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Antilles News

26 Feb 2024

Oil Spotted at Bonaire's East Coast

© Val Traveller / Adobe Stock

Oil stains possibly coming from neighboring Tobago have reached the island of Bonaire, local media said on Monday, prompting authorities to begin organizing protection to beaches and mangrove areas.Since an oil spill from a capsized vessel was first spotted by Trinidad and Tobago's Coast Guard on Feb. 7, it has blackened the Caribbean nation's beaches and is threatening other countries, including Grenada and Bonaire, whose main source of revenue is tourism.Part of Bonaire's East coast


21 Aug 2020

Two Storms Head for US Gulf in Rare Hurricane Season Event

(Image: NOAA)

A pair of tropical cyclones forecast to become hurricanes early next week are headed for the U.S. Gulf Coast and will spin over the Gulf's warm waters simultaneously, a rare weather event that could cause massive disruption as they make landfall.The last time two cyclones entered the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was in 1959, according to meteorologists interviewed by Reuters, and there have only been a handful of other occasions when two storms entered the Gulf simultaneously. In 1933, a Category 3 hurricane and moderate tropical storm hit the U.S.

09 Mar 2020

Venezuelan Detains More than 30 PDVSA Workers

At least 38 workers from Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela’s, including the president of maritime subsidiary PDV Marina, were detained on accusations of trafficking fuel, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said on Saturday, describing the accusations as "treason."The move comes just days after other state officials were detained and amid a shakeup at PDVSA after President Nicolas Maduro last month named a committee to restructure the OPEC nation’s oil industry, which is struggling under U.S. sanctions designed to force Maduro’s ouster, as well as years of mismanagement, corruption, and declining cash flow.On Friday


08 Oct 2019

Update on Bourbon Rhode SAR Operations

Following reports by two seafarers onboard the Alp Striker during the night of Sunday to Monday, of signals that they interpreted as potentially emanating from a distress flare, the vessel immediately set a course for the area, in coordination with the CROSS Antilles-Guyane.The CROSS called on 3 additional commercial vessels to change course and head to the area reported as being the origin of the signal. It also received air support from U.S. authorities by way of the aircraft Hercules C-130. The search operations led by the Alp Striker, involving namely drones, as well as the operations carried out by the three other vessels, and the flyover by the U.S.

19 Feb 2019

Vens Close Maritime Border with Dutch Antilles

Venezuelan authorities have closed the maritime border with the Dutch Antilles, a regional navy chief told Reuters on Tuesday, preventing boats and aircraft from arriving from the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire.Vice Admiral Quintero Martinez did not give a reason for the closure, though Venezuela's opposition have said they plan to bring humanitarian aid into the country from Curacao on Saturday, which President Nicolas Maduro's government has pledged to block.Reporting by Mircely Guanipa

25 Jan 2019

Wartsila Bags Energy Storage Contract from ContourGlobal

Wartsila has won a 6 MW energy storage project contract for the Caribbean island of Bonaire from ContourGlobal Bonaire, a subsidiary of London based ContourGlobal.The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) hybrid energy project includes both the hardware, consisting of batteries and inverters, as well as GEMS, the energy management software from Greensmith Energy, a Wartsila company."The energy storage system will enable Bonaire, part of the Netherlands Antilles, to increase its use of renewable energy such as wind and solar. In order to integrate more renewable energy and its intermittent nature, the Wärtsilä energy storage solution will provide the grid stability and reliability required for the island


31 Jul 2018

UAE Bunker Inquiries Spike on Worries over Singapore Tainted Fuels

© biiker3 / Adobe Stock

Inquiries for marine fuel supplies in the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Fujairah oil hub have spiked as shippers try to avoid loading tainted fuel oil that has clogged and damaged ship engines in Singapore recently, three trade sources said.Tainted marine fuel has been found in Singapore, the world's largest ship refuelling hub, following reports of more than 100 vessels that loaded similarly contaminated fuel in the U.S.

27 Jul 2018

Contaminated Fuels Clog Ship Engines in Singapore

© David Gn / Adobe Stock

Contaminated marine fuel that clogs and damages ship engines has been found in Singapore, the world's largest ship refuelling hub, according to sources and an alert sent to clients by a marine fuel surveying company.Singapore-based marine fuel surveyor and consulting firm Maritec Pte Ltd warned clients this week that six samples of ship fuel sold in Singapore had "resulted in severe sludging at centrifuges, clogged pipelines, overwhelmed fuel filters".The Singapore findings follow reports of more than 100 vessels that loaded similarly contaminated fuel in the U.S.

