Great White News

Esgian reports fresh finds confirmed in Guyana, China and Norway in its Week 12 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDolphin Drilling has announced the award of a $154 million drilling contract from India's exploration and production company, Oil India Limited (Oil India), to the 6,000-ft semisub Blackford Dolphin.Malaysian offshore drilling firm Velesto confirmed Friday it had recently secured long-term contract extensions for three of its jackup rigs with Petronas Carigali…

Esgian reports that drilling contracts have been announced this week for operations in Brazil and the Philippines, and new discoveries have been confirmed in the UK and Namibia in its Week 11 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.ContractsCOSL Drilling has emerged as the winner for Petrobras' moored semisubmersible tender with the 4,600-ft Nanhai 8 (also known as Nan Hai Ba Hao).Noble has secured a high-dayrate drillship contract with Prime Energy in the Philippines.Drilling Activity and…

Esgian reports rig-related updates from Dolphin Drilling, Diamond Offshore, and Seadrill in its Week 9 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDespite Tullow Oil’s recent announcement that it would take a break from drilling offshore Ghana, Noble Corp. has stated that there has been no contract termination announcement and that its 12,000-ft drillship Noble Venturer is currently still contracted to Tullow into March 2025.Masirah Oil Ltd has signed a rig contract with…

Shell on Tuesday said it has made a final investment decision (FID) to boost production at the Perdido oil project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, starting in April 2025.The company, which operates the platform, said it will add three wells that are expected to produce up to 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) at peak rates.

Following another year of stark climate impacts in the Arctic, scientists warned Tuesday of a new scourge hitting the region: marine trash.With the region warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, sea ice that has long blanketed the Arctic Ocean is disappearing, opening new routes to shipping. Scientists began noticing the trash bobbing in the icy water or piling up on Alaska Bering Strait-area beaches last year.“That’s a direct result of increased human maritime activities…

The July/August edition of Marine Technology Reporter, the 15th Annual "MTR100", recognizes Graham Hawkes a subsea innovator, explorer, inventor and pusher of boundaries. A pioneer in the realm of ocean engineering, he’s designed and built more than 60 manned submersibles—everything from atmospheric dive suits to flying subs. As a test pilot, he’s maintained the deepest solo dive record for more than 20 years. He’s also the founder of HAWX Open Ocean LLC, created to design and…

The Panama Canal is a strategic crossroads for maritime traffic, and is arguably one of the most important maritime developments in the past century. Here we take a deeper dive into the history behind that famous strip of waterway.The present canal, which saw its first vessel transits in 1914, along with possible alternatives through Nicaragua and Mexico, had actually been on the minds of merchants, explorers and military/political strategists since the Age of Exploration in early 1500’s.

McDermott International announced a contract from Shell Exploration and Production Company, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) plc, for subsea umbilical and flowline installation at the Perdido development, located 230 miles south of Galveston, Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico."This award strengthens McDermott's relationship with Shell as we work together to safely and competitively deliver this next-generation deepwater energy project," said Richard Heo, McDermott's Senior Vice President for North, Central and South America. "Our proven track record of project execution in the Gulf of Mexico, industry-leading subsea capabilities…

Dedicated to creating more sustainable shipping practices, the world renowned banana producer is further bolstering its fleet or Star Cool Integrated containers and adding more controlled atmosphere systems to deliver premium banana quality. The new batch of 2500 Star Cool Integrated containers from Maersk Container Industry (MCI) will be deployed in Chiquita Brands International’s (Chiquita) shipping services. Of the batch, 1000 integrated containers are equipped with MCI’s market-leading Star Cool CA (Controlled Atmosphere) system, which effectively preserves the freshness of bananas during transit. By controlling the ripening, Star…

Mary Lee, the 16-foot Great White Shark that has had Twitter in a frenzy the past few weeks, has gone missing – electronically speaking. According to Ocearch, a conservation group set out to track and collect date from tiger and great white sharks, said her transmitter hasn’t had a “ping” since June 17, and no one has seen or heard from her since. Fans on twitter have been speculating her death, but never fear, it is more likely her tracker has lost battery power. Mary Lee was named after Ocearch expedition leader Chris Fischer’s mother.

Part II in a two-part series, continued from the January 2017 edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News. Read Part I here. If reliance on the foreign commercial market is risky because of uncertain reliability, then what of U.S. Government ownership of a fleet of vessels? That has also been on the menu since the early 20th century. President Woodrow Wilson proposed in September 1914 that the U.S. Government acquire commercial cargo vessels. Congress disagreed, which delayed enactment of the President’s proposal until the Shipping Act, 1916. A compromise was struck to permit U.S. Government ownership as a war time measure – but all vessels so acquired had to be sold to private owners within five years of the end of the war.

