Water Service News

The newly built Service Operation Vessel (SOV) “Bibby WaveMaster Horizon” is equipped with propulsion units from SCHOTTEL. Ordered by the British company Bibby Marine Services Ltd. and built at Damen Shipyards Galati, the vessel is driven by three rudderpropellers and two bow thrusters from the German propulsion expert. The new walk-to-work vessel is purpose-built for the transfer and accommodation of support and maintenance engineers at offshore wind farms.Maintaining wind turbines…

Ice Cap Holdings, LLC expands its shipyard presence to include a service and repair facility in Everett, Washington. Everett Ship Repair, LLC (ESR) was established earlier this month by Ice Cap Holdings, the parent company of Ice Floe, LLC dba Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB). The expansion creates a diverse shipbuilding portfolio between the sister companies, offering NBBB’s new build expertise and ESR’s repair and service capabilities. Everett Ship Repair will focus on vessel repair…

Dynamically Positioned for the Future, the Texas A&M Maritime Academy takes its place among our 2019 MN100 best of industry winners. It's 'no accident' that today's early adoption of DP curriculum puts the school and its students front and center when it comes time to man tomorrow's futuristic offshore energy support tonnage.Late last year, the Offshore Service Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority (OSVDPA) announced that the Texas A&M Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston was now the first maritime academy in the nation accredited to provide OSVDPA courses to its cadets.

Container volume at Port Houston surged in the first half of 2019, rising 12 percent compared to that period last year. According to the Executive Director Roger Guenther the port facilities have handled nearly 1.5 Million TEU through the first half of 2019.The Houston ship channel also said in a press release that , the Port Commission awarded a contract not to exceed $39.7 million to Archer Western Construction, the top-ranked proposer among four finalists. A total of 53 companies downloaded materials about the project.The planned expansion of the truck gate at Port Houston’s Barbours Cut Container Terminal is set to begin after approval of a contract for the work by the Port Commission, it said.The project consists of about 23 acres of new pavement at the existing Barbours Cut Terminal.

OSVDPA accredits Texas A&M Maritime Academy to provide dynamic positioning (DP) training to its cadets.In early September, the Offshore Service Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority (OSVDPA) announced that the Texas A&M Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston was now the first maritime academy in the nation accredited to provide OSVDPA courses to its cadets. For any U.S. maritime academy, most if not all of them traditionally focused on sending out graduates ready for blue water, deep water service, this represents a sea change in training. On the other hand, what better place to start than the U.S. academy closest in proximity to the heart of the domestic offshore energy industry…

Since the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention entered into force on September 8, 2017, newbuild vessels have to meet the D2 standard of the Ballast Water Management Convention. In this situation, the Inland Coastal Tanker Elena H. will make her maiden voyage from the Netherlands to Argentina on her own keel. Following her arrival, she will remain permanently in local waters.Instead of installing a ballast water management system (BWMS) on board the vessel for this single trip, Damen’s InvaSave supplied clean D2-standard ballast water for ballasting of the vessel in the Netherlands.

Ship owners are now able to treat their unmanaged ballast water or load cleaned ballast water in eight different Northern European ports using Damen’s unique IMO certified InvaSave ballast water management system. In a cooperation between Damen Green Solutions and Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC), this ballast water reception/bunkering service will be available in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Brest, Dunkerque, Vlissingen, Den Helder, Stellendam and Harlingen. Damen’s InvaSave is the world’s first external ballast water treatment unit designed primarily to offer ship owners a port-based ballast water solution. With this cooperation, vessels coming into these eight ports will be able to take advantage of a one-stop-shop for their ballast water treatment requirements.

In order to improve its services and provide better solutions to market needs, ZIM is announcing a restructuring of its main services on major trades. The new, enhanced structure provides first-class services in the select trades the company is pursuing. The changes will commence in April 2017, offering customers an array of newly designed services catering to market needs, and providing efficient and viable solutions to customers’ evolving needs. ZIM is introducing a new service between Asia and the Pacific North West, a fast link with efficient gateway to numerous inland destinations in the USA and Canada. This service will replace the current NP services as of April 2017.

