Armed Group Attacks FPSO, Kidnaps Crew in Nigeria
The article has been updated to include a statement by BW Offshore who confirmed the attack on its FPSO and the kidnapping of several crew members.Pirates on Thursday…
Geo Plus Takes Delivery of New Survey Vessel
Dutch shipbuilder Royal Niestern Sander has delivered the hydrographic survey vessel ‘Geo Ranger’ to Geo Plus, after 14 months of constructing, installing, commissioning and testing.The vessel last month successfully passed its sea trials on the river Ems.The ship was designed together with Conoship International BV and will be rented out by Geo Plus to parties that perform research, such as dredging companies and companies that build and maintain offshore wind farms.
Responding to an Onboard COVID-19 Outbreak
Most cruise lines’ operations are now suspended but at the beginning of the year, BSM Cruise Services’ managed ships were deployed all around the world.Martin Springer, Managing Director BSM Cruise Services explains that, while all BSM’s managed vessels have advanced procedures and contingency plans in place for any crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic has been an extreme situation.But he continues; “BSM…
France Suspends Role in NATO Naval Mission After Turkish Incident
France has informed NATO that it is suspending its involvement in a naval operation in the Mediterranean after the results of an investigation into an incident between French and Turkish warships, an Armed Forces Ministry official said on Wednesday.Turkey's ambassador to France Ismail Hakki Musa had earlier told French senators that Paris was withdrawing after the investigation into the incident had…
Baltic Index Up for 24th Session
The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index rose for the 24th straight session on Wednesday, helped by a modest increase in capesize and supramax rates.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose 4 points, or 0.2%, to 1,803.The index has gained 65.4% so far this year, driven by a recovery in demand for iron-ore from China as industrial activity picked up amid easing coronavirus-induced lockd
Elbit Systems Wins $53 Mln Navy Contract
Elbit Systems announced Wednesday it has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $53 million to provide and integrate intelligence suites onboard Navy vessels in a Southeast Asian country. The contract will be performed over a two-year period.Under the contract, Elbit Systems will equip several vessels with suites that provide the capability to perform complex reconnaissance missions, generating an operational picture of the air, surface and underwater domains, it said.
Damen Building 75-meter Crane Barge
Damen Shipyards Group said it has laid the keel for a new crane barge that is going to be delivered in Panama, following award of tender in August last year. The barge is being built at Damen Yichang Shipyard in Hubei Province, China. The shipyard is almost back to full capacity following the recent coronavirus outbreak, with strict safety measures to protect the health and wellbeing of yard workers.The 75- by 32-meter Crane Barge 7532 will succeed, a 77-year old crane still in operation.
HamiltonJet to Power 48 US Navy RIBs
HamiltonJet will collaborate with rigid inflatable boat manufacturer RIBCRAFT to supply 48 Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) to the U.S. Navy.RIBCRAFT USA was recently awarded a five-year contract to deliver the RIBs custom-fitted for use in explosive ordinance disposal (EOD). The 11-meter vessels will be equipped with twin HJ292 waterjets, blue Arrow control systems and JETanchor technology from HamiltonJet.
LOOP Crude Exports Surge Surprisingly
Crude exports from the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) are hitting a record high even as U.S. crude exports have fallen as the coronavirus pandemic has chopped worldwide fuel demand.Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc are the main winners from rising LOOP exports, because they pump most of the mid-sour crude exported from the terminal.LOOP largely ships out Mars crude, a medium-sour grade of oil produced from the Mars platform…
SCHOTTEL to Equip New Tug for Port of Aarhus
German propulsion manufacturer SCHOTTEL said it has been awarded a contract to supply UZMAR Shipyard with rudder propellers featuring the patented hybrid system SYDRIVE-M. The Turkish shipyard is currently building a 30.25-meter-long and 11.75-meter-wide RAmparts 3000 series tugboat for the Port of Aarhus, Denmark’s largest container port.The new tugboat, which is scheduled for delivery in summer 2021…
SENER Group Appoints New Leadership
SENER Group announced it has appointed a new president and new CEO to usher in a new leadership phase at the Spanish-based engineering company. Andrés Sendagorta has been named President of the SENER Group, and Jorge Sendagorta Cudós its new CEO.Sendagorta, hitherto Vice President of SENER, takes over from Jorge Sendagorta, who will continue to be linked to the SENER Group as its Honorary President.Andrés…
Evac to Install BWMS on E-Marine Cable Layer
The Evac Group said it has secured an order to supply a ballast water management system (BWMS) for cable laying vessel Etisalat, operated by Dubai-based E-Marine PJSC.“When E-Marine contacted us, they said it was essential that the system was delivered to Dubai within four weeks so that it could be installed when the vessel was in drydock,” said Stevenson Varghese, Managing Director of Cathelco Middle East, who won the contract.
