Vessel Number

Polarcus Alima travels the Northern Sea Route

One of the X-BOW vessels designed by ULSTEIN, the seismic vessel ‘Polarcus Alima’, recently transited to Asia-Pacific via the Northern Sea Route (NSR). This is the first known passage of a 3D seismic vessel along the Northern Sea Route. Her passage commenced on September 15 from Hammerfest in Norway after completion of seismic operations in the Barents Sea. After only nine days and 3,000 nautical miles the vessel reached Cape Dezhnev in the Bering Straits. She is presently continuing her onward passage to New Zealand to commence operations there. Polarcus Alima is an ultra-modern 12-streamer 3D seismic vessel of the SX134 design. Vessels making the passage are required to hold an ICE-1A or higher ice class. The expected time savings in transit between Norway and New Zealand compared to the traditional route through the Panama Canal amounts to some eight days. The savings versus the Suez Canal, a necessity for some larger seismic vessels, amounts to thirteen days. Preparations for the voyage were carried out in close cooperation with Tschudi Arctic Transit AS through its Russian - Norwegian JV company Arctic Bulk AG, Atomflot, and the Northern Sea Route Administration in Moscow. Commenting on the successful transit Rolf Rønningen, CEO Polarcus, said: “The successful navigation of Polarcus Alima along the Northern Sea Route leads to significant savings in fuel, emissions, and time in transit

Shipowners’ Club Registers Strong 2010 Results

Excellent financial results have been reported by the Shipowners’ Club for the trading year ending February 2011.  Positive growth or improvements across almost all parameters have been recorded, from increased tonnage and numbers of vessels entered, to an up-lift on gross earned premiums to US$196.8 million (up 13% on last year) and an underwriting surplus of US$25.2 million. Chairman of the Club, Donald MacLeod puts the recent success of the Club down to the diversity of its

Swedish Marine Insurers: Achieving Stability In A Stormy Market

While the impact of poor freight rates and low oil prices have been felt in all quarters of the Scandinavian maritime industries, the region's hull underwriters and P&I Clubs continue to benefit from the relatively strong domestic shipping and energy sectors. Scandinavian marine insurers have demonstrated resilience in challenging market conditions. The global hull market remains in a downswing of unusual severity. As for the P&I sector, the past 12 months have had a nervous character

Investment in Design:The Rising Value of Propulsion Business

Despite a fall in the overall number of vessels forecast to be delivered from shipyards until 2007, the value of the propulsion systems installed in newbuilds is expected to show a rise from 2004, reaching nearly $5-billion by 2007 on the strength of increasing power requirements. A new business study entitled The World Marine Propulsion Report 2003-2007* predicts that newbuild deliveries measured by tonnage will grow by four-percent over the five years

Oil, Gas Rig Numbers Drop

The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in North America fell by 62 during the week ending September 8, led by a 55 rig decrease in Canada and helped by a seven rig decrease in the United States, according to oil services firm Baker Hughes Inc. The number of rigs operating in Canada fell to 266, compared to 267 a year ago, while the number of rigs in the U.S. fell to 1012, compared with last year's 690, according to Baker Hughes. In the U.S

USCG Issues Security Update

The U.S. Coast Guard has collected the following nationwide compliance data on both the international code and the U.S. law. These numbers are current as of noon, July 2, but are not final and are subject to change. ISPS compliance numbers for July 2 Total foreign vessel arrivals on July 1: 228 Number of foreign vessels (included above) inspected and approved before July 1: 131 Number of foreign vessels inspected in port on July 1: 120

U.S. Gas Rigs Up 28

The number of U.S. rigs searching for natural gas in the U.S. rose by 28 to 764, an all-time record high, while the number of rigs searching for oil fell by three to 210 during the week ending July 28, according to oil services firm Baker Hughes Inc. The number of rigs exploring for oil and gas in the United States rose by 25 to 975, compared with 602 active rigs in the U.S. in the year ago period. In Canada, the number of rigs searching for oil and gas rose 13 to 319

IMO Updates ISPS Figures

The IMO released ISPS Code implementation figures as of June 16, 2004. To date, 39 governments have provided responses indicating 21,347 ships from those nations are subject to the ISPS Code; 16,570 ship security plans have been submitted to these governments; and 6,127 International Ship Security Certificates (ISSCs) have been issued. Of the 6,117 port facilities identified by these governments, 1,970 have submitted security plans and 663 have been approved

Donjon-Smit Relocates Offices

Donjon-SMIT, an OPA-90 Alliance, has moved its principle office to 909 North Washington Street, Suite 300, Alexandria, Virginia  22314 USA.  The relocation to larger facilities was effected in order to support additional staff required to meet the new U.S. Coast Guard Salvage and Marine Firefighting regulations.   All phone numbers, including the emergency number, remain the same.  The main office number and 24/7 emergency number is 1-703-299-0081

Greek Shipping Numbers Still in First Rank

Despite the decrease in the number of ships, the fleet under Greek management still ranks first in world according to Clarksons. Greece's merchant fleet still ranks first in the world both in number of ships with 20% of the world's fleet, and about 15% of its capacity, according to Clarksons. According to Allied ShipBroking, Greek shipowners were the leaders in ship buying and selling in 2011. The tonnage of merchant ships (over 100 GRT) under the Greek flag increased to 43,397