Partners to Create Digital Twins for Seaports
Tech companies Sinay and 3D CityScapes are teaming up to create hyer realistic digital twins for ports.3D CityScapes uses advanced technology and artificial intelligence to create digital twins, hyper realistic representations of the real-world. Now with Sinay, it will create interactive 3D environments for ports and the maritime industry.“This partnership will create living, breathing digital ports…
ACBL to Pay Over $2 Million for Mississippi River Oil Spill
Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has agreed to acquire and preserve 649 acres of woodland wildlife habitat and will pay an additional $2 million for damages stemming from a 2008 oil spill on the Mississippi River, near New Orleans.The company has already paid $1.32 million to reimburse the federal and state trustees for their past damage assessment and restoration planning costs after one of its barges discharged approximately 6…
Racing for 30GW—and a Piece of the US Offshore Wind Pie
“30 by 30” is the rallying cry for all concerned with the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind business. In Spring 2021, the Secretaries of Energy, Interior and Commerce resolved to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of electricity generated from offshore turbines by 2030. Consultants McKinsey, in a recent article frame the value proposition for this clean fuel source, writing: “During the industry’s 30-year evolution…
Silver Ships, Auburn University to Develop Oyster Harvesting Boat Designs
Boat builder Silver Ships is partnering with Auburn University’s Industrial Design program and the Auburn University Shellfish Laboratory (AUSL) to create concepts for an oyster farming boat design.Beginning this fall, Silver Ships, AUSL and students within Auburn’s industrial design program will focus on designing several concepts for a new boat to support oyster farming operations. The class offers…
Cargill Loads Soy in Texas After Ida Damages Louisiana Terminal
The first bulk U.S. soybean cargo from the Texas Gulf Coast in about six months was loaded and shipped last week from a Cargill Inc terminal, in a sign of shifting…
Höegh LNG CEO Støhle Resigns
Höegh LNG announced on Monday that its president and CEO Sveinung J. S. Støhle is resigning to purse a career outside of Norway.The Norwegian shipowner said Støhle…
Britain Reaffirms Asia 'Tilt' as New Warship Makes Singapore Stop
Britain's new aircraft carrier the HMS Queen Elizabeth made a stop in Singapore on Monday, part of a move to reassert itself globally and boost its military presence in Asia amid rising competition among major powers.The Queen Elizabeth led a British carrier strike group in exercises with Singapore's military at the weekend, including naval maneuvers and simulated combat training with F-35B stealth fighters and F-16 jets.Britain plans to permanently deploy two warships in Asian waters…
Euronav Suezmax Completes Biofuel Trial
Belgian shipowner Euronav said it has tested a biofuel blend marine fuel for its Suezmax tanker Statia in an effort to test the operational readiness and emissions reduction potential of biofuels.The 2006-built, 150,205 dwt vessel took on board 1,502 MT of a BP-manufactured B30 biodiesel blend in the Port of Rotterdam, where there is a government incentive in place to allow for cost effective blending…
Baltic Index Falls, Capesizes Hold Near 13-year High
The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index slipped on Monday, as a decline in capesize rates offset gains in smaller vessel segments, although the main index held close to a 13-year high.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize vessels, fell for a second straight session, by 38 points or 0.7%, to 5,488. The index hit its highest in more than 13 years, at 5,650 points, on Oct.
OCEA Launches French Patrol Boat
French shipbuilder OCEA has launched a new offshore patrol vessel for the French Maritime Affairs. The OCEA OPV 150 type aluminum vessel is now starting a phase of sea trials before its scheduled delivery at the beginning of 2022.In December 2019, following a call for tenders, the French Maritime Affairs placed an order to OCEA for its new offshore patrol vessel, which will be based in Marseille. The Mediterranean patrol vessel Gyptis…
U-Ming Takes on Board Jotun’s Hull Skater
U-Ming's next bulk carrier newbuild being built in China will feature an underwater hull cleaning robot.The Taiwan-headquartered shipping company has signed a commercial agreement with builder Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard (SWS) and Norway's Jotun for the Jotun Hull Skating Solutions (HSS) to be installed aboard one of U-Ming’s four liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual- fuel Tier III 190,000 dwt bulk carriers…
US Navy Engineer, Wife Charged with Selling Submarine Secrets
A U.S. Navy nuclear engineer and his wife have been charged with selling secret information about nuclear submarines to an undercover FBI agent who posed as an operative for a foreign country, the Justice Department said on Sunday.Jonathan Toebbe and his wife, Diana, were arrested on Saturday in West Virginia and charged with violating the Atomic Energy Act, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Russia Aims for Year-round Shipping via Northern Sea Route in 2022 or 2023
Russia plans to begin year-round shipping via the Northern Sea Route that passes through the Arctic in 2022 or 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev said on Monday.Russia has invested heavily in infrastructure to develop the Northern Sea Route and wants it to become a major shipping lane as the Arctic warms at a faster rate than the rest of the world. It is not currently used in winter due to thick ice cover."We are planning to start the transition to year-round navigation in 2022-2023…
Golden Ocean Sells Two Panamaxes, Orders Four Kamsarmaxes
Dry bulk shipowner Golden Ocean Group Limited announced Monday it has sold two older Panamax vessels and placed orders for the construction of four Kamsarmax vessels.The…
Ferries V2.0. Post COVID Opportunities
Since the 1980s there has been a remarkable revival of ferry services in many U.S. waterfront cities, but COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the most profitable component of these services: the commuter runs. With post-COVID work-at-home arrangements and part-week in-office work, these ferry services have suffered a tremendous loss of income. But there are glimmers of hope that a recovery is likely, although in a different form…
LED Lighting for Ships: Seeing is Believing
New Lighting Technology offers bright ideas for better interior and exterior lighting that saves money, manpowerThe U.S. Navy is leaving traditional lighting behind for Solid State Lighting (SSL) with very long-life solid-state light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. Technology has illuminated new ways to light ships that are safer, more efficient and more affordable. Taking advantage of the new technology has its challenges…
KOTUG Starts Ops in Gabon with Perenco Contract
KOTUG International B.V. (KOTUG) won a long-term contract by Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon S.A. (Perenco) to provide towage support for their operations off Port Gentil, Gabon. The contract includes the chartering, operation and manning of three vessels, two of which are Kotug’s first-ever Rotor Tugs, the RT Magic and RT Spirit.RT Magic and RT Spirit will set sail to Gabon to support Perenco Oil & Gas in…
Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. to Build Two CO2 Carriers for Norwegian Northern Lights Project
Chinese shipbuilder Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. has won a contract to build two CO2 carriers for Northern Lights, a Norwegian carbon capture and storage project.Under the contract awarded by the Northern Lights JV, owned equally by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies, the Chinese shipbuilder will build two CO2 carriers, each with a cargo size of 7,500 m3 and a length of 130 meters.The two vessels…
Southern California: Beaches to Reopen After Offshore Oil Spill
Beaches in a southern California city that were shut because of an oil spill last week are set to reopen on Monday morning, authorities said in a statement.City and state beaches of Huntington Beach city will reopen as water quality testing showed no detectable amounts of oil associated toxins in ocean water, officials from the city and California State Parks said.Last week, some 3,000 barrels (126…
