Maritime Industry Top News
Royal Caribbean Upbeat on 2024 Profit
Royal Caribbean Group projected 2024 profit above Wall Street expectations after robust demand for cruise vacations and steeper ticket prices helped it beat fourth-quarter earnings estimates on Thursday.With travelers opting for cruises instead of more expensive land-based vacation options, operators are experiencing record levels of bookings compared to pre-pandemic levels, giving them enough room to mark up ticket prices."2023 was an exceptional year…
Milestones for Bernhard Schulte Offshore CSOVs
Two commissioning service operation vessels (CSOV) under construction for Germany-based Bernhard Schulte Offshore have reached milestones. The steel cutting and keel laying ceremonies for yno 321 and 320, respectively, were arranged at the Crist hull yard, Poland, on January 30, 2024.The two Ulstein-designed CSOVs are characterized by the TWIN X-STERN feature, implementing fore and aft main propeller…
Longship Orders Two Newbuilds from GS Yard
Longship Group entered a joint newbuilding project with Wagle Chartering AS for two "GS Eco-Freighter 3700" to be built by GS Yard BV in Waterhuizen, the Netherlands.The general cargo ships feature single open top box shaped holds of about 181,000 cbft intake. The vessels are equipped with two bulkheads that can be used as tweendecks. They are fitted for grain, timber, project cagos and are driven…
Evergreen & X-Press Feeders Ink MOA for Methanol-fueled Feedering
Global container shipping line Evergreen Marine Corporation has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with X-Press Feeders, the world’s largest independent common carrier, to place its containers on X-Press Feeders’ new dual fuel green methanol vessels. X-Press Feeders is planning to run these vessels on green methanol and operate them within Europe.The two companies moreover will work together to launch a feeder network…
Similar But Not Identical: How Digital Twins Can Serve Class And Designers
Demand for data that can inform strategies for asset management and performance monitoring is driving the wider adoption of digital tools in shipbuilding. Vessel designers are increasingly able to employ a software-driven approach that creates efficiencies and satisfies compliance.Shipowners want visibility on assets over their lifecycle, and as the era of planned maintenance routines gives way to predictive interventions…
Brunvoll DP2 System Passed Sea Trial
The very first Brunvoll BruCon DP2 dynamic positioning system has passed third party verification onboard the offshore vessel Stril Mar.The BruCon DP2 installation was part of a larger power and energy management system upgrade onboard Stril Mar, delivered by SEAM AS. The upgrade and sea trial took place at Westcon Yards AS, in Ølensvåg. Through supplier SEAM AS, Simon Møkster Shipping AS ordered all batteries…
MAN Propulsion Package to Power GTS' Tanker Newbuilds
Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding and Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry in China have ordered four MAN 10L32/44CR main engines in connection with the construction of a quartet of 41,000 dwt oil-and-chemical tankers for Bremen-based German Tanker Shipping (GTS).The construction of the 199-meter Swedish Fartygskonstruktioner AB-designed newbuildings is set to start at Xiamen Shipbuilding with delivery scheduled from mid-2025 onward.
Westwood Shipping Lines Rebrands as Swire Shipping
Swire Shipping announced that Westwood Shipping Lines, a niche vessel operator it acquired in June 2022, has changed its name to Swire Shipping.According to Sire, the rebrand—which took effect February 1—will help Westwood to leverage synergies and capabilities in containers, networks, and projects across the global Swire Shipping network to better serve customers throughout North America, Japan, South…
Cradle-to-Grave LNG Carrier Study Spotlights Crucial Role of Alternative Fuels for GHG Reduction
Alternative fuels, green steel and renewable energy are fundamental to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction during the life cycle of a vessel, an industry-first cradle-to-grave study on a newbuild LNG carrier has revealed.Carried out by Lloyd’s Register, Knutsen, HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), the analysis has highlighted the environmental output at each stage of a vessel’s life.Namely…
North Star to Deliver Hybrid-Electric SOV for German Offshore Wind Farm
North Star has secured a contract with energy utility giant EnBW to deliver a new hybrid-electric service operations vessel (SOV) on a decade-long minimum charter to service the He Dreiht wind farm off the coast of Germany.The agreement marks the company’s first offshore wind move outside the UK market, a milestone mark in its ambitious European growth strategy to add 40 new SOVs to its fleet by 2040.The…
Australian Government Considering Re-Export of Livestock
The Australian Department of Agriculture continues to assess an application to re-export the sheep and cattle currently loaded on the livestock carrier Bahijah.The government recalled the vessel after it diverted from the Red Sea over a week into its voyage to the Middle East. The Bahijah had loaded cattle and sheep in Fremantle, Western Australia, and departed for the Middle East on January 5, 2024.The vessel has an Israeli company name painted in large letters along the side of the hull…
US-flag Great Lakes Shipping Up 6.5% in 2023
Cargo volumes moved by U.S.-flag Great Lakes freighters in 2023 increased 6.5% compared to 2022, according to latest figures from trade group the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA).The 81.4 million tons of cargo transported by the U.S. laker fleet 2023 was 1.2% above the fleet’s five-year average, LCA said.Iron ore cargos totaled 42.4 million tons, an increase of 13.4% compared to a year earlier, while limestone shipments increased by 3.9% to 24.6 million tons.
