Fundraising News

A volunteer fire department in western Indiana has increased its capabilities to respond to incidents on lakes and waterways after getting an unexpected grant.The Bellmore Volunteer Fire Department purchased its first boat through funding from Marathon Pipe Line (MPL), a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum’s midstream segment, MPLX.The department’s chief said he had considered budget cuts to make the purchase possible before MPL surprised him with a check for all the necessary funding.Bellmore…

Preservation efforts are underway to renovate an 85-year old vessel known as “America’s Fireboat”.Designed by noted naval architect William Francis Gibbs and built in 1938 at United Shipyards on Staten Island, the vessel Fire Fighter would go on to serve a long and storied career before being decommissioned and eventually transferred to The Fireboat Fire Fighter Museum in 2013.The iconic fireboat is undergoing extensive renovations to return the vessel to her original glory, the museum announced this week. Escorted by the U.S.

Daphne Technology has established a U.S. subsidiary, Daphne Technology USA, and has appointed Jamie Brick, to lead its North American operations from Houston, Texas.Daphne Technology says its core focus is the development of sustainable solutions to combat harmful emissions. The company's SlipPure after-treatment system, which reduces methane emissions in the exhaust of natural gas-fueled engines (aka “slip”), has received approval in principle (AIP) from Lloyd's Register (LR) and DNV.

Brooklyn, N.Y. based startup Amogy on Monday announced it has raised more funds to help it commercialize and begin manufacturing its emissions-free ammonia-to-power technology for marine and industrial applications. The company aims to bring its first product to market in 2024.Amogy said its Series B-2 fundraising was joined by Marunouchi Climate Tech Growth Fund, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America and Synergy Marine, raising $11 million. This concludes…

Operations to salvage 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker moored off Yemen's coast will soon begin after a technical support ship arrived on site on Tuesday, the United Nations said.U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.The Ndeavor tanker, with a technical team from Boskalis/SMIT, is in place at the Safer tanker off the coast of Yemen's Ras Isa, the U.N.

A first-of-its-kind ammonia-powered, zero-emission tugboat will be put to the test by Brooklyn, N.Y-based startup Amogy in late 2023.Having already successfully demonstrated its technology on an aerial drone, tractor and semi-truck, the ammonia power solutions company revealed in early March that it is retrofitting a scaled up 1-megawatt (MW) version of its ammonia-to-power system onto a tug at Feeney Shipyard in Kingston, N.Y. as a test run for its emissions-slashing power and propulsion technology in the commercial maritime sector.Once installed…

Finnish auxiliary wind propulsion company Norsepower announced it has secured €28 million in its latest Series C fundraising round, enabling the company to scale up production and expand the reach of its fuel-saving and emissions-reducing technology.French asset manager Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Management dedicated to sustainable investment, led the fundraising through its impact private equity Mirova Environment Acceleration Capital fund. Additional participants in the round included TheFinnish Climate Fund (Ilmastorahasto)…

Brooklyn, N.Y. startup Amogy on Wednesday announced it has raised $139 million to begin manufacturing its ammonia-to-power technology and bring its first product to market in 2024.The Series B-1 fundraising round was led by SK Innovation, joined by other global investors including Temasek, Korea Zinc, Aramco Ventures, AP Ventures, MOL PLUS, Yanmar Ventures, Zeon Ventures and DCVC. “We are working from a place where we have no doubt that our technology will change the world,” said Seonghoon Woo, CEO of Amogy.

The state of Texas is putting into service a fleet of new, highly capable patrol boats as it works to detect, disrupt and deter criminal activity along the Rio Grande."Now, more than ever, it is imperative that our law enforcement officers and Texas National Guard soldiers adopt innovative solutions," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said during a recent visit tour the state’s enhanced assets along the U.S.-Mexico border. According to Abbott’s official website, the Governor has secured $4 billion in funding for Texas' border security efforts.

A Dutch-flagged cruise ship will provide a temporary home to some 1,500 Ukrainians who fled their country in the wake of Russia's invasion.Holland America Line said its vessel Volendam will be used to accommodate Ukrainian refugees as part of an agreement announced by Netherlands and City of Rotterdam government officials. The ship will dock at Merwehaven, a cargo port on the north side of the River Maas in Rotterdam, for three months to provide a temporary home for approximately 1,500 Ukrainians, part of a larger commitment from the Netherlands to accommodate 50,000 people who fled the war in their homeland.“We are in a unique position to accommodate the immediate need for food and housing…

Low-carbon biofuels developer WasteFuel announced the launch of WasteFuel Marine, a renewable fuel solution for the shipping sector. WasteFuel Marine’s initial product will be bio-methanol for container ships.WasteFuel said it aims for its marine fuels to reduce CO2 emissions by 95% and nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional fuels.“Methanol has exceptional appeal as a renewable fuel - it can use existing logistics infrastructure, works with proven engine designs and has a lower production cost relative to other renewable fuels.

