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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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28 Mar 2024

New Tug Delivered to Mongla Port Authority

The Mongla Port Authority in Bangladesh has taken delivery of its new tug, M.T. Joymoni.The newbuild is a RAmparts 3200-CL designed by Canada's Robert Allan Ltd. and built by Cheoy Lee Shipyards, in China.The RAmparts 3200-CL was designed by Robert Allan Ltd. in 2008 exclusively for Cheoy Lee Shipyards, with the first tug, Ocean Pioneer, delivered to Ocean Sparkle in India in 2011. Based on the RAmparts series, the hull form was developed to provide a high performance, multi-function tug in a shallow draft configuration, with bollard pull of up to 85 tonnes, the designer said.M.T.

28 Mar 2024

Baltimore Bridge Collapse Highlights Need to Protect Critical Foundations

NTSB investigators on the cargo vessel Dali, which struck and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. (Photo: Peter Knudson/NTSB)

The collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge has highlighted what engineers say is an urgent need to better protect the piers holding up spans over shipping channels as the size of cargo ships has grown in recent decades.Federal authorities continue an investigation into why a massive cargo ship lost power and crashed into a pier of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, bringing down the structure and killing six workers who had been filling potholes atop it.The Maryland Transportation Authority did not respond to questions about what…

25 Mar 2024

Groke to Deliver Situational Awareness Tech for Ships with BARTech WindWings

(Photo: Groke Technologies)

Finland-headquartered maritime tech company Groke Technologies (Groke) is working with BAR Technolgoes (BARTech) design and develop of situational awareness systems for the U.K. marine engineering consultancy’s WindWings wind propulsion technology.The companies have signed a partnership agreement following the debut installation of two 37.5 m (123 ft) tall WindWings sails on board MC Shipping-owned and Cargill-operated Kamsarmax bulker Pyxis Ocean. Groke’s camera and imaging solutions were also installed.Groke Technologies’ CEO Juha Rokka said…

19 Mar 2024

Ports Not Ready for Offloading of CO2 Captured Onboard

Source: Lloyd's Register

A study commissioned by the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD), in collaboration with Lloyd’s Register and ARUP, has identified low port readiness as a major hurdle bottlenecking the adoption of onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) systems as a practicable decarbonization solution.Whilst the technologies required for offloading onboard captured CO2 exist at high levels of maturity, safe operationalisation of captured CO2 transfer by trained personnel has not been demonstrated.The report…

19 Mar 2024

Saipem and Fincantieri Form Subsea Alliance

(Credit: Saipem)

Saipem and Fincantieri have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to evaluate commercial and industrial opportunities for cooperation in the field of autonomous subsea vehicles (AUV) and their integration with surface and underwater units.The MoU is among the initiatives aimed at promoting and developing Italy’s national excellence in the underwater sector.The agreement aims to enable the two companies to participate in major programs in the Italian and international markets in the area of surveillance and control of critical underwater infrastructure and rescue activities…

19 Mar 2024

Master Boat Builders Delivers Tug for Seaside LNG/Polaris New Energy

Tortuga (Photo: Master Boat Builders)

Coden, Ala. shipbuilder Master Boat Builders on Monday announced it has delivered Tortuga, the latest tugboat to join Seaside LNG/Polaris New Energy fleet.Tortuga will connect with the barge Clean Everglades, delivered from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in 2023, to form a Jones Act compliant articulated tug and barge (ATB) for bunkering liquefied natural gas (LNG).The new tug has an overall length of 109 feet and features two Caterpillar 3512E main engines, EPA Tier 4 certified and each producing 2,000 horsepower.

18 Mar 2024

Pressure Builds for Charge on Shipping Sector's CO2 Emissions

© Yellow Boat / Adobe Stock

The European Union, Canada, Japan and climate-vulnerable Pacific Island states are among 47 countries rallying support for a charge on the international shipping sector's greenhouse gas emissions, documents reviewed by Reuters showed.The documents, being discussed at an International Maritime Organization (IMO) meeting now entering a second week, outline four proposals with a combined 47 backers for imposing a fee on each tonne of greenhouse gas the industry produces.Support for…

18 Mar 2024

Strategic Marine Delivers Crewboat for Truth Maritime Services

(Photo: Strategic Marine)

