East Coasts News

U.S. shipyard General Dynamics NASSCO has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Navantia Seanergies, the green energy division of Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia, in pursuit of opportunities in U.S. offshore wind.The partners will explore opportunities to manufacture components and assemble floating foundations for offshore wind projects in the U.S., leveraging Navantia's near decade of experience in offshore wind and the capabilities of the San Diego shipyard, as well as nearby port facilities and other locations for future offshore wind projects on the U.S.

Galveston-based Callan Marine possesses one of the youngest, most powerful dredge fleets in America. “Our oldest dredge is 11 years old, so we have a nice modern, new fleet, which really helps us in our performance,” said the company’s president, Maxie McGuire. “I’m very proud that we have one of the newest fleets in the industry.”McGuire and Callan Marine have plenty to be proud of. McGuire, a U.S. Air Force veteran with an Operation Desert Storm tour under his belt, took a job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after discharge before eventually finding his way into the private sector.

Two Canadian firms are partnering to develop and commercialize 3D digital twin capabilities with hopes of making Canada more globally competitive, driving export opportunities and creating jobs in the marine sector.The the $3 million-plus Digital Ship In-Service Support Project comes from Canada’s Ocean Supercluster’s (OSC) Accelerated Ocean Solutions Program. Led by British Columbia-based Seaspan Shipyards together with partner and Newfoundland and Labrador-based, Genoa Design International…

There’s a barge full of reasons why many operators turn to ATBs.A  mainstay of the U.S. coastwise dirty and refined products trades, articulated tug barges (ATB) have increasingly filled a void left as the fleet of Jones Act tankers (with crew complement requirements exceeding that of tugs) has aged out. With the cargo capacity of the larger ATBs – some with barges exceeding 300,000 barrels capacity – rivalling that of workhorse tankers that had served oil consuming regions, the concept certainly makes sense from a supply and distribution perspective.With 50…

Unmanned Vehicles Collect Data for Improving Storm ForecastsThe influences of ocean conditions and currents on living environments are now more widely appreciated—from the Earth’s climate and severe weather conditions to fisheries and biodiversity. Sustained and widespread measurements are needed to provide essential clues for understanding the oceans, for effective monitoring of environmental changes, and for helping to clarify the long-term effects of global warming.To meet this challenge, ocean researchers have invented various types of unmanned observing platforms.

Marine News looks back at the past 12 months and showcases the best of North America’s workboat design shop and shipyard output. In a year where some stakeholders might not rank 2016 as the best of years in the shipyard or on the waterfront, we might disagree. And, there is plenty to write about. New contracts, deliveries and designs all combine to show that the collective workboat waterfront is moving forward, with technology, the environment and replacement tonnage requirements as the main drivers.

U.S. crude oil inventories plunged by more than 14.5 million barrels in the week ending on Sept. 2, the largest weekly drop since 1999. The reasons for the drawdown are not hard to find with a modest acceleration in refinery processing rates and a sharp slowdown in crude imports. Crude imports fell from an average of 8.9 million barrels per day in the week ending Aug. 26 to just 7.1 million bpd in the week ending Sept. 2, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Crude imports fell by a total of almost 13 million barrels compared with the previous week, accounting for most of the reported decline in inventories. Crude…

The emerging trend of marrying the design of an articulated tug and barge (ATB) to a particular propulsion system to maximize efficiencies of that system has, of late, been taking hold in workboat markets. For example, one recent project involving a dynamic partnership between Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc, Guarino & Cox, LLC (GCL) naval architects, Nautican Research & Development Ltd., integrated propulsion unit manufacturers, and VT Halter Marine shipbuilders, aptly demonstrates the concept in practice. What the collaboration produced, is even more important.

