Work In Ship News

Houma, La. shipbuilder Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors has been awarded a contract to design and build two new research vessels for NOAA, for expected delivery in 2027 and 2028.The $624.6 million deal was awarded following a request for proposals that was open June–October 2022 and includes purchase options for up to two more vessels.The new ships will be less than 90 meters long, engineered to focus primarily on ocean mapping and nautical charting as part of NOAA’s mission to deliver tools and information to help mariners safely navigate the nation’s ports and harbors.

Effective July 1, 2021, Carlos Maenhout is retiring from his position as Founder and Managing Director of BMT Belgium, the company that he and his wife founded in 1991, a company subsequently sold to the BMT Group in 2005.Carlos Maenhout qualified with a Master of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Ghent, and with an Honors Degree in Maritime Science from the University of Antwerp. His consultancy career in maritime has spanned over four decades…

Rotterdam-based McNetiq launched a new line of magnetic anchors for fall protection when working at height.The first product in this series from McNetiq is the workplace safety device McNetiq Fall Restraint, intended for workplaces constructed of steel without edge protection.The operator is connected to this anchor with a measured working line so that the worker can never get past the unsecured edge. Areas of application are: loading and unloading work on ship decks, construction and demolition work on drilling platforms…

Engineering X – an international collaboration founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation – has awarded nearly £1 million ($1.2 million) in grants to six projects in the U.K. and overseas aimed at tackling the complex social, environmental and engineering challenges of decommissioning ships and offshore structures.From training to improve worker safety in ship recycling facilities in Bangladesh, to assessing the risks of structural failure of decommissioned offshore structures…

In the coming months, a large drone will check emissions from ships in Danish waters to make sure they comply with the sulphur limit, said Danish Maritime Authority (DMA).The drone is provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency, and is to be used as a means of preventing ship pollution.The drone is fitted with a so-called "sniffer” capable of measuring sulphur emissions. Entering the ship's exhaust gas plume, the drone can register the amount of sulphur in the fuel. These data are immediately available to Danish authorities, who can follow up if a ship does not comply with the requirements.The project will contribute to a more efficient enforcement of the sulphur rules…

To say this book is a collection of research would be an understatement. “Contemporary Ideas on Ship Stability: Risk of Capsizing” is more like a preservation of knowledge covering the last nine years.Dr. Vadim Belenky, a naval architect in the Simulations and Analysis Branch at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, was the editor in chief for the book, the chapters of which are papers from engineers, naval architects and professors from around the world. Belenky himself co-authored four of the papers…

The Baltic Exchange is looking into launching a freight index for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and is working with leading ship brokers to explore potential shipping routes that might be used as the LNG market grows, the company said on Thursday. Founded in 1744 as a forum for chartering vessels, the Baltic Exchange now produces benchmark indexes for global shipping rates, including ones used by the multi-billion dollar freight derivatives market. Singapore Exchange acquired the exchange in 2016 and since then the Baltic has been looking for new markets to develop.

Whether it’s autonomous cars or connected houses, it seems like everywhere you look these days, internet of things (IoT) technology is a focus. Even in the conservative maritime world, IoT is currently a hot topic. Shifting supply chain solutions and business models are fundamentally changing the way that commercial shipping and the wider transport sector operates. IoT enables an organization to capture value from information, regardless of sector, and in essence forms a loop that creates a larger process. Deloitte conceptualized this process and named it the Information Value Loop in 2015.

Sailors aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) got underway for Sea Trials as the ship's planned incremental availability (PIA) nears its end, August 11. John C. Stennis entered PIA in February with the largest work package ever planned for a six-month availability for a Nimitz-class carrier, requiring more than 2,800,000 man-hours of work between ship's Sailors, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, and contractors. Through teamwork, dedication and expert management, the ship was able to get underway ahead of their originally planned departure date. "With the extraordinary support of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, USS John C.

The newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) arrived in San Diego July 5, after successfully completing her maiden voyage from Mobile, Alabama. Following construction and acceptance trials earlier this year at the Austal USA shipyard in Mobile, Giffords sailed to Galveston, Texas, where she was commissioned June 10. "Our Sailors are honored to represent the ship namesake, its homeport in San Diego and the U.S. Navy," said Cmdr. Keith Woodley, Giffords' commanding officer. During her sail around transit from Mobile, Giffords Sailors conducted Combat Ship Systems Qualification Trials (CSSQT) events, various crew certification training events and regularly scheduled equipment and systems checks and transited through the Panama Canal.

For more than 15 years Christina Desimone has driven Future Care to be a transcendent maritime medical care enterprise. While the company fully embraces technology and the advent of telemedicine, it ventures far beyond traditional maritime medical solution providers, managing the logistics of effective and efficient mariner care from the beginning of the incident to its medical conclusion. As many global maritime sectors struggle to regain profitable footing, medical care for crews at sea is not exactly on top of the list discussion…

On the morning of October 12, 2016, E.N. Bisso and Signet Shipbuilding & Repair (SS&R) Pascagoula, Miss., christened and launched E.N. Bisso’s newest high technology Robert Allan Ltd. (RAL) design tug. Mrs. Deborah F. McDonald, wife of Mr. William H. McDonald, President, E.N. Bisso, New Orleans, Louisiana, was the Christening Sponsor. The GLADYS B, SS&R Hull 109 was launched immediately following the ceremony, and will be delivered on-time and on-budget December 12, 2016. This ASD tug is the fourth RAL design vessel constructed by SS&R, with two new build contracts currently under negotiation.

