Icebreaking Season Kicks Off in the Bay of Bothnia
Arctia’s icebreaker Otso is set to commence this winter's icebreaking season in Finland as the first icebreaker to depart from the Katajanokka base in Helsinki on December 3.The vessel will provide icebreaking assistance in the waters of Tornio, Kemi and Oulu in the Bay of Bothnia where it is scheduled to arrive on December 5, just in time for a forecasted spell of intense cold weather expected to accelerate ice formation in the northern Bay of Bothnia.
Meyer Turku Delivers Costa Toscana to Costa Cruises
Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku on Thursday announced it has delivered the 180,000 GT liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered cruise ship Costa Toscana to Costa Cruises. “With Costa Toscana we are turning a new page at the shipyard. We have been pushing our shipbuilding processes onward and are now seeing the results with this beautiful vessel. We are very proud of her and I feel confident that the guests onboard will really enjoy Costa Toscana in the coming years…
Eneti Orders Second Wind Turbine Installation Vessel for $326M
Eneti, an offshore wind installation company in the making, said Thursday it had entered into a binding agreement for the construction of one wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV).The company, formerly known as Scorpio Bulkers, ordered the first WTIV from South Korea-based builder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) back in May.Now, the company has exercised an option it held with DSME for the construction of one more WTIV.
Maersk Training Pens 'Six-figure' Deal with Boskalis Subsea Services
Maersk Training has said it has won a six-figure contract to provide Training Management Services (TMS) for Boskalis Subsea Services’ 1000-strong global workforce.
Rolls-Royce to Supply mtu Engines for New Svitzer Tugs in Brazil
Rolls-Royce revealed it is supplying eight 16V 4000 M63 mtu engines to Brazilian shipyard Rio Maguari, to be installed in four new tugboats being built for Maersk's towage arm Svitzer. The engines, each with an output of 2,000 kW, will be delivered by May 2022.The four new tugs of the Ramparts 2300 series designed by Robert Allan Ltd. have a bollard pull of 70 tons and are to be used in ports in Brazil.With the new vessels, Svitzer will operate a total of 11 mtu-powered tugs in Brazil.
Singapore's Temasek Working with Portfolio Firms in Green Transition
Singapore state investor Temasek is working with its portfolio companies to help them become more green as advancing sustainability goals becomes the new normal, the firm's chief sustainability officer said on Thursday.Temasek, with a portfolio valued at S$381 billion ($278.81 billion) as of March, has committed more than S$2 billion this year to the decarbonization sector alone, Steve Howard told…
NASSCO Begins Building Fifth ESB Ship for the US Navy
San Diego shipyard General Dynamics NASSCO on Wednesday started construction on the future USS Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7), the fifth ship of the Navy’s reclassified Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) program.Long-time NASSCO employee Dennis DuBard served as the Start of Construction honoree, initiating the first cut of steel that will be used to construct the vessel.“Today, we start construction of the ship that honors the life and service of the ship’s namesake…
Maritime Partners Acquires J. Russell Flowers
Maritime Partners, LLC, through its managed funds, has acquired from J. Russell Flowers, Inc. and its affiliates, a diversified portfolio of over 1,000 marine vessels operating on bareboat charter. JRF’s fleet includes a variety of towboats, tank barges, hopper barges, and deck barges.With this acquisition, Maritime Partners’ portfolio has grown to approximately 1,600 vessels with an estimated fair market value of $1.2 billion…
Great Lakes Towing Acquires Plotz Machine
The Great Lakes Towing Company announced it has purchased The Wm. Plotz Machine & Forge Company.The acquisition, which includes all Plotz Machine’s assets and real estate, increases the services provided by Great Lakes and allows the company to now offer marine and industrial machine shop services to all types of customers, including shipyard new construction and ship repair. The transaction closed on Tuesday…
Sea Machines, HamiltonJet Launch JETsense
Sea Machines Robotics and HamiltonJet have launched a new intelligent voyage control product, named JETsense, that uses autonomous navigation, multi-sensor fusion, and computer vision "to move waterjet vessels to the forefront of 21st-century navigation and utility."JETsense utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced autonomy to perceive the domain and maintain precise control of steering and…
Kirby Inland Marine to Pay $15.3M in Damages Over 2014 Oil Spill