Frank About the Future
Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) CEO Frank Olsen opens up on the challenges of COVID-19, the benefits of a global network, and a fundamental shift in the established ships agency marketplace. Change, he says, is coming.“I haven’t spent this much time in Norway, without international travel, since I was at school,” laughs ISS CEO Frank Olsen over a call on Microsoft Teams.With a career that’s taken in seven years at sea…
Oil Product Tanker S&P Activity Down 45% -BIMCO
Oil product tankers earnings have skyrocketed in the first half of 2020, while the sale and purchase (S&P) activity of the oil product tanker market has slowed to the lowest level since 2016. Data from VesselsValue highlight that in the first five months of 2020, only 2.8 million deadweight tons (DWT) of oil product tankers have shifted hands in the second-hand market, a 45% drop compared to the same…
Østensjø Newbuilds to be Equipped with Electric Voith Schneider Propellers
Voith reports it will deliver eight electric Voith Schneider Propellers (eVSP) to the Norwegian shipping company Østensjø, for four offshore wind service operation vessels (SOV) that are being built at the Astilleros Gondán shipyard in Spain for delivery from 2022.Østensjø Group's offshore wind business Edda Wind has signed long term time charter deals with MHI Vestas and Ocean Breeze Energy respectively…
Damen Delivers Trawler Jonge Johannes
Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam has recently delivered a twin-rig fly shooting trawler to Urk-based brothers Rense and Johannes de Boer. The new vessel is the LT 295 Jonge Johannes.Damen said it worked with Vripack on the design of the LT 295. The aim has been to create a vessel that can operate with a gross tonnage of less than 400 tonnes and one that trims as naturally as possible with a full hold.The brothers considered a number of shipyards outside the Netherlands…
Brazil on a Grain Exporting Spree
Brazil is expected to export 11.9 million tonnes of soybeans in June, a 37% rise from the same month last year, as Chinese demand remains strong and ports operate normally amid the COVID-19 pandemic, industry group Anec said on Tuesday.Exports of corn from Brazil are seen at 774,850 tonnes in the month based on shipping data, Anec said in a report.Anec also raised its annual export projection for 2020 to 78 million tonnes of soybeans, up from a prediction of 73 million tonnes in April.Brazil’s J
SOI: Amidst Pandemic, Seafloor Mapping Zooms Ahead
Scientists working remotely with Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) have completed a first look at deep waters in the Coral Sea, despite the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. As one of the only at-sea science expeditions to continue operations, the team has discovered the deepest living hard corals in Eastern Australian waters, sighted fish in new regions and identified up to 10 new marine species.SOI’s R/V Falkor spent the 46 days in the Coral Sea Marine Park…
Oil Barrels Come Off the Water as Storage Boom at Sea Fades
Tens of millions of barrels of crude and oil products stored on tankers at sea due to the coronavirus crisis are being sold, in a sign fuel demand is recovering as lockdowns ease, shipping sources say.Fuel demand tumbled as much 30% from March to May, with some surplus stored at sea as land storage filled up.Crude held on tankers fell below 150 million barrels by the end of June, down from more than 180 million barrels in late April…
High Speed Transfers Orders Hybrid Crew Transfer Vessel
High Speed Transfers, a UK-based offshore Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) provider, is expanding its fleet with a new hybrid CTV.The company has awarded a contract to Diverse Marine & Chartwell Marine Ltd to deliver the new hybrid Chartwell 24, “HST Ella”. The Crew Transfer vessel will be built locally on the Isle of Wight by the team at Diverse Marine.Chartwell Marine, the company providing the design…
