Colombia News

The Florida-Caribbean Association (FCCA), a cruise and destination trade group, has announced that the 2023-2024 cruise year brought record economic contributions to the region.According to the study released by Business Research & Economic Advisors (BREA), cruise tourism generated $4.27 billion in direct cruise tourism expenditures, about 27% higher than the record set by the previous study in 2018, in the 33 participating destinations.Key findings include:• Cruise tourism generated $4.27 billion in expenditures…

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas fell slightly in September as plant maintenance trimmed output, while Europe remained the leading destination, data from financial firm LSEG showed.Gulf Coast plants escaped any major impact from hurricanes last month, helping the U.S. to retain its status as the world's largest LNG exporter.Exports of the superchilled gas fell to 7.26 million metric tons in September, just down from August, when the U.S. sold 7.48 MT, LSEG data showed.U.S.

Oceans worldwide hold untold riches hidden beneath the waves. Now treasure hunters are using  cutting-edge technology to explore them, discovering some of history's most treasured sunken finds from Caribbean waters to Arctic depths rewriting maritime history and uncovering fortunes lost at sea.According to estimates by marine archaeologists and treasure hunting experts, the value of treasure lying beneath the waves could range anywhere between $60 billion to over $100 billion.

Esgian highlights several new contracts in its Week 39 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsMarket sources indicate that ADNOC has exercised an extension option for the 350-ft jackup drilling rig Aryabhatt 1 in Abu Dhabi.Petrobras has awarded two floating rig contracts to Constellation Oil Services for work at the Roncador field in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. Valued at $1 billion, the two contracts will see Constellation 10,000-ft drillship Laguna Star and Hanwha Drilling 12,000-ft newbuild Tidal Action operate for Petrobras for around 2.5 years.

Esgian has no rig contracts to announced but provides an update on rig moves and drilling operations in the US Gulf of Mexico, Canada, Morocco and Norway in its Week 38 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryDrilling Activity and DiscoveriesExxonMobil has abandoned the Persephone C-54 well on EL 1169 in the Orphan Basin offshore Newfoundland, Canada.Seadrill’s 12,000-ft drillship West Neptune has resumed drilling operations on LLOG’s Who Dat South exploration well in the US Gulf of Mexico…

Four seafarers have been abandoned without pay on a 60-year-old tugboat in Washington State.The vessel, Wycliffe, recently changed its flag to Vanuatu, and was scheduled to help tow two retired Washington State Ferries vessels for a 34-day transit to Ecuador – where the new owner is based – for scrap, but the contract was canceled after the tug experienced technical issues.The four crew members on board from Colombia, Panama, and Peru faced dire conditions, including inadequate food…

Damen and COTECMAR have signed the contract for technical support and the supply of components for the construction of the first frigate to be built in Colombia.COTECMAR, short for the Corporación de Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo de la Industria Naval, Marítima y Fluvial, will be in charge of the construction, based on Damen’s SIGMA 10514 model.The ship, Plataforma Estratégica de Superficie (PES - Strategic Surface Platform), will have a length of 107.5 meters and a beam of 14.02 meters.After Mexico and Brazil…

Esgian provides an update on the second round of jackup suspensions in Saudi Arabia in its Week 32 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsArabian Drilling has confirmed that Saudi Aramco has initiated discussions with the drilling contractor over the suspension of an additional leased offshore rig, following an initial round of contract suspensions that began earlier this year. Arabian Drilling has not stated which of its jackups is the target of the current suspension discussions.ADES does not expect new contract suspensions for its fleet by Saudi Aramco this year.

The Panama Canal expects to increase the number of daily transit slots for vessels to 36 from the current 34 beginning in September, the canal's deputy administrator said, as rains allow authorities to ease drought-imposed restrictions.Panama experienced its third-driest year on record in 2023, lowering the canal's water level and forcingits authority to limit the number of vessels using the waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.At times, more than 100 ships at a time lined up and waited up to 21 days to use the canal…

Esgian provides an update on drilling activity in its Week 26 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsVentura Offshore has been granted exclusive marketing rights from Hanwha Drilling LLC for the newbuild 12,000-ft 7th generation drillship, Tidal Action, for an ongoing tender process in Brazil.Transocean has announced a 365-day contract extension for the 12,000-ft drillship Deepwater Asgard with an independent operator in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.Northern Ocean Ltd.-owned 7…

U.S. crude oil imports last month rose to a nearly two-year high as refiners scooped up heavy crudes from Canada and Latin America to process into fuels for summer driving season.Imports of crude oil rose to 3.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, the highest since July 2022, data from ship tracking service Kpler showed. Imports so far this month have remained strong, at around 2.9 million bpd to date.Fuel demand has remained tepid with product supplied for gasoline at 9.1 million bpd in the week to June 14, slightly below the 10-year seasonal average, data from the U.S.

