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Bonaire News

07 Mar 2024

Oil Leak from Capsized Barge Off Tobago Stopped After a Month

(Photo: Office of the Chief Secretary)

An oil leak from a barge carrying up to 35,000 barrels of fuel oil that capsized in early February off the Caribbean island of Tobago has stopped, said the twin islands' government on Thursday.The spill, which was first spotted off the coast of Tobago's Atlantic coast on Feb. 7, damaged some of the island's mangrove and threatened its tourism and fishing sector. The spill also entered the Caribbean Sea, threatening nearby Venezuela and Caribbean islands, including Bonaire."The hydrocarbon discharge emanating from the overturned vessel located off the coast of Tobago has stopped


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


31 Aug 2021

Gulf Coast Fuel Supply & FUELTRAX Partner

(Photo: FUELTRAX)

Gulf Coast Fuel Supply, an offshore fuel supplier specializing in MGO and VLSFO deliveries at the Galveston Lightering area, has partnered with FUELTRAX to install its fuel monitoring solution on the chemical tanker Bonaire Trader. Bonaire Trader was built in 2007 and has previously operated at South African ports. She now serves customers in the Galveston area near Houston, Texas. The vessel's carrying capacity is 11255 t DWT, and her current draught is reported to be 5.6 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 116.5 meters, and her width is 20 meters.

24 Jul 2019

Caribbean to Enhance Maritime Capacity

International Maritime Organization (IMO) has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Chile, to extend Chile's technical assistance to countries in the Caribbean region, in addition to Latin America.According to the UN body, the MoU on Technical Cooperation, signed by the Directorate General of Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine (DIRECTEMAR) of the Republic of Chile, replaces earlier MoUs (signed in 2002 and 2005) and strengthens the collaboration between IMO and DIRECTEMAR for the provision of technical assistance in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region."This will particularly support the provision of experts (including Spanish-speaking experts) to deliver training in Latin America and the Caribbean


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

30 Jan 2019

Metal Shark Delivers New Patrol Boats in Aruba

A Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard AW139 helicopter flies above a Metal Shark 38 Defiant patrol boat following a commissioning ceremony in Aruba on January 23rd, 2019.

Four new high speed patrol boats manufactured by shipbuilder Metal Shark have entered service with the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) on the island of Aruba.The vessels were commissioned into service with a ceremony on January 23rd at DCCG’s Station Aruba in the district of Savaneta on Aruba’s southeast coast. Among those present were officials from the Aruban government, Dutch Ministry of Defense, DCCG, and Metal Shark, as well as local and regional media outlets.The new


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


10 Dec 2018

GREAT WORKBOATS: The Very Best 10 of 2018

MarineNews showcases the ten best of North America’s 2018 workboat deliveries. Domestic shipyard production is robust, innovative and getting greener. And, that translates into two kinds of ‘green.’As the domestic offshore energy support sector slowly awakens, other sectors have been happy to take the spotlight in its absence. As always, and if a hull was delivered in 2018, we took a look at it, with several areas as a focus for inclusion into this edition. For my part, I’m always excited when the U.S. boatbuilding sector can deliver for a foreign buyer. We’ve checked that box here. And, that’s because we can compete on price, quality and when we do


10 Aug 2018

Venezuela's Crude Sales to U.S. Fall in July

Venezuela's crude exports to the United States declined to 494,400 barrels per day (bpd) in July after rising the prior three months, showing the impact of asset seizures against state-run oil firm PDVSA, according to Thomson Reuters data.July was the first month crude exports fell below 500,000 bpd since the months of January through March.U.S. oil producer ConocoPhillips in May began seizing PDVSA's overseas assets in an attempt to collect on a $2 billion arbitration award.

