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04 Mar 2024

After Failed Voyage, 14,500 Australian Livestock Sail Again for Israel

Image courtesy of Michael Mondello

Around 14,500 livestock sailed from Australia to Israel on Sunday for the second time, two months after their first voyage was curtailed by the threat of attack by Houthi militants in the Red Sea.The animals left Fremantle port in Perth on Jan. 5 but halfway to the Middle East, their ship abandoned its route and was ordered home by the Australian government.The turn-back was part of the havoc wrought by the Houthi strikes in support of Hamas militants in Palestine that have forced…

12 Feb 2024

Unloading of Stranded Australian Livestock Begins

Image courtesy of Michael Mondello

Thousands of sheep and cattle stuck on a ship that was forced to abandon a passage through the Red Sea last month have begun disembarking at the same Australian port they left nearly six weeks ago, Australia's agriculture ministry said late on Monday.The MV Bahijah sailed from Fremantle, Western Australia on Jan. 5 for Israel with about 14,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle on board, but diverted from its route due to the threat of attack by Yemen's Houthi militia before being ordered…

07 Feb 2024

Australian Welfare Organizations Call for Suspension of Live Animal Exports

Source: Animals Australia

The Australian Alliance for Animals has written an open letter to animal exporters imploring them to voluntarily suspend all live animal exports to or through the Red Sea while the risk of attack remains and to suspend any extended journeys to the Middle East via the Cape of Good Hope.The move follows the recently aborted voyage of the Bahijah. The livestock carrier sailed from Australia for Israel on January 5 but was recalled over a week into the voyage after diverting towards…

31 Jan 2024

Ship Carrying 16,000 Sheep and Cattle Stranded off Australia

FILE PHOTO: Livestock carrier Bahijah berthed at North Quay, in the inner harbour of the Port of Fremantle, Western Australia, in 2018. (Credit: Bahnfrend / CC BY-SA)

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 before being ordered home by the Australian government.The animals are now in limbo and could be discharged in Australia…

10 Aug 2023

Pavilion Energy, CNOOC Complete First Bunker Delivery to LNG-powered VLCC

Credit: Pavilion Energy

Singapore's Pavilion Energy and China's CNOOC Gas and Power Group completed their first liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship-to-ship bunker operation for a very large crude carrier (VLCC) at China's Guangzhou port, the companies said on Thursday.A total of 2,800 metric tons of LNG was delivered from CNOOC's LNG bunker vessel Hai Yang Shi You 301 to the VLCC Maran Dione, owned by Angelicoussis Group's Maran Tankers Management (MTM), the companies said in a joint statement.The bunker operation came after Pavilion Energy…

03 Aug 2023

UK Dredging Orders Unique Water Injection Dredger

(Image: Damen Shipyards Group)

Damen Shipyards Group recently signed a contract with UK Dredging for the delivery of a Shoalbuster 2711 Water Injection Dredger (WID).UK Dredging, part of Associated British Ports (ABP), operates Britain’s largest dredging fleet. Among its vessels are a number of Damen dredgers and workboats, including two Multi Cat Plough Vessels. The company’s scope is to undertake maintenance dredging in ABP’s ports. To do this, UK Dredging typically operates a number of hopper dredgers.A smaller water injection dredger will enable the company to extend the intervals in between hopper dredging operations.

15 Dec 2022

Vietnam in Big Push to Expand South China Sea Outposts

Vietnam has conducted a major expansion of dredging and landfill work at several of its South China Sea outposts in the second half of this year, signaling an intent to significantly fortify its claims in the disputed waterway, a U.S. think tank reported on Wednesday.Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the work in the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by China and others, had created roughly 420 acres (170 hectares) of new land and brought…

29 Dec 2021

Indonesia Says It Will Allow Stranded Rohingya Boat to Seek Refuge

© mexitographer / Adobe Stock

Indonesia will allow a boat packed with Rohingya which had become stranded off its coast to dock in the Southeast Asian country, its security ministry said on Wednesday, after calls from aid organizations to allow the vessel to seek refuge.Local officials in Aceh, a province on the western island of Sumatra said on Tuesday that they would provide the roughly 120 passengers on board with food, medicine and water, but would not allow them to seek refuge in Indonesia, despite international pleas to do so."Today…

