Austal Launches 46m Fully Electric Ferry Design
![Austal Australia has launched the VOLTA series of electric-powered high speed ferry solutions, with the introduction of the Passenger Express 46V, a fully electric-powered 46-meter catamaran ferry design. (Image: Austal)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/austal-australia-has-launched-the-119588.jpg)
Austal Australia launched the VOLTA series of electric-powered high speed ferry solutions, with the introduction of the Passenger Express 46V, a fully electric-powered 46-meter catamaran ferry design.The VOLTA series is distinct in the burgeoning market for electric vessels as it offers a completely integrated design, construction and support solution, including on-shore charging infrastructure and in-service support programs for operators.The series combines a light-weight…
Germany 'Regrets' U.S. Plan to Sanction Vessel Linked to Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
The United States has informed Germany that it plans to impose sanctions on a Russian pipe-laying ship involved in construction of the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany…
UK: Royal Navy to Get Uncrewed Minesweeping System
![Three world-class autonomous uncrewed minesweeping systems, to dispose of sea mines while reducing the risk to life of Royal Navy personnel will be delivered under an agreement between industry and Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), a trading entity and joint-defense organization within the UK Ministry of Defence - Credit: DE&S](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/dclass-autonomous-uncrewed-minesweeping-119582.jpg)
Uncrewed minesweeping systems, designed by Atlas Elektronik, will detect and destroy sea mines on naval operations for the UK Royal Navy, thanks to a £25 million contract announced Tuesday.The Combined Influence Minesweeping (SWEEP) system will be the Royal Navy’s first uncrewed minesweeper.More than 25 jobs will be supported through the contract to deliver SWEEP at the Dorset-based company, plus 48 more jobs in the supply chain…
Wärtsilä's New CEO to Take Over on Feb. 1
![Håkan Agnevall - Credit: Wärtsilä](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/hkan-agnevall-credit-wrtsil-119579.jpg)
Håkan Agnevall will take over the position of CEO of the Finnish marine equipment maker Wärtsilä on February 1, 2021.Back in September 2020, Wärtsilä first announced that Agnevall, president of Volvo's bus division, would become its new CEO, no later than April 2021.The company said Tuesday that he'd assume his position of President & CEO of Wärtsilä on February 1, 2021.He will succeed Jakko Eskola, who will continue as a senior advisor to the Board and executive team until he retires on June 30
Two LNG Tankers Bound for Australia's Prelude Facility Divert
![An LNG tanker next to the Prelude FLNG facility - File Photo: Shell](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/an-lng-tanker-next-to-119573.jpg)
Two liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers that had initially signaled they would load at Royal Dutch Shell's Prelude floating LNG facility in Australia have diverted elsewhere, ship-tracking data showed on Tuesday.This comes just a week after Shell said that Prelude would resume loading cargoes after production had been suspended for nearly a year following an electrical trip.The facility loaded its first cargo since coming back online on Jan.
Petrojarl Banff FPSO to Be Recycled in Denmark
![(Photo: Teekay)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/photo-teekay-119572.jpg)
M.A.R.S. Europe said it has been awarded a contract by Teekay Petrojarl Floating Production UK Ltd. for dismantling and recycling of the Petrojarl Banff floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO). The deal includes engineering, preparation, dismantling and green recycling of the long-serving floater.Teekay's Petrojarl Banff FPSO is expected to arrive at M.A.R.S. Europe’s EU-approved facility in the Port of Frederikshavn…
Bigger, Stronger: The U.S. Dredging Fleet is Growing
![Callan Marine’s new CSD General Bradley is being built by Hagler Systems at the Halimar Shipyard in Morgan City, La. (Photo: Callan Marine)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/callan-marines-new-csd-general-119571.jpg)
The U.S. dredging fleet is growing. Presently on order and under construction is a raft of in-demand equipment that will help to keep America’s ports and waterways open, safeguard coastal communities and maintain the vital flow of maritime commerce to, from and through the U.S.In August, Eastern Shipbuilding Group cut first steel for a new trailing suction hopper dredge (TSHD) it is building for Weeks Marine…
New Study Finds Polyester Fibers Throughout the Arctic Ocean
![The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St. Laurent transiting the Arctic Ocean. This expedition between Norway and Canada collected seawater samples for microplastics analysis. (Photo: Arthi Ramachandra / Fisheries and Oceans Canada)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/the-canadian-coast-guard-ship-119570.jpg)
The Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern communities that rely heavily on seafood and marine mammals for food.But who would have imagined that the clothes we wear might add to this onslaught?
Chengxi Delivers Self-unloading Transshipment Newbuild to Oldendorff
![21,500-DWT transshipment bulker Alypso (Photo: ABB)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/00dwt-transshipment-bulker-alypso-photo-119567.jpg)
China’s Chengxi Shipyard has delivered the first of twin self-unloading transshipment newbuilds for Germany’s largest bulk carrier owner Oldendorff Carriers.Juha Koskela, Division President, ABB Marine & Ports, said the newbuilds are the first bulk carriers to feature Azipod propulsion.The delivery saw two 1.9-MW Azipod units installed on each of the 21,500-DWT transshipment bulkers as part of a package of electric, digital and connected solutions from ABB.
