Back to the Drawing Board: Max Planck’s Maxim
The physicist Max Planck (actually born as Marx Planck) is best known for the development of his universal constant that defines physics at the most basic level. It is an important number, and today it even defines the kilogram and therefore most engineering units. Regardless, in my daily life I have little use for it.Max Planks is less known for his Principle, which, to me, is much more useful and I encounter it almost on a daily basis. Max Planck provided this Principle in his Scientific Autobiography (and Other Papers…
The Resurgence of the OSV Industry: From Trough to Triumph
The offshore supply vessel industry has weathered a tumultuous decade characterized by a prolonged trough that tested the resilience of vessel owners. However, the tides have turned, and the industry is now experiencing a strong and much-awaited revival.The offshore supply vessel industry has weathered a tumultuous decade characterized by a prolonged trough that tested the resilience of vessel owners. However, the tides have turned, and the industry is now experiencing a strong and much-awaited revival.While long seen as a derelict industry by investors…
Swan Energy's TOPL Awaits Lenders' Nod for FSRU Vessel Deal with BOTAS
BSE-listed Swan Energy, via its 51% subsidiary Triumph Offshore Private Limited (TOPL), said Friday it had executed a term sheet with Turkey's BOTAS to lease an FSRU vessel to the Turkish firm.The term sheet, signed on December 31, is for chartering the FSRU vessel 'Vasant l' for 365 days at a dayrate of $250,000.TOPL is financed by a consortium of bankers, with State Bank of India as the Lead Bank.Swan Energy issued a statement on the term sheet following media reports. It said separately that it hadn't informed the market of the term sheet with BOTAS as it had waited for approval from the consortium of bankers financing TOPL."[TOPL] had applied for lenders' approval for chartering of vessel with the charterer, which is pending to be received.
Anchorage Launch Gets New Metal Shark-built Crew Boat
Metal Shark delivered a welded-aluminum 45 Defiant crew boat to Anchorage Launch Services Company, an Oregon-based operator providing launch, line, pilotage, and cargo services to vessels on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.Designed in-house by the Metal Shark engineering team and built at the company’s Jeanerette, La., production facility, the 47 x 12 ft. twin-diesel waterjet-powered “Triumph VII” is now in service.“Our captains, crew, and passengers have all been very impressed with the capabilities of our new vessel,” said Alex Scott, COO of Anchorage Launch.
LR and Triumph Announce Sustainable Vessels JDP
Lloyd’s Register (LR) and Triumph Energy (Triumph), a marine technology company specializing in green technology and automation, have announced a new Joint Development Project (JDP) to ensure vessels are built and operated sustainably. The collaboration will see a new ShipRight procedure for vessels used within the offshore energy, decommissioning and renewable energy sectors.The new ShipRight Procedure will guarantee that vessels comply with relevant sustainability and ECO requirements…
Infrastrata Responds to Triumph Subsea Claims
Triumph Subsea Services last week said it had cancelled a letter of intent with Infrastrata related to the proposed construction of an offshore wind development vessel, and said it wouldn't build any vessels with Infrastrata or any of its shipyards. Responding to Triumph, Infrastata said Triumph had not achieved any of the milestones required to proceed with the shipbuilding project.The two companies had signed the Letter of intent for one firm and one optional ST designed 200m x 35m Windfarm Development Vessels (WDV)…
Triumph Subsea Terminates Offshore Wind Vessel Deal with Infrastrata
Triumph Subsea Services said Thursday it had formally canceled the Letter of Intent that was issued to Infrastrata in December 2020, for the construction of an offshore wind development vessel and said it didn't want to build any vessels with InfraStrata and or any of its shipyards.The two companies had signed the Letter of intent for one firm and one optional ST designed 200m x 35m Windfarm Development Vessels (WDV), for floating windfarm installations, cable laying, and providing marine services for offshore carbon capture and green hydrogen projects.
