Vietnam in Big Push to Expand South China Sea Outposts
Vietnam has conducted a major expansion of dredging and landfill work at several of its South China Sea outposts in the second half of this year, signaling an intent to significantly fortify its claims in the disputed waterway, a U.S. think tank reported on Wednesday.Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the work in the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by China and others…
Cargo Volume Slide Continues at Port of Los Angeles
Cargo volumes were down in November at the Port of Los Angeles, marking another month of declines at what was once the United States' busiest seaport. The port said in its cargo update briefing this week that it handled 639,344 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in November, a 21% decrease from the same month last year. Overall, the port has handled 7% less cargo in the first 11 months of 2022 compared to last year’s all-time record.November 2022 loaded imports reached 307…
Ukraine Grain Deal Unlikely to Include New Ports in Near Term
United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday it was unlikely the Black Sea grain deal would be expanded in the near term to include more Ukrainian ports or reduce inspection times.Kyiv has called for an expansion of the deal with Moscow which was mediated by the United Nations and Turkey and allows Ukraine, a major global grain exporter, to ship food products from three of its Black Sea ports despite Russia's invasion."I don't see that happening in the next, near term," the U.N.
U.S. Navy: Building the Architecture Framework for New Guided Missile Frigates
“If we desire to secure peace,” President George Washington once observed, “it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.” During the late 1790s, the U.S. government commissioned naval engineers and shipbuilders to design and build large warships capable of agile maneuvering and stowing an excess amount of weapons.With the passing of the Naval Act of 1794, Washington secured the authorization to procure the Navy’s first six frigates – a wooden-hulled…
Performance Shipping Takes Delivery of Secondhand Tanker
Greek shipowner Performance Shipping announced on Thursday that it has taken delivery of a 2013-built LR2 Aframax oil product tanker that it agreed to purchase in November 2022.The 105,408 dwt P.
Sanford Orders Fishing Vessel from Damen Maaskant
Dutch shipbuilder Damen Maaskant said it has signed a contract with New Zealand based seafood company Sanford Limited for the design and build of a new scampi vessel for operations in the Southern Ocean.The vessel, based on the Damen Sea Fisher 3210 will be built to the latest standards in terms of sustainability, comfort and safety, the shipbuilder said. The unique design was created as a result of cooperation between Sanford and the management and technical teams of Damen Shipyards…
ABS Launches Requirements for Onboard Carbon Capture
Classification society ABS, working with shipyards, ship owners and operators, has developed a set of requirements to guide the maritime industry in the application of carbon capture technology at sea.“Carbon capture could be a key transformational technology for shipping to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050,” said Georgios Plevrakis, ABS Vice President, Global Sustainability. “ABS is working with leading organizations to support safe development of the technology…
HII Begins Fabrication of US Navy Destroyer Sam Nunn
HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division started fabrication of the U.S. Navy’s newest Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyer Sam Nunn (DDG 133) on Monday. The start of fabrication signifies that the shipyard is ready to move forward with the construction of the ship and that the first 100 tons of steel have been cut.“Our shipbuilders are very proud of our DDG 51 production line work,” said John Fillmore, Ingalls Shipbuilding DDG 51 program manager.
Amogy to Use Ballard Fuel Cell Engines
Amogy, developer of emissions-free ammonia power solutions, announced it has signed a contract to purchase fuel cell engines from Ballard Power Systems for ammonia-to-power maritime applications.Ballard’s FCwave engine is a scalable fuel cell system certified for operation in marine environments. Amogy’s proprietary ammonia-to-power platform relies on unique ammonia cracking technology, facilitating the extraction of hydrogen onboard for fuel in a hydrogen engine.
US Probing Shipping Lines’ Anti-retaliation Compliance
The United States' Federal Maritime Commission said it is asking the top 20 shipping lines calling the U.S. to provide information on how they are complying with the new prohibitions on retaliation established by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA).The added protections against retaliation were created by Section 5 of OSRA and became effective immediately upon the law’s enactment in June.
