Marine Link
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Persian Gulf News

27 Feb 2024

Red Sea Ship Attacks Hit Regional Economies

“During the first seven weeks of 2024, cargo volumes to and from ports in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea declined 21% y/y. The number of ships arriving in these ports significantly declined as merchant shipping increasingly avoided transiting through the region due to concerns over attacks on ships by the Houthis,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Since November 2023, Houthi forces have attacked ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In December, most container and gas carriers started avoiding the region and by January…

21 Dec 2023

Will 2024 be the Year of AHTS Recovery?

The new MS Island Victory Water Installation Vessel for Island Offshore with amazing 477 tonnes bollard pull.
Copyright Arild/AdobeStock

As 2023 is drawing to a close we would once again invite the readers of Offshore Engineer Magazine to gaze into our crystal ball to see what 2024 might have in store for the offshore support vessel industry. Before diving straight into our forward-looking sentiments however, it is important to address some of the main trends in the year that past as these lay the foundation for the year to come.Continuing the market development from the year before, 2023 very much advanced the ongoing recovery for offshore support vessels further.

13 Dec 2023

Why the Indian Ocean Could be China's Achilles' Heel in a Taiwan War

© Igor / Adobe Stock

Every day, nearly 60 fully loaded very large crude-oil carriers sail between the Persian Gulf and Chinese ports, carrying about half of the oil that powers the world's second-largest economy.As the vessels enter the South China Sea, they ply waters increasingly controlled by China's growing military, from the missile batteries and airfields at its bases on disputed islands to its stealthy Type 055 destroyers.But when crossing the Indian Ocean, joined by others headed to China from Africa and Brazil…

14 Nov 2023

Animal Cruelty Charges Dropped

Images courtesy of Animals Australia

The animal cruelty charges that were brought against livestock export company Emanuel Exports have been dropped by prosecutors in Perth, Australia.Around 2,400 sheep died on the Awassi Express (subsequently renamed the Anna Marra) on a voyage from Fremantle to the Middle East in August 2017.The situation was brought to public attention when Animals Australia obtained whistleblower footage which was broadcast on a 60 Minutes program in April 2018. Footage from five separate voyages showed sheep suffering heat stress, some bogged in feces.

02 Aug 2023

Iran's Navy Unveils New Vessels Equipped with 600-kilometer-range Missiles

(Photo: IRGC)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards' navy has unveiled new vessels equipped with 600-km range missiles at a time of rising tensions with the U.S. in the Gulf, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.The announcement was made during a military exercise off the coast of Abu Musa island, one of three Gulf islands under Iranian control but disputed by the United Arab Emirates.The news agency gave no details about the missiles but cited a commander on the need to defend the islands."The islands of the Persian Gulf are part of Iran's honour and we will defend them…

10 Jul 2023

Iran Accuses US Navy of Defending Fuel Smuggling in Gulf Incident

© MasterSergeant / Adobe Stock

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander accused the U.S. Navy on Monday of defending fuel smuggling in the Gulf by trying to interfere when Iran intercepted a ship last week."On July 6th, Revolutionary Guards' Navy personnel were inspecting a ship with the name NADA 2 that was involved in smuggling Iranian oil and gas in the Persian Gulf, which the Americans sought to prevent through a series of unprofessional and risky actions," IRGC Commander Ramazan Zirrahi said in comments reported by Iran's Tasnim news agency.On July 7th…

19 Jun 2023

Inside the “Hot Demand” for Subsea Construction Vessels

© Arild / Adobe Stock

A rising tide lifts all boats, as the saying goes, and while the offshore industry is currently experiencing a wide-ranging surge, there are vessel types and specific market segments that are expected to benefit more than others.One such segment is the offshore construction vessel (OCV) types, which to an increasing degree have found themselves in hot demand from both oil and gas developments as well as offshore wind activities.While vessel definitions and abbreviations in this space can vary…

22 May 2023

Israel Accuses Iran of Using Civilian Ships as 'Floating Terror Bases'

© Vitalii Vodolazskyi / Adobe Stock

Israel accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Monday of turning commercial ships into platforms for launching missiles, drones and commandos, saying the objective was to spread Tehran's clandestine naval clout well beyond the Gulf.The allegation by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant came as tensions between the regional foes surge afresh over Iran's nuclear drive and support for Palestinian and Lebanese militias.Showing images of six purportedly repurposed Iranian vessels…

