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Eastern Gulf News

21 Mar 2024

Somali Pirates' Return Adds to Crisis for Global Shipping Companies

© Antony / Adobe Stock

As a speed boat carrying more than a dozen Somali pirates bore down on their position in the western Indian Ocean, the crew of a Bangladeshi-owned bulk carrier sent out a distress signal and called an emergency hotline.No one reached them in time. The pirates clambered aboard the Abdullah, firing warning shots and taking the captain and second officer hostage, Chief Officer Atiq Ullah Khan said in an audio message to the ship's owners."By the grace of Allah no one has been harmed so far," Khan said in the message, recorded before the pirates took the crew's phones.

01 Aug 2023

BOEM Announces Three Final Wind Energy Areas Offshore Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia

Credit: BOEM

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Monday announced three final Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) offshore Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.These areas, BOEM said, were developed following extensive engagement and feedback from states, Tribes, local residents, ocean users, federal government partners, and other members of the public.If fully developed, the final WEAs could support between four and eight gigawatts of energy production. The Biden administration has a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.The three WEAs total approximately 356…

09 May 2023

USACE Mobile District Adds New Survey Vessel

(Photo: Jeremy Murray / USACE)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority held a ceremony to officially welcome a new survey vessel to its fleet in Columbus, Miss., April 28, 2023.The Miss Agnes, built by Theodore, Ala. based Silver Ships, is a custom 26-foot multibeam and single beam capable marine survey vessel that features an enclosed center console, a three-monitor survey station, and an air conditioner unit that is paired with a generator.

27 Sep 2022

US Offshore Oil Output Drops as Hurricane Ian Approaches

(Photo: NOAA)

U.S. offshore oil producers on Tuesday were keeping a wary eye on Hurricane Ian's track as the powerful storm shut-in at least 480,000 barrels of oil production as it heads toward Florida.The hurricane entered the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and is forecast to become a dangerous, Category 4 storm over the warm waters of the Gulf, according to National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecaster Eric Blake.Ian weakened after crossing Cuba and was packing winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour), the NHC said.

29 Apr 2022

NOIA Welcomes U.S. Offshore Wind Plans for Oregon and Central Atlantic. Warns of Looming Lease Sale Ban

Credit: bphoto/AdobeStock

U.S. National Ocean Industries Association has welcomed this week's news that the U.S. government is looking to open more areas - off Oregon and in the Central Atlantic - for offshore wind development, but has also called for a "legislative fix" to a prohibition on new offshore wind lease sales on the east coast that takes place July 1.NOIA President Erik Milito said: "Interior pursuing the first wind lease sale offshore Oregon and an additional lease sale in the Central Atlantic is welcome news.

25 Mar 2022

U.S. to Hold Offshore Wind Lease Sale for Two Areas in the Carolinas

For illustration -  ©Ian Dyball/AdobeStock

The U.S. will hold a wind energy auction for two lease areas offshore the Carolinas on May 11, the U.S. Department of the Interior said Friday, as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review.The lease areas cover 110,091 acres in the Carolina Long Bay area that, if developed, could result in at least 1.3 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, enough to power nearly 500,000 homes, the Department of the Interior said."The Biden-Harris administration is committed to supporting a robust clean energy economy…

25 Nov 2021

BIMCO Calls for Continued Naval Support in Gulf of Guinea After Piracy Incident

(Photo: Danish Defence)

Following the incident in the Gulf of Guinea on 24 November involving the Danish frigate Esben Snare and a suspected pirate vessel, BIMCO calls on all naval forces in the area to further increase the pressure on piracy groups and hopes a continued naval presence will act as a deterrent.According to the Danish Armed Forces, Danish frigate Esben Snare has been involved in an incident involving suspected pirates on 24 November in the waters south of Nigeria. The Danish navy further announced that the frigate was close enough to send a team to the suspected pirates with the aim to board…

06 Oct 2021

California Lawmakers Look to Ban Offshore Drilling after Spill

Crude oil is shown in the Pacific Ocean offshore of Orange County, Oct. 3, 2021. / Official U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Democratic members of Congress from California seized on the oil spill off the state's coast to promote federal legislation to ban all offshore oil drilling, as investigators searched for what caused the pipeline to burst.About 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean, killing wildlife, soiling the coastline, and forcing officials to close beaches in several cities in Orange County, just south of Los Angeles. The spill follows dozens of incidents in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida, which slammed into the U.S.