Rising levels of CO2 are making it hard for fish to breathe in addition to exacerbating global warming and ocean acidification. Climate change has caused a drop in the amount of oxygen dissolved in the oceans in some parts of the world, and those effects should become evident across large parts of the ocean between 2030 and 2040, according to a new study led by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. The oceans receive their oxygen supply from the surface via the atmosphere or from phytoplankton, which release oxygen in the water by photosynthesis. When the oceans are warmed they absorb less oxygen and marine life tend to move more slowly.

Vedanta Limited, India’s only diversified natural resources company today received the ‘Letter of Award’ for Redevelopment of Berth No.8, 9 and Barge Berths at Port of Mormugao, Goa (‘Project’) on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) Basis. It was handed over to Vedanta’s Iron Ore business CEO, Mr. Kishore Kumar by I.Jeyakumar, Chairman – Mormugao Port Trust in the presence of Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Mr. Nitin Gadkari at the Maritime India Summit (MIS), 2016 being held at Mumbai. Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Mr. Kishore Kumar stated, “We are excited about the project and the opportunity to partner with the Government of India.

A report in the USA Today says that the U.S. ports are busy deepening harbors and building bigger terminals to draw the bigger ships. Across the USA, public ports and their private sector partners will spend more than $46 billion in port-related improvements through 2016, according to the American Association of Port Authorities. States are seeking to spend billions of dollars to build bigger ports to accommodate the massive ships that will soon be traveling through the canal. The Panama Canal expansion has sparked the competitive imagination of East Coast and Gulf Coast (EC/GC) port authorities, who hope to capture some of the 70% of U.S. imports currently controlled by West Coast (WC) ports.

SATCOM edges closer to providing standardized services to the workboat sector. It’s affordable now and someday soon, you won’t be able to afford to be without it. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based JouBeh Technologies today makes it possible for far flung workboats to transmit critical data back to principals and at the same time, allow regulators and operators alike the possibility of reliable asset tracking on the water. Maybe it’s not YOUR workboat, but someday soon, it could be. As a reseller and integrator for Iridium Communications, JouBeh’s business mix penetrates many sectors. On the water, what they are doing for the federal government of Canada in two different applications has potential for North American commercial inland operators, as well.

Port and dock workers in India are planning to go on an indefinite strike starting March 16th – they are protesting the government’s move to corporatize major ports. The original decision by workers to go on an indefinite strike from March 9 has been tentatively postponed to March 16, following a meeting called by the chief labour commissioner (CLC). According to S R Apraj, general-secretary, Mumbai Port Trust, on March 9, a meeting is scheduled with the Indian Ports Association; on March 12 with the shipping secretary; and, on March 13 with the CLC. If the negotiations are fruitful, there will be no strike on March 16, he added. The strike has been called against the unilateral decision of the Shipping Ministry to corporatize the country's major ports…

Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures will likely edge upward on Monday on short-covering and last weekend's West Coast labor dispute agreement, traders said. Cargo loading and unloading resumed full operations on Saturday after shipping companies and union dock workers reached a tentative deal late on Friday. It could take several weeks to clear the backlog, which includes meat, an analyst said. Still, investors should view the news as bullish, which may help neutralize two mildly bearish U.S. Department of Agriculture reports last Friday, he said. Friday's USDA cold storage report showed weak demand on the U.S. West and East Coasts boosted pork and beef stocks to their highest levels in years. A separate government report showed the number of cattle placed in U.S.

U.S. coffee importers have begun diverting shipments bound for West Coast roasters to ports on the Gulf and East Coasts due to a labor dispute that has caused prolonged backlogs in California, market sources said. Traders said they began re-routing ships carrying coffee from El Salvador and Brazil, among other origins, destined for California ports three or four weeks ago, sending them instead to ports in Houston, New Orleans, Virginia and New Jersey. "Why back up more containers in a place that's not releasing them?" said Christian Wolthers, president of green coffee importers Wolthers Douque USA in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday.

U.S. shipbuilders are making a $500 million bet on robust domestic demand for crude oil from newly-tapped shale fields by building new tankers without having lined up customers to lease them. Philly Tankers AS, majority-owned by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is building four ships on spec, and Seabulk Tankers Inc, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc, is building another two. The 330,000-barrel ships, which cost about $125 million each, conform to the 1920 Jones Act, which requires ships moving between U.S.

