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Galena News

30 May 2023

Top Shipper of Russian Oil Secures Indian Cover as Western Certifiers Exit

© Andrea Izzotti / Adobe Stock

An Indian agency has stepped in to provide safety certification for most of Gatik Ship Management's fleet, a major carrier of Russian oil to India, after Lloyd's Register and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) withdrew classification for many of its vessels, records show.Mumbai-based Gatik, which has emerged this year as a significant player in Russian oil transport, also recently reflagged at least four of its vessels to Mongolia, according to data from maritime platform Lloyd's List Intelligence.This followed the de-flagging of 36 of the Gatik-managed fleet by St.

08 May 2020

Oil rises 5% in second weekly gain on output cuts, demand hopes

© Pavel Ignatov / Adobe Stock

Oil prices settled 5% higher on Friday in their second consecutive week of gains as U.S. producers cut production with the number of drilling rigs falling to a record low, and as more states moved ahead with plans to relax lockdowns intended to halt the coronavirus pandemic.The number of operating oil and natural gas rigs fell by 34 to an all-time low of 374 this week - reflecting data going back 80 years - as the energy industry slashes output and spending to deal with the coronavirus…

16 Aug 2019

Kinder Morgan Invest $170Mln in Houston Ship Channel

Houston pipeline operator Kinder Morgan (KMI) plans to invest $170 million in various expansion projects along the Houston Ship Channel.The investment will increase efficiency, add product liquidity, and enhance blending capabilities at its Pasadena and Galena Park terminals, part of its best-in-class refined products storage hub on the Houston Ship Channel, said the energy infrastructure company in North America.In response to growing customer demand, KMI’s liquids terminal platform now boasts 10 ship docks, 38 barge spots, 20 inbound pipelines providing connectivity to 10 regional refineries and chemical plants, 15 outbound pipelines…

14 Aug 2019

ICE, Magellan to Offer Dock Capacity to Houston Oil Futures Customers

Intercontinental Exchange Inc and Magellan Midstream Partners LP said on Wednesday they would auction dock capacity at Magellan's terminals in Galena Park and Seabrook, Texas, for holders of ICE's Permian West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures contracts.The monthly auction process will allow customers who purchase an ICE Permian WTI crude futures contract, deliverable at Magellan's East Houston terminal (MEH), the option to load crude directly onto a vessel at Galena Park and Seabrook dock facilities for export, the companies said.The capacity offered will be adequate to fill Panamax and Aframax size vessels, with Suezmax size vessels set to be added in the future.Earlier this year…

26 Jun 2019

New Indictments in Table Rock Duck Boat Sinking

File Image: The Duck Boat salvage operation underway (CREDIT: USCG)

Two more employees of Ripley Entertainment, Inc. – the company that operated duck boat rides in Branson, Missouri – along with the captain of the duck boat that sank at Table Rock Lake last summer, resulting in the deaths of 17 people, have been indicted by a federal grand jury.Curtis P. Lanham, 36, of Galena, Missouri, and Charles V. Baltzell, 76, of Kirbyville, Missouri, were charged in a 47-count superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Thursday, June 13.

15 Sep 2017

Oil/Chemical Spills from Harvey Are Big, but Dwarfed by Katrina

More than 22,000 barrels of oil, refined fuels and chemicals spilled at sites across Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, along with millions of cubic feet of natural gas and hundreds of tons of other toxic substances, a Reuters review of company reports to the U.S. Coast Guard shows. The spills, clustered around the heart of the U.S. oil industry, together rank among the worst environmental mishaps in the country in years, but fall far short of the roughly 190,000 barrels spilled in Louisiana in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina - the last major storm to take dead aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast. Harvey slammed ashore in Texas on Aug. 26, unleashing record flooding around Houston that destroyed countless homes, displaced around a million people and killed scores. The U.S.

