TotalEnergies Extends Siem PSV Pair in Brazil
Norwegian shipowner Siem Offshore said it has secured contract extensions for two of its platform supply vessels (PSV) working for TotalEnergies offshore Brazil.Total E&P do Brazil has declared the first of two options for the PSVs Siem Atlas and Siem Giant, and both vessels are now firm until June 2023.Siem Atlas and Siem Giant are 4,700 dwt, 87.9-meter-long STX PSV 4700 vessels built in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
American Cruise Lines Adds California Service
American Cruise Lines announced it will begin offering California cruises starting in 2023.The U.S. river and small ship coastal cruise line will offer a new eight-day round tris from San Francisco exploring the San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, the Napa River and the San Joaquin River, with stops in San Francisco, Napa, Vallejo, Stockton and Sacramento.“American continues to expand the possibilities for exceptional domestic small ship cruises across the country.
Terminals at Port of Oakland Resume Regular Hours
Marine terminals at California's Port of Oakland reopened for regular weekday hours on Monday after independent truckers formally ended a week-long protest of the state's new "gig worker" law that stranded cargo on ships, docks and warehouses, worsening U.S. supply chain snarls."All of our marine terminals are open this morning and operations are normal," a port spokesman said.The law, formally known as AB5…
USS Whidbey Island Decommissioned
Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship namesake, USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) held a decommissioning ceremony at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va. on July 22 before its inactivation next month.The ship’s decommissioning ceremony was held on the quay wall, alongside the moored USS Whidbey Island. The ceremony was attended by nine of her previous Commanding Officers and over 50 plankowners. “The last crew of Whidbey Island performed with great dignity and resiliency,” said Cmdr.
Batteries: Ready to Scale Up
Batteries for maritime power have been picking up big momentum, benefiting from the most basic concept within Econ 101: supply and demand.On May 19 Corvus Energy announced it would establish a lithium ion battery manufacturing facility in Port Bellingham, Wash., just north of Seattle. Corvus Energy is a leading supplier of battery energy storage systems (BESS) for marine applications. Its systems already power more than 30 North American vessels…
Australia Bans Tanker Over Crew Mistreatment
Australia's maritime safety agency has banned a Liberian-flagged oil tanker for six months for the underpayment of seafarers and onboard welfare issues.The Australian…
US Navy Awards Austal Option for Two More T-ATS Vessels
Australian shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal USA arm has been awarded a $156,171,650 fixed-price incentive contract option from the U.S. Navy for the construction of two additional Navajo-class Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ships (T-ATS 13 and 14). With the award, the company is now under contract for four T-ATS, having received awards for T-ATS 11 and 12 in October 2021.Austal CEO Paddy…
Strong Dollar Adds Instability to the Ship Recycling Market
As the ship recycling sector continues to try and adjust to these new lower realities on price, in addition to adhering to new regulations on L/C limits amidst a dire shortage of U.S. Dollars foreign exchange / reserves in both Pakistan and Bangladesh, the industry is certainly going through an uncertain period.This week, the Bangladeshi government introduced new limits to cap the outgoing volume of U.S.
Russian Missiles Hit Ukraine Port
Russian missiles hit Ukraine's southern port of Odesa on Saturday, the Ukrainian military said, threatening a deal signed just a day earlier to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strike blatant "barbarism" showing Moscow could not be trusted to implement the deal. However, public broadcaster…
More Long Delays at UK's Port of Dover
Long queues of holidaymakers and lorries built up on Saturday outside the Port of Dover, Britain's main gateway to Europe, and officials said the disruption could be worse than the logjam seen on Friday.Travelers setting out at the start of the British school summer holidays, as well as the usual flow of goods lorries, have faced long delays because of slow border checks.The Kent Resilience Forum, which brings together local councils and emergency services…
Satellite Images, Data Show Russian Ship 'Looting' Ukrainian Grain
Late last month, a Russian-flagged cargo ship carrying corn pulled into the Turkish port of Izmir on the Aegean Sea. The SV Nikolay had loaded the grain at Port Kavkaz, in Russia, six days earlier on June 18, according to documentation provided by an employee of the Russian company that owns the ship.A Reuters analysis of satellite imagery, ship-tracking data and open-source photos and videos yields a different port of origin for the SV Nikolay.
