Frontier News

Senesco Marine held a launch and christening ceremony for WindServe Marine's new Jones-Act-compliant crew transfer vessel (CTV), WindServe Explorer.WindServe Marine, a sister company to the North Kingstown, R.I. shipbuilder—both part of the Reinauer Group—will operate the CTV to serve the U.S. offshore wind industry. The vessel is slated to enter operations at a project in the U.S. Northeast.The BMT-designed aluminum catamaran is 27 meters long with a 9-meter beam and 1.7-meter draft.

Israel's military said it had intercepted a "suspicious aerial target" on Friday off the northern port city of Haifa amid high tension along its frontier with Lebanon.The seaports of Haifa and Ashdod are crucial gateways for Israel's trade.An Israeli military spokesperson said the target had not caused any damage or injuries."I cannot confirm exactly how close it was to the port, but the fact that, according to protocol, no sirens were sounded means that it was far enough," the spokesperson said, declining to say whether the target or its source had been identified.In December, the Israeli mil

Esgian's last roundup of the year for the Week 52 puts spotlight on new developments for Dolphin Drilling semisub, Seadrill drillships, as well as Shell’s plans for Australia and ONGC’s new tender for jackups in India.ContractsDolphin Drilling has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with an undisclosed operator for the 1,500-ft semisubmersible Borgland Dolphin to undertake a 500-day drilling campaign in the UK. The drilling campaign is planned to begin directly after the firm part of the contract period with EnQuest, which was announced in late November 2023.

Analysts and commentators are quick to point out that fossil fuels will power maritime equipment, and indeed dominate the fueling marketplace, well into the future. However, they will do so alongside new fuels, and new technologies, that will be introduced to the maritime sector in the coming years. In its September, 2023 report “Beyond the Horizon: View of the Emerging Energy Value Chains”, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) explains that, “During the recent 80th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80)…

U.S. shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group announced it will upgrade all four vessels in its Alaskan Class fleet with new methanol-ready engines from MAN Energy Solutions.The vessels Alaskan Explorer, Alaskan Frontier, Alaskan Legend and Alaskan Navigator, all approaching 20 years in age, will receive significant engine and operational improvements, resulting in environmental benefits as well as extending their commercially useful life, OSG said.The lifecycle engine upgrades involve a series of technical and commercial enhancements…

On December 13, 193 blocks were auctioned in Brazil’s oil and gas licensing round, signaling strong optimism for the industry, according to Wood Mackenzie.Highlights from these bid rounds included:• The total amount in bonuses was US$85 million• 44 blocks were acquired in the Pelotas Basin, a frontier area. Petrobras will operate 29 and Chevron 15• All Basins managed to attract bids, even Parana Basin• A single Brazilian operator, Elysian, acquired 122 onshore blocks• BP, Equinor…

Brazil's Petrobras will invest around $102 billion within the 2024-2028 period, the firm's new strategic plan showed on Thursday, representing a major boost in expected investments by the state-run oil company.The plan, the first released by the oil giant since CEO Jean Paul Prates took the helm of the company, includes investments in a range of different segments, with most of it going into oil exploration and production.The figure represents a 31% leap from the $78 billion Petrobras…

As the world looks to renewable energy sources to combat climate change and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, offshore wind has emerged as a promising frontier in the United States. A report by the University of California Berkeley released in August concluded that due to the nation’s long coastlines with sustained winds in many areas and falling turbine costs, offshore wind could feasibly supply between 10% and 25% of the country’s energy demand by 2050.While that may paint a rosy picture of a cleaner…

Canadian shipbuilding group Davie announced it has finalized its acquisition of Finland’s Helsinki Shipyard Oy, which has struggled to gain new business due to Western sanctions against Russia.The deal has been nearly a year in the making, starting from December 2022. By March 2023, Davie exercised an exclusive option to purchase the assets of Helsinki Shipyard. In April a business purchase agreement was signed, and on July 4 Davie secured a new 50-year land lease from the city of Helsinki.Financial terms of agreement were not disclosed…

U.S. shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG) on Thursday announced it has reached an agreement with BP Oil Shipping Company to purchase the Jones Act compliant crude oil tanker Alaskan Frontier.Built by General Dynamics NASSCO in 2004, the 1.3-million-barrel capacity tanker is a sister to three other Alaskan Class vessels operated by OSG’s wholly owned subsidiary, Alaskan Tanker Company. It was part of Alaska Tanker Company's active fleet  until 2019 when the vessel was placed in cold lay-up in Labuan, Malaysia.OSG said it expects the transaction will be completed in early November. Afterward, the company intends to reactivate the tanker…

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro on Tuesday called for a “new maritime statecraft” to prevail in an era of intense strategic competition.During remarks at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Secretary Del Toro stated that maritime statecraft, in a broad sense, encompasses not only naval diplomacy, but a national, whole-of-government effort to build comprehensive U.S. and allied maritime power, both commercial and naval.“Our new maritime statecraft should be bold…

