New Rules Will Improve Duck Boat Safety
New U.S. legislation included in the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 signed into law by President Biden in December aims to improve safety of amphibious vessels known as DUKW boats.The legislation advances NTSB recommendations for amphibious vessels known as DUKW boats and requires the U.S. Coast Guard to provide an initial response to new NTSB recommendations within 90 days.“We applaud lawmakers for their bold action to improve DUKW boat safety…
Kiewit Corporation Acquires Weeks Marine
Omaha-headquartered construction company Kiewit Corporation on January 1, 2023 completed its acquisition of Cranford, N.J.-based marine construction and dredging contractor Weeks Marine and its subsidiaries for an undisclosed amount.Weeks Marine and its subsidiaries Healy Tibbitts Builders, McNally International and North American Aggregates will be independently branded subsidiaries of Kiewit.“This acquisition offers substantial opportunities for both companies,” said Kiewit CEO Rick Lanoha.
EU Regulators to Rule on Viasat's Inmarsat Takeover by Feb. 13
EU antitrust regulators will decide by Feb. 13 whether to clear U.S.
Some Ocean Shipping Rates Collapsing, but Real Price Relief is Months Away
Prices in the most volatile segment of ocean shipping are collapsing, but top retailers like Walmart and Home Depot should not expect relief until the spring contract renegotiation season, industry experts said.Spot rates, which cover anywhere from 10% to 40% of ocean container shipments and are considered a key indicator of the industry's health, are in free fall as recession looms and the pandemic-fueled U.S.
ABS and HD Hyundai to Continue Work on Autonomous Projects
ABS and HD Hyundai signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to continue working together on marine autonomy projects. Building on shared efforts to expand the development of autonomous navigation technology into critical vessel machinery and safety systems, the organizations met again at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas to finalize the agreement covering four areas:Artificial Intelligence…
Ingalls Awarded Advanced Planning Contract for Zumwalt-Class Ships
HII announced its Ingalls Shipbuilding division was awarded a $10.5 million contract for the modernization period planning of Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) and USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001).Zumwalt-class destroyers feature a state-of-the-art electric propulsion system, wave-piercing tumblehome hull, stealth design and are equipped with advanced warfighting technology and weaponry.
Fairbanks Morse Defense Launches Its First High-speed Engine
Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) is expanding its naval defense capabilities by offering the nForcer FM 175D engine, the defense contractor's first engine designed for high-speed applications. With more power density than competing high-speed engines in the maritime defense marketplace, the nForcer FM 175D is best suited to support the substantial power and propulsion needs of the Navy's unmanned programs."The Navy's future fleet will be electric…
Baltic Dry Index Snaps Six-session Losing Streak
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, ended a six-session losing streak on Monday, as an uptick in capesize rates outweighed losses in panamax and supramax segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels, edged up nine points, or 0.8%, to 1,139.The capesize index gained 84 points, or 5.56%, to 1,596.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne c
UNI-TANKERS' Fleet Transition to Marlink's Hybrid Network Complete
Maritime satellite communications company Marlink has completed the migration of UNI-TANKERS’ owned fleet to its global hybrid network solution.The Danish shipping company UNI-TANKERS selected Marlink as an expert partner to support its digital transformation, combining hybrid high-throughput connectivity with cloud-data access, remote IT support, and proactive cyber security to improve performance and operational safety.
Middle East Ship Repair Yards Remain Center Stage
In the 45 years since the Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard (ASRY) opened on reclaimed land in Bahrain, the Middle East has become one of the world’s ship repair hotspots. A broad range of shipyards now service both regional and global markets.Regional yards have a ready market, with hundreds of offshore rigs working across the region together with the service ships that support them. Then there are…
Traffic in Suez Canal Normal After Ship Breakdown Dealt With
Shipping traffic in the Suez Canal was proceeding normally on Monday after tugs towed a cargo vessel that broke down during its passage through the waterway, the Canal Authority said.The breakdown was expected to cause only minor delays, with convoys of ships resuming regular transit by 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT), shipping agent Leth said.The M/V Glory, which was sailing to China, suffered a technical fault when it was 38km into its passage southward through the canal…
Aker Solutions, Drydocks to Upgrade Petrojarl Knarr FPSO for Deployment at Equinor's Rosebank Field
Norway's Aker Solutions will upgrade Altera Infrastructure's Petrojarl Knarr floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) to be redeployed at Equinor's Rosebank field development, offshore the UK. Petrojarl Knarr was built by Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea and delivered in 2014. It was operating on the Knarr field offshore Norway from 2015 until May 2022.The development concept…
