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First Class News

28 Feb 2024

Esvagt Enters South Korea’s Offshore Wind Market

(Credit: Esvagt)

Danish vessel owner Esvagt and South Korea-based shipping company KMC Line have formed strategic partnership to cooperate on offshore wind opportunities in the East Asian country.A new collaboration between Esvagt and KMC Line, formalized through the signing of the letter of intent, is aiming to unlock the considerable potential in South Korean offshore wind industry.Combining the two shipping companies' respective strengths is the new partnership's strongest card to secure a significant market position in the developing offshore value chain in the country…

15 Dec 2023

Edda Wind Secures Green Financing for Newbuild Program

(Image: Edda Wind)

Edda Wind announced it has entered into a green term loan facility agreement for the pre- and postdelivery financing of four new commissioning service operation vessels (CSOV) under construction at Vard.The agreement is a €161 million green loan facility with Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Danske Bank A/S, DNB Bank ASA and SpareBank 1 SR-Bank ASA, with expiry in 2029 and a profile of 12 years. The facility corresponds to a leverage ratio of 60% of the total ready…

25 Oct 2023

Australian Court Finds Carnival Misled About Cruise's COVID Risks in Landmark Luling

© NAN / Adobe Stock

Carnival Corp's Australian unit has been ordered to pay the medical expenses of a woman who contracted COVID-19, with a judge ruling that the cruise ship operator misled passengers about safety risks in a landmark class action ruling.The decision from Australia's Federal Court is the first class action win against a cruise ship operator in the world, according to Shine Lawyers, who represent about 1,000 Australian plaintiffs in the suit.Justice Angus Stewart found Carnival Australia…

24 Oct 2023

Partners Aim to Produce 3D-printed Propeller

© nordroden / Adobe Stock

ABS is joining Mencast Marine (MMPL), the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), and the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) on a project to manufacture and class a 3D-printed propeller.The collaborative project builds upon a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by ABS and MMPL that is focused on additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, for critical maritime components.The new initiative has an objective to 3D-print a ship propeller using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) techniques with a goal to achieve high-quality…

17 Oct 2023

Sinwa Group to Acquire Francois Marine & Offshore

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Sinwa Group announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Francois Marine & Offshore from Northern Marine Group.Francois Marine & Offshore has Asian ship supply operations and infrastructure in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Busan. The acquisition does not include the subsidiary Francois Marine B.V in Rotterdam, nor Francoise Offshore Catering.Thomas Zimmerhaeckel, Sinwa chairman and managing partner at Asean Strategic Partners, said, “The addition of Francois Marine & Offshore…

03 Aug 2023

Norwegian Viva Delivered by Fincantieri

Norwegian Viva is the second of six new generation cruise ships of the new First Class for Norwegian Cruise Line. Image courtesy Fincantieri

Norwegian Viva, the second of six new generation cruise ships of the new Prima class for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), was delivered at Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard.At 143,500 gross tons, almost 300 meters in length and with a capacity to accommodate around 3,100 passengers, Norwegian Prima and her sister ships will form the backbone of NCL's future fleet. Deliveries are expected until 2028.The Prima class is based on a prototype project developed by Fincantieri which enhances the consolidated characteristics of NCL's freedom and flexibility with an innovative product configuration…

26 Jun 2023

Why the Titanic Disaster Continues to Enthrall

© nyiragongo / Adobe Stock

The question on many minds this week is why did some of the world’s richest men risk death to venture to the bottom of the sea in a cold and cramped “experimental” submersible for a chance to glimpse the wreck of the Titanic?The “unsinkable” ship that sunk on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg is arguably the world’s most well-known boat. The Titanic is recognisable to more of the world’s population than, say, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria (Christopher Colombus’s fleet that launched the Spanish conquest of the Americas)…

18 May 2023

US Maritime Industry Working to Solve the People Puzzle

(Photo: Crowley)

For companies active in all parts of the commercial maritime sector, finding and holding onto the workers they need to build, operate and service the industry’s wide range of vessels has been challenging. Simply put, the labor market is tight, and the problem is not getting any easier to solve.Mike Ellis, CEO at American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL), said a continued shortage of qualified personnel has been the most pressing issue for ACBL—and probably for the barging industry as a whole. “There's been so much demand on people.

