Singapore Highlights its Maritime Achievements for 2023
The Singapore government has recounted the achievements of Maritime Singapore to date to highlight the nation’s successes as a maritime hub in 2023:Total business spending by key maritime companies overseen by MPA exceeded S$4.8 billion, up from S$4.3 billion in 2022. Twenty-five maritime companies established or expanded their operations in Singapore last year. These included maritime services companies and companies setting up sustainability desks in Singapore as part of their…
BHGI Hires Naval Architects Althouse and Kennedy
Bristol, R.I. based naval architecture, marine engineering and consulting firm Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) announced the continued expansion of its naval architecture and marine engineering firm with two new hires: Taylor Althouse and Kasey Kennedy.Althouse joined BHGI as a Naval Architect. Althouse graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master of Science in Engineering in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. During his time at the University of Michigan, Althouse interned at Hornbeck Offshore Services, LLC.
Insights: Mike Ellis, CEO, American Commercial Barge Line
There is no shortage of challenges confronting the U.S. barging industry, and executives such as Mike Ellis, CEO at American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL), are leading their companies past hurdle after hurdle. The Jeffersonville, Ind.-based company, which owns a fleet of approximately 150 towboats and moves a fleet of some 4,500 barges (including roughly 3,500 operated by ACBL), is focusing on factors it can control while planning and investing for the future.The weatherMother Nature is often unkind to the barging industry.
Retaining Gen Z in the Marine Industry
While people in all generations measured themselves against eternal factors—fellow employees, family, their industry, etc.—Generation Z is fixated on measuring themselves against the world as seen through social media. Coaching them will help them begin to turn inward and measure success against their own goals. One of the keys to retaining your Gen Z workers will be in positively coaching them.Coaching should provide positive feedback about employee contributions. At the same time…
Cultivating Tomorrow’s Waterways Workforce
The American Waterways Operators (AWO) is taking action to help address an industry need and a national imperative to recruit, retain and develop the next generation of maritime employees.As much as the tugboat, towboat and barge industry contributes to our nation’s prosperity and security today, we are an industry with an incredibly bright future that has even more to offer in the years to come. Our industry is uniquely positioned to be part of the solution as shipper-customers…
US Maritime Industry Working to Solve the People Puzzle
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.
Recruiting Gen Z in the Marine Industry
Who is Gen Z?Generation Z, according to the Pew Research Center, are the people born between 1996 and 2012. Gen Z is vastly different from previous generations. Some of the issues that have affected their perspective on life are COVID-19, the Great Recession and school shootings. They believe that stability is difficult to achieve and that worry and anxiety are at the center of their lives. They don’t necessarily see a world full of possibilities and success.They spend 3 hours…
Greensea Opens San Diego Office
Marine robotics technology specialist Greensea Systems Inc. announced it has opened an office in San Diego to accommodate its growing workforce and support strengthening its presence in the region.The new location—Greensea's third alongside existing offices in Richmond, Vt., and Plymouth, Mass.—provides ample room to accommodate the local team, new hires, as well as a spacious production area, the company said. It also allows Greensea to take advantage of the technology hiring pool found in Southern California in anticipation of further expansion.Chelsea Allen…
North Star Orders Daughter Craft Duo from Alicat for Dogger Bank Wind Farm Ops
UK-based offshore vessel operator North Star has awarded a £2 million contract to Great Yarmouth firm Alicat Workboats to build two new Chartwell designed daughter craft.The vessels will be added to North Star's new renewables fleet which is bound for the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, located off the North East coast of England, from next year.Last September, Alicat Workboats won a contract to build an initial two daughter crafts for the offshore wind service vessel operator. The vessels have a hybrid powered design, developed by Chartwell Marine, in collaboration with North Star.
P&O Ferries Rejects Government Plea to Rehire Fired Workers
P&O Ferries on Tuesday rejected the British government's request to rehire 800 workers it fired without notice two weeks ago, saying that doing so would cause the company to collapse.P&O Ferries, an 180-year old company now owned by Dubai-based logistics group DP World, prompted an outcry from British government ministers, lawmakers and trade unions for its shock move this month to replace staff with cheaper agency workers.Britain's coastguard agency has since detained two P&O…
Marine Learning Systems Renews Contract with Canadian Coast Guard
Marine Learning Systems (MLS) has renewed an existing contract with the Canadian Coast Guard to supply a maritime learning management system. Named SeaReady, the learning management system supports the Western Region of the Canadian Coast Guard by providing online training and assessment to operational and technical personnel.Following a fair and transparent process through Public Services and Procurement Canada, Marine Learning Systems was initially awarded the contract due to their ability to deliver learning and assessment tools to remote locations without reliance on internet connectivity.
Stephaich, Pyne Honored by National Rivers Hall of Fame
National Rivers Hall of Fame will honor marine towing industry veterans Peter Stephaich and Joseph H. Pyne during the Annual Waterways Symposium hosted by Waterways Council, Inc. in St. Louis, Mo., in November.Stephaich, the current Chairman and CEO of Blue Danube Incorporated and Campbell Transportation Company, Inc., and Pyne, Kirby Corporation’s former CEO, will receive the Hall's Achievement Award, given to individuals making significant contributions to America’s waterways and barge industry.Having served the river industry for over 30 years…
Workforce Development: Apprenticeship Programs Help Build the Fleet
Naval shipyards and industry partners see business growing, but finding enough trained and qualified workers is a challenge.General Dynamics Electric Boat will invest $1.7 billion to modernize and upgrade its Quonset, R.I. and Groton, Conn., facilities over the next ten years,” said Sean Davies , vice president for EB’s Quonset Point Operations. “Here at Quonset, we are investing $700 million that will increase our outfitting space by 13 acres, to support work on the Virginia and Columbia class of submarines.
