Western Maritime News

Dozens of oil tankers used by Russia have stopped sailing under the Liberian and Marshall Islands flags in recent weeks after the United States ramped up sanctions enforcement on ships linked to those registries, according to shipping data and interviews with industry and government officials.The shift reflects the close relationship between the U.S. and the flag administration companies of Liberia and the Marshall Islands, which are headquartered not in their home countries, but in Virginia, just miles from Washington D.C. and within the jurisdiction of U.S.

The U.S. Treasury said on Fridayit has imposed sanctions on Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot FLOT.MM, as Washington seeks to reduce Russia's revenues from oil sales that it can use to support its invasion of Ukraine.The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control also designated 14 crude oil tankers vessels as property in which Sovcomflot has an interest. It issued a general license allowing the offloading of crude oil, or other cargoes, from the vessels for 45 days."Sovcomflot as a whole…

The U.S.-led coalition imposing a price cap on seaborne Russian oil announced changes on Wednesday to its compliance regime the Treasury Department said will make it harder for Russian exporters to bypass the cap.The Treasury also imposed fresh sanctions on a ship manager owned by the Russian government and three oil traders involved in Russian oil trade.The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries last year imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil shipments in…

The U.S. on Thursday imposed the first sanctions on owners of tankers carrying Russian oil above the G7 price cap of $60 a barrel, one based in Turkey and one in the United Arab Emirates, in an effort to close loopholes on the mechanism designed to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.The U.S., other G7 countries and Australia imposed the cap last year, seeking to reduce Russia's revenues from seaborne oil exports as part of sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.The cap bans Western companies from providing maritime services, including insurance, finance and shipping, for Russian seaborne oil exports sold above $60 a barrel, while seeking to keep oil flowing to markets. Caps also were imposed on Russian fuel exports.U.S.

As the United Nations tries to broker a path for grain from Ukraine and temper worries about a global food crisis, hundreds of mines laid along the Black Sea present a practical nightmare that will take months to resolve even after any agreement.The Black Sea is crucial for shipment of grain, oil and oil products. Its waters are shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey, as well as Ukraine and Russia.Ukrainian government officials estimate 20 million tonnes of grain are unable to travel from what was the world's fourth largest exporter prior to the Russian invasion on Feb.

Iran’s largest shipping company NITC, the privatized Iranian shipping company, is in talks for permission to sail in Western waters, says a report in WSJ. NITC has amassed the world’s largest fleet of super tankers and is in talks to sail back into western waters should the Islamic Republic strike a nuclear deal. Managing director of NITC Ali Akbar Safaei confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the company is in discussions with London’s Protection & Indemnity pool of insurers. NITC Captain Nasrollah Sardashti also told the Journal that the company has purchased 20 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from Chinese shipbuilders in the past two-and-a-half years. This brings the company’s VLCC count to 42, making it the largest fleet of the super-sized oil tankers in the world, Sardashti said.

122 ships, including Coast Guard vessels and a passenger vessel, have reported malfunctions in their navigation systems since the apparent jamming of satellite signals by North Korea last week, reported 'Safety4Sea'. According to the Coast Guard in Incheon, west of Seoul, a total of 122 ships were affected by the disruption to Global Positioning System (GPS) signals. Among the vessels were eight patrol boats belonging to the Coast Guard, a passenger liner carrying 387 people and a petrol products carrier. Fishing boats operating near the tense western maritime border with North Korea also reported errors in their navigation systems, although none of them led to accidents, Coast Guard officials said.

Corvus Energy, harnessing the power of large format lithium-ion battery systems for marine propulsion, will spotlight its proprietary technology at the International Tug & Salvage (ITS 2010) Conference May 17-21 at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver, B.C. The conference marks the world debut of the BRAtt class training tugs, the first of which will feature Richmond, B.C.-based Corvus Energy’s battery and management system utilized as the house power bank. This direct diesel-powered version, will be available for demonstration to ITS registrants.

Robert Allan Ltd., Western Maritime Institute, and Corvus Energy Limited announced that a contract will be signed for the design and construction of the world's first "green" training tugs at the International Tug & Salvage (ITS 2010) Conference, to be held in Vancouver in May 2010. Western Maritime Institute (WMI) is an accredited marine training institute located near Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, providing a wide range of operational and safety training courses for marine personnel at all levels.