Singaporean aluminum boat builder Strategic Marine recently delivered TMS Ranod, the first of two Gen 4 Fast Crew Boats to growing Thai offshore services provider Truth Maritime Services (TMS). The pair of newbuild contracts were signed in 2023.Strategic Marine launched the 42m Gen 4 FCB design in collaboration with Southerly Designs, and the vessel comes with a highly efficient new hull form and Z-bow which improves seakeeping and requires less power for the same speed and deadweight tonnage…

13 Mar 2024

Equinor Extends Drilling Contracts

Photo: Arne Reidar Mortensen / Equinor

Equinor, on behalf of the partners, is exercising two options to extend contracts with Archer AS, KCA Deutag Drilling Norway AS and Odfjell Operations AS for a total of four years.The options for drilling services on fixed installations on the Norwegian continental shelf provide jobs for 2,000 people per year and have an estimated value of NOK 18.4 billion.The contracts were signed in 2018 with three option periods of two years. The first two-year option was exercised in 2022.

12 Mar 2024

Wärtsilä Delivers Simulator to Sharjah Maritime Academy

Source: Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä has supplied its latest simulator technology to the prestigious Sharjah Maritime Academy located in Khorfakkan, United Arab Emirates.The comprehensive suite of navigation, engineering, communications and Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) simulators includes full mission, part task and classroom trainers for all levels of training and research, as well as modelling and content creation tools to enable the highly skilled maritime faculty team to offer a complete range of services…

12 Mar 2024

Updated Framework Released for Comparing Decarbonization Technologies

© Mariusz / Adobe Stock

The Maritime Technologies Forum (MTF) has released an updated Framework for Assessing Decarbonization Technologies and Alternative Energy Carriers and a comprehensive assessment on the maturity and readiness of alternative fuel options, expanding the number of evaluated fuels covered since the previous heatmap report issued in November 2022.The assessment applied MTF’s recently updated framework to an expanded set of eight fuels, including fossil LNG, fossil MGO combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS)…

06 Mar 2024

Rubymar Sinking Puts Coral Reefs At Risk

(Photo: U.S. Central Command)

When the Rubymar sank in the Red Sea after a Houthi attack, the ship went down carrying 21,000-tonnes of fertiliser which could trigger massive algal blooms that could create "dead zones" for marine life and starve coral reefs of light.Alongside a slick of leaking fuel, the ammonium phosphate sulphate fertilisers could deliver an extreme pulse of nutrients into waters harbouring rare corals, marine mammals and reef fish, creating a spread of foamy scum on the water.According to a maritime warning circulated to ships in the area…

04 Mar 2024

First of Six New Sun Ferry Vessels Operational

Source: Incat Crowther

The new passenger fast ferry, Xin Ming Xhu VIII, is now servicing commuters on Hong Kong’s waterways after digital shipbuilder Incat Crowther delivered the first of six new passenger fast ferries to mass transit operator Sun Ferry.Xin Ming Xhu VIII, built by Guangzhou-based shipbuilder AFAI Southern Shipyard, is now in operation on the busy Central Ferry Pier to Mui Wo and Cheung Chau commuter routes in Hong Kong.Capable of transporting up to 500 passengers, the new low-draft vessel features Incat Crowther's latest generation hull form.

04 Mar 2024

Iridium Acquires Satelles

Image courtesy Iridium

Iridium Communications has entered into an agreement to acquire Satelles, Inc., a leader in secure satellite-based time and location services that complement and protect GPS and other GNSS-reliant systems. The service, named Satellite Time and Location (STL), is designed as an easy-to-adopt, secure solution that increases the efficiency and reliability of timing systems for digital infrastructure like 5G base stations, data centers, and other critical infrastructure and protects…

26 Feb 2024

US Coast Guard Announces New Merchant Mariner Credential

Example of the new certificate size one page merchant mariner credential (Image: USCG)

The U.S. Coast Guard announced a new merchant mariner credential (MMC) set to launch on March 1, 2024, marking the first comprehensive revision of the mariner credential in nearly a decade.The Coast Guard is the exclusive source of U.S. MMCs, which are required for U.S. mariners who serve on commercially operated vessels such as passenger boats, tug and barges, offshore supply vessels, and deep draft ocean going cargo vessels throughout the nation and internationally.The Coast…

