Norwegian to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccination for Passengers and Crew
Cruise operator Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd said on Monday it would require mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for all guests and crew when it restarts trips from U.S. ports in July.The company’s announcement follows the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest guidance last week to the cruise ship industry, including the need for COVID-19 vaccinations.The cruise operator has taken a hit for over a year due to the pandemic…
GONDAN Building 10 Electric Ferries for Transtejo
Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros GONDAN said it is gearing up to start building a series of 10 fully electric passenger ferries for the Portuguese river passenger transport operator Transtejo – Transportes Tejo, S.A.The 40-meter-long ferries are designed based on a catamaran-type hull form specifically optimized to make the most of the almost 2MWh of electrical energy stored in its batteries, with silent operation and no CO2 emissions.
17 Fishermen Missing After Collision with Bulk Carrier
Divers were scouring the waters of the Java Sea on Sunday for 17 fishermen reported missing after their boat capsized following a crash involving a bulk carrier, a spokesman for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said.Fifteen crew of the fishing boat, the Barokah Jaya, were evacuated after Saturday’s crash, but five divers are searching for the remaining 17, Yusuf Latif, the spokesman of the agency…
CDC Updates Cruise Ship Guidance; Still No Date for Resumed Voyages
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention on Friday issued new guidance to the cruise ship industry, including the need for COVID-19 vaccinations, a necessary step before passenger voyages can resume.The new technical instructions, the first update since October, include increasing from weekly to daily reporting frequency of COVID-19 cases and illnesses and implementing routine testing…
Sangomar FPSO Construction Starts in China
The conversion of a VLCC into an FPSO bound for Woodside's Sangomar project in Senegal has recently kicked off in China, the Australian oil firm said in a recent report.The 323 meters-long very large crude carrier (VLCC) Astipal in February arrived in China, where it will, in Woodside's words, undergo "a metamorphosis" into the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility for the Sangomar field.
Greece Launches Sale of Crete Port Stake
Greece on Monday launched a tender for the sale of a majority stake in a port on the island of Crete, a popular tourist destination in Europe.The conservative government has been keen to attract investment and upgrade its port facilities across the country after years of underspending and a decade-long financial crisis.Investors can submit expressions of interest for a 67% stake in the port of Heraklion…
Turkey Detains 10 Retired Admirals over Maritime Accord Statement
Turkey has detained 10 retired admirals for signing a statement in support of an 85-year-old maritime accord, accusing them of conspiring against the constitutional order, the state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Monday.Officials said their declaration on the Montreux Convention, signed by more than a hundred former high-ranking navy personnel, was a direct challenge to civilian government and evoked…
At Least 26 Die in Bangladesh Ferry Accident
A Bangladesh ferry carrying around 50 passengers collided with a cargo vessel and sank on Sunday in the Shitalakhsya River south of the capital Dhaka, leaving at least 26 people dead and a few still missing, officials said.Twenty one bodies had been recovered on Monday. The ferry sank just after it departed from the industrial Narayanganj district about 20 km (12 miles) from Dhaka, to Munshiganj, said Mustain Billah…
Suez Canal: All Ships Stranded by Ever Given Grounding Pass Through
All ships stranded by the grounding of the giant container ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal in March had passed through the canal by Saturday, ending the backlog that built up during the blockage, the canal authority said.The last 61 ships, out of 422 ships that were queuing when the vessel was dislodged on Monday, passed through the vital trade artery on Saturday, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said.International…
Shipbuilding: ASRY Receives ASME Accreditation
The New Construction & Engineering Department of ASRY received ASME Accreditation which allows ASRY to manufacture and repair Coded Pressure Vessels.ASRY attained this accreditation after an extensive review of the company's Quality Assurance Systems, Engineering, Warehousing, Production, and Quality Control capabilities. Based on the review, ASRY was found compliant with ASME work due to its commitment to applying the highest international standards in all aspects of work.Mr.