27 Jul 2021

Florida Senators Move to Firm Up Offshore Drilling Ban

Senator Marco Rubio - Credit: rubio.senate.gov

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced the American Shores Protection Act to codify the moratorium on oil and gas drilling off the coasts of Florida that was put in place by September 8, 2020, Executive Order by then-President Trump. Under the legislation, the moratorium would be in place for the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic until 2032.Congressman Michael Waltz (R-FL) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

09 Apr 2021

Venezuela: FSO Nabarima Finally Offloads Crude, Paving Way for Offshore Field Output Restart

The FSO Nabarima listing in the Gulf of Paria on October 16 (Photo: Fishermen and Friends of the Sea)

A floating facility off the Venezuelan coast has finished offloading crude stored in it for the past two years due to U.S. sanctions, paving the way for output to resume in an oilfield, an official of the facility's operator said on Thursday.Operations to remove crude from the Nabarima floating storage and offloading facility (FSO), anchored in the eastern Gulf of Paria near the maritime border with Trinidad and Tobago, started in December. The crude had been stored there since…

08 Jan 2021

Finland's Icebreaking Season is Underway

(Photo: Arctia Ltd.)

Icebreaking operations have commenced in Finland, with two icebreakers presently deployed in the Bay of Bothnia, where ice has begun to form at the head end and along shipping lanes.On December 25, by decision of the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, the icebreaker Kontio was deployed, followed by icebreaker Otso on January 8. First assistance restrictions for sea areas entered into force on December 27.“Based on long-term forecasts, we would seem to have a mild winter ahead of us…

11 Jun 2020

IMO Head Commends Nigeria's Antipiracy Efforts

© remipiotrowski / Adobe Stock

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim commended Nigeria’s antipiracy efforts in the Gulf of Guinea as the West African nation continues to make strides to curb attacks against ships in the world’s top piracy hot spot.Lim said recent actions made by the West African country to restrain piracy in the region “send a strong and valuable message to the international community”.The IMO head welcomed the latest initiatives to address maritime security concerns in the Gulf of Guinea…

25 Jun 2019

Box Ship Rescues 6 in the Gulf of Aden

On June 20, 2019, Ocean Network Express (ONE) operated vessel, NYK EAGLE, was involved in a combined rescue operation involving Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centers. NYK EAGLE safely rescued 6 crew members from a sinking coastal vessel in the Eastern Gulf of Aden.NYK EAGLE was navigating the ocean when it received a request from CMF to assist a small sinking coastal vessel, as NYK EAGLE was closest to the affected vessel. A thorough and cautious rescue approach was carried out by NYK EAGLE on the small sinking coastal vessel, rescuing 6 crew members. 2 other crew members were airlifted by the Japan Navy helicopter and taken to the Japan Naval.

18 Jun 2019

CMA CGM Breaks Tampa Port Vessel Record

Florida's largest port,  Port Tampa Bay has marking a major milestone and partnership with CMA CGM as Port customers, local officials, and business leaders gather to celebrate the inaugural call of the CMA CGM DALILA at The Ports America Terminal.CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, begin their weekly direct ocean carrier service between Asia and Port Tampa Bay today. CMA CGM's excellent transit times will significantly improve the competitiveness of the region's importers and exporters, transforming Tampa Bay's economic landscape.With a capacity of 8,500 to 9,500 TEUs (container units) per vessel, these are also the largest container ships ever to call at the Port.

09 Oct 2018

Chevron Eyes Houston Ship Channel for 2nd US Gulf Refinery

(File photo: Port of Houston)

Chevron Corp wants to build or buy a refinery along the U.S. Gulf Coast to process crude oil from its rapidly growing Permian Basin operations, a senior executive said on Tuesday.The company would like to have refining operations on the Houston Ship Channel, in the western part of the U.S. Gulf, to complement an existing eastern Gulf refinery in Mississippi that makes lubricants and other materials, Pierre Breber, Chevron's head of downstream and chemicals, said."Something on the ship channel side could make a lot of sense for our company…

08 Oct 2018

NOAA's National Hurricane Center: Michael Expected to Become a Hurricane

Micheal's projected track line (CREDIT: NHC)

The National Hurricane Center has announced a Hurricane Warning is in effect for the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio. A Hurricane Watch is also in effect for the Alabama-Florida border to Suwannee River Florida.A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Suwannee River to Anna Maria Island Florida, including Tampa Bay and for the Alabama-Florida border to the Mississippi-Alabama borderAt 700 AM CDT (1200 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Michael was located near latitude 20.9 North, longitude 85.1 West. Michael is moving toward the north near 7 mph (11 km/h).

