Choose Wisely: A Deep Dive into Domestic Passenger Vessels SMS Proposed Rulemaking
On January 15, 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for Safety Management System (SMS) requirements in the domestic passenger vessel industry (Docket No. USCG-2020-0123). This requirement will have the largest implications on the domestic passenger vessel industry since the revisions of 46 CFR Subchapter T & K in the mid-90s. However, the question remains…
Australia Reviewing Lease of Darwin Port to Chinese Firm
Australia is reviewing the 99-year lease of a commercial and military port in the country's north to a Chinese firm, a government source said on Monday, a move that could further inflame tensions between Beijing and Canberra.Australia overhauled its foreign investment laws late last year, giving the government the retrospective power to impose new conditions or even force a divestment on deals that have already been approved.Defense officials are looking into whether the Landbridge Group…
Canadian Government Ends Montreal Port Strike
Striking dockworkers at Canada's second-biggest port will gradually return to work on Saturday, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) said, after the federal government passed a law to end the walkout.Late on Friday, the Canadian government passed back-to-work legislation to halt the strike, which workers at the Port of Montreal began on Monday over changes to their work schedules."Our priority now is to plan for the resumption of port operations and to ensure efficient and seamless service…
Keel Laid for Jan De Nul's Les Alizés Offshore Installation Vessel
China's CMHI Haimen shipyard last Thursday hosted the keel laying ceremony for Jan De Nul's heavy lift crane vessel Les Alizés.Les Alizés, ordered in November 2019, will mainly be used for the construction of offshore wind farms, but will also be suitable for decommissioning offshore oil and gas platforms.Together with the Voltaire, for which the keel was laid March, Les Alizés will be in a super-size class of its own, capable of building the newest generation of offshore wind farms.
Suspected Migrant-smuggling Boat Breaks Apart off San Diego; Four Dead
Four people were killed and more than two dozen injured on Sunday when a boat suspected of attempting to smuggle migrants into California broke apart off Cabrillo National Monument at San Diego's rugged Point Loma, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The initial call arrived just before 10 a.m. (1700 GMT) and prompted a large emergency response, including the U.S. Coast Guard and state and local agencies, as…
Icebreaking Bulk Carrier Delivered to Fednav
Canadian dry bulk shipping company Fednav announced it has taken delivery of its latest Polar Class 4 icebreaking bulk carrier, Arvik I.Ordered through Sumitomo Corporation and built by Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) shipyards in Japan, the 31,000-DWT mine resupply vessel is a sister ship to Fednav’s two other Polar Class 4 icebreaking bulk carriers, Nunavik, delivered in 2014, and the Canadian-flagged Umiak I delivered in 2006…
Subsea Discovery: SOI Releases Images from Study of NW Australian Deep Corals
Scientists circumnavigate and map the seafloor of the entire mesophotic (deep water) zone in Ashmore Reef Marine Park.Scientists discovered a sea snake thought to be locally extinct and saw several species such as the great spotted cowrie (Perissersoa guttata) for the first time in the Ashmore Reef Marine Park, off Australia, during Schmidt Ocean Institute's 18-day expedition that concluded this week.A team of scientists, led by Dr.
Castor Maritime Buys Five Tankers
Cyprus-based shipping company Castor Maritime said it has reached a deal to acquire five tankers from an unaffiliated third-party for an aggregate purchase price of $49.25 million.The vessels…
Filipino Diplomat Tells China to 'Get the F*** Out' of Disputed Waters
The Philippine foreign minister on Monday demanded in an expletive-laced message on Twitter that China’s vessels get out of disputed waters, marking the latest exchange in a war of words with Beijing over its activities in the South China Sea.The comments by Teodoro Locsin, known for making blunt remarks at times, follow Manila's protests for what it calls the "illegal" presence of hundreds of Chinese boats inside the Philippines 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)."China…
Australia Bans Bulk Carrier Over 'Appalling' Conditions
A Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier has been banned from Australian ports over "appalling" working and living conditions on board, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.The 235-meter Movers 3, operated by Qatari-based Aswan Shipping, was detained at anchor off Weipa in far north Queensland on March 4, 2021 due to several mechanical and survey issues, and for the poor conditions on board.