Wind Turbine Maker Vestas to Hire First Asia-designed CSOV
Shipbuilder Marco Polo Marine's Taiwan-based subsidiary, PKR Offshore, has signed a deal with wind turbine maker Vestas Taiwan Co., Ltd, for the maiden deployment of its new Commissioning Service Operations Vessel (CSOV).The new CSOV, which will be able to accommodate up to 110 persons, will be deployed for work on offshore wind farms in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, over a 3-year period, based on a minimum utilization commitment per year.
Future USS Carl Levin Completes Acceptance Trials
The future USS Carl M. Levin (DDG 120) completed acceptance trials on December 9, returning to General Dynamics Corp’s Bath Iron Works (BIW) Bath shipyard after spending two days at sea.During acceptance trials, the ship and its crew performed a series of demonstrations for review by the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). These demonstrations are used by INSURV to validate the quality…
Baltic Dry Index Logs Best Day in Nearly Three Months
The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index rose on Thursday to mark its biggest one-day percentage gain since mid-September, underpinned by a jump in capesize rates.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels carrying dry bulk commodities, gained 127 points, or about 9.1%, to 1,528 - its highest since Oct. 28.The capesize index climbed 372 points, or about 21.6%, to 2,095, its highest level since Oct.
Meyer Werft Delivers Arvia to P&O Cruises
German shipbuilder Meyer Werft on Thursday delivered the new cruise ship Arvia to British shipping company P&O Cruises. The sister ship of the Iona, built in 2020, also has low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion.At 185,000 tonnes, 345 meters in length with 16 guest decks, the newbuild can accommodate around 5,200 passengers in its 2,659 guest cabins.Jan Meyer, managing director at Meyer Werft…
Höegh Esperanza, FSRU for Germany's First LNG Terminal Reaches Wilhelmshaven
The Höegh Esperanza floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), for Germany's first LNG terminal, has arrived in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, Uniper has informed."The…
Dutch Company Launches Wind Turbine Foundation Installation Vessel Design
Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam has launched a design for a new offshore wind foundation installation vessel (FIV), called VERticale, in response to ever-growing wind turbines needing larger foundations."VERticale is developed for an optimized deck layout," says Kuno van den Berg, Department Manager Operational Engineering at Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam. ©Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam"The location of the offshore crane…
ClassNK Journal Outlines Maritime Risk Management
ClassNK has released the latest "ClassNK Technical Journal”, which has been published for contributing to the development of the maritime industry through the outcome of R&D and technical activities.The latest issue, “ClassNK Technical Journal No.6 2022 (II)” features how to deal with risk, including articles on risk assessment in the maritime sector, the concept of vulnerability which contributes to developing a new framework that supports the social implementation of Maritime Autonomous Surfac
Proman Stena Bulk Takes Delivery of Another Methanol-fuelled Tanker
Proman Stena Bulk, a JV between shipowner Stena Bulk and methanol producer Proman, has taken delivery of a methanol-fuelled tanker, Stena ProsperousDelivered by Guangzhou Shipyard International Co Ltd (GSI) the 49,990 DWT vessel will now enter commercial operation, running fully on methanol. "The delivery caps a marquee year for the joint venture, which now has four vessels actively trading and bunkering fully on the low-emission future fuel…
HGK Shipping Acquires BeKa HGK GmbH
Inland waterway shipping company HGK Shipping acquired the remaining 60% of BeKa HGK GmbH as of December 14, 2022, a strategic decision that the company says "significantly intensify its business activities on the Upper Rhine, Danube and Mosel rivers in its dry shipping division." The previous co-shareholder, Monique Hezel-Reyntjens, will continue to manage the business of BeKa HGK. With the takeover, BeKa HGK is assigned to the dry shipping corporate division within HGK Shipping.
Small but Powerful: Kongsberg Maritime Launches New Retractable Azimuth Thrusters
The Norwegian maritime equipment and technology company Kongsberg Maritime has launched a new series of retractable azimuth thrusters.Kongsberg said that the units, of the ULE PM type, are smaller than competing units but maintain thrust power.Kongsberg Maritime said that because of their compact size, the new thrusters could be used on modern offshore wind, fishing, and naval vessels with limited…
