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Piling News

09 Oct 2023

The Headwinds of US Offshore Wind Development

© nblxer / Adobe Stock

On March 29, 2021, President Biden announced his ambitious plan to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power – enough energy to power 10 million U.S. homes – by 2030. The plan would leverage authorities under the Department of Interior, Energy, and Commerce to guide “more than $12 billion per year in capital investment in projects on both U.S. coasts, create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs, with more than 44,000 workers employed in offshore wind by 2030 and nearly 33,000 additional jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activity.” The U.S.

03 May 2023

A New Generation of WTIVs

Crane lifting foundation ready for installation. (Photo by Ulrich Wirrwa; Image Source Cadeler)

WTIVs have always been fuel-hungry. Now they are being tasked with installations that are further, deeper and heavier.Offshore wind farms continue their march into deeper water, further from shore, with turbines that can now reach more than 270 meters high with blades 120 meters long. Designers and OEMs are pushing efficiency to new levels to contain OPEX on the new-generation jack-up WTIVs taking them up there.Danish ship design firm Knud E. Hansen has chosen specialization for its Atlas A-class WTIV, a smaller derivation of its massive C-class design.

25 Jul 2023

Huisman to Deliver 3,000mt+ Crane for Havfram Wind's New WTIV

©Huisman

Dutch crane maker Huisman has won a contract from offshore wind installation contractor Havfram Wind for the delivery of a 3,000mt+ Leg Encircling Crane for its second NG-20000X Wind Turbine Installation Vessel. The crane contract news comes just a day after Havfram Wind said it had ordered the WTIV from China's CIMC Raffles.Also, Huisman's contract follows an earlier order in December 2022 for an identical crane to be installed on the first vessel.The full electric LEC will be…

14 Mar 2023

Survivors of Libya Shipwreck Brought Ashore in Italy

Image Credit: Christian Gohdes / Sea - Watch

Seventeen migrants rescued after the latest deadly shipwreck in the Mediterranean were brought ashore by the Italian authorities on Monday as Italy faced criticism for its response to the crisis.Those rescued were taken to the Sicilian town of Pozzallo, Italian newswire ANSA reported, and said they were all originally from Bangladesh.Thirty people were feared drowned after the boat they were traveling in from Libya capsized in bad weather on Sunday, Italy's coastguard said.The tragedy follows a Feb. 26 shipwreck near the southern region of Calabria, in which at least 79 people died.

13 Mar 2023

Thirty Migrants Missing in Shipwreck off Libya. Charity Blames Italy

© Carlo Toffolo/AdobeStock

Thirty people are missing and 17 were rescued in the central Mediterranean on Sunday after the boat in which they were travelling from Libya capsized in bad weather, Italy's coastguard said.The tragedy comes just weeks after a Feb. 26 shipwreck near the southern region of Calabria, in which at least 79 died. Alarm Phone, a charity that picks up calls from migrant vessels in distress, assumed the 30 people were dead and blamed Italy for not sending its coastguard despite being repeatedly alerted on Saturday that the boat was in trouble."Clearly…

01 Mar 2023

Singapore Bunker Premiums Set for Bumpy Recovery in March

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Premiums of marine fuel, also known as bunkers, are set for a bumpy recovery in March in Singapore, the world's largest bunkering port, as refuelling demand from the shipping sector has recently waned, multiple trade sources said.A weaker Singapore bunker market reflects slowing activity at one of the world's most major ports that sits on a crucial shipping lane, while lower demand will also weigh on Asia's fuel oil refining margins.Bunker premiums for the most actively traded very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) grade…

30 Jan 2023

KENC Engineering Snags Key U.S. Offshore Wind Contract

KENC Engineering B.V. received a contract from an undisclosed party to design and build a Hammer Quick Lifting Frame. For hammering operations during the construction of two US offshore wind farms, KENC has the assignment to design and build a Hammer Quick Lifting Frame (HQLF). The HQLF integrates a Balltec quick connect receptacle and a 750mT piling hammer. The scope includes installation aids for easy onsite assembly. The tool will be delivered in Q1 of 2023 and deployed in the summer of 2023.

