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Martinez News

06 Nov 2023

Neste, PTL Marine Supplying Renewable Diesel to Vessels in California

(Photo: Neste)

Neste is partnering with PTL Marine to provide Neste MY Renewable Diesel to the marine sector across the State of California.California’s Commercial Harbor Craft (CHC) regulation, established by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), took effect on January 1, 2023. This regulation requires commercial harbor craft vessels in the state to use renewable diesel (also known locally as R99 or R100) instead of ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD), to limit emissions such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides for vessels operating in the state’s ports and near the coast.

29 Aug 2023

Ocean Craft Marine Delivers new Vessel to Black Diamond Police Department

(Photo: Ocean Craft Marine)

Annapolis, Md. boatbuilder Ocean Craft Marine has delivered a new law enforcement boat to the Black Diamond Police Department in Black Diamond, Wash.The 6.5-meter aluminum police boat is primed to tackle a wide range of tasks, including search and rescue operations, surveillance and law enforcement activities. It is equipped with cutting-edge navigational systems, state-of-the-art communication tools and specialized law enforcement equipment, the builder said."The addition of…

08 Jul 2023

VIDEO: Two Dead, One Missing after Fire Tears through Pemex Offshore Oil Platform

Credit: Pemex

Two workers died and another remained missing after a raging fire broke out early on Friday morning at an offshore platform run by Mexican state oil company Pemex just off the southern edge of the Gulf of Mexico.In posts on Twitter, Pemex said it had accounted for all other workers and said oil production had taken a major hit from the blaze.Video circulating on social media showed the massive platform and its tangle of pipelines engulfed in flames as nearby boats sought to douse the fire with hoses.The platform operates in the company's Cantarell Field…

26 Jan 2023

3D Printing: Navy Builds Up Additive Manufacturing on Ships

Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) onloads a 3D printer during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022, July 8, 2022.  
U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ace Rheaume

The U.S. Navy has long valued the potential of additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D Printing.AM refers to the depositing of material layer by layer to create an object. For the Navy, it’s not practical to carry every replacement part for every system on a ship, and it can be difficult to forecast if or when parts will fail. AM provides a flexible source of supply in being able to make parts instead of ordering them and waiting for them to arrive, especially for warships at the far end of the supply chain.

30 Nov 2022

Bollinger Announces Leadership Changes

(Photo: Bollinger Shipyards)

U.S. Gulf shipbuilding group Bollinger Shipyards announced a raft of leadership changes following its recent acquisition of Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding (BMS) and Bollinger Mississippi Repair (BMR).The announcements reflect leadership changes across all 14 Bollinger facilities, including at BMS and BMR (formerly VT Halter Marine and ST Engineering Halter Marine Offshore respectively) as well as Bollinger Lockport New Construction and Bollinger Marine Fabricators.“I’ve always said Bollinger’s greatest strength is its people and I believe that wholeheartedly…

16 Jun 2022

US Steps Up Heavy Crude Imports

© a166f105 / Adobe Stock

U.S. refiners last month imported the most heavy crude in nearly two years, customs data showed, as they cranked up motor fuel production and sought to replace sanctioned Russian oil.Higher heavy-crude imports are common in summer-driving months, but this year's increase comes as the Biden administration is calling on for refiners to ramp up output and shave profit margins to ease soaring prices. The administration has asked for a parley to explore further efforts.Heavy crudes are cheaper than lighter shale oils produced in the United States and typically make more diesel and less gasoline.

21 Oct 2021

Maritime Academies Work Toward Inclusion

U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets aboard USCGC Eagle (WIX 327), "America's Tall Ship," during summer 2021. (Photo: Kristjan Petersson / U.S. Embassy Reykjavik)

Last May, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (CGA) announced that 240 new officers made up its 140th graduating class.The Academy’s announcement referenced additional, important highlights. Women made up 34% of the Class of 2021, and 34% of the graduates were from underrepresented minority groups. Even more focused was the statement that 22 African Americans “walked the stage,” the largest number in Academy history, and 2021 included the second highest number of Asian American and Pacific Islanders.To make the ceremony even more memorable, President Biden delivered the keynote address.

24 Aug 2021

Five Dead, Six Injured in Pemex Offshore Platform Fire

Illustration only -  A platform in the Gulf of Mexico - Credit: Quimey/AdobeStock

Five workers were killed and six injured in Sunday's fire on an offshore platform in the southern Gulf of Mexico operated by Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) that cut about a quarter of Mexico's oil production, the company said on Monday.The fire broke out as crews were performing maintenance on the platform, and a search for missing workers continues, Pemex Chief Executive Octavio Romero told a news conference.The platform remains out of operation, with about 421,000 barrels per day of oil lost and 125 wells offline, he said.

