Britain's Retail Industry Demands Probe of Disruption at Ports
Britain’s retailers and food manufacturers have called on lawmakers to urgently investigate ongoing disruption at UK ports, warning that delays were hurting their plans to build stocks ahead of Christmas and the December 31 end of the Brexit transition period.The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said on Thursday they had written to Lilian Greenwood, chair of parliament’s Commons Transport Select Committee…
Fincantieri Hit by Concerns Over Big Capital Increase
Fincantieri shares fell as much as 6.5% on Thursday on the prospect of a big capital increase by the Italian shipbuilder as it tries to cope with the coronavirus crisis which has hit its customers in the cruise industryBloomberg News reported late on Wednesday the state-owned firm, which has a market capitalization of about 1 billion euros, was considering a capital increase of up to 1.5 billion euros…
Seaspan Shipyards Invests in STEM Education
Seaspan Shipyards announced a $300,000 investment in Let’s Talk Science, a charitable organization that has been providing Canadian youth and educators with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs for more than 25 years. Seaspan’s three-year commitment will support the roll-out of new Kindergarten–Grade 12 (K-12) programming across Canada designed to educate and inspire youth about…
US Navy Helps Small Companies Engage with Experimentation
The United States' Department of Navy (DoN) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Experimentation Cell (DoN SEC) connects SBIR innovators with the DoN experimentation community to deliver innovative solutions for the warfighter.“Our mission is to support the SBIR community from the first idea to experiment execution by offering beginning-to-end facilitation, mentoring, and training in all aspects of experimentation…
Gunvor Invests in Artemis to Build Zero-emissions Ferries
Energy trader Gunvor Group has bought a minority stake in Artemis Technologies to build high-speed ferries capable of carrying up to 350 passengers with zero emissions, the company said on Thursday.The new vessel, called the Artemis eFoiler, will produce savings of up to 90% on fuel compared with traditional diesel ferries. The British firm received a £33 million grant from the British government earlier this year.The hydrofoils will run on batteries recharged by renewable energy sources.
Investor EnTrust Global Turns Sights to Green Shipping Assets
U.S. investment company EnTrust Global, already a player in shipping finance, aims to buy ships that generate lower emissions, an executive said, the latest sign of efforts in the shipping industry to go green.Global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world’s CO2 emissions, putting the industry under pressure to clean up. About 90% of world trade is transported by sea.New York-based EnTrust, which has $18.9 billion in assets, lends to the shipping sector through its Blue Ocean Funds.
US Blacklists Chinese, UAE Companies Over Sale of Iranian Petrochemicals
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on companies based in China and the United Arab Emirates, accusing them of supporting the sale of Iranian petrochemicals as Washington increases pressure on Tehran in the closing days of President Donald Trump's term.The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement it had blacklisted the four entities for facilitating the export of Iranian petrochemical products by Triliance Petrochemical Co.
Great Ships of 2020: Seri Everest, World’s Largest Ethane Carrier
Seri Everest, the first in a series of three 98,000 cbm Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs) built at Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (SHI) and delivered to MISC Berhad on October 30, 2020. Seri Everest is the first from a series of six VLECs that MISC purchased in July 2020. As a second generation VLEC, Seri Everest is one of the largest vessels of its kind in the world.With the delivery of MISC’s first VLEC – Seri Everest, she has set a new benchmark in the ethane market.
Solstad on a Roll: Scores Vessel Charters in India, Australia
Just hours after announcing three contracts for its platform suppliers in the North Sea and Suriname, Norwegian offshore vessel operator Solstad Offshore released a separate statement on Thursday, announcing charters for three construction vessels.These charters are with an unnamed "large international contractor" and are for the construction support vessels Normand Navigator, Normand Frontier, and Normand Australis.The three vessels will be used for projects on the east coast of India.
