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09 Jan 2024

Viking Strengthens Marine Evacuation Portfolio with Undertun Acquisition

(Credit: Viking Life-Saving Equipment)

Danish maritime safety solutions company Viking Life-Saving Equipment has acquired rights to manufacture and supply Undertun marine evacuation systems (MES).The Viking acquisition has been agreed with Sverre Undertun, whose Norway-based company offers solutions which include its well-known Undertun ship gangways.The solution is suitable for the small ferry market due to its easy installation and use.Catering for up to 150 persons, Undertun MES are especially convenient when installation heights and crew numbers are low…

18 Jul 2023

MAIB Concerned Pilot Ladder Incidents are Under-Reported

© Matvejs / Adobe Stock

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its 2022 annual report which includes details of its investigation into pilot ladder safety.The MAIB canvassed 105 UK Competent Harbour Authorities, and this revealed that almost 700 marine pilots conducted over 96,000 transfers underway using a pilot ladder, during which there were over 400 incidents or accidents.Just over half of these were reported to the MAIB, the most serious of which resulted in the pilot suffering…

26 Jun 2023

New Product: Subsea Power Cable Cutting, Clamping Tool

Image courtesy Credeblug

Credeblug and Tecnalia have teamed to improve the maintenance and repair operations carried out on underwater power cables. The end result: the manufacture and validation of s cutting and clamping tool, designed to secure one end of a cable after it has been cut, aiming to save time and money.“This functionality has been called for by offshore cable repair teams all over the world since such operations began in the 19th century," said Joannes Berquè, a TECNALIA researcher. "To this day, current cutting tools mean that the ends of the cable drop off after they have been cut.

29 Nov 2022

Global Shipping Set to Lose Steam Due to Economic Slowdown, UNCTAD Says

Credit: Kalyakan/AdobeSt

The pace of global shipping activity is set to lose steam next year as economic turmoil, conflict in Ukraine and the impact of the pandemic weaken the outlook for trade, U.N. agency UNCTAD said on Tuesday. The world's largest investment banks expect global economic growth to slow further in 2023, following a year roiled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and soaring inflation.The slowdown is expected to impact shipping, which transports more than 80% of global trade, although tanker freight rates could stay high.

22 Sep 2022

Holy Land Shipwreck Reveals Tenacity of Ancient Traders as Empires Shifted

© Eli Majewski / Adobe Stock

An ancient shipwreck found off the shore of Israel and loaded with cargo from all over the Mediterranean shows that traders from the West still came to port even after the Islamic conquest of the Holy Land, researchers say.A surprise storm? An inexperienced captain? Whatever the reason, the merchant ship made from fir and walnut trees and carrying containers with delights from far-off lands sank in the shallow waters off what is today the Israeli coastal community of Ma'agan Michael more than 1…

27 Jun 2022

Melting Arctic Ice Could Transform International Shipping Routes -Study

© Nightman1965 / Adobe Stock

Melting ice in the Arctic Ocean could yield new trade routes in international waters, reducing the shipping industry’s carbon footprint and weakening Russia’s control over trade routes through the Arctic, a study found.With climate change rapidly warming the world’s oceans, the future of the Arctic Ocean looks grim. Climate models show that parts of the Arctic that were once covered in ice year-round are warming so quickly that they will be reliably ice-free for months on end in as few as two decades.

30 Dec 2021

2022 & Beyond: Will the Container Carrier Debacle Ever End?

Copyright: Idanupong/AdobeStock

When the global supply chain runs smoothly, it’s like a well-choreographed dance. Everything comes together elegantly and effortlessly. But when someone misses a step, the show can quickly turn into a disaster. And that’s what’s currently unfolding before our eyes, headline after headline.Those of us in the supply chain industry know it takes a Herculean effort to keep the wheels of commerce turning without so much as a squeak or rattle. And it’s going to take just that to get…

30 Nov 2021

Volvo Penta's Propulsion for American Offshore Services' CTVs

Rendering of AOS Wind Farm Crew Transfer Vessel

Volvo Penta has secured a contract to provide quad IPS propulsion systems for the four new offshore wind farm crew transfer vessels (CTVs) that will be built at Blount Boats for American Offshore Services (AOS). The new 30-meter (99-ft.) twin-hull CTVs will be powered by four IPS900 propulsion drives, two in each hull. The fully integrated system will also include Volvo Penta’s GPS-based Dynamic Positioning System and integrated joystick controls, allowing for convenient and easy maneuverability even in conditions of strong currents and high waves.

