Austal Delivers 7th Cape Class Patrol Boat
Shipbuilder Austal Limited announced it has delivered Cape Wessel, the seventh of eight Cape Class patrol boats being supplied to Australian Border Force under a $330 million design, build and in-service support contract. “The on-time delivery of Cape Wessel and continued efficiencies across the program reinforce Austal’s capability to reliably build and sustain naval and border protection vessels,” said Austal CEO Andrew Bellamy.
Silversea Cruises Orders Luxury Ship from Fincantieri
Shipbuilder Fincantieri has received an order to build a new luxury cruise ship for client Silversea Cruises due for delivery in April 2017. At 40,700 grt and accommodating 596 guests, the newbuild vessel Silver Muse will expand Silversea's fleet to nine ships. “We always had a special relationship with Fincantieri, since my father ordered them the first cruise vessels for Sitmar in 1987,” said Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio, Chairman of Silversea.
Latest LCS Completes US Navy Trials
Littoral Combat Ship 6 (LCS 6), the future USS Jackson, has completed U.S. Navy acceptance trials, shipbuilder Austal Limited announced. The trials, the final milestone before delivery, were undertaken in the Gulf of Mexico and involved testing of the vessel’s major systems and equipment by the U.S. Navy. “The LCS program is maturing into an efficient phase of construction,” said Austal CEO Andrew Bellamy.
EU NAVFOR Consults Somali Fisherman
Sailors from Operation Atalanta warship ITS Libeccio met local Somali fishermen at sea during a counter-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden. Once permission to board the fishing vessels had been granted by their masters, ITS Libeccio’s boat crew approached them and, after providing the seafarers with food, water and medical assistance, asked the fishermen about their daily lives and any concerns that they may have.
PMSC Approved to Supply Armed Guards on French Ships
Aspida is the first PMSC to be permanently approved by CNAPS to provide armed guards onboard French flagged vessels. Maritime security firm Aspida informs that as of June 12, 2015 it has become the first private maritime security company (PMSC) to be permanently certified and licensed to supply armed guard protection to French flagged vessels. Aspida is also the first non-French PMSC to get a nontemporary accreditation by CNAPS.
Injured Fisherman Medevaced off Alaska
An injured mariner was medevaced by U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) personnel near Sand Point, Wednesday, the USCG reported. Watchstanders at USCG District 17 command center received a report that a mariner aboard 48-foot fishing vessel Capt-Jay was suffering from a head injury. Watchstanders then consulted with the duty flight surgeon who recommended immediate medevac. A USCG Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew flew 230 miles from Kodiak…
New Monitoring Network for Scottish Ports
Historically, ferry masters operating off the west coast of Scotland would have to sail to a port and on arrival visually assess the weather and tide conditions before deciding whether safe berthing alongside the pier or quayside would be possible. This wastes time and fuel, and can causes frustration among passengers, who may see ferries come close to a port, but thereafter depart without berthing when conditions are determined by the ferry Master to be unsafe.
