Cammell Laird Welcomes New Apprentice Group
Merseyside engineering firm Cammell Laird announced its largest ever intake of apprentices since it restarted its apprenticeship program in 2008. Birkenhead-based Cammell Laird has taken on 22 apprentices working across a range of skills which brings the total number within the business to 71. Around 50 apprentices have graduated into highly skilled, qualified tradesmen over the past five years with Cammell Laird and are still actively employed with the business.
Wärtsilä's Ballast Water System Earns USCG AMS Acceptance
Wärtsilä has been granted Alternate Management System (AMS) acceptance for its AQUARIUS UV Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) by the United States Coastguard (USCG). This allows all U.S. and foreign flag ships fitted with the Wärtsilä AQUARIUS UV BWMS to operate in U.S. territorial waters and to discharge its treated ballast water for an interim period of up to five years from the ship specific implementation date. AMS acceptance is the first stage towards obtaining full USCG type approval.
Rolls-Royce to Design, Power Fish Carrier
Rolls-Royce announced today that it has signed a contract for the delivery of design and equipment for a live fish carrier, to be built at the Tersan shipyard in Turkey for Faroese ship owner Bakkafrost. The contract is worth approximately £5.8 million to Rolls-Royce. The vessel is a Rolls-Royce design, type NVC 386, featuring the characteristic wave-piercing bow designed to cut through waves in rough seas…
October Container Volumes Fall 4.7%
The Port of Los Angeles has released its October 2013 cargo volumes. October overall volumes totaled 684,207 TEU, down 4.76% from October 2012 volume. Imports declined by 5.14%…
Report: Ocean Acidity is Increasing ... Rapidly
The unprecedented rate of ocean acidification is one of the most alarming phenomena generated by climate change and the only way to mitigate the dangers it represents consists in reducing CO2 emissions significantly. This is the conclusion of the summary of the Third Symposium on the Ocean in a High CO2 World (Monterey, USA, September 2012) which were presented at the Conference on Climate Change taking place in Warsaw (Poland) from November 11 to 22.
Seagull AS, Marine Learning Systems Partner
Seagull AS and Marine Learning Systems are partnering to provide the full library of Seagull learning content on the MarineLMS training platform. The partnership will provide an integrated solution to the cruise and ferry industries enabling rapid deployment of eLearning programs with course content on land and on-board, with or without connectivity. The system will also provide metrics and analytics which identify training issues before they become performance or safety problems.
Typhoon Causes Cargo Ship Grounding
A week after typhoon Yolanda hit the country and affected about 12 vessels in Palawan, another ship was reported to have ran aground at the said province and is…
PCG Ship Aids Typhoon Relief Operations in Iloilo
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) sent one of its multi-role vessels in Iloilo to help in relief efforts especially to those far flung islands greatly affected by Typhoon Yolanda. The vessel BRP Davao Del Norte (SARV-3504) arrived in the Port of Iloilo last Saturday. In a meeting with local officials from LGU, DSWD and some media, Coast Guard District Western Visayas Commander, Commo Athelo Y Ybañez divulged…
ICS: Reducing CO2 is Economic 'No Brainer' for Shipowners
Today, at the United Nations (UNFCCC) Climate Change Conference in Warsaw (COP 19), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) will advise a United Nations event on the economics of mitigation that reducing CO2 emissions is an economic 'no brainer' for the global shipping industry. Further efforts by industry to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions from ships - which carry about 90% of global trade - is already a matter of enlightened self interest.
Asia/US East Coast Shipments Continue to Rise
The surprising surge in cargo volumes from Asia to the East Coast of North America since July remained strong in September, and even appears to have continued in October says a Drewry Maritime Research analysis. Shipments from Asia to the East Coast of North America (ECNA) continued to grow impressively in September, reaching 382,000 teu. It brought the total for the peak season quarter up to 1.14 million teu, a startling 18% increase over the same period last year.
