Management Office News

Norway and Germany are setting a new standard for allied cooperation by becoming the first countries to build and operate identical submarines.Norway has opened what it claims is the world’s most modern production facility for conventional submarines, and production has started for a modern conventional submarine, the 212CD.Norway’s Minister of Defence Bjørn Arild Gram said the first of the new submarines will be delivered to Norway in 2029. The contracts cover the acquisition…

Boluda Towage and GEG (Holdings) Ltd have signed an agreement for Boluda to acquire Caledonian’s towage activities and marine operations, together with the management, office staff and crew, based in Invergordon, Scotland.After the official closing of the transaction, Caledonian will be part of Boluda Towage’s organization in the United Kingdom. The local management team of Caledonian Towage will be headed by Andrew Murray as Operations Director, who will report to Phil Dulson - General Manager of Boluda Towage in the UK.Caledonian owner Roy MacGregor…

Halter Marine unveiled its new PythonX plasma cutter as the Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder adds new equipment to gear up for construction of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Polar Security Cutter (PSC).The newly acquired Lincoln Electric PythonX will allow for steel parts to be cut via computerized numeric control (CNC) driven by the yard's 3D production design models, taking the place of the traditional hand-cut method. Previously, cuts were made manually by shipbuilders with acetylene torches.Bringing in high-tech tools such as the new plasma cutter…

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) said it has been awarded a developmental contract by Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD) to provide manufacturing design drawings, engineering, fabrication, inspection, and assembly of prototype propulsor, shafting and bearing components as well as the equipment needed to support propulsor research and development, testing and evaluation.GA-EMS will work with NSWCCD to develop new propulsor components for both surface ships and submarines.

Chembulk Tankers signed commercial management agreements for its entire fleet of owned and chartered stainless-steel chemical tankers to enter commercial pools managed by Womar Logistics. “Chembulk’s commercial shift to the Womar chemical pools places our quality vessels in an established and growing revenue sharing platform, providing commercial efficiencies, logistics flexibility and a seamless continuation of the performance our customers expect from Chembulk vessels," said Bart Kelleher, CEO, Chembulk. "All other ownership responsibilities will remain fully within Chembulk.”Together with several current Chembulk chartering and operations professionals, the fleet will transition to commercial management by Womar.

AET, a petroleum tanker owner and operator, has named its newest vessels, two of the world's first LNG Dual-Fuel Dynamic Positioning Shuttle Tankers (DPSTs). The vessels, the cleanest DPSTs ever built, will emit 40-48% less carbon than equivalent vessels built in 2008, meeting the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) target of reducing carbon (CO2) emissions by 40% against 2008 baselines by 2030, and halving CO2 emissions by 2050.These LNG Dual-Fuel DPSTs also emit 85% less SOx…

American trucking company Saia announced  that Saia LTL Freight has opened its newest Northeastern terminal in Wrentham, Massachusetts. This is the 11th facility the company has launched in the region since 2017."Our expansion in the Northeast continues as we remain committed to providing more direct shipping points to our customers,” said Executive Vice President of Operations Paul Peck. “We are excited to be in Wrentham, which is just north of Providence, as we welcome our newest employees to the Saia family. Our success in the Northeast is due to the commitment of our management team, and the dedication we have as a company, to offer…

The Supreme Court has dismissed claims of EUR 9 mln (USD 10.51 mln) from Norway's PGS Geophysical (UK) Limited against Armada Seismic Invest II AS in connection with the delivery of 3D seismic vessel Polar Duchess, said a press release from GC Rieber Shipping ASA. The Norwegian shipping company that operates offshore subsea support vessels said in a stock exchange annoucement: "Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement 29 May 2018, where it was announced that PGS had appealed Gulating Court of Appeal`s decision in PGS claim of approx. "The dispute has now been adjudicated by the Supreme Court`s appeals committee, which has rendered its decision. The Supreme Court's appeal committee ruled in favor of Armada and the claim against Armada has been dismissed," it added.