Deltamarin Inks Design Deal for Stena RoRo’s 13th E-Flexer RoPax
Finland-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Deltamarin informs it has signed a design contract with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Weihai) for the complete basic and detail design of a new RoPax vessel.The new RoPax is the 13th vessel in the Stena RoRo’s E-Flexer series and is the first to be delivered to the Mediterranean region. Corsica Linea will charter the vessel for operation on Marseille – Corsica route from Stena RoRo, with a purchase option.
Houthis Say They Targeted US Merchant Vessel
Yemen's Houthis on Wednesday said their naval forces carried out an operation targeting an "American merchant ship" in the Gulf of Aden hours after firing missiles at U.S. Navy destroyer Gravely.They targeted the "American merchant ship KOI ... with several appropriate naval missiles," Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement.The Liberian-flagged container ship Koi is operated by UK-based Oceonix Services.
CMA CGM Lines Up Methanol Retrofits
CMA CGM has lined up several of its existing containerships for conversion to dual-fuel methanol propulsion.The French ocean carrier has signed contracts with China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSC) Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding to carry out the conversions starting from mid-2025. The program will reportedly include one or two 9,300 TEU vessels but could grow to up to 10 ships if successful.CMA…
Multiple Boats Catch Fire in Baltimore Marina
Emergency responders on Wednesday battled a blaze that engulfed multiple vessels in the Anchorage Marina, on the Patapsco River in Baltimore.A good Samaritan alerted U.S. Coast Guard Sector Maryland-National Capital Region watchstanders to the fire at approximately 9 a.m. and reported that he heard a popping noise and saw two 55-foot boats engulfed in flames.Baltimore City Fire Department said its…
Event: Hamburg Maritime Forum Set for April 2024
On April 16th and 17th, maritime stakeholders from around the globe will converge in the historic Altona Fischauktionshalle for the highly anticipated 3rd Hamburg Maritime Forum. This prestigious event promises two days of insightful discussions, innovative solutions, and collaborative initiatives aimed at shaping the future of the maritime industry.Attendees representing a diverse spectrum of the maritime sector will grace the forum with their presence.
Ship Carrying 16,000 Sheep and Cattle Stranded off Australia
A ship carrying around 14,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle is marooned off the coast of Australia in sweltering heat after it was forced to abandon a trip through the Red Sea, causing outcry from people concerned about the animals' welfare.The vessel left Australia on Jan. 5 for Israel, where it was to unload, but diverted from its course in mid-January due to the threat of attack by Yemen's Houthi militia…
Indonesian Firm Orders Two Dredges from Royal IHC
Indonesian firm PT. Jhonlin Marine Trans has placed an order for two dredges from Royal IHC, based in the Netherlands.Jhonlin Marine Trans is the marine subsidiary of Jhonlin Group, one of the largest companies in Indonesia under the ownership of Mr. Samsudin Andi Arsyad. Rangga Rishar Saputra, Country Manager Indonesia for Royal IHC, said, “We are grateful that Jhonlin and Mr. Isam has put their faith in IHC Dredging in developing their dredging capacity.
India Deploys Unprecedented Naval Might Near Red Sea
India has deployed at least a dozen warships east of the Red Sea to provide security against pirates and has investigated more than 250 vessels as Western powers focus on attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, Indian officials said.India has not joined the U.S.-led task force for the Red Sea and does not have any warships there. But it currently has two frontline warships in the Gulf of Aden and at least 10 warships in the northern and western Arabian Sea…