21 Apr 2021

Ampelmann, C-Job Develop Motion-compensated Feeder Vessel for U.S. Offshore Wind Sector

Credit: C-Jobs Architects

Dutch offshore gangway services firm Ampelmann and C-Job Naval Architects have teamed up to develop what they say is "a one-of-a-kind" offshore wind feeder vessel concept with motion compensation technology.According to the duo, the vessel would be specifically suited for the rigorous demands of operating off the U.S. east coast.The concept design combines the knowledge of Ampelmann, the Dutch offshore access provider, and independent ship design company C-Job Naval Architects.

21 Feb 2021

Offshore Wind Seen as Lucrative Side Gig Option for US Fishermen, Mariners

Credit: Pavlo Glazkov/AdobeStock

The growing U.S. offshore wind industry will offer "a substantial number of opportunities" for the local fishermen and mariners to supplement their income, a study commissioned by the New York State Economic Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), has found.The study – compiled by The Renewables Consulting Group (RCG) – concluded that as the offshore wind industry grows, the option for mariners to supplement their income will become available during all phases of a project’s lifecycle.Based on current Northeastern US offshore wind commitments alone…

19 Jan 2021

Pandemic-Related Risks Top the List for 2021, says 10th Allianz Risk Barometer

© freshidea/AdobeStock

Business interruption, pandemic outbreak and cyber incidents -- three separate but 'strongly interlinked' matters -- lead the pack as the top threats to maritime in 2021, according to the 10th Allianz survey on risk in the maritime sector.The maritime industry, on its best day, is fraught with risk, as people, machinery and the bulk of world trade regularly traverses some of the most perilous conditions on the planet. According to the 10th Allianz Risk Barometer 2021 for the sector…

29 Dec 2020

River Dance: Grounding Triggers Breakaway Barges

© kikimor / Adobe Stock

It was a beautiful mid-summer afternoon in the nation’s heartland. The skies were clear, the sun was shining and the variable southwest breeze barely caused a ripple on the muddy water of the winding river. Optimistic fishermen lined the riverbanks and a few recreational boaters were cruising close to the floating docks lining both shores.This tranquil scene on this busy waterway was about to change…and quickly.A parting of the waysAbout a half mile upriver, a 95-foot tug was proceeding southbound on a slow bell with two barges made up end-to-end along her starboard side.

21 Dec 2020

Out-casting and Outlasting the Competition

At the main helm of the FV Pinwheel, the Marex OS III Type 244 control head provides single-lever operation that combines both gear direction and engine speed. (Photo: Emerson)

A captain claims victory at the end of a popular high-stakes fishing competition thanks to help from a new electronic boat control system.When the Summer to Fall bluefin tuna season ends in Gloucester, Mass., it’s only just beginning in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. It’s in these rough waters that commercial fishermen compete on the TV show, “Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks.” A spin-off of the original “Wicked Tuna,” this series has run on National Geographic since 2014 and recently completed its seventh season on air in September 2020.Fishing for bluefin tuna comes with unique challenges.

27 Nov 2020

Report: Venezuela Resumes Oil Shipments to China Despite U.S. Sanctions

Venezuela has resumed direct shipments of oil to China after U.S. sanctions sent the trade underground for more than a year, according to Refinitiv Eikon vessel-tracking data and internal documents from state company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).Chinese state companies China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and PetroChina - long among PDVSA's top customers - stopped loading crude and fuel at Venezuelan ports in August 2019 after Washington extended its sanctions on PDVSA to include any companies trading with the Venezuelan state firm.The imposition of the sanctions was part of a push by the Trump administration to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro…

01 Sep 2020

US Preparing Tighter Oil Sanctions on Venezuela

© Andrea Izzotti / Adobe Stock

The Trump administration is looking to tighten oil sanctions on Venezuela in the near future, top U.S. envoy for the country told Reuters on Monday, by potentially removing exemptions that allow some oil companies to exchange Venezuelan crude for fuel from the OPEC member.U.S. President Donald Trump has ramped up sanctions on Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, its key foreign partners and customers since it first imposed measures against the company in early 2019, seeking to oust the…

19 Aug 2020

US Looks to End Exemptions on Venezuela Oil Sanctions

© Francis / Adobe Stock

The United States is considering an October deadline for ending exemptions to Venezuelan sanctions that allow some companies and refiners to still receive the South American producer's oil, two sources said, as Washington seeks to raise the heat on President Nicolas Maduro.U.S. President Donald Trump has ramped up sanctions on Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, its key foreign partners and customers since it first imposed measures against the company in early 2019, seeking to oust the…

