UK Royal Navy's Experimental Ship Starts Sea Trials
The U.K. Royal Navy’s NavyX trials ship, XV (eXperimental Vessel) Patrick Blackett, left Portsmouth Naval Base to undergo sea acceptance trials - ensuring the vessel and its onboard equipment is fully functioning and ready to support innovative experimentation.The ship will be used by NavyX innovation and autonomy team to independently test and trial novel technologies, including unmanned underwater vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles…
U.S. Gov't Proposes First-ever Offshore Wind Lease Sale in Gulf of Mexico
The U.S. administration on Wednesday proposed the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, as part of the government's plan to spur offshore wind deployment beyond the East Coast.The proposed sale is part of the leasing path announced by Secretary Haaland in 2021 to meet the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and…
MGBW Workers Complete In-house Welding Program
Marine Group Boat Works (MGBW), a family-owned boat repair and construction facility, is pleased to announce that 30 of its boatbuilders recently graduated from MGBW’s in-house Welding Certification Program. The Welding Program was launched in 2021 with support from a Small Shipyards Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD). In total, $859,250 was spent to develop the curriculum…
Squire Patton Boggs Partners with The Baltic Exchange
Law firm Squire Patton Boggs (SPB) has partnered with freight market information organization The Baltic Exchange to provide a vessel sale and purchase (S&P) transaction closing service for the global shipping industry. The service will be led by SPB’s 30-strong Commodities & Shipping Group co-chaired by Chris Swart and Barry Stimpson, and will be underpinned by the Baltic Exchange’s independent Singapore…
Ukraine Wants One-year Grain Deal Extension to Include New Ports
Ukraine will ask Turkey and the United Nations this week to start talks to roll over the Black Sea grain deal, seeking an extension of at least one year that would include the ports of Mykolaiv, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the UN and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. The agreement was extended in November…
Albania Seizes Tanker Carrying Oil Suspected of Coming from Russia
Albania has seized an oil tanker carrying 22,500 tonnes of oil suspected of coming from Russia and arrested the crew for breaching a Western embargo, Albanian police said on Monday. The Liberian-registered oil and chemical tanker was seized in the coastal town of Durres. "From the first steps of investigation it is suspected that this oil shipment is coming from countries under an oil embargo, especially from Russia," police said in the statement.
Belgium on High Alert as Russian 'Spy Ship' Detected in North Sea
Belgium said it is investigating the presence of a Russian "spy ship" in the North Sea, a day after its neighbor the Netherlands reported that Russia was targeting North Sea infrastructure.The ship was detected in the Belgian North Sea around mid-November last year, Vincent Van Quickenborne, the Justice and North Sea minister, said in a statement headlined "Russian spy ship off our coast in November".While the presence of Russian ships in the North Sea is not forbidden…
A Toll of War: Ukraine’s Dry Bulk Exports Plunge 77.8%
“On Friday February 24, 2023, one year has passed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. During that year, dry bulk exports from Ukraine have dropped 77.8% compared to the same period a year earlier, causing a decline in global dry bulk volumes. Seaborne exports have been restricted to agricultural goods and even those have been limited,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Ukraine’s sea ports…
RWE, CapeOmega, Neptune Energy to Explore Shipping CO2 to Offshore Storage
CapeOmega and Neptune Energy on Wednesday announced NoordKaap, a project concept for a cross-border CO₂ storage solution for industrial emitters across Europe. According to Neptune Energy, NoordKaap would involve transporting CO2 via vessels suitable for directly injecting the CO₂ at offshore locations and for terminal offloading. The two companies have signed a letter of intent with RWE to assess…
Phoenix Debuts New Marine-rated LED Floodlights
Milwaukee, Wis. based Phoenix Lighting has unveiled its new series of corrosion resistant, maintenance free, U.S.-made above-deck lighting for the maritime industry.According to Phoenix, the new ModCom 3 family of floodlights provides more light for less cost with powerful, efficient illumination. The ModCom 3 is offered in three sizes, LO, HI, and MAX, emitting 15,000, 30,000, and 52,500 lumens, respectively.
