SG Blocks Portable Office on USN Aircraft Carriers
SG Blocks, Inc., a provider of construction solutions utilizing code-engineered cargo shipping containers, has executed a $1.5 million agreement with a U.S. Navy…
Fundraiser Celebrates Maritime Museum
A black tie fundraising gala dinner event at National Maritime Museum Cornwall, in the company of Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, raised over £80,000 for the Museum last week. The event called a Night at the Museum, celebrated the Museum’s 10th birthday and launched a new 10-year campaign to raise £4 million over the next decade. More than 120 guests enjoyed a champagne reception overlooking…
It's Time for a Towing Vessel Inspection Rule
Last month, I had the opportunity to testify before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation at a hearing that examined maritime regulations. In what must have been a change of pace for Subcommittee members, instead of detailing the regulatory burdens facing the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, I urged them to exercise their oversight responsibility to ensure expeditious publication of long-awaited U.S.
MMA's Brad Lima Talks Maritime Education and Beyond
Maritime employers, thirsting for quality employees in numbers sufficient to run their far flung businesses, continue to struggle to recruit and retain talent despite lingering high unemployment across the other sectors of the economy. On the waterfront, there are many models for producing marine professionals; some quite new and others, time tested. Brad Lima is the Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Harris CapRock to Provide Communications Services for Carnival
Harris CapRock Communications, a premier global provider of managed communication solutions for remote and harsh environments, has signed a five-year contract with Carnival Corporation to provide communications services onboard more than 100 cruise ships in its 10 cruise line brands. The dual-band satellite communications solution will enable the Carnival brands to reach dramatically improved bandwidth levels to meet the performance expectations of guests and crew onboard.
Pipeline Damage Assessment Tool Launched
Tecnitas, the marine advisory arm of leading international classification and verification group Bureau Veritas (BV), has launched a new technology simulation system for pipeline damage assessment, in collaboration with Total. This system, EMPREINTE, helps pipeline operators to determine safe operating pressures after a pipeline is damaged. It is a software suite which provides a decision making tool which, according to BV, aims to save operators money and cut downtime for pipeline repairs.
Recommendations for Safe, Efficient LNG Bunkering
One of the key hurdles to the increased global use of ships fuelled by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is the lack of harmonization of bunkering operations. “DNV GL…
OMSA Enters Leadership Transition
The Offshore Marine Service Association announced that it will begin a transition of leadership. Several months ago, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Adams informed the OMSA Board of Directors that he would be stepping down by the end of the year to manage a startup business that he and his partners have developed in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. “Jim has done an outstanding job and he will be genuinely missed. He has expertly guided OMSA through some difficult waters.
SENER Appoints Marine Commercial Director for Mexico
Héctor Martínez has been appointed Commercial Director of SENER’s Marine Strategic Business Unit in Mexico in addition to his responsibility as Commercial Director of the Aerospace Strategic Business Unit in the same division. These are two business sectors with good growth prospects, in which SENER has operated for several years providing Engineering and Construction services. Born in Mexico, Héctor Martínez is an Electromechanical Engineer graduated from the Pan-American University…
CTruk Builds BV-classed Wind Farm Service Catamaran
CTruk delivered its 12th 20T multi-purpose catamaran, CWind Challenger. As well as being the first of these popular offshore wind support vessels to be designed, built and classed to Bureau Veritas (BV) rules, the 18.5m multi-role workboat is also the first Category 1 vessel built by the company under the MCA MGN 280(M) rules. To top off the CTruk team’s achievements, CWind Challenger is the first craft to be classed by Bureau Veritas under their Wind Farms Service Ship class notation.
Hydrex Performs Underwater Stern Tube Seal Repair
In August, the stern tube seals of a 67-meter, 2223 grt anchor handling vessel were replaced in Port Gentil by a Hydrex team of diver/technicians. The old seals were damaged and a fast repair was therefore necessary. The team carried out the entire operation on-site and underwater with one of the company’s flexible mobdocks. This saved the owner the time and money of an unscheduled trip to drydock. All Hydrex offices have fast response centers.
