Port of Hamburg Sees Volatile Transport Chains for Rest of Year
Europe's third largest harbor, the German Port of Hamburg, reported a 2.9% hike in sea cargo in the first nine months of 2021 on Tuesday but warned that global transport chains would remain volatile for the rest of the year.Global trade has been marred by logjams in container ports caused by disruptions from unexpected demand spurts, labour shortages and traffic snarl-ups amid the coronavirus pandemic.The crisis has weighed particularly heavily on Germany…
NOAA helps ID prime Aquaculture Sites in GOM, off California
NOAA released two Atlases compiling the best available science to inform the identification of Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) in the Gulf of Mexico and Southern California. NOAA previously identified these regions for their potential to host sustainable commercial aquaculture development in the United States. Areas in the Atlases will have characteristics expected to support multiple types of aquaculture industries including finfish…
WTO Says Goods Trade Slowing Due to Supply Issues, Cooler Demand
Global goods trade is slowing after a sharp rebound following the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic as production and supply disruptions and cooling demand for imports dampen growth, the World Trade Organization said on Monday.The WTO said its goods trade barometer dropped to 99.5 points, close to the baseline of 100, in November following a record reading of 110.4 in August.The Geneva-based trade body said supply shocks, including port gridlock arising from surging import demand in the fir
Seabed Rock May Have Caused Holes in Estonia Ferry that Sank
Rock on the seabed may have gouged previously unknown holes in the hull of the ferry Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea in 1994 with the loss of 852 lives, officials said on Tuesday following a new examination of the wreck.In 1997, an official investigation into Europe's worst peacetime maritime disaster since World War Two concluded that the Estonia sank after a bow shield failed, damaging a bow ramp and causing the car deck to flood.But in 2020…
Wärtsilä to Launch Two-stroke Future Fuels Conversion Platform
Finnish technology group Wärtsilä said it is set to launch a new engine combustion technology platform designed to enable the "fast and cost-effective" conversion of two-stroke main engines to operate on clean-burning future fuels.The company's Two-Stroke Future Fuels Conversion platform is due for commercial launch during the first quarter of 2022, as the maritime industry continues to work toward…
Baltic Dry Index Slides to Five-month Low
The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index on Tuesday declined to its lowest level since early June, weighed by lower demand for the larger capesize and panamax vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, fell 168 points, or 6.1%, to 2,591, its lowest level since June 9.The main index was down for a fourth straight session.The capesize index shed 369 points, or 9.8%, to a more than one-week low of 3,383.Average daily earnings for ca
American Offshore Services Orders Four Jones Act CTVs
American Offshore Services (A-O-S) announced Tuesday it has ordered four hybrid-ready crew transfer vessels (CTV) from Blount Boats to service the United States' emerging offshore wind industry.In the years ahead, it's expected that potentially dozens of CTVs will be built as part of a new fleet of Jones Act compliant vessels required to support the construction and long-term service of a pipeline of new offshore wind farms slated to sprout up along the U.S. East Coast.
Marine Design: Paramount Launches New 35m Sentinel Vessel
Paramount Maritime launched the company’s latest 35m Sentinel ballistic patrol vessel in Elliot Basin, located in Cape Town.Christened MV Meedoi, the next-generation vessel is slated to be used for contemporary security and patrol operations within the Gulf of Guinea. The platform was manufactured by Paramount Maritime company, Nautic Africa.The 35m Sentinel is an aluminium-hulled vessel with an optimal V-bottom hull shape.