Wilhelmsen Ship Management (WSM) adds another ship management office in Southampton, England, to increase their global footprint in the region. “Southampton is a city with one of the longest histories in the maritime industry. It has an established maritime cluster of infrastructure and human resources that we can tap into immediately to support growth,” said Carl Schou, President of WSM. WSM’s Southampton office has an initial staff of five and 11 vessels in management for now. “With a local presence in the UK, we look forward to strengthening our position in the UK tonnage fleet both flagged and owned. We believe this is a geographical location that has great potential in the future,” said Haakon Lenz, Vice President for WSM Region Europe & Americas.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) this week announced the implementation of a new Risk-Based Inspection Program that employs a systematic framework to identify facilities and operations that exhibit a high-risk profile. The risk-based inspections supplement BSEE’s existing National Safety Inspection Program. The OCS Lands Act authorizes BSEE to conduct annual scheduled inspections and periodic unannounced inspections of all oil and gas operations. The new risk-based inspection protocol looks beyond compliance and assesses the integrity of critical safety systems on facilities and operations, those that have had multiple incidents of noncompliance or events and may need more attention.

Ocean transportation firm, “K” Line Pte Ltd, and Patrick Phoon, Deputy Managing Director of Evergreen Shipping Agency, received the International Maritime Centre (Corporate) Award and the International Maritime Centre (Individual) Award respectively. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has honoured ten industry partners who have made outstanding contributions to Singapore's development as a premier global hub port and a leading international maritime centre at the Singapore International Maritime Awards (IMA) 2017. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd (“K” Line) started out as a representative office in 1973. Since then, “K” Line’s business activities have grown to include ship operations, ship management and ship agency.

U.S. Navy, Maritime Administration and California Environmental Protection Agency representatives joined City and Port officials today to commemorate the approval to transfer ownership of 125 acres of the former Naval Complex to the City of Long Beach. The property transfer commemoration highlighted the economic success of a thriving shipping terminal and other operations at the former Navy facility. Today, the Pier T container terminal is one of the Port of Long Beach’s busiest — able to accommodate megaships and handling billions of dollars’ worth of trade. The acreage was part of the former Long Beach Naval Station and Naval Shipyard…

V.Ships Offshore, part of V.Group has been awarded a ship management contract by Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC to provide full technical and crew management services for an advanced SURF/IMR vessel. The ship management services will be delivered from our newly acquired Bibby Ship Management office in Singapore led by Arvind Mohan. Nineteen specialised seafarers, with final complement subject to project requirements, are being deployed on board the 2014-built DP-3 vessel, Pride, which has been on charter in Malaysian waters.

HMAS Canberra has returned  to Australia  following its successful maiden deployment to Fiji in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Winston. Following a request from the Fijian Government, HMAS Canberra was deployed to Fiji on 1 March to deliver much needed humanitarian aid and assistance. HMAS Canberra was loaded with 60 tonnes of emergency relief supplies, three MRH-90 helicopters and around 760 Australian Defence Force personnel including engineers, carpenters, electricians and plumbers.

The global breakbulk and heavy-lift markets have had to navigate choppy waters in recent years. Not necessarily due to a shortage of freight, but as a consequence of unsustainably low freight rates. The global economic recovery since 2009 has been slow, and competition for the multipurpose sector has intensified due to bulkers, container lines and RoRo’s making forays into the breakbulk and heavylift market, as they look to diversify their business and make up for the lack of demand in their respective core markets.

