DSC Dredge Names Laiche as Engineering Director
![Scott Laiche (Photo: DSC Dredge)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/scott-laiche-photo-dsc-dredge-124599.jpg)
DSC Dredge announced it has promoted Scott Laiche to Director of Engineering, overseeing both DSC's Engineering and Automation teams.“Scott has been with DSC for nine years and has been a vital part of the growth of our Engineering department,” said William J. Wetta, EVP and Chief Technology Officer with DSC, “This is Scott’s second promotion during his time at DSC. He first joined the team as a Mechanical Engineer…
Trade Recovery: Port of Rotterdam Freight Volumes Rise
![Credit: Kalyakan/AdobeStock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/credit-kalyakanadobestock-124597.jpg)
Freight volumes in the port of Rotterdam rose 5.8% on a yearly basis in the first half of 2021, as international trade recovered from its coronavirus slump, Europe's largest sea port said on Thursday.Traffic took a big hit from COVID-19 in the first half of 2020, and despite its recovery, throughput is still not back at levels seen before the outbreak of the pandemic, port authorities said.Improvement was most notable in the shipment of iron ore and coal, which increased more than a third from a
WinGD Launches Two-stroke Marine Engine with Integrated NOx Abatement System
![Credit:WinGD](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/creditwingd-124595.jpg)
Swiss engine maker WinGD has launched the first marine two-stroke engine to carry its own NOx abatement solution, which, per the company, offers "dramatic" reductions in space requirements and installation costs for shipyards seeking to comply with the strictest IMO NOx emission limits.The X52 low-speed engine with integrated Selective Catalytic Reduction (iSCR) was launched during a ceremony at Dalian Marine Diesel Co. in China.
World's Largest: Sunseap to Build $2B Floating Solar Farm in Batam, Indonesia
![Sunseap's previous floating solar project - Credit: Sunseap](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/unseaps-previous-floating-solar-project-124590.jpg)
Singapore's Sunseap Group says it plans to spend $2 billion to build the world's largest floating solar farm and energy storage system in neighboring Indonesian city Batam, which will double its renewable power generation capacity.The floating photovoltaic system is expected to have a capacity of 2.2 gigawatt-peak (GWp), and will be located on the Duriangkang Reservoir in Batam Island spanning around 1…
DeepOcean Books Solstad CSV
![Credit: Solstad Offshore](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/credit-solstad-offshore-124588.jpg)
Norway-based offshore support vessel firm Solstad Offshore has won a charter deal for its construction support vessel Normand Jarstein.The contract is with the subsea services firm DeepOcean AS.The Normand Jarstein vessel (ex-Rem Pioneer) will support DeepOcean`s IMR, light construction, offshore renewables, and recycling projects, Solstad Offshore said. The company, as usual, did not share any financial details.
Gladding-Hearn Builds New Class of Launch for Maryland Pilots
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The Association of Maryland Pilots has taken delivery of a new class of pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. Called the “Baltimore Class” after the pilots’ base of operations at the Port of Baltimore.With a length overall of 48.5’, beam of 15.6’, and draft of 4’, the all-aluminum pilot boat features the Ray Hunt Design deep V hull. It is powered by twin Volvo Penta D13, EPA Tier 3-compliant diesel engines…
Iran Opens Gulf of Oman Oil Terminal to Avoid Hormuz Strait
![Credit: BirgitKorber](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/credit-birgitkorber-124586.jpg)
Iran has opened its first oil terminal in the Gulf of Oman, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday, to allow Tehran to avoid using the Strait of Hormuz shipping route that has been a focus of regional tension for decades."This is a strategic move and an important step for Iran. It will secure the continuation of our oil exports," Rouhani said in a televised speech."Today, the first shipment of 100 tonnes of oil is loaded outside the Strait of Hormuz. This shows the failure of the U.S.
Conrad Begins Building GLDD's New Multi-Cats
![Dan Conrad, Conrad Sr VP; Dan Gaiennie, GLDD Director Engineering New Builds; Brad Breaux, Conrad Program Manager; Vidar Lindmoen, GLDD New Build Project/Program Director; David Johanson, GLDD Sr Vice President Projects & Area Operations Gulf of Mexico; Col. Stephen F. Murphy, USACE; Brett Wolbrink, Conrad Chief Operating Officer; Francisco Bermudez, GLDD Program Manager; and Mark Wingate – USACE (Photo: Conrad Shipyard)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/dan-conrad-conrad-sr-vp-124585.jpg)
Conrad Shipyard said it has started building two Damen-designed Multi-Cat vessels scheduled to be delivered to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company (GLDD) in the third and fourth quarters of 2022. A steel cutting ceremony was held at Conrad's Morgan City, La. shipyard.The two identical vessels are being built under a licensing agreement with the Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group. They will be the first of their type built in the U.S.
TGS, PGS, WesternGeco in 6,400 sq km Seismic Survey Offshore Malaysia
![Credit: PGS](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/credit-pgs-124582.jpg)
Offshore seismic data and services trio TGS, PGS, and Schlumberger's WesternGeco, have secured pre-funding for a 6,400 square kilometer multi-client 3D survey starting in October in the Sarawak Basin, offshore Malaysia.The survey is the first phase of a multi-year contract awarded by the Malaysian national oil firm Petronas in 2020 through competitive bidding to acquire and process up to 105,000 square kilometers of multi-client 3D data over a 5-year period in the Basin.
Stena RoRo Orders RoPax Ferry for Marine Atlantic Charter
![Credit: Stena RoRO](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/credit-stena-roro-124581.jpg)
Credit: Stena RoROStena RoRo has secured a ferry charter with Marine Atlantic, a Canadian federal Crown corporation, and has for this purpose now ordered its tenth E-Flexer vessel from the CMI Jinling (Weihai) shipyard. The ship, when delivered, will run in eastern Canada between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Delivery from the shipyard is expected during 2024. To date, Stena RoRo has ordered ten large RoPax vessels of the E-Flexer type, five of which have now been delivered.
