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Puma News

07 Nov 2023

California Boat Captain Guilty of 'Seaman's manslaughter' in Fire Deaths of 34 People

The fire-stricken Conception shortly before it sank off Santa Cruz Island in September 2019. All 33 passengers and one of six crewmembers died of smoke inhalation after they were trapped in the berthing area while a fire raged on the deck above. (Photo: Ventura County Fire Department)

The captain of a dive boat that caught fire and sank off the California coast in 2019, killing 34 people on board in one of the state's deadliest maritime disasters, was found guilty on Monday of a federal charge of seaman's manslaughter.Jerry Boylan, 70, was convicted by a U.S. District Court jury in Los Angeles on a single charged count of "misconduct or neglect of a ship officer" under a federal homicide statute dating from steamboat accidents in the early 1800s.The felony conviction…

31 Oct 2022

Interview: Dan Keane, Commanding Officer, USCG RDC

Photo: Greg Trauthwein

United States Coast Guard service is a family legacy for Dan Keane, who today serves as the Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center in New London, CT."My dad was in the Coast Guard (for nearly 37 years), so this is a way of life for me,” said Keane in explaining that a Coast Guard career “was just something I always knew I wanted to do … it’s a family tradition for me.”The Coast Guard R&D center in New London is “relatively small with just over 80 people here at the RDC” said Keane…

02 Nov 2021

Maersk Says Port Delays Will Stretch into New Year

© Elles Rijsdijk / Adobe Stock

The chaos that has bedeviled global supply chains in recent months will extend into next year, with a lack of truck drivers preventing hundreds of container vessels from offloading goods around the world, shipping group Maersk said.“The whole system has become one gigantic bottleneck,” Chief Executive Soren Skou told reporters on Tuesday.Skou said the biggest problem preventing containers from leaving ports is a lack of labor, particularly drivers of heavy goods vehicles in the…

02 Nov 2021

Maersk Triples Quarterly Income Despite Lower Container Volumes

Credit: lazyllama/AdobeStock

Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Tuesday record-high freight rates boosted quarterly earnings despite lower container volumes due to congestion at ports.The coronavirus pandemic has prompted a shortage of container ships and logjams at ports at a time of high consumer spending, pushing the cost of transporting freight to record levels.Maersk, which handles one in five containers shipped worldwide, said its main Ocean business is now expected to grow below that of global container demand…

06 Aug 2021

Maersk Shopping Spree Continues Following Strong Earnings

© Sikov/AdobeStock

Maersk bought two e-commerce companies on Friday and said more acquisitions were coming soon as the world's biggest container shipping line boosts its bet on land-based services.Maersk, which handles one in five containers shipped worldwide, aims to expand its land-based logistics services, hoping to gain a larger share of the supply chain from existing shipping clients such as Puma and Walmart.It bought Visible Supply Chain Management and B2C Europe, both specialised in e-commerce, for a combined enterprise value of $924 million, Maersk said."It won't be long before we have a logistics busine

11 May 2021

Pandemic Propels Makeover at Shipping Giant Maersk

© Björn Wylezich / Adobe Stock

Maersk is accelerating its plan to transform itself from a container shipping giant into an integrated logistics company following its strong performance during the pandemic, Chief Executive Soren Skou said on Tuesday.Maersk, which handles one in five containers shipped worldwide, aims to expand its land-based logistics services, hoping to gain a larger share of the supply chain from existing shipping clients such as Puma and Walmart."I don't want to put a date to it, but I'm certain that our logistics business has potential to become just a big as ocean shipping measured in turnover…

05 May 2021

Maersk Expects Container Shipping Tailwind to Last Amid High Demand

© MagioreStockStudio / Adobe Stock

Denmark's Maersk said on Wednesday it expected its "exceptionally strong" performance in the first quarter to continue for the rest of the year, driven by high demand for shipping containers from China to the United States.Maersk, which handles about one in five containers shipped worldwide, said there were not enough ships available in the world to meet a surge in consumer demand, resulting in record-high freight rates.The firm's shares traded 4% higher at 0921 GMT, near a record high reached last week."The situation today is that our customers are trying to meet a very…

05 Jun 2020

Ocean Shipping Slows Down as Pandemic Pummels Retailers

Image Credit: STOCKSTUDIO

The $1 trillion container shipping industry is in a slowdown. Literally.Some shipping lines, whose retail customers are being hammered by the coronavirus pandemic, are reducing sailing speeds and taking longer routes around Africa, avoiding Suez canal passage fees, according to the companies and ship-tracking specialists.Many are also cutting down the number of voyages and providing short-term storage for clients as the industry, which includes heavyweights like Maersk, MSC and Hapag-Lloyd…

