Big Money Needed to Develop US Offshore Wind Ports
Much has been written about potential bottlenecks in store for various parts of the U.S. offshore wind industry, from vessels to monopiles. A new report published by the Business Network for Offshore Wind (BNOW) outlines the need for significant investment in and development of port infrastructure to support the industry in its goal of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power by 2030 and 110 GW by…
Washington State Ferries Vessel Suffers Broken Propeller
The Washington State Ferries (WSF) vessel Walla Walla has been temporarily removed from service so that one of its propellers could be replaced. The 440-foot-long, 2,000 passenger Jumbo-class ferry arrived at Vigor and was taken into dry dock on September 27 after one of its propellers was damaged last month.The vessel is expected to be out of service for up to four more weeks, WSF said..
Orlowski Named VP Engineering at Austal USA
Austal USA introduced Chris Orlowski as the company’s vice president of engineering, leading a team of more than 350 engineers, naval architects, designers, and other engineering support staff. Orlowski has more than 30 years of program and systems engineering leadership experience within the defense industry. He came to Austal USA from Northrup Grumman’s CIO Office – Mission Systems - where he was the director of engineering and manufacturing systems and infrastructure.
Panama Canal Trims Vessel Passage Quota again to Deal with Severe Drought
Daily ship crossings on the Panama Canal, one of the world's main maritime trade routes, will be reduced to 31 from 32 to soften the impact from a severe drought that is expected to last until next year, the authorities managing the canal said.The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in recent months has imposed various passage restrictions to conserve water, including cutting vessel draft and daily passage authorizations…
Thungela Says Coal Terminal Workers' Strike Not Impacting Exports
Thungela Resources, South Africa's largest shipper of thermal coal burned in power stations, said its shipments of the fuel have not been impacted by a workers' strike at the country's key coal export hub. Workers at Richards Bay Coal Terminal, which is owned by coal exporters including Thungela, Exxaro Resources, Glencore, and Seriti, have been on a strike for the past three weeks. A two-week strike at South Africa's state-owned ports and rail company Transnet last year hit coal shipments…
Corvus to Equip First Hydrogen/electric Hybrid Fishing and Training Vessel
Corvus Energy, a company providing zero-emission solutions for the maritime industry, said Monday it had won a contract with Hvide Sande Shipyard in Denmark to supply a complete hydrogen fuel cell system for the training vessel “MS Skulebas.” "This marks a historic milestone for Corvus Energy," Corvus Energy said."The 35-meter fishing and training vessel has the latest technology and commercial fishing…
Biden Angers All Sides with Scaled Back Offshore Oil Drilling Plan
The Biden administration's plan to slash offshore oil and gas leasing drew fire from both the fossil fuel industry and environmentalists on Friday, with energy companies saying it will raise fuel prices and greens saying it undermines efforts to stop global warming. The criticism from both sides reflects the difficulty Biden's White House has had in dealing with U.S. oil extraction policies, as it…
Higher Capesize Rates Drive Baltic Index Higher
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Monday, aided by firm capesize rates. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels, snapped a two-session losing streak after rising by 36 points, or 2.1%, to 1,737. The capesize index added 136 points, or 5.5%, to hit 2,610- its highest level in nearly five months.