15 Sep 2017

Oil, Chemical Spills from Harvey Adding Up

More than 22,000 barrels of oil, refined fuels and chemicals spilled at sites across Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, along with millions of cubic feet of natural gas and hundreds of tons of other toxic substances, a Reuters review of company reports to the U.S. Coast Guard shows. The spills, clustered around the heart of the U.S. oil industry, together rank among the worst environmental mishaps in the country in years, but fall far short of the roughly 190,000 barrels spilled in Louisiana in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina - the last major storm to take dead aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast. Harvey slammed ashore in Texas on Aug. 26, unleashing record flooding around Houston that destroyed countless homes, displaced around a million people and killed scores. The U.S.

11 Jun 2015

Shelter-in-place lifted, Houston Ship Channel reopened

A shelter-in-place was lifted and the Houston Ship Channel was reopened at 2:08 p.m. Wednesday, after an incident in the upper ship channel that caused the release of as much as 23,000 gallons of naphtha (PTN). The Coast Guard, Texas General Land Office, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies and responders are working together to ensure the safety of people in the area, responders and to minimize any impact to the environment if possible. "Upon consultation with the NOAA support coordinator, their models showed that most of the product would evaporate in approximately three hours," said Cmdr. Eric Carrero, the federal on-scene coordinator for the Coast Guard.

29 Jan 2015

NOAA Satellites Help Rescue 240 People Last Year

Image: NOAA

Last year, 240 people were saved from potentially life-threatening situations throughout the United States and its surrounding waters with help from NOAA’s fleet of weather satellites. In addition to their role in weather forecasting, NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites can detect distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots, shipwrecked boaters and stranded hikers. Information captured from these satellites, including location, are then relayed to first responders on the ground who assist with search and rescue efforts.

14 Oct 2014

Kinder Morgan to Add Oil Storage Capacity in Houston

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. said it will add 2.1 million barrels of storage at its Pasadena and Galena Park terminals just outside Houston. The $210 million project - supported by long-term contracts with existing customers - will also include the construction of a new ship dock and other improvements at the Galena Park terminal that will boost vessel load rates. The new dock and the existing ones at Galena Park will be capable of loading vessels at rates up to 15,000 barrels per hour, the company said. "The new tankage will provide refined product producers and traders the ability to send more barrels to the water for international exports or to the network of pipelines for domestic use…

14 Nov 2013

Crowley Award US$10,000 Alaska Fairbanks Scholarships

Crowley Alaska scholarship students: Photo credit Crowley

Crowley Maritime Corporation recently awarded four Thomas B. Crowley, Sr., Memorial Scholarships to University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) students Alexandra Bateman, Gabrielle Bragg, Diloola Erickson and Kimberly Greenway. These students were chosen for their outstanding academic records and having met other scholarship criteria. They each received $2,500 toward tuition. Preferences for Crowley-funded UAF scholarships are given to Alaska natives from Crowley-served communities throughout the state…

23 Oct 2013

Crowley Donate Land for Alaskan Senior Citizens' Center

Yukon River operations: Image courtesy of Crowley Maritime

Crowley Maritime Corporation's group recently completed the sale of 2.836 acres of unimproved land to Nenana Tortella Council on Aging for a mere $500. The lot, which has a market value of $25,000 upon recent appraisal in 2013, will be used by the council as a community match which is required to secure additional funds for a desperately needed, new Senior Center. Crowley’s Nenana terminal serves as a loading port for barges making fuel and freight deliveries to communities on the upper Yukon River, including company owned tank farms in Fort Yukon and Galena.

14 Aug 2013

ISS Announces New Dock Services Schedule and Charges

Maritime services provider Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) is advising of a new schedule of dock services and charges at the Kinder Morgan Galena Park and Pasadena terminals, Houston, Texas, from September 1, 2013. The new schedule includes a Maritime Safety and Security Fee of $2,500 per ship, per call, for all ships berthing at the terminals from this date. Primarily used by tanker operators and ship owners, Kinder Morgan has given notice to all agents and ship owner representatives using the Galena Park and Pasadena terminals that it has assumed all of the costs associated with the Maritime Security System (MARSEC) regulations to ensure secure facilities for a number of years…

14 May 2013

Houston Ship Channel Expansion Planned

Houston Ship Channel: Photo courtesy of US Army Corps of Engineers

Kinder Morgan announces land purchase, plans to construct dock and expand terminal capacity on Houston Ship Channel. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners say they will invest $106 million to purchase approximately 20 acres adjacent to its Pasadena, Texas, terminal, build nine new tanks with a storage capacity of 1.2 million barrels at its Galena Park terminal under long-term customer agreements, and construct a new barge dock that is expected to help relieve current barge congestion in the Houston Ship Channel.

