Maersk's New Americas Company, SeaLand, to Commence in 2015
![Maersk Line in the Panama Canal (Source: A.P. Moller - Maersk)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/maersk-line-in-the-panama-21763.jpg)
Ocean transportation company Maersk Line, a unit of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, announced today the formation of a regional, containerized shipping company – SeaLand - dedicated to the intra-Americas market. The new affiliate will have a structure similar to Maersk's other regional carriers such as intra-Asia carrier MCC Transport and intra-Europe carrier Seago Line. SeaLand will feature knowledgeable…
New CEACT Improves Safety and Performance
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The upgraded CEACT aims to improve operational efficiency and situational awareness for safer navigation. The new CEACT version 2.6.10, available now, includes several improvements. According to the manufacturer, the new CEACT 2.6.10 introduces a modernized user interface for enhanced readability in all ambient conditions, and more user friendliness in general. It helps the river pilot to safely navigate and focus on the most relevant data which helps preventing accidents.
Lankhorst Mooring Ropes for Western Isles Development FPSO
![Lankhorst Gama 98 rope manufacture](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/lankhorst-gama-98-rope-manufacture-21762.jpg)
Offshore rope manufacturer, Lankhorst Ropes has been awarded a contract by Aberdeen based Dana Petroleum to provide Gama 98 polyester mooring lines for the Western Isles Development FPSO vessel (Floating Production Storage and Offloading). Given the weather conditions in the North Sea, and relatively shallow water depth, the cylindrically shaped FPSO will use a semi-taut leg mooring system. It will be moored with 14 polyester mooring lines in three clusters of 4…
Diana Shipping Orders Dry Bulk Vessel for 2016
Diana Shipping Inc., a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, signed, through a separate wholly owned subsidiary, a shipbuilding…
Hammerfest LNG Production Resumes After Leak
![Snøhvit](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/snhvit-21760.jpg)
Production at Hammerfest LNG Production from the Hammerfest LNG plant has been resumed after a gas leak Sunday night. "We started run-up of the Hammerfest LNG plant Tuesday night, and the plant has now reached stable operation. All necessary repairs on the plant have been completed to ensure a safe and efficient start-up," says Knut Gjertsen, head of Snøhvit operations. The Hammerfest LNG plant was shut down Sunday night due to a gas leak in the processing facility.
MOL Adjusts Intra-Asia Service Network
MOL Liner Ltd. (MOL) announced an enhancement of its Intra-Asia service network with new rotation of “HS3” and new Japan-Strait service “HS4,” offering competitive…
NDSQ Lays Keels for Two Stan Tugs
![Representatives from NDSQ and NSW at the keel-laying ceremony](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/representatives-from-ndsq-and-nsw-21756.jpg)
Qatari shipbuilder Nakilat Damen Shipyards Qatar (NDSQ) has laid the keels for two 16m-long Stan Tugs, part of a seven-vessel order for marine services provider Nakilat Svitzer Wijsmuller (NSW). A small ceremony to mark this important step in the shipbuilding process was held at NDSQ’s facilities at Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard in Qatar’s Port of RasLaffan. The two twin-screw Stan Tugs have a bollard pull of 15 tons and will be used for mooring vessels visiting the Port of RasLaffan.
Engineered Ventilation Systems Keep Engine Rooms Humming
![Image: Delta "T" Systems](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/image-delta-t-systems-21759.jpg)
Circulation of dry, cool air is critical for engine performance, longevity and safety. Delta "T" Systems said it offers a single comprehensive source for all the components that make up an engineered system. Effective marine ventilation requires more than just fans to promote air flow. Equally important in maintaining an optimal engine room environment, moisture eliminators maintain the dry conditions that motors demand, while dampers provide an all-important safety mechanism.
Russian, Chinese Vessels Freed from Arctic Ice
![The Icebreaker Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star experienced 50-knot winds, 20-foot seas and 40-degree rolls, Jan. 5, 2014. (Coast Guard photo by Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/the-icebreaker-coast-guard-cutter-21755.jpg)
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star was released by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority from search and rescue duties Jan. 7, following confirmation the Russian-Flagged Akademik Shokalskiy and Chinese-Flagged Xue Long are free from the Antarctic ice due to a favorable change in wind conditions. The Coast Guard Pacific Area command center received confirmation from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority at 2 p.m.
