Hutchinson News

The Bahamas Maritime Cadet Corps (BMCC), which was first established by The Bahamas Ministry of Transport in 2004 to introduce high school students to employment opportunities in the maritime sector and build national capacity, said more graduates than ever this year have chosen to enter a career in shipping related industries.Many of this year’s 97 graduating students are opting to join the Royal Bahamas Defence Force or are considering further maritime education. A large number…

A multi-agency search was called off on Monday after responders failed to locate a man that went missing in the Savannah River after his vessel collided with a dredge on Saturday.A good Samaritan contacted U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders on VHF Ch. 16 stating three people were in the water in the vicinity of Hutchinson Island after a recreational vessel allided with dredging equipment on Saturday at approximately 5 p.m.Local partner agencies and good Samaritans arrived on scene and rescued two of the people in the water and brought them to awaiting emergency medical responders.

A Venezuelan floating oil facility that had been listing in recent weeks is upright and shows no sign of sinking, but plans to offload crude from the vessel posed some risks, the energy minister of neighboring Trinidad and Tobago said on Thursday.A team of experts from Trinidad inspected the Nabarima facility on Tuesday and found there was “absolutely no tilt” and that the vessel was “totally horizontal,” Energy Minister Franklyn Khan told reporters.“There is no imminent risk of tilting or sinking…

The Panama Canal is a strategic crossroads for maritime traffic, and is arguably one of the most important maritime developments in the past century. Here we take a deeper dive into the history behind that famous strip of waterway.The present canal, which saw its first vessel transits in 1914, along with possible alternatives through Nicaragua and Mexico, had actually been on the minds of merchants, explorers and military/political strategists since the Age of Exploration in early 1500’s.

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has plans for a new container port on Hutchinson Island to increase the capacity of the Port of Savannah, Georgia, USA. The planned expansion will double the port’s annual capacity from 5.5 million TEUs to 11 million TEUs and the facility will be able to handle 2.5 million TEUs of cargo annually The new container port occupy a 200-acre area directly opposite Ocean Terminal in Savannah.GPA executive director Griff Lynch commented: “The market has clearly chosen the Port of Savannah as the south-eastern hub for containerized trade.

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has revealed plans to double capacity at Garden City Terminal to 11 million twenty-foot equivalent container units per year.In Fiscal Year 2019, port-related industries announced $5 billion in new investment and 12,000 new jobs coming to Georgia.Port-related announcements of expansions and new business accounted for nearly $5 billion in investment and 12,000 jobs across the state of Georgia in Fiscal Year 2019, a year in which the Port of Savannah moved a record 4.5 million twenty-foot equivalent container units.“The manufacturing and logistics sectors are key components of our economy, and I am excited for the opportunities created for hardworking Georgians,” said Gov. Brian Kemp.

Over recent years the United Arab Emirates has emerged as an important maritime hub with grand ambitions. Mark Venables visited the region to discover what is driving that growth.When the UAE was elected to the IMO Council as a Category B member, it immediately raised its profile within the maritime community. The Emirates have taken a significant step forward in the maritime world.Despite this success, the region remains a challenging market for shipping and logistics. One of…

The Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) announces the appointment of Captain Dwain E. Hutchinson as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Captain Hutchinson succeeds Commodore Davy F. Rolle, who stepped down as Director last year.Captain Hutchinson is a proud Bahamian from Nassau, New Providence island, where he completed his tertiary education before commencing his maritime studies in Scotland at Glasgow College of Nautical Studies. Qualified with a UK Master Mariner (Unlimited) STCW Certificate of Competency…

United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Christopher A. Hutchinson, 30, of Cushing, Maine was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby to four years in prison and three years of supervised release for Seaman’s Manslaughter for causing the death of two crewmen who were then 26 and 15 years old. Hutchinson pleaded guilty on September 25, 2018.According to court records, on November 1, 2014, after smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, Hutchinson took his lobster boat, the No Limits, out into a predicted storm with two crewmen aboard. After he had ingested oxycodone, the boat capsized. The two crewmen were not wearing personal floatation devices or survival suits. The No Limits’ Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon alerted at about 1:20 p.m.

As part of its strategy to make further inroads into the Japanese shipping market the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA) is opening its new office in the heart of Tokyo's Minato district.BMA’s new office at Nishi-Shinbashi was inaugurated by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas, the Honorable Peter Turnquest.The office will provide direct service to the Japanese maritime market, the world’s second largest in terms of vessel tonnage.Turnquest said: “Japan is a great maritime nation, and The Bahamas Ship Registry is one of the world’s top registries. The Opening of our BMA Tokyo office represents an even closer commitment to serving our valued Japanese shipowner clients.

A union workers' strike next week is expected to disrupt shipping operations at Jakarta's main port, which handles the bulk of international shipments for Southeast Asia's biggest economy, a labour union official said. Around 2,000 union members are expected to go on strike from May 15-20 at the Tanjung Priok port to protest against an affiliate of Hutchinson Ports, which the union says is bad for the country and for workers' rights. "We are going all out in (next week's) strike," said Nova Sofyan Hakim, chairman of the union at PT Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT), adding that all port operations would be halted during the strike.

The Georgia Ports Authority and the Virginia Port Authority filed on Friday, Feb. The agreement encourages voluntary cooperation in the areas of operational and supply chain efficiencies, safety, communications and customer service. “The U.S. East Coast continues to see larger vessels and cargo exchanges since the opening of the expanded Panama Canal last year,” VPA CEO and Executive Director John Reinhart and GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch said in a joint statement. “Increasingly, our customers are seeking gateway ports on the East Coast that can leverage sufficient landside infrastructure to ensure the free flow of cargo. The states of Georgia and Virginia have made the necessary investments to prepare for this new era in global trade.