ShipMoney Continues to Grow, Announces New Hires
Maritime Payment Solutions, LLC (d/b/a ShipMoney), a provider of payment solutions for maritime companies, announced two new hires. Vanessa Torres has joined as Strategic Client and Business Development Manager in Manila, and Theo Tsokos is the Client Account Manager in Athens.Torres will be responsible for managing clients in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, including Maersk and V. Ships, among others. With more than 20 years of professional experience, she will act as liaison between ShipMoney and regional client offices.Tsokos will be responsible for managing clients in Greece and Cyprus, including Scorpio and Tsakos-Columbia.“We are very pleased to welcome Vanessa and Theo…
Insurer GCube Strengthens Offshore Wind Team
GCube, an insurer for renewable energy projects, hired three new underwriters for its offshore wind team, including Joshua Cantwell, formerly of Talbot Underwriting, and Zoe Massie, formerly of Allianz Global.The appointments come alongside a number of new hires in the U.S. as GCube builds its global presence in the renewable energy insurance sector.Prior to joining GCube, Cantwell held the position of Class Underwriter and subsequently Interim Head of Energy for Talbot Underwriting.He was responsible for the global Upstream portfolio and has been directly managing the Upstream London team over the course of the past year. Cantwell will…
Jeff Bezos Invests in Digital Freight Forwarder Beacon
Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has picked British startup Beacon, a digital freight forwarder, for his latest investment.Beacon said on Sunday it raised over $15 million in Series A fundraising, from investors including Bezos and venture capital firm 8VC.The startup, formed by two former Uber Technologies Inc executives two years ago, is already backed by Uber founders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, along with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.Beacon is also a supply chain finance firm that provides real-time data of cargo delivery and a marketplace view of global shipping costs and
COVID-19: Your LMS Can Help You Now More Than Ever
It is clear that we are living in unprecedented times. Equally clear is that we will get through this pandemic, but that it is going to take some strength, stamina and especially some innovation to come through as unscathed as possible. It is the innovation part that I wish to address here with some tips that go beyond training; tips I am observing our customers innovate and implement. Tips that help us solve some of the problems created by the impacts of this pandemic. My hat is off to these customers for their can-do spirit in these difficult times…
Reygar's BareFleet Remote Monitoring Hit Milestone; New Hires Announced
Reygar announced that its BareFLEET remote monitoring system is now in use on 100 vessels worldwide. The growth is in step with a general migration to digital solutions across the maritime sector, and the milestone is punctuated as Reygar expands its control system capabilities across dynamic positioning, autonomous vessels and consultancy, with two new engineering hires and a larger premises in Bristol: James Cook and Richard Crowder. Cook joins the business from Rolls Royce…
C-Job CEO Basjan Faber was Born to Design
Born and raised on the water by entrepreneurial parents, Basjan Faber knew from a young age that his future and fate was in maritime, specifically ship design. Today the CEO leads a vibrant, diverse and fast-growing naval architecture firm that he co-founded with partners in 2007. Headquartered in Amsterdam, C-Job has a unique approach to its business and is expanding its international footprint, as Maritime Reporter & Engineering News discovered when we visited with him in The Netherlands last month.“I have always been inspired by ships…
Cyber Hack: Fortifying Maritime, Port Security
The United States Coast Guard Marine Safety Alert 06-19 (USCG MSA 06-19) outlines a February 2019 incident aboard a deep draft commercial vessel that called on the Port of New York / New Jersey after experiencing a significant cyber incident that impacted their shipboard network. The Safety Alert stated in part:“An interagency team of cyber experts, led by the Coast Guard, responded and conducted an analysis of the vessel’s network and essential control systems. The team concluded that although the malware significantly degraded the functionality of the onboard computer system…
Arcosa Marine Launches First Barge from Reopened LA Yard
After reopening its idle barge manufacturing operations earlier this year, Arcosa Marine’s Madisonville, LA, facility launched its first barge on July 25 to a welcoming crowd from the banks of the Tchefuncte River.The tank barge, E2MS 314, constructed for the family owned and operated E Squared Marine Service, LLC (E Squared), was christened by Kevin Morley of Frost Bank, after which Arcosa Inc. president, Thomas Faherty, addressed the crowd. “We are honored by E Squared’s continued trust in Arcosa Marine to deliver the highest quality inland barges to their fleet,” said Faherty.
Shipyard Report: Detyens Shipyards
In a world driven by the dollar sign, D. Loy Stewart, Jr., owner and president of Detyens Shipyards missed the memo. Make no mistake, Stewart is steadfast to deliver on-time, excellent service to Detyens’ broad array of ship repair clients, from government to commercial, both foreign and domestic. He understands that a ship in his yard is not making its owner – his client – money, and he is laser focused on keeping his clients happy, returning ships to service on time, on budget. But Stewart is driven by a calling larger than profit margin, building a successful U.S.
Great Lakes Group Announces New Management Hires
The Great Lakes Group announced recent new hires to the company’s management team: Thomas Rigolo – Shipyard General Manager; Kirsten Buccigrossi – Director, Marketing & Communications; and Emery Eiber – Quality, Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (QHSSE) Manager.Tom Rigolo is a senior shipbuilding executive with more than 25 years of experience gained from hands-on engineering and high-level leadership roles at several U.S. shipyards. Rigolo is a licensed Professional Engineer…