US Offshore Evacuations Begin as Record-breaking Storm Threatens
Energy companies on Monday began evacuating offshore oil platforms as the 25th named storm of the year formed in the Caribbean and was forecast to become a major hurricane before it entered the Gulf of Mexico and threatens the U.S. mainland.Tropical Storm Delta was expected to rapidly strengthen and become a Category 3 hurricane with up to 120 mile per hour (194 kilometers per hour) winds. It was about 160 miles south southwest of Negril…
DOD Taps Sea Machines for Autonomous Replenishment Vessels
Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics, a developer of autonomous command and control systems for surface vessels, said it has been awarded a multi-year Other Transaction (OT) agreement by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to initiate a prototype that will enable commercial ocean-service barges as autonomous Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) units for an Amphibious Maritime Projection Platform (AMPP).Under this OT agreement…
Chouest to Build Damen-designed Tug Pair
Damen Shipyards Group has been awarded a contract to design a new offshore terminal tug for Edison Chouest Offshore. Chouest will initially build two ASD Tugs 5016 at its Gulf Ship yard in Gulfport, Miss., for completion by May 2022.Damen said it has designed the 50-meter ASD Tug 5016 to provide escort, hold-back, hose-handling and maintenance duties offshore Guyana. The tug will deliver 120 tons of static bollard pull delivered by twin C-280 engines.
GTT to Design Tanks for Four New VLECs
GTT said on Monday it has received two new orders for the tank design of four VLECs on behalf of a ship-owner whose name remains confidential at this stage.Korean…
AST Tapped to Track 400 Welsh Fishing Vessels
Applied Satellite Technology (AST) Marine Sciences said it has been awarded a three-year contract with the Welsh government to supply an advanced inshore vessel monitoring solution (iVMS) for the Welsh inshore fleet of 400 under-12-meter fishing vessels.The Welsh government are proactively future proofing their fleet in preparation for the upcoming legislation that will soon require all inshore fleets and fishers to have this technology on board.AST’s Group Managing Director…
High Pressure Water Blasters for Shipyards: Aussie Safe Operator Free Training
Australian Pump, an Australian designer and manufacturer of high-pressure cleaning equipment, was chosen to design and build 4,000 psi high pressure water blasters for Sydney’s Garden Island Dockyard. The machines, called the Aussie Atlas, feature an all stainless steel construction and produce a 4,000 psi 16 liter per minute performance. Designed for working on a wide range of vessels in the dry dock…
Cracked Containership Departs Bayonne for Repair After Oil Spill
A containership that was leaking fuel oil through a crack in its hull has left its mooring in Bayonne, N.J. to undergo repairs at different a facility within the Port of New York/New Jersey, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Liberian-flagged YM Mandate had stopped leaking last week after the spill was reported from the 300 meter long, 6,572 TEU capacity vessel on Tuesday.The Coast Guard said box ship departed…
Halter Marine Partners with Local College to Launch Apprenticeship Program
Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine is creating jobs, and through its partnership with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC), training the apprentices to fill them. The recently launched apprenticeship program is designed in three components: on-the-job training, classroom training and a progressive wage increase as participants reach set milestones. It offers training in the craft labor fields of welding, ship fitting, pipe fitting, pipe welding and electrical.