Wärtsilä Unveils Solution for Chinese Marine Engine Emissions Standard
Wärtsilä will introduce a combined engine plus selective catalytic reduction (SCR) packaged product aimed at complying with China’s Stage II marine engine emission standard that enters into force in July 2021. The standard will apply to inland waterway, coastal, river-sea, channel and fishing vessels operating in most rivers and around the country’s major harbor areas.Expected to be launched to the market in the third quarter of 2021…
Ship Recycling Stymied by COVID Spread Through India
All eyes remain on the situation that is currently unfolding in India as each day brings with it record, numbers of Covid-19 cases & deaths as many hospitals across the country are running desperately low on oxygen supplies and vacant hospital beds.More than 400,000 cases are being registered every day now with well over 3,000 deaths being recorded on a daily basis – the highest of any country at any point of the pandemic.Understandably…
LNG Tankers Diverted from India Ports as Surging COVID-19 Cases Hit Demand
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes are being diverted away from ports in India as surging coronavirus cases there hamper domestic gas demand, trade and shipping sources said on Monday.Six LNG tankers diverted away from India since April 20, changing the destination to northeast Asia, Europe and Kuwait instead, said Rebecca Chia, an analyst with data intelligence firm Kpler.Further diversions and reduction in shipments to India are expected this week…
Marlink Wraps ITC Global Buy
Maritime connectivity and IT solutions provider Marlink Group has completed the acquisition of ITC Global from Panasonic."The acquisition, backed by Apax Partners sas, marks another milestone in the company’s M&A strategy. Within the Marlink Group, ITC Global will focus on Energy and high-end customers who need specific and complex managed network solutions. ITC Global is also further extending the Group’s global footprint with its strong presence in the US…
VIDEO: U.S. Coast Guard Medevacs Fishing Vessel Crewmember off Cameron, Louisiana
The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a 60-year-old man from a fishing vessel 46 miles offshore Cameron, Louisiana, Sunday morning.Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston command center watchstanders received a medevac request by radio from the fishing vessel Jennifer and David stating a crewmember had been severely injured.Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and consulted with the duty flight surgeon who recommended the medevac…
Total Extends Havila PSV Charters in Denmark
Norwegian offshore vessel operator Havila Shipping has won contract extensions for two of its platform supply vessels with Total in Denmark.Havila said Monday that Total DK…
Total, CMA CGM in France's First Ship-to-containership LNG Bunkering Operation
French energy group Total said Monday it had realized the first ship-to-containership Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunkering operation in France. The world’s largest LNG bunker vessel in operation, Total’s Gas Agility, completed on Friday evening, April 30th, at the Port of Dunkirk the refueling of the world’s largest containership powered by LNG, the CMA CGM Jacques Saade, with around 16,400m3 of LNG.This…
Brazil: Petrobras Invites Bids for Ninth Buzios Field FPSO
Brazilian oil company Petrobras on Friday started the bidding process for the acquisition of a new FPSO for the Búzios field, in the Santos Basin pre-salt area, offshore Brazil.Called P-80, the FPSO will be the ninth unit to operate in the field, with the capacity to process 225 thousand barrels of oil and 12 million cubic meters of gas per day. Like FPSO Almirante Tamandaré, currently under construction…
Twenty Six Killed in Vessel Collision in Bangladesh
At least 26 people died and several were missing after an overcrowded speedboat collided with a sand-laden bulk carrier and sank on Bangladesh's giant Padma River on Monday, police said."Rescuers found 26 dead bodies and some still could be missing," said Miraj Hossain, a senior police official of the central Madaripur district, where the accident occurred.Five people were rescued and sent to hospital, he said.Hundreds of people die each year in ferry accidents in Bangladesh, a low-lying country