12 Mar 2020

UK Royal Navy Testing Unmanned Equipment

(Photo: UK Royal Navy)

Operational trials of unmanned equipment in Norway offered a glimpse of the UK Royal Navy's autonomous future. Royal Marines small boat specialists 47 Commando have been working alongside HMS Albion, the Royal Navy’s autonomous accelerator NavyX and the Office for the Chief Technology Officer to see how the kit can be put to use in real world situations.Exercise Autonomous Advance Force put unmanned boat Mast 13, heavy lift drone from Malloy, remotely-piloted air system Puma and…

23 Sep 2019

Scorpio Sells Two Ultramax Bulkers

Scorpio Bulkers Inc. (NYSE:SALT) (“Scorpio Bulkers) has announced that the company has entered into agreements with an unaffiliated third party to sell the SBI Puma and SBI Cougar, 2014 and 2015 built Ultramax vessels, respectively, for approximately $37.9 million in aggregate, generating $16.0 million of additional liquidity.As of June 30, 2019, these vessels were classified as held for sale, with delivery of the vessels to the buyer estimated to take place within October 2019. The company recorded a loss of approximately $4.9 million in the second quarter of 2019 and expects to write-off deferred financing costs of $0.2 million upon closing of the sale and repayment of $21.9 million of outstanding debt.

30 Jul 2018

Forth Ports Welcomes New Work Boats

Forth Ports, the UK’s third largest port group, has officially welcomed two new multimillion pound vessels to join their fleet of tugs and pilot boats working on the River Forth.The GBP 6 million investment in the two vessels to work on Scotland’s largest waterway sees the arrival of a powerful Sanmar tug and a state-of-the-art pilot boat from Holyhead Marine.The tug was built by leading ship builder Sanmar, is 28 metres long with two engines producing 2,700 brake horsepower and a bollard pull of 70 tonnes. It also has fire-fighting capabilities. Tugs are work horses and have a long life span which can last decades and this new tug demonstrates…

13 Apr 2018

Twin Disc Equips Seacor's New Crewboats

Photo: Seacor Marine

When cargo and crew need to get to an offshore platform fast, Seacor Marine delivers with its new Seacor Panther and Seacor Puma. Part of its CrewZer Class of state-of-the-art transport vessels, the 187' x 41' high-speed aluminum catamarans reach 40 kts—a dramatic speed improvement over traditional FSVs (fast support vessel). This blazing-fast speed is due to an innovative hull design, and high-performance Twin Disc QuickShift marine transmissions coupled with HamiltonJet waterjets.Built by Astilleros Armon shipyards in Burela…

15 Jan 2018

Two Missing after Ship Sinks in South China Sea

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said that a ship sank in South China Sea on Friday, 11 out of 13 crew were rescued and two remained missing.   According to the survivors, there were 13 crew on board the sunken vessel. Two persons are still unaccounted for.    MPA has been providing navigational broadcasts to vessels in the vicinity to report any sightings of persons overboard and to navigate with caution in the vicinity of the incident.    The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) has also deployed one Super Puma helicopter and one Fokker-50 maritime patrol aircraft to support the search and rescue operation.   MPA is coordinating the ongoing search and rescue operation with the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities.

03 Nov 2017

Offshore Center Rotterdam in Progressing

The first 30 hectares of Offshore Center Rotterdam have been completed. PUMA, a project organisation created by a partnership between Dutch hydraulic engineering firms Koninklijke Boskalis Westminster NV and Van Oord NV that focuses specifically on the expansion of the Maasvlakte site, processed 6 million m3 of sand in four months to complete the work. Only 2 million m3 of sand are now needed to raise the other 40 hectares to the required level. There is considerable interest in the centre. The Port of Rotterdam expects the first companies to establish themselves on the site in 2019. The creation of Offshore Center Rotterdam is in keeping…

28 Sep 2017

Fuel Imports, Distribution in Puerto Rico Starts to Unclog

Shipments of gasoline and diesel into Puerto Rico have resumed after Hurricane Maria, with ports restarting operations, though there were still long fuel lines around the island on Thursday, according to traders and Thomson Reuters tracking data. Residents lined up for diesel for power generators and to fill cars with gasoline, while at least one tanker discharged at the port of San Juan as oil terminals reopened some facilities. The territory still faces logistical hurdles to distribute food, fuel and water. Critics called for more resources and a single authority to oversee relief efforts. Most of the Caribbean island's 3.4 million people still lacked electricity. Gasoline stations have been unable to remain open for more than a few hours at a time, the U.S.

