US Navy Awards Austal USA $144 Million Contract to Build T-ATS Pair
The U.S. Navy awarded Austal USA a $144 million two-ship Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ship (T-ATS) detailed design and construction contract October 5.T-ATS will provide oceangoing tug, salvage and rescue capabilities to support U.S. fleet operations and will be a multi mission common hull platform capable of towing heavy ships. These ships will be able to support current missions, including oil spill response, humanitarian assistance, and wide area search and surveillance.
Jo-Kell Acquires Advanced Technical Sales
Jo-Kell Inc. announced it has completed its acquisition of Advanced Technical Sales (ATS).Located in Pompano Beach, Fla., ATS is a distributor of industrial electrical…
IMO to Establish Regional Office for the Pacific Islands
IMO's Technical Cooperation Committee at its 71st session (TC 71) (20-24 September) has approved the establishment of an IMO Regional Presence Office (RPO) for the Pacific Islands region. If approved at the thirty-fourth extraordinary session of the Council (08 - 12 November 2021), this will see the Pacific Region become the sixth to feature an IMO RPO.The existing RPOs are: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire for west and central Africa (Francophone)…
Serco Canada’s Atlas 120 Frigate Receives LR Approval in Principle
Serco Canada Marine (Serco) has received Approval in Principle from Lloyd's Register (LR) for its Atlas 120 Frigate design.The Atlas 120 Light Frigate is a modern general-purpose surface combatant that spans 120 meters in length. The ship can accommodate almost all standard NATO missile munitions and the Hangar and Flight Deck have been sized to accommodate all NATO medium lift naval helicopters. The…
Saudi-led coalition says it foiled boat attacks in Yemen
The Saudi-Led coalition destroyed three explosives-laden boats in the Yemeni province of Hodeidah that had been readied for imminent attacks, the Saudi state-news agency said on Wednesday.The coalition added that its efforts helped to protect the shipping lanes and international trade in the Bab al-Mandab strait and the southern Red Sea, the agency quoted a statement as saying.The coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing forces of the ousted government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi a
Maritime Trade Union Signs on Sea Machines' Autonomous Voyage Project
U.S. Coast Guard licensed officers in Boston are commanding an autonomous workboat on a voyage around Denmark.The American Maritime Officers (AMO) trade union has entered into a labor agreement with autonomous command and control systems developer Sea Machines Robotics for the project, which will see AMO-represented merchant mariners support Sea Machines’ first-of-its-kind 1,000 NM autonomous journey.The voyage…
ZIM Establishes Digital Freight Forwarding Company
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. on Wednesday announced the creation of a new subsidiary, Ship4wd, a digital freight forwarding platform offering an online self-service end to end shipping solution.Launching October 18, 2021, Ship4wd is intended to be a one-stop-shop international shipping service targeting U.S. and Canadian small and medium-sized businesses importing and exporting from China, Vietnam and Israel, ZIM said.
Baltic Dry Index Extends Rally
The Baltic Exchange's main dry bulk sea freight index extended its rally on Wednesday as robust demand and port congestion propelled the capesize index above 10,000 points for the first time in more than 13 years.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize vessels, rose 238 points, or 4.4%, to 5,647, its highest since September 2008.The gains in the main index were mostly driven by a jump in the capesize segment, which added 723 points, or 7.4%, to 10,
Asia LNG Price Jumps by 40% to Record High
Asia liquefied natural gas (LNG) spot prices surged by 40% to a record high of over $56 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) on Wednesday, amid a global energy crunch and low gas inventories.Price agency S&P Global Platts' Japan-Korea-Marker (JKM), which is widely used as a spot benchmark in the region, climbed to $56.326 per mmBtu on Wednesday for a cargo delivered into North Asia in November…
Gazprom's Nord Stream 2 Can Challenge EU Rules, Court Adviser Says
Gazprom's Swiss unit can challenge an EU gas rule that requires gas producers to be separate companies from those that control the pipeline, an adviser to the EU's top court said on Wednesday.Russia's Gazprom owns operator Nord Stream 2 and is the planned gas supplier for the Russia-to-Germany link that was completed last month.The opinion from Advocate General Michal Bobek, if confirmed by the EU Court of Justice (CJEU)…
California Lawmakers Look to Ban Offshore Drilling after Spill
Democratic members of Congress from California seized on the oil spill off the state's coast to promote federal legislation to ban all offshore oil drilling, as investigators searched for what caused the pipeline to burst.About 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean, killing wildlife, soiling the coastline, and forcing officials to close beaches in several cities in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles.
Pipeline from California Offshore Oil Spill was Moved 32 Meters Along Sea Floor
A section of the oil pipeline that burst off the Southern California coast was displaced 105 feet (32 meters) across the ocean floor, officials said on Tuesday, fueling speculation that a ship's anchor may have caused the environmental disaster.The revelation came as the U.S. Coast Guard and drilling company Amplify Energy Corp came under further scrutiny about the time it took to respond to the spill…
