Ailing Crewmember Medevaced from Pipelayer in the Gulf of Mexico
An ailing crewmember was airlifted from a pipelay vessel in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Coast Guard Eighth District and Coast Guard Sector New Orleans command center watchstanders received a report at approximately 10 p.m. Saturday from the Solitaire of a 32-year-old crewmember aboard experiencing severe abdominal pain.Sector New Orleans watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to assist.
MSC Cruises' New LNG-fueled Ship Completes Sea Trials
MSC Cruises’ second liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ship MSC Euribia has completed sea trials ahead of planned delivery in the coming weeks.Flowing four days of "intensive systems tests" in the Atlantic Ocean, MSC Cruises’ latest flagship will receive finishing touches at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France before being officially delivered to MSC Cruises on May 31.Cleaner…
Ocean Albatros, Sixth Infinity Class Ship, Delivered to SunStone
Expedition cruise company SunStone Maritime Group A/S recently received its sixth Infinity class vessel, the Ocean Albatros. Final documentswere signed on Thursday, April 20, completing delivery of the vessel from the CMHI Shipyard in Haimen, China, to the SunStone companies. The ship will be on a year-round charter to Albatros Expeditions.Infinity Class Vessels are 104 m long and 18 m wide, with a draft of 5.1 m.
Berge Bulk, ABS Examine Methanol Refit for Bulk Carrier
A Joint Development Project (JDP) to evaluate the feasibility of converting a bulk vessel to methanol fuel propulsion was signed by Berge Bulk CEO James Marshall and ABS Vice President of Global Sustainability Panos Koutsourakis.Per the agreement, the team will examine the possibility of retrofitting the 300-m, 210,000-dwt heavy fuel oil propelled bulk carrier Berge Mauna Kea to operate on methanol fuel.
Taiwan Tracking Chinese Carrier off its Southeast Coast
Taiwan's defence ministry said on Monday that a Chinese carrier group led by the Shandong was about 120 nautical miles off the southeast of the island's coast, the same ship that took part in China's war games around the island earlier this month.Taiwan previously reported that the Shandong, commissioned in 2019, had sailed into waters in the Western Pacific through the Bashi Channel that separates the island from the Philippines ahead of a meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S.
Ultratank Taps Seaber to Optimize Operations
Ultratank announced it has signed a long-term contract with Seaber.io, a Finnish maritime technology company that develops data-led fleet scheduling and optimization solutions, helping the chemical bulk operator to increase efficiency as it aims to reduce CO2 intensity by at least 40% by 2030.Seaber’s product is an AI-assisted planning solution developed to revolutionize the tanker and bulker shipping industry.
Zinus to Supply Shore Charging Systems for Seaspan Ferries
Norway-based Zinus announced it has secured a contract to supply shore power technology and autonomous solutions for Canada's Seaspan Ferries. Seaspan Ferries serves the Vancouver Island supply chain and with a commercial ferry service. The contract includes the supply of three Zinus Autonomous Solution units, consisting of three ZPP700 Automatic Telescopic Charging Towers and three SWC100 Autonomous Onboard Receiver systems.
World’s Largest Methanol Engine Passes Factory Acceptance Tests
The world’s largest methanol-powered two-stroke engine—an MAN B&W G95ME-LGIM type built by Hyundai Heavy Industries' Egine & Machinery Division (HHI-EMD)—has successfully passed factory acceptance tests (FAT) in South Korea.MAN Energy Solutions developed the ME-LGIM dual-fuel engine for operation on methanol, as well as conventional fuel. The engine is based on the company’s proven ME-series, with its approximately 8,500 engines in service, and works according to the Diesel principle.
Austal USA Christens the Future USS Kingsville
Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA celebrated the christening of the future USS Kingsville (LCS 36) Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship in a ceremony at the company’s Gulf Coast shipyard.The 18th LCS designed and constructed by Austal USA, Kingsville is planned for delivery in early 2024 and will be homeported in San Diego, Calif. LCS 36 is the first U.S. Navy ship named for Kingsville.Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships are fast…
Sensing360 and Damen Shipyards Team Up to Bring Photonics-based Sensors to Maritime Industry
Dutch firms Sensing360 and Damen Shipyards have teamed up to improve the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of ships through advanced sensor technology. Sensing360 specializes in sensor technology based on photonics — the interaction between light and electronics. "The collaboration with Damen means we can now also deploy this technology — which we already use extensively in wind turbines — onboard ships.