19 Sep 2017

Seacor's New Crewboats Enter Service

Photo: Incat Crowther

Two newbuild next generation CrewZer Class catamarans, SEACOR Puma and SEACOR Panther, have been delivered and have entered service for SEACOR Marine. The vessels were designed by Incat Crowther and built by Astillleros Armon in Spain and are unique in their capability to transfer personnel and equipment to offshore platforms at maximum speeds in excess of 40 knots. The design features 30 percent more deadweight capacity than its predecessor, while offering equivalent service speeds, Incat Crowther said.

13 Sep 2017

Singapore: Dredger Sank After Colliding with Tanker, 5 Missing

The divers have recovered two bodies out of the five missing crew of JBB DE RONG 19, following the collision between Indonesian-registered tanker KARTIKA SEGARA and Dominican-registered dredger JBB DE RONG 19 that occurred in Singapore territorial waters at about 12.40am (Singapore time) on 13 September 2017. At the point of collision this morning, 12 crew members were onboard JBB DE RONG 19. Seven were sent to the Singapore General Hospital, out of whom five have since been discharged. Search and rescue (SAR) efforts for the three remaining crew members are ongoing. The incident took place in the westbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait.

21 Aug 2017

USS America Pulls into Changi Naval Base

Amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) arrived Aug. 21 at Changi Naval Base, Republic of Singapore and is moored across the pier from the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56). While in Singapore, America will provide messing and berthing services to McCain crew members and to support damage control efforts on board. America will also support ongoing searches for 10 missing Sailors. Ship Repair Facility divers are on scene as well to assess the damage to the hull. McCain was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore early in the morning on Aug. 21 (as reported 6:24 a.m. Japan Standard Time) and arrived at Changi Naval Base in the afternoon.

14 Jun 2017

US Navy: Bigger is Better, but at What Cost?

U.S. Navy forces and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force routinely train together to improve interoperability and readiness to provide stability and security for the Indo-Asia Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Z.A. Landers)

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.

14 Mar 2017

One Dead, Three Missing in Helicopter Crash off Irish Coast

One person died and three were missing after a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter crashed off the coast of Ireland during a rescue operation, the Irish Coast Guard said on Tuesday. The search-and-rescue helicopter, which was assisting another aircraft with a medical evacuation from a fishing vessel, lost contact at around 0100 GMT, it said in a statement. A spokesman for U.S.-based Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin, said the firm was working with the helicopter's operator to gather information on the possible cause of the crash. Sikorsky in January issued a service notice saying the tail rotor and bearing assemblies of the S-92 should be checked following an incident with the tail rotor during a landing on a rig off Scotland on Dec. 28.

13 May 2016

Norway Helicopter Crash Investigation Focuses on Rotor Blade Mounting

An investigation into the cause of a fatal North Sea helicopter crash is focusing on the parts of the aircraft that connected the rotor blades to the main body of the helicopter, investigators said on Friday. An Airbus H225 Super Puma helicopter ferrying passengers from a Norwegian oil platform operated by Statoil crashed on April 29, killing all 13 people on board. Since then the helicopter model, a workhorse of the oil industry, has been grounded for commercial flights in Norway and Britain. Investigators have ruled out human error, saying that the crash was caused by a technical fault. On Friday a preliminary report by the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board said it was focusing on a specific section of the aircraft.

01 Jul 2016

First Alaskan North Slope Cude Export Planned for Nicaragua

Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude will be shipped to Nicaragua for the first time in July, two trade sources said on Friday, underscoring a shift in oil flows to and from the U.S. West Coast. A parcel of the medium grade crude is on its way to the Pacific Area Lightering (PAL) near southern California on Exxon Mobil Corp's Liberty Bay, a U.S. flagged vessel, according to the sources and Reuters vessel tracking data. From there, it will transfer to the Liberian-flagged Panamax tanker Chantal for delivery to Nicaragua, where Swiss commodities trader Trafigura Trading LLC will take the crude, said the sources who were not authorized to speak to the media about the matter. Representatives for Trafigura and Exxon declined to comment.

07 Sep 2016

Cummins Delivers First QSK95 Engines

(Image: Cummins)

Manufacturer of diesel engines and generator sets for the marine industry Cummins Inc. said it recently delivered the first four QSK95 engines for a marine application, with four additional units to be delivered in December. The engines were delivered to longtime Cummins partner SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. for installation into a 57-meter catamaran crewboat designed by Incat Crowther. “We are extremely excited to be working with SEACOR Marine to launch the first QSK95 marine engines,” said Jim Schacht, Executive Director - Marine Market, Cummins Inc.