Pacific Basin Sells Harbor Towage Business to Smit Lamnalco
Pacific Basin Shipping Limited has sold to Smit Lamnalco its entire shareholding in PB Towage Australia (PBTA), including all its harbor towage operations and 16…
New Dive Support Vessel Fit for Many Roles
Incat Crowther’s first-of-type Catamaran Dive Support Vessel, Bhagwan Dryden, was launched and delivered earlier this year. According to the designer, operational feedback has been positive for the vessel, which has already received praise for initial operations, including mooring inspection carried out by ROV and operations under four point mooring and DP in shallow, rough seas. Developed in conjunction with Bhagwan Marine…
GE to Equip PSVs under Construction for Petrobras
GE’s Power Conversion business will provide dynamic positioning (DP) and vessel control systems to equip the next generation platform supply vessels (PSV4500), currently under construction at the Detroit shipyard to the Brazilian shipbuilder Starnav Serviços Marítimos Ltda. These vessels, the first of which will be commissioned and will be put into operation by Starnav in 2015 on behalf of Brazilian oil giant Petrobras, will target fuel efficiencies as one of their primary aims.
US Navy Tests Unmanned Underwater Vehicle
The U.S. Navy completed tests on the GhostSwimmer unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (JEBLC-FS), Dec. 11. GhostSwimmer is the latest in a series of science-fiction-turned-reality projects developed by the chief of naval operations' Rapid Innovation Cell (CRIC) project, Silent NEMO, an experiment that explores the possible uses for biomimetic, unmanned underwater vehicles in the fleet.
China Adds 9 Shipyards to Favored 'White List'
China has added nine shipyards to its "white list" of firms deemed worth of favourable policy support, as it attempts to tackle overcapacity that has weighed on the global shipping market. In September, it published a list of 51 yards which it later cut to 50. These yards, which it says are judged to comply with requirements such as ship emissions, are expected to get favourable policy support, such as bank credit and export tax rebates.
CTruk Unveils Expansion Plans
CTruk held an informal launch event at its new Colne Estuary site on The Hythe, East Colchester yesterday, sharing its plans for expansion to guests and staff. The company will use the old Fieldgates site on Haven Road to build the larger vessels required for offshore wind farm projects further out to sea and will move some production activity over in January 2015. CTruk’s current facility in Brightlingsea lacks the space and waterside access needed to build and launch larger craft.
Vessel Aground Blocks Traffic to Port of Antwerp
Traffic for large ships heading towards the Belgian port of Antwerp was temporarily blocked on Friday after a giant container ship ran aground outside the Dutch port of Terneuzen downstream from the Belgian harbour, emergency services said. Emergeny services for the Dutch province Zeeland said on their website the MSC Rachelle had run on to a sandbank on its way to Antwerp, though they later said it had been refloated.
Damen Expands Dredge Pump Range
The Damen DOP submersible dredge pump range has been enlarged, now running from the smallest DOP150, fitting in any corner of a building pit, to the DOP450L doing some 4,000 m3 of mixture per hour. The DOP submersible dredge pump is designed to be used in many dredging activities. The main part of the DOP is a dredge pump fitted with cast exchangeable parts. A key feature is the large spherical passage preventing blockage.
Diana Enters Time Charter Contract with Clearlake
Diana Shipping Inc., through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, has entered into a time charter contract with Clearlake Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore, a member of the Gunvor Group, for one of its Capesize dry bulk vessels, the m/v New York. The gross charter rate is $12,850 per day minus a 4.75% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum 14 months to maximum 18 months. The charter is expected to commence on December 18, 2014.
Call on Governments to Address Migrants at Sea Crisis
Speaking at a high level Dialogue on Protection at Sea, hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has called on governments to address the growing refugee and migrant crisis in the Mediterranean. ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe, remarked: “The shipping industry fully accepts its humanitarian obligation to assist anyone at sea whose vessel is in distress.
IACS Holds Council Meeting
The International Association of Classification Societies chaired by Philippe Donche-Gay of BV held its December Council meeting yesterday in London. The flagship…
Russian Wheat Exporters Cut Prices
Exporters of Russian wheat have cut prices to try to speed up sales abroad before the government possibly introduces curbs to replenish its own stocks and prevent rises in the cost of bread…
India on Alert After Oil Spill in Sundarbans
Authorities on India's eastern coast are on alert after a tanker and another vessel collided, spilling more than 350,000 litres of furnace oil into the waters of…
Damen Performs Cruise Ship Maintenance
Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has recently carried out a number of cruise ship repair and refurbishment projects in the Netherlands, including Astor and Marco Polo, both operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages. The vessels have been at Damen Shiprepair Vlissingen (DSV) for a wide-ranging program of scheduled and unscheduled work. Damen carried out its scope within a tight timeframe so that both ships were ready for planned onward voyages.
5 Kalmar RTGs for GCT, Poland
Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has gained a further order for five of its latest generation zero emission rubber-tyred gantry granes (RTGs) from Gdynia Container Terminal (GCT) in Poland.
Samref Wraps Yanbu Refinery Revamp
Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Limited (SAMREF), a joint venture of Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil, has completed construction of major desulfurization facilities…
UniSource Buys Gila River Power Station
UniSource Energy Services (UES), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Fortis Inc., has strengthened its generating portfolio and reduced its reliance on the wholesale…
Caterpillar Rejigs Top Deck
Caterpillar Inc. * Doug Hoerr has been appointed as vice president with responsibility for the Strategic Services Division. Caterpillar’s Board of Directors has appointed Julie Lagacy…
USS Paul Hamilton Rescues Mariner
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) rescued a stranded mariner Dec. 9 while operating south of the Hawaiian Islands. Paul Hamilton…
Smit Lamnalco Acquires PB Towage
Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. announced that Smit Lamnalco, a 50% owned associate, has substantially strengthened its position in Australia through the acquisition…
