ABS’ Wiernicki: “COVID-19 will function as threat, a disruptor and catalyst for change”
As COVID-19 and a historically weak energy market wreaks havoc on the maritime industry, Christopher J. Wiernicki, CEO, American Bureau of Shipping, tells Maritime Reporter & Engineering News in its May 2020 edition that “COVID-19 will function as threat, a disruptor and catalyst for change, driving class further away from calendar maintenance towards predictive operations. The industry will accelerate its digitally driven movement into condition-based approaches and real-time…
Japan Spot LNG Import Prices Hit Record Low
Prices for spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes imported into Japan, the world's biggest buyer of the fuel, fell in April to their lowest since the country's trade ministry started compiling data in 2014. The latest low for LNG cargoes into Japan - reflecting actual prices paid rather than those derived from surveys or indices - highlights the evisceration of demand for gas, along with other commodities, brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
Belgium: Northwester 2 Offshore Wind Farm Complete
The 219 MW Northwester 2 wind farm has been completed and is now supplying the Belgian grid electricity by all of its 23 fully operational wind turbines producing 9,5 MW each. This wind farm, owned by Parkwind (70%) and Sumitomo (30%) is the first to use the MHI Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines in commercial operation. The first turbine was installed in December 2019.This is the seventh wind farm in the Belgian North Sea…
Russia's Zvezda Launches Its First Ever Newbuild
Russia's Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex said it has launched its very first newbuild, a 114,000 dwt dual-fuel tanker for oil company Rosneft.The milestone vessel Vladimir Monomakh is the first Aframax ever to be built in Russia and is one of 12 currently on order at the yard, which is owned by a Rosneft-led consortium.The Vladimir Monomakh was launched using Zvezda's unique Vympel floating transfer dock…
Software Firms Partner to Streamline Ship Compliance
Fleet management software provider ABS Nautical Systems (ABS NS) and maritime SaaS technology company Q88 LLC have joined forces to automate compliance management for ship owners and operators. The systems are now fully integrated to streamline the management of compliance information from ship to shore so that data quality and reliability are improved, and compliance objectives are consistently met.The…
Thun Orders Product Tanker at Ferus Smit
Thun Tankers, part of the Swedish shipping company Erik Thun Group, said it ordered a second 4,250-deadweight product tanker from Dutch shipbuilder Scheepswerf Ferus Smit, sceduled for delivery in May 2022.The newbuild, together with its previously ordered sister ship due in November this year, will be operated under long-term charter with U.K.-based Geos Group.Both 79.9-meter vessels will be built with NAABSA design (Not Always Afloat But Safely Aground)…
Brookes Bell Expands Marine Casualty Capability
Brookes Bell has strengthened its marine casualty capability with the addition of two listed special casualty representatives (SCRs) boosting the total number of…
Namdock is Back to Business
Namibian ship repair company Namdock has resumed full operations with effect from Tuesday, in accordance with the inception of stage 2 of Namibia’s national COVID-19 lockdown, which has seen the partial easing of restrictive measures thanks to the recent flattening of the minimal in-country infection curve.“Over the past few weeks we have put strict personal protection and sanitization measures in place, to ensure that we could safely resume full-capacity operations when the time came.
Cambridge Pixel Announces Dual Redundant Radar Tracking
Cambridge Pixel has added dual redundancy to its SPx Tracking Server to support high reliability radar tracking. The enhancement will protect against system failure by providing two processing paths for the radar data and allowing automatic switching from one to the other.Support for dual redundant radar tracking is designed for developers of high reliability or remote systems such as in maritime and…
Wärtsilä to Boost Fuel Efficiency of KOTC Tankers
Technology group Wärtsilä said it has been contracted to upgrade four vessels owned by Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC), by retrofitting the Wärtsilä Fuel Efficiency Boost solution to the ships’ main engines. The modification will reduce fuel consumption, and correspondingly lessen the environmental impact by lowering greenhouse gas emission levels.Wärtsilä said its Fuel Efficiency Boost initiative has attracted considerable interest…
Thyssenkrupp, Fincantieri Discussing Shipbuilding Consolidation
Thyssenkrupp is exploring several strategic options for its warship unit, ranging from combining it with Italy’s Fincantieri to creating a national champion with German peers, a person familiar with the matter said.The talks are aimed at creating economies of scale for the division, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), which builds submarines and surface ships and operates in a highly fragmented sector driven by political decisions…
Royal Caribbean Pledges 28 Ships as Collateral in $3.3 bln Bond Offer
Royal Caribbean Cruises on Wednesday launched a $3.3 billion bond offering, pledging 28 of its ships as collateral and forecast heavy losses for the first quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic brings the sector to a virtual standstill.Royal Caribbean, which was forced to suspend its cruises globally and cut about 26% of its U.S. workforce, said the health crisis has dented its first-quarter net income by about $453 million.The cruise operator’s shares…
Douala Port Authority Orders IHC Dredger
Cameroon’s Port Authority of Douala (PAD) has acquired high-tech equipment from Royal IHC to support its dredging activities, an order that builds on the excellent partnership between both organizations.As part of measures to autonomously manage its dredging activities, the Management of the PAD acquired an IHC Beaver 50 cutter suction dredger and a Delta Multi Craft (DMC) workboat, which were both delivered in 2019.