18 Sep 2017

Maria Seen Strengthening into Major Hurricane

A second powerful storm in as many weeks was bearing down on a string of battered Caribbean islands, with forecasters saying Maria would strengthen rapidly into a major hurricane as it ripped into the Leeward Islands on Monday night. Maria's strength was building as it approached the Lesser Antilles, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, estimating its winds near 90 miles per hour (145 kph). "Maria is expected to become a major hurricane as it moves through the Leeward Islands," the forecaster said, marked by "rapid strengthening" during the next 48 hours. Maria is approaching the eastern Caribbean less than two weeks after Irma hammered the region before overrunning Florida.

07 Sep 2017

Irma Kills Eight on Saint Martin

At least half of Puerto Rico's island without power; storm likely to hit Florida Saturday or Sunday. Hurricane Irma killed eight people on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin and left Barbuda devastated on Thursday as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century took aim at Florida. Television footage of the Franco-Dutch island of Saint Martin showed a damaged marina with boats tossed into piles, submerged streets and flooded homes. Power was knocked out on Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy and in parts of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. "It is an enormous disaster, 95 percent of the island is destroyed. I am in shock," Daniel Gibbs, chairman of a local council on Saint Martin, told Radio Caribbean International.

11 Jul 2017

Aumann Named CEO of Oman Drydock

Stephan Aumann (Photo: Oman Drydock Company)

Stephan Aumann has been appointed by ASYAD (formerly Oman Global Logistic Group) board of directors as the new CEO of the Oman Drydock Company S.A.O.C. in Duqm/Oman. Aumann assumed the role June 15 and replaced the former CEO Jin Han Lee (DSME), who advised at the end of 2016 that he would be stepping down. With a bachelor's degree in naval architecture and a master degree in industrial engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Kiel/Germany, the 50-year-old German


08 Jun 2017

YANMAR Expands Americas Distributor Network

YANMAR America’s Commercial Marine Division has made three new additions to its distribution network, Mack Boring & Parts Co., W.W. Williams and Antilles Power. Established in the 1920s, Mack Boring & Parts Co. is one of America’s leading distributors of marine diesel engines, including YANMAR’s pleasure marine product lines. For YANMAR’s commercial marine division they will support the northeastern United States, including Maine, New Hampshire, Rhoda Island, Connecticut, eastern New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, eastern Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina. W.W. Williams has a history as long as YANMAR’s. Since 1912, the company has been providing experience and solutions


10 Jan 2017

Grand Bahama Shipyard Stayed Busy in 2016

V Ships USA LLC Boston - CSL Acadian (Photo: Grand Bahama Shipyard)

The Caribbean shipyard Grand Bahama Shipyard Limited (GBSL) worked on 49 commercial vessels and 20 cruise ships throughout 2016, with scope of works ranging from major steel fabrication and repairs, to engine and technical systems overhauls, hull treatment and tank cleanings. And looking to 2017 and beyond, the yard reports it has a healthy order book, with docking periods secured as far ahead as three years. VShips USA brought two bulk carriers, CSL Acadian and CSL Argosy, to GBSL to do tank cleaning on both vessels. CSL Acadian also received extensive pipe work.

25 Apr 2016

Europa 2 to Call Cuba for the First Time

Europa 2 (Photo: Hapag-Lloyd Cruises)

Sun, sand and Caribbean ‘joi de vivre’ – Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa 2 will visit the island of Cuba in the Greater Antilles for the first time on two cruises in October and November 2016. Maiden ports of call are special moments on cruises with Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ ships and never fail to be a highlight for both the passengers and crew. For the first time, several visits to Cuba, the largest of the Antilles, are featured on Europa 2  itineraries in autumn 2016. The island, known as a nation for its Caribbean way of life and white sandy beaches


09 Feb 2016

CMA CGM Increases Port Calls and TEU Capacity

French container line CMA CGM has announced imminent changes to its PCRF line service which links Northern Europe with the French West Indies, by adding two new calls at Zeebrugge and Rotterdam and increasing freight capacity on the route. The company says this will mean customers will benefit from the enhanced import and export cargo opportunities. During the first quarter of 2016, PCRF line’s capacity which links the French West Indies to Europe will be increased by replacing current 2,200 TEU capacity vessels by 2,800 TEU capacity vessels. This move supports regional growth of both the French Indies market, currently around 3%, and promotes intra-Caribbean trade developments.