07 Aug 2018

Venezuela Dodges Oil Asset Seizures with Export Transfers at Sea

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has limited the damage from an unprecedented slump in crude exports by transferring oil between tankers at sea and loading vessels in neighboring Cuba to avoid asset seizures.But the OPEC member nation is still fulfilling less than 60 percent of its obligations under supply deals with customers.Venezuela has been pumping oil this year at the lowest rate in three decades after years of underinvestment and a mass exodus of workers. The state


25 Jun 2018

U.S. Yards: Competing – and Winning – Here and Across the Big Pond

Louisiana-based Metal Shark powers into the second half of 2018 with a healthy backlog, multiple recent deliveries into foreign markets, and a portfolio of patrol craft that has attracted multiple clients – here and abroad. Key patrol boat contracts for this rapidly expanding builder include the U.S. Coast Guard Response Boat – Small (RB-S). Over 300 of these units are service since the award of the contract in 2012 and, says Metal Shark, new units are in production and shipping weekly. Separately, over 50 of the U.S. Navy Force Protection Boat – Medium (FPB-M) have already been delivered and are in service. That contract, too, is still active and boats are shipping regularly. Looking ahead, Metal Shark was awarded a contract in October 2017 to produce up to 50 of the U.S.

20 Jun 2018

Metal Shark is Competing - and Winning - Here and Oversees

U.S. shipbuilder Metal Shark powers into the second half of 2018 with a healthy backlog, multiple recent deliveries into foreign markets, and a portfolio of patrol craft that has attracted multiple clients – here and abroad.At a time when more than a few workboat builders are feeling the pain of lingering offshore malaise and an oversupplied inland market that no longer needs large quantities of barges, Louisiana-based Metal Shark has found its groove in a suddenly active and highly competitive niche market. In fact, by the end of 2018, Metal Shark’s military vessels will be either in service or in production for nearly 50 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Latin America.

10 May 2018

New Patrol Boats Delivered in Curacao

(Photo: Metal Shark)

Four new high-speed patrol boats commissioned on the island of Curacao are the first to be delivered to the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) under a 12-boat order announced last year.The welded aluminum 38 Defiant monohull patrol boats were designed and manufactured by Louisiana based shipbuilder Metal Shark as the result of a multi-year effort by the DCCG to procure a replacement for its fleet of open-cockpit rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RIB).The new enclosed-pilothouse vessels will serve as the DCCG’s main interceptors, patrolling the territorial waters of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St.

08 May 2018

PDVSA Halts Caribbean Storage, Shipping; Diverts Oil Cargo

© white_bcgrd / Adobe Stock

Venezuela's state-run PDVSA suspended oil storage and shipping from its Caribbean facilities following a move by ConocoPhillips to temporarily seize the firm's assets on four islands, according to a PDVSA source and Reuters data.PDVSA has begun concentrating most shipping in its main crude terminal of Jose on Venezuela's eastern coast and recalling tankers to Venezuelan waters to avoid seizures that would further cut its exports and worsen an economy on the verge of collapse.U.S.


08 May 2018

Tightening Noose: Venezuela's Crisis Deepens

The news that Venezuela's PDVSA has diverted a crude tanker from Curacao after ConocoPhillips moves to satisfy a $2 billion arbitration award signals that worst may be yet to come. Reuters is reporting that Venezuela's state-run PDVSA ordered a tanker waiting to discharge at its Curacao terminal to divert to Venezuelan waters after ConocoPhillips introduced an order in a Caribbean court to seize its inventories and other assets in the island, according to a shipper and Reuters data on Tuesday. More than two days after at least two Caribbean courts ordered the temporary retention of inventories and facilities in Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba and St. Eustatius at U.S.

08 May 2018

PDVSA Diverts Crude Tanker from Curacao

Venezuela's state-run PDVSA ordered a tanker carrying Russian oil that was waiting to discharge at its Curacao terminal to divert to Venezuelan waters after ConocoPhillips introduced an order in a Caribbean court to seize its inventories and other assets in the island, according to a shipper and Reuters data on Tuesday.The Aframax tanker British Cygnet loaded crude at Russia's Primorsk terminal in April. It arrived in Curacao's Bullenbay terminal, operated by PDVSA, on Sunday, two days after at least two Caribbean courts ordered the temporary retention of inventories and facilities in Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba and St. Eustatius at U.S. oil firm Conoco's request to satisfy a $2 billion arbitration award against PDVSA.Reporting by Marianna Parraga

07 May 2018

Conoco Moves to Seize PDVSA's Caribbean Assets

U.S. oil firm ConocoPhillips has moved to take Caribbean assets of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA to enforce a $2 billion arbitration award over a decade-oil nationalization of its projects in the South American country, according to three sources familiar with its actions. The U.S. firm targeted facilities on the islands of Curacao, Bonaire and St. Eustatius that accounted for about a quarter of Venezuela's oil exports last year. The three play key roles in processing, storing and blending PDVSA's oil for export. The company received court attachments freezing assets at least two of the facilities, and could move to sell them, one of the sources said. Conoco's legal maneuvers could further impair PDVSA's declining oil revenue and the country's convulsing economy.

