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Marine Department News

10 Jan 2023

Tech File: Repower After Layup at the Thai Marine Department

One of the new engines is lowered into the engine room. Image courtesy Cummins/Thai Marine Department

A well-built, modern vessel can be expected to outlive her original engines. The challenge for those representing the owners, is to choose new engines that match or exceed the capabilities of the original power. Consideration will be given to replicas of the original engines. However, availability and suitability may limit this.These were some of the considerations confronting the Thai Marine Department when they decided to put their 41.85 by 3.9-meter oil response vessel back into service.

22 Apr 2022

First in Middle East: Aramco’s Survey Vessel Gets ABS' Infectious Disease Mitigation Notation

Image courtesy of Aramco

Aramco’s hydrographic survey vessel, KARAN 8, has become the first in the Middle East region and second worldwide to be awarded an ABS Infectious Disease Mitigation (IDM) notation.ABS' IDM-A notation is offered to vessels that meet the arrangement requirements addressing the configuration of spaces that can be used for the isolation and segregation of crew, passengers, and onshore visitors, as well as the ventilation onboard and the interior surfaces of certain accommodation or…

28 Feb 2022

Russian Oil Tanker Hit by Sanctions Heading to Malaysia

A Russian-flagged crude oil tanker targeted by U.S. sanctions is heading to Malaysia, shipping data showed on Monday, amid growing international scrutiny on businesses linked to Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.The Linda, named in a U.S. Treasury document detailing sanctions against Russia, was in the Indian Ocean and was expected to arrived at Sungai Linggi port on Malaysia's west coast on Sunday, according to data from ship tracking website MarineTraffic.com.It was not immediately clear whether or not authorities in Malaysia plan to allow the ship to dock. Its marine department and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.According to the United States…

15 Jun 2021

Hong Kong Ends Quarantine Curbs on Port Calls by Non-cargo Vessels

© vladsv / Adobe Stock

Hong Kong providers of shipping services are breathing a sigh of relief after authorities announced they would ease strict quarantine restrictions imposed last July on vessels calling at the Asian shipping hub, trade sources said.From Tuesday, crew of non-cargo goods vessels visiting Hong Kong for shipping services, including bunkering and provision supplies, will be exempt from the curbs, subject to conditions, the Marine Department told shipping firms in a letter.“This is a long overdue relaxation as the trade had already demonstrated to the health authority here in Hong Kong that there is n

10 May 2021

OPINION: Regulating Grey Water ... the Time is Now

© lancesagar/AdobeStock

The IMO’s MARPOL Annex IV is being revised to confirm the lifetime performance of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs). This may finally bring about grey water regulation – a necessity that is long overdue.Black Water and Grey WaterA ship’s sewage (black water) is collected from toilets, urinals and hospitals. The IMO’s MARPOL Annex IV prohibits its discharge, except when treated by an STP or discharged at > 12nm from the nearest land. A ship’s grey water, collected from showers, wash basins…

10 Nov 2020

Malaysia Starts LNG Bunkering Ops. Makes First Delivery

Avenir Advantage Credit: Keppel

Malaysia, through state oil firm Petronas, has ventured into the liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering business and made its first delivery in the southern state of Johor this week, the country's marine department said on Tuesday.The maiden operation involved supplying 1,150 tonnes of LNG from bunkering vessel MV Avenir Advantage, which Petronas leased from Future Horizon, to vehicle transport vessel Siem Aristotle at the Pasir Gudang port on Monday."This makes Malaysia among a few first-mover countries able to provide LNG bunkering services to the marine industry in the east," Marine Departme

27 Oct 2020

Malaysia: Two Dead After Offshore Vessel Rams into Oil Platform

Image Credit:  Mohamad Zubil Mat Som - Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA)

Two crew of a Malaysian offshore support vessel died on Tuesday after their ship hit a [platform] operated by state oil firm Petronas off the state of Sarawak on Borneo island.The Dayang Topaz rammed into the Baram B oil platform after its anchor cable broke in bad weather, Petronas and marine authorities said in separate statements.The ship was carrying 187 crew, 125 of whom jumped into the sea when the accident happened, about 7.7 nautical miles (14.3 km) offshore, marine authorities said.

