45 Rescued from Passenger Vessel Fire
All 45 passengers and crew members have been rescued from a ferry that caught fire roughly 5.5 nautical miles east off Binongkalan Point, Cebu Thursday night.The Philippine-registered RoRo / passenger ship MV Filipinas Dinagat owned by Cokaliong Shipping Lines was traveling from Cebu City for Palompon, Leyte when the fire erupted on board.By the time the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) arrived on scene to conduct rescue operations…
Gulf Island Shipyards Delivers Icebreaking Tug to SLSDC
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC) announced it has taken delivery of its new 118-foot icebreaking tug, the Seaway Guardian, in Massena, N.Y. Built by Gulf Island Shipyards in Houma, La., the vessel is the first new tug to join SLSDC since the Seaway opened 61 years ago.The new $24 million tug will primarily be used for buoy maintenance and ice management on the St.
FMC Provides Relief for Small Passenger Vessel Operators
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission voted to support a proposal put forward by Fact Finding Officer Commissioner Louis E. Sola that provides limited and temporary relief to small passenger vessel operators whose operations and business have been disrupted by the response to COVID-19.In approving the "Policy Statement on Passenger Vessel Financial Responsibility", which will be published on the Commission's webpage and in the Federal Register in the near future…
Video: Navantia Launches Saudi Arabia's New Warship
Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia on Wednesday launched the first of five Avante 2200 corvettes it's building for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) for delivery through 2024.The five frigates were ordered in July 2018 for a cost of €1.8 billion ($2.1 billion), and first steel was cut for the series' first vessel in January 2019.Launched at the builder's San Fernando shipyard, the new vessel Al-Jubail has a length of 104 meters…
CMS Completes First Major WinGD X-DF Engine Overhaul
China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) equipment service subsidiary CSSC Marine Service Co (CMS) said it has completed the first ever major overhaul on two WinGD X-DF engines—in only nine days.The twin 6X62DF engines overhauled belong to the first ever X-DF powered vessel in operation, 2017-built 180,000-cbm liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier SK Audace, owned and operated by SK Shipping Co. LTD. The…
Understanding Marine Autonomy: Today’s Market and Future Concerns
Press coverage of early commercial marine autonomy projects is remarkably broad given the small number of marine industry professionals engaged in bringing these projects to market. The much larger assembly of industry stakeholders are left wondering what marine autonomy means for them. Regulatory, cost, and technical challenges stand in the way of fielding today’s autonomy technologies for most existing fleets and vessel missions. Autonomy is coming whether you’re prepared or not.
New CEO Takes the Helm at RMK Merrill-Stevens Shipyard
Industry veteran William Clewes has been appointed CEO of Miami yacht repair yard RMK Merrill-Stevens, charged with leading Florida's oldest shipyard through a period or redevelopment, reopening and beyond.“I am excited about building a team and a new facility to bring the RMK Merrill-Stevens facility back to its former glory and beyond,” said Clewes in January after accepting the position. Clewes will lead the North and South yards…
Chinese 'Dark Fleets' Fishing off North Korea Despite Sanctions Ban
“Dark fleets” believed to be from China have been fishing in North Korean waters, potentially netting Pyongyang millions of dollars in illicit fees and forcing smaller North Korean vessels further afield, a series of reports said this week.The South Korean coast guard as well as independent experts monitoring the implementation of United Nations sanctions have reported for years that ships of Chinese origin have been observed fishing in North Korean waters…
Princess Cruises Extends Pause on Voyages
Carnival Corp’s Princess Cruises said on Wednesday it would extend the suspension of select voyages through December 15 as it looks to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.Princess Cruises also said all cruises sailing in and out of Australia on select vessels have been suspended through October 31.The pandemic has forced cruise companies to raise billions in debt to stay afloat, after several ships…
Life on Hold for Many Philippine Seafarers
He had a visa and just the job—six months of work at sea and thousands in pay to send home. Then the virus struck.And like millions of other migrant workers who leave the Philippines to work abroad and send their earnings back to a myriad of dependents, a whole family saw its lifeline cut.“I was broke. Things were not easy for me and my family. I badly needed to go back to work at that time so I was looking forward to that trip…
Scientists Discover First Methane Seep in Antarctic Sea Floor
Scientists have discovered an active methane seep from Antarctica's sea bed that could shed light on the potent greenhouse gas trapped beneath the frozen continent.Marine ecologist Andrew Thurber first glimpsed what a colleague described as a "microbial waterfall" during a dive in the icy waters of the Ross Sea in 2012. What looked like a superhighway of white patches on the ocean floor were clusters of tiny organisms drawn to the methane leak."My first thought was 'wow…
Baltic Index Hits Over One-month Low
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index dropped to a more than one-month low on Thursday, dragged down by weakness across all vessel segments.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, fell 85 points, or 5.8%, to 1,388, its lowest since June 17.The Baltic capesize index slumped 190 points, or 7.8%, to 2,236, its lowest in over a month.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically tra
Navy Hires NASSCO for USS Bonhomme Richard Cleanup
A San Diego shipyard has been awarded $10 million to continue emergency firefighting support, dewatering, safety and initial cleanup efforts aboard the fire-stricken USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6), the Pentagon announced. The award to National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) is a modification to a previous contract for repairs that had been underway when the blaze erupted aboard the 844-foot…
C-Job Naval Architects to Open Poland Office
The Netherlands based ship design and engineering company C-Job Naval Architects said it will open an office in Gdansk, Poland this July.The Gdansk office will pursue new markets particularly in the Baltic and Scandinavian region, with a particular focus on functional and detail design as well as retrofits and laser scanning, the company said. The new office will be spearheaded by general manager Slawomir…
Seaspan Buys Two 13,000 TEU Containerships
Seaspan has agreed to buy two containerships on long-term charter for around $146 million in cash, with delivery expected in the third quarter of 2020.The company, a subsidiary of Atlas, said Thursday that the transaction was expected to be "immediately accretive to Atlas' earnings per diluted share and increase long-term contracted revenue by over $150 million while maintaining a strong net debt to equity ratio of approximately 1.2x1."Seaspan said that the two 13…
China's Oil Port Congestion to Stretch On Well into August
Congestion at China's east coast oil ports that is adding to costs for shippers and importers is likely to run well into August, with crude shipments set to hit another record high this month, according to analysts and Refinitiv data.The massive inflows are straining offloading facilities, while refiners and port operators in Shandong province -- home to a quarter of China's refining capacity -- are…
