MacGregor to Equip US' Largest Hopper Dredge
MacGregor, part of Cargotec, will deliver two large, 120 ft. double telescopic service cranes and one 50 ft. telescopic stores crane for a self-propelled hopper dredge. Currently being built for Manson Construction Co., the Frederick Paup will be the largest ever self-propelled trailing suction hopper dredge built in the USA and will operate all over the country.The order was placed by Keppel AmFELS, Inc. and booked into Cargotec’s 2020 fourth quarter order intake.
Marci Gale Enters Service for Campbell
On Wednesday, August 4, Campbell Transportation Company, Inc. christened the secondhand towboat Marci Gale in downtown Pittsburgh.Formerly named the Elizabeth Lane…
ABS Promotes Mahaffey to VP of Marketing and Comms
Classification society ABS said it has appointed Jessica Mahaffey as Vice President, Marketing and Communications.Mahaffey joined ABS in 2019 as Senior Director of Corporate Affairs. Previously she was Vice President of External Affairs at Direct Energy, where she held several marketing, communications, and regulatory senior leadership positions. She graduated from Baylor University with a degree in journalism and public relations…
Dry Bulk Rally Gains Even More Steam
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose for a sixth straight session on Tuesday, scaling its highest in more than a decade on stronger demand across vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, rose 1.4%, or 51 points, to 3,657, the highest since June 2010.The capesize index jumped 98 points, or 2%, to 4,950, a peak since May 11.Average daily earning
Chinese Ports Choke Over 'Zero Tolerance' COVID-19 Policy
Several Chinese ports are facing congestion as vessels due to call at Ningbo are being diverted and cargo processing is slowed partly due to stricter disinfection measures under China's "zero-tolerance" coronavirus policy.On Tuesday, more than 50 container vessels were queuing at Ningbo port, China's second largest marine center, Refinitiv data showed, up from 28 on Aug. 10 when a COVID-19 case was…
Drones, Navies, Attack Boats: Will They be Enough to Tackle the World's Latest Piracy Hotspot?
Helicopters hover above a patrol vessel in Nigeria's frenetic Apapa port as attack boats zoom past. On the dock, drones emblazoned with the Nigerian flag sit ready to deploy – all part of a $195 million U.S.-backed "Deep Blue" initiative to deter pirate attacks in the world's most dangerous area for seafarers.The more than 2.35 million square kilometer (910,000 million square mile) expanse of the Atlantic Ocean that borders some 20 West African nations is known as "pirate alley"…
Babcock Pens Deal with Irish Navy
Babcock International has won a contract to deliver the installation of a variable speed drive system for the central cooling system onboard the Irish Navy’s P60 Samuel Beckett Class.The variable speed drive system was first installed on the central cooling system of the fourth Offshore Patrol Vessel, LÉ George Bernard Shaw (P64), at time of build, enabling the vessel to use a variety of power outputs depending on the conditions and requirements.
What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate…. in Ship Construction!
My brother, who is the executive editor of my favorite boating magazine (Soundings), and I occasionally send strange tidbits to each other by email. For some reason he sent me an email about the 17th Century ship Vasa and focused on one of the causes of the vessel’s failure to float properly.This is the Wikipedia paragraph he focused on:"The use of different measuring systems on either side of the vessel caused its mass to be distributed asymmetrically, heavier to port.
GEG, Proman to Build Renewables-to-Methanol Plant at Nigg Oil Terminal
UK-based Global Energy Group and Swiss-based integrated energy company, Proman have partnered up to develop a renewable power to methanol plant using local sources of captured CO2 to be located at the Nigg Oil Terminal in the Highlands of Scotland.GEG is also the owner of the Nigg Oil Terminal and Proman is the second-largest methanol producer in the world-GEG said that the development of an industrial…
NAVFAC Awards $1.7B Drydock Construction Project
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) awarded a $1.7-billion construction project, an effort toexpand and reconfigure a dry dock complex at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) in Kittery, Maine, to increase the shipyard's capacity to maintain, modernize, and repair the Navy's attack submarines and return them to the fleet on time.The seven-year project, part of the Navy's comprehensive Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP)…
Fincantieri Marine Systems Receives Award for LCS Maintenance
The U.S. Navy announced Friday, August 13, 2021 that Fincantieri Marine Systems North America has been awarded a multiple award contract (MAC I) to support sustainment efforts for Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) homeported in Mayport, Fla.“We are excited about the opportunity to service, repair, and modernize Freedom variant LCS”, said Shawn Johnston, FMSNA’s VP. “We have a tremendous team of professionals poised to help the Navy maintain and repair these ships both here in the U.S.