VIDEO: Niestern Sander Launches Walk-to-work Icebreaker
Dutch shipbuilder Royal Niestern Sander last weekend launched "yard number 862", a shallow draft ice-breaking walk to work vessel, being built for a joint venture between the Russian companies Mercury Sakhalin and Pola."The world’s first ice-breaking walk-to-work vessel is one step closer to delivery and operations in harsh weather conditions in Sakhalin. To be continued!," the shipbuilder said in…
Ocean Winds, Principle Power in French Floating Wind Team-up
Ocean Winds, a partnership between ENGIE and EDP Renewables, and Principle Power, a designer of floating wind turbine foundations, will cooperate to design the floating platforms for France’s first commercial-scale floating wind tender.In September this year, the French Government selected Ocean Winds to participate in the tender process.The duo has successfully delivered the 25 MW WindFloat Atlantic…
Light Structures tapped for ice load monitoring on 10 new Arctic-bound LNG Carriers
Samsung Heavy Industries SHI selected Light Structures AS, a supplier of fiber optic condition monitoring systems for maritime applications, to deliver comprehensive ice load monitoring systems for 10 Arctic Liquid Natural Gas Carriers (ALNGC) operated by Russia´s largest shipping company, Sovcomflot.Click here for feature on Light Structures' as published in the November 2021 edition of Maritime Reporter…
DIGITALIZATION: Keeping Your (hull) Stress and Fatigue Under Control
Digitalization is expediting and maximizing the safety and economics of structural stress and fatigue measurement technologies. Terje Sannerud, Chief Commercial Officer at Norwegian fiber optic condition monitoring system developer Light Structures explains.Yet to be mandated by the IMO or included in any SOLAS regulations, structural stress and fatigue monitoring systems have in fact been used for providing real-time safety warnings on large and specialist vessels for more than two decades.
Solstad Offshore Sells Far Swan PSV
Solstad Offshore, a Norwegian offshore vessel owner, said Tuesday it had sold the platform supply vessel Far Swan.The company, which last year said it would trim its fleet to make it more competitive, with a plan to divest 37 vessels "over a period of time," said it had delivered the Far Swan to the new owner on November 16th, 2021."The sale of the vessel will result in an immaterial accounting effect for Q4 2021," Solstad Offshore said.
Philly Shipyard Nets First Contract in U.S. Offshore Wind Market
U.S. shipbuilder Philly Shipyard has won a contract from the dredging giant Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company to build a Jones Act-compliant subsea rock installation vessel that will serve the growing U.S. offshore wind market.The contract award, first in the U.S. offshore wind space for the shipyard, is worth around $197 million. Great Lakes, the U.S. largest dredging services provider, will have a right of first refusal on a second ship.
Bernhard Schulte Enters Saudi Offshore Market Through Rawabi Vallianz JV
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) and Rawabi Vallianz Offshore Services (RVOS) on Tuesday announced a joint venture to offer third-party ship management services to the offshore sector in Saudi Arabia.The deal was announced during the ADIPEC Exhibition in Abu Dhabi."The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has some of the world’s largest oil reserves and a mature extraction industry supported by an established offshore service chain.
Biden Signs $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill into Law
President Joe Biden signed into law a $1 trillion infrastructure bill at a White House ceremony on Monday that drew Democrats and Republicans who pushed the legislation through a deeply divided U.S. Congress.The measure is designed to create jobs across the country by dispersing billions of dollars to state and local governments to fix crumbling bridges and roads, and expanding broadband internet access to millions of Americans.The bill-signing ceremony…
FMC Examining How Data Can Improve Ocean Cargo Velocity
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) said it has set out to identify data constraints that impede the flow of ocean cargo and add to supply chain inefficiencies as severe bottlenecks continue to hamper global supply chains.Launched at the direction of FMC Chairman Daniel B. Maffei and spearheaded by Commissioner Carl W. Bentzel, the initiative seeks to to pinpoint how data can contribute to the long-term reliability of the domestic cargo delivery system.
Italian Coast Guard Orders New Multi-mission Ship
The Italian Coast Guard on Monday signed a contract for the design and construction of a new multi-role offshore unit (UAM) for missions ranging from sea rescue to maritime safety, from marine conservation to fish resources protection, as well as civil protection.The signing took place in Rome at the headquarters of the General Command of the Harbor Authorities - Coast Guard between the Commanding General, Adm.
Biden Names Landrieu to Oversee Infrastructure Plan
President Joe Biden named former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to oversee implementation of the $1 trillion infrastructure plan, the White House said on Sunday.Landrieu, also a Democratic former Louisiana lieutenant governor, led New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. He played a key role in helping the city rebound from the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005.Biden, who will sign the infrastructure bill into law on Monday…
Industry Veteran Ullman to Retire; Lewenhaupt tapped for CEO spot at Concordia Maritime
Erik Lewenhaupt will take over as CEO of Concordia Maritime on January 1, 2022, succeeding Kim Ullman, who informed the Board his wish to step down as CEO and retire.Lewenhaupt has a long track record in tanker shipping. He started his tanker career at Nordström & Thulin in 1996, and was later recruited to Stena Bulk, where he was tanker chartering manager in both Gothenburg and Singapore. His most recent position has been Head of Sustainability at Stena Line…