All Related Services News

The IMO Facilitation Committee will meet in person at IMO Headquarters in London for its 48th session (FAL 48) from April 8 to 12 to discuss issues related to autonomous shipping; prevention of illegal wildlife trafficking on ships; digitalization initiatives and the implementation of the Maritime Single Window and Port Community Systems.The Facilitation Committee (FAL) will continue discussions around regulating commercial vessels that can operate independent of human interaction - Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS).

KOTUG International, a marine services and towage provider based in the Netherlands, announced on Thursday it has concluded its acquisition of Kotug Seabulk Maritime (KSM), taking full ownership of the Caribbean marine towage business.KOTUG said it has acquired the interest of its joint venture partner, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based SEACOR Holdings via its Seabulk subsidiary KS Maritime Holdings, owner of the 50% share in KSM.Founded in 2017, KSM acts as the exclusive provider of maritime terminal support services for Buckeye Partners’ Bahamas Hub…

2024 marks a milestone in the acceleration of digitalization in shipping that has been brought about by the mandatory requirements for a Maritime Single Window.The requirement under the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL) requires governments to use a single digital platform or “Maritime Single Window” to share and exchange information with ships when they call at ports, from January 1, 2024. This streamlines procedures to clear the arrival, stay and departure of ships and greatly enhances the efficiency of shipping worldwide…

After 2.5 months of engineering and logistics preparation, COLI Shipping & Transport successfully delivered a second hand shiploader and related project cargo from Hamriyah, UAE, to Rotterdam, the Netherlands.The project was handled by COLI’s Istanbul Team.The main unit, a 15.5 x 8 x 8.4 meter shiploader, was initially surveyed by a local team of engineers that the company deployed in the UAE to make sure all hydraulics and steering gear were in order.In two days, the cargo was moved from a laydown area located near Hamriyah Port and prepared for lifting and transport…

American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group Inc. (ARC) President and CEO Eric P. Ebeling was appointed by President Joe Biden to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s Board of Visitors.The Board of Visitors provides independent advice and recommendations concurrently to the President of the United States, the Secretary of Transportation, Congress, and Superintendent of the Academy on matters related to the state of morale and discipline, curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs…

U.S. maritime companies Crowley and SEACOR Holdings' Seabulk Tankers have created a new joint venture that combines their liquid energy and chemical transportation vessels, operations and related services into a new, independent U.S. Jones Act service provider.The new company, Fairwater Holdings, will serve the U.S. domestic market with vessels and marine transportation solutions across the petroleum and chemical trades, as well as related third-party ship management services. It will include 20 oceangoing, articulated tug-barges (ATB) and 11 tankers, many under long-term charter.

U.S. based shipping and logistics company Crowley announced it has acquired Tamarind Consolidated, a logistics services company serving the U.S. to the British Virgin Islands.The acquisition will transition Tamarind’s operations and services, including warehousing and non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) services, to Crowley. According to Crowley, the expansion complements its existing maritime and logistics solutions and will expand solutions for customers in Virgin Gorda and surrounding BVI locations.

U.S. offshore wind farm developer Vineyard Wind will deploy and test a secondary bubble curtain noise mitigation system during foundation installation at the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm, the first commercial-scale wind farm installation project in the U.S.For this, the company is investing in ThayerMahan, a firm that specializes in seabed surveys, acoustic mitigation and monitoring, and other maritime-related services, with facilities in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The $5 million in funding comes from Vineyard Wind's Industry Accelerator Fund…

Marlink, the smart network and ICT solutions company, is bringing together its Telemar US, UK and Italy leisure market operations to create Telemar Yachting, to provide a portfolio of managed services to the yachting market.This combination installation and maintenance of safety and navigation equipment coupled with OmniAccess’ connectivity and cyber security solutions for the yachting segment.Telemar Yachting has been created in response to increasing demand from yacht owners and managers for a more holistic ‘single service’ approach…

Oslo-listed subsea services provider Reach Subsea said Wednesday it had won a decommissioning contract in the North Sea. The contract is with an undisclosed client, and represents around 40 project days for execution in Q1 2023. Reach Subsea will use the Olympic Delta vessel for the project. Financial details were not disclosed.Olympic Delta is a subsea vessel equipped for light IMR and survey work for both the oil and gas and renewables sectors.Reach Subsea has an existing cooperation with Olympic Subsea for Olympic Delta, and the parties have agreed to extend the cooperation for the whole of 2023. Currently, the extended cooperation comprises an additional 150 days of firm work for the two ROVs currently mobilized on the vessel.

Keel laying and steel-cutting ceremonies for two new ferries being built for Scotland's Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) were held this week at Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Turkey.The first ferry in the production timeline has had its keel laid, while steel-cutting for the second vessel has also begun – three weeks earlier than planned.The new, 94.8-meter vehicle/passenger ferries will each have capacity for up to 450 passengers and 100 cars or 14 commercial vehicles…

Marco Polo Marine, a Singapore-listed offshore vessel company, is looking to enter the Japanese offshore wind market and has signed a memorandum of understanding with "K" Line Wind Service in that regard.Both parties, according to Marco Polo Marine, want to own and run suitable offshore support vessels that will serve customers in the Japanese offshore wind sector.The agreement marks Marco Polo Marine’s entry into another offshore wind market in Asia, in addition to Taiwan, which it entered by acquiring PKR Offshore, an established Taiwan-based wind vessel operator, in May this year.

