New Wood Chip Carrier Will Collect Ocean Microplastics

A newly built wood chip carrier vessel recently delivered to Japanese shipping company NYK is equipped to collect ocean microplatics for researchers to study.The Stellar Harmony, built by Imabari's Iwagi Zosen Co., Ltd shipyard, was officially handed over on August 23. The vessel will transport wood chips mainly from New Zealand, Australia, North America and South America under a long-term contract between NYK and Marusumi Paper Co.…
Chinese Defense Firm Takes Over Lifting Venezuelan Oil for Debt Offset

China has entrusted a defense-focussed state firm to ship millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil despite U.S. sanctions, part of a deal to offset Caracas' billions of dollars of debt to Beijing, according to three sources and tanker tracking data. China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) stopped carrying Venezuelan oil in August 2019 after Washington tightened sanctions on the South American exporter. But it continued to find its way to China via traders who rebranded the fuel as Malaysian…
Record $1.6 Billion Meth Seizure Made at Port Botany

Australian authorities are reporting a record seizure of methylamphetamine after another metric ton of the illicit drug was discovered at Sydney's Port Botany.The development comes after detectives attached to the State Crime Command's Drug and Firearms Squad earlier this year commenced Strike Force Chellington to investigate the importation of illicit drugs into New South Wales.Acting on intelligence…
CMT to Take Over Barge Services at Yellow Creek State Inland Port

Cooper Marine and Timberlands (CMT) is set to take over as the exclusive barge fleeting and shifting service provider for Yellow Creek State Inland Port, located at the intersection of the Tennessee River and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, effective September 1.“Thanks to the leadership of federal, state and local officials, Yellow Creek Port is on a trajectory of exciting new growth,” said YCP Executive Director Robert Dexter.
Shipping Container Suppliers Abandon $987 Million Deal After US Probe

Global shipping container suppliers China International Marine Containers and Maersk Container Industry in a joint statement on Thursday said they have abandoned a merger plan, citing significant regulatory challenges.China International Marine Containers (CIMC) in September had agreed to buy the Danish shipping company AP Moeller - Maersk's refrigerated containers maker for $987.3 million.The U.S.
Port Canaveral to Add New Patrol and Pilot Boats

Port Canaveral will add a new security patrol vessel and a pilot boat after receiving federal grant funding for several projects to protect against terrorism and other security threats.The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded $472,500 in Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) funding to allow the Canaveral Port Authority (CPA) to purchase a new Security Rapid Response Boat. The vessel will be a 33-ft.
Svitzer Slowing Down to Slash Emissions

A.P. Moller-Maersk's towage operator arm Svitzer on Thursday said it will limit vessel speeds across its entire tug fleet after a speed reduction pilot program led to considerable emissions reductions.Svitzer's so-called Aim for 8 speed initiative—first trialed in the U.K. from late 2021—asks tug crews to navigate at a maximum speed of eight knots during mobilization and demobilization in an effort to reduce fuel burn and vessel emissions.
FSG, Oceanex to Develop Climate-neutral ConRo vessel

German shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) and Canadian shipping company Oceanex are teaming up to design a climate-neutral and highly efficient ConRo (container RoRo) vessel.As part of a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MoU), the partners aim to jointly to investigate the utilization of and technologies associated with alternative fuels such as ammonia, methanol, synthetic…
Baltic Dry Index Slides Sharply as Capesizes Hit Two-year Trough

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index registered its worst fall in three months on Thursday, weighed down by lower demand for coal and iron ore cargoes as steel output fell in China.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell 90 points, or about 7.4%, to 1,123 points, a fresh low since Dec.
Damen Delivers Cutter Suction Dredge from Stock in 44 Days

Dutch shipbuilding group Damen reports it has delivered a new cutter suction dredge (CSD) to HAC Cranes for an end user in Kuwait.The stationary CSD650 dredger, named GD4000, was mobilized from stock and outfitted, inspected and delivered from the yard to its final destination, all in just 44 days from contract signature. After some modification work and the installation of some extra onboard options in Kuwait…
Cuba Boosts Fuel Imports, Reshuffles Shipping Operations After Terminal Fire
Cuba is using a combination of ship-to-ship transfers and floating oil storage to ease fuel scarcity and power cuts following a fire that destroyed a portion of its main oil terminal, vessel tracking
Eye on Design: Flipping Small High-Speed Powerboats

