International Marine News

Appalled that deaths in enclosed spaces continue to be all too frequent occurrences in the shipping industry, the Maritime Professional Council of the United Kingdom (MPC) has announced its support for fundamental changes to ship operation and design.MPC member InterManager has been at the forefront of raising this issue where, it says, seemingly innocuous compartments, cargo holds and fuel tanks, vital for storage and operation on board any vessel, have become graveyards for far too many seafarers due to a lack of attention…

The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) has appointed bp’s Senior Vice President Shipping Lambros Klaoudatos as its new Chair. Lambros takes over the position from Nick Potter, who has been involved with OCIMF at board level since 2014 and has been the organization’s Chair since 2022.Lambros has almost 30-years of industry experience across technical, commercial, project management and leadership roles both at sea and onshore. He began his career sailing on passenger vessels…

The all-electric tugboat HaiSea Wamis is the first of HaiSea Marine’s five new eco-friendly tugs to travel from North Vancouver to the company's base of operations in Kitimat.A team of eight Haisla members piloted the HaiSea Wamis home, marking a milestone for HaiSea Marine, a partnership primarily owned by the Haisla Nation and Seaspan ULC. This occasion was a family affair for the Ross family, spanning three generations: Ed Ross, a deckhand for HaiSea Marine, his stepson Craig Windsor…

TFG Marine, the international marine fuel joint venture founded by Trafigura, Frontline and Golden Ocean, has announced the signing of a long-term time charter agreement with Singapore-headquartered Consort Bunkers for four newbuild methanol carriage-ready bunker tankers.The 6,500-dwt IMO type 2 tankers are being constructed by Merchants Jinling shipyard in Nanjing, China, and will be operated by Consort Bunkers for TFG Marine. Deliveries will commence in late 2024 and continue into 2025.The vessels will be capable of carrying TFG Marine's current range of marine fuels…

The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) has confirmed that its digitalized Ship Inspection Report Program (SIRE 2.0) is scheduled to ‘go-live’ on Monday 2 September 2024 and become the standard tanker inspection tool for the marine industry.The final transition to SIRE 2.0 and the withdrawal of the option to request a SIRE Vessel Inspection Questionnaire (VIQ7) inspection from Monday 2 September 2024 has been given now that all pre-agreed ‘Critical Success Factors’ for going live have been met and approved by the OCIMF Vessel Inspection Program Steering Group…

World Fuel Services has announced that John Stirling, the company’s Director, Marine Technical, has accepted a key position at CIMAC, the International Council on Power, Drives and Propulsion. He will take over the vacant position of Secretary of CIMAC’s WG7 working group.The association has recently refocused from providing a technical forum for conventional diesel engine expertise, to include all new types of energy, and is now a fully pledged alternative energy association…

Dutch company Huisman has secured its first contract from Coastal International Marine, part of Malaysia-based oil and gas services company Coastal Contracts, for the supply of deepwater Knuckle Boom Crane.The Knuckle Boom Crane has a lifting capacity of 100 mt and features a deepwater winch and active heave compensation.Huisman recently introduced its optimised KBC series, designed specifically for the offshore subsea construction market.The optimised models align with the latest trends in offshore construction vessels…

In the ever-evolving landscape of workplace safety, a paradigm shift is underway. Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) represents a natural progression of the safety management system model and its emphasis on continuous improvement. At its core, HOP acknowledges that errors will happen, and when they do, the reaction of management is vitally important: Managers can either seek to assign blame for the error or learn from the mistake, but not both. HOP transforms workplace safety by acknowledging that humans make mistakes.

Ann Waite has been elected to chair the Association of Average Adjusters for the year 2024-25. She is the first woman to hold the office in the history of the association, which was founded in 1869.At the annual general meeting of Fellows on May 8, 2024, Waite was also elected an Honorary Fellow of the Association, which she has served as secretary for 11 years.She succeeds Burkhard Fischer, a director of Albatross Adjusters, Limassol.Waite runs a London-based independent claims management company…

The Great Lakes Towing Company (GLT) on Monday unveiled plans to roll out a new breakbulk and RoRo shipping service serving the Caribbean.The Cleveland, Ohio-based company announced the formation of Great Lakes East (GLE), effectively reactivating Crimson Shipping Company’s former domestic and international marine transportation business, based out of Mobile, Ala. However, GLE will shift the primary load port to Fernandina Beach, Fla.GLE will initially service the trade with the 270- by 80-foot fully enclosed deck barge…

The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) has published an updated information paper, Guidelines for the Control of Drugs and Alcohol in the Maritime Industry (2024).The paper aims to provide general guidance and recommendations for the maritime industry (operators of tankers, barges, offshore vessels and terminals associated with the ship-shore interface) in developing and implementing controls for the use of drugs and alcohol.In the guidelines, drug and alcohol use includes the use of prescribed and over-the-counter medication…

