Ever Given Grounding Spurs Suez Canal Expansion Plans
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) plans to expand and deepen the southern stretch of the waterway where a containership became jammed and blocked traffic for six days in March, Chairman Osama Rabie said in a televised address on Tuesday.Rabie presented the plan at an event attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who indicated that the project should be completed in 24 months at most.The SCA…
New Suezmax Tanker Delivered to TOP Ships
Tanker owner TOP Ships announced on Tuesday that it has taken delivery of a scrubber-fitted 157,000 dwt newbuild Suezmax vessel, Eco Malibu, built at the Hyundai…
US Greenlights Its First Major Offshore Wind Farm
The Biden administration on Tuesday said it has approved the nation's first major offshore wind farm, billing it as the launch of a new domestic energy industry that will help eliminate emissions from the power sector.The move, however, was quickly condemned by fishing industry interests who said their concerns about the project's impact on things like fish stocks and vessel traffic had been "met with…
OpEd: Navy Infrastructure Needs a Boost from Congress
America is home to some of the finest shipbuilders in the world. This industry is becoming increasingly vital to our national security as we seek to build a larger Navy capable of confronting China. Unfortunately, our shipyards are aging and are too small to expand our fleet at the pace that is needed. As lawmakers consider what to include in an upcoming infrastructure bill, I am leading a bipartisan effort to provide a significant boost to infrastructure at our nation’s shipyards.My proposal…
Hurtigruten Says Fleet Upgrades will Slash Emissions by 25%
Hurtigruten Group said green upgrades for its entire fleet of Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Express ships—including batteries, shore power and biofuel—will reduce CO2 emissions by least 25% and NOx emissions by 80% as the Norwegian passenger vessel operator continues its journey toward totally emissions-free vessel operations.Already fitted with shore-power connectivity to fully eliminate emissions when connected in port…
OHT Gets $135M Loan for 'Alfa Lift'
Oslo-listed offshore heavy transport and wind installation company OHT has received and accepted a firm offer for a USD 135 million Senior Secured Green ECA Credit Facility.The loan was accepted by OHT's ship owing company OHT Alfa Lift AS, which is building the offshore wind foundation installation vessel Alfa Lift in China. OHT ordered the Alfa Lift on speculation in 2018, and has since secured contracts…
FUTURE FUELS: Could Hydrogen be the Answer to Shipping’s Decarbonization Goals?
Climate change and reliable, clean, low emission fuels are the important factors for ship operators since January 1, 2020. Twelve months into the IMO2020 transition and the climate change debate is increasing as the primary discussion point on the world agenda – from industry events to the board rooms of the global corporations. Relative to this is the reliable supply of fuel since changing marine…
BIMCO: Ship Demolition Prices Spike, Tankers Lead the Way
In the first four months of 2021, the amount of oil product tanker capacity that has been sent for demolition has already reached the total amount of demolished capacity in each of 2019 and 2020 due to unfavourable freight rates. If that pace continues for the rest of the year, an 11-year record is set to be broken.This according to a report out today from BIMCO, which shows that so far this year,…
U.S. Refiners Book Tankers to Store Oil Products as Cyber Attack Cripples Colonial Pipeline
U.S. refiners booked at least four tankers to store refined oil products off the Gulf Coast following a cyber attacks that crippled the biggest U.S. pipeline, shipping data showed on Tuesday.The attack on the Colonial pipeline network, which supplies half of the fuel consumed along the East Coast, has forced Gulf Coast refineries to scale back operations due to lack of storage space.The tankers, booked by Marathon Petroleum…
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Confirms $764,5M FPSO Hull Order
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering has through its subsidiary Hyundai Heavy Industries secured a ~$764,5 million order for the construction of an FPSO Hull.In a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, KSOE said it had secured a KRW 854,7 billion. It said its contract partner was Singapore's Keppel Shipyard and that the delivery was for the South American market.KSOE said the contract date was May 10, 2021.