26 Aug 2021

VP Harris Says US Will 'Speak Up' on South China Sea

(File photo: Gage Skidmore)

The United States welcomes competition and does not seek conflict with Beijing, but will speak up on issues like maritime disputes in the South China Sea, Vice President Kamala Harris said on Thursday as she concluded a trip to Southeast Asia.In visits to Singapore and Vietnam, Harris charged China with bullying its neighbors in the region, triggering here sharp rebukes from Beijing, which accused the U.S. of meddling in regional affairs and disrupting peace.“We welcome stiff competition…

25 Aug 2021

US VP Harris Offers Vietnam Support to Counter Beijing in the South China Sea

File photo: U.S. Navy littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) underway conducting exercises in the South China Sea in 2017. (Photo: Amy Ressler / U.S. Navy)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met Vietnam’s top leaders on Wednesday, offering support in several key areas including the enhancement of its maritime security in an effort to counter Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea.Harris also offered more visits by U.S. warships during her talks with Vietnam’s President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, according to a White House official who did not wish to be named.Harris’s seven-day trip to Singapore and Vietnam is part of a broader U.S.

24 Jun 2020

Malaysia to Detain, Charge Crew of 'Illegal' Vietnamese Boats

© hoangtran / Adobe Stock

Malaysia will detain and charge crew members of Vietnamese vessels caught illegally fishing in its waters instead of turning them away as authorities had done previously, the country's coastguard chief said on Wednesday.Vietnam and its neighbors have for years been involved in disputes over fishing in the resource-rich South China Sea, most of which is claimed by China.

06 Apr 2020

Vietnam Protests Beijing's Sinking of South China Sea Boat

© worawut17 / Adobe Stock

Vietnam has lodged an official protest with China following the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat it said had been rammed by a Chinese maritime surveillance vessel near islands in the disputed South China Sea.The Vietnamese fishing vessel, with eight fishermen onboard, was fishing near the Paracel Islands on Thursday when it was rammed and sunk by the Chinese vessel, Vietnam's foreign ministry said in a statement posted on a government website on Saturday.All the fishermen were picked up by the Chinese vessel alive and were transferred to two other Vietnamese fishing vessels operating nearb

13 Aug 2019

Chinese Ship Returns to Vietnam's EEZ

A Chinese survey ship returned to Vietnam's exclusive economic zone off its coast on Tuesday, ship tracking data showed, less than a week after it left the area where vessels from the two countries were locked in a month-long standoff.The Haiyang Dizhi 8 first entered the zone under Chinese coast guard escort in July and appeared to conduct a seismic survey of waters that are a potential global flashpoint as the United States challenges China's maritime claims.The survey ship, which according to Vietnam left the area on Aug. 7, was now headed back to the zone under escort from at least two Chinese Coast Guard vessels, according to data from Marine Traffic…

17 Jul 2019

Vietnam, China in South China Sea Standoff

© lotusjeremy / Adobe Stock

Vietnamese and Chinese ships have been embroiled in a weeks-long standoff near an offshore oil block in disputed waters of the South China Sea, which fall within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone, two Washington-based think-tanks said on Wednesday.China's U-shaped "nine-dash line" marks a vast expanse of the South China Sea that it claims, including large swathes of Vietnam's continental shelf where it has awarded oil concessions.The Haiyang Dizhi 8, a ship operated by the China Geological Survey…

13 Mar 2019

Iran's Oil Tanker Fleet Being Squeezed as Sanctions Bite

© alexyz3d / Adobe Stock

Iran is running short of options to replace its ageing fleet of tankers and keep oil exports flowing because renewed U.S. sanctions are making potential sellers and flag registries wary of doing business with Tehran, Western and Iranian sources said.Since U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions in November, exploratory talks with South Korea for up to 10 new supertankers have stalled and Panama has also removed at least 21 Iranian tankers from its registry forcing Tehran to put the vessels under its own flag…

18 Feb 2020

Albwardy Damen Opens Repair Workshop in SOHAR

(Photo: Damen)

On February 12 Albwardy Damen entered into an agreement with SOHAR for the opening of a workshop. For the signing, which took place at SOHAR Port and Freezone Head Office in Oman, SOHAR was represented by Mark Geilenkirchen, CEO of SOHAR Port and Albwardy Damen was represented by Ibrahim Mohamed Al Shidi. The agreement will see the installation of a 40-foot workshop container at a service jetty in the Port, in collaboration with Albwardy Damen’s Omani partner, Sawahel Sohar Al Almya…

