New Tug for Vane Brothers
Vane Brothers has taken delivery of the 3,000‐horsepower Fishing Creek, the 13th Maryland-built tugboat to join the Baltimore-based company’s expanding fleet in the last 10 years. Designed by Frank Basile, P.E., of Entech Designs, LLC, Fishing Creek is the latest of 20 Sassafras Class tugboats contracted through Chesapeake Shipbuilding of Salisbury, Md. Construction began in 2007 on the first-in‐series tugboat Sassafras…
Inside Brazil's Cruise Slump
Brazil is still attracting cruise lines, such as Norwegian Cruise Line, which is bringing a ship to Brazil for the first time in the 2016/2017 season. However, hard…
MV Liberty Passion Joins US MSP Fleet
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao welcomed the newest vessel to the Maritime Security Program (MSP) in the port of Beaumont, Texas. Renamed the M/V Liberty Passion, it is the third ship owned by Liberty Global Logistics to join the MSP fleet. “Today we are celebrating a public-private partnership that is strengthening America’s Merchant Marine, as well as America’s Armed Forces,” said Secretary Chao.
Underwater Ship Repair Specialists Merge
Lariat Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm, announced that its portfolio company Subsea Global Solutions (SGS) has acquired All-Sea Underwater Solutions (All-Sea)…
Legislators Call for US-flag LNG Carriers
New legislation proposed this week would require up to 30 percent of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to travel on U.S.-flagged vessels. The U.S. is expected to continue ramping up its LNG exports in the coming years and become a net exporter by 2020, yet there are currently no U.S.-flag carriers to carry the cargo. “We’re the most powerful nation in the world, but 99 percent of our trade travels on foreign-flagged ships…
Oily Water Separator Systems: Practical Advice
Magic Pipes, 15 PPM alarms, crew familiarization, improper entries in the oil record book, oil record book not maintained: these are all terms used by various Port State Control (PSC) officers worldwide when referencing the oily water separator. When PSC so decides, it also has the option of making one of these an ISM deficiency, adding another black mark against a vessel. Nevertheless, even with such an important piece of equipment and the records documenting its proper use…
ECDIS Release New ACAT Courses
ECDIS Ltd have extended its Type Specific ECDIS ACAT (Annual Competency Assurance Training) portfolio to include the new JRC 7201/9201 and Furuno FMD ECDIS. Available online as well as the new offline downloadable version, ECDIS ACAT is used daily by shipping companies globally. At an average of only £8 per officer per year, the not-for-profit ACAT courses are fast becoming an essential tool for refreshing all training crew in the safe and efficient use of their onboard ECDIS systems.
Higher Capesize, Panamax Rates Lift Baltic Index
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose for the third straight session on Friday, buoyed by stronger capesize and panamax vessel rates. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, climbed 35 points, or 3.87 percent, to 939 points. The index, which touched its highest level since Jan. 19, was up for the third straight week.
Coral Reefs: A Unique Natural Resource
Stony corals are marine invertebrates with somewhat unique life cycles. For the most part, they reproduce sexually, broadcasting gametes into the water. Often, an entire coral colony or reef will spawn on the same night. Coral may also reproduce asexually by producing genetically identical polyps. Fertilized gametes drift in the current until, hopefully, they alight on a hard surface like a rock suitable for attachment.
MarineLink's Joe Keefe Sounds off on Oregon Public Broadcasting
MarineNews and Maritime Logistics Professional Editor Joseph Keefe on Thursday spent ten minutes with Oregon Public Broadcasting to discuss the fate and the future of Oregon's only deep water port. Listen in to find out more. As ICTSI Oregon, Inc. and the Port of Portland mutually agreed to terminate a 25-year lease agreement to operate the container facility at the Port’s Terminal 6, the agreement allows ICTSI Oregon to be relieved of its long-term lease obligations effective March 31…
AIWW Outlook Brightens
The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association is an advocacy organization for one of the nation’s longest water infrastructure projects stretching over 1,100 miles – the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW). Additionally, the AIWW offers a direct connection between three of the nation’s top 10 ports measured by cargo value that we commonly refer to as ‘exit ramps to the world.’ In our role as advocates for the maintenance of the AIWW…
GAIL, Gunvor Sign Time-Swap for U.S. LNG
State-run gas company GAIL (India) Ltd has signed a time-swap deal with Swiss trader Gunvor to sell some of its U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), sources said, as…
China Launches South China Sea Cruise Ship Tour
A new Chinese cruise ship has embarked on its maiden voyage to the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday, the…
Asia Dry Bulk-Capesize Rates Pressured Abundant Tonnage
Capesize rates from Western Australia to China at 8-week high; shipowners parking ships off South Africa to stop rates falling. Freight rates for large capesize…
Asia Tankers-VLCC Rates Uncertain on Tonnage Woes
MidEast tanker rates fall to $22,000 a day, below breakeven; 52 VLCCs to be delivered this year, highest since 2011. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs)…
Fibria Inks $636 mln Ship Deal with Pan Ocean
Brazil's Fibria Celulose SA , the world's largest producer of eucalyptus pulp, signed a $636 million shipping deal with South Korea's Pan Ocean Co Ltd, according to a securities filing on Friday.
Speaking at Newport News, Trump Calls for Navy Buildup
President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants a U.S. military buildup of more ships and planes to "project American power in distant lands," making his case for a proposed $54 billion increase in defense spending that has U.S. lawmakers squabbling. Wearing an olive military jacket and hat aboard a new aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, in Newport News, Virginia, Trump said he wanted the U.S. military to have the finest equipment in the world.
Mynmar Naval Delegation Visits Indian Naval Base
A Myanmar Navy (MN) Delegation comprising three officers: Lt Cdr ThureinTun, Lt Cdr Kyaw Zeya Oo and Lt Ye WintTun, has completed a four-day official visit to Southern…
European Social Dialogue on Ports: Employers Bullish
The European social dialogue on ports was established in June 2013 by port employers and employees to identify challenges faced by the sector, improve health and…
Maiden Anti-Ship Missile Launch by Kalvari
The Indian Navy has successfully conducted the maiden firing of an Anti-Ship missile from the first of the indigenously built Kalvari class submarines, during a test firing in the Arabian Sea.
