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Wärtsilä will supply the methanol-fueled auxiliary engines for five new container vessels for COSCO Shipping Lines and seven new container vessels for Orient Overseas Container Line.Each vessel will operate with three 8-cylinder and two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 32M engines. This is the Chinese maritime sector’s largest order to date for methanol-fueled newbuild vessels. The order was booked by Wärtsilä in December 2023.To complement the solution, the ships will be equipped with the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhaust cleaning systems and alternators.

Offshore installation contractor Allseas has made progress on the installation of the pipeline for Santos’ Barossa Gas Export Pipeline (GEP) project offshore Australia.Allseas’ Audacia pipelay vessel has installed her largest ever PLET in S-mode, concluding several years of in-house engineering, fabrication and testing, the Swiss-based contractor said.Due to the weight of the pipeline end termination structure, Allseas’ production crew had to install it separately to the connector head.Audacia vessels is being supported with four other vessels - Fortitude…

Fincantieri has received a highly significant order from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings for the construction of four new next-generation cruise ships.The order entails the construction of two cruise ships for the Regent Seven Seas Cruises and two for the Oceania Cruises brands respectively.The ships designated for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, scheduled for delivery in 2026 and 2029, will boast a gross tonnage of 77,000 tons and accommodate approximately 850 passengers.Meanwhile…

Britannia, the insurer of container ship the Dali, is working with the vessel's owner and U.S. authorities on the investigation into the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, the insurer said on Thursday.The bridge collapsed on Tuesday after the Dali suffered a power outage and struck a pylon, causing huge disruption in the port."We are working closely with the vessel's owner and manager and the relevant U.S. authorities as part of the investigation into the casualty…

Van Oord has been contracted for the construction of the Baltica 2 Offshore Wind Farm, developed by Ørsted and PGE. The wind farm is located 40 kilometres offshore in the Polish area of the Baltic Sea.Van Oord will transport and install 111 extended monopiles, of which 107 will serve as foundations for wind turbines and the other four as foundations for offshore substations.Van Oord will deploy offshore installation vessel Aeolus and heavy-lift installation vessel Svanen on the project. The Svanen will undergo a major upgrade this year.

Spanish police seized eight tonnes of cocaine from Suriname hidden in a container disguised as a power generator in the southern port of Algeciras, tax authorities said on Monday.The haul of cocaine, one of the largest ever intercepted in Spain, was inside a metal structure designed to escape detection from scanners.But customs agents detected a large quantity of stacked goods that practically filled the container, so they forced it open.The drug smugglers had planned a route designed to make the discovery of the cargo's true contents as difficult as possible.

New York officials on Tuesday said the state has awarded conditional contracts to three offshore wind projects as part of a massive renewable energy procurement that will provide 12% of the state's power needs in 2030.The announcement, which the state billed as the nation's largest ever investment in offshore wind, comes less than two weeks after New York regulators rejected requests by three offshore wind developers to renegotiate their contracts because of soaring costs. In response…

Brazil’s commodities export hubs are strained with record volumes of soy, corn and sugar to be moved at a time of the year when rains start to increase in southern ports, according to traders, analysts and shipping data.Exporters are reporting delays in coffee shipments due to a tight availability of trucks and containers, while loading waiting times for vessels have jumped, resulting in additional costs for traders and delays for the commodities to reach destinations.Brazil ports have been dealing with high volumes this year…

Companies from across the U.K. maritime sector and numerous government departments are coming together to develop a vision for making the country a global center of excellence for cruise lines looking to repair and refit their vessels.Britain’s maritime engineering industry already feeds into the cruise industry but sees significant untapped economic opportunity within the £2.36 billion global market for cruise ship refit and repair, particularly as demand for cruises rebounds…

Spanish police have made a record cocaine seizure, finding 9.5 tonnes of the drug hidden among boxes of bananas in a shipping container from Ecuador in the southern port of Algeciras.The stash was the largest ever found in a single container in Spain, the police said in a statement."This operation was an unprecedented blow to one of the world's most important criminal organizations in cocaine distribution, targeting major criminal networks in Europe," it said.The boxes were marked…

The United States announced the first offshore wind power development rights sale in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, which President Joe Biden will discuss during a trip to highlight the administration's efforts to boost renewable energy.In February, the United States proposed to expand offshore wind power developments into the Gulf of Mexico, introducing the nascent clean energy industry into a major hub for oil and gas production.The Interior Department said the sale will take place on Aug.

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has signed a shipbuilding contract for 16 16,000 TEU methanol-powered container ships from a shipowner in Asia.Evergreen Shipping’s subsidiary Evergreen Marine (Asia) has placed an order with SHI for 16 vessels and a separate order for eight 16,000 TEU with Japan’s Nihon Shipyard.The order amount was KRW 3,959.3 billion ($3.1 billion), the largest ever for a single ship contract, says SHI. It has broken the previous record (12 LNG carriers, KRW 3.331 trillion) set by SHI in June of last year.