Inmarsat Supporting Impala Push Boats on the Paraná
Inmarsat has equipped four Paraná River push boats operated by Impala Paraguay with Fleet Xpress connectivity, in what the mobile satellite communications company is calling a breakthrough for maritime broadband inland along one of South America’s longest waterways.The prime mover vessels are used by Impala Paraguay to steer its fleet of 30 double-hulled barges along the waterway system to move gas oil…
Turkish Drillship Returns to Turkey After Operating Off Cyprus
The Turkish drillship Yavuz has left the area where it was operating southwest of Cyprus and reached the Turkish coast, Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed on Monday…
Third Iranian Tanker Docks at Venezuelan Port
The final tanker in a flotilla of three Iranian fuel tankers docked at eastern Venezuela's Guaraguao port on Sunday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and a person familiar with the matter…
Protesters Block Port Sudan Container Terminal
Protesters blocked Port Sudan's container terminal and a road between the eastern city and the capital Khartoum on Sunday to protest against a peace deal signed by the government and groups from across the country, a union official and residents said.The deal, ratified on Saturday in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, was focused on resolving conflicts in the western Darfur region and southern states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan.Groups from other regions also signed, but some in the east say t
OSV Helps Put Out Boat Fire in Texas
An offshore supply vessel assisted the U.S. Coast Guard in responding to a boat fire Saturday near the Houston Ship Channel entrance in Galveston, Texas.Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston command center watchstanders were notified at 8:37 a.m. by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Daniel Tarr stating they were responding to a blaze aboard a 25-foot pleasure craft with three people aboard.The Daniel Tarr crew arrived on scene and began extinguishing the fire alongside the Erin T…
RINA Deems Vroon Anchor Handler to be a 'Biosafe Ship'
VOS Champagne, a 2015-built DP2 anchor-handling tug supply vessel managed by Vroon Offshore Services (VOS) Genoa, is the first commercial vessel to be classified with RINA's new ‘Biosafe Ship’ class-notation.The Biosafe Ship notation is a new goal-based notation, based on many different systems, components and operative procedures to control and prevent possible onboard infection outbreak.In response to the COVID-19 pandemic…
Nigeria to Bar Unlicensed Vessels from Operating in Its Waters
Nigeria plans to bar vessels without a valid license to operate in Nigerian waters and has given shipping companies that trade in its coastal and inland waters three months to register, the maritime regulator said on Sunday.The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said it will notify international oil companies to bar vessels without valid certificates after the three months expire.Most of the vessels that use Nigerian waters are owned by foreign companies.
Museum Acquires 80-year-old Bottle of Whisky from 'Whisky Galore!' Shipwreck
The Scottish Maritime Museum has successfully bid for an 80-year-old bottle of whisky salvaged from one of Scotland’s most famous shipwrecks and the inspiration for the Ealing Studio comedy Whisky Galore!The unlabelled bottle of blended whisky from the 1923 SS Politician, which ran aground off the Isle of Eriskay in 1941, was acquired by the Scottish Maritime Museum with the support of the National…
Pangaea Logistics Expands Use of Voyage Optimization System
Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd., a bulk carrier and ice class vessel owner/operator headquartered in Newport, R.I., expanded its partnership with Nautilus Labs to include a large part of Pangaea’s fleet of bulk carriers.Pangaea and Nautilus began their initial collaboration in October 2018 and have since committed to expanding it to 12 vessels in Pangaea’s fleet, as Pangaea seeks a solution that allows reliable capture of high frequency vessel data…
Baltic Index Rises to Over One-year High
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose to over one-year high on Friday as rates for capesize vessels surged on higher iron-ore demand.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was up 151 points, or 8.1%, at 2,020 points, rising to its highest level since Sept.
Grounded Bulker Refloated Near Norfolk
A 738-foot bulk carrier that ran aground near Sewell’s Point in Norfolk, Va. was refloated during high tide on Friday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard said.It took seven tugs to refloat the Panamanian flagged Hong Dai, which grounded late Wednesday night with 22 crewmembers aboard. The ship was said to be carrying a cargo of coal, as well as 188,000 gallons of low sulfur fuel oil, diesel and lube oil, collectively.
Cruise Shipbreaking Booms in Turkey
Business is booming at a sea dock in western Turkey, where five hulking cruise ships are being dismantled for scrap metal sales after the COVID-19 pandemic all but destroyed the industry, the head of a ship recyclers’ group said on Friday.Cruise ships were home to the some of the earliest clusters of COVID-19 as the pandemic spread globally early this year.In March, U.S. authorities issued a no-sail order for all cruise ships that remains in place.On Friday…