07 Apr 2023

Euroseas CEO: New Charter for 'Synergy Keelung' Demonstrates Containership Market Resilience

Greece-based shipowner Euroseas has secured a new charter of its container vessel M/V “Synergy Keelung” for a period of between a minimum of twenty-four and a maximum of twenty-six months at the option of the charterer, at a gross daily rate of $23,000. The new charter, with an unnamed client, will start in April 2023, immediately following the completion of its current charter. The “Synergy Keelung” is a 4,253 TEU vessel built in 2009, and its current contract dayrate is $14,500.Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas said: "We are pleased to announce the new charter of our vessel M/V Synergy Keelung with a first-class charterer.

17 Mar 2023

GEOS Wins UK, Norway Contracts for Energy Duchess Offshore Vessel

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Golden Energy Offshore Services AS (GEOS) has secured bring to work (B2W) contract for its offshore vessel  Energy Duchess and a medium-term contract in direct continuation.The 83.4-meter vessel of Ulstein PX121 design will be mobilized with a Z-Bridge Bring to Work system (B2W), and its role will be to accommodate and bring technicians and equipment to offshore work locations. Several of the vessel's MPSV capacities and capabilities will be utilized throughout, GEOS said.According to GEOS, the job is up to 14 days in duration, and mobilization in Rotterdam will start next week after the completion of its current spot job. GEOS website info shows the vessel is currently working for EnQuest Heather Ltd. on a contract set to expire on March 20.

07 Mar 2023

Auramarine Opens New Factory in Shanghai

(Photo: Auramarine)

Auramarine, provider of fuel supply systems and other auxiliary equipment for the marine, power and process industries, announced its relocation in Shanghai, China.Auramarine’s CEO John Bergman said, “Our new factory enables us to increase our production capacity to meet the demands of the coming years, while also providing a first-class working environment for our dedicated staff. All of these improvements will result in shorter lead times, a wider variety of testing possibilities…

24 Jan 2023

Damen, BV Pilot 3D Model-based Class Approval

Classification society Bureau Veritas has successfully reviewed a 3D design of a 2500 m³ hopper dredger from Damen Shipyards, being a step to granting it approval in principle. The pilot project for 3D model-based class approval is meant to pave the way toward using three dimensional computer designs as standard procedure to achieve class notation for seagoing vessels.Vessel steel hull Design evaluation based on 3D models in parallel to its classification review process has become possible thanks to the new data exchange format - OCX.

06 Jan 2023

What’s Next for Eastern Shipbuilding?

(Credit: Eastern Shipbuilding Group)

When Hurricane Michael slammed the Florida Panhandle in October 2018, the deadly category 5 storm inflicted billions in damages to the region, tearing apart homes and businesses in its path. Among those severely impacted was Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which suffered a nearly direct hit at its Allanton shipyard, located about 15 miles east of the company’s headquarters and main yard in Panama City.Eastern, which had been scheduled to begin building the first of up to 11 Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the U.S.

15 Sep 2022

Shipbuilding: Kangnam Delivers 41-knot Korea Express Ferry

Image courtesy Incat Crowther

The 72m passenger ferry Korea Pride, designed by Incat Crowther and built by Kangnam Corporation in Busan, South Korea, was delivered to Korea Express Ferry.The ship that will operate from Incheon on the west coast of South Korea, and it is unique in that it is reportedly the first ship of its type to be built in South Korea, which remains the world's shipbuilding powerhouse for large oceangoing ships.From the outset, Korea Express Ferry set high safety, comfort and performance standards…

10 Aug 2022

Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Names New Chief Executive

Teo Eng Dih

Singapore's Ministry of Transport announced that Teo Eng Dih will take over as chief executive of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), succeeding Quah Ley Hoon, who will step down on September 5, 2022.Teo Eng Dih, currently Deputy Secretary (Policy) of the Ministry of Defense (MINDEF), is responsible for MINDEF’s defense policy and diplomacy, strategic and public communications, and Total Defense. He oversaw the expansion of defense cooperation with international partners and strengthening of collaborations at the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM) platform.

27 Jul 2022

Kelleher to Succeed Tivnan as Ardmore Shipping CFO

Tanker owner/operator Ardmore Shipping Corporation on Wednesday announced the planned departure of its current chief financial officer Paul Tivnan and appointment of new CFO Bart Kelleher, effective September 28, 2022.Anthony Gurnee, Ardmore's chief executive officer, said, Kelleher and Tivnan will overlap and work together from September 1 to "achieve an orderly and well-planned transition".Kelleher brings to the role more than 25 years of progressive experience in the maritime, finance, energy and industrials sectors, having most recently served as chief executive officer of Chembulk Tankers. He previously served as both Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the firm, and prior to that, was the chief operating officer of Principal Maritime Management.

