Financial Resources News

You can feel it in the air, and increasingly on the water: a steady increase in momentum toward a global economy that prioritizes sustainability. Government stakeholders at all levels, and shipping customers across industries, are setting ambitious goals and high expectations for environmental performance, and that includes the transportation of U.S. and global commerce on the waterways.For the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, which moves nearly 700 million tons of cargo on America’s rivers, coastal waters and Great Lakes annually, it’s both an exciting and challenging time.

Fuel supplier Titan and 123Carbon, the first independent blockchain-based carbon insetting platform for the transport sector, have issued what they claim is the first LNG-based carbon insets.Carbon insetting enables fuel suppliers and vessel operators to transfer the environmental benefits of clean, lower carbon intensity fuels throughout the maritime value chain, enabling decarbonisation within their own supply chains. This contrasts with offsetting where the environmental benefits are made given to other industries or ventures.There are…

U.S.-based Quark Expeditions has taken delivery of its new polar expedition cruise ship Ultramarine from the Brodosplit Shipyard in Croatia.The 128-meter Ultramarine has accommodations for 199 passengers in 103 cabins, plus 140 crew members. It features two twin-engine helicopters and two heliports as well as 20 quick-deploy Zodiacs for off-ship adventuring.Andrew White, president of Quark Expeditions, said, “Every aspect of Ultramarine has been designed and engineered to enable our teams to get guests off the ship and deep into the polar wilderness better than ever before.

Baxter Marine Group announced it has acquired Wheelhouse Technologies, VesselVanguard and SeaKits Brand.The combined companies support more than 3,000 commercial, military, charter and recreational watercraft worldwide. Intuitive user tools, mobile applications, work orders, inventory and advanced telematics give owners and operators complete command of their vessel’s operations.Rick Heine, Baxter Marine Group Chairman, said, “Our goal is to provide the marine industry with the most advanced and intuitive systems to improve vessel reliability, safety, and reduce operational costs significantly.”Donald Hyde, founder of Vessel Vanguard…

We recently checked in with Tracy Zea, Waterways Council Inc.’s new President & CEO, on what’s in store for the U.S. inland waterways for the remainder of 2020.To start, give us some insight on your background and how you came to lead WCI.I was born and raised in Chandler, Ariz., and attended South Dakota State University, receiving a degree in Political Science. After college, I found my way to Washington, D.C. via an internship with Senator Thune (R-S.D.). After the internship, I was hired by the House of Representatives, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA, often called the Clean Water Act), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), provides:If a discharge, or a substantial threat of a discharge, of oil or a hazardous substance from a vessel, offshore facility, or onshore facility is of such a size or character as to be a substantial threat to the public health or welfare of the United States (including but not limited to fish, shellfish, wildlife, other natural resources…

Damen Shipyards Group and the German Bundesamt fur Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr on Friday signed the contract for the construction of four MKS-180 frigates for the German Navy. Damen is the main contractor for this complex project which it is undertaking, together with partners Blohm+Voss and Thales, in Germany.The combination of companies was previously declared the winner of a European tender; the largest in the history of the German Navy. On June 17, the necessary financial resources were released by the German Bundestag budget committee.

As a new decade starts, offshore wind development continues to progress. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to write that the development of the development of offshore wind (OFW) continues to, uh, well, develop.Apologies for that mild sarcasm. But even a quick look-back at OFW always raises the same familiar question: is the glass half empty or half full?Consider developments in the east coast leader in offshore wind: New York.In a webinar in December New York’s NYSERDA –…

Alternative direct lender AURELIUS Finance Company has provided financing to support the buy-out of emergency management and offshore decommissioning company Ardent from co-owners Svitzer, a global towage operator, and Crowley Holdings, a holding company of international marine and logistics services provider Crowley Maritime Corporation.The deal will see Ardent’s senior management team acquire a shareholding in the company. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed…

The Port of Oakland, a major container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay, said that its Commissioners have approved an air quality plan intended to drastically cut diesel and greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the Port’s maritime operations.Christened as "Seaport Air Quality 2020 and Beyond Plan", it envisions a zero-emissions operation in the future. The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners voted last week to approve the 259-page plan.The Port said that the plan would provide a framework for maritime development for the next 30 years. The plan calls for changes in equipment, operations, fuels…

Russia's second largest natural gas producer Novatek, Russian maritime shipping company specializing in petroleum and LNG shipping Sovcomflot, Chinese state-owned shipping and logistics services supplier company COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, and the Chinese government owned investment fund Silk Road Fund, signed a four-party agreement to establish a joint venture Maritime Arctic Transport LLC.The focus of the Maritime Arctic Transport joint venture is to manage an icebreaking tanker fleet of Arctic ice-class vessels, comprising existing and new vessels, engaged in the transportation of LNG for current and planned NOVATEK projects…

The private Norwegian transport and shipping company Det Stavangerske Dampskibsselskap AS (DSD) has entered into an agreement to sell its ferry- and expressboat company Norled to a  private equity (PE) consortium owned jointly by the Nordic infrastructure fund CapMan Infra and the Canadian company CBRE Caledon Capital Management."In recent years, Norled has made significant improvements in many areas. The company has succeeded in combining good and stable operations with success in tender biddings and record-high financial results," said Ingvald Løyning, chairman of Norled.Ingvald added: "At the same time, Norled has undoubtedly consolidated and strengthened its pioneer role in the green shift in maritime industry: First…