MSI analysis finds ‘big three’ cruise companies could have less than 50% of capacity back in service by year end but a recovery to pre-pandemic levels is unlikely before 2023A new report from MSI says that a restart to full operations can’t come soon enough for cruise lines, whose financial position has become increasingly precarious given high debt levels incurred from fleet expansions and the fundraising required to survive the COVID crisis.The latest cruise market report from Maritime Strategies International (MSI) finds that net revenue losses for the ‘big three’ lines (Carnival…

Gulf Marine Services, a UAE-based provider of self-propelled, self-elevating support vessels serving the offshore oil, gas, and renewables industries, has struck a deal with banks to reduce the interest rate on its loan."Under the revised agreement the rate of interest payable by the Company on its borrowings will decrease from LIBOR +5% to LIBOR +3%, retrospectively from the beginning of this year. The reduced interest rate will apply until the end of 2022, after which the existing ratchet will apply…

Erden Eruc is a man on a ‘human-powered’ mission, a mission which Elliott Bay Design Group recently assisted with donated design services as he plans for the next leg of his “Six Summits Project.” Next up: a solo row across the Pacific Ocean, a bike ride to Tibet and climbing Mt. Everest.A Seattle resident, Erden Eruc’s solo circumnavigation by human power quest, which started as a quiet obsession in the late 1990s, became a life mission following the death of Göran Kropp, who died while rock climbing with Eruc in September of 2002.

U.S. investment company EnTrust Global, already a player in shipping finance, aims to buy ships that generate lower emissions, an executive said, the latest sign of efforts in the shipping industry to go green.Global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world’s CO2 emissions, putting the industry under pressure to clean up. About 90% of world trade is transported by sea.New York-based EnTrust, which has $18.9 billion in assets, lends to the shipping sector through its Blue Ocean Funds.

Alternative asset management firm EnTrust Global said Wednesday that it has completed fundraising for its EnTrust Global Blue Ocean Funds for investment in the global maritime industry. The Funds closed at $2.1 billion after raising $925 million since April of 2020.Part of EnTrust Global’s private debt and real asset division, the Blue Ocean Funds engage in direct lending and similar financing opportunities to vessel owners and operators and other maritime businesses.“We continue to see strong demand for our debt capital solutions from clients around the world…

Carnival Cruise Line said on Monday it has extended its pause in operations for North American voyages until September 30, as it determines how to safely resume service amid the COVID-19 pandemic.The cruise line, owned by Carnival Corp, had previously said it would resume some voyages on August 1.Industry trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said on Friday its ocean-going cruise line members, which include Carnival, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, would voluntarily extend their pause in operations from U.S. ports until Sept.

Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has picked British startup Beacon, a digital freight forwarder, for his latest investment.Beacon said on Sunday it raised over $15 million in Series A fundraising, from investors including Bezos and venture capital firm 8VC.The startup, formed by two former Uber Technologies Inc executives two years ago, is already backed by Uber founders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, along with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.Beacon is also a supply chain finance firm that provides real-time data of cargo delivery and a marketplace view of global shipping costs and

Containers get a Second Life in the Agriculture Sector.‘Green’ initiatives continue to sweep the globe, with companies such as #Agricool leading the way with its plan to  revolutionize urban agriculture while giving containers a second life.Enter CMA CGM Group, one of the world’s largest containershipping companies, which is supporting Agricool not only with recycled containers, but also investing in the company and sharing its experience in logistics with the sapling company as is matures and enters its industrialization phase.What is Agricool?Founded in 2015 in Paris…

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd’s $3.5 billion in cash on hand will be enough to bankroll the company for “at least 18 months” without any new revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic that has halted voyages, Chief Executive Frank Del Rio said on Thursday.“That’s enough to cover our cash burn under a zero-revenue environment for at least 18 months, not 12, 18 months,” Del Rio told Reuters in a phone interview.Norwegian’s shares, which have lost almost 80% of their market value this year…

Domestic and international lenders are vying for a slice of Japan’s nascent offshore wind power sector, which is expected to provide as much as ¥3trn (US$29bn) in project financing opportunities, albeit at very low margins.Akita Offshore Wind completed the nation’s first fundraising for a major offshore wind project last month, raising ¥80bn to build wind turbines near two ports in western Japan.Auctions for sites off Japan's shores are due to kick off in April, and lenders are…

It was 6pm when an unusual rainbow-colored boat, made of recycled plastic waste and discarded flip-flops gathered from beaches and roadsides, dropped anchor off the beach at Mtwapa, near Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa.The 9-meter-long dhow, "The Flipflopi", was sailing south along East Africa's coast to raise awareness of the threat plastics pose to the oceans, said chief boat-builder and captain Ali Skanda.Beaches and marine ecosystems have been badly affected by plastics, Skanda said…

The CMA CGM Group will support the financial and industrial development of Notilo Plus, a Marseilles-based start-up specialized in autonomous underwater solutions, in order to help them launch their industrialization.Notilo Plus develops autonomous underwater dronesFounded in 2016 and based in Marseilles and Lyon, Notilo Plus develops autonomous underwater systems featuring artificial intelligence and data enhancement capabilities. It develops “made in France” autonomous solutions targeting the fields of maritime transportation, leisure and infrastructure.Last December, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, presented the Jacques Saadé Award to Notilo Plus on the occasion of the Trophées de l’Economie 2018.