10 Jan 2013

Three VSP for Double-ended Ferry

Ferry Waterbridge Steel

The contract for a new double-ended ferry that will operate on the Upper Arrow Lake in British Columbia, Canada, has been awarded to Waterbridge Steel Inc. As of 2014, the new vessel is to replace two ferries built in the 1960's which are equipped with Voith Schneider Propellers (VSP). The vessels' Voith Schneider propulsion systems have proven their worth under the specific application conditions and were therefore again chosen as propulsion system for the new ferry. Since 1968…

08 Aug 2010

Crowley Donates to UAF Scholarships

Photo courtesy Crowley

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced a gift of $20,000 to the University of Alaska Foundation this week, establishing a partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks geared toward advancing educational opportunities for students from rural communities where Crowley operates. Two $5,000 scholarships will be awarded to students in the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, with two more $5,000 scholarships for two students from the general student population at UAF. "The goal here is developing leaders that eventually go back into their communities to work…

29 Sep 2009

Oil Recovery Ops in Houston Ship Channel

The oil spill responders continue clean up efforts today after the 458-ft tank vessel Chemical Supplier allided with a barge and spilled approximately 10,500 gallons of oil in the Houston Ship Channel early on Sept. 25. Responders, as of 5:00 p.m., recovered approximately 4,280 gallons of oil. The source of the leak was secured at approximately 1:25 a.m. Sept. 26. The fuel tank contained an estimated 22,500 gallons of fuel oil. The Houston Ship Channel remains closed to all vessel traffic north of the I-610 bridge. Watchstanders from Sector Houston-Galveston received a call at approximately 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, reporting that the Chemical Supplier allided with Buffalo Barge #251 in the vicinity of Brady's Island near the I-610 bridge.

03 May 2004

OSG Buys Two U.S. Flag Tankers

Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. has purchased and taken delivery of two 50,000-deadweight ton U.S. Flag product tankers from Attransco, Inc. The two double bottom vessels, the S/R Galena Bay and the S/R Puget Sound, were built in 1982 and 1983, respectively, and currently are on bareboat charter to SeaRiver Maritime, Inc., a subsidiary of ExxonMobil. "This acquisition demonstrates OSG's commitment to expand its U.S. Flag business. In light of the anticipated decline in Jones Act product tanker tonnage expected over the next few years, OSG continues to explore various options to increase its participation in this trade," said Morten Arntzen, OSG's President and Chief Executive Officer.

26 Sep 2005

Chevron Typhoon TLP Heavily Damaged

Chevron Corporation has begun moving refined products to retailers in Texas and Louisiana and is actively assessing the effects to its operations in the Gulf of Mexico region following Hurricane Rita. Chevron's refined products terminal at Galena Park, Tx., was closed prior to the storm but re-opened to tanker truck service mid-day Saturday. The facility is operating around-the-clock to transfer more than 1.2 million gallons of motor vehicle fuels per day to more than 450 service stations within a 100-mile radius of Houston.Chevron is assessing off-shore oil and natural gas production facilities as weather permits. Initial assessments have revealed that the Typhoon tension leg platform (located in 2…

15 Jan 2003

Traffic Restricted on HSC Due to Oil Spill

Vessel traffic on the Houston Ship Channel (HSC) remains limited while commercial contractors cleanup approximately 2,000 gallons of fuel oil that spilled Sunday. Today the Coast Guard has only allowed certain kinds of vessels to pass through the area, such as small tugs and barges. Larger deep-draft vessels will be allowed to pass once the Coast Guard has concluded that the cleanup operations are not impacted by passing vessels. U.S. Coast Guard investigators are also continuing to monitor the cleanup and are investigating the cause of the accident. The ship channel was initially closed after the Coast Guard received a report that fuel oil had spilled from a barge about 4 a.m. Sunday during bunkering operations near the Kinder Morgan facility in Galena Park, Texas.