The recent 2013-14 National Budget of Trinidad and Tobago firmly highlighted the government’s intention to endorse Shipbuilding and Repair as a means of diversifying our traditional oil and gas economy. Trinidad & Tobago is in the middle of the world’s shipping lanes with an approximate 31,000 voyages per year passing within 25 nautical miles, positioning the location as an attractive choice for vessels traversing these principal routes. In addition, approximately 14,000 oceangoing vessels pass through the Panama Canal each year and this is expected to double after mid-2015…

Orion Marine Group, Inc. provides a broad range of marine construction and specialty services on, over and under the water along the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard, the West Coast, Canada, and the Caribbean Basin and acts as a single source turn-key solution for its customers' marine contracting needs. While the Company is pleased with the recovery of backlog from the lows reached in 2011 and with recent legislative activity in Washington, dredge utilization remains below historical norms as Corps lettings continue to be choppy. As a result, margin improvement is unlikely in the foreseeable future. The Company has still not seen a material increase in lettings from the Army Corps of Engineers since the beginning of 2012.

Jensen Maritime, subsidiary of Crowley Maritime, opens an office in New Orleans giving to access U.S. Gulf, West and East Coasts. Seattle-based Jensen Maritime Consultants, Inc., is a naval architecture and marine engineering firm owned by Crowley Maritime Corporation. The company offers a diverse range of consulting, design and engineering services. The new office location places Jensen in close proximity to many important customers and shipyards in the U.S. Gulf, as well as to Crowley’s Houston-based solutions group, a Project Management Organization (PMOrg) which provides marine project management services as a prime contractor for the energy and resource extraction industries.

New Location Strategically Positions Jensen along U.S. Gulf, West and East Coasts. Seattle-based Jensen Maritime Consultants, a Crowley Maritime Corporation company, announced today that it has expanded its presence to the U.S. Gulf with the establishment of a third office in New Orleans, La. This strategic new location places Jensen in close proximity to many important customers and shipyards in the U.S. Gulf, as well as to Crowley’s Houston-based solutions group, a Project Management Organization (PMOrg). Solutions provides marine project management services as a prime contractor for the energy and resource extraction industries. The company’s full services – including new design…

Crowley Maritime Corporation christen the 16,000-horsepower tugboat 'Legend' and 330,000-barrel tank barge 750-2 in Tampa, Florida. Together the vessels comprise the company’s newest articulated-tug-barge  (ATB) and will be used to transport petroleum products between the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts, making regular port calls in Tampa where Crowley currently discharges nearly 163 million gallons of product each month. The Legend/750-2 is the second of three petroleum tank vessels in its class in terms of size…

Crowley Maritime Corporation recently welcomed a new addition to its American-made and operated  fleet of petroleum tank vessels, the 750-class articulated tug-barge (ATB) Legend/750-2. The milestone came exactly five years after Crowley first announced plans to build the 750-class, which is considered one of largest, fastest and safest in the industry. The latest vessel is the second of three in the class, and will transport petroleum products – including gasoline – along the U.S. West, Gulf and East Coasts.

Venezuela's state-run PDVSA launched tenders to sell one 240,000 barrel cargo of jet fuel and one 240,000 barrel cargo of ultra low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) for delivery in April, according to documents seen by Reuters on Friday. The company launched two previous tenders in recent days to buy heavy naphtha and catalytic naphtha. In March it offered seven cargos of different fuels, increasing its typical sales on the open market. The jet fuel cargo offered this time will be delivered April 20-22 at Amuay refinery, while the ULSD cargo will be loaded in Puerto la Cruz refinery on April 24-26. The company will receive bids until April 8 for both cargos. The destination should be the U.S. Gulf or East Coasts, Florida, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Northwest Europe or West Africa.