​The third session of the Sub-Committee on Implementation of IMO Instruments (III) has been opened by International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim. The agenda includes the regular casualty analysis work to review marine safety investigation report and produce lessons learned from marine casualties. The review of port State control procedures and the updates to the survey guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC) and the non-exhaustive list of obligations under instruments relevant to the IMO Instruments Implementation Code (III Code). The meeting is also expected to review consolidated audit summary reports (based on voluntary Member State audits carried out before the scheme became mandatory this year).

A naming ceremony was held on April 22, 2016 for Svitzer Deben, Svitzer’s new Damen ASD 3212 80-metric-ton bollard pull escort tug for the Port of Felixstowe. Marc Niederer, Managing Director of Svitzer Europe, hosted the naming ceremony, which saw Svitzer Deben blessed by Sister Marian Davey before Alyson Cheng, wife of Clemence Cheng, CEO of Hutchinson Ports UK, named the tug. Representatives from all parties in the Port of Felixstowe and Harwich Haven Authorities joined the celebrations. Built at Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam, Svitzer Deben was delivered earlier this year to the expanding Port of Felixstowe, which has attracted regular calls from some of the world’s largest container vessels.

Wood Group has appointed three senior engineering specialists who will lead a new team of up to 20 people in the UK to further build Wood Group’s capability in vibration, dynamics and noise. This follows the acquisition of BETA Machinery Analysis, a Calgary-based engineering consultancy specializing in advanced vibration analysis, and will include the opening of a Southampton office in January 2016. Mark Hutchinson will become operations manager of Wood Group’s UK vibration team, Jonathon Baker joins as sales and business development manager and Rob Swindell will take on the role of R&D and technical authority. These appointments bolster Wood Group’s integrity management capability by adding subsea vibration and fatigue experience to its onshore expertise.

Members of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Board of Directors and Administration returned to Panama after having traveled to Asia for the 24th joint meeting of its Advisory Board. The delegation met in Japan with the group of distinguished advisers to discuss Canal operations and performance, progress on the Expansion Program, training programs and future projects that will enhance the reliable service offered by the expanded Canal. The Board of Directors were encouraged by the discussions held and the Canal’s progress-to-date. Currently, all eight gates on the Atlantic side have been installed, and the Expansion Program is now 88 percent complete.

Global technology engineering group Sandvik will present corrosion resistant alloys, including its new Sandvik SAF 3207 (UNS S33207) hyper-duplex stainless steel at NACE CORROSION 2015, the company announced today. NACE CORROSION 2015, the world's largest corrosion conference and exhibition, will take place in  Dallas, Texas, between March 15-19, at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center. Sandvik will exhibit its full range of advanced corrosion resistant alloys, including duplex and super-duplex grades…

Traders Mercuria, Trafigura and SOCAR cut gasoline desks; new refining capacity slashes traditional profitability. U.S. refining boom weighs on global light products. Trading houses are shrinking their gasoline desks in response to a slump in activity, particularly in Europe, where overseas competition and rising global supplies have limited opportunities to make money. New and highly competitive refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast, in Asia and the Middle East have increased global supplies of the motor fuel. That has made the most active and lucrative trading routes, such as the transatlantic arbitrage between Europe and the U.S. East Coast, less and less profitable for traders. "After a decent beginning to the year, the arbitrage to the U.S.

Minnesota Power and the Duluth Port said they will reach a milestone this weekend when the 15th ship bearing wind generation equipment destined for Minnesota Power’s growing renewable energy installation in North Dakota sails into the harbor beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge. The BBC cargo ship, Peter Roenna is expected to arrive in Duluth late Sunday night carrying more than two dozen renewable wind energy components after a voyage from Brande, Denmark, where the equipment is manufactured by Siemens A.G.

At a presentation earlier today the Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families presented a $10,000 gift to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, Fort Pierce, Florida. The funds will be used to provide kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and camping and fishing gear for the 45 active duty members and 15 reservists, and their families based at this Coast Guard station. Foundation staff member Brian Overcast and Foundation board member VADM Sally Brice-O’Hara, USCG (Ret.) thanked Dyer Chevrolet and the Dyer family, who made the gift possible through a donation to the Coast Guard Foundation. Mr.

Consolidation will provide marine customers with a simpler and more consistent product offering. Global lubricants manufacturer, Castrol, has announced that it will become the sole brand for the BP group’s marine lubricant offering. The decision to consolidate the marine lubricants offerings that are currently provided under both BP Marine and Castrol Marine brands will create a single product and service portfolio that will provide greater simplicity and efficiency for customers.

My-Villages, owner of the DockMaster suite of marine business software, launched DockMaster 8.0 for beta testing, which it calls the most powerful version yet with new navigation, scheduling and dashboard features to help companies simplify operations and work more efficiently. Incorporating years of feedback from its loyal customers, DockMaster 8.0 unifies the user experience across all modules, improves overall navigation and provides superior flexibility and control over critical data. In addition, its architecture has been thoroughly upgraded to provide an enhanced user experience and seamless connectivity to off-site “cloud” data storage.

Public, military and private sector leaders met to discuss how the Port of Long Beach (PoLB) model of a surface and subsurface situational awareness network can be a template for other ports to help increase America's resilience during the first 72 hours of a national or large-scale crisis, informs the ReadyCommunities Partnership (RCP). The RCP Military Base and Port Community Resiliency Initiative Hon. Chairman is Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (pictured) and the Initiative Hon. Co-Chairman is Hon. Asa Hutchinson.