28 Apr 2014

Asia-Bound VLCCs to Use Venezuela's St Eustatius Terminal

Venezuela's state-run PDVSA will use a terminal owned by U.S. firm NuStar Energy on the island of Saint Eustatius to store crude and load very large crude carriers (VLCCs) going to Asia, after deciding it will no longer rent a facility in the Bahamas, according to a PDVSA executive. PDVSA has been using the Saint Eustatius terminal in the Caribbean since March as a center to store and mix its crudes and produce exportable blends, the Venezuelan oil company confirmed after Reuters reported it this week. The company already started receiving crude tankers at the facility going out from Venezuelan ports. "We plan to build a new terminal


25 Jan 2017

Eastern Delivers Tractor Tug to McAllister

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. has delivered the Twin Z-drive Reverse Tractor Tug JEFFREY McALLISTER to McAllister Towing and Transportation Co., Inc. on January 13, 2017. McAllister is honoring Captain Jeffrey McAllister as the vessels namesake. Capt. Jeffrey McAllister is a member of the fifth generation working at McAllister Towing. Jeff began his McAllister career in 1973 at the age of 18 when he worked as a deckhand on the fleet’s offshore crew boats. His rise at the company was attained the old-fashioned way by working his way up the hawse pipe. He worked on numerous McAllister tugs stationed everywhere from Aruba, Bonaire and eventually landing in the Port of New York. In 1977 he became a tug captain and in 1986 became a docking pilot.

22 Oct 2014

PDVSA Charters Another Algerian Crude Cargo

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has hired a supertanker to load a second 2 million-barrel cargo of Algerian crude, according to preliminary tanker fixture data. Venezuela will start importing light crude this month with a shipment of Algerian Saharan Blend scheduled to arrive at its Jose terminal on Oct. 26. Two additional cargoes of Russia's Urals crude were bought from Petrochina to be received at Isla refinery, operated by PDVSA on the Caribbean island of Curacao. This week, PDVSA booked the VLCC Boston to load around October 25 at the port of Arzew, according to a shipping report. It is not clear yet if this second Algerian crude cargo will be received in Venezuela or at one of PDVSA's terminals in the Caribbean, such as Bonaire, Curacao or Saint Eustatius.

01 Sep 2015

Traders Scramble for Caribbean Crude Storage

Demand for crude storage in the Caribbean, one of the world's most important oil hubs, is rising as producers and traders try to ride out the worst price crash in six years by holding onto more barrels or making blends that can be sold for premiums. The last time tanks in the logistically-important islands were this full, during the price collapse of 2009, companies started leasing vessels to use as floating storage. That is not yet happening now, but the only way to get tank space at the moment is to sublease it, said one tank broker with decades of experience. Since June, his firm alone has received requests to lease up to 7.5 million barrels of tankage in a region with some 100 million barrels of capacity.

13 Nov 2014

Port Canaveral Welcomes Explorer of the Seas

Explorer of the Seas

Starting November 15, 2014, Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas begins homeporting at Port Canaveral through March 2015, offering a new nine-night itinerary that reaches further into the southern Caribbean with stops in Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, and Haiti. Other itinerary options include four-, five-, and eight-night Caribbean cruises. “We are pleased that Royal Caribbean continues to provide innovative ships and diverse itineraries for our community, Orlando and other central Florida residents and visitors,” said Port Canaveral CEO John E. Walsh.

05 Jan 2018

Recent Vessel Sales: December 2017

Clipper Panorama (Photo: Clipper Group)

Vessel sales for December 2017 (as of January 1, 2018) as prepared by Shipping Intelligence, Inc., New York.