Shuts Down News

At least 30 commercial ships dropped anchor on Wednesday around Gabon's waters after military officers said they had seized power in the Central African country, according to data and maritime sources.Military officers in oil-producing Gabon said they had put President Ali Bongo under house arrest, after the country's election body announced that he had won a third term.

What started as a red-hot container market for Far East to U.S. trades has now spread to other routes, with rates from the Far East to Brazil seeing particularly high spot rates, BIMCO says. On January 24, 2021, the base freight rate for a forty-foot container from the Far East to the Port of Santos reached $9,299. Average rates for January are now 230.5% higher than they were in January 2020.Santos is the largest container port in South America, handling 4.2 million TEU in 2019 alone.The red-hot spot market is a result of the imbalance of trade over the past year…

Ships and their crews must be able to trade freely with minimal port restrictions to ensure supply lines don't freeze up while the coronavirus shuts down much of the globe, shipping and port officials said on Tuesday.After draconian steps to stop the spread of the virus, China's economy is slowly coming back online but logistics chains are backing up in other parts of the world.This has been compounded by ships being quarantined for up to two weeks and seafarers held up as countries impose lockdowns to stop the spread of the virus.The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) association…

Kongsberg Maritime (KM), a Norwegian technology enterprise within the Kongsberg Gruppen, informed that it has suspended the sale of the previously announced German KM Contros GmbH to AML Oceanographic Ltd. (AML).Following a strategic evaluation and prioritization of the KM business in 2019, the company decided to divest Contros, and a Letter of Intent was signed with a future buyer of the business.However, the companies have now agreed not to pursue the previously announced letter of intent, and the sale of Contros will therefore not proceed. Consequently, Kongsberg Maritime has decided to cease the Contros operations, a press release said.Contros is a subdivision of the Sensors & Robotics division in KM, it’s located in Kiel/Hamburg, Germany.

On April 30 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published a notice, requesting public comments, on a proposed “incidental harassment authorization” (IHA). An IHA is a legal and enforceable document presenting the terms and conditions with which a company must adhere in order to protect wildlife. In this case, the draft IHA was for Vineyard Wind, the wind energy company ready to start construction on an 800 MW offshore wind farm in the Atlantic, covering about 675 square kilometers, starting 14 miles from the coastline of Martha’s Vineyard.

Norway has been forced to close the Sture Oil Terminal near Bergen and has started closing down the nearby Kollsness gas-and-condensate terminal — a lifeline of heating gas to Europe — after an early morning collision between a $440-million frigate and an oil tanker.The frigate Helge Ingstad, now listing heavily to its port side, is loaded with torpedoes and weapons systems said to be unstable as a result of the collision. Eight navy personnel are said to be injured, including two flown to regional hospital…

U.S. oil firm Chevron will become the first oil major to formally exit the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) as it transfers its last stake in an exploration license, according to a government letter.Oil majors, including Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell, have scaled down their presence in Norway by selling or merging their assets in the mature region to focus on new growth opportunities elsewhere.Chevron is also seeking to sell assets in the British North Sea in order to focus on growing U.S.

In the world of maritime training, MSRC has carved a unique niche in the training of pilots. Founded in 2005, MSRC is a division of the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots (CLSLP). The MSRC is a purpose-built simulator with a fully instrumented DNV Class “A” configured bridge with 330° visuals that exceed the requirements of the 1995 STCW Convention. MSRC’s Full Mission Simulator (FMS) is one of the most advanced simulators of its type and is continually being upgraded. The Center is also equipped with three fully instrumented ship bridges, with a horizontal view of 240°.

Hougen Manufacturing, Inc has released a new portable magnetic drill, the HMD918. This new model offers an upgrade to the depth of cut in the line of Hougen magnetic drills. The HMD918 has a high torque motor and extended six inch drilling depth to give metal fabricators more options to drill deep holes in steel whether it is a solid piece of material or multiple stacked plates. The HMD918 includes a pressurized coolant bottle and system. The two gallon bottle easily attaches to the drill arbor and provides pressurized coolant to the cutter no matter the position of the drill.

Keppel Corp, the world's biggest oil rig builder, is still hard hit by the downturn in the oil industry and will now shut down three yards in its homeland. Singapore-based offshore company Keppel reduced its direct work force by about one third. The workforce has been reduced by 2,620 employees in the fourth quarter a cut of 11.8%. For 2016 as a whole Keppel reduced its direct workforce by 10,600, some 3,800, and about 6,800 overseas, or 35% of its total direct workforce. The number of sub-contractors in Singapore has also been reduced by 3,300. Keppel and peers have been slashing jobs as demand for offshore drilling rigs slumped amid weak oil prices. Though a decision by OPEC to reduce output renewed optimism, Keppel said it isn't expecting a quick recovery.

Hougen Manufacturing, Inc. has released a new model of portable magnetic drill, the HMD934, offering increased power and performance for holemaking in serve industrial applications. The HMD934 was developed to give metal fabricators more strength and torque to drill large deep holes in steel, and is able to drill holes up to 4” deep and up to 3-1/16” in diameter. the HMD934 has a number of features and innovations that provide convenience and ease of use for the operator, the manufacturer said.

Hougen Manufacturing, Inc. has redesigned its HMD904 portable magnetic drill to include new improvements and features. The newest innovation is the mag drill pilot light. The LED light is built into the base of the magnet and allows the operator to more efficiently and quickly line up the pilot with the holes center location in low light or no light conditions. Powering the drill is a proprietary Hougen motor with a new design to the aluminum casing to improve durability. The addition of a two stage magnet increases magnetic holding power by 30 percent when the drill motor is turned on.