16 Oct 2020

Environmental Protection Notation for Saudi Aramco's Offshore Vessel Fleet

Credit: ABS

Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco plans to achieve the ABS ENVIRO notation for its 23-strong fleet of offshore support vessels, tugs, self-elevating units, and special purpose vessels.The notation identifies the level of compliance with international environmental protection requirements and integrates further ABS environmental protection requirements, ABS, one of the world's largest maritime classification companies said.The notation, together with the enhanced ENVIRO+ notation, was developed with the objective of promoting an environmentally focused design…

08 Oct 2020

Yanmar Expands in Denmark

Yanmar Europe BV said it has signed an agreement with the Danish independent service provider VMS Group A/S as a new service agent for commercial marine engines and spare parts. As of today, VMS Group is a registered agent to service Yanmar medium and high commercial marine engines.Kim Rasmussen, CCO of VMS Group, sees great opportunities and good potential in the wide range of marine engines that Yanmar offers. “Due to our many years of experience in the marine business we know Yanmar as a manufacturer of efficient, strong and reliable engines. This is also what ship owners tell us as feedback on Yanmar engines. Furthermore, we find that the innovative technology behind the Yanmar engines plays an important role in the future…

08 Jun 2020

Fednav Combines Its Shipping Business Units

(Photo: Fednav)

Canadian bulk shipping company Fednav said Monday it will reorganizing its commercial and technical shipping businesses under one management entity.The Marine Department, led by Executive Vice-President Tina Revsbech, will unite the traditional Chartering and Operations teams with their counterparts in the Shipowning, Technical, and Arctic units.In addition, Fednav announced the appointment of Isabelle Brassard as Senior Vice-President, Logistics and Sustainable Development, effective September 2020.Reporting to Paul Pathy…

30 Apr 2020

Hong Kong's Marine Department Resumes Services

© kaylakan / Adobe Stock

Hong Kong's Marine Department will resume all services, with the exception of surveying outside of Hong Kong, from May 4 after a suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a deppartment spokesperson said Wednesday.Following the coronavirus outbreak, the department first suspended service on January 29 but resumed on March 2. Services were suspended once again from March 23.

18 Feb 2020

Anatomy of a Marine Casualty Investigation

MV Argo Merchant was a Liberian-flagged oil tanker that ran aground and sank southeast of Nantucket Island, Mass., on Dec. 15, 1976, causing one of the largest marine oil spills in history. U.S. Coast Guard Archives

Blank Rome’s maritime attorneys have represented clients in some of the largest maritime casualties in the last 20 years, including the Staten Island Ferry allision with a maintenance pier in New York, the blow out and eventual loss of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the sinking of the El Faro during Hurricane Joaquin, and the collision between the Navy Destroyer USS John S. McCain and the tanker ALNIC MC in the Singapore Strait. These casualties have resulted in the catastrophic loss of life…

08 Jan 2020

LNGSTS Hits 112 STS LNG Transfers in 2019

LNGSTS, a unit of Teekay Tankers, has closed the year 2019 with a record number of 112 open water liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship-to-ship (STS) cargo transfers.From November 2018, until July 2019, LNGSTS was the technical and manpower service provider for the largest ever LNG ship-to-ship project, located in Honningsvag, Norway, the company said in a press release.Under the challenging Arctic conditions, LNGSTS completed 123 STS operations from 11 different ARC7 vessels to 14 different conventional LNG carriers at 3 different anchorages simultaneously.In addition to the provision of the STS services, LNGSTS also developed the terminal…

21 Nov 2019

CSA Protests Malaysia's Scrubber Ban

Members of the Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 expressed disappointment in regard to Malaysia’s recently-announced decision to prohibit the use of open-loop scrubbers in its coastal waters. The Malaysia Shipping Notice states that ships calling to Malaysian Ports are advised to change over to compliant fuel oil or change over to closed-loop/hybrid systems before entering Malaysian waters and ports.“We are disappointed in this announcement,” said CSA 2020 Chairman Capt. Mike Kaczmarek. “The decision will impact not only our member shipping companies, but over 200 other international shipping companies that have announced their intent to install scrubbers as an accepted means of compliance under MARPOL Annex VI.“We will of course comply with these national rules…

25 Oct 2019

RECSO Hosts First Global Oil Spill conference

The Regional Clean Sea Organization (RECSO), an oil industry co-operative organisation in the Middle East, has hosted First RECSO Enviro Spill Conference and Exhibition.In delivering the keynote speech at the opening ceremony, Abdulhakim A. Al-Gouhi, vice president of Industrial Services with Saudi Aramco, called on members to collaborate to protect the pristine Gulf environment through prevention, preparedness, and response.“We come together to demonstrate our unlimited commitment toward protecting the marine environment from any harmful effects of pollution, in general, and of oil spills in particular,” said Al-Gouhi.He noted that Saudi Aramco demonstrated its expertise in oil spill mitigation at the height of the Gulf War in 1991…

