US Seeks Applications for FASTLANE Grants
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau is now soliciting applications for up to $850 million in Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grants. The FASTLANE program was established in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to fund critical freight and highway projects across the country.
Fair Trade Commission Approves Blohm+Voss Acquisition
The German Fair Trade Commission has approved the acquisition of Hamburg shipyard Blohm+Voss GmbH by the Bremen-based, family-owned company Luerssen Maritime Beteiligungen GmbH & Co. KG, a specialty designer, manufacturer and repairer of yachts over 60 meters and military ships. The purchase agreement was signed at the end of September 2016, and now, following the official approval, formal ownership will be transferred from the previous owner…
Tanker Crewman Medevaced off Galveston
A tanker crewman was medevaced Monday afternoon, after reports of suffering from a hernia about 15 miles off Galveston, Texas in the Fairway Anchorage. The master of the 600-foot…
Ship Operating Costs Set to Rise -Survey
Vessel operating costs are expected to rise in both 2016 and 2017, according to the latest survey by international accountant and shipping consultant Moore Stephens. Repairs and maintenance and spares are the cost categories which are likely to increase most significantly in each of the two years. The survey is based on responses from key players in the international shipping industry, predominantly shipowners and managers in Europe and Asia.
China Gobbles up Angolan Oil in Rush to Year End
China's loadings of West African crude are set to hit their highest in more than two years in November as the nation's refineries race to stock up and offset falling domestic oil production…
Wiernicki Receives Admiral of the Ocean Seas Award
ABS Chairman, President and CEO, Christopher J. Wiernicki, was honored for his contributions to the maritime industry by the United Seamen’s Service (USS) as a recipient of the Admiral of the Ocean Seas Award on October 28, 2016 in New York. “I am humbled to accept this award, not for me, but rather on behalf of the more than 5,000 worldwide employees of ABS and the 1.5 million mariners who day in and day out keep this industry moving and our global economy expanding,” Wiernicki said.
GC Rieber Chooses NAVTOR for Fleet-wide Navigation
Specialist ship owner, operator and manager GC Rieber has signed a fleet-wide agreement with NAVTOR for a total vessel navigation solution, spanning both paper and digital deliveries. NAVTOR, a global leader in e-navigation technology and services, will now install products throughout GC Rieber’s portfolio of advanced seismic and offshore ships, enhancing overall fleet efficiency, safety and cost control. The agreement is far reaching in scope.
US Coast Guard Reports Record Year in Counterdrug Ops
The U.S. Coast Guard marked the end of a record year in counterdrug operations as the crew of Cutter Waesche from Alameda, California, offloaded more than 39,000 pounds of cocaine in San Diego Thursday, October 27. The Coast Guard and its interagency partners removed more than 416,600 pounds of cocaine worth over $5.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2016, which ran from Oct. 1, 2015, to Sept. 30, 2016. The service’s previous record was 367,700 pounds of cocaine removed in Fiscal Year 2008.
ICS Applauds IMO Roadmap for Enissions Reduction
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has applauded the agreement, last Friday, by the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) to develop a comprehensive Roadmap for addressing CO2 emissions from international shipping – with initial CO2 reduction commitments to be agreed by IMO by 2018. However, ICS says the IMO Road Map will go much further than the Paris Agreement. “The final stage…
China: Scarborough Shoal 'Situation' Unchanged
China said on Monday the situation at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea "has not changed and will not change", after the Philippines said Chinese…
GE to Merge Oil & Gas Unit with Baker Hughes
General Electric Co said on Monday it would merge its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes Inc, creating the world's second-largest oilfield services provider…
Hapag-Lloyd, UASC Seek EU Nod for Merger
German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd and Kuwait-based United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) have submitted concessions aimed at securing EU antitrust approval for their billion-euro merger.
Hanjin Take-over: Bidders Begin Due Diligence
Bidders for Hanjin Shipping Co.'s Asia-U.S. route up for sale will start a due diligence process this week, with the asset sale by the country's ailing shipper expected to be completed by next month…
Korea Mulls New Ship Financing Company
Reuters report quoting South Korea government sources that the country is planning to establish a state-backed ship financing company with an initial capital of…
Japan Shippers Merger Ambitious?
The problem in the proposed merger of Japan's three biggest shipping companies (Nippon Yusen, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha) is, that synergy number…
UN Welcomes IMO Steps to Limit Emissions
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki moon has welcomed the steps agreed upon today by the members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to address…
NYK Carrier Rescues Fishermen in Distress off Indonesia
Kurushima, a bulk carrier operated by NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of NYK Line, rescued nine people from a fishing boat in distress…
World's First Fabrication of Subsea Well Part Using LiDAR Data and 3D Printing
Fugro and 3D at Depth, a global provider of advanced subsea LiDAR systems and solutions, announce the world's first application of subsea LiDAR data used to 3D Print…
Australian Navy Role-models Boosted by Graduation
Eleven Indigenous young men and women graduated from Navy Recruit training in one hit on October 13 in front of family, friends and the Chief of Navy. For Seaman Star Marine Technician Jeff Andrews…
Five Rescued from Sunken Vessel Near Naked Island, Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Coast Guard boatcrew and a good Samaritan rescued three adults and two teenagers from a 32-foot personal craft taking on water in the vicinity of Naked Island Sunday morning.
