Floating Production Systems Market Bounces Back on Recovering Oil Prices
Orders for production floaters have bounced back over the past month driven by rising crude prices, according to Jim McCaul, head of offshore business intelligence firm World Energy Reports.McCaul bases his assessment on data in a new floating production systems report prepared by World Energy Reports. The report provides details for 206 floater projects in the planning stage, 44 production or storage floaters now on order…
Nord Stream 2 Warns of Security Risks to Pipeline from Warships, Low-flying Planes
The consortium behind the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline warned on Thursday about security risks to the project from warships and planes, as the link is nearing completion.The pipeline, aimed at bypassing Ukraine and doubling the capacity of the current Nord Stream undersea gas link from Russia to Germany, has been the focus of tensions between Moscow and Washington, which imposed sanctions against the project.Andrey Minin…
OPEC+ to Ease Output Cuts from May
OPEC+ agreed on Thursday to gradually ease its oil output cuts from May, after the new U.S. administration called on Saudi Arabia to keep energy affordable for consumers.The group, which has implemented deep cuts since a pandemic-induced oil price collapse in 2020, agreed to ease production curbs by 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, another 350,000 bpd in June and further 400,000 bpd or so in July.Iran's oil minister…
NTSB Finds Complacency, Lack of Procedural Compliance in Recent Marine Accidents
A lack of procedural compliance and complacency were key factors in several marine accident investigations concluded so far in 2021, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).The agency said it determined the probable cause of the flooding of the towing vessel Alton St. Amant on May 17, 2020, in Harvey Canal, New Orleans, Louisiana, was the absence of shipyard pre-inspection and monitoring procedures for water transfer…
MSC Reaffirms Commitment to Avoid Arctic Shipping Routes
Container shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company doubled down on its position to avoid sending its vessels through the Northern Sea Route and urged others to follow suit, citing environmental concerns.“As a responsible company, this was an obvious decision for us,” said MSC CEO, Soren Toft. “MSC will not seek to cut through the melting ice of the Arctic to find a new route for commercial shipping…
Ready Your Salad Fork for Biden’s Offshore Energy Plans
In Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare coined the phrase “salad days” to mean a youthful time filled with unbridled enthusiasm and idealism. Indeed, youth, much like salad, is often raw, flavorful and most of all… green. Therefore, it is fitting to think of our present time as the salad days of offshore energy in the United States. Let’s dig in.Executive Order appetizersOn January 27, President Biden…
Jones Capital Acquires Rockport Terminals
Jones Capital said it has acquired Rockport Terminals, one of the largest private intermodal terminals on the Texas Gulf Coast.Rockport Terminals is located within 28 miles of the fast growing Port of Corpus Christi, but outside of the Port's tariff zone. With more than 250 acres of industrial land, Rockport Terminals boasts access to the Intracoastal Waterway, nearby railways and many major highways.
Vineyard Wind Taps DEME to Install Wind Turbines off US East Coast
U.S. offshore wind developer Vineyard Wind has contracted Belgium-based DEME for the offshore transport and installation of the wind turbine generators for the first largescale offshore wind installation in the United States.DEME's U.S. arm DEME Offshore US LLC will team up with American maritime services contractor FOSS Maritime Company LLC to help construct the Vineyard Wind 1 project off the coast of Massachusetts.
Cocaine Seized From Bulker Anchored Near Annapolis
More than 44 pounds of cocaine was seized from a Marshall Islands-flagged bull carrier anchored in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Md., on Wednesday.The drugs were discovered during an early morning examination by officers and agents from the DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Coast Guard, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police aboard the 958-foot Samjohn Solidarity.