On Feb. 10 last year, the cable ship CS Dependable appeared off the coast of the island of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that’s home to a discreet U.S. naval base.Over the next month, the ship’s crew covertly laid an underwater fiber-optic cable to the military base, an operation code-named “Big Wave,” according to four people with direct knowledge of the mission, as well as a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery and ship tracking data.The new super-fast internet link to Diego Garcia, which has not previously been reported, will boost U.S. military readiness in the Indian Ocean, a region where China has expanded its naval influence over the last decade.The CS Dependable is owned by SubCom…

Aluminum boatbuilder Silver Ships announced it has secured its largest shipbuilding contract order to date.The Theodore, Ala. builder said it was awarded a $6.1 million dollar firm-fixed-price General Services Administration (GSA) contract for the construction and delivery of up to 246 High-Speed Maneuvering Surface Target (HSMST) custom vessels. The deal includes options that, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $48.25 million dollars.Delivery of the first target boats is scheduled for March 2024.This contract entails the construction of Silver Ships’ AM800 RHIB.

The ocean freight industry saw a slump in global long-term rates of unprecedented proportions in May, as the contracted cost of shipping containers fell by 27.5%. The development, detailed by Xeneta’s Shipping Index (XSI), marks the ninth consecutive month of rates drops, and is the largest ever monthly fall recorded on the XSI.“If industry observers were left wondering just how bad it could get for carriers after the 10% fall in long-term rates seen in April, here’s the answer,” said Patrik Berglund, CEO of Oslo-based Xeneta.

Dutch FPSO specialist SBM Offshore on Tuesday announced the arrival of the FPSO Prosperity at the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.The FPSO traveled just over 11,000 nautical miles – or just over 20,000 kilometers - from Singapore to Guyana in just under 50 days.On track for first oil later this year, Prosperity becomes Guyana’s third FPSO, joining two other SBM Offshore-delivered FPSOs, the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity.The FPSO will be spread moored in water depth of about 1,900 meters and is designed to produce 220…

French container shipping line CMA CGM has ordered 16 containerships from China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) in a record-setting deal worth upward of $3 billion.The 21 billion Yuan ($3.06 billion) shipbuilding order, said to be the largest ever placed for containerships in China, is for 12 methanol dual-fuel 15,000 TEU vessels and four liquefied natural gas (LNG) duel-fuel 23,000 TEU vessels.The 15,000 TEU ships will be constructed at Jiangnan Shipyard and Dalian Shipbuilding Industry (DSIC)…

Dutch FPSO leasing company SBM Offshore said Friday that the China-built hull of the FPSO ONE Guyana had entered drydock at Keppel Shipyard in Singapore. One Guyana is one of SBM Offshore's largest-ever FPSO Units and is being built for deployment at ExxonMobil-operated Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. "The FPSO ONE GUYANA project passing another major milestone: the vessel successfully entered drydock at the Keppel yard in Singapore. The project team will continue construction with the next steps being the installation of the mooring structures and riser balcony.

January proved to be a dramatic month for long-term ocean freight rates, with the latest data from the Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI) showing the largest ever month-on-month declines. According to the XSI, average long-term contracted rates dropped by 13.3% in January,  the fifth month in a row of falling prices on the index. Xeneta warns there is little sign of change ahead in what looks set to be a challenging year for carriers.“Global demand has fallen away, congestion has eased…

Long-term ocean freight rates suffered a steep month-on-month decline in November as subdued spot prices, weak demand, and ongoing economic uncertainty caught up with contracted container agreements. The latest data from the Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI) indicates that global rates fell by 5.7%, with all major corridors experiencing negative import and export trends. This is the third month in a row rates have dropped, but the largest month-on-month decline recorded since the launch of the XSI in 2019.Fighting for volume“A drop in long-term rates is no surprise…

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted the most notable newbuilds delivered in 2022. From sturdy and nimble workboats, to the first new Jones Act laker in a generation, each vessel on display showcases the industry’s engineering prowess and technological ingenuity, with the focus on improving efficiency in operations. The maritime industry has no shortage of challenges to overcome, and each of Marine News’ top vessels will, in one way or another, aid efforts to tackle them.Mark W.

The Dutch FPSO leasing specialist SBM Offshore said Friday the construction of the topside modules had kicked off in Singapore for one of the company's largest-ever FPSO units, the One Guyana FPSO."During September this year, two steel strike ceremonies were held in both Keppel FELS and DynaMac yards. This marks a key milestone, which is the start of the fabrication of the marine structures and the topside modules," SBM Offshore said.SBM Offshore received an order from ExxonMobil in April to deliver the One Guyana FPSO for the Yellowtail development offshore Guyana.

Tidewater Barge Lines, Inc will expand its regional barge service on the Columbia River after being awarded grant funding from the U.S. Department Maritime Administration (MARAD).The $4,168,759 from MARAD, combined with nearly $2 million in matching funds from Tidewater, will provide two new low and zero emission cranes that will enable the loading of additional solid waste containers on barges for shipment from southwest Washington to eastern Oregon.“This award will allow Tidewater…