Maritime Industry Top News
US Offshore Player Laborde Marine Enters the Inland Market with New Division
![(Photo: Laborde Marine)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/photo-laborde-marine-151664.jpg)
Laborde Marine, a New Orleans-based offshore support vessels (OSV) operator, announced it is entering the U.S. inland marine market with the creation of a new division to provide towing and pushboat services.LabMar Inland will initially charter Ivy Steiner, a 2,000-horsepower pushboat newly built by Steiner Construction in Bayou La Batre, Ala. The 78-foot-long vessel has a 34-foot beam and max draft of 8 feet, six inches.
Great Lakes Towing Christens New Tug Minnesota
![Minnesota (Photo: The Great Lakes Towing Company)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/minnesota-photo-the-great-lakes-151663.jpg)
The Great Lakes Towing Company held a christening ceremony in Cleveland for its newest tug.The vessel, named Minnesota, was delivered in 2023 as part of a series of 10 new Damen 1907 ICE tugs built by Great Lakes Shipyard, a sister company to the Towing Company—both part of The Great Lakes Group.The 64’x24’x11’ tug is powered by two 1,000-horsepower MTU 8V4000 Tier III diesel engines, and generates over 30-tons of bollard pull.
Canada Plans to Acquire Up to 12 Submarines
![HMCS Victoria is currently among Canada's most modern submarines. (File photo: Government of Canada)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/hmcs-victoria-is-currently-among-151662.jpg)
Canada, looking to shore up its defense of the Arctic, is moving ahead to acquire up to 12 submarines and has started a formal process to meet with manufacturers, the defense ministry said.Canada updated its defense policy this year with a focus on protecting the Arctic and dealing with challenges from Russia and China. The procurement of submarines is a critical step in implementing that strategy…
CBP Cracking Down on Maritime Auto Theft
![(Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/photo-us-customs-and-border-151661.jpg)
Each year, criminals try to smuggle countless stolen vehicles through U.S. ports, attempting to load them onto merchant vessels for destinations overseas.The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been cracking down on these efforts. During fiscal year 2023 (Oct.1, 2022 – Sept. 30, 2023), CBP recovered 1,316 stolen vehicles nationally before they could be exported from the United States—an increase of about 6.5%.To help stop the thieves…
Oil Tanker Seized by Iran in 2023 Anchors Near UAE Coast
![Advantage Sweet (File photo courtesy Advantage Tankers)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/advantage-sweet-file-photo-courtesy-151660.png)
A Chevron-chartered oil tanker seized by Iran more than a year ago has dropped anchor near the United Arab Emirates port of Khor Fakkan, ship tracking data showed on Monday.The Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet was boarded by Iran's military in the Gulf of Oman in April 2023 after an alleged collision with an Iranian boat.After sailing away from Iran last week, its latest position was located close to the UAE, LSEG data showed on Monday.A Chevron spokesperson said on Saturday it was aware
US Army Corps of Engineers Names New Chief
![Maj. Gen William H. "Butch" Graham Jr. (Photo: USACE)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/maj-gen-william-h-butch-151659.png)
The U.S. Army has selected Maj. Gen William H. "Butch" Graham Jr. to be its next chief of engineers and commanding general of the Corps of Engineers, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced on July 10.Graham is currently serving as the deputy chief of engineers and deputy commanding general for civil works and emergency operations. His long Army career includes leadership positions supporting both civil works and military construction.If confirmed by the Senate…
TORM Buys Eight Secondhand MR Tankers
![(File photo: TORM)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/file-photo-torm-151658.jpg)
Danish pure play product tanker company TORM on Monday announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire eight secondhand MR vessels in a $340 million cash and stock deal. TORM did not name the seller.The vessels have all been built by South Korea's Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in 2014 and 2015, and six of the vessels have been fitted with scrubbers. TORM said it expects to take delivery of the vessels during the third and fourth quarters of this year.The purchase price…
US Importers Balk at Return of $10,000 Container Shipping Rate
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The cost to ship a standard 40-foot container of toys, auto parts or other goods from Shanghai to New York has jumped to nearly $10,000, fueling frustration among importers and prompting some experts to say the market is in a bubble.The Drewry World Container Index's spot rate for such a shipment hit $9,387 on July 11. That is more than double the rate from February but still below the peak of $16…
ECOsubsea to Scale Up Its Hull Cleaning Solution in Singapore
![ECOsubsea's containerized control station alongside a cruis eship during hull cleaning (Credi: ECOsubsea)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/containerized-control-station-alongside-151654.jpg)
ECOsubsea has set out plans to build up its hull cleaning solution in the Port of Singapore, after securing a multi-million-dollar growth loan from Innovation Norway.With the growth loan from Innovation Norway, in the amount of $3.26 million (NOK 35 million) ECOsubsea will scale up its hull cleaning solution.The company plans to use its next generation cleaning robots, said to be 10 times faster than traditional solutions…
Fincantieri Launches Another Multipurpose Combat Ship for Italian Navy
![(Credit: Fincantieri)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/credit-fincantieri-151650.jpg)
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has launched the seventh multipurpose combat ship, named Domenico Millelire, at its shipyard in Genova.This vessel is part of the renewal plan of the operational lines of the Italian Navy vessels, approved by the Government and Parliament under the aegis of OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation sur l’Armement, the international organization for cooperation on arms).The 143-meter vessel is a highly flexible ship with the capacity to serve multiple functions…
