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Grand Bahama News

17 Oct 2023

Orion Wins Contract to Replace Dry Dock at Grand Bahama Shipyard

(File photo: Grand Bahama Shipyard)

Construction and engineering company Orion Group Holdings announced it has been awarded a contract worth more than $100 million for the turnkey design-build of a replacement dry dock at the Grand Bahama Shipyard, situated in Grand Bahama, Bahamas.The scope of work includes marine works and infrastructure construction, dredging, creating new mooring facilities and providing enhancements to shore stability. In addition, Orion will modify and extend service piers for the installation of two cutting-edge floating dry docks, which are among the largest in the western hemisphere.

21 Feb 2023

Equinor Sells Its Oil Terminal in the Bahamas

(Photo: Equinor)

Norwegian energy company Equinor announced it has entered into an agreement to sell its oil terminal in the Bahamas to Estonian logistics and investment business Liwathon. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.The South Riding Point oil terminal at the Grand Bahama Island, commissioned in 1973 was purchased by Equinor in 2009 to enable the company to trade oil primarily originating from the American markets. The facility comprises 10 large storage tanks with a capacity of 6.8 million barrels (1…

23 Jul 2020

Grand Bahama Shipyard Reopens After COVID-19 Pause

(Photo: GBSL)

Ship repair yard Grand Bahama Shipyard Limited (GBSL) reports it has resumed its summer dry-docking program June 2, after a short period of lockdown as a result of COVID-19.A spokesperson for the shipyard told MarineLink that the yard had no COVID-19 cases but was partially shut for portions of April and May due to government imposed travel restrictions on the island. The yard focused on fabrication jobs and local clients with no travel history outside of the Bahamas before reopening in full at the end of May.The first vessels to arrive after the reopening were two Svitzer tugs…

13 Nov 2019

ALMACO Staterooms for Carnival Elation

Photo: ALMACO

After completing a new stateroom project onboard Carnival Elation during a dry dock in 2017 -- part of the line’s Fun Ship 2.0 ship enhancement program - ALMACO was again tasked with to deliver 30 new staterooms during an upcoming refit at Grand Bahama Shipyard in March 2020.ALMACO's scope of work involves the full turnkey outfitting of 30 new staterooms on deck 9 .

02 Oct 2019

1st Ship Dry Docks at Grand Bahama After Major Hurricane

Freeport-based Grand Bahama Shipyard announced that it drydocked its first vessel since reopening the shipyard after Hurricane Dorian hit The Bahamas.The Taipei Trader, a 9,932-ton container ship operated by Lomar Shipping Limited, docked at the No. 3 dock this week, for its ongoing drydock, which was interrupted by the hurricane.Taipei Trader first docked at the yard on August 25 for a routine program including propulsion and thruster maintenance, and preparation of the hull for protective coating application. On August 30, in accordance with the shipyard's hurricane procedures, the vessel had to be undocked and depart the shipyard due to the projected path of Hurricane Dorian.Following the return and docking of Taipei Trader…

25 Sep 2019

Carnival to Build 2 New Ports in Bahamas

British-American cruise operator Carnival Corporation and two of its cruise line brands have signed an agreement with the government of The Bahamas to build two major port developments.The world's largest travel leisure company, with a combined fleet of over 100 vessels across 10 cruise line brands, said that it will develop a new cruise port destination primarily for Carnival Cruise Line on Grand Bahama, and construction of a new addition, including a pier, on the Bahamian island of Little San Salvador, home to Holland America Line's Half Moon Cay port.The Grand Bahama project will represent an investment of over $100 million, and the development on Little San Salvador will be an estimated $80 million investment over time…

12 Sep 2019

Grand Bahama Shipyard: Open for Business after Hurricane Dorian

Photo courtesy of Grand Bahama Shipyard

Post the departure from Grand Bahama Island of hurricane “Dorian” the most devastating storm to ever hit the Bahamas, Grand Bahama Shipyard confirms it will be ready to resume business on Wednesday September 11th, 2019.“There is no significant damage to the shipyard,” said Graham Couser, Vice President at the yard, “However, the island has suffered badly with personal tragedies and major infrastructure damages. As a business and community leader, it is our obligation to expeditiously return the shipyard…

05 Sep 2019

Bahamians Struggle in Dorian's Devastating Wake

A file image of Equinor's South Riding Point storage terminal (CREDIT: Equinor)

Stunned residents of the Bahamas surveyed the wreckage of their homes and officials struggled to assess the number killed by Hurricane Dorian, as the storm bore down on the South Carolina coast, threatening record flooding on Thursday.The United Nations said 70,000 people in the Bahamas needed immediate humanitarian relief after the most damaging storm ever to hit the island nation.Aerial video of the worst-hit Abaco Islands in the northern Bahamas showed widespread devastation…