ASRY Inks UK Royal Navy Support Contract
ASRY and Babcock have signed a long term support facility agreement to provide ongoing services to the U.K. ASRY (Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard), a shipyard in the Arabian Gulf, has signed a long-term collaborative enabling agreement with U.K. engineering support services company Babcock to undertake maintenance work on U.K. Royal Navy warships in the Gulf. The agreement will cover work from general…
Maersk Returns to the Port of Baltimore
Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford, along with congressional, state and local officials, officially welcomed Denmark-based Maersk Line, part of the Maersk Group and the world’s largest container shipping company, to the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore. Maersk, which has a leading 15 percent market share of the global container business, began operating three weekly container services involving the Port of Baltimore earlier this year and will bring an estimated 31…
SAFE Boats Bags Homeland Security Order
SAFE Boats International informs it has been awarded a contract from U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to build up to 52 coastal interceptor vessels (CIV). Should all options be executed, the contract value would exceed $48 million. Bremerton, Wash. Based manufacturer of aluminum vessels SAFE Boats describes its CIV as a 41-foot rugged and maneuverable vessel…
Container Equipment Costs at Record Low
Low material costs and stable demand has driven the price of new container equipment down to record lows where it is forecast to stay, according to the latest edition of the Container Census report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. The container equipment index price hit a 10-year low in June 2015, falling below $1,750 per CEU equivalent (or 20ft standard). The index fell sharply in late 2012 before stabilizing at just above $2…
Ardmore Shipping Takes Tanker Delivery
Ardmore Shipping Corporation took delivery of the newbuild product and chemical tanker vessel Ardmore Seafox on June 25, 2015, the company announced today. The 49,999 dwt, Eco-design IMO 3 tanker was built at Korea's SPP Shipbuilding Co., Ltd Sacheon Shipyard and is the second in a series of four SPP newbuilds scheduled to be delivered to Ardmore in 2015, following the delivery of sister ship Ardmore Sealion on May 26.
New Imagery Allows Viewers to ‘Tour’ WWII Shipwrecks
A recent expedition to survey historic World War II shipwrecks has produced a wealth of stunning imagery of sunken warships HMAS Sydney (II) and the German raider HSK Kormoran, off the coast of Western Australia. The expedition, a follow-up to a 2008 mission which first photographed the previously undiscovered Sydney and Kormoran wrecks in 2,500 meters of water, 20 kilometers apart, about 200 kilometers west of Shark Bay…
BMT Awarded Port Geographe Coastal Engineering Contract
BMT JFA Consultants (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, has been awarded a contract by the Western Australian Department of Transport (DoT) to provide services as Coastal Engineering Advisor for the Management of Beaches, Structures and Waterways at Port Geographe, Busselton. The contract will initially run for two years with options to extend annually up to a total five year period. Port Geographe…
Terrorists Will Exploit EU Migrant Crisis, ESC Warns
ESC Global Security has called for the Mediterranean to be classed a maritime High Risk Area in the wake of the terrorist atrocities in Tunisia and Europe’s escalating migration crisis. “There is a reasonable doubt that some refugees from these areas will be a threat to European security. Terrorists and fundamentalists will take advantage of the crisis if they haven’t already,” said Jaanus Rahumägi, president and CEO of ESC Global Security.
PPG Debuts New Antifoulings
Low-friction, self-lubricating coatings use patented technology to deliver reduced fuel consumption and improved tolerance to idle time. PPG Protective and Marine Coatings announced the launch of SIGMA SAILADVANCE, a new range of antifoulings suitable for a variety of operating conditions. The range currently comprises four coatings, including SIGMA SAILADVANCE RX and GX, two completely new formulations based on PPG’s own patented technologies.
Rolls-Royce to Lead Autonomous Ship Research
Rolls-Royce announced it will take the lead on a €6.6 million project that could pave the way for autonomous ships. The Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative will produce the specification and preliminary designs for the next generation of advanced ship solutions. The project is funded by Tekes (Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) and will bring together universities…
Firefighting Vessel Delivered to the US Army
New Orleans based maritime solutions company Technology Associates, Inc. (TAI) informs it has completed its contract for the design and construction of a fast response firefighting vessel delivered to the U.S. Army, in support of U.S. Military Surface Deployment Distribution Command (SDDC) 596th Transportation Brigade (TB), on June 12, 2015. The all-aluminum fast response firefighting vessel, named Port Chicago, measures 75 ft length overall, 20 ft beam, and 10 ft deep.
KPA: Striking Mombasa Port Workers Must Return by Friday
The Kenya Ports Authority said on Thursday striking workers at the Mombasa port should resume work by Friday morning or lose their jobs, and that normal activities…
Philippine Ferry Sinks, 36 Dead
A ferry carrying 189 passengers and crew capsized off the central Philippines in heavy waves on Thursday, killing at least 36 people but the majority of those on board were rescued…