19 Apr 2023

Second-hand Crude Tankers Reach Highest Values in 25 Years, BIMCO Says

Credit:  lianxun zhang/AdobeStock

“Second-hand crude tanker values for five-year-old ships hit bottom levels in late 2020 and have since increased by an average 67%. Over the past twelve eventful months values have risen by 34%, reaching their highest level in 25 years,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Crude tanker values saw their most recent low in December 2020 when Clarksons Research estimated the combined value of a five-year-old Aframax, Suezmax, and VLCC was USD 138.5 mill. Twelve months ago, that valuation had risen to USD 172.0 mill. (+25%).

26 Jan 2023

Mark Heward Named Director at MITAGS

Mark Heward (Photo: MITAGS)

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) announced that Mark Heward has joined its team as Director. Heward came aboard with MITAGS in October 2022, after retiring from a 22-year active service career in the Royal Navy.“We are thrilled to welcome Mark Heward aboard as the Director of MITAGS. Mark’s underway time, leadership, management and training experience together with being fully STCW qualified and his continuing education experience are a rare combination,” said Eric Friend, MITAGS Executive Director.

19 Jan 2023

Interview: Tim M. Clerc, VP Engineering, Seacor Marine

SEACOR Demerara 9th hybrid in the program.
By permission of SEACOR Marine

Tim Clerc’s maritime career spans half a century, starting with his cadet training in 1969 in the U.K. He sees hybrid technology as one of the most transformational technological developments in maritime in that span, and the company is currently awaiting its 10th hybrid, the Seacor Yangtze. Clerc discusses the hybrid strategy and offers some practical insights.If you had to pick one technology that you think has made the business of running ships more efficient, more cost effective…

09 Dec 2022

Navy Veteran Joins MITAGS as Director

Mark Heward, Director of MITAGS - ©MITAGS

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) said Friday that Mark Heward had joined as Director of MITAGS.Heward came aboard with MITAGS in October 2022, after retiring from a 22-year active service career in the Royal Navy.Eric Friend, MITAGS Executive Director, said: "We are thrilled to welcome Heward Heward aboard as the Director of MITAGS. Mark’s underway time, leadership, management, and training experience, together with being fully STCW qualified…

16 Jun 2022

Tanker Built By Iran for Venezuela to Carry Fuel in First Trip

Fars Media Corporation (CC BY 4.0)

A tanker built by an Iranian shipyard for Venezuela plans to depart next month from the Middle Eastern country with a cargo of fuel components for the gasoline-thirsty nation, three sources with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.The new vessel is the latest sign of the growing energy collaboration between the two nations under U.S. sanctions. Iran and Venezuela are increasingly swapping crude for diluents and for fuel the South American country desperately needs due to the poor condition of its refining network.The deals have given a boost to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro…

26 May 2022

Rear Admiral Greco Joins San Marino Ship Register

Giovanni Greco (Photo: SMSR)

San Marino Ship Register said it has hired Rear Admiral Giovanni Greco to develop institutional relations and national maritime legislation.A graduate of the Genoa Nautical Institute, R. Adm. Greco’s career started on board merchant ships in Europe, the United States, the Persian Gulf, and the Far East. In 1991, he joined the Italian Coast Guard until his retirement in May 2022. During his service, he was harbor master in Fano, Ortona, Crotone, and Vice Commandant in Ravenna.

25 Apr 2022

Iran Guards Seize Foreign Ship in Gulf for Smuggling Fuel

© Fredex / Adobe Stock

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have seized a foreign vessel in the Gulf for smuggling 200,000 liters of fuel, a senior Guards commander told the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday."The ship was seized in the northern part of the Persian Gulf.

