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Taiwan Says China's Threat Remains, Though Military Drills Ease
China's threat of force is undiminished, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Thursday, even though Beijing's largest ever military drills around the island seemed to be scaling down.Furious about a visit to Chinese-claimed Taiwan last week by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, China launched ballistic missiles and deployed multiple aircraft and warships in recent days to simulate…
California Sets Big Offshore Wind Targets
California on Wednesday set ambitious new targets for offshore wind development, saying turbines along its storied coastline would power some 25 million homes by 2050.In a unanimous vote, the five-member California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a goal of 3,000 to 5,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045, the agency said in a statement.California has among the most aggressive climate change goals in the country…
Silver Ships Delivers Survey Vessel to US Army Corps of Engineers
Alabama shipbuilder Silver Ships announced it has delivered a new marine surveying vessel for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Venice Sub Office in Venice, La. The 49-foot Tobin is the latest expansion in Silver Ships’ Endeavor series of workboats and is the largest marine surveying vessel of its series.Custom designed for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to hydrographically map the mouth of the Mississippi River…
Norwegian Cruise Says Pre-pandemic Occupancy Still a Year Away
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd forecast a loss for the current quarter and revenue below estimates as occupancy rates remained stubbornly below pre-pandemic levels, sending its shares down 12% on Tuesday.Its second-quarter occupancy of 65% compared with more than 107% in 2019, a level the company does not expect to reach till the second quarter next year.In contrast, rival Royal Caribbean Group…
Marine Insurance: Climate Change Challenges for the Shipping Industry
With 90% of global trade moved by sea, shipping is a major contributor to climate change. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimated that the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions grew by 10% between 2012 and 2018, while the industry’s share of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions grew slightly to almost 3%, about the same volume as Germany. It also forecasts that ‘business as usual’ could…
Gallery: DolWin kappa Offshore Substation Sails Away
Dutch/German grid operator TenneT said Monday that the 900 MW offshore substation platform DolWin kappa had sailed away from the Dragados Offshore shipyard in Cádiz, Spain. "TenneT will soon be reliably bringing even more green wind power from the German North Sea to land via the direct current connection DolWin6," TenneT said in the announcement of the sailaway which took place on August 5, 2022."After only three years of construction…
How the Blue Economy Will Shape the Future of Canada’s Oceans
The words “blue economy” will soon shape the future of Canada’s oceans, from the fiords and straits of British Columbia to the rugged coastlines of the Atlantic to the vast seascapes of the Arctic. The transformation of Canada’s ocean economies will be felt throughout the country and will set an example for nations around the world.But what is a blue economy? And what makes it different from business as usual?The term blue economy was first championed by small-island developing countries…
Rhine Water Level Falls Again in Germany, Raising Freight Costs
Water levels on the Rhine in Germany continue to fall in hot weather, sending shipping costs higher because vessels cannot sail on the river fully loaded, vessel brokers said on Friday.Freight shipping on the river continues but with vessels sometimes forced to sail 75% empty.Low Rhine water will also hit output from two German coal-fired power stations in the coming months.The water level is particularly low at the chokepoint of Kaub near Koblenz.
US Senate Bill Could be Death Blow for Biden Anti-drilling Pledge
U.S. President Joe Biden vowed during his 2020 election campaign to end federal oil and gas drilling as a major step in his strategy to fight climate change.The U.S. Senate Democrats' $430 billion spending bill agreed this week could kill that pledge. If it passes, it would effectively guarantee continued drilling rights auctions on federal lands and waters for at least another decade.Still, with Congress set to begin a summer recess by the end of next week…
Marine Insurance: Climate Change Challenges for the Shipping Industry
With 90% of global trade moved by sea, shipping is a major contributor to climate change. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) estimated that the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions grew by 10% between 2012 and 2018, while the industry’s share of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions grew slightly to almost 3%, about the same volume as Germany. It also forecasts that ‘business as usual’ could…
US Navy: Building Small Combatants to Create Force Structure and Capability
The U.S. Navy needs more ships. And that means the Navy has to build more ships than it is decommissioning.The sea service has a stated a goal of 355 ships, and as many as 500 and more when unmanned platforms are counted. There are 298 ships in the fleet today. For surface ships, this number includes a high-low mix of highly capable large surface combatants, and smaller ships such as littoral combat ships LCS).The Navy’s smallest combatants are the 330-ton, 197-foot coastal patrol boats (PCs).