14 Apr 2020

Chinese Seismic Vessel Returns to Waters off Vietnam Amid Virus 'Distraction' Charges

A Chinese ship embroiled in a standoff with Vietnamese vessels last year has returned to waters near Vietnam as the United States accused China of pushing its presence in the South China Sea while other claimants are pre-occupied with the coronavirus.Vietnamese vessels last year spent months shadowing the Chinese Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey vessel in resource-rich waters that are a potential global flashpoint as the United States challenges China's sweeping maritime claims.On Tuesday, the ship, which is used for offshore seismic surveys, appeared again 158 km (98 miles) off Vietnam's coast, within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), flanked by at least one China Coast Guard vessel…

16 Apr 2020

Chinese Seismic Vessel Seen Moving Near Malaysia Amid Rising South China Sea Tensions

Image Credit: China Geologic Survey (File Photo)

A Chinese government survey ship embroiled in a standoff with Vietnamese vessels moved south near Malaysia, shipping data showed Thursday, amid accusations that China is using the pandemic to assert its presence in the South China Sea.The Haiyang Dizhi 8 was spotted off Vietnam this week, returning after being closely tracked last year in the resource-rich waters, a potential global flashpoint as the United States challenges China's sweeping maritime claims.The ship appeared to have started a survey in waters 352 kilometers (218 miles) off the coasts of Brunei and Malaysia on Thursday…

17 Jul 2020

U.S. Aircraft Carriers Return to South China Sea Amid Tensions

USS Ronald Reagan - (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason Tarleton/Released)

For the second time in two weeks, the United States has deployed two aircraft carriers to the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy said on Friday, as China and the United States accuse each other of stoking tensions in the region.The USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan carried out operations and military exercises in the contested waterway between July 4 and July 6, and returned to the region on Friday, according to a U.S. Navy statement."Nimitz and Reagan Carrier Strike Groups are operating in the South China Sea…

16 Jul 2020

What's Behind Rising Tensions in the South China Sea?

File photo Chinese seismic vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8 (Credit: China Geologic Survey)

The United States this week hardened its position on the South China Sea, where it has accused China of attempting to build a "maritime empire" in the potentially energy-rich waters, despite regional concerns.The rivals have accused each other of stoking tension in the strategic waterway at a time of strained relations over everything from the new coronavirus to trade to Hong Kong.A statement from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on July 13 was the first time the United States…

25 Aug 2019

Chinese Survey Ship Nears Vietnam Coast

A Chinese survey vessel on Saturday extended its activities to an area closer to Vietnam's coastline, ship tracking data showed, after the United States and Australia expressed concern about China's actions in the disputed waterways.The Haiyang Dizhi 8 vessel first entered Vietnam's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) early last month where it began a weeks-long seismic survey, triggering a tense standoff between military and coastguard vessels from Vietnam and China.The Chinese vessel…

17 Apr 2020

Chinese, Malaysian Offshore Oil Vessels in South China Sea Standoff

A Chinese government survey ship is tagging an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia's state oil company Petronas in disputed waters in the South China Sea, three regional security sources said on Friday.China's Haiyang Dizhi 8 entered waters near Malaysia on Thursday, according to ship tracking website Marine Traffic.On Friday, it was close to the Petronas-operated West Capella, according to the security sources, who did not want to be identified because they were not authorised to talk to the media. One of the sources said a Vietnamese vessel was also tagging the West Capella.The area is close to waters claimed by both Vietnam and Malaysia as well by China…

28 Nov 2018

MTU Gensets for UK Navy Ships

Photo: UK MOD Crown Copyright, 2016

Rolls-Royce is to supply 18 MTU Series 4000 diesel generator sets to BAE Systems as part of the Power Improvement Project (PIP) to increase the resilience of the power and propulsion system in all six Type 45 destroyers. The two existing diesel gensets are to be replaced by three MTU gensets per vessel. The three MTU gensets will complement two existing Rolls-Royce WR21 gas turbines also supplying power to the electric propulsion system.Jon Pearson, Warship Support Director, BAE Systems…

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