PowerCell Sweden AB will provide fuel cells to power Hydrogen One, the world’s first methanol-fueled towboat, one of the project partners e1 Marine announced on Wednesday.Hydrogen One is being developed by Maritime Partners LLC, using e1 Marine's methanol-to-hydrogen generator technology. Other project participants include naval architecture firm Elliott Bay Design Group as well as ABB, who will supply electrical power distribution and automation systems. The first-of-its-kind…

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), announced a partnership with autonomous maritime solutions company ThayerMahan for seabed and infrastructure survey and inspection work in the waters off southern Massachusetts.Based in Groton, Conn., ThayerMahan, specializes in seabed surveys, acoustic mitigation and monitoring, and other maritime related services and has facilities in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

If awards were given for dominating the sustainable energy spotlight, offshore wind (OSW) would surely be in line for top honors.Consider:Big money: BOEM’s February sale of New York Bight offshore wind development rights drew a record $4.37 billion in developers’ bids. Not only is that real money, but just as critically, “This week’s offshore wind sale makes one thing clear: The enthusiasm for the clean energy economy is undeniable and it’s here to stay,” exclaimed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.Off Broadway: In January…

3i Infrastructure has agreed to acquire AMP Capital's stake in the Danish offshore vessel owner ESVAGT.The deal will result in 3i Infrastructure owning a 100% of the equity in ESVAGT. "This further investment is expected to be £268 million. Completion is subject to certain third  party consents and is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2022," 3i Infrastructure said.Peter Lytzen, CEO of ESVAGT said: "ESVAGT has for a  while been subject to a strategic sales process undertaken by our owners 3i and AMP.

Tallink Grupp announced it recently signed a charter agreement for its Latvian-flagged cruise vessel Romantika, which has also been hired to provide accommodation at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), taking place in Glasgow, Scotland on October 31– November 12.Several weeks ago, the company said it signed a charter agreement for its Tallinn-Helsinki route cruise vessel Silja Europa to provide accommodation services at the global climate conference in Glasgow from October 21 to November 14.

Remote vessel and voyage management platform Smart Ship Hub will offer KVH Watch connectivity to enable actionable insights for vessels.KVH Industries announced Thursday that Smart Ship Hub is now a KVH Watch Solution Partner and will offer KVH Watch services as part of its range of remote technical and operational management solutions. The Smart Ship Hub platform provides performance advisory and predictive diagnostics for vessel performance optimization as well as remote video…

Classification society DNV GL said it has granted Approval in Principle (AIP) to Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE) for a new wing-sail auxiliary propulsion system for ships designed to help reduce shipping emissions and fuel burn.The wind-powered auxiliary propulsion system, designed for installation aboard many vessel types, is the result of a joint research project from KSOE, the shipbuilding holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, and SK Shipping…

Engines manufacturer Caterpillar announced Tuesday it has signed a global services agreement with the the world’s largest tug operator, Svitzer, covering more than 100 vessels powered by Cat Marine engines in 30-plus countries. A focused Caterpillar team working with the global Caterpillar dealer network will execute the terms of the contract, which is designed to increase vessel uptime, drive service efficiency and extend Svitzer’s overall service experience.With towage operations serving 34 terminals and 120 ports in the Americas…

Malaysia, through state oil firm Petronas, has ventured into the liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering business and made its first delivery in the southern state of Johor this week, the country's marine department said on Tuesday.The maiden operation involved supplying 1,150 tonnes of LNG from bunkering vessel MV Avenir Advantage, which Petronas leased from Future Horizon, to vehicle transport vessel Siem Aristotle at the Pasir Gudang port on Monday."This makes Malaysia among a few first-mover countries able to provide LNG bunkering services to the marine industry in the east," Marine Departme

Finland-based Wärtsilä said it will divest 100% of the shares in Wärtsilä JOVYATLAS GmbH to Jacob Waitz Industrie GmbH, a German based industry holding.Wärtsilä JOVYATLAS has been manufacturing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, rectifiers, power inverters, frequency transformers and resistors with related services for many industries for seven decades. The company became part of Wärtsilä as a result of the acquisition of L-3 Communications MSI in 2015. Wärtsilä JOVYATLAS is located in Jemgum in Germany, and currently has some 125 employees.

The end of 2019 promises to be a busy, and potentially discordant, legislative and regulatory period for the United States maritime industry as both Congress and the Executive Branch look to take decisive action, with both positive and negative potential impacts depending on your perspective. With appropriation and authorization bills still pending, and various open regulatory actions, there are significant opportunities for maritime stakeholders to influence policy outcomes.Funding Fights Continue in CongressOn October 31…