Million New News

The United States’ Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) approved the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for Equinor’s Empire Wind project, marking another milestone in advancing the New York offshore wind project.With this permitting action by BOEM secured, Empire Wind is on track to begin construction in its federal lease area off the southern coast of Long Island later this year. Already well advanced in planning and development, Empire Wind 1 could deliver first power to New Yorkers by 2026.

The Xeneta Summit has heard the ocean freight shipping industry will find new ways of working together in the face of a volatile market.Stanley Smulders, Director of Marketing & Commercial at Ocean Network Express (ONE), took part in a keynote Q&A with Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund during the Summit in Amsterdam this week to discuss the major challenges facing the industry.While there are rough seas ahead, Smulders maintains growth is still on the horizon.He said: “The current market is at best volatile…

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…

New Zealand's last exports of livestock by sea have been completed and live exports have ceased, its agriculture minister said on Friday, as it fully implemented a ban on export shipments of animals on the grounds of their welfare.The government announced in 2021 that shipping animals offshore, largely for building herds in trading partners like China, would be halted but farmers would be given two years to transition out of the profitable export business."Our position on the map means that the journey to northern hemisphere markets will always be a long one and this brings unavoidable animal

Offshore installation services company DEME Offshore has won a "substantial" contract for the transportation and installation of the inter-array cables for the Empire Wind 1 and 2 offshore wind farms being developed in the U.S. by Empire Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Equinor and BP.For DEME, a substantial contract represents a value of EUR 150–300 million.Under the contract, DEME Offshore US will be responsible for the transport and installation of the inter-array cables…

Three of New Zealand’s nine naval ships are sitting idle in port as higher civilian salaries lure personnel out of the military, the country’s Defence Force said on Wednesday, even as tensions in the Pacific rise between China and the U.S. and its allies.The HMNZS Wellington, an offshore patrol vessel, headed back to New Zealand early from what was meant to be a three-month deployment in the Pacific and was taken out of operation in November because of shortages, the New Zealand Defence Force said.The Wellington is the third ship to be put into “care and custody”…

This Green Careers Week trade group Maritime UK is launching a new green skills project with the aim to help ensure that the maritime industries have the skills required to enable its decarbonization.The project kick starts with the appointment of Kit Williams to coordinate delivery of recommendations from the Maritime Skills Commission's (MSC) Skills for Green Jobs Position Paper. It is being delivered through a partnership between the MSC and Cornwall Marine Network (CMN).The…

The United States' largest dredging contractor Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation on Wednesday announced the receipt of $107 million in new contract awards along the U.S. East Coast.The awarded dredging work includes: Norfolk Harbor Navigation Improvements Project (Capital, Virginia, $56.8 million), Charleston Lower Harbor Maintenance Dredging Project (Maintenance, South Carolina, $15.4 million), Tampa Harbor Maintenance Dredging 45-Foot Project (Maintenance, Florida, $13 million)…

New York is seeking renewable energy to power at least 1.5 million New York homes in its third offshore wind solicitation, Governor Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday, as the state ramps up development of the industry.Administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the first phase includes $500 million investment in offshore wind ports, manufacturing, and supply chain infrastructure.Release of the third offshore wind solicitation is the next step towards achieving New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) goal to develop 9,000 megawatts

Nordic American Tankers said it has added two suezmax tankers to its fleet. The newbuilds, NAT's first delivered since 2018, both have long term contracts.The 157,094 dwt Nordic Harrier was delivered on May 13 from Samsung shipyard in South Korea. The second vessel, to be named Nordic Hunter, is 156,800 dwt and will be delivered from Samsung within the next few days, NAT said. The ships were ordered in 2020.Both tankers have six-year contracts with Oman's ASYAD Shipping Company. The time charters will generate an aggregate revenue of more than $100 million, New York-listed NAT said when it announced the deals in February.The newbuilds are fully financed via Ocean Yield, a company controlled by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), which is headquartered in the U.S.

Empire Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Equinor and BP, has awarded Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) a long-term service operations vessel charter. The vessel will service the Empire Wind offshore wind farm project located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island.Edison Chouest Offshore's plug-in hybrid service operations vessel (SOV) will be the first in the US offshore wind sector capable of sailing partly on battery power.The vessel will accommodate up to 60 wind turbine technicians…

GateHouse Maritime, a provider of ocean supply chain visibility and predictability services, has announced the introduction of its new data platform, OceanIO. The new feed is scalable to support the rapidly increasing number of data points anticipated from the growing use of IOT technologies fitted to shipped and shipping assets.Martin Dommerby Kristiansen, CEO at GateHouse Maritime, said, “The digital transformation of the logistics sector is creating a tsunami of data. At GateHouse…

Tanker shipping company Nordic American Tankers (NAT) announced Wednesday it has lined up six-year time charters for a pair of Suezmax newbuilds scheduled to be delivered from South Korea later this year.The contracts for the 156,800 dwt tankers are with Oman-based ASYAD Shipping Company, and they will commence upon delivery from the shipyard in May and June.Herbjorn Hansson, NAT board chairman, president, CEO, said, “Our business is expanding in the Middle East, which is an important area for our operations.