GE Orders Two Crew Transfer Vessels for French Offshore Wind Farm
GE Renewable Energy Offshore Wind (GE) has ordered two crew transfer vessels destined to serve the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm in France.GE has ordered the vessels from Louis Dreyfus Armateurs and Tidal Transit. The two crew transfer vessels will be designed by naval architect Mauric and built by French shipyard Ocea. LD Tide, a joint venture between Louis Dreyfus Armateurs and Tidal Transit will…
BW Group Buys 39.1% Stake in Navigator Holdings
Private equity firm WL Ross & Co. said it has agreed to sell its approximately 39.1% equity interest in ship owner-operator Navigator Holdings to maritime and offshore…
Keppel AmFELS Lays Keel for First Jones Act WTIV
Shipbuilder Keppel AmFELS has laid the keel for the first ever Jones Act compliant offshore wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) at its shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, marking a key milestone for the development of the U.S. offshore wind industry.With several gigawatts of offshore wind capacity to be installed along the U.S. East Coast in the next decade, access to Jones Act compliant WTIVs is of strategic importance to the U.S. offshore wind market. Currently no such vessel exists.
Ammonia Fuel Cells for Deep-Sea Shipping: A Key Piece of the Zero-emissions Puzzle
Interest in ammonia-powered fuel cells for the maritime sector is growing, but stakeholders have been hesitant to commit to investments in large-scale systems. Now the ShipFC project is aiming to secure a place for ammonia in the future of deep-sea shipping.The project will equip the offshore supply vessel Viking Energy, owned and operated by Eidesvik and on contract to energy major Equinor, with a 2-megawatt (MW) ammonia fuel cell…
NETSCo, LR Designing Jones Act Wind Turbine Installation Vessel
Northeast Technical Services Co., Inc. (NETSCo) and Lloyd’s Register North America, Inc. (LR) are working to design and develop a Jones Act compliant wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) capable of serving the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind sector.The current pipeline of state procurement targets along the U.S. East Coast calls for 12 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity installed by 2030 and 29.1 gigawatts total installed by 2035…
Biden Introduces Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary
President-elect Joe Biden touted the diversity of his incoming administration as he introduced former rival Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday as his choice for U.S. transportation secretary.Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, would be the first openly gay Cabinet secretary confirmed by the Senate if he is approved.Appearing with Buttigieg in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said the 38-year-old…
BW LPG Opts for Additional LPG Retrofits
BW LPG announced it will retrofit three additional vessels to make them dual fuel capable, brining to 15 the number of its ships slated to be equipped for running on both fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).The Oslo-listed shipowner, part of the BW Group, announced in 2018 that it would initially equip four very large gas carriers (VLGC) with the novel propulsion solution. Later, two four-vessel…
Seaspan, Genoa Partner on $3 Million Digital Twin Project
Two Canadian firms are partnering to develop and commercialize 3D digital twin capabilities with hopes of making Canada more globally competitive, driving export opportunities and creating jobs in the marine sector.The the $3 million-plus Digital Ship In-Service Support Project comes from Canada’s Ocean Supercluster’s (OSC) Accelerated Ocean Solutions Program. Led by British Columbia-based Seaspan Shipyards together with partner and Newfoundland and Labrador-based…
Daniamant Acquires Alcares
Danish-based marine electronics company Daniamant said it has acquired the Danish-based company Alcares’ complete portfolio of products, assets and activities. Alcares specializes in the design…
DREDGING: Royal IHC, Arab Potash Launch CSD Alyarmouk
Arab Potash Company's (APC) newest cutter suction dredger (CSD) was launched at Royal IHC’s shipyard in Krimpen a/d IJssel, The Netherlands, on Wednesday. APC will use Alyarmouk at its site in Jordan, where it will cut and remove crystallized salt under harsh conditions.The custom-built vessel is a 3,557-kilowatt CSD and a further developed copy of the dredger Jarash, which IHC delivered to APC in 2018.Alyarmouk is the last of three contracts signed between APC and IHC earlier this year.
REM Offshore Orders Offshore Wind Vessel
Norwegian offshore vessel operator Rem Offshore has ordered a Construction Service Vessel for offshore wind operations from Green Yard Kleven shipyard in Ulsteinvik.Havyard Design & Solutions AS is responsible for the design. The vessel, which was originally designed as a Havyard 833 WE platform supply vessel PSV, will be converted into a service vessel for offshore wind, under the Havyard 833 CSV design.