Industry trade group the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) announced the addition of four CEOs to its board of directors.The new board members include Wes Bordelon, Chief Executive Officer, Bordelon Marine; Stacy Jo Stanley, Chief Executive Officer, Offshore Oil Services, Inc.; David Dantin, Chief Executive Officer, Odyssea Marine; and Lasse Petterson, Chief Executive Officer, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock."With the addition of these four executive leaders, OMSA pays homage to its roots while welcoming expanded opportunities in emerging energy frontiers…

Offshore vessel owner Harvey Gulf International Marine announced it is modifying its fleet of five dual fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG)/diesel electric powered offshore supply vessels (OSV).A key enhancement includes the segregation of Liquid Mud tanks into six isolated independent tank systems, each equipped with dedicated pumping, valve, loading, and discharging systems with zero chance of cross contamination.The first vessel to undergo these modifications, the 310’ DP2 Harvey Liberty…

St. Johns Ship Building announced it has appointed Joe Rella as president, succeeding Jeffery Bukoski, who left the role at the close of 2023.Rella brings over four decades of U.S. Navy and commercial maritime experience to his new position at the Palatka, Fa. shipyard. He was previously president and COO at Austal USA and has held executive roles at International Marine and Industrial Applicators. Rella received his undergraduate degree in marine engineering from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and earned an MBA from Spring Hill College.

A ‘Connected Future’ seminar, organized by Inmarsat in collaboration with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News and moderated by Greg Trauthwein, encapsulated the critical roles technology and data sharing play in enabling more efficient and sustainable workboat operations, and in improving conditions for crew.Insights from leading Offshore Supply Vessel owners and operators capture the extent to which technology and data sharing are driving greater efficiency, sustainability and…

A consortium of Saudi Archirodon and DEME has been awarded the second phase of transformation work for the Port of NEOM, the primary seaport of entry to northwest Saudi Arabia.Based in Oxagon, Port of NEOM is located along the coast of the Red Sea and is adjacent to the nearby Suez Canal, through which 13% of global trade passes. The port will be a critical enabler to the overall build, operations and economic ambitions of NEOM, facilitating the import of goods and materials during the development phase and as a new global port serving the region.The project will commence in December 2023.

Danish company Green Instruments has entered a major agreement with Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for the delivery of equipment that detects oil mist and vapor on ships and triggers an alarm before fires can develop and endanger the crew, ship, equipment, and environment.The shipyard now installs Green Instruments’ equipment on every new vessel built.Oil mist is formed by oil droplets floating in the air and can ignite at low temperatures. Green Instruments’ oil mist detector is designed to register the slightest traces of oil mist and vapor from hydraulic oils and bunker fuel…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced over $653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects across the nation under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The investments—part of the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in history, nearly $17 billion through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—are intended to help grow capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland…

Norwegian marine equipment and technology firm Kongsberg will provide scientific sensors and scientific handling equipment for Germany’s new ocean research vessel, the 135-metre Meteor IV. The new 10,000GT vessel will be able to house 35 scientists plus 36 crew. Meteor IV will be built by MeyerFassmer Spezialschiffbau (MFSB) for the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The vessel, due for delivery in 2026, replaces existing research vessels Meteor and Poseidon.“We…

If you think the human element is the only cause of enclosed space deaths, think again.Enclosed space incidents are cited as the largest cause of on-duty fatalities in commercial shipping. The risks can’t simply be engineered out, but there’s a powerful coalition wanting action nonetheless.There’s a tendency to blame failure to follow procedures, they say. Investigations seldom focus on the practicality of those procedures or the influence of the operating environment and vessel design, they say.

The 2023 edition of The Future of Maritime Safety Report from Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat business, reveals that the number of distress calls from ships at sea remains high, despite a continuing decline in vessel losses. The new report, which analyses Global Maritime Distress and Safety System information captured by Inmarsat, registered 853 distress calls from January to December 2022 – up from 794 in 2021.With the number of losses of vessels over 100 gross tonnage (GT) falling by 65% in the last decade…

The Meyer Group's Neptun Werft officially laid the keel for the new German research vessel Meteor IV during a ceremony at the Rostock, Germany shipyard.The Meyer Group is building the research vessel together with the Lower Saxony shipyard Fassmer on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research."Only two months after the burning start, the assembly of the individual components for the Meteor IV is now beginning. At our shipyards in Rostock and Papenburg, and together with Fassmer Werft…

DNV has introduced new class rules for electrical shore connections specifically tailored for tankers.The need for new rules emerged following amendments to the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth Regulation, requiring tankers to have emission control strategies in place at specific ports from January 2025. As a response to these regulatory changes, DNV, on behalf of the Western States Petroleum Association, conducted a comprehensive assessment…