Bigger News

“Wind Turbines: The Bigger, the Better” -USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, August 24, 2023Last December the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed sale notice regarding new development areas for utility scale wind projects in the central Atlantic Ocean. The notice includes an upfront issue: the need to mitigate conflicts with U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) activities. BOEM explains that in certain areas the Air Force has set an airspace floor of 1,000 feet above sea level and the Air Force asked BOEM to keep structures below that height.

If nothing else, building vessels in the U.S. is a complicated business.In a session on the domestic shipbuilding marketplace, at Marine Money’s late-November 2023 conference held in New Orleans, Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards (with more than a dozen facilities, in Mississippi and Louisiana), described his company’s architecture as a “three-legged stool approach: commercial newbuilds, government newbuilds and repair/conversion capabilities”.On the same panel…

In 2023, sanctions on Russian oil exports by the EU caused a major shift in tanker trades and a 10% increase in average sailing distances for EU tanker imports. Now, attacks on ships in the Red Sea area have caused average sailing distances to increase a further 16% and tonne mile demand to increase 12% despite falling volumes, says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.During the first quarter of 2024, tanker import volumes to the EU fell 4% year-on-year due to a 1% increase in the clean tanker trade but a 5% fall in the dirty tanker trade.

MAN Energy Solutions, MAN Energy Solutions USA and Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise company, have signed a service agreement (LTSA) for five of Carnival’s Vista Class cruise ships powered by MAN 48/60CR type engines. The scope of the agreement covers the management of all maintenance, including planning, parts, technical advisory service, training and remote monitoring support. MAN Energy Solutions will manage the agreement via MAN PrimeServ, its after-sales brand.Riccardo Cordara…

For Cheryl “Cherrie” Felder, the path to the maritime industry was both untraditional and seemingly meant to be. After studying African art, she began her career working in a museum in New Orleans before landing a role directing professional rodeo in the Big Easy.“It was a lot of fun, and I learned a whole lot,” Felder said. “But as you may imagine, New Orleans is not a rodeo town. After the third year, the board of directors decided, okay, that's it. No more rodeo.”And that’s when Felder’s doorway to the maritime industry swung open…

Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor early on Tuesday after a massive cargo ship crippled by a power loss rammed into the structure, forcing the closure of one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident, U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland…

Venture Global LNG said on Sunday it would acquire a fleet of nine liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport vessels, expanding its ability to sell and ship its own cargoes.Venture Global LNG has exported hundreds of cargoes since it started liquefying gas for export in 2022 from the first of its three planned facilities in Louisiana. The vessels it used were owned by other companies and leased.The nine vessels in Venture Global's future fleet will be built in South Korea with the first to be delivered later this year…

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd said on Thursday the global oversupply of container ships and a crisis in the Red Sea will force it to cut costs in 2024, adapting sailings and ports following a bruising 83% fall in net profit.Ship operators face prolonged disruption while Yemen-based Houthi militants are attacking vessels travelling on one of the world's busiest routes, wiping out the benefit from higher freight rates with costly redirections around Africa.Hapag-Lloyd's problems chime with those of competitors such as Maersk and CMA CGM, exacerbated by the arrival of additional ships orde

U.S. President Joe Biden's plan to build a floating U.S. military port to speed up aid to Gaza could take up to 60 days to become a reality and involve more than 1,000 American troops, the Pentagon said on Friday.The Pentagon offered the timeline a day after Biden announced the initiative in his State of the Union speech, as he seeks to cool anger in his Democratic Party over his staunch support for Israel's offensive in Gaza since Oct. 7.The United Nations has warned that widespread famine in the Gaza Strip is "almost inevitable" without urgent action.

Egypt is studying further expansions of the Suez Canal to extend and complete a second channel of the waterway, the canal's head said on Monday, a move that could allow for higher volumes of shipping and prevent blockages from halting traffic.The comments come as the canal is seeing a sharp fall in revenue due to shipping companies diverting away from the waterway, the shortest route between Europe and Asia, because of attacks by Houthi militants in Yemen against ships in the Red Sea.Any new extension would come on top of current work to extend the second channel by 10 kilometers, and to deepe

Russia exported more than 700,000 metric tons of oil products from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in 2023 using small river barges because of a lack of bigger tankers owing to EU sanctions and price cap limitations, market sources said and LSEG data showed.Some ship owners have avoided Russian ports since the EU embargo and price cap on Russian refined oil products went into effect in February last year, forcing shippers to turn to a so-called shadow fleet of ageing tankers.The shadow fleet has supported the flow of Russian barrels…

Qatar's planned expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production could see it control nearly 25% share of the global market by 2030 and squeeze out rival projects including in the United States where President Biden paused new export approvals, market experts say.Qatar, one of the world's top LNG exporters, plans an 85% expansion in LNG output from its North Field's current 77 million metric tons per year (mtpa) to 142 mtpa by 2030, from previously expected 126 mtpa.Some market experts said that the move will have an impact on global projects in the United States…