Naval Architects can predict many things with great certainty. But the sea is an unpredictable task master and there are still a number of areas where it is difficult to get a technical handle on the problem.High speed planing boat stability is one of those areas.Planing hull design is incredibly complicated and dynamic behavior is actually more difficult to predict than the dynamic behavior of airplanes.
New Offshore Wind Crew Transfer Vessel Launched in UK

Marine engineering consultancy BAR Technologies on Wednesday held the official launch of its first BARTech 30 crew transfer vessel (CTV) from its premises on The Camber, Portsmouth, UK.BAR Technologies, Chair, Martin Whitmarsh - also Chair of the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership – led his BAR Technologies colleagues to officially hand over the first vessel of its type to its owner Seacat Services.As part of the launch…
New Decommissioning Hub in Aberdeen to Create Up to 50 New Jobs

CessCon Decom, a Scotland-based firm specializing in decommissioning of oil and gas structures, plans to launch a decommissioning hub at the Port of Aberdeen’s £400 million South Harbour expansion in Q3 2022, creating up to 50 new jobs.The new hub will be located within Crathes Quay at South Harbour and deliver dismantling, recycling, and reuse services with a key focus on subsea infrastructure. The jobs boost is expected over the next 12 months…
COSCO SHIPPING Lines Takes First Bunkering of Marine Biofuel

TotalEnergies Marine Fuels completed the first refuelling of a COSCO Shipping Lines containership with marine biofuel, marking TotalEnergies’ first biofuel bunkering operation for a containership in Singapore.On July 11, 2022, the 4,250 TEU COSCO Houston container vessel was bunkered with TotalEnergies-supplied biofuel in Singapore waters, via ship-to-ship transfer. VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil) blended with 20% second-generation…
Keeping the Inland Waterways Open: Balancing Maintenance and Operational Requirements

Inland waterways, sometimes called ‘nature’s superhighways’ provide a strategic advantage related to security, economics, and trade for any nation whose geography, topography, and climate enable this natural infrastructure. Economic benefits are realized in small rural areas through large urban communities that utilize the system for efficient transportation and improved markets. However, deliberate operational…
East Timor Expects Australia to Back Greater Sunrise Gas Development via Timor

East Timor is confident the Australian government will support plans for gas from the massive Greater Sunrise offshore field to be processed in Timor rather than Darwin, the country's petroleum authority head said on Thursday.Greater Sunrise lies in waters between East Timor and Australia and holds an estimated 7.3 trillion cubic feet of gas which the Timorese urgently want to develop as the impoverished nation's main revenue source…
ESL Orders Five More Hybrid-electric Bulk Carriers

ESL Shipping’s subsidiary AtoB@C Shipping informs it has declared an option to order for five additional hybrid-electric bulk carrier vessels from the Indian shipyard Chowgule & Company Private Limited, from which the shipping company has previously ordered seven identical vessels.Of the series of 12 new-generation electric hybrid vessels, every other vessel is sold to a company formed by a group of investors.
US Coast Guard Resuscitates Tanker Crewman Near Corpus Christi

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced and resuscitated a 60-year-old man from a tanker vessel 90 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, Wednesday.Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi watchstanders received a call at approximately 9:36 a.m. from the captain of the tanker vessel Beatrice requesting a medevac for a crew member reportedly experiencing trouble breathing and abdominal pain. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon…
Yemen's HSA Pledges $1.2 Million to UN Drive to Avert Tanker Oil Spill

Yemen's HSA Group on Thursday became the first private entity to pledge funds for a United Nations operation to avoid an oil spill from a tanker stranded off the coast of Yemen, as the U.N. urgently tries to secure an initial requirement of $80 million.The international organization, which has so far raised over $60 million, has warned that the Safer, stranded since 2015 off a Red Sea oil terminal…