Tankers Collide in the Suez Canal, Traffic Unaffected
Two tankers that were waiting in the great lakes anchor area in Egypt's Suez Canal brushed against each other on Tuesday but the minor incident did not affect shipping traffic, the canal's authority chairman, Osama Rabie, said in a statement.The incident took place as tanker Aligote was preparing to leave the anchor area while tanker Lyric Magnolia was waiting, Rabie said.An initial inspection report showed no significant damage nor any spills in the vicinity of the tankers, Rabie added.The tank
Six Dead, 64 Missing After Vessel Sinks in Congo's Lake Kivu
Six people were killed and 64 others were missing after a boat capsized in Democratic Republic of Congo's Lake Kivu early on Monday, local authorities said.Mustapha Mamboleo, a local official at Idjwi island in the lake, said 150 passengers were aboard the motorized boat traveling from Mugote village on Idjwi island to the eastern city of Goma and 80 of them survived.Mathieu Alimasi Malumbi, the transport minister for South Kivu province, confirmed the incident."I can confirm that there was a ca
Ammonia-powered Tug Conversion Underway
A first-of-its-kind ammonia-powered, zero-emission tugboat will be put to the test by Brooklyn, N.Y-based startup Amogy in late 2023.Having already successfully demonstrated its technology on an aerial drone, tractor and semi-truck, the ammonia power solutions company revealed in early March that it is retrofitting a scaled up 1-megawatt (MW) version of its ammonia-to-power system onto a tug at Feeney Shipyard in Kingston, N.Y.
Lomar Shipping Names Bujor Technical Director
Libra Group's shipping subsidiary Lomar Shipping announced the appointment of Marius Bujor as its new Technical Director. Based in the company’s Bremen office, he succeeds Stylianos Papageorgiou who has been promoted to the position of Managing Director of lomarlabs, a new venture to collaborate with deep-tech start-ups.Bujor has been with Lomar for eight years, having joined in 2014 as a Technical Superintendent.
LR and ICS Invest in Crew Insight Software
Lloyd’s Register has acquired a 50% interest in ISF Watchkeeper, a work and rest hours compliance software solution from IT Energy Systems and Consulting Limited. The acquisition will result in LR becoming a joint owner of ISF Watchkeeper with the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).Originally developed by ICS and IT Energy, ISF Watchkeeper is a suite of digital solutions that helps global ship operators to plan…
e1 Marine to Build Hydrogen Generator to Support Carbon Capture System
Renewable energy company e1 Marine said it has been commissioned to build an S Series 130 methanol to hydrogen generator by Current AG for the development and evaluation of techniques to capture waste heat and CO2 from the exhaust stream created during the reforming process.If the lab-based tests are successful, the additional heat and reduced CO2 emissions will improve the overall economy and environmental footprint of the methanol to hydrogen reforming process.
Shreyas Shipping Buys Three Container Ships
Shreyas Shipping and Logistics Ltd, the Indian-flagged vessel-owning firm of Transworld Group of companies said Tuesday that it had acquired three container vessels within just one week.
SAFE Boats Becomes 100% Employee-owned
SAFE Boats International, a boatbuilder with yards in Bremerton and Tacoma, Wash., announced it completed a transaction that transfers 100% of the company’s ownership to its employees.The SAFE Boats International Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) has acquired the company, completing the final milestone in a journey that started in late 2022. An ESOP is an employee retirement plan that allows employees…
Turkish Shipyard Cuts First Steel for Offshore Wind Farm Support Vessel for Dutch Owner
Turkey's Tersan Shipyard last week celebrated the steel cutting of NB1121, the second offshore wind farm support vessel being built for Acta Marine projects.The shipyard is building two DP2 construction service operation vessels (CSOV) powered with Methanol and MDO/HVO for the Dutch vessel owner. The construction of the first vessel kicked off in January.Designed by Ulstein Design & Solutions AS with the cooperation of Acta Marine…
Venezuela's March Oil Exports Rise on More Supertankers, Chevron Cargoes
Venezuela's oil exports rose in March to the highest monthly average since August, boosted by a resumption of loadings after an export freeze and by rising cargoes assigned to Chevron Corp, according to documents and shipping data.State oil company PDVSA has reinstated two export contracts after a January freeze by new boss Pedro Tellechea: a medium-term contract with Hangzhou Energy, and another with Portugal-based Adinius Sociedade de Servicios, the documents showed.
