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Large Fleet News

09 Feb 2024

Furetank Orders Two More Vessels

(Photo: Furetank)

Furetank adds another two Vinga vessels to the order line. Upon delivery, Furetank’s fleet will consist entirely of environmentally proven, top standard vessels with an average age of two years, the company said."We did our homework. This development towards sustainability has been an amazing journey," said Furetank CEO Lars Höglund.The vessels are number 20 and 21 in the Vinga series of intermediate size product tankers and will be fully owned by Furetank Rederi AB. They will replace older tonnage.The Vinga series has been rapidly expanded in the last few years…

26 Jan 2024

Orion Joins Dredging Contractors of America

(Photo: Chip Worley / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Houston based dredging and marine construction contractor Orion Group Holdings – Marine Group has become a member of trade group the Dredging Contractors of America (DCA).Orion has a near 100-year legacy and today ranks among market leaders in the provision of dredging services to keep waterways serviceable and to expand ports and other marine infrastructure throughout the United States, territories and Caribbean. The company works to create beneficial marsh habitats, dredging…

10 Oct 2023

Naval Maritime Autonomy Company Raises $55 Million

A prototype Saronic Spyglass ASV completes a full mission profile in its first open water exercise with the US Navy. (Source: Saronic)

Saronic, a maritime autonomy company focused on surface vessels, has announced a $55 million Series A funding.The round was led by Caffeinated Capital, with participation from 8VC, U.S. Innovative Technology Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Point72 Ventures, Silent Ventures, Overmatch Ventures, Ensemble VC, and Cubit Capital.With this raise, Saronic will accelerate research and development while expanding in-house manufacturing capacity for rapid production.The need for these autonomous surface vessels is clear, says Saronic.

03 Oct 2023

Offshore Wind: Support Vessel Bottlenecks Loom in the US

(© David Maddock / Adobe Stock)

An offshore wind industry is growing in the U.S. with an aim to meet the Biden Administration’s goal of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, and eventually 110 GW by 2050.But as is the case for any new industry that is building up, there are going to be bumps along the way. The U.S. offshore wind industry is currently grappling with rising costs amid unprecedented supply chain issues and inflation, among other issues.One of the main challenges unique to offshore wind is a shortage of vessels.

14 Sep 2023

Philippines Coast Guard Orders 80 OXE Marine Diesel Outboards

(Image: OXE Marine)

The Philippines Coast Guard has awarded a contract to OXE Marine’s exclusive distributor in the Philippines, Dynamic Power Marine and Industrial Hardware in partnership with DM8 Composites, to procure 40 high-speed vessels equipped with twin OXE300 outboards. As a result of the awarded contract, Dynamic Power will supply 80 engines to equip the high-speed vessels to support operations all over the Philippines.The vessels will be built by DM8 Composites, a FRP boat builder in the Philippines.

28 Aug 2023

Offshore Wind: US Shipbuilders Answering the Call

From left to right: Lasse Petterson, CEO of Great Lakes Dredge and Dock; Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa.; President Joe Biden; and Steinar Nerbovik, CEO of Philadelphia Shipyard (Photo: Philly Shipyard)

It’s a big deal when a U.S. president visits an American shipyard, and these trips always send a message. When President Obama spoke at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in 2013, he warned of the consequences of sequestration. President Trump’s 2020 speech at Fincantieri Marinette Marine touted a $5.5 billion naval contract that gave a welcome boost to the Wisconsin shipyard and its supply chain partners. Most recently, President Biden traveled to Philadelphia’s Philly Shipyard…

08 Jun 2023

America's Sea Services Building Large Fleet of Small Ships and Craft

U.S. Navy Sailors aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD-48), moor a landing craft, utility during amphibious operations, off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, in March 2023. (Photo: Christopher R. Lape / U.S. Marine Corps)

Not every vessel in the U.S. Navy is built for major combat operations on the high seas. There are large numbers of boats and service craft that provide essential services to the sea services, the nation and its partners.The U.S. Navy procures about 100 small boats per year. Some of these boats are based on commercial designs, procured to a Navy developed specification that tailors the requirements to the end user needs. They are procured and managed by two Naval Sea Systems Command program offices—PMS 300 and PMS 325.Compared to warships and auxiliaries…

01 May 2023

Shipbuilding Contributes to Higher Costs in US Offshore Wind

© Maxim Halansky / Adobe Stock

Higher shipbuilding costs are contributing to greater overall project costs in the U.S. offshore wind industry, according to maritime and offshore consultancy Intelatus Global Partners.The United States will rely on a large fleet of foreign and domestic vessels as it builds up toward the Biden Administration's target of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050. This fleet will consist of both existing and newbuild tonnage, including wind turbine installation vessels (WTIV)…

30 Mar 2023

Platypus Marine Inks LOI with Damen for Jones Act CTV

(Photo: Platypus Marine)

Port Angeles, Wash. shipyard Platypus Marine has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Dutch shipbuilding conglomerate Damen for the construction of a new Jones Act-qualified crew transfer vessel (CTV) to service the U.S. offshore wind industry. The agreement covers design license and material package.The vessel, which Platypus will build on spec, will be of Damen's FCS 2710 design. The 26.8-meter aluminum catamaran has already been proven in the European market. A large fleet of Jones Act-compliant CTVs will be needed to help build and service the United States' growing offshore wind industry.