Shanghai’s local government plans to provide oceanic coverage of 5G networks by 2024.China Daily reports that Shanghai will build an integrated network connecting all land, sea, air and space internet infrastructure platforms. The development of navigation, wind power and offshore engineering will be coordinated so that they are connected.5G technology will be used for marine supervision, science and technology, marine economy and intelligent shipping.Qualcomm describes 5G as…

Tidewater has appointed Dick H. Fagerstal non-executive Chairman of the Board.In addition, the Board has reduced the size of the Board from nine to eight members.Fagerstal stated, “I am honored to assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Tidewater at such an exciting time for our industry. I believe the company is well positioned to capitalize on the increasing global offshore activity with recently closed (and pending) additions to its fleet of offshore vessels.“Having been…

An international maritime charity based in Germany has unveiled a new ship to promote literacy, education and cross-cultural cooperation across Southeast Asia.The vessel, Doulos Hope, is the fifth in GBA Ships’ fleet, recently launched following a technical refit and outfitting. At 85.5 meters long and 14 meters wide, with a gross tonnage of 3,370 grt and a maximum speed of 13.5 knots, the vessel is the first of a planned fleet designed to reach new regions and operate in shallower waters…

Japan's MODEC said Monday it would proceed with engineering, procurement, and construction on the Uaru FPSO vessel following a final investment decision on the Uaru offshore oil project by ExxonMobil in Guyana last month.The Uaru FPSO is named ‘Errea Wittu’, which means ‘abundance,’ and will be the fifth offshore FPSO in Guyana and the first to be supplied by MODEC. The first four, two of which are now in production in the Stabroek block off Guyana, were/will be delivered by SBM Offshore.Apart from supplying the Errea Wittu FPSO…

BYD-Naval Architects has secured a contract to develop the design for a new electric 27-meter passenger catamaran for Ottawa Boat Cruises as part of their initiative to continue delivering zero emissions tourism to Canada.Robert Taillefer, president of Ottawa Boat Cruises, said, “Ottawa Boat Cruises is a leader in sustainable technology innovation. They built the first certified 100% electrical boat in the world in 2016. Their second electrical boat was built in 2022 and they are now building two new electrical vessels.

The Australian government has released its annual State of Hydrogen report, saying it reinforces that Australia has the foundations to become a global leader in green hydrogen.The report illustrates local industry is advancing hydrogen as a chemical feedstock and for export to generate electricity, but there’s an urgent need to speed up priority pilot projects and hydrogen hubs to compete internationally.In 2022, more than 100 Australian green hydrogen projects such as green ammonia and green methanol manufacturing were announced.

Schmidt Ocean Institute announced that its newly refitted research vessel has been launched and is ready to be used by scientists worldwide to push the frontiers of deep sea expedition.Funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute founders Eric and Wendy Schmidt, the 110-meter global-class research ship, Falkor (too), was refit at Freire Shipyard in Vigo, Spain, with sea trials taking place off Puerto Rico. It will now embark on a series of expeditions and be available to scientists and technologists globally at no cost in exchange for making their research and discoveries publicly available.

A fire that broke out during the maiden voyage of the world's first liquified hydrogen (LH2) carrier gas carrier Suiso Frontier was caused by an onboard electrical issue, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation foundThe 116-meter vessel, built as a prototype ship to assess the technical aspects of transporting LH2 by sea, had arrived at the Port of Hastings, Victoria on January 20, 2022, on its maiden voyage.The ship had departed Kobe, Japan on December 25, 2021 with 55 t of LH2…

The Port of South Louisiana (Port SL) said it has reached a deal with T. Parker Host to buy the Avondale Global Gateway, a logistics hub at site of the former Avondale Shipyard.The acquisition of this 254-acre facility at mile 108 of the Mississippi River will allow the port to be more competitive in traditional international trade and focus on the new frontier of renewable energy development, Port SL said.The purchase and sale agreement was announced Thursday by Port SL CEO Paul Matthews following unanimous approval from the port commission.

Maritime satellite communications services firm Marlink is equipping Solstad Offshore vessels with Starlink connectivity integrated with the Sealink VSAT, L-band backup, and 4G services."Solstad Offshore is the first offshore vessel operator on the Marlink network to trial Starlink testing the network in harsh weather conditions. In September 2022, the company completed the migration of its fleet connectivity to Marlink, including Sealink VSAT and 4G connectivity, and is now evaluating if this should be further extended with Starlink integration…

As companies race to expand renewable energy and the batteries to store it, finding sufficient amounts of rare earth metals to build the technology is no easy feat. That’s leading mining companies to take a closer look at a largely unexplored frontier – the deep ocean seabed.A wealth of these metals can be found in manganese nodules that look like cobblestones scattered across wide areas of deep ocean seabed. But the fragile ecosystems deep in the oceans are little understood…

A valve failure that caused a flame to flare up briefly on the world's first liquid hydrogen carrier before its first trip from Australia to Japan highlighted the need for strong fault detection systems, an Australian safety report found.The cause of the incident on the Suiso Frontier on Jan. 25 last year has been fixed, the Australian Transportation Safety Board said in a report released last week. The ship had loaded liquid hydrogen for the trip the day before. "Safety has always been our highest priority.