The costs of a massive fire and chemical spill at a Houston petrochemical facility have begun trickling out, with a local official on Monday estimating emergency response costs at $800,000 for the first two weeks of the disaster alone.A blaze at Mitsui & Co Ltd's Intercontinental Terminals Co (ITC) petrochemical facility in Deer Park, Texas, last month released cancer-causing chemicals into the air and waterway that connects Houston to the Gulf of Mexico, disrupting shipping along the nation's busiest oil port.County employees devoted 16…

President Vladimir Putin calls improving the Russian navy's combat capabilities a priority.The unfinished husks of three guided-missile frigates that have languished for three years at a Baltic shipyard show that is easier said than done.Earmarked for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, the frigates fell victim to sanctions imposed by Ukraine in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, prompting Kiev to ban the sale of the Ukrainian-made engines needed to propel them.With Moscow unable to quickly build replacement engines for the Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates, construction stopped.

Global ports operator Cosco Shipping Ports acquiring 60% stake in Terminales Portuarios Chancay (Chancay Terminal) from Volcan Compañía Minera for a total consideration of US$225million.Zhang Wei, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Cosco Shipping Ports and  José Picasso, Chairman of Volcan signed the agreement on behalf of the two parties.The ceremony was witnessed by Mercedes Aráoz, Vice President of Peru,  Xiao Yaqing, Chairman of State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, PRC, among others.Cosco Shipping Ports will partner with Volcan to build Chancay Terminal into an important gateway port in Peru.

The maritime industry, like any other, faces its share of challenges.When it comes to training, maritime stakeholders say their largest challenge is a lack of financial resources, according to the Maritime Training Insights Database (MarTID) 2018 Training Practices Report.Other top challenges include a shortage of competent and dedicated training personnel as well as the procurement and availability of specific training courses.Looking forward, the industry has its eye on other top training challenges.

Global consulting firm AlixPartners, in a new paper entitled, “Too many ships, too few rigs: why recovery is still a distant dream for the OSV sector,” warns that companies counting on a quick return to stability in the OSV sector are in for a rude awakening.The September report goes on to say that OSV companies continue to face pressure due to a radically changed oil industry and must take quick and decisive action in order to survive in what should be considered the ‘new normal.’Separately, VesselsValue.com’s Head of Offshore, Charlie Hockless told MarineNews, “I would agree that there are murmurs of a potential market recovery brewing…

Canada's  Prince Rupert Port Authority announced an initiative to support salmon enhancement in the Skeena River watershed.The Skeena River Salmon Enhancement Program dedicates $1 million from PRPA’s Community Investment Fund specifically to partner with local organizations on projects that increase salmon stock productivity and the maintenance and rehabilitation of critical habitat in the Skeena River watershed.The fund will also seek to support innovative pilot projects that will achieve these objectives and support the health, resilience and sustainability of Skeena River salmon during this International Year of the Salmon.The program is focused on working with regional partners such as First Nations…

The situation for the shipping companies based in Germany has been, much like the rest of the world in 2017, mostly tight. Currently, the German shipping companies are undergoing changes against this background. They are concentrating more and more on their core competences. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News' man in Germany, Peter Pospiech, recently talked to Alfred Hartmann, President of the VDR (Association of German Shipowners), for his exclusive insights on the size, shape and direction of German shipowners.Mr.

Rotterdam Port Fund has invested in remote inspection robotics company ExRobotics, specialising in robots to operate in high risk environments such as oil and gas facilities.The Dutch robotics firm manfacturers modular robots that can carry out remote inspections of oil and gas facilities more efficiently and with a lower safety risk than those carried out by humans.ExRobotics will be working on the further development of this technology in close collaboration with knowledge institutes in the Netherlands and abroad.The participation of the Rotterdam Port Fund creates new opportunities for ExRobotics to increase its production capacity…

Mr. John Rynd graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer and President, and as a director of Hercules Offshore from 2008 through 2016. Prior to his time with Hercules, Mr. Rynd spent 11 years with Noble Drilling Services, Inc., where he served in a variety of management roles. Earlier in his career, he served in various roles of increasing levels of responsibility with Chiles Offshore and Rowan Companies. Beyond this, Mr. Rynd served as Chairman of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) from 2014-15 and currently holds an Ex-Officio position on the Executive Committee. He serves on the Board of Directors of Fieldwood Holdings LLC, and was on the Board of Directors of Hornbeck Offshore, Inc.

The merger of Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OOIL) and COSCO Shipping Holdings offers can effectively combine the respective strengths of both and optimize our global network, thereby achieving greater economies of scale and synergies,  incoming Chairman of OOIL, Captain Xu Lirong, said commenting on the deal.This transaction is a common choice for both sides to follow the development trend of container shipping industry and realize sustainable development, he added."I would like to extend a warm welcome to OOIL for joining COSCO SHIPPING and express my heartfelt gratitude and great respect to Tung Chee Chen for his leadership and significant contributions to the impressive results achieved by OOIL over the past years.

The CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority Allard Castelein called on the European Union to step up its investments in the infrastructure of ports and hinterland connections during the 15th ESPO conference. This will further strengthen Europe’s economy and competitive position. ‘A port is only as strong as its hinterland connections,’ according to Castelein. ‘Solid infrastructure connections to and from ports and port-industrial complexes are of crucial importance for European prosperity and employment.’ That is why he calls on the European Union to free up more financial resources for infrastructure investments in its upcoming long-term budget.