US Plans to Sanction Russian Vessel Involved in Nord Stream 2
The United States has told European allies it plans to impose sanctions on a Russian pipe-laying ship, "Fortuna", involved in construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany…
DP World Antwerp Gateway Orders Fleet of Automated Stacking Cranes
![](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/-119565.jpg)
DP World Antwerp Gateway has ordered a fleet of 34 Automated Stacking Cranes for its container terminal in Antwerp, Belgium. The Konecranes Gottwald ARMGs will be an expansion to the current fleet of 20 currently in operation. The first batch will be delivered in Q2 2022, the last batch by 2026. This order was booked in December 2020.DP World Antwerp Gateway was very motivated to continue their current operating concept, using their current ASC system delivered by Gottwald in 2006.
GTT Wins LNG Carrier Tank Design Order from Samsung
French engineering firm GTT said it has received an order from the Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) for the tank design of a new 174,000-cubic-meter…
Baltic Index Drifts Lower as Capesize Rates Weigh
![© Image'in / Adobe Stock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/imagein-adobe-stock-119564.jpeg)
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index dropped on Monday, as weaker rates for the larger capesize segment offset gains in panamax and supramax vessel rates.The Baltic dry index, tracking rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels ferrying dry bulk commodities, fell 14 points, or 0.8%, to an over one-week low of 1,740.The capesize index retreated 54 points, or about 1.9%, to 2,839.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore an
World's First LNG-hybrid Tug Will Run mtu Gas Engines
![The main propulsion system of the Sembcorp hybrid tug comprises twin 16-cyclinder mtu Series 4000 gas units which will provide a combined total power of 2984 kilowatts. The new engines are part of Rolls-Royce's Green and High-Tech program. Without exhaust gas aftertreatment they emit no sulfur oxides and only very small quantities of nitrogen oxide and particulate mass is below the verification limit. (Photo: Rolls-Royce)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/the-main-propulsion-system-of-119560.jpg)
A new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-hybrid tug—said to be the world's first—will be equipped with two mtu 16V 4000 M55RN gas engines from manufacturer Rolls-Royce.The harbor tug will be built by Sembcorp Marine Integrated Yard and operated in Singapore by Jurong Marine Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine. The new LNG-hybrid tug is the first of 12 tugs that Sembcorp Marine plans to…
Remontowa Delivers Tug for the Polish Navy
![(Photo: Remontowa Shipbuilding)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/photo-remontowa-shipbuilding-119559.jpg)
Polish shipbuilder Remontowa Shipbuilding said it recently delivered the fourth in a series of six tugboats for the Polish Navy.The vessel, H-12 Semko, was built in Gdańsk and sailed to Świnoujście for handover to the 8th Vice Admiral Kazimierz Porębski Coastal Defense Flotilla.The contract for the design and construction of six tugs was signed in June 2017. The workboats will be used by the Polish Navy for military and logistics operations support at sea and in ports…
Beirut Blast Chemicals Possibly Linked to Syrian Businessmen
![© Ali / Adobe Stock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/ali-adobe-stock-119556.jpeg)
The company that bought the ammonium nitrate which exploded in Beirut last August had possible links to two Syrian businessmen under U.S. sanctions for ties to President Bashar al-Assad, according to a report by a Lebanese journalist and London company filings.Savaro Ltd, the trading firm which procured the chemicals in 2013, shared a London address with companies linked to George Haswani and Imad Khoury…
VLSFO Plus Older Engines Can Presents New Maintenance Challenges
![Piston with scuffing and deposits. Photo courstesy Chevron](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/piston-with-scuffing-and-deposits-119549.jpg)
As shipowners mull the pros and cons associated with new fuels to meet tightening emissions rules, Chevron Marine is finding that some ship owners that switched older engines to very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) are reporting build-up of red deposits on piston crowns and top edges, sometimes combined with red iron burrs in scavenge ports. The deposits are associated with abnormal liner wear since the fuel switch…
Singapore Prioritizes Vaccinations to Frontline Maritime Workers
![© Feydzhet Shabanov/AdobeStock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/feydzhet-shabanovadobestock-119548.jpg)
More than 10,000 frontline maritime personnel to receive COVID-19 vaccinations by end of January.In the global seafarer crisis created by COVID-19, Sinagapore has emerged as a world leader in the treatment of seafarers and frontline maritime personnel. That streak continues as Singapore became one of the first countries to prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations for frontline maritime workers. The vaccination…
Cargo Ship Sinks in Black Sea, Off Turkey
A Palau-flagged freight ship has sunk off the coast of Turkey's Black Sea province of Bartin, killing two crew members, the coast guard said on Sunday, adding that…
US Imposes Fresh Sanctions on Iran
![© R. Jeff Huth / Adobe Stock](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w100h1500/r-jeff-huth-adobe-stock-119536.jpeg)
The United States on Friday sanctioned companies in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and on three Iranian entities over conventional arms proliferation.They are the latest in a series of measures aimed at stepping up pressure on Tehran in the waning days of President Donald Trump's administration, which ends on January 20.U.S.