SEAPLACE Relies on FORAN for Tug Build
SEAPLACE, a ship design and offshore engineering company relies on FORAN V80R3.0 for the conceptual, basic and details design of the recently launched tugboat, Caspian Fauna.In late April, the tug was launched at Turkey's Gelibolu Shipyard. It is an ice class 1D tugboat that will operate in the Caspian Sea.SEAPLACE has developed conceptual design, basic engineering and detailed structural engineering.
Tonnage Slips at Port Houston Amid Pandemic
Monthly cargo volumes at Port Houston declined in April as the coronavirus outbreak continued to impact commerce in the U.S. and across the world.Port Houston, the 6th largest container port in the U.S., handled a total of 221,540 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in April, down 12% from the 252,693 TEUs in April 2019. For the full year, however, Port Houston handled 994,627 TEUs through April, which…
Rosneft to Build Port for Its Vostok Oil Project
Russian state oil giant Rosneft plans to build a port with maximum annual capacity of 115 million tonnes of oil for its Vostok Oil project in the Russian Arctic, the RIA news agency quoted the company as saying on Tuesday.Rosneft said in a statement previously on Tuesday that the Vostok Oil project could be supplying 25 million tonnes of oil in 2024, 50 million tonnes in 2027 and up to 115 million tonnes in 2030.Vostok Oil unites Rosneft’s projects in northern Russia…
Evac BWMS Chosen for Irish Lights vessel
The Evac Evolution ballast water treatment system (BWMS) will be installed on the ILV Granuaile, an aids to navigation vessel operated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights.The vessel’s primary function is to place and service 150 offshore buoys, which warn mariners of the location of sand banks, reefs and other offshore hazards. The vessel also provides support for the teams tasked with maintaining a further 65 lighthouses and beacons around the coast of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Valmet to Supply Scrubbers for Mitsubishi-built Ferries
Finland-based Valmet said it has booked an order with Japan's Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Shimonoseki Shipyard to deliver hybrid scrubber systems and water treatment units to two ferries. Each vessel will be equipped with two identical Valmet Marine Scrubber towers for each main engine and a water treatment unit as well as Valmet’s marine automation system. The order value was not disclosed. The vessels will be delivered from Mitsubishi Shimonoseki shipyard to Meimon Taiyo Ferry Co., Ltd.
Japan's First LNG Bunkering Vessel Launched
Japan’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel has been launched at Kawasaki Heavy Industries' Sakaide Works shipyard ahead of planned delivery at the end of September 2020.The 3,500-cubic-meter-capacity vessel is scheduled to begin ship-to-ship bunkering for LNG-fueled vessels at at JERA’s Kawagoe Thermal Power Station starting this autumn. It will be the first LNG bunker ship to be operated in JapanIn 2018, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (“K” Line), JERA Co.
CMA CGM Takes $1.1 Bln Loan
Shipping group CMA CGM has obtained a 1.05 billion euro ($1.1 billion) loan to be 70% guaranteed by the French government as it seeks to bolster its cash position during the coronavirus pandemic, which has hammered international trade.The loan, secured from a consortium of banks comprising BNP Paribas, HSBC and Société Générale, has an initial one-year maturity and an extension option of up to five years, Marseille-based CMA CGM said in a statement on Wednesday.France is offering guarantees to s
