Four Crew Members on Hurtigruten Cruise Ship Hospitalized with COVID-19
Four crew members on a Norwegian cruise vessel were diagnosed with COVID-19 after it arrived at the Arctic port of Tromsoe early on Friday, said the University Hospital of North Norway where they are being treated.All 160 crew members on the Roald Amundsen have been quarantined on the ship, while the 177 passengers - all of whom have already disembarked - are being contacted by telephone and are being told to self-isolate…
Maritime Security: Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail
North America is historically one of the world’s safest regions for maritime transit and operations. Our data shows that of the 2,915 reported global maritime crime incidents that have occurred in the last decade, only nine of them took place in North America. This figure comes from a range of threats against both commercial, and pleasure craft vessels, primarily, attempted, or successful: attacks…
Burger Launches Tour Boat Chicago's Emerald Lady
Manitowoc, Wis. boat builder Burger Boat Company announced it has launched a new passenger vessel for Chicago’s First Lady Cruises. The 98-foot steel vessel, Chicago’s Emerald Lady, can serve up to 250 passengers and is designed by Mark Pudlo, Principal, Seacraft Design in Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
Sea Cloud's New Tall Ship is Taking Shape
Sea Cloud Cruises' third tall ship, Sea Cloud Spirit, is taking shape in Vigo, Spain. Interior outfitting is underway as specialists from the Polish shipbuilding company Chorén have erected the approximately 54-meter-high aft mast for the 138-meter-long, three-masted sailing ship due to enter service later this year. Raising the aft mast is an important prerequisite for the completion of the Sea Cloud Spirit…
Australia Bans Another Bulker Over Unpaid Wages
A Liberian-flagged bulk carrier has been banned from Australian ports for 12 months after authorities discovered that seafarers onboard were underpaid, had expired employment agreements and were requesting repatriation. The 93,229 dwt TW Hamburg is the second bulker to recently be banned from Australia for crew underpayment, following the Liberian-flagged Agia Sofia earlier this week.Australian Maritime…
Trafigura Offers COVID-19 Premium
Commodities trader Trafigura Beheer has become the first company to offer a defined Covid premium on an Asian syndicated loan, paying up to an extra 20bp all-in on its latest US$1bn-equivalent financing.The novel pricing structure is a first for Asia, if not globally, and could set a precedent for other price-sensitive borrowers looking to limit the long-term effects of the pandemic on their funding costs.Without the Covid premiums…
OHT's Alfa Lift Vessel to Install Dogger Bank A Wind Farm Foundations
Norway's Offshore Heavy Transports has won a contract to transport and install foundations for the first phase of Equinor's and SSE's Dogger Bank Wind Farm, Dogger Bank A, in the UK, using its foundation installation vessel Alfa Lift being built in China.To remind, OHT was in November 2019 selected as the preferred supplier for foundation installation at the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, and it has now secured the firm contract for the Dogger Bank A.
Cyprus Gets EBRD Loan to Buy FSRU
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide an €80 million loan ($94,7 million), alongside EU and EIB financing, for a floating storage…
ABS Updates Offshore Wind Guidance
Classification society ABS said it has updated its guides addressing both floating and bottom-founded offshore wind turbines.The revised guides incorporate updated industry best practices and industry feedback, lessons learned from a range of projects in Europe and North America as well as latest developments in International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for offshore wind turbines.“As the global market for offshore wind energy continues to grow…
Callan Marine Orders New Dredge General Bradley
Galveston, Texas-based dredging contractor Callan Marine announced Thursday it has ordered a new 28-inch cutter suction dredger that's due to join its fleet in 2021.The new dredge, General Bradley, is currently being built by Hagler Systems at the Halimar Shipyard in Morgan City, La. It will be 341 feet long with a 6.6-foot draft.Main dredge design and engineering work was performed by APT Offshore BV, who is also supplying key dredge components.
Tanker Crewmember Medevaced in US Gulf
An ailing seafarer was medevaced from a tanker vessel in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 35 miles offshore of Freeport, Texas, Thursday.U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a report from the captain of the Liberian-flagged tanker vessel Tosna Star of a 36-year-old man who was experiencing shortness of breath. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon who recommended…
Bollinger Delivers USCGC Oliver Henry
Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the USCGC Oliver Henry to the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. This is the 163rd vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 40th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.The new cutter is the second of three FRCs to be homeported in Apra Harbor, Guam, increasing the presence for the U.S. Coast Guard in the Indo-Pacific Theater.
Op/Ed: Federal Support for Ports is Critical
Florida’s seaports are one of the state’s greatest economic assets, positively affecting every region and every resident. Our seaports have a $117.6 billion economic impact across Florida and account for more than 900,000 direct and indirect jobs, while linking our communities to vital national and international markets.During the COVID-19 crisis, ports across the country have sustained mounting losses.
Remote FATs Fill COVID-19 Service Gaps
With the coronavirus crisis continuing with no end in sight, Techcross says it is using various solutions to solve customer service issues. Videoconferencing has already become the most basic contactless activities, and the engineering team is filling on-site service gaps through new methods such as training local engineers or providing remote commissioning service.The pandemic has made it difficult for Techcross staff to visit clients and conduct factory acceptance tests (FATs)…
BMT Names de Bruin Managing Director for Europe
BMT announced Dennis de Bruin has been appointed Managing Director for BMT’s Commercial Shipping Europe business, with immediate effect.A BMT employee since 2004, de Bruin has more than 20 years of experience in the maritime industry. He has served for the last seven years as Marine Director for BMT's nautical and cargo department of the Rotterdam office.He will succeed Jeroen de Haas as Managing Director of our European offices in the Netherlands…
OHT Enters Offshore Wind Turbine Installation Business
Offshore Heavy Transport (OHT), a company specializing in, well, offshore heavy transport, has decided to diversify its offering and dive into the offshore wind turbine generator installation business.OHT said Thursday it had entered into a binding Heads of Agreement with China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) in Jiangsu, China for the construction of two wind turbine generator (WTG) installation vessels.The company will have options to order two more vessels of the same type.
The Advantages of Variable Speed Gensets
Due to economic necessity, commercial ship operators have become increasingly focused on finding cost-optimized solutions to operate their vessels. In turn, power solutions providers like Rolls-Royce have been dedicated to finding ways to deliver the right technologies that will meet an operator’s specific requirements.In recent years, interest in variable speed units as a driver of certain commercial vessels has gained interest.
Royal Caribbean Hires Chief Medical Officer
Royal Caribbean Group has hired Dr. Calvin Johnson as Global Head, Public Health and Chief Medical Officer, a new role created to lead the cruise line operator's global health and wellness policy, manage its public health and clinical practice and determine the strategic plans and operations of its global healthcare organization.Johnson will also collaborate with the Healthy Sail Panel assembled in response to COVID-19…
Pump Tech Focus: Leistritz FlexCore Screw Pump Series
Leistritz Pumpen GmbH is a long and storied name in maritime business, and with its FLEXCORE screw pumps the company claims to provide an unusually wide application window and more freedom of installation. “With FLEXCORE, Leistritz has created a groundbreaking innovation – a pump class that unites qualitative, functional and economic aspects in a flexible, quickly available series product,“ said Philipp Rossow…
Sea Machines Bringing Marine Autonomy to the Classroom
Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics, a developer of autonomous command and control systems for surface vessels, has partnered with Maine Maritime Academy (MMA) and representatives of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD)’s Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) Program to bring hands-on education about autonomous marine systems into the MMA curriculum.The Academy will provide instruction to cadets using MMA’s 41-ft Coast Guard cutter-class workboat R/V Quickwater…