08 Apr 2022

The Ship that Found Antarctica’s Endurance Wreck is Vital for Climate Science

(Photo: Saunders Carmichael-Brown / Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust)

It was 1914 when the English explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail on his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition aboard a ship called Endurance. It was an ill-fated journey: the ship got trapped in the ice and eventually crushed by pack ice in 1915. It sank to the bottom of Antarctica’s Weddell Sea. (Shackleton and his entire crew survived the ordeal by escaping in smaller boats.)It was difficult to believe that the Endurance might ever be found. The icy Weddell Sea is inhospitable and the wreck lay in more than 3000 metres of water.

16 Mar 2022

Geogas' New LPG Carriers Are ‘Ammonia Prepared’

(Photo: Geogas)

A pair of 40,000-cubic-meter-capacity liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers being built for Geogas at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in South Korea are the first to received Bureau Veritas’ (BV) ‘ammonia prepared’ notation, the classification society said on Wednesday.The HMD hull numbers are 8350 and 8351 and the first delivery will be in June 2023.Ammonia-prepared is applicable to newbuildings, and was developed to support ship owners, designers, shipyards and charterers. Ammonia…

14 Mar 2022

Golden Energy Offshore Bags Term Deal for Warm-stacked PSV

Credit:  Golden Energy Offshore Services

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Golden Energy Offshore Services has secured a term contract for the Energy Scout platform supply vessel.According to the company, the reactivation process has started as the vessel has been in warm lay-up for 16 months, due to the downturn in the market as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ålesund-based Golden Energy Offshore Services did not say who the client was, apart from saying it was "a first-class international operator."Under the contract…

04 Mar 2022

Poland Selects Babcock's Arrowhead 140 Design for New Frigate Program

Arrowhead 140 - Credit: Babcock (File image)

Babcock International said Friday it had been selected as the platform design provider and technology partner for Poland’s MIECZNIK (Swordfish) new frigate program.The company on Friday also concluded a set of strategic cooperation agreements with the PGZ-MIECZNIK Consortium, which is responsible for the delivery of the project from the Polish side.The Polish Armaments Agency selected Babcock’s Arrowhead 140 (AH140) from three different platform design proposals provided by the PGZ-MIECZNIK Consortium.

15 Feb 2022

Adamou Joins VesselsValue's Board of Directors

Dr. Alexander Adamou (Photo: VesselsValue)

Online valuation and data provider VesselsValue announced the appointment of Dr. Alexander Adamou to its board of directors.As an experienced mathematician and modeler in the shipping industry, Adamou will oversee the scientific research that underpins the company’s products in his new role as chief scientist. Adamou first joined VesselsValue in 2010, when he led the development of the company’s first asset valuation model.With a first class degree in Mathematics from Cambridge University and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Imperial College London…

08 Feb 2022

Shipbuilding Merger: Wight Shipyard and OCEA Reach All-share Deal

(Photo: The Wight Shipyard Co)

British aluminum shipbuilder The Wight Shipyard Co. on Tuesday announced an all-share merger with France-based shipbuilder OCEA to create a combined group aiming to capitalize on the fast ferry and offshore renewable energy markets opportunities. The deal is scheduled to complete by March 2022 and will see The Wight Shipyard Co. nearly double in size.Peter Morton, CEO of The Wight Shipyard Co., said, “This is a transformational deal for The Wight Shipyard Co. and for the Isle of Wight, confirming the resurgence of the shipbuilding industry in the United Kingdom.

18 Jan 2022

NYK, Knutsen Form Liquefied CO2 Transportation and Storage JV

Image of a liquefied CO2 carrier with bow loading system - Credit: NYK

Japan's NYK and Norway's Knutsen Group have formed a joint venture company for the commercial development of a liquefied CO2 marine transportation and storage business using the Knutsen developed technology PCO2 which allows transport of liquified CO2 at ambient temperatures. NYK and the Knutsen Group, will each hold a 50% stake in the new company, which has been named Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers (KNCC). KNCC will also build and operate low/mid pressure vessels based on other technologies."Carbon capture…

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