Shipbuilding: ASRY Receives ASME Accreditation
The New Construction & Engineering Department of ASRY received ASME Accreditation which allows ASRY to manufacture and repair Coded Pressure Vessels.ASRY attained this accreditation after an extensive review of the company's Quality Assurance Systems, Engineering, Warehousing, Production, and Quality Control capabilities. Based on the review, ASRY was found compliant with ASME work due to its commitment to applying the highest international standards in all aspects of work.Mr.
U.S. LNG Export Bonanza Reshapes Energy Map in Asia
U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China, Japan, and South Korea, the biggest importers of the fuel, have surged to record highs in recent months as the heavily industrialized region recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Eikon trade data shows.As with the ramp-up of U.S. oil exports that forced heavyweights like Saudi Arabia to find other buyers, what was dubbed Freedom Gas by the administration…
Petrobras Suspends MODEC from Bidding for FPSO Projects
Brazilian national oil and gas company Petrobras has suspended Japanese FPSO specialist MODEC from bidding for new floating production storage and offloading vessel projects. A day after the announcement the Japanese firm named a new CEO but the change is seemingly not related to the Petrobras issue.MODEC, which sees Brazil as its main market, said last Thursday it had received a notification from…
Seadrill Asks Creditors to Write Off More Than 85% of its Debts
Offshore drilling rig contractor Seadrill has asked creditors to write off more than 85% of its debts in exchange for a 99% stake in the reorganized company, a court filing showed.The Oslo-listed firm controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen in February filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, the second time it has done so in four years.Seadrill has in the past year written off billions of dollars worth of assets due to a bleak outlook for the oil sector…
Germany to Propose Beirut Port Reconstruction with 'Strings Attached'
Germany will next week present a multi-billion-dollar proposal to Lebanese authorities to rebuild the Port of Beirut as part of efforts to entice the country’s politicians to form a government capable of warding off financial collapse, two sources said.A chemical explosion at the port last August killed 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed entire neighborhoods in Lebanon’s capital, plunging…
Floating Production Systems Market Bounces Back on Recovering Oil Prices
Orders for production floaters have bounced back over the past month driven by rising crude prices, according to Jim McCaul, head of offshore business intelligence firm World Energy Reports.McCaul bases his assessment on data in a new floating production systems report prepared by World Energy Reports. The report provides details for 206 floater projects in the planning stage, 44 production or storage floaters now on order…
Nord Stream 2 Warns of Security Risks to Pipeline from Warships, Low-flying Planes
The consortium behind the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline warned on Thursday about security risks to the project from warships and planes, as the link is nearing completion.The pipeline, aimed at bypassing Ukraine and doubling the capacity of the current Nord Stream undersea gas link from Russia to Germany, has been the focus of tensions between Moscow and Washington, which imposed sanctions against the project.Andrey Minin…
OPEC+ to Ease Output Cuts from May
OPEC+ agreed on Thursday to gradually ease its oil output cuts from May, after the new U.S. administration called on Saudi Arabia to keep energy affordable for consumers.The group, which has implemented deep cuts since a pandemic-induced oil price collapse in 2020, agreed to ease production curbs by 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, another 350,000 bpd in June and further 400,000 bpd or so in July.Iran's oil minister…
NTSB Finds Complacency, Lack of Procedural Compliance in Recent Marine Accidents
A lack of procedural compliance and complacency were key factors in several marine accident investigations concluded so far in 2021, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).The agency said it determined the probable cause of the flooding of the towing vessel Alton St. Amant on May 17, 2020, in Harvey Canal, New Orleans, Louisiana, was the absence of shipyard pre-inspection and monitoring procedures for water transfer…
MSC Reaffirms Commitment to Avoid Arctic Shipping Routes
Container shipping giant MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company doubled down on its position to avoid sending its vessels through the Northern Sea Route and urged others to follow suit, citing environmental concerns.“As a responsible company, this was an obvious decision for us,” said MSC CEO, Soren Toft. “MSC will not seek to cut through the melting ice of the Arctic to find a new route for commercial shipping…
Ready Your Salad Fork for Biden’s Offshore Energy Plans
In Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare coined the phrase “salad days” to mean a youthful time filled with unbridled enthusiasm and idealism. Indeed, youth, much like salad, is often raw, flavorful and most of all… green. Therefore, it is fitting to think of our present time as the salad days of offshore energy in the United States. Let’s dig in.Executive Order appetizersOn January 27, President Biden…
Jones Capital Acquires Rockport Terminals
Jones Capital said it has acquired Rockport Terminals, one of the largest private intermodal terminals on the Texas Gulf Coast.Rockport Terminals is located within 28 miles of the fast growing Port of Corpus Christi, but outside of the Port's tariff zone. With more than 250 acres of industrial land, Rockport Terminals boasts access to the Intracoastal Waterway, nearby railways and many major highways.