Houston, Texas-based Kirby Inland Marine agreed to pay $15.3 million in damages and assessment costs to resolve federal and state claims for harm to natural resources resulting from a 2014 oil spill from a Kirby barge in the Houston Ship Channel, the U.S. Justice Department said.In a related enforcement action in 2016, the United States secured a settlement with Kirby for $4.9 million in civil penalties…
NYK, ABS, WinGD Working on Battery-Hybrid System to Cut GHG Emissions from Ships
NYK and NYK Group company MTI Co., Ltd. (“MTI”), together with the American Bureau of Shipping (“ABS”) and Winterthur Gas & Diesel Ltd. ("WinGD"), have started joint research for optimization of ship design by utilizing a battery-hybrid system to aid ship propulsion and thus reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from vessels.A vessel’s main-engine revolutions may increase significantly when a vessel…
DSME Orders GTT Tanks for MOL LNG Carrier Quartet
French engineering firm GTT has won an order from the Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) for the tank design of four new LNG carriers.The LNG carriers will be built for the Japanese ship-owner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL). GTT will design the tanks of these four LNG carriers for navigation in cold temperatures, with a total LNG tank capacity of 174,000 m3 per ship. Each tank…
Wärtsilä to Equip Second US LNG Bunker Vessel
The technology group Wärtsilä said it will supply a complete liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo storage and handling system for a new 103 meter (340 feet) long LNG bunker barge to be built at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Wisconsin, USA for Polaris New Energy (PNE). This is the second of two such barges built at the yard for PNE, the same Wärtsilä solution having been ordered for both. The first barge is scheduled for delivery from FBS in December 2021.
Baltic Index Gains for Fifth Day as Rates for Smaller Vessels Rise
The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index on Wednesday rose for a fifth straight session to its highest in a month, as gains in panamax and supramax vessels offset a dip in the larger capesize segment.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, added 29 points, or 1% to 3,047, a peak since Nov. 2.The capesize index shed 19 points, or 0.4%, to 4,464, snapping a three-session streak of gains.Average daily earnings for capesizes…
U.S. Labor Secretary Visits Top West Coast Ports as Union Talks Loom
The U.S. labor secretary on Tuesday met with unions and employers at the nation's busiest port complex in Southern California as anxiety builds ahead of next year's contract negotiations covering roughly 22,000 West Coast dockworkers.The contract expires in July, and the stakes are particularly high at the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex that handles some 40% of U.S. imports. Docks at the side…
Brittany Ferries Takes Delivery of Stena RoRo's LNG-powered Vessel
The Salamanca ferry, the second of five ships in the E-Flexer class ordered by Stena RoRo for the French ferry firm Brittany Ferries was delivered on November 30. The vessel is the sixth E-Flexer of twelve ordered from the Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling (Weihai). The Salamanca will be chartered by Brittany Ferries on a long-term basis.The 214.5 meters long Salamanca has been built with LNG dual-fuel engines and is the first ship in the E-Flexer series with gas engines.
Huisman's Cranes for Cadeler's New Wind Turbine Installation Vessels
Dutch offshore crane maker Huisman has secured a contract from China's COSCO Shipping (Qidong) Offshore Co., Ltd. to design and build two >2,000mt Leg Encircling Cranes (LEC) for Cadeler's recently ordered two new build X-class vessels.The identical Leg Encircling Cranes will have a 155-meter long boom, capable of reaching 180.5m above deck. Optionally, the boom can be upgraded to 175m in order to increase the lifting height to 200.5m.
U.S. Crude Output in September Fell 3.5% after Ida Hit Offshore Platforms
U.S. crude oil production fell 3.5% in September after Hurricane Ida temporarily halted most crude production in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a monthly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday.Crude output dropped 380,000 barrels per day to 10.809 mln bpd from a revised 11.189 mln bpd in August, the report said. The decline came as production in the offshore Gulf of Mexico fell by 464…
Hi-Float: Hyundai Heavy Gets BV AiP for Floating Wind Turbine Foundation
Bureau Veritas (BV) has granted an Approval in Principle (AiP) to Hyundai Heavy Industries for its design and development of “Hi-Float”, a floating offshore wind turbine foundation. The offshore floating wind substructure “Hi-Float” is designed to support a 10MW wind turbine with semi-submersible and mooring technology. According to a press statement issued by BV, at Hi-Float, a passive ballast system ensures that risk is kept to a minimum during offshore operations.