Marlink Teams Up with NORMA Cyber to Boost Cybersecurity for Maritime Customers
Satellite communications solutions firm Marlink has signed a strategic agreement with NORMA Cyber to strengthen the cybersecurity intelligence and resilience of its maritime customer base.The Norwegian Maritime Cyber Resilience Centre (NORMA Cyber) is a joint venture between risk insurance provider Den Norske Krigsforsikring for Skib (DNK) and the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association. NORMA Cyber provides…
Port of Rotterdam Traffic Drops Slightly as Inflation Weighs
Throughput in the port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest sea port, fell 1.5% in the first quarter as high inflation slowed down container traffic, the port's operator said on Monday."Especially in the container segment, we faced a decline in volumes due to high inflation and a weakening economy," port CEO Allard Castelein said in a statement."Results in the other segments mainly show growth and confirm…
Ship Recycling Challenges Mount in Bangladesh
The results of this most recent market decline have been on full display this week as those vessels previously sold at higher prices are now struggling to deliver in a U.S. dollar starved Bangladesh (and Pakistan) and end buyers are starting to (expectedly) create unnecessary turbulence at the waterfront, especially on those high-priced incoming units.Steel plate prices continue to dither across all markets (including Turkey) over the past month or so…
Denmark Lifts Sailing Restrictions Near Nord Stream Pipeline Leaks
Denmark has lifted restrictions on sailing in waters near the Nord Stream pipeline leaks in the Baltic Sea and said it was no longer dangerous for ships to navigatein the area. The restrictions were lifted by the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) at the recommendation of the Danish Energy Agency. The DMA said, however, it continues to discourage anchoring, fishing, and seabed works within one nautical mile (1.85 km) of the leaks due to "underwater obstacles".
U.S. Coast Guard Medevacs Crew Member from Allseas' Pipelayer in Gulf of Mexico
The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday it had evacuated a crew member from motor vessel Solitaire approximately 15 miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Coast Guard Eighth District and Coast Guard Sector New Orleans command center watchstanders received a report at approximately 10 p.m. Saturday from the motor vessel Solitaire of a 32-year-old male crewmember aboard experiencing severe abdominal pain.
Ulstein Says Its U-STERN to Offer a Safer, Smarter Installation of Large Offshore Wind Monopiles
Ship design company Ulstein Design & Solutions has designed an offshore wind installation vessel that it says is "a safer, smarter, and more competitive ship design solution for transporting, upending and installing large monopiles on DP."The patent-pending U-STERN design, according to the company, enables longitudinal storage of monopiles and upending in the ship center line. "This allows the ship to head into the waves during the installation process…
Floating Wind Power Gains Traction But Can It Set Sail?
After a bumper year for floating offshore wind farm tenders, the nascent industry is poised for explosive growth in the coming decade as countries strive to cut their carbon emissions. But it's unlikely to be all plain sailing. Rising costs and supply chain bottlenecks have hit some projects and without investment in infrastructure to launch the vast turbines and tow them to sea, hopes of harnessing the full power of the ocean's winds to hit climate targets could be dashed, industry experts say.
WW2 Shipwreck Found 81 Years After Tragic Sinking
Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday that the wreck of a Japanese merchant ship, sunk in World War Two with 864 Australian soldiers on board, had been found in the South China Sea, ending a tragic chapter of the country's history.Marles said the SS Montevideo Maru, an unmarked prisoner of war transport vessel missing since being sunk off the Philippines' coast in July 1942,…
Bosphorus Ship Traffic Temporarily Suspended
Ship traffic in the Bosphorus Strait will be suspended between 0500 GMT and 1400 GMT on Sunday for the passage of a Turkish naval force vessel, Tribeca Shipping said on Saturday.As part of a deal between Ukraine and Russia brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, ships carrying grain from several Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea are inspected before entering the Bosphorus Strait.Russia has said that extending the deal beyond the May 18 deadline depends on the West lifting restrictions it says
US Set to Blow Up Fake Warship in the South China Sea
As part of a joint military exercise with the Philippines, the U.S. Navy is slated to sink a mock warship on April 26, 2023, in the South China Sea.The live-fire drill is not a response to increased tensions with China over Taiwan, both the U.S. and the Philippines have stressed. But, either way, Beijing isn’t happy – responding by holding its own staged military event involving actual warships and fighter jets deployed around Taiwan…