Biden Will Sign Bill Allowing Cruise Ships to Return to Alaska
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden will sign the Alaska tourism bill on Monday, allowing cruise ships to return to the state this year."This law will allow large cruise ships to visit Alaska this year, a critical step toward returning to normal in a state where one in 10 jobs is in the tourism industry," Psaki said.
Norwegian to Resume US Cruise Sailings in August
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd said on Monday it would return to sailing in the United States from August 7, more than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the industry to a virtual standstill.The restart of cruising in the United States is contingent on obtaining a conditional sailing certificate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the company said, adding it expected approval in the coming days.Norwegian Cruise had earlier planned to restart U.S.
Indonesia Finds New COVID-19 Cluster After Bulk Carrier Infections
Indonesia reported a new cluster of 42 coronavirus infections among medical workers who treated 13 Filipino ship crew who were sick with COVID-19, and is tracing dozens of others…
Sanmar to Build Five Tugs for LNG Canada Project
Turkish shipbuilder Sanmar Shipyards announced it has inked a deal with HaiSea Marine for the build and delivery of three liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled escort tugs and two battery-electric harbor tugs which will provide ship-assist and escort towing services to LNG carriers calling at LNG Canada’s new export facility in Kitimat, B.C., on Canada's west coast.Following an initial tender process which began in 2018…
Eastern Lays Keel for Second Offshore Patrol Cutter
Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) on Monday held a keel authentication ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard’s future Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC), USCGC Chase (WMSM-916), at its Nelson Street facility in Panama City, Fla.The 360-foot vessel is the second of the Heritage-class OPC being built by Eastern to replace the Coast Guard's 210-foot and 270-foot Medium Endurance Cutters. The series' first vessel…
Lim Family's Global Assets on Radar After Singapore Court Move
A Singapore court has approved a freeze on up to $3.5 billion of assets of the family behind collapsed Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd, boosting the prospect of debt recovery from the former oil trading empire that counts some of the world's biggest banks among its creditors.Hin Leong was wound up in March after failing in a year-long effort to restructure more than $3 billion in debts after the COVID-19-led oil crash laid bare huge losses.
NASSCO Begins Building US Navy's Fourth T-AO Oiler
On May 21, shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO started construction of the future USNS Robert F. Kennedy (T-AO 208), the fourth of six vessels for the U.S. Navy’s John Lewis-class fleet oiler program.Designed to transfer fuel to U.S. Navy carrier strike group ships operating at sea, the 742-feet vessels have a full load displacement of 49,850 tons, with the capacity to carry 157,000 barrels of oil…
JRC/Alphatron Marine Unveils New Autopilot System
JRC/Alphatron Marine announced the launch of a new autopilot system engineered to make vessels safer and more efficient.The adaptable AlphaPilot MFS-VR uses speed and draft information and it is suitable for multiple vessel types, including workboats, fast crew tender vessels, fishing boats, tugs, pleasure craft and more. As a successor to the AlphaSeaPilot MFC and MFA system, this new pilot can be used to retrofit and previous models or any other autopilot.The new MFS-VR is a speed adaptive…
China Lands Uppercut on Iron Ore Prices, But No Knockout Blow
It's round one to China in its efforts to cool the red-hot iron ore and steel sectors, but victory in future rounds largely depends on making increasingly harder choices, and hoping factors beyond its control work in Beijing's favor.The catalyst for the chill was reports that China's government will strengthen what it termed the management of commodity supply and demand to curb "unreasonable" increases…
C&C Delivers New Towboat to Maritime Partners
Belle Chasse, La. shipyard C&C Marine and Repair, LLC said it has delivered Ned Brooks, the fourth in series of 15 towboats for Metairie, La.-based Maritime Partners, LLC.The 2,600-horsepowered, 84- by 34-foot towboat was designed by Entech Design, LLC, based in Kenner, La., with the 3D modeling and production drawings done by C&C Marine and Repair’s in-house engineering department. The design includes two Cummins QSK38-M1 main engines…
Baltic Dry Index Ticks Up
The Baltic exchange's main sea freight index rose on Monday, buoyed by an uptick in capesize vessel rates.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, rose 12 points, or 0.4%, to 2,881.The capesize index rose 28 points, or 0.7%, to 3,958.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes of coal and steel-making ingredient iron ore…
Court Allows Suez Canal to Keep Holding Ever Given
An Egyptian court on Sunday rejected a complaint by the Japanese owner of a container ship that blocked traffic in the Suez Canal for six days in March against the vessel's continued detention by canal authorities, a lawyer said.The Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, became jammed across the canal in high winds on March 23, halting traffic in both directions and disrupting global trade.The complaint was attached to a case at the economic court in Ismailia in which the Suez C
Shipowner Blames Suez Canal for Ever Given Grounding
The owner of a container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March says the canal authority was at fault over its grounding as it disputes the vessel's detention and a compensation claim, a lawyer representing the owner said on Saturday.The Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, became jammed across the canal in high winds on March 23, and remained grounded for six days, blocking traffic in both directions and disrupting global trade.The vessel has since been held in a lake betw
Sea Change: Global Freight Sails Out of the Digital Dark Ages
If suppliers in China fail to pick up freight containers to fill an order for MediaShop, Marcel Schneider gets an alert via a digital freight system, allowing the retailer to reach out and fix the problem swiftly.Before July 2020, Austria-based MediaShop’s deputy supply chain director says he would discover problems in his supply chain only when containers failed to arrive in Hamburg as scheduled.“It was like being in a tunnel where you had only a limited view of what was going on…
Nord Stream 2 Project: Russian Vessel Fortuna Starts Laying Pipes
Russian vessel Fortuna has started laying pipes for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in German waters, the gas project said on Sunday, citing Germany's Waterway and Shipping Authority.Nord Stream 2…
India: East Coast Ports Restrict Activities Ahead of Cyclone
Ports on India's eastern coast on Sunday restricted shipping activities and asked vessels to vacate anchorages ahead of a cyclonic storm expected to make landfall on Wednesday, port authorities and trade sources said.The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that a "very severe cyclonic storm" would impact Indian states including Odisha and West Bengal, where key ports are located.Some regions are likely to receive heavy rainfall and wind speeds could reach 110 miles per hour…
Keppel Offshore & Marine Gets DNV AiP for AssetCare System
Keppel Offshore & Marine has received an Approval in Principle (AiP) from classification society DNV for its AssetCare system, a suite of digital services to support the lifecycle needs of offshore and marine assets.The two companies have been collaborating to develop digital transformation projects, aiming to improve the overall efficiency of the design and construction process, and of the asset lifecycle…