CaroTrans, a global non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) and ocean freight consolidator, announced a new, direct less-than container load (LCL) import service from Nhava Sheva, India to Charleston, South Carolina for expedited delivery to the U.S. South Atlantic and Gulf regions. This weekly, all-water service has a 25 day transit and offers a convenient Friday cut-off date, important service features for time-sensitive garment and fabric imports. The service began mid-August. At origin, CaroTrans’ dedicated partner, Globelink WW India, provides dependable, secure consolidations and offers full India market penetration with 15+ inland container depots.

The Port of Cleveland and Amsterdam-based Spliethoff Group announced today their mutual intent to add a second monthly vessel to the Cleveland-Europe Express (CEE), the only scheduled ocean service for containerized and breakbulk freight operating between Europe and a Great Lakes port. "We are extremely pleased to announce our intent to add a second sailing to the CEE starting next season or perhaps sooner to better accommodate the needs of the containerized segment of the market, which requires more frequent sailings," said Will Friedman, CEO of the Port of Cleveland.

As part of the new service linking North Asia and the U. S. East Coast (NUE2), Evergreen Line's containership Ital Lunare will make the first ever direct call into the Port of Boston for the ocean carrier on August 20 as part of the CKYH partner agreement. The weekly service also calls at the U. S. ports of New York, Norfolk and travels through the Panama Canal making calls at the Asian ports of Qingdao, Shanghai and Ningbo. The Evergreen Line ship has a 5,086-TEU capacity and was built in 2007. The vessel is part of Evergreen Line's worldwide fleet and sailed for Evergreen Line's sister company, Italia Marittima, in its earlier days.

The latest surge in blue water shipbuilding and the seagoing billets that those jobs create is a welcome change for a domestic maritime sector that had seen nothing but decline for the past four decades. Still, and from a training, demand, and recruitment point of view, the brown water sector is arguably the place to be for today’s aspiring mariners. That’s because increasingly sophisticated equipment, expanding fleets and a much tighter regulatory regime are creating the demand for ever more mariners.

The KSB Group located in Frankenthal, Germany, has supplied 70 pumps and around 700 butterfly valves to the new cruise ship Europa 2 run by Hamburg-based cruise ship organizer, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. The pumps’ spectrum of applications is varied and ranges from cooling the drives in the submerged pods to transporting seawater in ballast systems, supplying fire-fighting systems and handling fresh water, service water, waste water and sewage. All pumps are either manufactured from seawater-resistant bronze alloys or stainless steel. The drive ratings range from 0.37-75 kW.

Offshore Inland Marine & Oilfield Services, Inc. (OIMO) offers a unique combination of topside marine services throughout the U.S. and abroad. Positioned with US Gulf (primarily deep water) topside service centers in Pensacola, Mobile, Port Fourchon, Galveston, and Port Isabel as well as supporting topside services at additional locations in Mexico, Western Mediterranean, and West Africa. Offering a strong engineering and design capabilities supporting both traditional marine…

Georgia Ports Authority’s (GPA) Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz announced that Maersk has added the Port of Savannah to its newest all-water service, Spondylus. Named for the seashell that once was used as currency for trade by Andeans in Ecuador, the new service will call on Savannah weekly. “We appreciate Maersk’s confidence in our ability to handle its container volume now and in the future,” said Foltz. The service first called on Garden City Terminal on February 23, 2011.

As of February 2011 and subject to obtaining regulatory approval, Hamburg Süd will extend the WAMS service which up to now connected US West Coast, West Coast Mexico and West Cost Central America with the hub in Cartagena. The extended service which henceforth includes Tangier and ports in North Europe will deploy ten vessels of 1,700 TEU nominal capacity of which Hamburg Süd will provide eight and the remaining two will be provided by CCNI. The complete port rotation is as follows: Long Beach – Oakland – Seattle – Vancouver – Oakland – Long Beach – Manzanillo (Mexico) – Lazaro Cardenas – Puerto Quetzal – Cartagena – Tangier – Rotterdam – Tilbury – Hamburg – Le Havre – Cartagena – Puerto Quetzal – Lazaro Cardenas – Long Beach.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $7m is being awarded to the Mississippi Department of Transportation, the Virginia Port Authority and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority to support the transportation of marine cargo between U.S. ports. The announcement comes just five weeks after unveiling the America's Marine Highway program, a new initiative to move more cargo on U.S. waterways. The money will help expand an existing marine highway operation in the Gulf of Mexico between Texas and Florida and one on the East Coast between Richmond and Hampton Roads in Virginia. The money will also help start an entirely new all-water service on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway between Itawamba, Mississippi and the Port of Mobile, Alabama.