05 Dec 2022

EnCap Backs Houston-based Firm to Build Jones Act WTIVs

©EnCap

Houston-based Bleutec Industries, a company which describes itself as the builder, owner, and operator of Jones Act-compliant offshore wind turbine installation vessels, said Thursday it had secured "a significant capital commitment" from EnCap Investments L.P.Bleutec said the support from EnCap would enable the company to develop its Jones Act wind tubine installation fleet "quickly."“Partnering with EnCap, a strategic capital provider with a strong track record facilitating portfolio company growth…

10 Nov 2022

Yemen's Houthis Increase Pressure with Oil Port Attacks

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Yemen's Houthi group is piling on pressure to extract economic gains in U.N.-led talks for an extended truce deal with attacks on oil ports in government-held areas, which officials say have disrupted crude exports, choking state revenues.Yemen's foreign ministry said in a statement that the Houthis launched a drone attack on the southern Qena port in Shabwa on Wednesday. The group's military spokesman said on Twitter that the operation "foiled an attempt to loot" Yemen's oil by preventing a vessel from docking.A joint statement by the U.S.…

07 Nov 2022

Ukraine Says Russia Destroying Civilian Ships on the Dnipro River

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Ukraine’s army accused Russia on Sunday of the large-scale destruction of civilian vessels moored on the banks of the Dnipro River in the occupied southern region of Kherson that Kyiv’s forces are trying to capture.Ukrainian forces have been piling pressure on Russian troops on the western bank of the Dnipro that bisects Ukraine, fueling speculation that Moscow’s troops are preparing to retreat to the other side.The Ukrainian General Staff’s spokesperson said in a statement that…

31 Oct 2022

DOT Announces $703M in Port Funding; 41 Projects in 22 States

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U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced more than $703 million to fund 41 projects in 22 states and one territory that designed to help improve port facilities through the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program. Following is the full list of FY 2022 Port Infrastructure Development Grant Awards:ALASKANorth Extension Stabilization Step 1 Project ($68,700,000), Anchorage, AlaskaThe Project will reconfigure and realign the shoreline within the “North Extension” (the area north of the existing general cargo terminals) at the Port of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska.

20 Sep 2022

Marine License Insurance: Do You Need It?

Sponsored Content:Every year, many professional mariners become involved in accidents that trigger a USCG investigation.Imagine working aboard a vessel and, suddenly, you’re involved in a maritime accident that triggers a Coast Guard investigation. In the blink of an eye, your career and USCG license are in serious jeopardy. Every year, this scenario is reality for professional mariners throughout the U.S. Fortunately, MOPS Marine License Insurance can change that.What is Marine…

19 Sep 2022

Marine License Insurance: Do You Need It?

Sponsored Content:Every year, many professional mariners become involved in accidents that trigger a USCG investigation.Imagine working aboard a vessel and, suddenly, you’re involved in a maritime accident that triggers a Coast Guard investigation. In the blink of an eye, your career and USCG license are in serious jeopardy. Every year, this scenario is reality for professional mariners throughout the U.S. Fortunately, MOPS Marine License Insurance can change that.What is Marine…

16 Sep 2022

Marine License Insurance: Do You Need It?

Sponsored Content:Every year, many professional mariners become involved in accidents that trigger a USCG investigation.Imagine working aboard a vessel and, suddenly, you’re involved in a maritime accident that triggers a Coast Guard investigation. In the blink of an eye, your career and USCG license are in serious jeopardy. Every year, this scenario is reality for professional mariners throughout the U.S. Fortunately, MOPS Marine License Insurance can change that.What is Marine…

13 Sep 2022

Shipping Lines, Container Owners Struggle to Return Boxes to China

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Shipping lines and container owners in North America (majorly in the U.S.) are finding it difficult to return containers to China. To add to the present challenges, the U.S. is also facing major trucking issues that are making cargo movement within the country difficult.The U.S. is again in the spotlight according to the monthly container logistic report published by Container xChange, a technology marketplace and operating platform for container logistic companies.“What is happening in the U.S.

