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Gregory News

11 Apr 2024

Ukrainian Seafarers Experiencing Increased Levels of Depression and Anxiety

© Genya / Adobe Stock

Ukrainian seafarers are experiencing increased levels of loneliness and depression amid fears of conscription if they return home as the war enters its third year, seafarer charity Stella Maris warns.Stella Maris regional port chaplains for Southampton and Southern ports, Charles Stuart and Gregory Hogan, who make multiple daily ship visits report Ukrainian seafarers are under increasing strain.“The initial stresses have been replaced by something else,” Hogan says. “At first…

13 Feb 2024

Coast Guard R&D Center Receives Auxiliary Integration Award

The photo shows 10-year Auxiliary member Steve Morowsky and 30-year member Aux Joe Romanowsky underway supporting an RDC research project focused on Private Aids to Navigation verification. Photo courtesy Auxiliarists David Thiede

The Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC), under the command of Capt. Michael Chien, has won the Commodore Viggo C. Bertelsen Jr. and Vice Admiral John P. Currier Auxiliary Integration Award in the category of Applied Innovation. The award was presented by Commander Steven Koch, who leads the Auxiliary (AUX) in New England, at a command all hands. The Auxiliary is the 25,000-member volunteer organization supporting the Coast Guard across 11 missions.Regional Auxiliary Commodore Michael West noted…

26 Jan 2024

China Presses Iran to Rein in Houthi Attacks in Red Sea

© icholakov / Adobe Stock

Chinese officials have asked their Iranian counterparts to help rein in attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis, or risk harming business relations with Beijing, four Iranian sources and a diplomat familiar with the matter said.The discussions about the attacks and trade between China and Iran took place at several recent meetings in Beijing and Tehran, the Iranian sources said, declining to provide details about when they took place or who attended."Basically, China says: 'If our interests are harmed in any way, it will impact our business with Tehran.

07 Jan 2024

SK E&S and Woodside Collaborate on Hydrogen and Ammonia

2021 image of Choo Hyung-wook (Source: SK E&S)

Australia-based Woodside and South Korea’s SK E&S have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to enable studies on the potential development of a lower-carbon hydrogen value chain, including hydrogen, ammonia and other related products.Under the agreement, Woodside and SK E&S plan to jointly explore opportunities relating to long-term ammonia and hydrogen offtake arrangements; equity participation in ammonia and hydrogen production projects; and project engineering supply opportunities.In addition…

02 Jan 2024

NOMARS Puts New Officers in Charge

(Credit: DARPA)

DARPA’s NOMARS program aims to revolutionize naval operations by designing a ship that can operate autonomously for extended periods at sea without an onboard crew.One project at the forefront of maritime innovation is the development of a vessel called “Defiant,” a project of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Defiant is referred to as a NOMARS vessel – “No Manning Required Ship.”The project’s been underway at least since January 2020, when DARPA held a “proposers day…

27 Oct 2023

Nichols Brothers Wins Contract to Build NOMARS Uncrewed Vessel

Concept design for NOMARS Defiant unmanned ship (Image: DARPA)

Freeland, Wash. shipbuilder Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB) announced it has been awarded a contract to construct an uncrewed autonomous vessel for the U.S. Department of Defense's research and development agency.The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) project was awarded by Serco North America, the prime contractor and designer of the vessel, for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).The program aims to revolutionize naval operations by designing a ship that…

11 Oct 2023

MarTrust Appoints New CEO

Stuart Gregory courtesy of MarTrust

The Marcura Group Board has announced Stuart Gregory is taking the helm as CEO of MarTrust.MarTrust is set to undergo a renewed phase of development and expansion, the company said. Over the past years, under the leadership of Domenico Carlucci and with the support of the Marcura Board, MarTrust has become a prominent fintech entity, managing over $12 billion in payments annually.Gregory brings a wealth of fintech expertise, having been instrumental in building and scaling Wise Business through to its successful public listing in London.

11 Jul 2023

US Naval Construction Group 2 Welcomes Its First Woman Commander

Source: US Navy

Captain Constance Solina relieved Capt. Jeff Deviney as commander, Naval Construction Group (NCG) 2, during a change of command ceremony on July 7 to become the first woman to commanded an NCG and all Atlantic-based Seabees. (The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion".)Deviney, from Freer, Texas, led 4,500 personnel over the course of two years and oversaw their manning, training, and equipment readiness needs to ensure they deployed on time to five separate combatant commands.