Environmental Concerns: Quebec Rejects Port of Saguenay LNG Export Project
![File Image: Énergie Saguenay](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/file-image-nergie-saguenay-124580.jpg)
The Canadian province of Quebec on Wednesday rejected a liquefied natural gas export project for the Port of Saguenay, citing environmental concerns, in the latest blow to North American LNG development.Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette said the proposed Énergie Saguenay project will not come to pass due to concerns over its emissions and would not support a transition to cleaner energy sources."This project has more disadvantages than advantages," Charette told reporters.The C$9 billi
VIDEO: Coast Guard Medevacs Mariner with Stroke-like Symptoms from Tanker off Galveston
![Credit: USCG](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/credit-uscg-124578.jpg)
The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a crew member from a tanker vessel approximately 11 miles off Galveston, Texas, Wednesday.Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a call at approximately 9 a.m. from Anthony Veder's Coral Furcata LNG carrier stating a 48-year-old male crew member was experiencing stroke-like symptoms. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended…
U.S. and Germany Strike Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Deal
![Russian pipe-laying vessel Akademik Cherskiy used for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 - Credit: Elena Krivorotova/AdobeStock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/ian-pipelaying-vessel-akademik-cherskiy-124576.jpg)
The United States and Germany on Wednesday unveiled an agreement on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under which Berlin pledged to respond to any attempt by Russia to use energy as a weapon against Ukraine and other Central and Eastern European countries.The pact aims to mitigate what critics see as the strategic dangers of the $11 billion pipeline, now 98% complete, being built under the Baltic Sea to carry gas from Russia’s Arctic region to Germany.U.S.
GTT to Design Fuel Tanks for Seaspan's LNG-powered Containership Quintet
![Illustration - Credit:EvrenKalinbacak/AdobeStock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/tration-creditevrenkalinbacakadobestock-124575.jpg)
French firm GTT has secured an order from the South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) to design fuel tanks for five very large LNG-fuelled container vessels, to be built by SHI for the containership giant Seaspan.The vessels, to be chartered by Israeli firm ZIM, will be able to carry 15,000 containers each. The fuel tank of each vessel will offer a capacity of 12,000 m3 and will be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment system.
Japan's Power Plan to Rattle Australian Coal, LNG exporters
![An LNG plant in Australia - Credit: 4680.photos/AdobeStock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/an-lng-plant-in-australia-124573.jpg)
Japan has been largely forgotten as a source of demand for energy commodities, overshadowed by the rapid rise of China, but the country's new electricity generation targets will shake the market up.For many years Japan has been viewed as a largely steady source of demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and thermal coal used in power generation, with small variations in the volumes imported on a year…
Manor to Build Offshore Wind Service Vessel for Mainprize
![Credit: Manor Marine](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/credit-manor-marine-124572.png)
UK-based shipbuilder and marine services provider Manor Marine has won an order to build a multi-role offshore wind farm service vessel.The 26-meter Supa Swath catamaran, designed by Walker Marine Design, was ordered by Mainprize Offshore. Manor Marine expects to deliver it in the second quarter of 2022.This will be the sixth crew transfer vessel constructed by Manor Marine, but the first vessel built for Mainprize Offshore.It will feature a Supa-Swath hull form…
South Korea Leaders Apologize over Mass Covid Outbreak on Navy Ship
![U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Rebecca J. Moat (File Photo. Public Domain License)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/us-navy-photo-by-mass-124571.jpg)
South Korea's prime minister and defense minister apologized as hundreds of COVID-19-infected sailors were flown to Seoul on Tuesday after a navy destroyer patrolling the waters off Africa was found to be riddled with the coronavirus.Almost 250 of the 301 unvaccinated crew aboard the destroyer Munmu the Great were infected, sparking a public furor at the government's failure to protect those serving abroad.
Carnival Expects Return to Cruises with 65% Fleet Capacity by 2021 End
![A Carnival cruise ship - Credit: Wollwerth Imagery/AdobeStock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/a-carnival-cruise-ship-credit-124570.jpg)
Carnival Corp said on Tuesday it expects to have resumed cruises with 65% of its total fleet capacity by the end of 2021, betting that concerns over a resurgence in COVID-19 cases will not deter holidaymakers.The company also said its Carnival Cruise Line brand has plans to bring back its entire fleet into service by the end of 2021, which would take total operating capacity to 75%.Cruise operators began sailing from U.S.
UK to Permanently Deploy Two Warships in Asia
![HMS Queen Elizabet - Credit: Stefan/AdobeStock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/-queen-elizabet-credit-stefanadobestock-124569.jpg)
Britain said on Tuesday it would permanently deploy two warships in Asian waters after its Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and escort ships sail to Japan in September through seas where China is vying for influence with the United States and Japan.Plans for the high-profile visit by the carrier strike group come as London deepens security ties with Tokyo, which has expressed growing alarm in recent months over China's territorial ambitions in the region…
AI Specialist Launches Container Tracking to Alleviate Shipping Risks
![Credit: Blue Planet Studio/AdobeStock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/credit-blue-planet-studioadobestock-124568.jpg)
Predictive intelligence tech company Windward has launched Container Insights, a capability that provides live screening and tracking of containers and Bill of Lading (BOL) verification.The new capability, which Windward says enhances the company’s current Cargo Insights, optimizes and increases the efficiency of screening processes for trade finance transactions and enables government agencies to investigate suspicious containers…