military personnel stopping drug-smuggling boats are exhilarating and frightening. They are not Hollywood movies but real-life, dangerous encounters on the high seas. In each of those instances, the use of force applies. The High Power Microwave (HPM) Weapon Systems Division at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) makes those encounters safer for everyone involved.“A significant portion of what we do focuses on vessel stopping,” said Kevin Cogley, HPM Weapon Systems Division head.

03 Sep 2021

Insurers Bracing for $1B Hit from Hurricane Ida Damage to Offshore Facilities

Platforms in the Gulf of Mexico - Credit: Mosto/AdobeStock

Insurers are bracing for a hit of about $1 billion from physical damage to offshore rigs and structures from Hurricane Ida, according to preliminary estimates from U.S. property data and analytics company CoreLogic.The estimate did not include losses from production disruption and could be revised over time, a spokesperson for CoreLogic said.The volume of oil shut in by the hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico rose to 1.7 million barrels per day of offshore output, up 240,000 barrels from Wednesday…

16 Mar 2022

COVID Curbs Bite at Chinese Ports, Threatening Global Supply Chains

© yu/ Adobe Stock

The queues of container ships outside major Chinese ports are lengthening by the day as COVID-19 outbreaks in manufacturing export hubs threaten to unleash a fresh wave of global supply chain shocks, ship owners, logistics firms and analysts say.China is experiencing its biggest spike in COVID-19 infections since an initial outbreak in the central city of Wuhan was contained in early 2020.The spread of the highly-infectious Omicron variant this month has led to movement controls across China…

10 Nov 2021

Towboat Fire Closes Portion of the Ohio River

A section of the Ohio River was closed to vessel traffic on Tuesday due to towboat fire near Belleview, Ky.The U.S. Coast Guard said it issued a waterway restriction between mile marker 499 and mile marker 501 on the Ohio River after a fire reportedly broke out in the engine room aboard the towing vessel Capt. Kirby Dupuis.The vessel's crew was able to extinguish the fire with its fire suppression system, but a re-flash occurred, the Coast Guard said.Authorities said the fire has been extinguished, and its cause is being investigated.

13 Sep 2021

Another Storm Barrels Toward US Gulf Coast

(Image: NOAA)

The Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana was bracing on Monday for the arrival of Tropical Storm Nicholas, which was expected to batter the region with life-threatening storm surge, flash flooding and gusty winds.The storm, carrying winds of 60 mph (97 kph), was moving erratically as it headed northward about 140 miles (225 km) south of the southern coast of Texas, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a Monday morning bulletin. It was forecast to move ashore along the southern or central coast of Texas late on Monday afternoon or evening.The National Weather Service issued storm surge…

24 Mar 2022

Ukraine Says It Destroyed Russian Landing Ship Orsk

Screenshot from social media video

Ukraine said on Thursday it had destroyed a large Russian landing support ship, the Orsk, at the Russian-occupied port of Berdiansk on the Sea of Azov.Video footage, which Reuters was able to confirm was filmed from inside Berdiansk, showed a column of smoke rising from a blaze at a dock, and the flash of an explosion.Two vessels, one of which appeared to have been damaged, were seen in the footage sailing out of the dock as a third ship burned.Reuters could not confirm if it was the Orsk on fire in the film.

03 Jun 2022

New U.S. Hurricane Outlook Sees Five Major Storms

Credit: James/AdobeStock

Forecasters on Thursday amped up their outlook for the U.S. Atlantic hurricane season, saying warm sea temperatures and the absence of a moderating wind shear portend a "well-above average" number of storms.Colorado State University researchers raised their estimate for tropical storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes by one apiece to 20, 10 and five, respectively. There is a 50% chance or more of at least one major hurricane apiece hitting the East and Gulf Coasts, it said.The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season began on Wednesday and continues through Nov.

23 May 2022

USCG Warns of Water Contamination in Fuel Systems

Diesel fuel sample showing water and sediment contamination. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

A towing vessel operating in a pushing-ahead configuration experienced a loss of all propulsion while operating on the Mississippi River. The loss of propulsion occurred approximately three hours after getting underway and about 3.5 hours after receiving fuel from a shore-side facility. Fortunately, there was no significant damage to the vessel, nor injuries to crewmembers because of this casualty.The subsequent investigation into the causal factors revealed that the vessel’s fuel tanks and fuel service system to the engine were heavily contaminated by water.

03 Feb 2022

Q&A: Uwe Köhler, CEO, Sailing Cargo

Quadriga Aqua: Concept for the world’s first zero emission mobile aquaculture. Image courtesy Sailing Cargo

Is it true that Sailing Cargo is building the world’s first mobile aquaculture ship?That is correct. We at Sailing Cargo Inc. want to change the future of global fishing while proving the value of clean shipping. Our team of experienced professionals is building the world’s largest zero emission sailing vessel in order to respond to the increasing global demand for healthy salmon and protein in the most efficient and environmentally sustainable manner. The conventional fish farming…