19 Jan 2023

US Navy Relieves Two Commanding Officers

File photo: Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) departs Naval Station Rota, Spain, in June 2020. (Photo: Peter Lewis / U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Navy on Thursday announced it has relieved the commanding officers of two of its U.S. East Coast warships, USS Carney (DDG 64) and USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19).In separate statements, the Navy said it relieved Cmdr. Alexa Jenkins and Capt. Michael D. Nordeen, citing loss of confidence in their ability to command.Jenkins, who served as commanding officer of the USS Carney (DDG 64) since June 2022, was relieved by Capt. Jennifer Blakeslee, commodore, Naval Surface Squadron 14 (CNSS 14).Jenkins will be temporarily reassigned to the staff of Commander, Naval Surface Squadron 14, and Capt.

23 Sep 2022

Inmate Dies After Leap from NYC Jail Barge

Vernon C. Bain Center (CC BY-SA 2.0)

An inmate has died after jumping overboard from a New York City jail barge, the city Department of Correction announced.Police officers pulled Gregory Acevedo from the after after he reportedly climbed a fence at the Vernon C. Bain Center and jumped into the East River on Tuesday. The man was taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead after efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, according to officials.The Vernon C. Bain Center, also known as the Vernon C. Bain Maritime Facility, is a a 625-foot barge built for $161 million at Avondale Shipyard in Louisiana that opened as a jail in 1992.

21 Sep 2022

Cheniere to Fix Louisiana LNG Plant After Failing Pollution Test

© Anatoly Kolodey / Adobe Stock

Top U.S. LNG exporter Cheniere Energy Inc said it will repair and replace equipment at its Louisiana terminal after tests showed it exceeded newly-imposed hazardous emissions limits on certain known carcinogens, but the work will have no material impact on operations.A round of testing showed at least one of Cheniere's turbines at its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Louisiana failed the new standards, while the turbines in Texas at the company's only other U.S.

22 Aug 2022

US DARPA to Build, Test, Demonstrate Uncrewed Ship

Concept design for NOMARS Defiant unmanned ship. (Image: Serco Inc.)

The U.S. Department of Defense's research and development agency is moving into the second phase of a project to to build and demonstrate a new seagoing unmanned surface vessel.The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on Monday announced  it is moving into Phase 2 of the No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program, which seeks to build and demonstrate a revolutionary new medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV) that can go to sea and perform missions with unprecedented reliability and availability, while carrying a significant payload.

09 Jun 2022

Ship Fuel and Lube Costs Are Skyrocketing

© jsp / Adobe Stock

The $300 billion bunkering market is at a critical juncture due to the double whammy of the geopolitical crisis and the uncertainty surrounding the regulatory framework pertaining to the decarbonization of the shipping industry.“Bunkering has been hit from the trickledown effect of the sanctions against Russia, and this of course has had a serious impact on prices. Pre-war, the global prices were around $750-$850 per ton, and now we are looking at prices above $1,000,” said Alexander Prokopakis…

15 Apr 2022

MAN Working with Amazon Web Services on Maritime Digitalization

© Kalyakan / Adobe Stock

MAN Energy Solutions has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its preferred cloud provider to provide advanced analytics, machine learning, and Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities for MAN’s CEON platform. The MAN CEON digital platform connects MAN equipment across different industries and geographies to offer customers advice, condition-based maintenance, and repair guidance for marine and power engines, turbochargers, turbines, compressors, and other connected equipment.Using machine learning algorithms…

07 Mar 2022

Recovery, Resilience and Demand Shifts to Drive Inland Waterway Cargo Flows

(Photo: Blessey Marine Services)

Waterway traffic is coming back. November 2021 saw 52.1 million tons moving on the U.S. inland waterway system, the highest monthly tonnage since October 2019, a few months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shutdowns and stoppages of early 2020. Flows estimated by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, based on data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) show a 25% rise from June 2020. Data in a presentation by The Waterways Council Inc (WCI)…

20 Jan 2022

Eagle Bulk CEO Gary Vogel Named CMA Commodore

Gary Vogel, Chief Executive Officer of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Photo: Eagle Bulk Shipping)

Gary Vogel, chief executive officer of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc., has been named as the Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) Commodore for the year 2022.The 2022 Commodore Award, given each year to a person in the international maritime industry who has contributed to the growth and development of the industry, will be presented on March 31, at the Gala Dinner marking the conclusion of the annual Connecticut Maritime Association conference and expo, in Stamford, Conn..Vogel has served as CEO and director of Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ: EGLE) since September, 2015.