Malin International Ship Repair & Drydock (MISR) in Galveston reported that in the early hours of September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike made a direct hit on in as a strong Category 2 storm with a Category 4 storm surge. On September 14, MISR personnel returned to to begin recovery operations. Due to a very good storm preparation plan, more than a little luck, and an extremely dedicated team, MISR was nearly fully operational by Wednesday, 17 September, reports Craig Marston, Vice President and General Manager, MISR. Initially, Malin assisted City personnel in reestablishing water service to the island and in clearing boats and debris from roadways. MISR has since transitioned to itsnormal marine business and are currently working vessels in and in .

Mediterranean Shipping Company (USA) Inc. (MSC) has announced the following staff promotions and appointments effective immediately: Francesco Pansardi was named Marketing Manager, based in New York City; Tom Hughes was named National Trade Manager Transpacific Service, based in Los Angeles; Halina Rosa was named Trade Manager East Coast for the company's Transpacific service based in New York City; and Juan Wilson has been named Credit Manager, also based in New York City. Francesco Pansardi joined MSC in April of 1998. Prior to that, he had worked with Henkel Cosmetic Italia in Parma as product manager, and before that, with Bruno Magli Group as assistant product manager.

What began in 1996 as a contract from the U. S. Coast Guard to Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., of Lockport, La. to build one 87-ft. Marine Protector Class Coastal Patrol Boat (CPB) with options, has led to the delivery of 67 of the CPB's, and the signing of eight more CPB’s. Because of increased homeland security and other mission requirements, the Coast Guard has received authorization and has contracted with Bollinger to build eight additional CPB's. The Marine Protector Class boats are multi-mission platforms capable of performing Search and Rescue (SAR), Law Enforcement (LE), and Fisheries Patrols, as well as drug interdiction and illegal alien interdiction duties up to 200 miles offshore. The Bollinger built CPB's are based on the Damen STAN 2600 design developed for the Hong Kong police.

requirements even more effectively. The East Coast South (ECS) and East Coast North(ECN) will be reconfigured to offer more diverse loading options and optimal transit time from South, North and Central China. The South China East Coast Express (SCE) will serve Taiwan and South China by calling at Kaohsiung, Shekou, Hong Kong, New York, Norfolk and Savannah. Savannah. Each service loop will deploy 8 ships with capacities of between 3,500 and 4,400 TEU. Both services will start from the middle of June. by offering competitive products from major Asian ports. Transit time from Hong Kong to New York and Shanghai to New York will be 23days and 21days respectively.

BAE Systems won a $1.7m contract for the routine overhaul of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Munro (WHEC 724). Work on the Munro, which will begin in June and is scheduled for completion in August, includes repairs to the vessel’s machinery, piping, sea valves and propulsion systems, as well as hull preparation and preservation. All work will be performed at BAE Systems Ship Repair in San Francisco. “The Coast Guard does the important work of defending our maritime borders and ensuring our safety at sea,” said Al Krekich, president, BAE Systems Ship Repair. “It’s an honor to play a small part in that effort by maintaining the vessels which enable them to carry out these missions. While the U.S.

San Juan Towing & Marine Services announces the upcoming arrival of the floating dry dock PERSEVERANCE which has been purchased for service in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean Sea and is in the main shipping lanes leading west to the Panama Canal. San Juan Towing & Marine Services is a ship repair contractor that provides a variety of ship repair services in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The purchase and development of a drydocking facility comes as a second step in order to provide expanded services in the Caribbean. PERSEVERANCE is currently located in New Orleans being upgraded prior to being towed down to San Juan in late October. PERSEVERANCE is a 150 foot long x 70 foot wide drydock capable of lifting vessels of up to 1000 tons.