The privately owned U.S.-flag foreign trading fleet, which is an essential component of U.S. sealift capability, stands on the edge of a precipice. The fleet – roughly stable in terms of cargo carrying capacity from 2000 to 2012 – has declined from 106 vessels in 2012 to 78 vessels at October 30, 2016 primarily because of a substantial decline in available U.S. Government-reserved cargo. The size of the fleet has reached a point where the viability of the U.S.-flag industry involved in foreign trade – including its trained mariners…

The U.S. Navy with assistance from the First Lady Michelle Obama commissioned and brought to life the newest Virginia class submarine, USS Illinois (SSN 786), during a ceremony attended by more than 2,500 at Naval Submarine Base, New London on Oct. 29, 2016. Illinois, named in honor of the 21st state, is the 13th Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine to join the Navy's operational fleet. The first lady, who is the ships sponsor, expressed how proud she was of the crew and their families. "Thank you for giving me the incredible privilege of being associated with you and with your families and with the Illinois for the rest of my life. Obama gave the order to "man our ship and bring her to life" before the crew of about 130 men ran across the brow, onto the vessel.

The U.S. Navy is set to commission its newest fast attack submarine during an October 29 ceremony at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn. The third Virginia-class block III submarine and 13th of the Virginia-class fast attack class, the future USS Illinois (SSN 786) has the capability to attack targets ashore with highly accurate Tomahawk cruise missiles and conduct covert long-term surveillance of land areas, littoral waters or other sea-based forces. Other missions include antisubmarine and antiship warfare, mine delivery and minefield mapping.

DNV GL has welcomed the world’s largest semi-submersible drilling rig into class recently. Ocean Greatwhite is 123 metres long and 78 metres wide and was delivered at Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea. Owned by the Houston-based drilling contractor Diamond Offshore, the rig will be chartered to oil major BP and will operate in the Great Australian Bight. Ocean Greatwhite is also the first new-build rig to receive the DNV GL Integrated Software Dependent Systems (ISDS) notation. ISDS are systems whose performance is dependent on the overall behaviour of their integrated software components. DNV GL’s ISDS standard helps owners and operators minimise software integration errors and delays in projects involving complex integrated systems.

1860 - The sloop-of-war Portsmouth, commanded by John Calhoun, captures the slaver brig Falmouth off Porto Praya. 1908 - The Great White Fleet anchors in San Francisco Bay, Calif. The fleet is delayed from its round-the-world cruise after both Rear Adm. Robley D. Evans and Rear Adm. Charles M. Thomas fall ill. On May 15, Rear Adm. Charles S. Sperry assumed command and completes the cruise ending Feb. 22, 1909. 1916 - The first ship-to-shore radio telephone voice conversation was held on board USS New Hampshire (BB 25) off the Virginia Capes.

Vessel sales for March 2016 (as of April 1) as prepared by Shipping Intelligence, Inc., New York.

Today, Gov. Bobby Jindal joined Chiquita Brands International Inc. Senior Vice President Mario Pacheco to announce the company will relocate its shipping operations from the Port of Gulfport in Mississippi to the Port of New Orleans. Chiquita plans to ship 60,000 to 78,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units, or TEUs, per year at the Port of New Orleans, representing a roughly 15 percent increase in current container volumes there. Chiquita’s shipping operations will return to New Orleans after a nearly 40-year hiatus.

Today in U.S. Naval History - May 5 1909 - Great White Fleet anchors in San Francisco 1916 - First ship-to-shore radio telephone voice conversation from USS New Hampshire off Virginia Capes to SECNAV Josephus Daniels in Washington, D.C. 1942 - Capt. Milton Miles arrives in Chungking, China, to begin building an intelligence and guerilla training organization, Naval Group China 1945 - Naval landing force evacuates 500 Marshallese from Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

Today in U.S. 1821 - Lt. Robert F. Stockton and Dr. Eli Ayers, a naval surgeon and member of American Colonizing Society, induce a local African king to sell territory for a colony which became the Republic of Liberia. 1907 - Great White Fleet departs Hampton Roads, Va. to circumnavigate the world. 1922 - USS Bainbridge (DD-246) rescues 482 persons from burning French transport Vinh-Long. 1941 - USS Swordfish (SS-193) sinks Japanese cargo ship Atsutasan Maru. 1942 - Pharmacist's Mate First Class Harry B. Roby, USNR, performs an appendectomy on Torpedoman First Class W.

It is the newest and most transformational warship ever built, and yet it has also had the longest gestation period. Whether you call it new or old, you have to call it different. The pedigree for DDG 1000 is not from the Spruance or Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers, but rather it comes from the SC-21 (Surface Combatant for the 21st century) concept from 1994. Like DDG 1000, SC-21 was not about anti-air warfare. It was all about strike. SC-21, along with the Maritime Fire Support Demonstrator (MFSD) “arsenal ship” concept…

It is the newest and most transformational warship ever built, and yet it has also had the longest gestation period. Whether you call it new or old, you have to call it different. The pedigree for DDG 1000 is not from the Spruance or Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers, but rather it comes from the SC-21 (Surface Combatant for the 21st century) concept from 1994. Like DDG 1000, SC-21 was not about anti-air warfare. It was all about strike. SC-21, along with the Maritime Fire Support Demonstrator (MFSD) “arsenal ship” concept…

Former USCG Admiral Thad Allen is a transformational leader in the history of the service, a rock through thick and thin. Today he talks about resource allocation, risk management and homeland security. As part of Booz Allen Hamilton’s Justice and Homeland Security business group, Executive Vice President and former U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen leads the development of thought leadership and client engagements regarding the future direction of law enforcement and homeland security. The Coast Guard is under pressure to either pare its mission mix or downscale what it does.