09 Dec 2021

Costamare Orders Eight New Containerships, Buys Seven Secondhand Bulkers

© Max Wei / Adobe Stock

Shipowner Costamare Inc. announced it has ordered eight newbuild containerships and acquired seven secondhand bulk carriers.The Monaco-headquartered company said Thursday it signed contracts with an unspecified Asian shipyard for two 13,000 TEU capacity newbuilds and exercised options under a previous agreement for two more of the same capacity plus four additional 15,000 TEU capacity vessels. Each of the ships will commence long-term charters with a "leading liner company" upon scheduled delivery between the third quarter of 2023 and first quarter of 2024.Gregory Zikos…

11 Nov 2021

AST Appoints Peters as Group Managing Director

Gregory Darling (left) Founder and Chairman, Applied Satellite Technology Ltd. (AST), with Andrew Peters (right), AST's new Group Managing Director. Photo courtesy AST

Applied Satellite Technology Ltd. (AST) appointed Andrew Peters as Group Managing Director.“Andrew’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for AST, his experience in the technology sector and knowledge of our industry and markets will spearhead our Group in the next stage of our growth," said Gregory Darling, Founder and Chairman.Andrew has held leadership roles in several telecoms and technology organizations, including CEO of Deutsche Telekom UK and Telefonica UK, with significant experience in M&A and business integration.In 2013…

15 Jun 2021

Costamare Makes Foray into Dry Bulk with 16 Ship Purchase

Greek-based container shipping company Costamare announced its foray into dry bulk shipping with the acquisition of 16 secondhand bulk carriers. Currently operating in the spot market, the 16 ships range between 33,000 and 85,000 DWT and have an average age of 10 years.Two of the vessels have been delivered to Costamare, and the remaining vessels are expected to be delivered by January 2022, the company said.Costamare, which currently owns 81 containerships, is investing in the rebounding dry bulk market amid ongoing healthy earnings in the box shipping sector.Gregory Zikos, Costamare's chief financial officer, said, "We have decided…

26 Jul 2021

AST Group, OneWeb Team Collaborate

This week, OneWeb's Maritime team had a long-awaited in-person meeting with colleagues at The AST Group.OneWeb's Maritime team – Carole Plessy, Dave Bell and Alexandra Kenworthy got to have that long-awaited in-person meeting. They met colleagues at The AST Group – Gregory Darling, Stuart Castell and Barney Gray. The main business of the day was to plan the smooth onboarding of The AST Group as we move closer to undertaking customer beta trials and delivering fixed services to support remote connectivity in Northern Europe before the end of the year.Together…

07 Apr 2021

OneWeb and The AST Group Partner to Broaden Access to Fast, Seamless Connectivity at Sea

(Photo: The AST Group)

Agreement marks next step in accelerating LEO connectivity for the global shipping and offshore industriesAs part of its mission to deliver low latency, ‘fiber-like’ connectivity to the maritime and offshore industries, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite communications company OneWeb, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The AST Group (AST), a global leader in satellite communications systems.By working together, AST and OneWeb will offer fixed-land and maritime customers access to OneWeb’s fast…

01 Mar 2021

MARKET: Why Don’t OSVs Get Scrapped?

Offshore Supply Vessel (Credit: STOCKSTUDIO/AdobeStock)

The OSV sector will be reliant on a hitherto unseen amount of scrapping to balance the market, writes Gregory Brown, Associate Director – Offshore, Maritime Strategies InternationalThere is a consensus that an OSV market recovery will only be driven a supply side rationalization. As well as a lack of newbuild activity, that rationalization will have to include unprecedented levels of scrapping in a market which has historically witnessed only limited levels of attrition.That limited level of attrition has several deep-seated roots…

13 Apr 2021

AST Partners with the Liberian Registry for Iridium GMDSS

(Photo: AST)

Maritime satellite communications solutions provider Applied Satellite Technology (AST) is partnering with The Liberian Registry as the first authorized service provider of the Iridium Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) for Liberian flagged vessels.As a Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) convention recognized system, the Iridium GMDSS maritime emergency and distress service helps keep mariners safe in emergency situations at sea, prevent accidents via receipt of Maritime…