Amid Commodity Crisis, LPG Emerges as Accidental Bright-spot
Liquefied Petroleum Gas, long a niche product used by the poor to cook and the rich to barbecue, has become a rare bright spot amid a broad commodities rout, riding…
Captain of Ill-fated El Faro was Known as Trusted Mariner
The captain of the ill-fated cargo ship that sank in a hurricane off the Bahamas with no survivors last week was an experienced and highly trusted mariner who had spent a lifetime on the water, friends and colleagues said. The captain of El Faro, Michael Davidson of Windham, Maine, was raised in South Portland, alongside Maine's largest port, and spent summers nearby at a family home on an island in Casco Bay. The U.S.
Collision Course with a Hurricane: How Doomed US Ship Met its End
The ill-fated U.S.-flagged El Faro cargo ship sunk by Hurricane Joaquin was sailing at near full speed into the center of the storm before it lost propulsion amid mountainous waves and brutal winds, according to ship tracking data. The data on Thomson Reuters Eikon raises questions about the ship owner's assertion that the vessel's captain had chosen a "sound plan" to pass around Joaquin "with a margin of comfort" but was then thwarted by engineering problems.
Cordero Reconfirmed as FMC Commissioner
Mario Cordero was reconfirmed today as a U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner. Cordero joined the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) as a Commissioner on June 3, 2011, having been nominated by President Barack Obama on September 17, 2010, and confirmed by the Senate on April 14, 2011. President Obama designated Mario Cordero Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission on April 1, 2013. Prior to his appointment to the FMC…
Chiarello: TOTE Continues Support to El Faro Families
Anthony Chiarello, President & CEO of TOTE, owner of the cargo ship presumed to have sunk with 33 mariners aboard last week amid Hurricane Joaquin, issued a statement Wednesday afternoon promising continued support to the families of the mariners lost aboard the missing El Faro. “Since Thursday, every individual in the TOTE organization has held out hope that the crew of the El Faro would be found safe.
Servowatch IPMS Completes FATs for UK Navy
The fully integrated platform management system Servowatch designed and built for three new offshore patrol vessels for the U.K. Royal Navy has completed BAE Systems’ Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT). Servowatch, the supplier of advanced integrated ship control systems, will now integrate the IPMS package at BAE Systems’ shipyard on the River Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland, where the next-generation OPVs are currently under construction.
White House Backs El Faro Investigation
President Barack Obama on Wednesday offered condolences to the families of the 33 sailors presumed to have lost their lives aboard cargo ship El Faro which is believed to have sunk amid Hurricane Joaquin last week. The investigation into the incident will receive the government’s full support, the President said in a statement issued by the White House Press Secretary Office. There were 28 American…
Urals Weakens Further in Baltic
Russian Urals crude differentials continued to slide in the Baltic on Thursday amid a flurry of activity with softer refining margins, pushed down by higher oil prices, still keeping buyers at bay.
Seadrill Hopes to See Market Turn in 2017
Offshore rig driller Seadrill is facing another two years in the doldrums but hopes the international rig market could turn around in 2017. Rig rates have more than halved since the peak two to three years ago and in several cases are now below breakeven costs. "2015 is gone, 2016 is ugly but what we see is that some oil companies are asking for extensions in 2017," Chief Executive Per Wullf told the DNB investor conference in Oslo on Thursday. "The oil price is decisive," Wullf said.
Yanmar to Display New Common-rail Diesels at METS
Yanmar Marine International (YMI) will show its new range of common-rail fuel injected marine diesel engines rated for leisure marine and workboat applications at METS 2015…
Singapore Delegation Visits ACE Winches
ACE Winches hosted a delegation from SPRING Singapore to its Towie Barclay Works facility for a visit to share an overview of its products and services, including manufacturing and engineering expertise. Several delegates from the Marine and Offshore Department in SPRING Singapore were welcomed to ACE Winches global headquarters by key personnel during their visit to Northeast Scotland. SPRING Singapore is a statutory board under the Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry…
Mercury Marine, FPT Partner for Diesel Engine Launch
Mercury Marine informs it has signed a supply agreement with FPT Industrial to make the FPT 6.7L mechanically fuel injected NEF engines available for sale in global markets.
Steel Cut on UK Navy’s Newest Warship
Construction has begun on a new warship for the U.K. Royal Navy as the Minister of State for Defense Procurement, Philip Dunne MP cut the first steel in Glasgow today. HMS Trent is the third of three River Class Batch 2 Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) designed and constructed by BAE Systems. Employees, as well as representatives of the Royal Navy and local community, joined the Minister as he switched on a plasma cutting machine in a formal ceremony in Govan.
Port of Cleveland Scores Sediment Customer
The Port of Cleveland and its partner Kurtz Bros., Inc. have scored their first major user in the Port’s effort to market sediment for beneficial use. Great Lakes Construction, Co. has purchased 6,890 cubic yards of sediment for use in the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) Lakeland Boulevard / I-90 Replacement Project in Euclid. The Great Lakes’ purchase—enough to fill 300 standard dump trucks…
Ukraine Sees Smaller Maize Exports to China
Ukrainian maize exports to China under a $1.5 billion loan-for-grains deal could be significantly below an expected 2 million tonnes this year, as Beijing appears to want less of the commodity…
Sea Truck's DP3 Construction Ship Passes Sea Trials
Sea Trucks has completed sea trials of the DP3 offshore construction vessel Jascon 18 in Singapore. Jascon 18 features a 1,800-metric-ton crane, 1,800 sq m deck and a 750-metric-ton pipelay system. Capable of performing a wide variety of marine construction and pipelay tasks in both ultra deepwater and continental shelf environments, the vessel’s hull was built in China and the outfitting was done in Singapore.
MAN 32/44CR Engine for Trawler Newbuild
Voyager Fishing Company, Ltd., based in Kilkeel, Northern Ireland, has ordered a new trawler/purse seiner, designed by Salt Ship Design in Norway and to be built at Karstensens Skipsværft in Skagen, Denmark. The newbuilding will be powered by a propulsion package comprising a MAN 12V32/44CR main engine, a 4,400-mm ø MAN Alpha VBS 1100 propeller, a two-speed RENK Type RSVL1000 gearbox, and an Alphatronic AT3000 remote control system. Vessel delivery is scheduled for August 2017.
Seaspan Accepts Delivery of 14,000 TEU Box Ship
Seaspan Corporation has accepted delivery of a 14,000 TEU containership new build, the YM Warmth. The new containership, which was constructed at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.…
Webinar: Autodesk Licensing Changes
The way in which users will be able to buy and access Autodesk software is changing. To help users better understand these changes and their implications, software…
Box Shipping Eyes More Overcapacity, Financial Pain
Slowing global trade and a bloated orderbook of large vessel capacity mean that container shipping is set for another three years of overcapacity and financial pain, according to the latest Container Forecaster report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry. The recent slowdown in world trade has forced Drewry to halve its forecast for container shipping growth for this year to just 2.2 percent and revise down estimates for future years.