Stena Tanker Sails the Northeast Passage
The Stena Polaris is approaching its destination – the port of Yosu in South Korea. Her voyage began on September 17 in Russian Ust Luga in the Gulf of Finland, and she is expected to arrive in Yosu in about a week. For part of the voyage of 8,400 nautical miles, the tanker sailed in a convoy headed by a Russian nuclear powered icebreaker through the harsh Northeast Passage. Sailing via the Northeast…
MacGregor to Deliver Two Arctic Subsea Cranes
MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has received an order for two MacGregor active heave-compensated (AHC) offshore cranes from a Turkish shipyard for a new subsea inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) and construction vessel for a Norwegian owner. A 250 and 15-metric-ton MacGregor subsea crane will be installed on the 129-meter vessek. The 250-metric-ton unit will have its winch installed below the working deck and will also feature wire rope integrity software.
More Greenpeace Activists Denied Bail
Greenpeace International activist Frank Hewetson (U.K.) has been refused bail by the Regional Court of Murmansk in Russia, bringing the number of rejected bail appeals to 10. Activist Marco Weber (Switzerland) also appeared in court today, but his appeal hearing was postponed until October 21 due to the lack of a German language translator. Italian crew member Cristian D'Alessandro will appear in court later for his bail hearing and more appeals will be held later this week.
Lloyd's Register Risk Model Wins EIC Award
Lloyd’s Register’s was awarded the EIC Supply Chain Excellence Award 2013, at the annual Energy Industries Council (EIC) award summit, held at The Natural History Museum in London, U.K., on October 10. The EIC award recognizes companies in the energy industry that have demonstrated superiority within the supply chain, and there is only one winner every year. The award was presented to Lloyd’s Register for its Blow-Out Preventer (BOP) Risk Model program.
MTU Founder's Daughter Board Member 90th BD
Irmgard Schmid-Maybach celebrates her 90th birthday: she is the daughter and one of the heirs of Karl Maybach, Irmgard Schmid-Maybach and was a Supervisory Board member of Tognum’s core company, MTU Friedrichshafen, between 1984 and 2005. Later she was elected as an honorary lifetime member in acknowledgement of her commitment and contribution to the company. Irmgard Schmid-Maybach was born in 1923 in Friedrichshafen and was the fourth of five children of Käthe and Karl Maybach.
ABB Drive System in UK Tidal Turbines R&D
The world’s first drive train test facility for tidal turbines and marine renewable technologies at the UK’s National Renewable Energy Centre (NAREC) is powered by a state-of-the-art ABB drive system. The $20 million facility is part of the UK’s National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) in the north of England. Narec is a government-backed center for researching, developing and testing renewable energy and low carbon power generation technologies such as wind, solar, tidal and wave.
Chinese Shipbuilders' Production Likely 50% Down by Year's End
Chinese shipbuilders have been sailing toward bankruptcy in recent years, with China trying to consolidate the industry and bail it out from the woe of overcapacity. With delays in deliveries, order cancellations and price decreases for newly-built vessels, shipbuilding firms have been in a slump since late 2008, when the global financial system was in free fall, reports a recent Xihua Insight article.
Date for Diary: Upcoming BWMS Conference
The Copenhagen International Ballast Water Management Conference 2013 will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 1, 2013.The conference focuses on the IMO Ballast Water Convention, which is expected to take effect at some point in the not too distant future. A number of international experts will provide answers to important questions about the ballast water of ships and the conventions impact on shipping, when the rules take effect.
Boeing Participate in Racing Yacht Recyling Project
Boeing and Oracle Team USA (winner of the 34th America's Cup) are collaborating to recycle 7,000 pounds (about 3,175 kilograms) of carbon fiber of USA-71, a yacht built for the America's Cup campaign in 2003. The hull and mast of the racing yacht will be processed and repurposed, a first-of-its-kind effort for what will likely be the largest carbon structure ever recycled. Boeing and Oracle Team USA…