Experts to convene in Poland to examine operational and geopolitical challenges in Baltic Sea at Littoral OpTech WorkshopThe Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia, Poland will host the 2024 Littoral OpTech workshop to explore the current trends regarding the operational, economic and geo-political environment in and around the Baltic Sea.The Polish Naval Academy was established in 1922, and has been in continuous operation since then, although it has had several different names over…

Black & Veatch has completed a feasibility study for the planned Andes Energy Terminal, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal and power plant.The study assessed site suitability, project design requirements, capital and operating costs, financial viability, financing options, climate resilience, and implementation and construction plans.Beginning with a site assessment that focused on the landscape of the area, regulatory restrictions and accessibility, the study…

Colombia's majority state-owned energy company Ecopetrol has held talks with big players ahead of a potential bid in an offshore wind auction organized by the country's government, Chief Executive Ricardo Roa said on Wednesday.Roa was speaking during a call with analysts regarding the company's financial results for the first quarter of 2024, where net profit dropped 29% to 4.01 trillion pesos ($1 billion) on the back of lower sales and a re-evaluation of the country's peso.Earlier this week the company told Reuters it was conducting technical…

In 2018, convicted cocaine trafficker Slobodan Kostovski fled a Brazilian prison and made his way back to Europe with a fake passport.The Serbian senior quickly fell into old habits, police allege. Last August, Kostovski was arrested in Belgrade, accused of shipping 2.7 metric tonnes of cocaine from Brazil aboard a 22-meter vessel apprehended near Spain’s Canary Islands.Nicknamed “the General” by his associates, he had been trafficking “large amounts” of powder to “Europe for a long period of time,” Serbian police wrote in a 2022 intelligence report obtained exclusively by Reuters.

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell for a fourth consecutive month to 6.19 million metric tons in April from 7.61 million in March on production outages, preliminary data from financial firm LSEG showed on Wednesday.Recurring mechanical problems have hit Freeport LNG, the second largest U.S. plant by capacity. Last month, the Quintana, Texas, terminal exported five cargoes for a total of 330,000 tons, compared to 21 cargoes and 1.42 million tons in December.Since mid-January, the plant has been operating without at least one of its three gas-processing trains.

A promising area off Colombia's coast where Brazil state-run Petrobras is drilling this year could justify a large project to supply natural gas to the Andean country and for exports, Petrobras' head of exploration and production said on Wednesday.As oil production in Brazil's prolific presalt region is set to plateau in coming years, Petrobras is expanding its horizons to new frontiers including the Equatorial Margin, Colombia and Africa.At Colombia's Tayrona block, Petrobras…

Norwegian davit supplier Vestdavit has notched up a new annual sales record for another consecutive year after seeing its order intake surge by 76% in 2023 on high demand from the offshore wind and oil and gas sectors, as well as increased sales in its core naval market.Vestdavit has expanded its market position in offshore wind after both gaining new customers and winning repeat orders with existing clients, including Esvagt and Rem Offshore, with orders in this sector accounting for more than $9.4 million (NOK 100 million)…

SAAM reported net income of US$501 million in 2023, representing its best-ever results thanks to the sale of its port and logistics assets to Hapag-Lloyd, which generated a net gain of US$422 million.Sales for the year totaled US$540 million and EBITDA was US$160 million, surpassing the prior year by 17% and 9%, respectively."The sale of our port terminal and inland logistics operations leaves us in a solid position to move forward on the path we have set for ourselves: to lead the consolidation process in the towage industry and grow in air cargo logistics services.

The much-needed replacement for the U.S. Coast Guard’s long-serving medium endurance cutters (WMEC) took a giant step closer to joining the fleet as the first Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) was launched and christened at Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) in Panama City, Fla. on October 27, 2023.The future USCGC Argus (WMSM 915) was christened by the ship’s sponsor, Captain (Ret.) Beverly Kelley, the first woman to command a U.S. military vessel, the 95-foot patrol boat, USCGC Cape Newagen (WPB 95318).

“In the first 10 months of 2023, coal shipments to advanced economies fell by 17% y/y, as demand for electricity declined and the share of electricity produced using renewable energy rose. Also slowed economic activity and high energy prices affected electricity demand,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Between January and August, electricity production in advanced economies fell by 4% y/y, according to data from the International Energy Agency. In 2023, measures against high inflation slowed economic growth in advanced economies.

When on route to the Gulf of Mexico area, a fully laden bulker hit a buoy off the coast of Colombia damaging the propeller blades and aft seal assembly. A close detailed inspection revealed a missing rope guard, the entire seal box being distorted and dislocated from the stern tube and all five propelled blades damaged.Trained and certified UPE-dive technicians were mobilized, together with special habitat and relevant equipment, from AEGIR-Marine’s Panama branch.A complete new split type seal assembly was ordered and transferred, from stock, to location.

An offshore oil spill near Ecuador's coast reached a popular beach on Wednesday, authorities said, while also showing up in nearby waters as one local official blamed "human error" following a preliminary investigation into the incident. State oil company Petroecuador, which runs the Balao maritime terminal where the spill originated, said in a statement it had mobilized workers to contain it but did not disclose how much crude was unleashed into the ocean. The company added it had launched clean up efforts.