Some Containerships Sent North as Port of Los Angeles Hits Capacity
The Port of Los Angeles and cargo shipping lines are diverting some ships to other West Coast ports as a six-month import surge strains capacity at the busiest gateway for ocean trade in the United States.Container lines such as Hapag Lloyd and CMA CGM are temporarily diverting some sailings to Oakland and other West Coast ports to ease record backlogs at the Port of Los Angeles and the adjacent Port of Long Beach.
Seaspan Ferries to Trial Corvus' New Blue Whale ESS
Canadian operator Seaspan Ferries Corporation said it will be the first to trial Corvus Energy’s new Blue Whale ESS, featuring a unique rack-free design of stacking modular blocks to provide higher volumetric battery room energy density and, consequently, maximized passenger or payload capacity.The new large-scale energy storage system (ESS)—a battery system designed for large ships with high zero-emission energy demand…
Gonzalez Joins Elliott Bay Design Group
Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) said it has hired Jasmine Gonzalez as a senior project coordinator. Gonzalez will support multiple departments with project execution and development of enhanced business reporting and procedures. She reports to the Chief Financial Officer and is positioned in Seattle.Gonzalez brings a broad background of marine industry…
Capesize and Panamax Bulker Rates Are Soaring
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index rose to its highest in over three weeks on Wednesday as demand for capesizes rebounded and rates for the panamax vessel segment scaled ten-year highs.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, surged 261 points, or 17.5%, to 1,756, recording its fifth straight session of gains.The index was at its strongest since January 25.The capesize index leapt 427 points, or 28.8%, to 1,912,
Damen Names Suhlmann CFO, Herrebout Chief Counsel
As of April 1, Ronald Suhlmann will become chief financial officer of Damen Shipyards Group. He succeeds Tom Touber, who held this position ad interim for two years.Suhlmann started his career at Ballast Nedam and moved to Damen in 2015, where the register controller was both financial director of the Dutch shipbuilding conglomerate's naval and yachting divisions. With his appointment as CFO, Suhlmann becomes a member of Damen's executive board.In addition…
IMO Urges Action to Deter Piracy in Gulf of Guinea
Enhanced cooperation and implementation of best practices are needed to avoid, deter and report attacks threatening ships and crew in the world's top piracy hotspot, says the United Nations' (UN) maritime agencyKitack Lim, Secretary-General of the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) expressed his deep concern about the escalation in the number and severity of attacks on ships and crew in the Gulf of Guinea region…
Thome Group Introduces Digital Payment Solutions for Crew Wages
All Thome Group seafarers will now have access to a wide range of digital payment solutions, including crew payroll payments, international remittances, money transfers, mobile tops-ups, payroll advances and onboard expenses.Maritime Payment Solutions, LLC (d/b/a ShipMoney), a global provider of payment solutions for maritime companies, said Wednesday it will be facilitating Thome Group’s crew payments.Thome…
Nippon Paint Marine Launches New Antifouling
Coatings manufacturer Nippon Paint Marine has launched a new antifouling technology engineered to enhance antifouling performance while improving the time and the film thickness required for application.Introduced to the market this week, FASTAR is a self-polishing antifouling paint that incorporates a unique nano-domain resin structure designed to minimize the effect that seawater temperatures, vessel…
Wallenius Wilhelmsen to Build World's First Full-scale Wind-powered RoRo vessel
Wallenius Wilhelmsen said Wednesday it plans to build the world`s first full-scale wind-powered RoRo vessel - the Orcelle Wind - in what the company said was its "most ambitious sustainability initiative to date."According to Wallenius Wilhelmsen, the Orcelle Wind – a wind-powered Pure Car and Truck Carrier - will achieve up to 90% reduced emissions compared to "today’s best vessels.""Our goal is to have a design ready for contracting with a shipyard by mid-2022…
Solstad's Normand Cutter CSV Stays with Global Marine Group
Norway-based operator of offshore support and construction vessels Solstad Offshore has secured a contract for its Normand Cutter vessel with Global Marine Group ("GMG").The construction support vessel is already on a contract with GMG, and the new contract will start in March 2021, in direct continuation of the current charter.Under the new contract, the firm duration is 120 days plus 80 days options.