Enauta Charters Solstad AHTS for Atlanta Field Support
Brazilian oil company Enauta has chartered an anchor handling tug and supply vessel from Norway's Solstad Offshore.Solstad Offshore said Tuesday it had struck a…
No Jones Act Waiver Requests in Wake of Pipeline Shutdown, US Says
The U.S. government has not received any requests to waive the Jones Act in response to the shutdown since Friday of the Colonial Pipeline due to a ransomware attack, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said on Monday.Washington has only rarely waived the Jones Act to help relieve fuel supply constraints. The Jones Act requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by ships built domestically and staffed by U.S.
Mercy Ships' New Hospital Ship Completes Sea Trials
Mercy Ships announced that its newly built hospital ship Global Mercy has completed sea trials leading up to delivery, equipping, maiden voyage and launch into service to sub-Saharan Africa in 2022.The first-of-its-kind 174-meter vessel, designed by Finnish naval architect Deltamarin and built at the Tianjin Xingang Shipyard in China, is the world’s largest purpose-built civilian hospital ship. It has a beam of 28.6 meters…
US Coast Guard Fires Warning Shots in Swarm of Iranian Vessels
A U.S. Coast Guard ship fired about 30 warning shots after 13 vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came close to it and other American Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon said on Monday.This is the second time within the last month that U.S. military vessels have had to fire warning shots because of what they said was unsafe behavior by Iranian vessels in the region…
US Navy Seizes Weapons Shipment from Dhow in the Arabian Sea
The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet said its guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) seized an illicit shipment of weapons from a stateless dhow in international waters of the North Arabian Sea on May 6-7.USS Monterey and its embarked U.S. Coast Guard Advanced Interdiction Team (AIT) discovered the illicit cargo during a routine flag verification boarding. The vessel was apparently sailing from Iran bound…
Ever Given Insurer Says Egypt's Reduced Claim is Still Too High
UK Club, an insurer of the container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March, said on Monday a reduced compensation claim made by the Egyptian authorities for almost $600 million to free the vessel and cover related losses was still "exceptionally large".The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) adjusted its claim from an initial $916 million in an effort to settle out of court, SCA head Osama Rabie told private TV network MBC Masr on Saturday.The Ever Given…
New Legislation Seeks Timely Updates for Crew Families During Maritime Emergencies
New legislation introduced in the wake of the fatal Seacor Power tragedy would require commercial vessel owners to provide timely notifications to crew members’ families throughout search and rescue operations.The Vessel Response Plan Improvement Act was introduced by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) after the 234-foot lift boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico with 19 crewmembers on board last month. Six crew members were saved…
Air Lubrication System Gets AIP from Bureau Veritas
Bureau Veritas (BV) said it has been working with GILLS PTE LTD in Singapore to assess the performance of its air lubrication system designed to improve ship efficiency and decrease fuel burn by reducing the drag of an underwater hull. GILLS, which stands for gas injected liquid lubrication systems, deploys NACA profiles to create self-generating micro-bubbles for ‘turbulent modulation’ which has a ‘hull-tightening’ effect, reducing drag and energy requirements.
Ship Recycling: India Situtation Worsens, Prices Continue to Rise
Despite the escalating COVID-19 crisis unfolding across the sub-continent, ship recycling markets have remained remain firm.India has been hardest hit by this second wave of COVID-19, and the country is now recording over 400,000 new daily cases and more than 4,000 deaths. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey are also recording increasing cases. Bangladesh has extended its nationwide lockdown for another week…
Superior Unveils Mobile Ship Loading Conveyor
Superior Industries, a U.S.-based manufacturer and global supplier of bulk material processing and handling systems, recently developed a new model TeleStacker Conveyor for loading dry bulk cargo ships. This multipurpose, highly mobile conveyor incorporates truck unloading and ship loading capabilities into a single machine.“Since expanding our TeleStacker Conveyor to marine-based applications in the early 2000s…