St. Johns Wins USACE Barge Contract
St. Johns Ship Building this week announced a deal with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to construct two (2) 140' x 32' x 7' Stop Log Barges. The contract is St. Johns Ship Building’s first new construction project for the U.S. Government.“The new Stop-Log Barges will support the Army Corps’ major maintenance fleet working on the navigation system, locks and powerhouses, and the flood control lakes located within the Tulsa District,” according to a USACE statement.St.
Blakeley BoatWorks Delivers Pushboat to Cooper Marine
Mobile, AL-based Blakeley BoatWorks has announced the completion and delivery of Hull 107, formally named M/V Claire Ellen, to Cooper Marine’s Louisiana operations.Designed by Farrell and Norton and built by Blakeley BoatWorks, the 70-foot long, 28-foot wide, 1,600 horsepower vessel is fully compliant with the latest United States Coast Guard Subchapter M regulatory requirements. The new pushboat is the sixth 70 foot workboat delivered by Blakeley to to Cooper Marine-Louisiana.
Longshore Troubles Impact Canada Ports
Unionized workers started an unlimited strike at two terminals of the port of Montreal on Thursday amid stalled talks on a new labor contract, the employers' association said. The strike affects two terminals operated by Termont, which handle about 40% of the port's container traffic and roughly 15% of the port's overall cargo volume. Separately, Port of Vancouver foremen will be locked out on Monday unless they scrap a proposed strike…
ACL Order Book Swells to 10
American Cruise Lines (ACL) today announced signed contracts with Chesapeake Shipbuilding for 4 more new ships, bringing the Line’s total orderbook with Chesapeake to 10 ships over the next 3 years. The newbuilds will serve the fast growing U.S. cruise market and will be Jones Act compliant. Active in the domestic cruise market for more than 50 years, the firm will eventually operate 21 small ships…
Russia-China Military Ops in Arctic Flash 'Concerning Signals'
The United States is watching growing cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic closely and some of their recent military collaboration in the region sends "concerning signals", the U.S. Arctic ambassador said.Russia and China have stepped up military cooperation in the Arctic while deepening overall ties in recent years that include China supplying Moscow with dual-use goods despite Western…
Fincantieri Open to Collaboration with Thyssenkrupp Marine Arm
Fincantieri is open to all types of collaboration with the warship division of conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, but it is up to Germany to decide on a strategy for the unit, the CEO of the Italian shipbuilder said this week."Now is time for German institutions to understand what the best strategy is to give more value and strengthen (Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems).
The Baltimore Bridge Incident Challenges the Future of Maritime Law
On March 26, 2024, the Dali container ship crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in the loss of six lives. In June, the federal government announced that it had spent approximately $100 million to remove the wreckage and reopen the Fort McHenry Shipping Channel, which had been closed for nearly three months.In response, the Department of Justice has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the ship's owners…
DOF Group Completes Acquisition of Maersk Supply Service
Norwegian offshore supply vessel company DOF Group has concluded the acquisition of Denmark-based Maersk Supply Service, which will be renamed to DOF Denmark.The combined company is expected to become one of the leading offshore service provider with comprehensive scale and a wide range of services across all continents in the offshore energy industries.The deal will see DOF's fleet grow to 78 modern offshore/subsea vessels…
SL-7 Container Ships & An Engineering Myth Busted
The Rolling Stones were wrong: Time is not on my side.Too often a myth is created and if not killed off right away, it will take on a life of its own and time will not debunk it. Many myths are created for evil or political purposes, but some myths just occur because the truth is just too complicated.Some of those myths don’t even make sense, but there is no available data to establish the truth.As…
Avance Gas Delivers First of 12 VLGCs to BW LPG as Part of $1.05B Deal
Avance Gas has delivered the first very large gas carrier (VLGC) to BW LPG, marking the start of deliveries of total 12 vessels as part of $1.05 billion agreement signed earlier in 2024.Avance Gas concluded sale and delivery of the first VLGC, the 2015-built non-scrubber ship Chinook, to BW LPG on November 1, 2024.As part of the transaction, 1.35 million shares in BW LPG have been issued to Avance…