Industry Welcomes EU’s Decision on Filipino Seafarer Certificates
The European Commission has decided to continue recognising certificates for seafarers issued by the Philippines, one of the world’s largest maritime labour supply countries.In December 2021, following a detailed assessment of the training and certification system in place, the Commission had informed the Philippines that recognition of their seafarer certificates would be withdrawn unless serious measures were taken…
Three Austal USA Executives Indicted for Fraud
A federal grand jury returned an indictment last week charging three Alabama men with orchestrating an accounting fraud scheme at the Mobile-based shipbuilder Austal USA LLC.The yard builds vessels for the U.S. Navy, including the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). Austal USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian company Austal Limited.According to court documents, from at least in or around 2013 through at least in or around July 2016…
Next IMO Secretary-General Could be a Win for Diversity
Seven IMO Member States have nominated a candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the IMO in what could be a win for diversity in maritime.Three of the seven are women, and if elected, Nancy Karigithu of Kenya would also be the first African to hold the post. The other female nominees are Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry (Dominica) and Minna Kivimäki (Finland).They are joined by nominees Moin Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh)…
Rotterdam Container Terminal Set for €1 Billion Expansion
A.P. Moller - Maersk's container terminal operating arm APM Terminals announced the expansion of its Maasvlakte II terminal in Rotterdam, increasing the terminal's capacity by approx. 2 million TEU The project involves a site of approximately 47.5 hectares with 1,000 meters of deep-sea quay. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is now constructing the new quay walls, which will be completed by mid-2024.
FMD's New High-speed Engine to be Tested for US Navy’s LUSV Platform
Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) announced it has been contracted to provide and test one nForcer high-speed engine to qualify for the Navy’s large unmanned surface vessel (LUSV) platform. To qualify, the engine must perform for a minimum of 720 hours in a land-based test environment without human intervention. Testing will begin in Q3 2023.“The LUSV platform has unprecedented power and propulsion requirements…
Gladding-Hearn Delivers Refitted Launch to Tampa Bay Pilots
The Tampa Bay pilot association has taken delivery of Tampa, a newly refitted Chesapeake Class pilot boat built by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding in 2003, when the Somerset, Mass. shipyard introduced the class of mid-size, high-speed launches. In 2015, the Tampa pilots also took delivery of the shipyard’s first Chesapeake Class MKII, which incorporates the performance benefits of Volvo Penta’s IPS 2 pod system.
Castor Maritime Sells 2005-built Bulk Carrier
Castor Maritime announced that on March 23, 2023, it entered into an agreement to sell a 2005-built Panamax bulk carrier to an undisclosed buyer for $13.95 million.The vessel…
Fuel Savings Are Just a ‘Nudge’ Away
The commercial maritime industry is hard at work developing, testing and implementing new and innovative technologies to limit its environmental impacts. While much of the effort has focused on physical solutions such as improved hull design, cleaner burning engines and alternative fuels—all of which are important components of the industry’s decarbonization journey—software firm Signol has its sights…
US Working to Address Challenges in the Way of Offshore Wind Goals
A number of recent actions in the United States will better position the nation to meet its short- and long-term offshore wind energy targets, as outlined in the April 2023 U.S. Offshore Wind Report from Intelatus Global Partners.April brings with it the news that the U.S. federal government is seeking to accelerate and incentivize investment in offshore wind technologies and the supply chain, whether it be for bottom-fixed or floating wind projects…
J. Lauritzen Orders Two Methanol Dual-fuel Bulk Carriers
Danish shipping company J. Lauritzen said it signed letter of intent for construction of minimum two methanol dual-fuel 81,200 dwt Kamsarmax bulk carriers, which will be built by Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, Japan, and be capable of trading with zero carbon emissions when powered by green methanol, and biodiesel.The vessels will be among the very first zero emission capable bulk carriers in the world, and…
