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20 May 2020
US Navy's Newest Yard Tug Launched
The U.S. Navy’s first Yard Tug (YT) 808 class vessel was launched at Dakota Creek Industries' (DCI) shipyard on May 16. The Navy and DCI plan to conduct acceptance trials for the vessel in July, followed by planned delivery in August.The new tug is the first in a series of six being built by the Anacortes, Wash. shipbuilder for scheduled delivery through early 2022. The YT 808 vessels are designed by Robert Allan Ltd.
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19 May 2020
Port of Indiana-Mt. Vernon Makes ‘Next Generation’ Terminal Upgrades
A recently completed a $2 million capital improvement project aims to attract more cargo to one of the nation’s largest inland ports.Situated 153 miles from the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon connects the Ohio River Valley region’s agriculture, coal and manufacturing industries to the rest of the world via year-round access to the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes through the inland waterways system.Each year…
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14 May 2020
Rand Completes American Steamship Acquisition
New Jersey-based Rand Logistics said Thursday it has completed its $260 million acquisition of rival Great Lakes shipping company American Steamship Company (ASC)…
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14 May 2020
Australia Pressing Yang Ming to Pay for Container Cleanup
Dozens of containers lost from a ship at sea have been recovered off the coast of Australia as the country's maritime authority continues to press the vessel's owner to pay the $11 million cleanup costs.The 63 boxes plucked from the bottom of the Tasman Sea are among more than 80 lost from Yang Ming's containership YM Efficiency about 20 miles from shore in June 2018. The Australian Maritime Safety…
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13 May 2020
Russia's Zvezda Launches Its First Ever Newbuild
Russia's Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex said it has launched its very first newbuild, a 114,000 dwt dual-fuel tanker for oil company Rosneft.The milestone vessel Vladimir Monomakh is the first Aframax ever to be built in Russia and is one of 12 currently on order at the yard, which is owned by a Rosneft-led consortium.The Vladimir Monomakh was launched using Zvezda's unique Vympel floating transfer dock…
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11 May 2020
Samsung Delivers LNG Carrier to GasLog
Greek shipowner GasLog has taken delivery of a newbuild liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier from Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries. The 180,000-cubic-meter-capacity GasLog Wales will operate on a 12-year time charter agreement with the principal LNG shipping entity of Japan’s JERA, GasLog said in its latest quarterly report.The handover follows the April 1 delivery of Samsung-built sister ship GasLog Windsor…
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11 May 2020
Yara Birkeland Project Paused Due to COVID-19
Plans to launch the world’s first all-electric autonomous container vessel Yara Birkeland have been shelved due to the coronavirus pandemic and uncertain market conditions, said Yara International, the Norwegian company behind the project."Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the changed global outlook, Yara has decided to pause further development of the vessel and will assess next steps together with its partners…
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07 May 2020
US Barging Industry Navigating Black Swan Events
The combination of the coronavirus pandemic and oil price freefall have affected most maritime markets, including inland waterway shipping. Looking at U.S. river transport in particular, the impacts of these two black swan events vary greatly depending on the type of cargo being carried.David Grzebinski, CEO of the America’s largest tank barge operator, Kirby Corp., said in a March conference call…
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04 May 2020
Carnival Plans to Resume Some Voyages in August
Carnival Corp announced Monday it plans to resume certain North American voyages in August as it tries to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, which has idled its ships since March.The company said its Carnival Cruise Line brand intends to restart cruises on eight ships from Miami (Carnival Horizon, Carnival Magic and Carnival Sensation), Port Canaveral (Carnival Breeze and Carnival Elation) and Galveston (Carnival Dream…
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30 Apr 2020
US Postal Service Sending Mail on Ships
The U.S. Postal Service is using ships for overseas transport as the number of commercial flights typically used to send mail abroad has plummeted due to the coronavirus pandemic. The agency said on April 23 that a first mail shipment bound for Europe departed JFK International Service Center in New York three days earlier and is being transported on a containership scheduled to arrive at the port of Rotterdam on May 7.