As part of its Coastal Community Development Program under Sagarmala, the Ministry of Shipping has sanctioned Rupees 10 Crore ($1.5 mln) as part of the first instalment to the Gujarat Maritime Board for capacity building and safety training of 20,000 workers involved in the ship recycling activities at Alanag- Sosiya recycling yard in Bhavnagar district in Gujarat. The total project cost is estimated to be Rupees 30 Crore over a period of 3 years. The initiative has been identified in the National Perspective Plan (NPP) of Sagarmala for the upliftment of the coastal community and aims to provide health and safety training to the skilled and semi-skilled workers which is required while performing their work at ship recycling yards.

Mont Hope Ship Management, a new and specialized company focusing on services for vessels engaged in energy segments, is implementing DNV GL’s integrated software system ShipManager on the entire fleet in order to optimize operations and improve performance. Mont Hope Ship Management is a new company, started in May 2015 and based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Concurrent with the start-up, they began the process of selecting a comprehensive fleet management software system to support efficient and safe operations, as well as to improve business performance. The amount of resources needed to gather data from various sources can be challenging and inefficient.

RRS Shackleton, RRS Endeavour, RRS Falcon, RRS Fish ‘N’ Chips and RRS Kanye are just a few of the suggestions submitted in an open campaign to name the U.K.’s next state-of-the-art polar research vessel. But leading the vote is a name that’s even more out of the ordinary: RRS Boaty McBoatface. The U.K.’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) last week issued a call for the public to recommend names for the country’s new £200 million polar research ship. “We would like the name to be inspirational and about environmental and polar science…

Legislation to reform the U.S. domestic marine recycling industry, the Ships to Be Recycled in the States (STORIS) Act, was introduced today by U.S. Senators David Vitter (R-La.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Congressman Garret Graves (R-La.) will introduce the companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation aims to improve the domestic ship recycling industry and promote transparency by requiring reports from Maritime Administration (MARAD) and an audit by the Government Accountability Office. “The Maritime Administration receives millions of dollars in federal funding, but they’ve never reported how the sales money is spent or how the agency awards contracts,” Vitter said.

Crowley Maritime Corporation last week presented four California Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime) students with Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial scholarships during Containerization and Intermodal Institute’s Connie Awards dinner in Long Beach, Calif. Crowley’s Victoria Ellis, training specialist, presented the scholarships to the recipients, each of whom were selected for their strong academic records, leadership and financial needs. Recipient Andrew Bahnsen, a senior studying marine engineering technology at Cal Maritime…

Rear Admiral Mark “Buz” Buzby, commander of the Military Sealift Command, sat with Maritime Reporter contributing editor Edward Lundquist talked with a week before his retirement aboard USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) at Little Creek, Virginia, on May 10, 2013. The talk centered on a unique event in maritime history. MSC had seven ships in the area east of Japan, responding to the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed 19,000 people. One of them was the fast combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10)…

The Board of Directors of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) - the principal international trade association for shipowners, representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet - met in London today (5 February). Issues considered by ICS members included: frustration with the failure of Italy to submit a full maritime casualty report to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) following the ‘Costa Concordia’ cruise ship tragedy which occurred over a year ago…

Otto Marine, owners & operators of Indonesia's largest shipyard, announces changes to it senior management. Mr. Mr. Mr. Deputy President Mr. Mr. Aw Chin Leng has voluntarily resigned from his position as Executive Director and Deputy President due to personal reasons. He was previously responsible for the general management of all shipyard activities and general operational management. Otto Marine Limited is an offshore marine group engaged in specialized shipbuilding of offshore vessels for primarily deep sea applications. The shipbuilding work includes ship repair and conversion and fabrication. In addition, Otto Marine charters out its own fleet of Anchor Handling Tugs and Offshore Supply vessels for mainly deep sea operations.

International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) begins protest in Washington DC & Port of Charleston, South Carolina. Union longshore workers from many Atlantic Coast District Ports are joining forces outside the United States Marine Barracks in Washington, DC to protest the loss of handling military cargo at the Port of Charleston, South Carolina. Hundreds more members of the International Longshoremen's Association are also picketing simultaneously at the Port of Charleston. Both demonstrations in Washington and the Port of Charleston are to protest the US Marines allowing Portus Stevedoring Company, a Jacksonville-based company, to move its military cargo operation from Jacksonville, Florida to Charleston but bypassing the use of ILA workers in Charleston.

Singapore-based Otto Marine sells Work Maintenance Vessel 'Oranda 1' for US$38.0-million, simultaneously bareboat-chartered back for GofM work. The sales transaction sets to improve the Group’s cash flow and balance sheet. Oranda 1, of LOA 75 m  is an ABS-classed 4,200bhp Work Maintenance Vessel that has completed 4 projects in South East Asia since May 2010. Contemporaneous with the sales transaction, the Group’s subsidiary, Karp Marine Limited, has bareboat chartered back the vessel for a period of 5 years.

InterManager members attending this year’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday (October 11) will thank retiring President Alastair Evitt for his work at the helm of the association over the past two years. During his Presidency Mr Evitt has represented InterManager on the world maritime stage, working on behalf of its members to ensure the views of the shipmanagement industry are heard and understood and to campaign for better treatment for seafarers. In particular he has been at the forefront of the international battle against piracy…