Where in the World is USS Slater?
![USS Slater in drydock (Photo courtesy Destroyer Escort Historical Museum)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/uss-slater-in-drydock-photo-25768.jpg)
To answer, USS Slater is at Caddell Dry Dock and Repair in Staten Island. Typically, the ship is open to the public in Albany near the beginning of April. This season, after several years of fundraising, the ship has been taken to drydock for repairs to her hull. It’s been over 20 years since the ship has been in drydock, so this project is due. Drydocking is being funded by private individuals and foundations as no government funding is being used for this project.
Blackstone Unlikely to Enter Commodities Trade
Blackstone Group LP is unlikely to make a foray into commodity trading in the short term as the world's largest alternative asset manager struggles to find a target…
Cargill to Buy 100,000mt of Certified Ivorian Cocoa
U.S. agribusiness trader Cargill aims to purchase 100,000 metric tons of certified Ivorian cocoa this season, up slightly from 95,000 metric tons last season, West…
Obama Offers US Aid to S.Korea Following Ferry Accident
![Photo courtesy South Korea Coast Guard](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/photo-courtesy-south-korea-coast-25765.jpg)
U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday expressed condolences to the families of the victims of the South Korean ferry sinking and said the U.S. military will provide the country with any help it needs to perform rescue operations. Rescuers are battling strong waves and murky waters as they search for hundreds of people, many of them teenagers, who are still missing after the boat capsized about 12 miles (20 km) off the country's southwestern coast.
CMA CGM Strengthens Madagascar Presence
![Image: CMA-CGM](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/image-cmacgm-25764.jpg)
Since the creation of CMA CGM Madagascar in 2003, container shipping company CMA CGM Group has continued to develop on the island to move closer to its valued customers and partners and meet economic growth forecasts in the Malagasy industrial market, the company said. The CMA CGM Group announced today it will open two news agencies in Toliara (Tuléar) and Antsiranana (Diego Suarez), bringing its presence in Madagascar to eight offices, of which five owned by the group.
ClassNK Approves Fillet Welding Consumable
Classification society ClassNK announced that it has granted type approval for the new MX-200F welding consumable, developed by Kobe Steel Co., Ltd. (KOBELCO) to…
Body Found, 2 Fishermen Missing in Lake Erie
U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard crews continue to search for three people in the water in Lake Erie, Thursday, after one body was recovered and a boat was found five miles northeast of Locust Point…
Damen Lays Keel for Indonesian Naval Frigate
![Photo: Damen](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/photo-damen-25762.jpg)
In accordance with the agreed planning in the contract for the construction of a Damen SIGMA Frigate for the Indonesian Navy, the keel laying ceremony has taken place on April 16, 2014 at the PT PAL (Persero) Shipyard in Surabaya, Indonesia. The construction of the four modules that are going to be built at PT PAL (Persero) Shipyard Surabaya and the two modules that are being built in Vlissingen, are proceeding according to schedule.
Maritime Reporter @ 75: The Daily Cartoon
![© New Wave Media](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/new-wave-media-25761.jpg)
Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was founded by John J. O'Malley (1905-1980) in 1939, and today ranks as the world's largest audited trade publication in the world serving the maritime industry, with a circulation of more than 35,000 worldwide, including ship and boat owners, ship and boat builders, naval architects and marine engineers. Today Maritime Reporter heads a group of four print and 10 websites serving the global maritime, offshore and subsea sector.
Ex-BP Employee Settles Insider-trading Oil Spill Case
A former 20-year veteran of BP plc who oversaw the company's cleanup efforts from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill will pay more than $224,000 to settle civil charges…
USCG Responds to Vessel Fire
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported it is responding to a report of a vessel that caught fire and became disabled with two men and a dog aboard south of the McCormick…
McDermott Signs Agreement for North Sea Spoolbase
![© McDermott International](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/mcdermott-international-25760.jpg)
McDermott International, Inc. announced that one of its subsidiaries has signed an option agreement with PD Ports which gives it the exclusive right to operate a spoolbase to serve projects in the North Sea. McDermott expects to have the facility available for projects in early 2015. Located in Hartlepool, in northeast United Kingdom, the spoolbase is expected to support McDermott’s reentry into the North Sea Reel-Lay market.
