Essex News

SEA-KIT International has won funding from the U.K.'s Zero Emissions Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition to design and manufacture a hydrogen-fueled uncrewed surface vessel (USV). The company will partner with maritime decarbonization disruptor, Marine2o, for the build of land-based infrastructure to produce green hydrogen, via renewable energy and the electrolysis of water, as part of the project.Dubbed ZEPHR - Zero Emissions Ports Hydrogen Refilling Survey Vessel, the project aims to extend vessel operation for port operators and stakeholders through complete energy transferal…

Salvage and post-fire recovery operations continue on the Grande Costa D’Avorio car carrier at Port Newark as crews work to transfer vehicles and cargo from the vessel to the port facility.As previously reported by MarineLink.com, Grimaldi's cargo vessel Grande Costa D’Avorio caught fire on July 5 at the Port of Newark. Two firefighters died in the incident. The fire was extinguished by the morning of July 11.To date, all vehicles have been removed from the cargo decks of the ship…

Two U.S. Navy sailors have been arrested on charges of handing over sensitive national security material to China, U.S. officials said Thursday.Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, was charged with conspiracy and bribetaking in connection with taking nearly $15,000 in exchange for photographs and videos of sensitive U.S. military information, the officials said. U.S. Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, whose age was not disclosed, was charged with conspiring to send national defense information…

The U.S. Navy has long valued the potential of additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D Printing.AM refers to the depositing of material layer by layer to create an object. For the Navy, it’s not practical to carry every replacement part for every system on a ship, and it can be difficult to forecast if or when parts will fail. AM provides a flexible source of supply in being able to make parts instead of ordering them and waiting for them to arrive, especially for warships at the far end of the supply chain.

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Silver Ships announced Steven Clarke has been appointed to the role of CEO. Clarke joined Silver Ships in 2015 as co-owner and chief financial officer. Since then, the company experienced a revenue increase of more than 40%. Clarke has focused on diversification of the Silver Ships customer base. This includes segmenting the customer base from more than 80% military focused to a more even cross-industry segmentation, with expansion into industries such as fire rescue and law enforcement."Since joining the team in 2015…

For many, the ocean is life. It provides transportation, work, commerce, food, recreation—tales as old as time and shared by people across the globe. These stories are lived day to day, passed down between generations, and shared with the public through various media. Maritime museums assume responsibility to share these histories while honoring the communities shaped ocean exploration and commerce. In a decade where ocean health and climatic events have become a primary focus…

The 2022 biennial, multi-national Rim of the Pacific's (RIMPAC) exercise has come to a close.This year’s exercise with the theme of “Capable Adaptive Partners,” featured 26 participating nations and 38 surface ships, three submarines, more than 30 uncrewed systems, approximately 170 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel.RIMPAC 2022 featured a wide range of capabilities--projecting the inherent flexibility of maritime forces and helping to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific, and took place in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, June 29 to Aug.

Civil, environmental, marine engineering, and surveying firm, MidAtlantic Engineering Partners announced Joseph Mele, P.E., P.P., P.L.S. has joined its team as part of their growth initiative for northern New Jersey and an expansion of services in New York.According to company officials, adding Mele’s strong experience in Hudson, Essex, and Bergen Counties will enable MidAtlantic’s civil engineering, surveying, environmental, and marine engineering services, which clients have engaged throughout northern New Jersey, to become a key focus of growth.

Greenpeace protesters have blocked the entry of a Greek tanker into a southern English port due to its Russian fuel cargo with police making arrests, the green group said on Monday.Britain and the EU have separately banned Russian-flagged vessels from their ports, with exemptions, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in what the Kremlin describes as a "special military operation."The UK has said it will phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of the year, which has meant that foreign-flagged vessels carrying Russian cargoes are still able to call at ports for the time being.Greenpeace said 12 activists occupied a jetty on Sunday evening in Navigator Terminals' Thames site in Essex…

Hundreds of climate change protesters blocked oil terminals across Britain on Friday with some supporters climbing on top of oil tankers as part of their campaign to force the government to end its reliance on fossil fuels.Extinction Rebellion, which caused days of traffic chaos in central London three years ago, and another group Just Stop Oil blocked refineries around London, Birmingham, and Southampton.Police in Essex, just east of London, said they were dealing with three incidents and six people had been arrested.The protests are part of planned demonstrations by Extinction Rebellion, whi

Uncrewed surface vessel specialist SEA-KIT International has announced plans to build another of its X-class, 12m USVs as a fleet vessel for launch in 2022. This build, the sixth X-class to be constructed at the company’s Essex base, will pave the way for the company to meet increased market demand for unmanned vessels and to penetrate new sectors of the global maritime industry, the company said.SEA-KIT CEO, Ben Simpson, commented: “Our X-class USV has changed very little since we won the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE with USV ‘Maxlimer’ back in 2015.