Cadeler Lines Up OW Turbine Installation Campaign in 2029
![(Credit: Cadeler)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/credit-cadeler-151649.jpg)
Danish offshore wind installation firm Cadeler has signed a preferred supplier agreement to secure vessel capacity with an undisclosed client, to transport and install offshore wind turbines.The installation campaign is due to commence in 2029 for an undisclosed client and project.tThe effectiveness of the agreement is contingent upon the client’s success in a future auction, Cadeler noted.In May,…
Prysmian’s Monna Lisa Reaches Norway (Video)
![(Credit: Screenshot/Prysmian YouTube Video)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/credit-screenshotprysmian-youtube-video-151648.jpg)
Prysmian's Monna Lisa vessel, being build by Vard, has reached Norway for final outfitting, installation of main mission equipment and trials, before becoming fully operational in 2025.The 171-meter-long cable laying vessel (CLV) arrived to Norway after travelling 4,000 nautical miles around Europe for 28 days, following its launch at Vard’s shipyard in Tulcea Romania.The vessel was towed down the Danube River…
GMS: Ship Recycling Faces Negative Pressures
![Source: GMS](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/source-gms-151644.jpg)
The anticipated / ongoing seasonal slowdown in activity coupled with softening vessel prices has clearly started to characterize the year’s summer / monsoon mess across the Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets, reports cash buyer GMS.“However, the 2024 version not only includes the incessant rains and a holiday-time for yard workers, but also ongoing global descent via boots on the ground warfare…
Report: Preparing Tankers for Conversion to Green Fuels
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The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping has published a technical, environmental, and techno-economic analysis of the impacts of preparation and conversion of tankers for green fuels.Using insights from project partners, the project aimed to understand the technical requirements and cost of converting from fuel oil to methanol or ammonia and from NG to ammonia.The report considered reference designs for two types of tanker vessels: LR2 and VLCC.
Esgian Week 28 Report: Rig Activity Robust
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Esgian provides an update on rig activity and discoveries in its Week 28 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryDrilling Activity and DiscoveriesThe Norwegian Ocean Industry Authority (Havtil) has given Equinor consent for exploration drilling in blocks 32/4 and 32/7 in the North Sea.Operator LLOG Exploration Company is currently drilling its fifth well at the Buckskin field in the US GOM.Equinor and its partners Petoro…
Houthis Conduct Military Operations in Gulf of Aden, Israel's Eilat
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Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they had conducted two military operations, one in the Gulf of Aden and one in Eilat at the southern tip of Israel.Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted the Israeli ship MSC UNIFIC in the Gulf of Aden with ballistic missiles and drones in addition to attacking military targets in Eilat with drones.The spokesperson said that the latest Houthi military operations came in response to the Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis on Saturday…
Hydrogen-powered Ferry Sea Change Set to Enter Service
![Sea Change, the country's first passenger ferry powered by hydrogen fuel cells, in San Francisco. (Photo: WETA)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/sea-change-the-countrys-first-151639.jpg)
The first-of-its-kind hydrogen-fueled ferry Sea Change will soon begin public service, providing zero-emissions transport for passengers in San Francisco Bay.The groundbreaking commercial passenger vessel is the world’s first powered 100% by zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells. It was developed by owner SWITCH Maritime with grant support from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as a solution to…
Italy's New FLNG Terminal to Be Operational by March 2025
![(Photo: BW Group)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/photo-bw-group-151638.png)
Italy's gas grid group Snam SRG.MI said on Friday it expected a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to become operational by March 2025, allowing the country to diversify further its energy supplies.The floating terminal in the Adriatic sea will have an annual regasification potential of 5 billion cubic metres (bcm), bringing Italy's total capacity to 28 bcm a year, or 45% of the country's gas demand in 2023.The set up of the regasification unit dubbed BW Singapore, which envisages the buil
Kitsap Transit to Leverage ioCurrents' Fleet Optimization Tech
![(Image: ioCurrents)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/image-iocurrents-151637.png)
Kitsap Transit has tapped SaaS company ioCurrents to help drive efficiency gains across its ferry fleet in Washington state.ioCurrents' proprietary software, MarineInsight, employs machine learning models to provide real-time, analyzed, actionable data to shoreside operations. By utilizing an IoT device (nonstandard computing hardware) on board, MarineInsight effectively sends the compressed, analyzed data to a secure cloud…
California Ferry Operator AITF Moves to Electrify Its Fleet in CARB-backed Project
![EV Maritime’s EVM200 battery electric commuter fast ferry, of which the first two are nearing completion in New Zealand for public transportation authority Auckland Transport. (Image: EV Maritime)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/ev-maritimes-evm200-battery-electric-151636.jpg)
Angel Island Tiburon Ferry (AITF), in California, has tapped New-Zealand-based EV Maritime to design a plug-in hybrid electric vessel for its fleet in the San Francisco Bay Area. The project, which will also see the electrification of two existing AITF vessels, has been funded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The hybrid ferry will be designed and engineered by EV Maritime with electrical integration provided by ZeroMar…