New Vessel Shock Monitoring Systems Unveiled
Allsalt Maritime announced the launch of four new Kinetix models of shock monitoring systems, each designed to provide easily assimilated guidance for maritime professionals to operate safely within designated shock and vibration exposure limits, reducing the risk of damage to vessels or injury to occupants.High speed watercraft and their crews experience severe shock and vibration levels when operating at sea.
Sabrina Chao Named BIMCO President
Sabrina Chao has been named the 45th president of international shipping association BIMCO, taking over from Şadan Kaptanoğlu, managing director of Kaptanoglu Shipping, who has completed her two-year term.Chao has been in the shipping industry since 2001 and joined the family business Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings Limited in 2002. Chao held the position as chairman of the group from 2013 until August 2019 and from 2016…
NOAA Predicts Active Atlantic Hurricane Season
The U.S. government on Thursday forecast an above-normal 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, which is already off to an early start with a storm expected to form off Bermuda this week.The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast between three and five major hurricanes, with sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour (178 kph), will form in 2021.Between six and 10 hurricanes with winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph) are expected out of 13-20 tropical storms in 2021…
Japan's New Missile-defense Ships Come With Hefty Price Tag
Japan's new Aegis missile-defense ships are expected to cost at least 900 billion yen ($8.27 billion), more than double the cost of two planned ground-based sites that the country canceled last year, the Asahi newspaper reported.Government ministers, who have yet to provide a cost estimate for the Aegis ships, may face questions in parliament about the expense, the newspaper said, without saying where it obtained the information.A source with knowledge of the ship proposal told Reuters in Octobe
Viking Supply Ships: Sluggish 1Q, Higher Activity Expected During Summer
Viking Supply Ships, a Swedish offshore vessel operator, said on Friday that activity in the offshore support vessel market remained sluggish in the first quarter of the year due to lower investment levels in the offshore oil and gas industry, as well as seasonally low demand. The company, however, expects higher activity and somewhat higher rates and utilization during the summer season, as well as…
The Shipping Industry Embraces Battery Power
The past decade has seen tight restrictions on emissions from vessels, notably with a 2015 move to a .10% sulfur maximum in Emission Control Areas (ECA) in North America and in northern Europe. As the International Maritime Organization (IMO) now shapes shipping’s decarbonization future, shipowners are looking at transitions away from fossil fuels. Among the myriad of alternatives are lithium ion batteries and some early forays into hydrogen fuel cells.To date…
Fincantieri Marinette Marine Awarded Second Constellation-class Frigate
The Department of Defense announced Thursday that the Navy is exercising a $553.8 million option to have Fincantieri Marinette Marine build the second Constellation-class frigate.The Wisconsin shipyard is currently working with the Navy on the detailed design phase of building the first-in-class USS Constellation (FFG-62), a modern guided-missile frigate based partially on the Italian FREMM. Fabrication is planned to start at the end of this year…
Suez Canal Revenues Reach $552 Million in April
Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said on Thursday its revenues in April were $552 million compared with $476 million in the same month last year.The canal's authority said 1,814 ships transited in April, up from 1,731 ships in the same month last year.A massive container ship blocked the waterway in late March causing a huge backlog of vessels waiting for passage in what is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia.(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Chris Re
US Coast Guard Academy Graduates 240 Officers
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduated 240 new officers along with seven international students with keynote speaker President Joseph R, Biden Jr. in attendance, Wednesday.The Class of 2021 consists of 34% women and 34% from underrepresented minority groups. The class includes 22 African Americans who walked the stage, which marks the largest number of African American graduates to do so in Academy history.
