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27 Aug 2014
Northern Sea Route Opens Earlier than Last Year
The Global Ice Center at Weathernews Inc. announced that the Northern Sea Route (NSR) bordering Russia is open to commercial shipping traffic as of August 21, 2014 – two weeks earlier than last season, when lower than average temperatures resulted in slow pace of melting in the Arctic Ocean. Last summer, the northeastern passage opened at the beginning of September. Meanwhile, large areas of sea ice still remain in the northwestern passage along the Canadian coast.
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27 Aug 2014
Brazilian PSVs Get Rolls-Royce Offshore Cranes
Rolls-Royce signed a contract with Detroit Chile SA to supply offshore cranes to nine Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) presently under construction at Detroit Brasil Ltda. shipyard, in Itajaì, Brazil. The delivery will include nine ship sets of the dual draglink crane, making eighteen cranes in total. Upon completion, the vessels, designed by Guido Perla, will enter service on an eight-year contract with state-owned Brazilian oil company Petrobras.
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27 Aug 2014
ABS to Class First Self-elevating Unit Built in Qatar
ABS, a provider of classification services to the global offshore industry, was selected by Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) to class its LB310S liftboat…
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26 Aug 2014
Rolls-Royce Acquires Power Systems Unit
Rolls-Royce today announced the completion of its acquisition of Rolls-Royce Power Systems (RRPS). The move follows an announcement made on March 7, 2014 that the Board of Management of Daimler AG had decided to exercise the put option relating to its 50% equity interest in RRPS and the announcement on April 16, 2014 that Rolls-Royce and Daimler had agreed on a fair market valuation for the shareholding of €2.43 billion.
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25 Aug 2014
Voith Bags Largest Marine Order to Date
In South Africa’s largest local shipbuilding contract Transnet National Ports Authority has ordered nine new Voith Water Tractors (VWT) for use in several ports across the country, marking the largest order in the history of Voith marine technology. The VWT will be built by South African Shipyards in Durban over the next 42 months. Eight of the tugs will be identical in construction with a length of 31 meters and a beam of 12.5 meters.
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22 Aug 2014
MARAD: Total Fuel Cycle Study for Natural Gas
The Maritime Administration (MARAD) released a study that evaluates total fuel cycle emissions for natural gas versus conventional marine fuels. Results showed that…
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21 Aug 2014
The World's Most Expensive Jones Act Tanker
The series highlighting the world's most expensive active vessels from online ship intelligence and information service VesselsValue.com focuses this week on the most expensive tanker vessel, which is not a VLCC but a Jones Act aframax. The first-in-class double hull tanker Liberty Bay is an 820-foot, 115,000 dwt aframax tanker built this year by Aker Philadelphia and owned by Seariver Maritime. The tanker…
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20 Aug 2014
Update to Fire Damage to Australian Patrol Boat
Armidale Class Patrol Boat HMAS Bundaberg suffered significant damage due to a fire which occurred on Monday, August 11, 2014 in Brisbane. The boat was undergoing…
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20 Aug 2014
Update: LOOP Terminal Shutdown
LOOP's Offshore Marine Terminal suspended its crude oil offloading operations on August 13 while investigating an oil sheen discovered along the pipeline. According to the terminal…
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20 Aug 2014
Containership Cleared of Ebola Risk
Containership Hammonia Pacificum has been cleared of Ebola risk at the Port of Ricahrd Bay after being stopped previously at several West African ports, according to online ship intelligence and information service VesselsValue.com. The ship, though carrying a 'quarantine alert' yellow flag, was allowed to berth in Richard's Bay instead of being left at outer anchorage for health inspections, VesselsValue.com reported in its weekly newsletter The Trumpet.
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20 Aug 2014
First Two Mooring Boats Launched for Port of Ras Laffan
Nakilat has celebrated the delivery of two 16-meter mooring boats built by shipbuilder Nakilat Damen Shipyards Qatar for towage operator Nakilat Svitzer Wijsmuller. The built-in-Qatar vessels will be operated at the Port of Ras Laffan. The two Stan Tug 1606 mooring boats, named Ras Al Allaj Qatar and Al Esaiwed, are the first of a seven-vessel order that Nakilat Damen Shipyards Qatar is currently working on for Nakilat Svitzer Wijsmuller.