19 Apr 2015

USN Names Littoral Combat Ship

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today that the next Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) will be named USS St. Louis. The future USS St. Louis, designated LCS 19, will be the seventh ship to bear the name. The first St. Louis, a sloop of war, was launched in 1828. It spent the majority of its service patrolling the coasts of the Americas to secure interests and trade. In addition, it served as the flagship for the West Indies Squadron working to suppress piracy in the Caribbean Sea, the Antilles and the Gulf of Mexico region. “The name St. Louis holds a strong naval legacy,” Mabus said. The LCS is designed to defeat littoral threats, and provide access and dominance in coastal waters.

08 Apr 2015

CMA CGM Makes Jamaica its Caribbean Hub

Photo: A Gilbert Bellamy

The CMA CGM Group announced that Farid T. Salem, CMA CGM Group Executive Officer, signed on April 7, in Kingston – Jamaica, an agreement with the Port Authority of Jamaica granting the CMA CGM Group the concession of Kingston Container Terminal for 30 years. Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica Prime Minister, and Jean-Pierre Bel, the French President François Hollande Special Representative in Latin America and the Caribbean, attended the event. With CMA CGM, Kingston becomes one of the major transshipment hub port in the Caribbean.

18 Mar 2015

MSC Cruises to Debut Seaside Class in 2017

Image courtesy of MSC Cruises

MSC Cruises announced that the first of its next generation Seaside class of ships, set to debut in November 2017, will be named MSC Seaside and sail year-round from Miami to the Caribbean. Following the first ship's delivery from the shipyard, MSC Seaside will make her way to Miami for MSC Cruises' first ever christening ceremony in the U.S. to take place in late 2017. "The Seaside class of ships is part of MSC Cruises' $5.3 billion fleet expansion plan that will allow the company to double its capacity by 2022


21 Jun 2013

Argentine Union Warns ITF Certificate Obligatory for Bahia Banca Entry

The UK P&I Club’s Argentinian Correspondents have advised that the local Maritime Workers Union (SOMU) have issued a note stating that they will not allow the entrance of any vessel to the port of Ingeniero White (Bahia Blanca) that does not hold a valid ITF certificate on board. The Union has also demanded that a copy of the ITF certificate is sent by mail in advance. The Club’s Correspondents have spoken to the local representatives of ITF in Argentina to obtain their input but they are not aware of this note issued by the Bahia Blanca section of the SOMU so this action appears to have been taken by the local unions of its own decision. Due to the growing strength of Argentinian unions, this could become a complex issue and has already resulted in delay to a number of vessels.

15 Jul 2013

CMA CGM upgrades its Round the World Panama Direct Serivce

CMA CGM upgraded its Round the World Panama Direct service from a fortnightly to a weekly frequency, as of September 18, 2013. The new Panama Direct Weekly  service will offer an extensive coverage of the trade with 20 ports of call. Thanks to its integration in CMA CGM global network, this upgraded service will serve 15 different markets such as Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific Islands, Central and South America, the Caribbean, North America (USEC), North Europe, the Baltic, Mediterranean, North Africa, Black Sea, etc. It will also, offer the fastest transit from Australia and New Zealand to Europe, a serious advantage for reefer shippers and UK Tilbury Wednesday call will allow fast delivery to final destinations for time sensitive cargo such as fresh products.

04 Aug 2014

Recent Vessel Sales: July 2014

Vessel sales for June 2014 (as of July 1) as prepared by Shipping Intelligence, Inc., New York. 7/22/14 - NANWA MARU NO.

21 Aug 2014

Storm near Lesser Antilles Could Develop into cyclone

An elongated area of low pressure located about 350 miles east of the Lesser Antilles has a 50 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Thursday. "Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for development during the next day or so, and a tropical depression could form while the system moves west-northwestward at 15 to 20 miles per hour across the Lesser Antilles and over the eastern Caribbean Sea," the Miami-based weather forecaster said. The NHC said the mountainous terrain of Hispaniola and eastern Cuba could limit development of the system during the first part of the weekend


23 Sep 2014

New Rotation of CMA CGM Joint Service Unveiled

CMA CGM S.A. (CMA CGM) announced the rotation of its new service in cooperation with China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL), Orient Overseas Container Lines (OOCL) and Pacific International Lines (PIL), in the North East Asia, Australia and New Zealand Trade, commencing from Shanghai in early November 2014. The weekly service will turn around in 49 days offering extensive port coverage in Asia and New Zealand and including a call in Australia on her way from Asia. The new service will be operated with seven vessels of 4