HTV Seaway Swan Joins the Seaway 7 Fleet
Seaway 7 took delivery of a new semisubmersible heavy transport vessel. The company entered into a bareboat contract with United Faith for its new build vessel MV Xin Qun 3, renamed Seaway Swan.Seaway Swan is a 50,000 DWT Heavy Transport Vessel (HTV) with an open stern and large deck free from obstructions.This addition to Seaway 7’s HTV fleet will further extend the company’s capacity to load larger and longer cargoes such as XXL monopiles…
Swiss "Take Note" of EU Sanctions Tweak for Russian Oil
The Swiss agency in charge of sanctions said it was up to the Swiss government to decide whether to adopt a tweak to EU sanctions that eases shipments of oil from Russian state-owned firms Rosneft and Gazprom to third countries.Purchases of Russian seaborne crude oil by EU companies and its export to third countries is allowed, but under tweaks to sanctions on Russia that came into force on Friday…
Cargo Shippers Pressure EU for Review of Container Shipping Regulation
Ten trade organizations representing the owners and forwarders of cargo, port terminal operators and other parts of the supply chain dependent on container shipping are demanding an immediate review of European Union’s Consortia Block Exemption Regulation for the container shipping industry.The Regulation exempts container shipping lines from many of the checks and balances of EU competition law and…
New InmarsatSatellite Reaches Geostationary Orbit, Testing Begins
I-6 F1, Inmarsat's most sophisticated commercial communications satellite\, has reached geostationary orbit and begun on-orbit testing, Carrying both L-band and Ka-band payloads, I-6 F1 will deliver a further enhancement of Inmarsat’s ELERA and Global Xpress networks respectively.The satellite, the size of a London double-decker bus, with a solar array ‘wingspan’ larger than a Boeing 767, was launched by MHI in Japan in December 2021.
Iron Ore Price Soars, Fueled by hopes for China'sQ3 Rebound
Iron ore futures soared on Monday, extending a rally spurred by hopes of an economic rebound for top steel producer and consumer China in the third quarter, and support for the country's troubled property sector.The most-traded iron ore, for September delivery, on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange DCIOcv1 ended daytime trade 7.1% higher at 711 yuan ($105.27) a ton, after earlier hitting 723.50 yuan…
Energy Opinion: China May End Australian Coal Import Ban
Talk that China may end its unofficial ban on imports of Australian coal is unlikely to result in any significant increase in shipments to the world's biggest coal buyer.Media reports last week suggested that Beijing is considering lifting the informal embargo, put in place in the second half of 2020 as tensions escalated with Canberra over a series of issues.Coal wasn't the only commodity affected, as China placed restrictions or bans on imports of barley, seafood and wine, among others.The uno
Oil Falls Anticipating Fed Hike will Dent Demand
Oil fell on Monday, reversing earlier gains but continuing a recent losing streak, on concerns that an expected increase in interest rates in the U.S., the world's biggest oil user, may limit fuel demand growth.Brent crude LCOc1 futures for September settlement dropped 48 cents, or 0.5%, to $102.72 a barrel at 0205 GMT, down for a fourth day.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures for September delivery fell 65 cents…
Daewoo Shipbuilding Bags $500m Order
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd. reportedly an order for nearly $500 million (649.5 billion won) to build a pair of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for a European company.
17 dead after boat carrying migrants capsizes in The Bahamas
Seventeen people died after a boat carrying dozens of Haitian migrants capsized off the coast of The Bahamas, authorities said on Sunday, as more Haitians attempt…