The Navy kicked off a new program Oct. 5, designed to give high performing officers and Sailors experience at large corporations for approximately one year. Three participants began work today with Amazon in Seattle, Washington, and two with FedEx, in Memphis, Tennessee, as part of program's first cohort. As Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus first announced in his May 2015 speech at the Naval Academy, this program is designed give our Sailors exposure to leading-edge business practices, techniques, and technologies with the competitiveness of the corporate business cycle. "This program is a win-win for both the Navy and corporate America," said Chief of Naval Personnel, Vice Adm. Bill Moran. "We need Sailors in our Navy who think differently and aren't afraid to challenge the status quo.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Association of American State Geologists (AASG) have signed an agreement to foster interaction, cooperation and coordination on marine minerals and oil and gas resources on the outer continental shelf (OCS). Since the 1990s, BOEM and its predecessor agencies have worked with numerous state geological surveys on cooperative agreements to evaluate OCS sand resources for coastal resilience, restoration projects and planning. A national-level agreement will improve information exchange and the ability for BOEM, AASG and its members to communicate on national plans and issues with each other.

Norstar Ship Management, the Singapore-based ship manager, has opened a crewing office in Yangon, Myanmar named “Norstar Crew Management Company Limited”. The office was formally opened by Mr Muang Muang Oo, Myanmar’s Director General of the Department of Maritime Administration at a reception in Yangon attended by Norstar’s guests, crew and staff earlier this month. Norstar Ship Management’s Director Tom Bonehill said today: “The opening of our crewing office in Myanmar is a very significant step for Norstar. The new crewing office will now undertake all crew manning and departure arrangements on behalf of Norstar Ship Management in Singapore. Norstar currently operates a fleet of 19 mainly oil product and chemical carriers.

President calls meeting of top body to discuss disaster; rescue operation to start righting ship. China has pledged that there would be "no cover-up" of an investigation into the sinking of a cruise ship on the Yangtze River, which has left 75 people dead and over 370 missing, as angry families  gathered near the rescue site to demand answers. Chinese authorities will start righting the ship at 8 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Thursday so rescuers could "search for the missing persons in the shortest possible time and give maximum protection to the dignity of the deceased", state news agency Xinhua said, citing the transport ministry. Earlier on Thursday…

Monitoring efforts along the Pacific Coast of the U.S. and Canada have detected the presence of small amounts of radioactivity from the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident 100 miles (150 km) due west of Eureka, California. Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) found the trace amounts of telltale radioactive compounds as part of their ongoing monitoring of natural and human sources of radioactivity in the ocean. In the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami off Japan, the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant released cesium-134 and other radioactive elements into the ocean at unprecedented levels. Since then, the radioactive plume has traveled west across the Pacific, propelled largely by ocean currents and being diluted along the way.

Crowley Maritime Corporation’s solutions group announced today that it has received the first two of potentially four, new heavy-lift, ballastable deck barges (HDBs) for use by clients in the Asia-Pacific region. These new barges, which will be contracted and managed from the company’s recently opened Singapore office, allow Crowley to better support regional customers in the oil and gas mining; Engineering, Construction and Procurement Management (ECPM); and Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Commissioning (EPIC) industries who are increasingly embarking on large-scale onshore and offshore projects. These new 400-foot-long, 120-foot-wide (122 meter x 36.5 meter) HDBs, named HDB 01 and HDB 02 are moored in Batam, Indonesia.

The Coast Guard participated in a multi-agency Northern Border Initiative exercise to strengthen inter-agency security partnerships in five New York locations, Thursday and Friday. Approximately 500 people from 20 Federal, State and local agencies, as well as cross-border partners in Canada participated in the exercise. Capt. Brian Roche, commander of Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, served as lead federal official in the exercise, which was organized by the Monroe County Emergency Management Office. The exercise offered an opportunity to test and develop multi-agency response capabilities, including coordination of surveillance resources and the tactical deployment of forces to counter a security threat.

Scheduled for Thursday and Friday, federal, state, local and Canadian law enforcement partners will be brought together in a multi-agency exercise designed to prepare for and prevent cross-border terrorist and criminal activity on the Niagara River, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. There are no known threats against the area, but boaters may notice increased assets of law enforcement on the water. Organized by The Monroe County Emergency Management Office, the multi-jurisdictional exercise will be sponsored by The Department of Homeland Security.