Attention Turns to Extra Large Unmanned Underwater Vessels
In August, 2021, after years of delays, cost overruns, and rising tensions, the Australian government canceled a A$90 billion order with France’s Naval Group for 12 conventionally powered submarines intended to replace the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)’s aging fleet of six Collins-class attack subs. Overnight, the future of the RAN’s undersea warfare capability was cast into uncertainty. The very next month…
From Surface to Subsea to Space: U.S. Navy Shipbuilding Outlook 2022
As a rudderless U.S. Navy debates maritime strategy, fleet futures and platform performance, America’s naval shipbuilding industry can look forward to another year of relative stasis.Barring a major geopolitical incident or unexpected maritime provocation, government shipbuilding isn’t going to change course. With Admiral Michael Gilday approaching the final “lame duck” year of his four-year term as Chief of Naval Operations and the 2024 election season looming…
US Becomes Top LNG Exporter in First Half of 2022 -EIA
The United States became the top liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in the first half of 2022, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, citing data from CEDIGAZ, as the country increased supply to Europe amid the Ukraine crisis.U.S. LNG exports rose 12% to average 11.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in the first half of the year compared with the second half of 2021, the EIA said. Increased LNG export capacity…
Ship Insurers Sail Into Unknown With Ukraine Grain Risks After Deal Reached
A number of insurance underwriters are interested in providing cover for grain shipments from Ukraine after an agreement was reached to re-open Black Sea ports, although the first shipments are expected to be weeks away, industry sources said on Friday.Russia and Ukraine signed a landmark deal on Friday to reopen the ports for grain exports, raising hopes that an international food crisis aggravated by the Russian invasion can be eased.
Guyana Races Against the Clock to Bank Its Offshore Oil Bonanza
For the poor, small South American country of Guyana, there's no time like the present when it comes to reaping the rewards of its offshore oil jackpot.With sky-high oil prices, a transition to renewable energy on the horizon, and 750,000 citizens desperate for better lives, Guyana is putting its foot on the gas to exploit its vast oil reserves, even if that means sacrificing some longer-term gains.Already locked into contracts with oil firms that have been criticized for being too one-sided…
Gladding-Hearn Delivers New Launch to Michigan Pilots
Somerset, Mass. shipbuilder Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, said it has delivered by road transport a new pilot boat to the Lake Pilots in Port Huron, Mich. The Resilient Class high-speed launch Huron Pride is the pilots’ third boat built by the Somerset-Mass. shipyard since 1979.Designed by Ray Hunt Design, the jet-driven, all-aluminum launch measures 42.5 feet overall. It has a 14-foot beam and a shoal 2.5-foot draft.
Amphibious Transport Dock LPD 28 Sails Away From Ingalls Shipbuilding
San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) departed from HII’s (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division on Monday, en route to its commissioning site in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the shipbuilder announced.Fort Lauderdale was delivered to the U.S. Navy in March following acceptance sea trials and is the 12th San Antonio-class ship delivered by HII. Additional San Antonio-class ships are under construction at Ingalls, including Richard M. McCool Jr.
Disabled Bulk Carrier Towed into Botany Bay
A bulk carrier that lost power in bad weather off Australia's east coast has been towed into Botany Bay, near Sydney, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.The Hong Kong-registered Portland Bay left Port Kembla on Sunday and experienced engine failure with 21 people on board, about 1.2 kilometers east of Garie Beach, NSW on Monday morning.The vessel had been anchored off Cronulla Beach…
Jordan Dismisses Port Officials Following Chlorine Gas Leak
Jordan on Sunday dismissed senior officials at the country's main Red Sea port of Aqaba port after finding gross negligence was behind the deaths of thirteen people following a chlorine gas leak at a major berth.The deaths and injury of over 300 workers came after a crane loading chlorine containers onto a ship last Monday dropped one onto the quay, causing it to explode.Jordan's cabinet took the decision…