Kvichak-built Hovercraft for Sale
![SUNAX (Photo courtexy Kvichak)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/sunax-photo-courtexy-kvichak-25759.jpg)
The 95’ BHT-150 hovercraft SUNAX, built by Kvichak Marine Industries and owned and operated by Aleutians East Borough, is for sale through public competitive bid. The hovercraft will be sold through a sealed bid process. An IFB package will be available May 15, 2014, copies will be provided upon request. The bid due date is June 10, 2014. The sale includes spare equipment/materials. The hovercraft is available for inspection by interested parties in Akutan, Alaska. Builder . . . . . . .
Intesa Sanpaolo, Vei Capital Invest in RINA
![Photo courtesy RINA](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/photo-courtesy-rina-25757.jpg)
Intesa Sanpaolo, through the Merchant Banking Management of its Corporate and Investment Banking Division, and VEI Capital, investment company of Palladio Finanziaria in the Private Equity Mid-Cap segment, have agreed to buy a stake in RINA S.p.A., parent company of the RINA Group, Italy’s E-TIC (Engineering, Testing, Inspection, Certification) service provider. The initial 25 million euros investment by Intesa Sanpaolo and VEI Capital…
Offshore Service Vessels Design Innovation
![PSV World Sapphire from Damen (Photo courtesy Damen)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/psv-world-sapphire-from-damen-25755.jpg)
It could be argued that no other sector of the maritime market has experienced a design innovation revolution quite like the Offshore Service Vessel (OSV) market. Driven by demands to supply people, gear and goods to offshore installations that are increasingly further from shore in deeper waters, today’s OSV is a far cry from those built only a decade ago. Maritime Reporter examines some of the recent innovations in design and function.
Today in U.S. Naval History: April 17
Today in U.S. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.
Little Change in Overall Shipping Confidence
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Little change occurred in the latest monthly Stifel Logistics Confidence Index. Slipping only 0.1 points from 57 in March to 56.9 this month, the overall index did however favor improvements in the present situation increasing 1.6 points to 51.8. However, expectations for the next six months dimmed falling 1.8 points to 62 for April. The monthly airfreight data is such an example. For April, the present situation increased 0.5 points to 49 whereas expectations declined 2 points to 61.3.
Ice Hurts March’s Lakes Ore Shipments
![Photo by Ben McClain](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/photo-by-ben-mcclain-25748.jpg)
Massive, thick ice formations on the Great Lakes limited iron ore shipments in March to 1.1 million tons, a decrease of 43 percent compared to a year ago, the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) said in a news release. Shipments from U.S. Great Lakes ports fell even more, 52 percent. Some of the ore that was loaded in March did not reach its intended destination until well into April. Two vessels that departed Duluth/Superior at the western end of Lake Superior on March 26 did not arrive in Gary…
Offshore: Seacor Raises the Bar Again
![(Courtesy SEACOR Marine)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/courtesy-seacor-marine-25746.jpg)
Long acknowledged as a firm to watch in U.S. crewboat and fast supply boat innovation, Seacor Marine will be attracting industry attention once again when its latest set of new boats begin delivery in 2014. While this new class of mono-hull boats have some big dimensions, the more noteworthy feature will be the size of its engines. With 10 vessels in three different classes all more than 200-feet long, this is the largest single order of fast supply boats of their size.
Shippers Turn to Equity Markets as Sector Eyes Recovery
![Photo courtesy OW Bunker](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/photo-courtesy-ow-bunker-25749.jpg)
Shipping companies are turning to equity markets to fill a growing funding gap, betting that investors hungry for decent returns will provide capital to a sector recovering from its worst downturn since the 1980s. Ship owners ordered large numbers of vessels between 2007 and 2009, just as the global economy sank into crisis. Prospects have brightened in recent months as world trade picks up and the ship glut is absorbed.