03 Sep 2019

NOAA's NHC: The Latest on Hurricane Dorian

CREDIT: National Hurricane Center

At 800 AM EDT (1200 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Dorian was located by reconnaissance aircraft and NOAA Doppler radar near latitude 27.1 North, longitude 78.4 West. Dorian is beginning to move northwestward at about 1 mph (2 km/h), and a slightly faster motion toward the northwest or north-northwest is expected later today and tonight.A turn toward the north is forecast by Wednesday evening, followed by a turn to the north-northeast Thursday morning. On this track, the core of extremely…

09 Aug 2019

Balearia Launches Florida-Bahamas Fast Ferry

Baleària Caribbean has launches a new fast-transport service linking Fort Lauderdale (Florida) with the island of Bimini in the Bahamas. The fast ferry connecting these two ports has a 650-person capacity and a maximum speed of 38 knots—35 for service—with the journey taking just under two hours.With five weekly services programmed to Bimini (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday), the number of connections could increase based on demand.The new faster ferry service from Port Everglades to Bimini replaces the previous service from the Port of Miami. Thus, Baleària Caribbean becomes the Resorts World Bimini official provider for both passengers and cargo.Adolfo Utor…

16 Jul 2019

Boskalis Raises Carnival Vista

The Boskalis semi-submersible heavy lift ship BOKA Vanguard successfully floated the cruise ship Carnival Vista aboard in order to facilitate repairs at a shipyard in the Bahamas.Royal Boskalis Westminster said in a press release that commencing last Saturday 13 July at sunrise the BOKA Vanguard loaded and lifted cruise ship Carnival Vista in a successful operation a few miles off the coast of Freeport, Bahamas.The loading operation including the re-float took twelve hours. The BOKA Vanguard then safely transported Carnival Vista to Grand Bahama Shipyard where repairs will take place whilst the cruise ship is resting on the BOKA Vanguard.Upon completion of the repairs…

03 Jul 2019

Boskalis Floating Dock to Fix Carnival Vista

Florida-headquartered Carnival Cruise Line has contracted the Dutch marine engineering company Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. to lift its cruise ship Carnival Vista out of the water onto the world’s largest heavy lift ship, Boka Vanguard, and transport it to Grand Bahama shipyard for a dry docking operation.The operation, the first of its kind in the world, will take place in the coming weeks in Freeport, Bahamas. The BOKA Vanguard is the world’s largest semi-submersible ship uniquely positioned to lift and transport extremely heavy cargoes in a dry and safe manner.Carnival Vista is the second largest cruise ship in the Carnival fleet with a capacity of nearly 4,000 passengers and a length in excess of 300 meters.

14 Apr 2019

Norwegian Sun Is Back to Port Canaveral

Norwegian Cruise Line's ship Norwegian Sun has returned to call Port Canaveral its homeport for another year. Also returning are the popular all-inclusive cruises to Cuba.Starting today (April 15), the Norwegian Sun, which in 2018 became the first homeported cruise ship to sail from Port Canaveral to Cuba, will offer four-, five- and seven-day cruises to Havana, Cuba, with select sailings also calling to Key West during its four-day cruises.Ports of call during the Sun’s five- and seven-day voyages include Key West, Nassau, Bahamas, or Norwegian’s private island beach at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. “We are excited that the Norwegian Sun is returning for another season of cruises to Cuba,” Port CEO Capt. John Murray stated.

14 May 2018

Skentelbery Drives Grand Bahama Shipyard

Dave Skentelbery, CEO, Grand Bahama Shipyard (Photo: Grand Bahama Shipyard)

We visited Grand Bahama Shipyard CEO Dave Skentelbery, who updates us on his shipyard and the cruise shipping industry.How do you see the market today?In terms of the cruise ship market, it is very healthy. As a business, we are growing the amount of work we do on each of those projects. We’re doing more complex scopes of work. I think we’re truly demonstrating our capability as a project management company to the cruise lines.How do you evolve to more complex jobs?It’s investment in people and facilities.

02 Mar 2018

Grand Bahama Shipyard Names Skentelbery CEO

David Skentelbery (Photo: Grand Bahama Shipyard)

Grand Bahama Shipyard announced today that its acting chief executive officer David Skentelbery will assume the role of CEO following approval from the ship repair yard’s board of directors.   Skentelbery has been with the company since January 2016, initially as chief commercial officer and more recently as acting CEO.   Skentelbery has worked in the marine industry for more than 40 years and has served in senior management roles and board positions both in shipping companies and shipyards globally.

