SINOPACIFIC Christens Newbuild Bulker
SINOPACIFIC Shipbuilding Group held a christening ceremony today at its Dayang Shipyard for a newly built Ultramax CROWN63R. As the Godmother, Madam Grace Yang, the wife of former Chinese Ambassador to Greece christened this new vessel as SINICA GRAECA, which is written in Latin (SINICA means China in old Greek) and symbolizes the great Chinese and Greek cultures. Representatives from the shipowner…
Ingalls Shipbuilding Appoints 2 New VPs
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced the appointment of two vice presidents at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division. George Jones has been appointed vice president of operations, and Tim Farrell has been appointed vice president of new Navy programs. In his new position, Jones will be responsible for all facets of ship construction through delivery. He is responsible for enhancing cost and schedule performance…
Italy Reports 3,600 Migrant Rescues in 2 Days
Almost 3,600 migrants have been rescued from overcrowded boats sailing from Africa to Europe over the past 48 hours, Italy said on Thursday, with sea conditions…
US Ports Begin 2015 ‘Fast and Furious’
Even with a blip due to ice coverage in late March and early April, U.S. ports along the Great Lakes-Seaway System are tracking ahead of tonnage moved in April 2014. In fact, most ports are seeing increases in multiple categories. “In 2015 we are excited to continue the momentum from 2014 when we finished the season with a 20 percent increase in overall tonnage,” said Paul Toth, President and CEO of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.
USS Cairo: Crew Safety and Fleeting Efficiency
Over that past 15 to 20 years there has been a revolution in U.S. ship docking tugs. Larger container ships and tankers made obsolete the conventional single and twin propeller tugs that could serve either line haul or ship docking functions. Pilots and insurers wanted modern technology that, more often than not, meant stern mounted azimuthing Z-drives. This revolution eventually includes ship docking on the Mississippi around the Port of New Orleans.
Iran Navy Fires at Tanker as Gulf Tensions Rise
Iranian naval vessels fired shots at a Singapore-flagged tanker in the Gulf on Thursday in what appeared to be the country's latest attempt to settle a legal dispute…
UN Chief Alarmed SE Asian States Turning Away Migrant Boats
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday that he is alarmed by reports that some countries in Southeast Asia may be refusing entry to boats…
Cruise Season Kicks Off in Portland, UK
Portland Port celebrated the launch of its 2015 cruise program receiving more than 4,000 passengers over the early May Bank Holiday weekend. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines’ Serenade of the Seas made her inaugural call on the Saturday and Holland America Lines’ Eurodam returned to the port for a second consecutive year on the Bank Holiday Monday. The port expects some 26,500 passengers to call at Portland throughout 2015.
US DOE Discouraged Direct China Investment in US LNG Export
The U.S. Department of Energy discouraged U.S. liquefied natural gas exporters from allowing direct Chinese investment in their projects for fear of political backlash…
No Iran Warships Escorting Yemen-bound Cargo Ship
Iran has so far refrained from deploying warships to accompany a cargo ship that Tehran says is carrying humanitarian aid to Yemen, despite its announced plans to do so…
Furuno's Ed Davis Passes Away
Ed Davis, an industry veteran and longtime employee at Furuno USA, Inc., passed away on April 30. Ed was Furuno USA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager since September 1992, working closely with dealers who he not only called customers, but his friends. Prior to working at Furuno, Ed had his own marine manufacturer’s rep company, where he represented Datamarine International, Audiovox and Shakespeare Electronics.
DSD Shipping Indicted on Environmental Crimes
A federal grand jury in Mobile, Alabama, has returned a seven-count indictment charging Det Stavangerske Dampskibsselskab AS (DSD Shipping) and four employees with…
Drydocks World Wins Turret Fabrication Contract
Drydocks World has secured a contract from Orwell Offshore to fabricate an external Turret for FPSO Layang. Drydocks World said its team will play an integral role in facilitating project completion during this fast track project expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2016. The external turret for Orwell Offshore will deliver improvements in operational effectiveness and weathervaning capabilities on FPSO Layang, enabling FPSO operations in water depths of up to 90m.
MH370 Searchers Find Shipwreck
Teams searching the Indian Ocean for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have discovered a previously uncharted shipwreck. Search vessel Fugro Equator’s deep tow system detected a cluster of small sonar contacts in the southern part of the search area, 12 nautical miles to the east of the 7th arc. The sonar data was carefully analyzed and categorized to be “of potential interest but unlikely to be related to MH370.” It could not…
Tanker Attacked in Mideast Gulf Reaches UAE Port Safely
Singapore-flagged oil products tanker Alpine Eternity has reached the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates safely after coming under attack in the Gulf earlier…
RINA: Energy, Marine Propel Growth
International testing, inspection, certification and consulting engineering group RINA reports it has grown strongly during 2014, propelled by an upturn in marine…
Joint China-Surabaya Container Service Launched
Evergreen Line announced it will partner with COSCO and China Shipping in launching a joint China-Surabaya Express (CSX) Service. Evergreen said this comes in view…
Iranian Ships Fire Warning Shots at Singapore-flagged Vessel
Iranian naval vessels fired what appeared to be warning shots over a Singapore-flagged ship in international waters in the Gulf on Thursday, prompting it to flee to United Arab Emirates waters, U.S.
Purpose-built Daughter Craft Delivered to Aberdeen
Unique Group, an integrated turnkey subsea and offshore solution provider, has now delivered two new dive systems and a diving vessel worth around £5 million to global services provider, Vertech. The Hydracraft 1500 Daughter Craft vessel, named the Vaila, is nearly 50 feet long and designed for air diving activity. The hull is designed to provide an enhanced stability, optimizing operational efficiency.
BMT’s Fleet Management System to Debut at Nor-Shipping
BMT SMART Ltd., the specialist fleet and vessel performance management company of BMT Group, will launch its new SMARTFLEET Management system at Nor-Shipping in Oslo next month. Technical experts will be on hand to showcase the system and its capabilities whilst discussing with delegates their specific challenges and needs. Peter Mantel, Managing Director of BMT SMART commented, “Whilst there are cost savings to be made through on-board optimization…