Kongsberg to Equip Triumph Subsea's New Field Development Vessel
Norwegian maritime tech and equipment company Kongsberg Maritime (KM) will deliver a large technology package for Triumph Subsea Services' field development vessel (FDV).Triumph Subsea Services in December 2020 signed a contract with the Croatian shipbuilder Brodosplit for the construction of the vessel, with options to order three more.Kongsberg Maritime said Thursday it had signed a Letter of Intent with Brodosplit Shipyard and DIV Group in Croatia to deliver a large technology package for the vessel.
Op/Ed: SS United States, the Maritime Thoroughbred
There are many hallmarks of great civilizations, but perhaps none so universal as their desire to push the boundaries of human achievement through innovation. A key source of American pride has always been our ability to dream big. When it comes to ships, there is no more powerful example of this than the SS United States.“America’s Flagship” was more than a symbol of our nation’s post-war strength and global reach. She remains a singular and unrivaled marine engineering and design achievement.Curiously…
EU and UK Clinch Narrow Brexit Trade Deal
Britain clinched a narrow Brexit trade deal with the European Union on Thursday, just seven days before it exits one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of empire.The deal, agreed more than four years after Britain voted narrowly to leave the bloc, means it has averted a chaotic finale to the tortuous divorce that has shaken the 70-year project to forge European unity from the ruins of World War Two.It will preserve Britain’s zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the bloc’s single market of 450 million consumers…
Harland & Wolff to Build Windfarm Development Vessels for Triumph Subsea Services
Triumph Subsea Services has signed a letter of intent with Infrastrata for the construction of offshore wind farm development vessels at Infrastrata's Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland.The letter of intent envisions the construction of two Windfarm Development Vessels ("WDV) each of which will have a length of 200 meters and a beam of 35 meters.Under the terms of the LoI, InfraStrata's subsidiary, Harland & Wolff - a shipyard that built the Titanic - would be responsible for the build…
Triumph Subsea Services Orders Offshore Construction Vessel from Brodosplit
Triumph Subsea Services has signed a contract with the Croatian shipbuilder Brodosplit for the construction of a field development vessel.Triumph said Tuesday that the contract was for one firm vessel, with options to order three more.Options will be executed upon completion of the detailed engineering drawings and upon cutting of steel of the initial hull, Triumph Subsea Services said.The first vessel has been assigned hull number 495 and named ‘FDV Chronos’ with expected steel cutting in March / April 2021. The delivery is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023.
IRClass Classes India's First LNG-FSRU
Ship classification society Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) has classed India’s first LNG-FSRU.Built at Hyundai Shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea, the 180,000 cu.m, the Indian-flagged, is designed for continuous operations without the need for drydocking over a period of 20 years. The unit is assigned class notation for 20 years extended interval between successive dry-dockings and complies with the requirements of IRClass Rules and Indian Flag for this purpose. The unit is owned by Triumph Offshore Pvt Ltd.…
US-China Cold War Would Redirect Energy Flows
Worsening diplomatic relations between the United States and China are putting a spotlight on their economic inter-dependency in the context of global supply chains for both technology and energy.Top policymakers in the United States and some of its closest allies, including Australia and Britain, have recently hardened the language in which they describe relations with China.China has been labelled a “strategic competitor” for some time but the country is increasingly described as a “strategic adversary” implying a more confrontational relationship.Complaints about unfair trade practices…
Eastern Lays Keel for OPC USCGC Argus
Eastern Shipbuilding Group reports that the keel laying ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard’s first-of-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) Argus (WMSM-915) was held on April 28, 2020 at Eastern’s Nelson Street facility in Panama City, Fla. USCGC Argus is scheduled to be delivered in 2022.The ceremony was performed and recorded without audience to comply with CDC guidelines to combat the spread of COVID-19.The keel laying represents the ceremonial start of a ship’s life by commemorating the assembly of the initial modular construction units.