20 Jan 2022

Thordon Bearings Bags 24-Seal Order

(Photo: Thordon Bearings)

Canadian manufacturer Thordon Bearings confirmed it has secured contracts to supply 24 TG100 propeller shaft seals to Drydocks World-Dubai and Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding and Repair yards for installation to six UAE Navy vessels. Each quad screw ship will operate a quartet of TG100 shaft seals.Rafid Qureshi, managing director of Dubai-based Ocean Power International (OPI), Thordon’s authorized distributor in the region, explained the award win was “a direct result of the yards’ recommendations”…

18 Oct 2021

Mermaid Subsea Services Buys 50% Stake in Offshore Construction Vessel Millennium 3

Thai-based offshore services company Mermaid Subsea Services has agreed to buy a 50% ownership share in the Millennium 3 offshore construction vessel from PT David Marine for $16 million.The Millennium 3 is a DP2 construction support vessel built in 2011 in Indonesia by Nantong Dongjiang Shipyard Co. Ltd. and is currently operating in the Persian Gulf. Classified by Bureau Veritas, the ship is flagged under the state of Comoros, with Moroni listed as its port of registration. The vessel has a 300-ton crane and accommodation berths for 239 personnel. The seller, PT David Marine, is affiliated with Mubarak Marine, a UAE-based company that provides…

03 Sep 2021

Offshore Vessel Hits Platform at South Pars Field, Off Iran

Credit: POGC

An offshore vessel has this week allided with an offshore gas platform in Iran's South Pars gas field, according to Pars Oil and Gas Company.The incident happened Wednesday when the vessel hit the SPD12B gas platform in the Persian Gulf.A photo shared by POGC shows a vessel could be a fast crew supplier-type. The company didn't share vessel details.According to POGC, there were no casualties and the deck of the platform was unaffected by the incident.POGC said the cause of the accident was under investigation, and that gas production from the platform continued uninterrupted.

09 Aug 2021

Iran Denies Role in Tanker Attack, Says Seeks Gulf Security

Iran on Saturday rejected as psychological warfare accusations that it was behind a deadly attack on a tanker off Oman's coast, and said Tehran sought to enhance the security of the strategic Gulf waterway.Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wealthy economies said on Friday Iran was threatening international peace and security and that all available evidence showed it was behind the attack on the Mercer Street tanker last week."If we were to confront enemies...we would declare it openly, so the recent storytelling by the enemies is a psychological operation," state media quoted Abolfazl Shekarchi, Iran's senior armed forces spokesman…

14 Jun 2021

Shipping Influx Infuriates Israeli Environmentalists

© evannovostro / Adobe Stock

The first cargo ships from Dubai that docked last year in the Mediterranean port of Haifa were met by celebration in Israel. Flags waved. Reporters gathered. The prime minister walked the pier and gave a speech about the fruits of making peace.There was zero fanfare, however, when oil tankers began arriving at the smaller Israeli port of Eilat on the Red Sea in an arrangement with Emirati partners. Rather than washing machines and cleaning supplies for consumers, the ships unloaded…

16 Apr 2021

Clean Crude? Oil Companies use Offsets to Claim Green Barrels

Credit:fuzzy3d/AdobeStock

In January, Occidental Petroleum announced it had accomplished something no oil company had done before: It sold a shipload of crude that it said was 100% carbon-neutral.While the two-million-barrel cargo to India was destined to produce more than a million tons of planet-warming carbon over its lifecycle, from well to tailpipe, the Texas-based driller said it had completely offset that impact by purchasing carbon credits under a U.N.-sponsored program called CORSIA.Carbon credits…

09 Apr 2021

Iran Frees South Korean Ship, Captain After Promise to Help With Frozen Funds

Iran released on Friday a South Korean ship and its captain detained since January after South Korea promised to try to secure the release of Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks under U.S. sanctions, a South Korean official said.The Iranian foreign ministry said the chemical tanker, Hankuk Chemi, was released after an investigation into environmental pollution, and at the request of the South Korean government and its owner, state news agency IRNA reported.The seizure of the tanker in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman in January had triggered a diplomatic dispute after Iran demanded that South Korea release $7 billion in funds frozen in South Korean banks under U.S.

29 Mar 2021

Top Three Takeaway Lessons From the Suez Canal Blockage

© Cnes2021, Distribution Airbus DS

For a week the world was gripped by the extraordinary sight of a massive container ship that had run aground in the Suez Canal in Egypt. The Ever Given is 400m long (1,312ft) and weighs 200,000 tonnes, with a maximum capacity of 20,000 containers. It was carrying 18,300 containers when it became wedged in the canal, blocking all shipping traffic. Efforts to free it finally paid off when it was partially dislodged in the early hours of Monday 29 March. Adejuwon Soyinka asked maritime…

Subscribe for
Maritime Reporter E-News

Maritime Reporter E-News is the maritime industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email five times per week