ABS AIP for Deep-sea Mining Riser and Lift System
ABS awarded China Merchants Industry (CMI) Approval in Principle (AIP) for its self-developed Deep-sea Mining Riser and Lift System.The AIP follows ABS awarding AIP for CMI’s deep-sea mining system design, which was the first since ABS published the Guide for Subsea Mining, detailing class requirements for the design, construction, operation, and survey of mobile offshore mining units in 2020. This…
Marine Autonomy: The Future is Being Revealed
Automation, where routine tasks are handled by machines, has been talked about throughout maritime sectors for much of the 21st Century. Initially touted by suppliers of engine room and bridge management systems for its cost savings (with reduced manning levels), its value proposition was then infused with risk management (reduced human error) and remote operations, where vessels could be managed from a shoreside control room.
An Ancient Egyptian Boat Is on the Move
King Khufu's Boat, an ancient vessel that is the oldest and largest wooden boat discovered in Egypt, has been painstakingly moved from its longstanding home next to the Giza pyramids to a nearby giant museum, officials said on Saturday.The 4,600-year-old vessel, also known as the Solar Boat, was moved to the nearby Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), due to be inaugurated later this year."The aim of the transportation…
SEACOR Acquires USSC
SEACOR Holdings Inc. completed its acquisition of U.S. Shipping Corp (USSC), a privately owned provider of long-haul marine transportation for chemical and petroleum cargoes in the U.S. coastwise trade, operating under the Jones Act.
Finnish Border Guard Orders Two New Vessels
Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku said it has been chosen by the Finnish Border Guard to build its new multipurpose vessels.The parties signed a letter of intent for the construction of two new vessels to replace three decommissioned patrol vessels as part of the Finnish Border Guard's Vessel Ship 2025 project.In order to carry out the acquisition, the Finnish Border Guard organized a tender during the spring of 2021, which was won by Meyer Turku Oy.
From Cameroon to Kingston: NUWC Helps Fund, Hires URI Doctoral Student Specialized in Corrosion
For those operating equipment on, under or near the water for commercial or recreational purposes, the corrosive effects of saltwater can be costly. For the U.S. Navy, the ramifications could be much more severe.As a doctoral student in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics at the University of Rhode Island, Irine Neba Mforsoh studied the long-term effects seawater and ultraviolet radiation have on the materials used to coat marine structures.After earning her doctorate in spring 2021…
Storm-shut Ports Reopen in US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico
The U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port San Juan has set Port Condition FOUR in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands reopening the area's maritime ports, following the passing of Tropical Storm Grace near the islands.Now a tropical depression, Grace continues its path just off the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. The ports of San Juan, Puerto Rico and the ports in the U.S. Virgin Islands were reopened Sunday afternoon…
Fairplay Towage Order Ice-class Workboat from Damen
Fairplay Towage Polska has ordered a Shoalbuster 2711 ICE vessel from the standardized workboat portfolio of the Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group. The company will use the newbuild to perform Designed with extremely shallow draft capability, large cargo capacity and 45 tonne bollard pull, the vessel will be built in Poland and used for diverse operations, including in the offshore wind industry…
Odfjell Completes Exit from Gas Carrier Segment
On August 16, 2021, Odfjell Gas Shipowning AS, a subsidiary 100% owned by Odfjell SE, entered into a transaction agreement with BW Epic Kosan Ltd. (BWEK) for the…