Maritime and offshore mobile satellite communications specialist Inmarsat has installed a new connectivity solution on SEA-KIT's uncrewed surface vessel (USV) Maxlimer using virtualized networks that the company says will establish higher standards for over-the-horizon uncrewed vessel control.The installation connects the USV Maxlimer to the best available network at all times by switching as necessary between Fleet LTE, Global Xpress (GX) and FleetBroadband satellite services when out of range…

UK-based unmanned surface vessel developer SEA-KIT has said it has been awarded the first-ever Unmanned Marine Systems (UMS) certificate by Lloyd’s Register for its USV built for Fugro."SEA-KIT has worked closely with Lloyd’s Register since early 2020 in a concerted effort to achieve the highest standards for the Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) sector, culminating with their latest 12m X-class USV for leading geo-data specialist, Fugro, being awarded thenew UMS certification on 28 June 2021.

In the more than two decades since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, national policies on climate change have had dangerously and disappointingly little effect on global emissions.Within the current economic system, perhaps the most ambitious attempt to reduce emissions has been the EU’s emissions trading system (or ETS). In operation since 2005, the ETS covers more than 11,000 heavy-energy-using power stations, factories and airlines, representing around 40% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Rolls-Royce has acquired Servowatch Systems, a UK-based international supplier of integrated marine automation solutions for navies, commercial vessels and large yachts.Representatives of Rolls-Royce's Power Systems business unit and the company’s previous owner, the Indian engineering, procurement and construction projects, manufacturing, defense and services group Larsen & Toubro, signed the contracts Wednesday. Commercial terms were not disclosed."Servowatch's modern and sophisticated…

A pigment package designed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to slow discoloration of the exterior coating on surface ships has started to make its way into the fleet and is producing early, positive results.NRL researchers created the pigment combination to satisfy the fleet requirement for the Navy standard "haze gray" paint that will remain color stable for longer than current coatings. While many paint manufacturers had produced new coating technologies that solved a variety of other problems…

Associated British Ports (ABP)' Humber Estuary Services (HES) has has purchased a new survey vessel, Humber Surveyor, which joined the survey fleet that includes the Humber Sounder and the Humber Charter. According to a press release from ABP, Humber Surveyor is equipped with survey technology including a multi-beam sonar, two single beam sonars, side scan and forward scan sonar."The kit is capable of three dimensionally mapping the ever-shifting sediment within the Humber Estuary. The vessel is also able to digitally model marine structures such as quaysides, buildings, bridges and even shorelines utilising a laser scanner mounted to the roof…

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the third-largest cruise line in the world, controlling approximately 8.7% of the total worldwide share of the cruise market by passengers, celebrated its first season of cruises from the Netherlands, Amsterdam with the European debut of Norwegian Pearl.The international cruise liner said that with this maiden call it is growing the brand’s presence to six ships in the region for the first time.On Saturday, 8 June, Norwegian Pearl’s Captain, Paul von Knorring, and the ship’s officers were honored with a plaque and key to the city of Amsterdam from local officials from the Port of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Cruise Port and Passenger Terminal Amsterdam…

A retired U.S. Navy captain pleaded guilty to criminal conflict of interest charges and a former U.S. Navy master chief was sentenced to 17 months in prison today on corruption charges. The defendants are among the latest U.S. Navy officials to plead guilty and be sentenced in the expansive corruption and fraud investigation involving foreign defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis and his Singapore-based ship husbanding company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA).Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Adam L.

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ managing director, Mike Rodwell, is to retire at the end of August 2019, following 15 years in the role and 31 years with the business.Mike has worked across a number of the Fred. Olsen businesses since he joined the group in 1987, with his first role as accountant for Fred. Olsen’s first-ever designated cruise ship, Black Prince.Following this initial role, Mike spent four years as Financial Controller for Fred. Olsen Travel, before a brief period as Financial and Commercial Manager for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, from September 1994 to November 1995.It was then that Mike became Commercial Director, a role that he held for eight-and-a-half years…

Surviving Australian veterans of the Battle of the Coral Sea will be flown to New York next month to commemorate the battle’s 75th anniversary. Staff Officer Heritage Research at the Sea Power Centre Lieutenant Commander Desmond Woods said Australian veterans of the battle were being sponsored by the American Australia Association. “The president of the Association, John Berry, is holding a dinner on board the Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Intrepid for Australian and US veterans,” he said. Lieutenant Commander Woods said the battle was a turning point for Australia in the Second World War. He said Australians would rightly honour Australian troops who in August 1942, were making their heroic stand, fighting and dying, at Isurava and on the Kokoda Track battlefields.

The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.

Maritime and logistics service provider Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) has officially opened its new head office in London. Based in Fenchurch Street in the heart of the City, the new office for ISS’ leadership team has been opened to bring it closer to key customers’ London offices and more accessible for customers and staff visiting from overseas. Other core functions now based in London include Innovation, Marketing, Sales Support and Accounts. Guests joining ISS at the official opening celebrations represented a number of ISS’ key customers, trade journalists and other industry contacts. Chris Whiteside, Chief Executive Officer, ISS said, “Our focus on customer engagement highlighted a need to be located closer to our key principals and London is a key maritime market.