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23 Apr 2020
Weeks Marine Orders New Dredger at Eastern
Dredging contractor Weeks Marine has ordered a new trailer suction hopper dredger from Eastern Shipbuilding Group, to be delivered in the first quarter of 2023.The new dredge, RB Weeks, to be constructed at Eastern's Allanton shipyard in Panama City, Fla. will be a sister ship to the Eastern-built twin screw TSHD Magdalen placed into service in 2018. The RB Weeks is named after the co-founder of the company and the husband of Magdalen Weeks.The shipbuilding order…
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22 Apr 2020
Autonomy on Trial
When discussing the arrival of autonomous workboats, many – especially those developing the technologies that enable them – say it’s is not a matter of if, but when. In fact, autonomous harbor tugs are already being put to the test in Singapore, where authorities hope to establish the technological infrastructure to enable fully autonomous ship operations. In the U.S., an autonomous vessel was shown to be able to respond to marine oil spills.But is autonomy really the future?
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22 Apr 2020
Trump Says USNS Comfort Will Return to Virginia
The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) will soon return to Norfolk, Va., President Trump said Tuesday, less than a month after the ship was deployed to New York to support COVID-19 response efforts."I’ve asked [New York Governer] Andrew [Cuomo] if we could bring the Comfort back to its base in Virginia so that we can have it for other locations, and he said we would be able to do that," Trump said in a coronavirus task force press briefing.
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17 Apr 2020
Crystal Endeavor Launch Delayed Due to COVID-19 Shipyard Closure
Genting's Crystal Expedition Cruises announced the launch of its new polar class luxury expedition ship Crystal Endeavor will be delayed due to the temporary closure of the MV Werften shipyards during the COVID-19 pandemic.The 164-meter, 20,000-gross-ton Crystal Endeavorc is currently berthed in MV Werften's Stralsund yard for final outfitting and was due to enter service in August before the shipbuilder in mid-March announced a four-week pause on operations at its locations in Wismar…
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15 Apr 2020
Gulf Island to Build Another Two Vessels for the US Navy
The U.S. Navy has exercised its options to order the fourth and fifth towing, salvage and rescue ships (T-ATS) from Houma, La. shipbuilder Gulf Island Fabrication. The Navy has remaining options for three additional vessels.The Navajo-class vessels will provide oceangoing tug, salvage and rescue capabilities to support fleet operations, replacing three T-ATF 166 and two T-ARS 50 class ships, which…
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09 Apr 2020
First YM Efficiency Containers Retrieved
Work is underway to retrieve dozens of containers lost from a containership off the coast of Australia, with the first boxes raised to the surface this week. The first container was recovered from the seafloor on Monday using a hydraulic crane and rigging, remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) and a specially manufactured steel basket, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said. Another two…
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03 Apr 2020
Inland Marine Expo (IMX) 2020 Postponed
The 2020 Inland Marine Expo (IMX) will be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers of the inland and intracoastal commercial marine industry trade show announced on Friday.Originally scheduled to take place May 18-20, the rescheduled event will be held September 29-October 1. It will still be held Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Mo."The health of our attendees and exhibitors is our first priority," organizers said.
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02 Apr 2020
Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2020 Canceled
The 2020 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic."While OTC’s purpose is to provide an opportunity for those in the offshore petroleum industry from around the world to meet and share knowledge, our first priority is to the health and safety of our attendees and exhibitors. Therefore, OTC has made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s conference…
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02 Apr 2020
Coronavirus-stricken Zaandam to Dock in Florida
Two Holland America Line cruise ships, including the coronavirus-hit Zaandam, are scheduled to dock at Port Everglades on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Florida port confirmed.The port said it would hold berths open for the two ships as details for the conditions of arrival are being finalized. An estimated time of arrival is to be determined.Florida has been working with the cruise line and the U.S.
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02 Apr 2020
Profiles in Training: American Seafoods
Lance Camarena recognized from a young age that he wanted to work in the learning and development arena. But his plans changed while studying in college to become a public school music teacher and a job working a swing shift at Intel led to a new path of study and a career in the IT world.Still, after graduating and securing full-time employment with another IT firm, he knew training was still his calling. “I managed to switch roles and became one of the first people in the U.S.