Svitzer Announces Lockout in Australia
Svitzer Australia, a subsidiary of A.P. Møller – Maersk, announced on Monday that it will lock out all harbor towage employees covered under its 2016 National Towage Enterprise Agreement and their union bargaining representatives starting Friday, November 18, amid ongoing pay disputes.The lockout, which is slated to run indefinitely, will impact shipping operations at Australian ports in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Five Iran-related Oil Tankers Lose Their Flags Following US Sanctions
The international ship registries of Djibouti and the Cook Islands suspended the flags on five oil tankers, following sanctions by the United States this month for having facilitated oil trade for Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Force, nongovernment organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) said on Monday.The U.S. Treasury Department in early November imposed sanctions on a wide network of companies…
Firefighting at Sea – Towards a Safe Ship Concept
The most important of all international maritime safety conventions is the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). The first version was adopted at a conference in London in 1914. The catalyst for this conference was the sinking of the Titanic on her first voyage in April 1912, which cost the lives of more than 1,500 passengers. This was the beginning of the journey that put…
Freeport LNG to Miss Restart Target for Fire-damaged Texas Export Plant
The owner of the second-largest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant has not yet provided regulators with a final repair plan, according to a person familiar with the matter, likely pushing any restart into the first quarter of next year.The outage since a fiery explosion in June has underscored the global demand for new gas supplies and required major LNG traders and customers of the roughly…
UK Navy Rescues Four From Sinking Yacht
A U.K. Royal Navy warship assisted in the rescue of four people from a yacht that was taking on water and at risk of sinking in the English Channel near the Isle of Wight.Last week, the Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond answered a Mayday call from a civilian yacht that was taking on a significant amount of water while sailing from Beaulieu River in the New Forest toward Honfleur in France.Diamond…
Fortunes Return to the Sea as the Wind Blows Offshore
The results of fortunes and failures are often described as a “perfect storm”. The COVID pandemic, domestic inflation, labor issues and current geopolitical events have brought that description to a peak. A promise of a “new normal” emerged post pandemic, with a vision of alternative energy, alternative fuels and alternative supply chain logistics to help toward solving some of the problems, heralding a world of change with reduced emissions…
Volumes Rising on Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway System
Shipping across the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway system topped 4.2 million tons in October, led by strong gains in grain as well as potash, salt and other dry bulk cargos. Overall grain shipments reached 1.5 million tons, a reflection of the strong late harvest in various regions of the Great Lakes.“It’s great to see these positive numbers for the late harvesting of grain in the U.S. and Canada,” said Bruce Burrows, President & CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce.
Louisiana Gets US DOT Loan to Launch New Ferry Service
Louisiana is set to launch a new ferry service with the help of a low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).The DOT said on Monday its Build America Bureau will provide nearly $41 million in loans to the Louisiana State Bond Commission for the benefit of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) that will go toward the ferry project as well as a bridge improvement program.The Bureau…
Diana Takes Secondhand Ultramax, Charters Out Another
Diana Shipping on Monday announced it has taken delivery of the DSI Andromeda (formerly STH Tokyo), a 2016-built Ultramax dry bulk vessel. The 60,309 dwt vessel…
Construction Begins for American Cruise Lines' Third Project Blue Vessel
American Cruise Lines announced on Monday that Salisbury, Md. shipbuilder Chesapeake Shipbuilding has began building American Liberty, the third new Coastal Cat in the company’s Project Blue series. The newbuild is scheduled to enter service in May 2024.First announced in January 2022, the Project Blue series is a set of 12 small ships designed to cover almost any domestic U.S. cruise itinerary. The first two ships in the series…
Edda Wind Orders Another CSOV from Gondan
Norwegian offshore wind service vessel firm Edda Wind has ordered another commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) from Gondan Shipbuilders, in Spain.The newbuild will be of Salt 0474 design, which is a further development of the Salt 0217 design and will be delivered in April 2025. In addition, the company has an option with the yard for one more vessel.Including the latest newbuild, Edda Wind will have a fleet of 10 purpose-built vessels, of which six are currently under contract.
