Ship Captains Held by Indonesian Navy Decry Bribes and Betrayal
Plagued by mosquitoes at night and marauding monkeys by day, ship captain Glenn Madoginog was held for months at an Indonesian naval base before ending up in a cramped prison cell, sleeping alongside convicted murderers and child rapists.The Filipino father of four was one of dozens of captains held at the Batam naval base after being arrested for anchoring in Indonesian waters without a permit while waiting to enter Singapore, according to a dozen people involved in the cases, including captains, ship owners, intermediaries and insurers.Most of the captains were freed after a few weeks once ship owners made unofficial payments to navy intermediaries of between $300…
CFD Simulation of a Fully Featured Offshore Platform Model
CFD simulations of offshore oil and gas platforms are used to predict the maximum wind loads acting on the structure of the platform topsides (the upper half of the platform, above sea level and outside the splash zone, including the oil production plant, the accommodation block and any drilling equipment). The wind loads are used as waves and current loads to design the mooring of the structure, and can be significant in specific ocean areas. Because platform topside geometries were traditionally considered too complex to mesh in high detail…
US Oil Output Seen on the Rise
Large U.S. shale oil companies, flush with cash raised through stock offerings, are gobbling up properties in the Permian Basin straddling Texas and New Mexico, a trend that could boost U.S. oil output in the second half of 2017. Hess Corp and Devon Energy Corp are among oil and gas companies that tapped the equity market in the first eight months of the year, raising a total $20.40 billion. That is the most since at least 1996, barring 2014 when the energy companies raised $20.46 billion in the first eight months of the year. The industry raised $19.78 billion through stock offerings in all of 2015, according to Reuters data, but almost all of this was used to pay off debt.
New Cargo Inspection Facility for Massport
Passport Systems, Inc. has began construction on a non-intrusive, cargo inspection facility at the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), Port of Boston, Conley Container Terminal in South Boston which is designed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of cargo screening at the Port. Passport Systems' SmartScan 3D automated cargo inspection system can detect, locate and identify contraband at ports and border crossings around the globe as well as automatically clear or confirm alarms. Dr. Robert J.
Northrop Donate Naval Software, Present Midshipman Navigation Prize
Northrop Grumman Corporation recently donated $3 million worth of training software to the U.S. Naval Academy, and also presented the Elmer A. Sperry Junior Navigator of the Year Award to Midshipman First Class Tyler Ledoux. The company donated 100 licenses of its Voyage Management System (VMS) software to the U. S. Naval Academy Foundation for midshipmen training use at the Naval Academy. The VMS software incorporates the Electronic Chart Display and Information System-Navy (ECDIS-N) which was selected by the navigator of the Navy and is now a fleet standard.
Making a 40-Year-Old Tug New
“One of the really gratifying aspects of ship repair and conversion is the satisfaction we get by being able to give new service life to vessels. And that’s exactly what we did with the 40 year-old Guardian, said Allen Stein, operations manager of Bollinger Quick Repair, in Harvey, Louisiana. The 150- by 35- by 20-ft. Guardian, originally named Gale B. was built by Southern Shipyard in Slidell, La., in 1963. It was owned by Midland Enterprises (Ohio River Company) and was part of a tug/barge unit with the hopper barge Martha B.
Bollinger Repowers, Modifies 40-Year-Old Tug
Bollinger recently gave new life to an old boat, the 150-ft. Guardian, originally named Gale B., which was built by Southern Shipyard in 1963. It was owned by Midland Enterprises and was part of a tug/barge unit with the hopper barge Martha B. Midland sold the barge to Moran about three years ago and the tug was on the market when it was acquired by Velvet Maritime, LLC. "It was in good shape with a good purchase price," said Andre Ledoux, president of Velvet Maritime. "It had marketable power that we wanted to upgrade to meet new regulatory requirements, practically new Lufkin gears, a good Detroit Diesel auxiliary engine package, good Markey deck equipment…
Towing Vessel Safety Seminar Set For May 30
For the fifth consecutive year, the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office and Hampton Roads Maritime Association are sponsoring a safety seminar for crewmembers on commercial tugs. This year's seminar will be held at the Coast Guard Integrated Support Command in Portsmouth, Virginia, on Thursday, May 30 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Recent major accidents involving towing vessels highlight the importance of this unique effort to prevent accidents. The Seminar includes lessons learned from significant accidents. The agenda is modified each year to address new or developing trends. This year's seminar includes a session on navigation in reduced visibility as a result of two collisions last year that occurred in fog.