Thyssenkrupp, Wilhelmsen Create 3D Printing Firm of Maritime & Offshore Sectors
Wilhelmsen and Thyssenkrupp announced on September 29 their joint venture company, Pelagus 3D, marking the entry of a new player into global maritime and offshore services market."Pelagus 3D envisions to be the largest one-stop, on-demand digital manufacturing partner for the maritime and offshore industries. It uses Additive Manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing to deliver maritime spare parts more efficiently in terms of time and cost…
Freight Rates for Grain Exports via New Black Sea Route Fall Sharply, Ukraine Says
A new corridor allowing cargo vessels to carry Ukrainian grain and iron ore from Black Sea ports has significantly lowered freight rates and they are likely to fall further, Ukraine's farm minister said on Monday.Kyiv launched what it calls a temporary humanitarian corridor in August to allow agricultural exports as an alternative arrangement after Russia blocked the U.N.-backed Black Sea grain deal that had been in place for a year.Three more cargo ships left Ukrainian seaports on Sunday…
Five More Cargo Ships Head for Ukraine's Black Sea Ports -deputy PM
Five more ships are on their way to Ukrainian sea ports using a new corridor opened to resume predominantly agricultural exports, an alternative arrangement to the Black Sea grain deal blocked by Russ
BAE Systems Secures $4,81B Funding for Next-Gen Nuclear Submarine Program
The UK Ministry of Defense has awarded £3.95 billion (currently ~$4,81 billion) of funding to BAE Systems for the next phase of the UK's next-generation nuclear-powered attack submarine program, known as SSN-AUKUS.According to BAE Systems, SSN-AUKUS will be the largest, most powerful, and most advanced attack submarine the Royal Navy has ever operated and will eventually replace the Astute class, which BAE Systems builds at its site in Barrow-in-Furness…
Jan De Nul Orders Offshore Cable Layer with Record-Breaking Capacity
Offshore installation services company Jan De Nul has ordered an extra-large cable-laying ship with an "unrivaled" cable-carrying capacity from China's CMHI Haimen shipyard.The vessel, to be named Fleeming Jenkin, will have a cable-carrying capacity of 28,000 tons, and will serve the renewable energy and subsea cable industry in installing cables over longer distances and in deeper waters. The vessel will be delivered in 2026.
Mississippi River Near Historic Lows, Grain Exports at Risk
A key stretch of the lower Mississippi River dropped this week to within inches of its lowest-ever level and is expected to remain near historic lows just as the busiest U.S. grain export season gets underway, according to the National Weather Service.Low water has slowed hauling of export-bound corn and soybean barges over recent weeks as shippers lightened loads to prevent vessels from running aground…
Very Large LPG/Ammonia Carrier Phoenix Harmonia Enters Service
The Phoenix Harmonia, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) powered very large LPG/ammonia carrier, has been constructed by Namura Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and delivered to MOL Energia Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based company of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Group, on September 29.Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, supported Namura and contributed to the delivery of the vessel…
IWS Fleet Strikes Deal to Put Off Yard Payments for Offshore Wind Service Vessels
Integrated Wind Solutions' subsidiary, IWS Fleet AS, has agreed with the shipyard China Merchants Industry Holdings to postpone equity yard installments of a total of 36 million euros on IWS Seawalker, IWS Starwalker, IWS Moonwalker, and IWS Sunwalker offshore wind service vessels up to one year, to strengthen the company’s liquidity position. The delivery schedules for IWS Windwalker, IWS Seawalker…
Sustainable Shipping: Alma Clean Power, Odfjell, and DNV to Deploy Innovative Solid Oxide Fuel Cell on Chemical Tanker
Alma Clean Power, Odfjell, and DNV have this week announced a new milestone in the development of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system.The fuel cell system will be installed on a chemical tanker by the end of 2024, aiming to demonstrate the potential for significantly lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for deep-sea shipping, the trio said at an event in Singapore."As the maritime industry faces major challenges adjusting to zero emissions over the next decades…
US Plans Sharp Reduction in Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales
The Biden administration on Friday unveiled a plan to phase down oil and gas auctions in federal waters with the release of a long-awaited leasing schedule that includes a maximum of three sales in the Gulf of Mexico through 2029.The Interior Department's plan includes by far the lowest number of sales since the agency began producing Congressionally-mandated five-year oil and gas leasing schedules in 1980. Previous programs have ranged between 11 and 41 sales, according to Interior's U.S.
MacGregor to Deliver RoRo Equipment for Methanol-Fueled PCTCs in China
MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has been chosen to deliver RoRo equipment for two of the world's first methanol-fueled Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTC) for China Merchant Energy Shipping to be built at China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. in China.The vessels are to be delivered to the owner between the third and fourth quarters of 2025.MacGregor´s scope of supply is to design and deliver the key components consisting of external and internal ramps…
Praxis Automation to Equip 59 RVOS Offshore Vessels with DP-2 Systems
Praxis Automation, a company specializing in ship automation, electrical propulsion, and dynamic positioning systems, will outfit 59 vessels of Saudi-based Rawabi Vallianz Offshore Services's (RVOS) with Praxis DP-2 systems.Under this RVOS fleet-wide contract, new build and existing offshore support vessels will be equipped with Praxis dynamic positioning systems, as well as customised equipment and software for digitization of the fleet in phases agreed with RVOS…