Callais Joins Conrad Board of Directors
Conrad Industries Announces Appointment of Larry J. Callais to its Board of DirectorsMorgan City, La. based shipbuilding group Conrad Industries, Inc. announced on Firday that it has appointed Larry J. Callais to its Board of Directors. Callais will serve as an independent Class I director, and as a member of the company’s Independent Directors Committee, effective immediately.Johnny Conrad, Conrad Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased to welcome Larry Callais to our Board.
Baltic Index Hits Over One-week Low
The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index slipped to its lowest in more than a week on Monday, pressured by declines in the capesize and supramax segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels carrying dry bulk commodities, dropped 30 points, or about 2.2%, to 1,325, its lowest since November 4.The capesize index lost 98 points, or about 6.4%, to 1,446.Average daily earnings for capesize, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargo
Bollinger Completes Acquisition of Halter Marine
Louisiana-based Bollinger Shipyards announced it has completed its acquisition of Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder VT Halter Marine and neighboring repair yard ST Engineering Halter Marine Offshore (STEHMO) from parent company ST Engineering North America, the U.S. subsidiary of Singaporean multinational technology, defense and engineering group ST Engineering.The deal, first announced on November 7, is said to be worth $15 million, according to ST Engineering.
Torqeedo Opens New HQ and Production Facilities
Marine electric drives manufacturer Torqeedo GmbH celebrated the grand opening of a brand-new 8,300 m2 building near Munich where all company activities, including research, development, and production, will now take place.Fabian Bez, Torqeedo's chief executive officer, said, Whether by road, rail, air or water, sustainable forms of propulsion are needed to achieve the climate targets. In the transport sector, in particular, there is still a lot to be done.
Singapore Marine Fuel Sales Hit One-year High in October
Marine fuel sales in Singapore surged to a one-year high in October, latest official data showed on Monday, as more competitive prices attracted ships to refuel at the world's top bunkering hub. October bunker sales totaled 4.25 million tonnes, climbing 7% from September, while vessel arrivals for bunkering at Singapore rose 9% month-on-month at 3,431 vessel calls, data from Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority showed.
Strategic Marine to Build Three Chartwell Marine-designed Crew Transfer Vessels
Singapore-based shipbuilding company Strategic Marine has signed an order to build three ‘Brevity’-class crew transfer vessels (CTVs) from Chartwell Marine.The Brevity-class 27-meter catamaran design forms part of Chartwell’s new offshore wind support vessel range, which has seen multiple orders in the UK and USA since its launch in June 2022.The Brevity-class crew transfer vessel has a capacity of 32 personnel.
Grant Funding for GT Green's AirWing
Based in the UK, GT Green Technologies said it secured grant funding from its Department of Transport following this year’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CDMC2) for the company’s proprietary AirWing propulsion solution, currently in development. Patent-pending, AirWing is designed to help ships reduce emission while retaining a compact size and low-profile stowage functionality…
Gallery: Mozambique's Coral Sul FLNG Ships First LNG Cargo
The Italian oil and gas company Eni, the operator of the the Coral South project offshore Mozambique, said Monday that the first shipment of LNG produced from the Coral gas field, in the ultra-deep waters of the Rovuma Basin, had departed from the Coral Sul FLNG facility.The Coral Sul is Mozambique's first LNG project and first floating LNG facility ever deployed in the deep waters of the African continent.Built by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea…
Training Tips for Ship: Maritime Skills: Who Trains? Who Assesses?
Assessment is a special interest of mine, and it should be at or near the top of the list for anyone involved in maritime training. Why? Two reasons. First, because it is arguably more important than the training itself. And second, because in my experience most training administrators pay 95% of their attention to training, and only 5% to assessment. This means that assessment is often done poorly.