Maersk to Launch First Carbon Neutral Vessel in 2023
Shipping group Maersk said on Wednesday it would accelerate plans to decarbonize sea-borne container shipping by putting the world's first vessel powered by carbon-neutral fuel into operation in 2023, seven years ahead of its original plan.The shipping industry, which carries around 80% of global trade and accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions, pledged last year to have ships and marine…
US Navy Seizes Weapons from Dhows off Somalia
The U.S. Navy seized thousands of weapons from two stateless dhows during a maritime security operation off the coast of Somalia last week.A boarding team from guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill’s (DDG 81) discovered the illicit cargo during a flag verification boarding in international waters, and the confiscation took place February 11 and 12.The cache of weapons consisted of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles…
3D Printed Parts Installed On Oil Tanker
Additive manufactured parts have been built, tested and installed on board the U.S.-flagged oil tanker Polar EndeavorTraditionally, parts used in shipbuilding and repair are manufactured via casting or forging techniques. For this project, a consortium consisting of ABS, Sembcorp Marine, 3D Metalforge and ConocoPhillips Polar Tankers Inc. (Polar) aimed to utilize additive manufacturing (AM) to fabricate three types of parts that surpass conventionally manufactured products in terms of quality.
Pakistan's Multinational Naval Exercise Concludes
The Pakistan navy’s seventh biennial multinational “Aman” (peace) exercise in Pakistani waters aimed at fostering international cooperation to fight piracy, terrorism and other crimes threatening maritime security concluded on Tuesday.Around 45 navies, including those of the United States, Britain and China, took part in the Arabian Sea exercise with ships and observers.“The purpose of this exercise to bring regional and extra-regional navies on one platform and conduct exercises to enhance intr
Stott Joins SAFE Boats International
SAFE Boats International has hired Mark Stott as Business Development Director for the U.S. Western Region for government customers and private/commercial customers worldwide.Stott began his professional career in electronics and telecommunications before diving into the maritime industry. He has served as an engineer on large, private vessels worldwide and undertaken technical and business development roles with Protector USA and most recently…
Into the Digital Age: Why Go for Digitalization of Naval Projects?
Due to the technology boom, the innovative digitalization of naval projects is on the rise. So, what is digitalization all about and where can it be improved? I’m going to explain why naval projects are unique as opposed to other maritime projects. And, how easy it is to exchange confidential data securely between the navy and the stakeholders, such as contractors and suppliers. Lastly, you will find…
Buoyant Rates Lift Baltic Index
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index surged to its highest since late January on Tuesday as forward-looking market sentiment lifted capesize rates, and smaller vessel segments continued to firm.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, gained 131 points, or 9.6%, to 1,495, a peak since Jan. 27.The capesize index jumped 224 points, or 17.8%, to 1,485 - its strongest since Feb.
Hapag-Lloyd Expects Q1 Operating Profit to More Than Triple
Germany's Hapag-Lloyd sees its first-quarter operating profit more than tripling to at least 1.5 billion euros ($1.81 billion) thanks to strong demand for container transportation amid the coronavirus pandemic, it said on Tuesday.The company expects demand for seaborne shipments normalizing over the course of the year."We are still seeing slower container turn times, significant congestion in ports around the globe, capacity constraints in rail and truck, and the risks of the coronavirus pandemi
Fairbanks Morse Opens Service Center in Florida
Engine manufacturer Fairbanks Morse has opened a 8,000-square-foot Mayport Service Center in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., as part of the company’s aim to expedite aftermarket services to military and commercial maritime customers across the U.S.The facility represents a $350,000 investment and places Fairbanks Morse in closer proximity to core customers such as Mayport Naval Station, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, and other U.S. Navy and U.S.
AlphaMidiCourse Mk2 Gyro Compass Upgraded
The newly introduced AlphaMidiCourse Mk2 is an updated version of the AlphaMidiCourse gyro compass introduced in 2015. It has received an internal upgrade to meet the mandatory IMO Resolution MSC.302(87) Performance standards for Bridge Alert Management.The control box has also been physically modified with three indicators that would allow the user to see which error message is indicated according to these BAM regulations.