Tankers Flock to US as Freight Rates Surge
A flotilla of oil tankers is sailing empty from Europe and the Mediterranean toward the U.S. Gulf Coast to take advantage of surging shipping rates, according to shipping sources and Refinitiv Eikon data on Monday.Eight tankers, an unusually high number, are in the Atlantic and steaming to the United States, with capacity of up to 5.6 million barrels of oil combined, the people said. Freight rates for Aframax vessels out of the U.S. Gulf coast hit record levels last month, drawing more vessels to the region.The United States exported a record 4.46 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) in the week ended Dec. 27, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as shale producers continued to deliver more oil than U.S.
Creative Approach Keeps Commerce Flowing Amidst Historic Flooding
Operational changes keep Jerry F. Costello Lock and Dam open for 17 days longer than typical during high water events.While the record flooding in 2019 disrupted barge traffic throughout the inland waterways in the Midwest for extended periods this spring and summer, a little out-of-the-box thinking helped limit the number of days the Jerry F. Costello Lock and Dam was forced to close, keeping commerce flowing on the Kaskaskia River in Southern Illinois for several additional days during the persistent high water.The Kaskaskia River is a critical transportation link for several commodities…
Panama Canal to Receive 234 Cruise Ships this Season
The Panama Canal announced that it expects to receive approximately 234 cruise ships through the Panamax and Neopanamax Locks during the upcoming 2018-2019 cruise season.The first transit was on Oct. 5 with the Seven Seas Mariner, on a northbound transit travelling from the U.S. West Coast to the U.S. East Coast."As the second full cruise season with the Expanded Canal, we aim to build off our recent milestones and success," said Panama Canal's Senior International Trade Specialist Albano G. Aguilar. "In the next year, we look forward to welcoming more than 237,000 passengers through the Panama Canal."Ten new cruise ships will transit either the Canal's Panamax or Neopanamax Locks for the first time this season…
Bolidt: Cruise Refits Surge
Bolidt Synthetic Products & Systems says a vibrant cruise ship refurbishment market has brought on an all-time high in refit work, including completion of five major ship projects so far this year, plus bookings for a further seven large ship jobs as part of a workload that the company says includes ‘dozens’ of forthcoming projects planned for well into 2019.In 2018, Bolidt has been a key participant in refurbishment and upgrade projects involving NCL’s Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Star; the RCCL vessels Mariner and Independence of the Seas; and the Azamara Club Cruises ship Azamara Pursuit.
North America’s First LNG Bunker Barge Delivered
The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge to be built in North America has been delivered in Jacksonville, Fla., said U.S. shipbuilder Conrad Industries.The new 2,200 cubic meter bunkering barge, Clean Jacksonville, will service TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico’s LNG-powered Marlin Class containerships, the Isla Bella and Perla del Caribe, which operate between Jacksonville and San Juan, Puerto Rico.The new barge enters operation as the maritime industry increasingly explores…
Carnival Plans $200 Mln Cruise Ship Makeover
Carnival Cruise Line will spend nearly $200 million on a major makeover of the 1999-built Carnival Triumph. The bow-to-stern renovation will add a number of new Carnival branded food, beverage and entertainment options, as well as updates to all staterooms.The nearly 20-year-old ship will enter drydock in Cadiz, Spain for a two-month-long refurbishment staring March 1, 2019. Afterwards, the ship will join Carnival’s Sunshine class and will be named Carnival Sunrise.Christine Duffy…
Moore Stephens: Optimism to Outweigh Shipping Pessimism in 2018
International accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens expects optimism to triumph over pessimism in the shipping industry during the next 12 months. Writing in the latest issue of Bottom Line, the newsletter of the Moore Stephens shipping industry group, partner Richard Greiner says, “According to a recent study, pessimists live longer than optimists, and shipping is short of neither. But the industry has always valued longevity as well as new blood, and it certainly ended 2017 in more optimistic mood than it closed the previous year. “Oscar Wilde said it is always best to borrow money from pessimists, because they won’t expect it back.
Recent Vessel Sales: October 2017
Vessel sales for October 2017 (as of November 1) as prepared by Shipping Intelligence, Inc., New York. 10/29 - COASTAL NO.