11 May 2018

US Military Seeks Rules for Drilling in Gulf of Mexico

File photo: U.S. Navy personnel detonate a floating mine during an exercise in the Gulf of Mexico (U.S. Navy photo by Patrick Connerly)

An expansion of oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico would interfere with U.S. military testing unless the Pentagon and another agency develop rules to govern the work, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a report this week.The Defense Department concluded in a report it sent on Wednesday to U.S. lawmakers that drilling east of the Military Mission Line in the Gulf of Mexico, a demarcation more than 200 miles (320 km) west of Florida, would harm military testing operations…

12 Mar 2018

US States Slow Trump Offshore Oil Drilling Expansion Plan

© Georg Lehnerer / Adobe Stock

The Trump administration's plan to broadly expand drilling in U.S. offshore waters is moving slowly due to opposition from coastal states and indifference from oil companies that have turned their focus to other opportunities. The administration hopes encouraging U.S. energy development outside of shale oilfields will further its goal of "energy dominance." But existing Obama administration lease rules remain in place through 2022 unless the new rules gain approval. The Department of the Interior this year proposed opening vast new acreage in the U.S. outer continental shelf to drilling.

11 Jan 2018

US Senators from 12 States Seek Offshore Drilling Exemptions like Florida's

© Daniel Gillies / Adobe Stock

Twenty-two Democratic U.S. senators from 12 states on Thursday joined the chorus of local representatives seeking exemptions from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's newly proposed offshore drilling plan, after his surprise move on Tuesday to shield Florida. Zinke surprised lawmakers, governors, and industry groups on Tuesday night by announcing that Florida would be removed from the Interior Department's proposal to open up over 90 percent of federal waters to oil and gas leasing.

08 Jan 2018

As US Opens Up Offshore Waters, Eastern GoM Beckons

President Donald Trump's administration has proposed opening up nearly all of America's offshore waters to oil and gas drilling, but the industry says it is mainly interested in one part of it, now cordoned off by the Pentagon: the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The industry's focus on an area located near a sprawling network of existing platforms, pipes and ports could ease the path to new reserves, and assuage the drilling opponents near other places offered under the Interior Department's proposed drilling plan issued last week, like California's Pacific, the Atlantic and Arctic. But accessing it would likely require the consent of the U.S. military.

04 Jan 2018

Trump Aims to Open Nearly All US Offshore to Oil Drilling

© wanfahmy / Adobe Stock

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed opening nearly all U.S. offshore waters to oil and gas drilling, a move aimed at boosting domestic energy production that sparked protests from coastal states, environmentalists and the tourism industry. The effort to open previously off-limits acreage in the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans comes less than eight years after BP Plc's Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico - the largest in American history. The disaster…

17 Jul 2016

NOIA Applauds Passage of House Interior Appropriations Bill

“NOIA applauds members of the House of Representatives for passing the first Interior and Environment Appropriations bill since 2009. Not only does the passage of the bill bring back regular order, the Fiscal Year 2017 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill includes smart policy provisions to limit the harmful impact of many short-sighted regulations targeting offshore oil and natural gas exploration and development and includes protections from other potential politically-driven regulations the Obama administration could levy on its way out of office. “Some of the common-sense provisions included in the bill directly target new rules released during this year’s onslaught of job-killing federal regulations.

02 Jun 2016

Experts Expect Lively Hurricane Season

Photo: AccuWeather

AccuWeather reports experts are calling for an above-normal hurricane season this year with 14 named storms forecast for the Atlantic basin. Of those, eight are predicted to become hurricanes and four are predicted to become major hurricanes. Due to a combination of factors, this season is expected to be more active than any season in the past three years. Experts warn that those living along the Atlantic coast should be on alert. "During the early part of the season, of course…