U.S. LNG Export Bonanza Reshapes Energy Map in Asia
U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China, Japan, and South Korea, the biggest importers of the fuel, have surged to record highs in recent months as the heavily industrialized region recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Eikon trade data shows.As with the ramp-up of U.S. oil exports that forced heavyweights like Saudi Arabia to find other buyers, what was dubbed Freedom Gas by the administration…
Petrobras Suspends MODEC from Bidding for FPSO Projects
Brazilian national oil and gas company Petrobras has suspended Japanese FPSO specialist MODEC from bidding for new floating production storage and offloading vessel projects. A day after the announcement the Japanese firm named a new CEO but the change is seemingly not related to the Petrobras issue.MODEC, which sees Brazil as its main market, said last Thursday it had received a notification from…
Seadrill Asks Creditors to Write Off More Than 85% of its Debts
Offshore drilling rig contractor Seadrill has asked creditors to write off more than 85% of its debts in exchange for a 99% stake in the reorganized company, a court filing showed.The Oslo-listed firm controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen in February filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, the second time it has done so in four years.Seadrill has in the past year written off billions of dollars worth of assets due to a bleak outlook for the oil sector…
Germany to Propose Beirut Port Reconstruction with 'Strings Attached'
Germany will next week present a multi-billion-dollar proposal to Lebanese authorities to rebuild the Port of Beirut as part of efforts to entice the country’s politicians to form a government capable of warding off financial collapse, two sources said.A chemical explosion at the port last August killed 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed entire neighborhoods in Lebanon’s capital, plunging…
Floating Production Systems Market Bounces Back on Recovering Oil Prices
Orders for production floaters have bounced back over the past month driven by rising crude prices, according to Jim McCaul, head of offshore business intelligence firm World Energy Reports.McCaul bases his assessment on data in a new floating production systems report prepared by World Energy Reports. The report provides details for 206 floater projects in the planning stage, 44 production or storage floaters now on order…
Nord Stream 2 Warns of Security Risks to Pipeline from Warships, Low-flying Planes
The consortium behind the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline warned on Thursday about security risks to the project from warships and planes, as the link is nearing completion.The pipeline, aimed at bypassing Ukraine and doubling the capacity of the current Nord Stream undersea gas link from Russia to Germany, has been the focus of tensions between Moscow and Washington, which imposed sanctions against the project.Andrey Minin…
OPEC+ to Ease Output Cuts from May
OPEC+ agreed on Thursday to gradually ease its oil output cuts from May, after the new U.S. administration called on Saudi Arabia to keep energy affordable for consumers.The group, which has implemented deep cuts since a pandemic-induced oil price collapse in 2020, agreed to ease production curbs by 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, another 350,000 bpd in June and further 400,000 bpd or so in July.Iran's oil minister…
NTSB Finds Complacency, Lack of Procedural Compliance in Recent Marine Accidents
A lack of procedural compliance and complacency were key factors in several marine accident investigations concluded so far in 2021, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).The agency said it determined the probable cause of the flooding of the towing vessel Alton St. Amant on May 17, 2020, in Harvey Canal, New Orleans, Louisiana, was the absence of shipyard pre-inspection and monitoring procedures for water transfer…
MSC Reaffirms Commitment to Avoid Arctic Shipping Routes
Container shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company doubled down on its position to avoid sending its vessels through the Northern Sea Route and urged others to follow suit, citing environmental concerns.“As a responsible company, this was an obvious decision for us,” said MSC CEO, Soren Toft. “MSC will not seek to cut through the melting ice of the Arctic to find a new route for commercial shipping…
Ready Your Salad Fork for Biden’s Offshore Energy Plans
In Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare coined the phrase “salad days” to mean a youthful time filled with unbridled enthusiasm and idealism. Indeed, youth, much like salad, is often raw, flavorful and most of all… green. Therefore, it is fitting to think of our present time as the salad days of offshore energy in the United States. Let’s dig in.Executive Order appetizersOn January 27, President Biden…