13 Jan 2023

Russia Shipping Oil to Asia in Chinese Supertankers

© vladsv / Adobe Stock

At least four Chinese-owned supertankers are shipping Russian Urals crude to China, according to trading sources and tracking data, as Moscow seeks vessels for exports after a G7 oil price cap restricted the use of Western cargo services and insurance.China, the world's top oil importer, has continued buying Russian oil despite Western sanctions, after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping launched what they called a no-limit partnership before the war in Ukraine.The sources said a fifth supertanker…

05 Jan 2023

Interview: Grant Pecoraro, US Managing Director, Incat Crowther

Grant Pecoraro, US Managing Director, Incat Crowther (Credit: Incat Crowther)

Grant Pecoraro, is the U.S. managing director for naval architecture and marine engineering company Incat Crowther. The Australia-based firm’s Incat Crowther USA arm has been in business for over 10 years, and the broader Incat Crowther group is approaching 50 years in business. To date, Incat Crowther has delivered more than 650 vessels, with 130 vessels currently on the order books.Please give an overview of Incat Crowther’s U.S. presence as well as its offering to the American market.

19 Oct 2022

AMSC Takes Delivery of Construction Support Vessel. Leases it to Solstad Offshore

©Solstad Offshore

American Shipping Company ASA (AMSC) has completed the acquisition and taken delivery of the Normand Maximus construction support vessel.The vessel has already started a long-term bareboat charter with a subsidiary of the Norwegian offshore vessel operator Solstad Offshore upon delivery."The Normand Maximus is a premier offshore construction vessel and one of  the most modern heavy duty subsea vessels. Solstad is a leading offshore services company with a large fleet of offshore vessels operating  globally.

05 Aug 2022

KOTUG To Support Liza FPSOs Off Guyana

SD Honour. Photo from KOTUG.

KOTUG's subsidiary KOTUG Guyana has been awarded a second contract by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana to support operations in Guyana. KOTUG’s latest addition, the 120 tonnes bollard pull strong SD Honour, will join the fleet of dedicated offshore terminal tugs supporting the two floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), Liza Destiny and Liza Unity, on the Stabroek Block, offshore Guyana with static tow, push-pull duties and general…

28 Jul 2022

Furetank Orders 11th Vinga Series Tanker

(Photo: Furetank)

Sweden-based Furetank said it has signed a contract for a new dual-fuel tanker to be built by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou for scheduled delivery in July 2024. The deal includes an option for additional vessels.The 17,999 dwt vessel will be number 11 in the Vinga series of sister vessels designed with special focus on minimum environmental impact. Furetank owns four of the vessels already delivered and commercially operates all.The Vinga vessels all have dual-fuel capability and run on LNG/LBG.

28 Jul 2022

US Navy: Building Small Combatants to Create Force Structure and Capability

The Littoral Combat Ship has been made more lethal with the addition of the Naval Strike Mis-sile, seen here installed on USS Charleston (LCS 18).   (U.S. Navy photo by Ensign James French)

The U.S. Navy needs more ships. And that means the Navy has to build more ships than it is decommissioning.The sea service has a stated a goal of 355 ships, and as many as 500 and more when unmanned platforms are counted. There are 298 ships in the fleet today. For surface ships, this number includes a high-low mix of highly capable large surface combatants, and smaller ships such as littoral combat ships LCS).The Navy’s smallest combatants are the 330-ton, 197-foot coastal patrol boats (PCs). Up until recently, ten of them have been serving in the Middle East with the U.S.

30 Jun 2022

Rimorchiatori Mediterranei Buys Keppel Smit Towage and Maju Maritime

Dutch marine services firm Boskalis and its co-shareholder KS Investments Pte. Ltd. (Keppel) have completed the sale of their equity stakes in their harbor towage activities in Singapore and Malaysia - Keppel Smit Towage Pte Ltd and Maju Maritime Pte Ltd - to Rimorchiatori Mediterranei.Boskalis received EUR 92 million in cash for its 49% equity stake in the joint ventures resulting in a pre tax book gain of approximately EUR 50 million. Keppel Smit Towage (KST) was established in 1991 as a joint venture between Keppel and SMIT, a subsidiary of Boskalis. Over the past thirty years, Boskalis said, KST/Maju has developed into one of the largest and leading providers of harbor towage services in Southeast Asia.