16 Oct 2017

US Charters Cruise Ship to House Hurricane Relief Workers

Carnival Fascination (Photo by Andy Newman/Carnival Cruise Lines)

The U.S. government has chartered another commercial cruise liner to serve as a floating hotel for relief workers in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria. Carnival Cruise Line said it reached an agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that will see the 2,052-passenger vessel Carnival Fascination docked in St. Croix to provide housing and meals for relief workers during a four-month charter from October 15 to February 3, 2018.

07 Sep 2017

Statoil's Bahamas Oil Terminal to Shut ahead of Irma

File photo: Statoil

Norway's state-run oil company Statoil began making preparations on Thursday to shut its South Riding Point storage and transshipment terminal in the Bahamas ahead of Hurricane Irma, traders close to the facility told Reuters.   South Riding Point in Grand Bahama has the capacity to store up to 6.75 million barrels of oil.   A neighboring terminal in the Bahamas, Buckeye Partners' BORCO, was also expected to halt all operations on Thursday, the company said. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga)

07 Sep 2017

Irma forces Bahamas Borco Terminal to Close

Buckeye Partners LP's Bahamas terminal, also known as Borco, has been closed for vessel traffic and will shut all operations by the end of the day due to Hurricane Irma, a source familiar with operations said on Thursday.   That terminal, located in Freeport, on Grand Bahama Island, has more than 26 million barrels of storage capacity for crude, fuel oil, gasoline and other products.   Hurricane Irma has already killed several people after hammering the Caribbean as a category 5 storm, with winds up to 180 mph (285 km/h). It was most recently located off the northern coast of Dominican Republic, about 760 miles (1220 km) southeast of Freeport, according to the National Weather Service.   Reporting By Jessica Resnick Ault

01 Aug 2017

Grand Bahama Shipyard Reports Commercial Success

(Photo: Grand Bahama Shipyard Limited)

Caribbean shipyard Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) said it has completed work on 30 commercial vessels within first half of 2017, predominantly comprised of companies returning to the yard with repeat business including tankers, bulk carriers, containerships, tugs, dive support vessels and drilling support vessels. In what is considered a volatile market, GBS said 2017 has been a great year for repeat customers, solidifying its position as a supporter of the major U.S. East Coast…

20 Jul 2017

Grand Bahama Shipyard Continues Relationship with PC Maritime Services

(Photo:GBS)

Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) informs its exclusive agency agreement in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg will continue, as PC Maritime Services’ new owner, Hilka Willms, takes the helm.    Upon the retirement of Hans Stoop, his successor Willms will maintain the continuity of GBS representation in BeNeLux.   Willms’ experience on both sides of the ship repair business started with a decade-long career at a ship repair yard in the Netherlands, followed by ship repair yard representation experience.

13 Jul 2017

Grand Bahama Shipyard Appoints UK Representative

Carnival Glory (Photo: GBS)

Grand Bahama Shipyard and L&R Midland (UK) Ltd have signed an exclusive agency agreement covering the U.K. markets effective June 1, 2017. Caribbean shipyard Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) has engaged L&R Midland (UK) as its representative in the U.K. in what is expected to be an increasingly busy period due to approaching new International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations that will require ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) and exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) retrofits.

07 Mar 2017

Grand Bahama Shipyard Starts 2017 Strong

CCL Dream (Photo: Grand Bahama Shipyard)

Caribbean shipyard Grand Bahama Shipyard Limited (GBSL) said it will complete work on 10 cruise vessels within first quarter of 2017. Scope of works included significant propulsion and technical systems overhauls, hull treatment, accommodations and public spaces upgrades and the addition of onboard attraction facilities. GBSL shared highlights of 10 of the 23 cruise vessels owned and/or operated by major players in the industry planned for dry-docking in the first quarter of 2017.

10 Jan 2017

Grand Bahama Shipyard Stayed Busy in 2016

V Ships USA LLC Boston - CSL Acadian (Photo: Grand Bahama Shipyard)

The Caribbean shipyard Grand Bahama Shipyard Limited (GBSL) worked on 49 commercial vessels and 20 cruise ships throughout 2016, with scope of works ranging from major steel fabrication and repairs, to engine and technical systems overhauls, hull treatment and tank cleanings. And looking to 2017 and beyond, the yard reports it has a healthy order book, with docking periods secured as far ahead as three years. VShips USA brought two bulk carriers, CSL Acadian and CSL Argosy, to GBSL to do tank cleaning on both vessels. CSL Acadian also received extensive pipe work.

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