The U.S. Coast Guard and Kiribati police boarded two Chinese fishing boats during a patrol against illegal fishing in the Pacific Islands nation's vast exclusive economic zone this month but found no issues aboard, a coast guard official said.The United States is seeking a bigger role for its coast guard in helping remote Pacific Islands nations monitor millions of kilometres of ocean - a rich tuna fishing ground - a move that also boosts surveillance as a rivalry with China over security ties in the region intensifies.Reuters reported on Friday that Chinese police are working in Kiribati…

Because there are so many different kinds of passenger vessels, the critical topic of passenger safety can sometimes appear as a set of niche topics, each one just distantly connected to another. After all, passengers aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean face safety issues that are much different than a commuter going from Jersey City to Manhattan or a tourist crossing from the Mukilteo, Wash. ferry terminal to Whidbey Island or a family on a fishing vessel in Miami.Importantly, though, for passenger vessel operators, a commitment to safety is not siloed.

The American Bureau of Shipping dominates the global market in the classification of Floating Production. Offshore Engineer recently sat with Matt Tremblay, ABS’ Vice President of Global Offshore Markets, at American Bureau of Shipping HQ in Houston for his insights on market drivers and technical trends in this dynamic market.Matt, big picture, how do you see the Floating Production market developing in the coming years?At a macro level, I think we're going to be supply limited over the next five years.

With a fleet of nine U.S.-flag RoRo ships, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC), is the U.S.’ premier commercial RoRo carrier of U.S. government and military cargo. As the world becomes an increasingly contentious place, Eric P. Ebeling, President & CEO, ARC, discusses the vast capabilities of the ARC fleet and logistics network, as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead for U.S.-flag ships in the international trade.By the numbers’ is a simplistic means to gauge the size and shape of any shipping company…

Smyril Line announced it has signed a contract with the CIMC Raffles shipyard in China for the construction of two new vehicle carrier vessels.The ro-ro ships will each be 190 meters in length with 3,300 lane meters for trailers. They have been designed in close cooperation with naval architects Knud E. Hansen for year-round seaworthiness in the North Atlantic. Smyril Line plans to place the vessels into service on its current network, operating a route between Europe, the Faroe Islands and Iceland from 2026.Compared to the company's existing fleet…

Inbound cargo volume at the United States’ major container ports is expected to see year-over-year increases through the first half of the year despite attacks on ships in the Red Sea, according to the Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.“Only about 12% of U.S.-bound cargo comes through the Suez Canal but the situation in the Red Sea is bringing volatility and uncertainty that are being felt around the globe,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “U.S.

The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in November as imports of consumer goods fell to a one-year low amid slowing domestic demand, a trend that, if it persists in December, could result in trade having no impact on economic growth in the fourth quarter.The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday also showed exports declined in November amid cooling demand overseas. Demand is slowing both in the United States and abroad following hefty interest rate increases by global central banks since 2022 to tackle rampant inflation.The Federal Reserve's rate hiking cycle has likely ended…

Ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and intelligence platform Xeneta has appointed Tonia Luykx to spearhead its journey to drive revenues through an industry data revolution.Luykx, who has a track record for building and scaling SaaS and tech businesses including Sift, Google, Dropbox and Amazon, has now set her sights on global logistics in the position of Chief Revenue Officer at Oslo-based Xeneta.She said, “I have always worked in organizations that challenge the status quo…

COLI Group’s subsidiary Asia Break Bulk (Singapore) has entered a strategic partnership with CSL Shipping (China) to market CSL’s multi-purpose carrier Jian Yang Hua Qing.The vessel has 2 x 250mt cranes for loading breakbulk, heavy lift and project cargo and is already active for both companies.Felix Peinemann, Managing Director of the COLI Group, said the partnership will expand our footprint in the multi-purpose (MPP) market. “COLI is steadily expanding its activities to offer clients more sailing possibilities and increase its footprint in the Chinese market.

As zero carbon cargo efforts are progressing, it is becoming more apparent that the lowest hanging fruit is in the last few miles. This is where a large amount of carbon is expended in delivering small parcels to stores and consumers’ doors.This is particularly apparent in dense pack cities like New York City, where delivery vans clog streets and water crossings. The NYC Economic Development Commission recently issued a Request For Expression of Interest in waterborne micro cargo delivery.

Despite short-term obstacles driven by high inflation and interest rates coupled with supply chain issues, we maintain that the foundations supporting long-term offshore wind activity remain solid. As we prepare for the new year, let us look at 10 factors that will shape the offshore wind sector in 2024.1. A Continuously Dynamic Energy TrilemmaThe dynamic relationship of the three key drivers of affordable energy, energy security and energy transition was clearly evident in 2023 as energy affordability and security were generally more prominent themes than the transition.