23 Mar 2022

Schottel, Lyon Shipyard in U.S. Offshore Wind Push

Credit: Schottel

Schottel said Wednesday it had reached an agreement with Norfolk-based Lyon Shipyard that positions both companies for the expansion of the U.S. offshore wind industry. The maritime propulsion specialist said the agreement was established based on the two companies' shared long-term strategy to support both the existing market and the up-and-coming offshore wind farm industry."U.S. wind farm operations will need a large fleet of Jones Act-qualified service operation vessels (SOVs), which will be fitted with thrusters and DP systems.

16 Nov 2021

DIGITALIZATION: Keeping Your (hull) Stress and Fatigue Under Control

Image courtesy Light Structures

Digitalization is expediting and maximizing the safety and economics of structural stress and fatigue measurement technologies. Terje Sannerud, Chief Commercial Officer at Norwegian fiber optic condition monitoring system developer Light Structures explains.Yet to be mandated by the IMO or included in any SOLAS regulations, structural stress and fatigue monitoring systems have in fact been used for providing real-time safety warnings on large and specialist vessels for more than two decades.

22 Sep 2021

Oldendorff Post-Panamax to Load Logs from New Zealand

(Photo: Oldendorff Carriers)

A deal has been finalized that will soon see the largest vessel to ever call at New Zealand for the loading of logs.The deal between South Pacific Shipping (SPS) and Oldendorff Carriers was brokered by Braemar ACM’s Bruce McFarlane, a Mount Maunganui local. Braemar also negotiated the deal with ISO Stevedoring that delivered the mobile cranes from the manufacturer in Germany, to the port of Tauranga, New Zealand last year. Bruce McFarlane commented, “We saw an opportunity to bring…

19 Aug 2021

Tanker Firm Frontline Keeps Barstad as Permanent CEO

Oil tanker company Frontline has appointed Lars H. Barstad as the Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Management AS with effect from September 1, 2021.Barstad currently serves as the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Frontline Management AS, having assumed that position after CEO Robert Hvide Macleod decided to step down, as reported in October 2020.Prior to becoming the interim CEO, Barstad held the role as Frontline’s Commercial Director and has previously worked as a trader with Noble Group Ltd and Glencore Ltd in London, as well as serving as Director of Imarex Pte Ltd in Singapore.Ola Lorentzon, Frontline's Chairman of the Board, says: “The Board is delighted to have appointed Lars H. Barstad, who has demonstrated his abilities serving as Interim CEO.

07 Jul 2021

Ever Given Begins Exit from Suez Canal

The Ever Given, one of the world's largest container ships, resumed its journey to leave the Suez Canal on Wednesday, 106 days after becoming wedged across a southern section of the waterway for nearly a week and disrupting global trade.The Ever Given started to head north in the late morning across the Great Bitter Lake, which separates two sections of the canal and where it had been moored with its Indian crew since being refloated on March 29.It then joined the back of a northbound convoy, passing the site of a ceremony where the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) and representatives for the ship signed the compensation settlement that allowed for its release.Tarek Alzeki…

01 Mar 2021

Ardmore to Manage Four Carl Büttner Chemical Tankers

(Photo: Ardmore Shipping)

Cooperation strengthens chemical platform; underpins strategy to operate more sustainable, non-fossil fuel cargoes  Ardmore Shipping Corporation announced a new partnership with Carl Büttner, taking on the commercial management of four chemical tankers on behalf of the Bremen-based shipowner.The vessels Aurelia, Avalon, Apollo and Admiral are 24,000 deadweight tonne (DWT) chemical tankers, and will operate alongside Ardmore’s own chemical tanker fleet. This move signals a doubling of the number of similar sized chemical tankers under Ardmore’s management.Gernot Ruppelt…

15 Feb 2021

Subsea Defense: Navy Deepens Commitment to Underwater Vehicles

Senior Chief Mineman Abraham Garcia (left) and Aerographer's Mate 1st Class Joshua Gaskill, members of the Knifefish Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) test team, man tending lines during crane operations as part of an operational test conducted by members from Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR). Knifefish is a medium-class mine countermeasure UUV designed for deployment off the Littoral Combat Ship. OPTEVFOR is the Navy’s sole test and evaluation organization for surface, air, and un

The U.S. Navy uses unmanned and robotic underwater vehicles for a multitude of functions, including environmental sensing, mine hunting, and salvage. The Navy plans to evolve an unmanned systems operating concept that is platform agnostic and capable of operating in highly complex contested environments with minimal operator interaction.The most recent edition of the Navy’s Unmanned Systems (UxS) Roadmap was issued in 2018, and a new version is expected in the near future. The 2018 document states that UxS will operate in every domain…