19th Century Anchor Recovered from the Thames to Go on Public Display
An anchor, believed to date back to the late 1800s, recovered from the Thames riverbed near Gravesend is being prepped to go on public display.In February 2022, Port of London Authority (PLA) divers hauled the anchor from the river at Northfleet after a hydrographic survey identified it as a risk to navigation.The PLA’s head of marine services, Jim Denby said, “We were surprised by the size of the anchor and the fact that it was still in one piece…
Shipping Industry Grapples with Ways to Cut Cargo Fires at Sea
Global shipping companies are exploring ways to boost safety in transporting cargoes as risks grow from fires erupting inside containers or in cars at sea, officials said on Wednesday.Shipping transports around 90% of world trade onboard different vessels including container and Ro-Ro ships with trade routes getting busier.In a new initiative, leading carriers Evergreen Line of Taiwan, South Korea's HMM…
TDI-Brooks Awarded Contract to Study Seabed Conditions for US Offshore Wind
U.S.-based marine services company TDI-Brooks announced it was awarded geophysical, geotechnical and benthic sampling survey campaigns to study seabed conditions within the project lease area and potential export cable corridors for offshore wind farms off the U.S. East Coast. TDI-Brooks said it expects to begin the program in April and will continue through summer 2023 with two to three vessels in operations.
Equinor Sells Its Oil Terminal in the Bahamas
Norwegian energy company Equinor announced it has entered into an agreement to sell its oil terminal in the Bahamas to Estonian logistics and investment business Liwathon. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.The South Riding Point oil terminal at the Grand Bahama Island, commissioned in 1973 was purchased by Equinor in 2009 to enable the company to trade oil primarily originating from the American markets.
Fire-damaged Freeport LNG Receives Approval for Partial Restart
Freeport LNG, the second largest U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter, said on Tuesday it had received regulatory approval to restart commercial operations at its Texas processing plant.The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the partial restart of two liquefaction trains, two tanks, and one loop and dock each, a filing showed on Tuesday. Restart of a third train, along with a tank…
Safe Bulkers Acquires Kamsarmax Newbuild
Dry bulk shipping company Safe Bulkers announced it has reached a deal to acquire a 81,800 dwt, dry-bulk, Kamsarmax class vessel at an attractive price with a scheduled to be delivered from a Japanese shipyard in the second quarter of 2025.This vessel, a sister to a number of newbuilds in Safe Bulkers' orderbook, features advanced energy efficiency characteristics and lower fuel consumption, the company said.
Hawaii Regional Maintenance Center Completes Emergent Repair on USS Makin Island (LHD 8)
The Hawaii Regional Maintenance Center (HRMC) team at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is the Navy’s first responders when it comes to an emergent repair availability (ERAV) on surface ships in the Indo-Pacific Region.Pearl Harbor sits in a strategic location and is a hub for many emergent repairs for ships transiting through the Pacific Ocean. One successful ERAV took…
Spain Detains Oil Tanker Over Mediterranean Fuel Spill
Spain has detained and fined a Maltese-flagged oil tanker it says discharged oil in open waters near the northeastern port city of Tarragona, a transport ministry department said.Spain's Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines have become hubs for shipping activity including the transfer of oil known as ship-to-ship (STS) operations, which industry sources say are becoming an increasing safety concern.Spanish…
BAE Systems Delivers Fifth Astute Submarine to UK Royal Navy
HMS Anson, the fifth Astute class submarine, which BAE Systems has designed and built for the Royal Navy, has departed the company's shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and headed out to open sea for the first time.After being guided through the shipyard's dock system and rounding the tip of Walney Island, HMS Anson began her maiden journey to His Majesty's Naval Base Clyde, home of the UK's Submarine Service.
SAAM Towage Adds Another Tug in Uruguay
SAAM Towage announced it has added another tug to its fleet in Uruguay.The Portobelo, hailing from Panama, has already reached Montevideo to reinforce SAAM Towage’s fleet of 11 vessels in the country.“This makes our 12th tug and it’s the most modern in our fleet. It will enable us to continue to grow and offer our customers safe, efficient service,” said Javiera Hevia, country manager of SAAM Towage Uruguay.The vessel…