15 Jul 2020

US Says Room for Sanctions in Response to China in South China Sea

Mischief Reef has been occupied and controlled by China since 1995, and is also claimed by Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam. (Credit: CSIS/AMTI, DigitalGlobe)

The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia warned on Tuesday that Washington could respond with sanctions against Chinese officials and enterprises involved in coercion in the South China Sea after the United States announced a tougher stance to Beijing’s claims there.“Nothing is off the table ... there is room for that. This is a language the Chinese understand - demonstrative and tangible action,” David Stilwell, assistant secretary of state for East Asia, told a Washington think-tank when asked if sanctions were a possible U.S.

14 Jul 2020

US Rejects China's Claims in South China Sea

(U.S. Navy photo by Cody Beam)

The United States on Monday rejected China’s disputed claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea, a move that Beijing criticized as inciting tensions in the region and which highlighted an increasingly testy relationship.China has offered no coherent legal basis for its ambitions in the South China Sea and for years has been using intimidation against other Southeast Asian coastal states, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.“We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful…

16 Jan 2020

Subsea Robots in the Splash Zone

New model tool: the iCon inspection robot searches for cracks. CREDIT: OceanTech

From their base deep within a former World War II U-boat pen, Norwegian outfit, OceanTech, is developing a set of robot tools that cling to offshore structures in order to effect inspection, maintenance and repair, or IMR. Old submarine anchorages are now subsea testing and training sites, but the North Sea is still the target. Hundreds of aging platforms and subsea structures require IMR that’s too costly, complex or hazardous for divers or remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs.As he walks us through Dora II…

24 Jun 2020

Volvo Penta Equips Stockholm's New Patrol Boat

(Photo: Volvo Penta)

Stockholm’s Maritime Police Section has recently taken delivery of a high-speed Marell M15 patrol boat, equipped with a fully integrated propulsion system – Volvo Penta’s latest D6 engine, DPI drive and navigation system. The new vessel was handed over on June 11 at Swedish boatbuilder Marell’s headquarters in Östhammar, some 135 kilometers north of Stockholm.Volvo Penta’s latest D6-440 DPI propulsion system is the power behind the new 15-meter fast patrol boat. Equipped with twin D6-440 DPI sterndrives…

17 Jun 2020

Nord Stream 2 Seeks Updated Permit to Complete Pipeline in Danish Waters

The Nord Stream 2 has requested a permit allowing it to use pipe-laying vessels with anchors to complete the final roughly 120-kilometer stretch of pipeline in Danish waters, Denmark's energy agency (DEA) said on Tuesday.Work on the project stopped in December as pipe-laying firm Swiss-Dutch Allseas suspended work due to U.S. sanctions targeting companies providing vessels laying Nord Stream 2 pipes.The DEA did not say how the work would proceed in the face of a new risk of sanctions but its decision would be "purely administrative" and in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.The Trump administration opposes the project on the grounds it would strengthen Russia's economic grip over Europe.This month, U.S.

23 Feb 2020

Global shipping Hit by Coronavirus

Global shipping holds its breath as the coronavirus continues to spread and generates massive economic and financial uncertainty.Two weeks ago, BIMCO argued that – from an economic perspective - when China sneezes, we all catch the flu. Since the SARS outbreak in 2003, the global economy has become much more interlinked with China and the Chinese economy has grown to become the second largest in the world.While hard facts and reliable data are in high demand, they are in short supply, nevertheless it’s time for a more thorough diagnosis on how this affects the global shipping industry.The coronavirus outbreak coincided with the Lunar New Year, which led to nation-wide extensions of the holiday. However, even with the passing of the holiday extensions, large parts of China remain closed.

13 Jul 2020

US Turns Screws on Maritime Industry to Cut off Venezuela's Oil

© Haris Andronos / Adobe Stock

Several companies that certify vessels are seaworthy and ship insurers have withdrawn services to tankers involved in the Venezuelan oil trade as the United States targets the maritime industry to tighten sanctions on the Latin American country.U.S. sanctions have driven Venezuela’s oil exports to their lowest levels in nearly 80 years, starving President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government of its main source of revenue and leaving authorities short of cash for essential imports such as food and medicine.The sanctions are part of U.S.