22 Oct 2019

Tankers Unable to Offload in Malaysian Port

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Refineries at Port Dickson on Peninsular Malaysia's west coast are unable to receive crude oil after a port facility that carries crude from the ships to the plants broke down.A system known as a single point mooring (SPM) unit, a loading buoy anchored offshore that allows tankers to offload their crude via pipeline to the refineries, has been out of service, the refinery operators said.The SPM connects to a refinery operated by Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd (HRC), a subsidiary of China's Shandong Hengyuan Petrochemical Co…

27 Aug 2019

Cape May-Lewes Ferry: Women on the Water

Captain Sharon Urban

Women make up only an estimated two percent of the global maritime industry. In the U.S., the statistics are a little better, with less than eight percent of ship and boat captain operator roles held by women.Still, for a female to have the opportunity to train up to ship captain is considered “unique.” However, as predictions are being made that there will be a shortage of more than 140,000 deck or ship officers worldwide by 2025 (BIMCO/ICS), we will see more accomplished women take the helm and lead the industry forward.

20 Aug 2019

SE Asia Plans Oil Spill Contingency

According to International Maritime Organization (IMO), one of the key elements in oil spill contingency planning is to define the communication channels to be used by cooperating parties when facing an incident.A workshop in Pulau Indah, Klang, Malaysia (19-21 August) has brought together officials from states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to help bring into operation the Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan, which was adopted in 2018.Participants from nine countries got to grips with key elements of the plan and practiced communications between States, in order to identify any gaps and lessons to be learned.The workshop will help drive forward the implementation of this recently adopted plan…

29 Mar 2019

Master imprisoned for Bribery

The Hong Kong Marine Department issued a Marine Notice stating that a master was prosecuted and sentenced to four months imprisonment for bribing a Marine Department surveyor during a port state control inspection. (Source: Bryant's Maritime Blog)

20 May 2019

Griffon Hoverwork Wins New Orders

Photo: Griffon Hoverwork

Southampton, UK-based hovercraft builder Griffon Hoverwork has won two new orders for its latest model the 995ED.The 995ED was launched at the Exponaval maritime exhibition in Chile in December 2018 following delivery of the first production craft to the Malaysian Government’s Marine Department which is being used for the maintenance of navigation marks and light houses. And now Griffon’s production line is busy building another 995ED for a private client for use in icy conditions.

10 Feb 2019

Polaris-Pireas collision Near Singapore

Malaysia government (Marine Department Malaysia) vessel Polaris and Greece-registered bulk carrier Pireas collided in territorial waters within Singapore port limits off Tuas on Feb 9, 2019.Pireas was on its way from Singapore to its next port of call at Tanjung Pelepas when the collision took place.After refuelling at Singapore’s eastern bunkering anchorage south of Bedok, Pireas declared to Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) that its next port of call was to be Tanjung Pelepas. At 1355 hrs, Pireas entered Singapore Port Limits off Tuas (“the area”). It then slowed down, changed direction and collided with Polaris.Upon establishing contact with Pireas, MPA Port Operations Control Centre (POCC) instructed Pireas to stay clear of the area.

14 Sep 2018

On the Water: Prime Career Opportunities for Women

Women make up only an estimated two percent of the global maritime industry. In the U.S., the statistics are a little better, with less than eight percent of ship and boat captain operator roles held by women.Still, for a female to have the opportunity to train up to ship captain is considered “unique.” However, as predictions are being made that there will be a shortage of more than 140,000 deck or ship officers worldwide by 2025 (BIMCO/ICS), we will see more accomplished women take the helm and lead the industry forward.

30 Oct 2018

Number of Indian Seafarers Jump by 42.3%

The number of seafarers in India has seen an unprecedented growth of 42.3% due to various policy level changes brought in by the Government in the last four years, said a Minister in India.According to Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Chemical & Fertilizer, from 108,446 seafarers in 2013, India now has 154,349 seafarers. India now provides 9.35% of the global seafarers and ranks 3rd in the list of the largest seafarer supplying nations in the world.At present, there are 17 lakhs seafarers globally including the 154,349 Indian seafarers. The Maritime Agenda of 2010-2020 had set a target for…