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19 Aug 2014
FARO 3D Documentation Conference
The FARO 3D Documentation Conference, to be held October 13-15, 2014, was created as a forum for sharing knowledge, best practices and insight into the world of laser scanning and 3D documentation. Over the course of two days at Disney’s Swan & Dolphin Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., attendees will hear from respected visionaries on current issues and the future of our industry in the keynote sessions and learn hands-on from expert instructors in our workshop sessions.
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19 Aug 2014
Elco Launches Electric Outboard Motor Line
Elco Motor Yachts, a company in electric and hybrid marine propulsion for more than 120 years, is applying its expertise to the electric outboard motor category. The company is launching a new line of 5- and 7-horsepower motors, with an additional model offering 9.9-horsepower later this year. The outboards are designed to meet the growing interest in clean, quiet and fuel-efficient propulsion among both recreational and commercial boaters.
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19 Aug 2014
Star Bulk to Acquire 34 Drybulk Vessels
Star Bulk entered into a definitive agreement with Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd., and as a result, will acquire 34 drybulk vessels for an aggregate of 29.917 million shares of common stock of Star Bulk and $288.39 million in cash. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. announced today that it has entered into definitive agreements with Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. pursuant to which the company will acquire 34 secondhand operating drybulk carriers…
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19 Aug 2014
FMC Forum to Address US Port Congestion
U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Mario Cordero will hold a forum titled, "U.S. Port Congestion: Examining Causes, Impact on Stakeholders and Exploring Possible Solutions" Monday, September 15, 2014, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Port of Los Angeles. According to the FMC, the forum’s goal is to promote dialogue on the causes and implications of congestion at U.S. ports. Topics covered will include factors causing port congestion…
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18 Aug 2014
Bergen Group Sells off Shipbuilding Shares
Bergen Group ASA announced it has signed an agreement with Calexco S.a.r.l. regarding sale of the remaining 30 % shares in NorYards AS for a price of $4 million. The completion of the transaction is expected to take place by end of August 2014, thus facilitating the group’s departure from its shipbuilding interests. The sale of the minority ownership in NorYards AS (former Bergen Group's Shipbuilding…
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18 Aug 2014
Tanker Fire Kills One off Oregon
An engine room fire last week aboard a 485-foot, Bahamian-flagged chemical tanker has left the vessel disabled without propulsions about 700 miles west of Cape Blanco, Oregon, killing one crew member, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported. According to the USCG, the fire was extinguished using installed firefighting systems, however, the ship sustained damage to its generators, leaving the crew with minimal battery power.
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18 Aug 2014
PSVs Undergo Rapid Shipdock Antiroll Retrofit
For its recent retrofit of two antiroll tanks onto GulfMark UK’s Highland Defender and Highland Guardian, Shipdock Amsterdam said it is most proud of its rapid response and production speed, along with the ratio of 150 metric tons of steel deployed and processed relative to the contract’s limited total lead-time. In consideration of the fact that all work, from scratch, was carried out within one single location as a complete turnkey package by two Damen Shipyards subsidiaries…
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18 Aug 2014
Propulsion Woes Bring Queen Victoria to Early Refit
Cunard’s Queen Victoria to undergo multimillion dollar refit at Blohm & Voss Shipyard in January 2015, nearly one year ahead of its planned December 2015 maintenance. Cunard Line announced last week that its liner Queen Victoria will enter the Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, in January 2015 for a multimillion dollar refit. The drydocking, originally scheduled for December 2015, will come nearly one year ahead of schedule due to problems with the one of the ship’s propulsion units…
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15 Aug 2014
Offshore Terminal Shut After Sheen Discovered
LOOP's Offshore Marine Terminal suspended its crude oil offloading operations while investigating an oil sheen discovered along the LOOP pipeline right-of-way on August 13.