While ships have used electricity to help power vessels for a long time, new and sophisticated diesel-electric technologies are making serious gains in efficiency, noise and environmental impact, and is becoming the propulsion system of choice for some high profile names. A recent case is the diesel-electric powered, RV Sikuliaq (pronounced “see-koo-lee-auk,” an Inupiaq term meaning “young sea ice.”), a vessel embarking on a lifetime of studies in the polar sea region, including examining the effects of climate change and increased human presence in the Arctic.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Japan and more than 500,000 people urged to evacuate as a powerful typhoon brought torrential rain and high winds to southwestern islands and was forecast to reach Tokyo later in the week. Typhoon Neoguri weakened from its original status as a super typhoon but remained intense, with gusts of more than 250 km per hour (155 mph). It was powering towards the Okinawa island chain where emergency rain and high-seas warnings were in effect. There are no nuclear plants on Okinawa but there are two on Kyushu, which lies in the area through which the typhoon is likely to pass after hitting Okinawa. There is another on Shikoku island, which borders Kyushu and could also be affected.

Statoil shut oil production at its Snorre B platform in the North Sea and evacuated a quarter of the personnel there after detecting a soil shift under a drilling template and then oil leak, the company said on Monday. The Snorre field in the northern part of the North Sea is Norway's fourth-biggest oil producer with output averaging 88,000 barrels of oil per day in 2013, data from Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) showed. The field has two production platforms but Statoil declined to provide a breakdown between Snorre B and Snorre A, which is operating normally.

ESAB Cutting Systems introduces Crossbow, a compact oxy-fuel/plasma CNC cutting system that is portable and economical. According to ESAB , the machine’s size and weight make it easy to transport as the application requires. Automated functions and a user friendly CNC provide powerful, versatile, oxy-fuel or plasma processing in a value-minded package. Crossbow is suited for trade schools, small fabrication shops, maintenance and repair shops, or for portable use within large facilities or at construction sites.

University of Stavanger (UiS) is active in teaching, research and finding solutions for developing fields in areas with Arctic conditions. The northward shift of Norway’s oil industry means it must adjust to temperatures down to -30°C, storms, sleet and snow, and drift ice. And to the blackest night. “Try to imagine changing a tyre in freezing weather, snow and darkness,” says professor Tore Markeset , a specialist in cold climate technology at the University of Stavanger (UiS). That is his way of visualising the challenges facing oil companies seeking to produce oil and gas from the far north of the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

Most every company knows it should have a plan to deal with catastrophe. That’s especially true for shipyards and vessel owners who often ply their trade in hurricane zones, where weather can rip apart a lifetime of work overnight, make confetti out of assets, and leave disarray in its wake. Emergency plans can be simple or complex, depending on the needs of a specific business. There are a number of resources to help business owners create customized plans, including online templates, detailed guidelines and model documents. A company’s insurance agent and carrier can also serve as useful resources for businesses trying to determine what should be in a plan, and how to best position themselves to recover quickly if disaster strikes. A plan by itself, however, is not enough.

It is no revelation that maximizing equipment life directly impacts the bottom line. When it comes to profitability, every dollar saved on equipment maintenance is a dollar earned. Prelube pumps move oil from the oil sump to the moving parts of an engine before engine start-up. Pre-lubing before every start is an inexpensive way to extend the life of engine-driven equipment. When an engine is running, the engine's oil pump supplies pressurized oil into the center of the bearings to create a cushion that separates the bearing surface from the crankshaft. Once the engine is running, the surfaces never touch because they ride on this film of oil. As soon as the engine shuts down, however, the oil that comprises the cushion begins to drain away and the film thins.

Delta "T" Systems’ new Head Vent System uses a single powerful blower to extract air from multiple heads on a vessel. It is compact, quiet, highly effective and fully automatic. The entire Head Vent System including the blower, the control unit, and the dampers are housed within a central, remotely-located plenum box. The plenum box measures only 16" L x 12" W x 13" H. A single Head Vent unit is capable of ventilating up to four heads. The system is fully automatic and requires no input from the user. Each head is fitted with a highly sensitive motion detector.

Cole Hersee Company, a manufacturer of heavy-duty electrical and electronic products for the vehicle industry, announced the availability of its new FlexMod™ LVD, a family of configurable electronic modules that protect batteries and battery powered equipment. FlexMod LVD ensures that vehicles will start by controlling non-essential loads that can kill a battery. The module is ideal for those with fleets of emergency vehicles, delivery vehicles, boats, buses or utility trucks.

The ship is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 4 percent on a two-month voyage to Europe, officials said. The 199-meter-long vessel can carry 6,400 passenger cars. The 768 solar power panels installed on its deck have an output capacity of 160 kilowatts, enough to power 50 average households. Energy is stored in 324,000 lithium-ion batteries below decks and fed through to the engine. Excess energy is used to power the ship’s radar instruments, lighting, air conditioning and other equipment. The Emerald Ace shuts down its diesel engine and relies totally on batteries when in port.

Commercial and military users of electric propulsion systems have experienced failures of the variable frequency drive (VFD) and harmonic filter (HF) systems because the system design, including the VFD, did not have adequate self-monitoring and protection. On a ship, a variable-frequency drive (VFD) can be used to control the speed and direction of rotational motors, such as pumps, propellers and azipod systems. In some cases, these failures have resulted in catastrophic equipment failures causing arcing, fire and explosions of capacitors. In September of 2010, the Cunard Carnival cruise ship RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) was underway in the Mediterranean when an explosion occurred in the aft main switchboard room resulting from the failure of one of 12 capacitors in a harmonic filter…