Whale Carcass Washes Up Under Seattle Ferry Dock
A dead gray whale has floated underneath a busy commuter ferry terminal in downtown Seattle, sending a putrid odor wafting onto the dock and diverting some passenger ferries to another slip…
Dynamic Positioning & the Potential for USCG Regulations
Dynamic positioning is a vessel capability provided by integration of a variety of individual systems and functions to automatically maintain a vessel’s position and heading by use of the vessel’s propellers and thrusters, and has been in use, particularly in the offshore oil and gas exploration business since the 1960s. To date, use of dynamic positioning has relied on industry best practices, classification society rules, and guidance from the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
White House Recognizes Military2Maritime
As Congress considers the role the Jones Act and the American maritime industry play as part of the Keystone XL pipeline debate, the national Military2Maritime program, sponsored by the American Maritime Partnership (AMP), was recognized by the White House as part of a transportation forum on best practices to recruit, train, hire and retain veterans. The Military2Maritime program was highlighted for…
Semco Maritime Expands in Houston
Rig upgrade and repair specialist Semco Maritime opens new Houston office on January 23, offering services for rig customers in Canada, Gulf of Mexico and Brazil. Project management and offshore engineering company Semco Maritime is now opening a new, larger office in Houston, where the Danish company has been present for several years with a sales office. According to the company’s vice president Tom Dalton…
Congressmen Lead Effort to Defend US Shipbuilders
Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) and Congressman Steven Palazzo (MS-4), along with 30 bipartisan House colleagues, sent a letter this week to Senate leadership urging opposition to an amendment that they say would strip domestic construction requirements that help strengthen America’s shipbuilding industry. In addition to building and maintaining approximately 40,000 commercial vessels, private shipbuilders provide critical maintenance services and capacity for the U.S.
Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon Bests Tonnage Records
The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon handled 735,000 tons of cargo in December, which was the highest ever single-month total at any of Indiana's three ports, and also produced the highest fourth-quarter shipments by any port in Ports of Indiana history. December's results were 31 percent higher than the previous single-month record set in 1993 and the port's fourth quarter shipments broke its own quarterly record established in 2013.
Dry Bulk Shipping Group CMB Expects Volatile 2015
Belgian dry bulk shipping group CMB on Thursday said markets would remain volatile after a disappointing 2014 in which falling commodity prices reduced stock building by clients.
Webinar to Demonstrate Barge Emissions Tool
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and SmartWay will host a webinar for barge carriers and other interested stakeholders to demonstrate Barge Tool, designed to help companies calculate carbon, NOx and PM emissions from barge freight movement. Inland Marine freight movement accounts for more than 600 million tons of cargo, with an annual value in excess of $70 billion dollars, and is an exceedingly efficient means of freight transportation.
Vane Brothers Orders Two Tugs from Chesapeake
Chesapeake Shipbuilding has signed a contract with Vane Brothers to build two new tugs, marking the 13th and 14th tugs that Chesapeake will have built for Vane Brothers in the last several years. The two new tugs will fit into Chesapeake’s existing order book, which currently consists of a number of tug boats and commercial vessels, the shipyard noted. Designated Hull 123 and Hull 124, the new tugboats will be nearly identical to the previous 12 built for Vane Brothers…
Zukunft: Western Hemisphere a Top USCG Priority
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft addressed transnational threats and maritime challenges at the Center for Strategic and International Studies as part of the Maritime Security Dialogue, Friday, emphasizing major goals within the Western Hemisphere. The Maritime Security Dialogue, which highlights challenges facing the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, from national-level maritime policy to naval concept development and program design…
USCG to Address Cruise Ship Security Regulations
The U.S. The proposed rule would amend USCG regulations on cruise ship terminal security by implementing amendments that provide detailed, flexible requirements for the screening of all baggage, personal items and persons—including passengers, crew and visitors—intended for carriage on a cruise ship. The proposed regulations would standardize the security requirements of cruise ship terminals and would…
Oil Majors Seek to Claw Back Costs from Service Firms
Global oil majors say they are demanding cheaper but better services from engineering and service companies, or simply taking work back in-house, after losing hundreds…
Study Reveals Inadequate Rest Hours Compliance
Preliminary results from the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on STCW Hours of Rest, carried out between September 1 and November 30, 2014 in the Paris MoU…
Stricken Hoegh Osaka Ready for Transport
Hoegh Osaka’s list is now at 5 degrees, enabling salvors to turn the vessel in the correct direction and transport it from Alpha Anchorage to Southampton Port. The…
Imtech Marine, Radio Holland Equip Floatel
Last month, POSH Xanadu, the largest purpose-built floatel to date was delivered at PaxOcean in Zhoushan. POSH Xanadu is a ship-shaped column stabilized semi-submersible accommodation platform, housing 750 passengers and crew in 390 spacious cabins. Imtech Marine, through its Service and Nav/Com brand Radio Holland, is technology partner of PaxOcean in this unique project. Imtech Marine supplied all the navigation and external communication equipment onboard.
Enhanced Satellite Connectivity in Papua New Guinea
Global satellite communications service provider SpeedCast International Limited has entered into an agreement with O3b Networks, where O3b will provide capacity…
EU Backs Dover Strait Sea Connection
The EU's TEN-T Program will back with over $16.25million the improvement of the sea connection between Dover in The UK and Calais in France. The developments include better traffic management, berth enhancements and a new rail freight connection between Calais and southern France. The project will focus on innovative solutions to adapt and enhance the current transport infrastructure and improve the traffic management across the Strait of Dover.
New Simulator Improves Inland Waterway Training
BMT ARGOSS a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd., has developed a specialized version of its REMBRANDT simulation and training tool for use in scenarios involving inland waterways. Developed to support control systems and navigation charts used by vessels working on inland waterways, BMT describes REMBRANDT-INLAND as an accurate, capable and flexible alternative to Full Mission Bridge (FMB) marine simulators, delivering equivalent functionality at a lower price point.
100th PMI Auto-tuning Retrofit Package Sold
MAN PrimeServ, MAN Diesel & Turbo’s service division, has announced the 100th sale of its Pressure Measuring Instrument (PMI) Auto-tuning retrofit package. The MSC Filippa, a 2011-built, 13,400-teu containership owned by Germany’s Peter Döhle Group, will be retrofitted to accommodate the system. Hagen Koslowski, Technical Director of Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG, said, “The main driver for us in ordering…
Great Lakes: Less Ice Sees Ore Ships Thrive
A relatively mild December on the Great Lakes allowed iron ore shipments to increase dramatically compared to a year ago when an early arriving winter blanketed the system with thick ice, the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) reported. Shipments totaled 6.3 million tons, an increase of 23.6 percent compared to a year ago, LCA said, noting that the biggest increase came from U.S. ports on Lake Superior.
