Vessel Plans

Mammoth Bunker Vessel Planned

The Verenigde Tankrederij (VT) from Rotterdam will order the largest bunker vessel so far. With a size of 8,000 tons (135 m long) it is twice the size of the present largest bunker vessel. The company said that it responds to the ongoing up scaling of the shipping industry. Since it expects traffic in Rotterdam to grow further it is very likely VT will order a second vessel of the same size. At present a total of some 8.5 million tons of bunker oil is delivered to ships in the port area.

Ingram Barge Lines Repowers

Robert King, based in Paducah Kentucky, is the manager of Ingram Support Service a wholly owned subsidiary of Ingram Barge Lines charged with managing 20 vessels that operate on the Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. These are among the smaller vessels in Ingram's 137-vessel fleet and so operate without engineers. King's job is to minimize down time and maximize efficient operational hours. He expects to do just that for 87x30-ft. Charles M

USCG Investigates Vessel in Hawaii

U.S. Coast Guard personnel are investigating the cargo onboard an Antigua Barbudan flagged vessel that requested to moor in Honolulu on last week. The 400-ft. freight vessel, BBC China, was reportedly behind schedule for its delivery to Portland, Ore. when it requested to enter the port without the required 96-hour advance notice. The vessel plans to ship the cargo by air. The vessel was granted permission to enter the port by the CG Captain of the Port

Signal Completes Upgrade of The Noble Homer Ferrington

Signal International, LLC has completed a major refurbishment and upgrade of Noble Drilling’s Homer Ferrington semi-submersible drilling rig. The work was completed at Signal International’s East Facility in Pascagoula, Miss. Prefabrication started in February 2004 in anticipation of the rig’s arrival in July. The drill-ready rig departed on schedule and within budget after 109 working days. The scope of work included:

VT Halter Marine To Build Two Additional OSVs

VT Halter Marine To Build Two Additional Offshore Support Vessels VT Halter Marine, Inc. (VT Halter Marine), a subsidiary of VT Systems, Inc. (VT Systems), today announced that Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (NYSE: HOS) has exercised the options for two additional Offshore Supply Vessels (OSV), valued at a total of US$89m with deliveries expected in the fourth quarter of 2014 and first quarter of 2015. VT Halter Marine announced on 18 November last year that it had secured the contract

Gulf Marine Introduces the Endurance

A uniquely designed self-propelled self-elevating jack-up barge is currently under construction in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and, once delivered, will be one of the most flexible and capable vessels in the market. Gulf Marine Services, the Middle East region’s largest elevating support vessel operator, has developed a design along with MSC Gusto which incorporates an operating water depth of up to 65 metres, accommodation for 150 persons, deck space of 1000 m2, deck load of 11,350 tonnes

Latest Commercial Shipbuilding Contracts

There has been a significant volume of shipbuilding business reported in the week according to Clarkson Hellas. Dry Bulk Carriers The dry bulk fleet has seen a number of new additions this week. It was reported that SWS signed an additional order with Clients of Thenamaris for 1+1 180,000 DWT Capesize vessels, with the firm vessel lined up for delivery in 2015. Clients of Nordic Bulk Carriers placed an order for two firm 75,000 DWT Ice Class 1A bulk carriers at Oshima for delivery in 2015

Liberian Registry Launches Internet-Based Inspection

The Liberian Registry has launched a unique Internet-based vessel inspection application based on technology developed by the Wallem Group. The Internet-based inspection application will allow inspectors to compile inspection reports during annual safety inspections and will create a historical database of the vessel's condition. This secure database will be confidential to the registry and the relevant shipowner. Owners will however be offered the option of providing the vessel's condition

Navy Installs First Onboard Ship Protection System to Thwart Terrorist Attacks

The Navy will field the first Shipboard Protection System (SPS) aboard a naval surface combatant this month. The SPS equips the ship’s commander with organic tools to rapidly assess asymmetric threats and defend against terrorist attacks like the one that severely damaged the USS Cole in 2000. Ultimately, most U.S. naval surface vessels will have an SPS onboard to provide integrated anti-terrorism/force protection capabilities while operating in littoral waters

What Will You Do When a Spill Occurs?

Having a Spill Plan in Place is the Key to an Effective Response The blowout aboard the Deepwater Horizon and the resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico captured the attention of both the public and regulators. As a result of this incident, both the government and the general public have developed opinions as to how such an oil spill should be avoided, contained and cleaned up. Now, even a small spill can become front page news and your company’s operations and policies will be