03 Aug 2022

Maersk Sees Weaker Container Demand as Durable Goods Sales Dry Up

© lazyllama / Adobe Stock

Shipping group Maersk expects global container demand to fall this year as sales of durable goods come to a "standstill", leaving flat-screen TVs and furniture piling up in warehouses, the company said on Wednesday.A surge in consumer demand and pandemic-related logjams holding up containers in key ports had boosted freight rates and profits in the shipping industry in recent quarters, yet the cost of living crisis has reversed that trend.Maersk, one of the world's biggest container shippers with a market share of around 17%…

11 Mar 2022

What is the Insured’s Duty Under a Marine Insurance Policy? It Depends …

© Aerial Mike / Adobe Stock

The law governing marine insurance in the United States has long been a source of considerable confusion. And if there was once a clear set of principles applicable in such cases, the Supreme Court long ago muddied the waters with their infamous ruling in Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 348 U.S. 310 (1955). That case, involving a fire on a houseboat on an inland man-made lake on the Texas-Oklahoma border, established the “litmus test” for when maritime law should…

04 Mar 2022

China Taps Alternative Payments to Keep Russian Oil Flowing

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Chinese refiners are paying for Russian crude oil using cash transfers to maintain imports from Russia’s Fast East, as banks shy away from financing the oil because of sanctions, sources with knowledge of the matter said.Global oil prices have soared to their highest in a decade as banks halted financing Russian oil after the United States and other countries ramped up sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.Spot crude premiums and freight rates also spiked, piling on buyers’ costs.Several European and U.S.

03 Feb 2022

Euronav's Loss Deepens as Omicron Hits Tanker Market Recovery

©Euronav (File photo)

Euronav deepened its quarterly net loss as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus dragged on the recovery of the crude tanker market, the Belgian shipping group said on Thursday."We believe this is a temporary pause," Chief Executive Hugo De Stoop said in a statement, predicting a rebound in oil supply, restocking requirements of global crude inventory and consumption to pre-pandemic levels in 2022.Output cuts by the OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries have constrained global crude oil exports during the pandemic…

15 Dec 2021

Ships Traveling the Thawing Arctic are Leaving Garbage in Their Wake

© Parilov / Adobe Stock

Following another year of stark climate impacts in the Arctic, scientists warned Tuesday of a new scourge hitting the region: marine trash.With the region warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, sea ice that has long blanketed the Arctic Ocean is disappearing, opening new routes to shipping. Scientists began noticing the trash bobbing in the icy water or piling up on Alaska Bering Strait-area beaches last year.“That’s a direct result of increased human maritime activities…

26 Nov 2021

UK, France Trade Blame as 27 Migrants Die While Trying to Cross Channel to Britain

Credit: OSORIOartist/AdobeStock

British and French officials traded blame on Wednesday after 27 migrants died when their dinghy deflated as they made a perilous crossing of the English Channel.The accident was the worst disaster on record involving migrants in the narrow seaway separating the two countries.The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong. Human traffickers typically overload the dinghies, leaving them barely afloat and at the mercy of waves as they try to reach…

24 Nov 2021

Top 10 Ship Owning Nations

(Image: VesselsValue)

VesselsValue's head cargo analyst, Olivia Watkins, has compiled a list of the world's top ship owning nations ranked by total fleet value.ChinaChina has moved up from second in January to firs place this time, owning a total of $191 billion in assets.China owns the largest number of containerships and, consequently, the recent surge in rates and values has moved them up the ranks to top spot in terms of fleet value. The increase in rates has also prompted an ordering spree across the container sector, as owners’ confidence in the market exploded.

10 Nov 2021

INSIDE THE DATA BARGE: Silicon Valley Meets Maritime in the Making of NDT's Barge-based Data Center

Photo courtesy Nautilus Data Technologies

Nautilus Data Technologies (NDT) and Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) provide an interesting new twist to the maritime digitalization discussion, with the design, manufacture and delivery of an innovative 7MW data center housed on a refurbished 240-ft. deck barge. Jim Connaughton, CEO, NDT & Michael Complita, PE – VP Strategic Expansion, EBDG, discuss the strategic and environmental advantages as well as the future of housing massive computer banks on barges.When one says “Silicon Valley”, the first image to come to mind likely is not a barge.

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