Recent Nigerian Piracy Kidnapping Flags a Caution
“Security in this region [off the coast of Nigeria] is often not sufficient,” says maritime piracy attorney Dennis McElwee “Unfortunately, maritime companies are not always taking the necessary precautions to protect crewmembers from this type of attack.” There are many dangers of working at sea, but McElwee said that U.S. employers are obligated to take sufficient safety measures for their employees.
Australia Takes Tougher Stance on Container Stowage
A container ship which did not meet the minimum access requirements for container stow working space was recently unable to discharge containers at an Australian port and was forced to leave Australia with containers onboard, informs the UK P&I Club. Carriers carrying containers (or cargo generally for that matter) to or from Australian ports should be aware of the requirements of Marine Order, Part 32 - Cargo Handling Equipment.
Latest US Department of Defense Contracts
Included in the latest list of US Department of Defense contracts are those for a USACE Mississippi River dredging operation, and a Navy contract for the phased maintenance of the 'USS San Antonio'.
Not 'Divers Abandon Boat', But 'Thai Boat Abandons Divers'
An East Valley couple vacationing to celebrate their first anniversary found themselves abandoned in the ocean, after a dive trip went wrong off the coast of Thailand, reports KHOU.com, Houston, Texas. Lexa and Jake Mendenhall recently became certified scuba divers, and were looking forward to their first real dives in the blue waters off Thailand. They made two one-hour dives, and all was well until they surfaced. Their boat was gone.
Freeport Facility to be Authorized to Export More U.S. LNG
The Energy Department has conditionally authorized Freeport LNG Expansion, L.P. and FLNG Liquefaction, LLC (Freeport) to export additional volumes of domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States from the Freeport LNG Terminal in Quintana Island, Texas. Freeport previously received approval to export 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day (Bcf/d) of LNG from this facility to non-FTA countries on May 17…
New Costa Flagship Launched at Fincantieri Shipyard
The 'Costa Diadema', the future flagship of Costa Cruises & of the Italian-flagged passenger fleet, entered the water for the first time as the building dry-dock was flooded, and a traditional launching ceremony was held at the Fincantieri shipyard in Marghera. The Costa Diadema’s technical launch ceremony was carried out according to seafaring tradition. It started with the welding of a coin at the base of what was once the mainmast, a custom considered to bring good luck.
Mickey Mouse Bulk Carrier 'Donald Duckling' Detained in UK Port
The 'Donald Duckling' was detained by the UK's Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) this week after an inspection revealed a long list of safety concerns, and will not be allowed to leave the Port of Tyne until mechanical and safety issues are resolved, reports the 'Shields Gazette'. Maritime inspectors cited by the 'Shields Gazette' considered that standards on board the Donald Duckling were some of the worst they had ever encountered.
Scots Ferry Operator CalMac Wins Top Travel Award
Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) has beaten 13 major ferry companies to be named for the fourth year in a row, “Best Ferry Company” in the prestigious Guardian and Observer Travel Awards. The award, which is the result of an annual poll of readers who are asked to rate the quality of service they received on their holidays across the world, is CalMac’s fourth award in 2013. He added: “The…
Typhoon-Devasted Philippine Villagers Get US Navy Aid
In the small village of Guiuan, located in Eastern Samar province, villagers lined up outside the gate of a runway awaiting food, water and medical supplies to be delivered by helicopters from the 'George Washington Strike Group' (GWSG) in support of Operation Damayan. Guiuan was heavily affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan, which clocked winds up to 195 miles per hour (mph) with gusts up to 235 mph. Houses that were once big and colorful, are now gray and battered.
Bourbon Sells Two AHTS in Planned Modernization Program
Bourbon announces the sale of the 'Bourbon Surf' and 'Bourbon Borgstein', two large 10-year old Norwegian built AHTS (Anchor Handling Tug Supply) vessels for a total amount of US$130 million, generating a total capital gain of approximately US$63 million. Bourbon will continue to operate the two ships for a minimum period of 2 years to a maximum period of 5 years, with an annual bareboat charter cost of 13% of the transaction value.