Indian Rescuers Searching for 26 Still Missing from Sunken Barge
India's army and navy deployed ships and aircraft as they searched for 26 people still missing more than three days after a powerful cyclone sank a barge off the country's west coast, killing 49 people on board.Cyclone Tauktae, the most powerful storm to barrel into the west coast in two decades, has killed at least 46 others after wreaking havoc in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala."Ships and aircraft continue to search for the remaining crew…
Interferry Conference Greenlighted Following COVID Review
Trade group Interferry said its directors have given the green light for the global trade association’s 2021 annual conference to go ahead as planned in Santander, Spain, this October.The decision came at a virtual board meeting held May 20 after detailed consideration of current and forecast advances in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The outcome was fully supported by Interferry chairman and president Christophe Mathieu…
Essberger Orders Four Ice-class Chemical Tankers from China Merchants
The John T. Essberger Group said it has signed final agreements with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Dingheng Co. Ltd to build four 6,600 DWT stainless steel parcel chemical tankers with options for an additional four vessels.The IMO Type II chemical tankers will be Finnish/Swedish 1A ice class certified with dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion and the ability of using shore power connection during cargo operations.
Huntington Ingalls Industries Debuts Proteus USV
Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) debuted the 27-foot Proteus unmanned surface vessel (USV) for testing and development of autonomy capabilities. Proteus, outfitted with Sea Machines Robotics’ SM300 autonomy system, completed a successful demonstration off the coast of Panama City, Fla., on May 14.“We are thrilled to launch our Proteus USV. The vessel performed exactly as expected with the SM300 system’s proven and safe autonomous capability…
ATSB Calls Out Inadequate Fire Safety Standards
Australia's national transport safety investigator is calling out inadequate international vessel fire safety standards and regulations in the wake of a 2018 bulk carrier fire that took five days to contain and extinguish.The 202 meter, Australian flagged self-unloading bulk carrier Iron Chieftain was discharging its cargo of dolomite at Port Kembla, New South Wales in the early hours of June 18, 2018 when friction…
National Maritime Day
“I hold no branch in higher esteem, than the Merchant Marine…”That is a quote from General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander of the Pacific in WWII. That one sentence sums up National Maritime Day. Inasmuch if it were not for our glorious Merchant Marine and maritime industry, we may not even have been a nation at all.National Maritime Day is the day we honor our American Merchant Mariners…
Shipping to Miss 2050 Net Zero Emissions Target -IEA
The maritime shipping industry will fall short of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions (NZE) by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report.The shipping industry is expected to miss its net zero carbon dioxide (CO2) target "due to a lack of available low-carbon options on the market and the long lifetime of vessels (typically 25 to 35 years)", the IEA in a report on Tuesday.This comes despite a growing stream of pledges and commitments from policymakers and industry stake
Keel Laid for UECC’s Third LNG Battery Hybrid PCTC
As the maritime industry debates the "future fuel", one carrier, United European Car Carriers (UECC), plows forward, celebrating today the keel-laying of its third in a series of PCTCs powered by a liquefied natural gas (LNG) battery hybrid arrangement.The ceremony at China's Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard saw the laying of the keel for the hull designated H2665 as part of an ambitious newbuild program…
Vestdavit Establishes Dutch Subsidiary
Vestdavit has bolstered its presence in the European market with the launch of a new subsidiary in the Netherlands that positions it for business growth in one of the world’s major maritime hubs. The Norwegian davit supplier is now able to provide readily available resources and expertise for new and existing clients from its Vestdavit BV office located in Maastricht that opened on May 1.Headed by managing director Kai Gjerde…
First Ships Dock at Kenya's Lamu Deep Water Port
The first ships docked at Kenya's deep water Lamu Port on Thursday as the country looks to open a new transport corridor linking its vast northern region and neighboring nations to the sea.Kenyan officials hope that the Indian Ocean port, the country's second deep water facility, will attract cargo destined for neighboring landlocked nations Ethiopia and South Sudan, and offer transhipment services where large vessels bring in cargo for onward distribution by smaller ships.The Lamu Port…
Argentine Port Workers Plan Another Strike for Next Week
Argentina's grains exports remained paralyzed on Thursday due to a strike by port workers demanding to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with the labor groups threatening another 48-hour work stoppage next week.Argentina's Port and Maritime Activities chamber told Reuters the strike on Wednesday and Thursday had halted port activity. Industry leaders agree port workers should be protected from COVID-19…