Equinor and BP on Friday announced the finalization of the Purchase and Sale Agreements (PSAs) with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), for Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind 1 offshore wind projects.Empire Wind is located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island and spans 80,000 acres, with water depths of between 65 and 131 feet. The lease was acquired in 2017 and is being developed in two phases (Empire Wind 1 and 2) with a total installed capacity of more than 2 GW (816 + 1…

Norwegian Cruise Line on Wednesday canceled trips on eight ships, a few with embarkation dates as far out as late April, signaling a blow to the recovery of the pandemic-ravaged U.S. cruise industry.The division of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd made the decision with the United States reporting nearly one million new coronavirus infections on Monday, the highest daily tally of any country."Due to ongoing travel restrictions, we've had to modify a few sailings and unfortunately have had to cancel…

When Chinese billionaire Jack Ma took a trip to Spain's Mallorca island last month, much was made of it being his first foreign foray since a 2020 fallout with regulators had clipped his wings.However, Ma's sunny sojourn on his newly-built 88-metre (289 ft) cruise boat Zen - estimated to be worth $200 million - also put a spotlight on a global trend: the return of the superyacht.As the number of billionaires grows and COVID-19 has added to incentives for avoiding crowds, the multi…

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries has raised $935 million after pricing its IPO at the top of its indicative range, with much of the proceeds set to fund investments in new technology.It offered 18 million new shares or 20% of shares outstanding in a range of 52,000-60,000 won per share.It is expected to list on the KOSPI on Sept. 16.Hyundai Heavy plans to use about 760 billion won ($660 million) of the proceeds to invest in future technologies, including eco-friendly ships and digital ship technology…

MPC Container Ships ASA (MPCC) announced it has reached a deal to acquire fellow Norwegian-based container shipping company Songa Container AS for $210.25 million on a debt and cash free basis. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of July 2021.Upon closing, MPCC will acquire Songa’s fleet of 11 container vessels, with an average size of 2,250 TEU and an average age of 11.9 years , creating a combined fleet of 75 ships and a total capacity of roughly 158,000 TEU. Nine of the acquired ships are fitted with scrubbers while three are equipped with the highest ice-class.Constantin Baack, MPC Container Ships CEO, said, “This…

Greece-based provider of seaborne transportation for containerized cargoes Euroseas  announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire four 4,253 teu containerships built in South Korea, three in 2009 and one in 2008.The owner and operator of container carrier vessels said in a press release that the vessels are being acquired from companies controlled by Synergy Holdings Limited for a total consideration of approximately $40 million.The acquisition will be financed by bank debt, existing funds of the Company and $6 million raised in private placements.Euroseas  will also assume the charters the vessels are currently under. As part of the transaction…

Denmark’s Ørsted won New Jersey’s first offshore wind solicitation with a 1.1-gigawatt project Ocean Wind, the largest offshore wind project to secure a development deal with a U.S. state to date.The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) announced in a press note that it has selected Ocean Wind, an offshore wind energy project proposed by Ørsted with support from Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), to negotiate a 20-year offshore wind renewable energy credit (OREC) for an offshore wind farm with a capacity of 1,100MW.Located off the coast of Atlantic City, Ocean Wind will be New Jersey’s first large-scale offshore wind farm.

Indian Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari has said that Blue Economy is very crucial for India’s economic development. said India has a strategic location in the Indian Ocean region, and on this basis, it endorses the growth of the Blue Economy in a sustainable, inclusive and people centred manner through the framework of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).He said, India is developing its maritime infrastructure as well as its inland waterways and coastal shipping through the launch of the ambitious “Sagarmala Programme” which will revolutionize maritime logistics and port led developments in the country.He further  said that India’s…

The United States' largest dredging services provider Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation on Monday reported the receipt of several dredging awards totaling $51.1 million.The awarded work includes:CPRA Cameron Meadows Marsh Creation Project (Coastal Protection, Louisiana, $28.6 million)Oak Island Beach Project (Coastal Protection, North Carolina, $15.4 million)New York and New Jersey Harbor, Port Jersey Channel Maintenance Dredging Federal Navigation Project (Maintenance, New Jersey…

Brazos Pilot Association President Captain Billy Burns said its newest boat, Brazos Pilot, is a vessel tailored to fit the job and provide the pilot association with performance dependability and the safety systems integration to fulfill their maritime mission.The 64 x 19-ft. Defiant-class mono-hull pilot boat arrived two weeks ago and will be christened at a ceremony on Jan. 31. It was designed by Metal Shark and built at the company’s Franklin, La. shipyard. The $2.5 million new pilot boat is intended to replace the pilots’ smaller pilot boat…