Diana Shipping Inks Contract for Bulk Vessel
Diana Shipping Inc., a shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, has announced that it has signed, through a separate wholly owned subsidiary…
KR and Busan Port Ink Cooperative Agreement
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The Korean Register of Shipping (KR) (an IACS member classification society) and the Busan Port Authority (BPA) (the fifth largest container port in the world) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate on environmental initiatives and other maritime activities. The MoU allows both parties to cooperate and consult on the development of an evaluation index for eco-friendly ships and green ship verification services.
DNV GL Debuts New Explosion Hazard Software
![Phast 71 3D Explosion - side view dispersion and pool vaporization](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/phast-71-3d-explosion-side-21748.jpg)
Consequence and risk analysis experts evaluating explosion hazards have historically had to undertake time-consuming analyses, and have been unable to show all the combined influences in different scenarios. DNV GL’s new Phast 3D Explosions software module enables advanced 3D modeling, increasing both the accuracy and detail of the evaluations as well as information about the speed of vapor cloud explosion (VCE) analyses.
New Patrol Boats for SEA
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Taiwanese boat builder Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (LTS) has recently won the contract to deliver a series of patrol boats to an unspecified government in South East Asia. The first boat in the series will be delivered early 2015. The boats have 19 m long aluminum hulls equipped with twin MJP DRB 400 waterjets coupled to MAN 1,650 hp engines and will reach speed of about 50 knots. They also have beaching capability.
Alert! Issue No. 34: Improved Conditions and Safer Ships
The need for seafarers to have decent living conditions is enshrined in the new Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), but the latest issue of the International Maritime Human Element Bulletin Alert!
BIMCO Reflections 2014
BIMCO has published its Reflections 2014, a short and accessible analysis including its clear views on the critical issues faced by the shipping industry today and in the coming years.
Marine Fouling: Surface Texture Investigations May Provide Solution
![Measurements and sampling in progress.](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/measurements-and-sampling-in-progress-21747.jpg)
Investigating surface texture could offer a non-toxic solution to marine fouling. Engineering and marine biology experts at The University of Nottingham Ningbo China are using innovative approaches to develop non-toxic solutions to the global problem of marine fouling, in the hope of reducing its environmental and economic costs. Marine industries have long sought chemical solutions to the problem…
Coast Guard Searches for Missing Tanker Crewman
The Coast Guard is searching for a an Indian crewman reported missing from a tanker vessel anchored fives miles south of Southwest Pass, Tuesday. Missing is Ram Mohan Singh, 25.
Shipping Confidence Trending Higher Into 2014, Finds Survey
![Average confidence graph: Image courtesy of Platts](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/average-confidence-graph-image-courtesy-21744.jpg)
The shipping world appears to be entering 2014 with a higher level of confidence than it has the past three years, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and Maritime London member Moore Stephens. The firm noted encouraging news on freight rates. According to London’s Baltic Exchange its headline Baltic Dry Index, which tracks dry bulk freight rates, stood at an average of 1205 points over the whole of 2013 against 929 the previous year.
Big Ship Iron Ore Freight Rates Fall
![Capesize Bulker: Image CCL](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/capesize-bulker-image-ccl-21745.jpg)
Capesize iron ore freight rates in the Pacific and Atlantic fell further Tuesday, driven by lower-priced fixtures out of South Africa in the absence of Brazilian and West Australian charterers, reports Platts. Platts say they assessed the Capesize iron ore freight rate at $15.50/wmt on the Saldanha Bay to Qingdao route Tuesday, down $1.50/wmt from the previous day. A Japanese shipowner estimated there were presently about 30 Capesize vessels chasing cargoes in the Pacific.
Texas LNG Makes Strides on US LNG Export Project
![Image courtesy of Texas LNG](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/image-courtesy-of-texas-lng-21743.png)
Texas LNG LLC says it has as filed an application to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) seeking authorization to export up to 2 MTA (million tonnes per annum) of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to FTA (Free Trade Agreement) and non-FTA markets following the execution of its exclusive lease option agreement with the Port of Brownsville in South Texas, USA. The company explains it will employ a…