23 Feb 2024

Singapore Picks 11 Proposals to Advance Electric Harbor Craft Designs

(Credit: MPA)

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has shortlisted 11 proposals, submitted by seven companies and consortia, to advance designs and promote adoption of full electric harbor craft (e-HC) in Singapore.The announcement follows call for the expressions of interest (EOI), launched by MPA) in 2023, which yielded 55 proposals from 32 international and local companies and consortia.The results signal high interest and strong confidence by global and local participants in the development of e-HC in Singapore.Of the 11 e-HC designs…

22 Feb 2024

Houthis Vow to Step Up Ship Attacks in the Red Sea

(Photo: Indian Navy)

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a UK-owned cargo ship and a drone assault on an American destroyer on Thursday, and they targeted Israel's port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones.The statement by a Houthi representative on social media site X came shortly after the group's leader said it was ramping up attacks on ships in the Red Sea and other waters - including with new "submarine weapons" -to mirror Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea…

22 Feb 2024

Virtual Marine: Simulator Training is the Real Deal

(Photo: Virtual Marine)

In the commercial maritime and offshore industries, where worker safety and competency are crucial, effective training practices are an absolute must. While hands-on, in-the-field learning will always be a vital component of any mariner’s training, marine simulation has become a welcome enhancement to the education process. And in some cases, it’s seen as a safer alternative to traditional survival craft and rescue boat training.A leader in this space is Virtual Marine, based in Newfoundland and Labrador.

21 Feb 2024

BIMCO Publishes Quiet Enjoyment Letters

© Gajus / Adobe Stock

BIMCO has published two standard Quiet Enjoyment Letters (QELs), the first standard form QELs available to the industry, to offer a tool that can ensure the charterers’ uninterrupted use of a ship if the owner defaults under the financing facility. The QELs will be provided by the lender to the charterer to ensure that the charterer, who does not have a contractual relationship with the lender but only with the owner, can continue to “quietly enjoy” the ship in case of the owner’s default.

21 Feb 2024

NYK Places Order for its First Japan-built Offshore Wind CTV

Rendering for NYK's first Japan-built offshroe wind CTV (Credit: NYK)

NYK Line has ordered a crew transfer vessel (CTV) for offshore wind industry from Kosaba Shipbuilding Corporation, the first such order the company placed to a local Japanese shipyard.Following delivery in late 2025 or 2026, the vessel will be used to transport technicians to construct and maintain offshore wind power generation facilities offshore Japan.The vessels will be 28 meters long, and capable of accommodating 12 passengers.By expanding its fleet of CTVs, NYK aims to play an active role in promoting sustainable energy.

13 Feb 2024

Four Japanese Companies Form Consortium for Eco-Friendly VLCCs Concepts

Eco-Friendly VLCC Concept (Credit: NYK)

Idemitsu Tanker, IINO Kaiun Kaisha (IINO Lines), Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), and Nihon Shipyard have established a consortium to conduct joint research and development of design concepts for Malacca Max-type very large crude oil carriers (VLCCs).The design concepts, including machinery and environment equipment, will be developed with a view of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the consortium that was initiated by Idemitsu Tanker said.Aiming to reduce emissions by 40% or more compared to previous levels…

12 Feb 2024

Future Ships: Picture Perfect

(Image: Siemens)

Big data, advanced computers and AI are allowing vessel designers to prepare models that leave essentially nothing to chance.“Lastly, it may be of considerable importance to form from the draught a block model of the vessel from which a still more accurate judgment may be formed of the fitness and beauty of the body. And should any defect be discovered, farther alterations must still be made, till the draught and the model are perfectly approved of. These different alterations and repeated calculations may appear very tedious…

12 Feb 2024

Damen Delivers Newbuild Dredger to Indonesian Customer

Damen Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) 600 (Credit: Damen)

Dutch shipbuilder Damen has delivered the first-of-its-series Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) 600 to an Indonesian customer, PT. Dua Samudera Perkasa.The vessel was sold immediately after completion at the Damen Dredging Equipment yard. It form part of a complete dredging package, which includes ship transportation, training of the crew on location as well as dredge spares to facilitate maintenance duties.The CSD600, which is being shipped as deck cargo at present, is a brand-new type of dismountable dredger…