Marubeni/Klaveness Pool Allowing Shipowners to Switch Between Floating and Fixed Rates
Marubeni and Torvald Klaveness' joint venture panamax bulker pool is offering pool partners the option to convert freely between floating and fixed rate, at any given time, in line with forward market levels.The companies, which announced the merging of their panamax pool activities through the MaruKlav joint venture in June 2020, said the newly expanded "MaruKlav 2.0" structure allows owners to utilize market peaks to lock-in fixed earnings at preset target levels.Michael Joergensen…
Horizon Maritime Signs On to Support Titanic Dive
Canadian offshore services company Horizon Maritime has signed on to support a dive mission to explore the wreck of the Titanic.OceanGate Expeditions, the crewed submersible exploration company leading the mission, selected the multipurpose offshore support vessel (OSV) Horizon Arctic to serve as the surface support vessel for the expedition scheduled to take place later this year.The RMS Titanic shipwreck lies approximately 2…
Suez Blockage May Lead to Large Reinsurance Claims, Broker Says
The blockage of the Suez Canal is likely to lead to large reinsurance claims, adding to upward pressure on marine reinsurance rates, James Vickers, chair of reinsurance broker Willis Re International, told Reuters.Formal investigations began this week into how the giant container ship Ever Given ran aground in the canal, shutting down shipping in the major global waterway for almost a week.The incident…
Suez Canal Says 87 Ships to Pass Through on Thursday
The Suez Canal Authority said 87 ships were expected to pass through the waterway in both directions on Thursday, as it tries to clear a backlog since re-opening on Monday.A total of 194 ships have already passed through between Monday night, when a giant container ship blocking the crucial international trade route was re-floated, and Wednesday, the Suez Canal Authority said.The six-day blockage caused by the 400-meter-long Ever Given had caused a back-up of more than 400 vessels, which authori
Austal USA Launches USS Canberra
Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA launched the future USS Canberra (LCS 30) into the Mobile River on March 30.USS Canberra is one of 19 Independence-variant littoral combat ships (LCS) that the U.S. Navy has contracted Austal to build. Twelve have been delivered to date.The 418-foot vessel is the first Navy ship that Austal has launched in 2021, and it is the first to launch from Austal's recently…
Minerva Gas Inks Maintenance Deal with Wärtsilä
The technology group Wärtsilä said it has signed long-term maintenance agreements covering five liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers owned and operated by Greece-based Minerva Gas Inc.Included in the scope of the agreements is Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight, a service that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced diagnostics to monitor equipment and systems in real-time, spot anomalies, foresee potential problems…
New Guidance Published on Marine Transport of Ores and Concentrates
Updated guidance from the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) outlines the techniques required for accurate hazard assessment of ores and concentratesAiming to help minimize the risk of accidents in maritime transportation, the Hazard Assessment of Ores and Concentrates for Marine Transport: Guidance 2021 brings the previous guidance issued in 2014 in line with recent regulatory updates…
Suez Canal Must Upgrade Quickly to Avoid Future Shipping Disruption
Egypt's Suez Canal must move quickly to upgrade its technical infrastructure if it is to avoid future shipping disruption, shipping industry sources said, as the major trade route tries to bounce back from a costly six-day closure.International supply chains were thrown into disarray on March 23 when the 400-meter-long (430-yard) container ship Ever Given ran aground in the canal, with specialist rescue…
Mozambique: Ferry Carrying Survivors from Deadly Militant Attack on Gas Town Arrives in Pemba
A boat carrying more than 1,000 survivors of a highly organized, deadly attack by Islamic State-linked insurgents in northern Mozambique arrived in the port of Pemba on Thursday, a Reuters reporter and a diplomatic source said.Aid workers were at the crowded port to give food to those disembarking from the green and white ferry, while police and soldiers kept control of crowds of people excited to see their relatives rescued after the attack that began last week in Palma…
The Value of Friends in “High-Latitude” Places
Who do you call when you need a job done on short notice, in total darkness, under 100-percent ice cover, thousands of meters at the bottom of the sea? In the case of the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR), you call your friends in Norway.That is exactly what the Chief of Naval Research Rear Admiral Lorin C. Selby did when he enlisted the help of the Norwegian Coast Guard icebreaker and offshore patrol vessel, the CGV Svalbard, to retrieve oceanographic moorings containing irreplaceable data.
Italy Approves Decree to Keep Ships Out of Venice Lagoon
Italy’s government has ruled that large cruise ships and container vessels must not pass close to Venice’s historic center and should instead dock in a different location to preserve the famed lagoon.A decree approved late on Wednesday called for public consultations on building a terminal outside the lagoon where passenger vessels over 40,000 tons and container ships can berth without passing in front of Saint Mark’s square.In the meantime…