Vineyard Wind Taps DEME to Install Wind Turbines off US East Coast
U.S. offshore wind developer Vineyard Wind has contracted Belgium-based DEME for the offshore transport and installation of the wind turbine generators for the first largescale offshore wind installation in the United States.DEME's U.S. arm DEME Offshore US LLC will team up with American maritime services contractor FOSS Maritime Company LLC to help construct the Vineyard Wind 1 project off the coast of Massachusetts.
Cocaine Seized From Bulker Anchored Near Annapolis
More than 44 pounds of cocaine was seized from a Marshall Islands-flagged bull carrier anchored in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Md., on Wednesday.The drugs were discovered during an early morning examination by officers and agents from the DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Coast Guard, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police aboard the 958-foot Samjohn Solidarity.
Marubeni/Klaveness Pool Allowing Shipowners to Switch Between Floating and Fixed Rates
Marubeni and Torvald Klaveness' joint venture panamax bulker pool is offering pool partners the option to convert freely between floating and fixed rate, at any given time, in line with forward market levels.The companies, which announced the merging of their panamax pool activities through the MaruKlav joint venture in June 2020, said the newly expanded "MaruKlav 2.0" structure allows owners to utilize market peaks to lock-in fixed earnings at preset target levels.Michael Joergensen…
Horizon Maritime Signs On to Support Titanic Dive
Canadian offshore services company Horizon Maritime has signed on to support a dive mission to explore the wreck of the Titanic.OceanGate Expeditions, the crewed submersible exploration company leading the mission, selected the multipurpose offshore support vessel (OSV) Horizon Arctic to serve as the surface support vessel for the expedition scheduled to take place later this year.The RMS Titanic shipwreck lies approximately 2…
Suez Blockage May Lead to Large Reinsurance Claims, Broker Says
The blockage of the Suez Canal is likely to lead to large reinsurance claims, adding to upward pressure on marine reinsurance rates, James Vickers, chair of reinsurance broker Willis Re International, told Reuters.Formal investigations began this week into how the giant container ship Ever Given ran aground in the canal, shutting down shipping in the major global waterway for almost a week.The incident…
Suez Canal Says 87 Ships to Pass Through on Thursday
The Suez Canal Authority said 87 ships were expected to pass through the waterway in both directions on Thursday, as it tries to clear a backlog since re-opening on Monday.A total of 194 ships have already passed through between Monday night, when a giant container ship blocking the crucial international trade route was re-floated, and Wednesday, the Suez Canal Authority said.The six-day blockage caused by the 400-meter-long Ever Given had caused a back-up of more than 400 vessels, which authori
Austal USA Launches USS Canberra
Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA launched the future USS Canberra (LCS 30) into the Mobile River on March 30.USS Canberra is one of 19 Independence-variant littoral combat ships (LCS) that the U.S. Navy has contracted Austal to build. Twelve have been delivered to date.The 418-foot vessel is the first Navy ship that Austal has launched in 2021, and it is the first to launch from Austal's recently…
Minerva Gas Inks Maintenance Deal with Wärtsilä
The technology group Wärtsilä said it has signed long-term maintenance agreements covering five liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers owned and operated by Greece-based Minerva Gas Inc.Included in the scope of the agreements is Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight, a service that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced diagnostics to monitor equipment and systems in real-time, spot anomalies, foresee potential problems…