12 May 2021

Mariner Missing from Cuban Tanker en Route to Venezuela

A crew member aboard a Cuba-flagged oil tanker on its way from a Mexican shipyard to Venezuela was reported missing this week, according to a shipping report seen by Reuters, marking the second incident aboard the same vessel in about a year.Sailor Rafael Desiderio Martinez Alonso was not found last Sunday by the doctor onboard oil tanker Petion, which set sail on May 6 from Mexico's port of Veracruz bound for the Cardon terminal in Venezuela's western coast.The report by the tanker's shipping agency to Venezuelan port authorities about the incident said Martinez Alonso, who was one the tanker's fitters, is believed to have fallen into open waters because his shoes were found near the ship's gas plant.

19 Jan 2021

US Blacklists Tankers, Oil Traders Undermining Venezuela Sanctions

The United States on Tuesday sanctioned a network of oil trading firms, individuals and vessels that have helped Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA sell crude mainly to Asia despite Washington's sanctions on the South American nation.The measure targets a network that the U.S. Treasury Department says helped the administration of President Nicolas Maduro, whose 2018 re-election Washington called a sham, broker the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars in Venezuelan oil."Those facilitating the illegitimate Maduro regime's attempts to circumvent United States sanctions contribute to the corruption that consumes Venezuela," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a news release.The Treasury said its Office of Foreign Assets Control…

17 Nov 2020

Partially Sunken Tug Leaking Oil in St. Croix

Coast Guard pollution response personnel from Resident Inspection Office St Croix assess the pollution threat from the partially sunken tugboat Cape Lookout Nov. 13, 2020, which partially sank at the St. Croix Renaissance Group facility within Krause Lagoon in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. (U.S. Coast Guard photos)

An abandoned, partially sunken tugboat is actively discharging oil within Krause Lagoon in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday.The amount of oil discharged from the tug Cape Lookout remains unknown, while the maximum potential discharge based on the size of the vessel fuel and lube oil tanks is approximately 48,000 gallons of fuel and 2,000 gallons of lube oil, the Coast Guard said, adding it is unknown how full both tanks are at this time.“Due to the immediate pollution threat this vessel represents to the environment and surrounding area…

09 Aug 2020

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Union Reach Agreement

General Dynamics announced today that the negotiating teams from Bath Iron Works and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local S6 reached agreement last night on mutually acceptable terms to end the ongoing strike by shipyard workers in Bath, Maine. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service deputy director Rich Giacolone and IAM International President Robert Martinez helped to facilitate the tentative agreement.“We are pleased to have reached agreement with our union partners and look forward to getting back to the job of building ships for the U.S. Navy,” said Phebe Novakovic, chairman and chief executive officer.

24 Jun 2020

Tankers Carrying Venezuelan Oil Stuck at Sea

Tankers carrying nearly two months worth of Venezuelan oil output are stuck at sea as global refiners shun the nation’s crude to avoid falling foul of U.S. sanctions, according to industry sources, PDVSA documents and shipping data.Washington is tightening sanctions to cut Venezuela’s oil exports and deprive the government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro of its main source of revenue.The OPEC member’s exports are hovering near their lowest levels in more than 70 years and the economy has collapsed, but Maduro has held on - to the frustration of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.Washington has blacklisted ships and…

12 Jun 2020

How China Got Venezuelan Oil Despite US Sanctions

Last year, China replaced the United States as the No. 1 importer of oil from Venezuela, yet another front in the heated rivalry between Washington and Beijing.The United States had imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company as part of a bid to topple that country’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro. U.S. refineries stopped buying Venezuelan crude. Caracas’ ally China, long a major customer, suddenly found itself the top purchaser. Through the first six months of 2019, it imported an average of 350,000 barrels per day of crude from Venezuela.But in August, Washington tightened its sanctions on Venezuela, warning that any foreign entity that continued to do business with the South American country’s government could find itself subject to sanctions.

11 May 2020

Manila Cruise Flotilla Offers Crew Confinement in Comfort

In the past few weeks, Manila Bay in the Philippines has been transformed into the world’s biggest parking lot for cruise ships, none of which have any guests.More than 20 vessels collectively weighing about 2 million tonnes are clustered off the coast of the capital, awaiting coronavirus clearance for more than 5,300 Philippine staff to return home from abandoned cruises, with no guarantee of a job at sea again.More ships are set to join the flotilla, says the coast guard, which has been shuttling between ships to administer 4,991 virus tests for crew quarantined for the 14 days mandatory for repatriates. No suspected cases have been reported.Crew told Reuters they were bored…

28 Apr 2020

Pemex Trading Arm Mulls Canceling May-June Cargos

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

The trading arm of Mexican state oil company Pemex is mulling options to slash the number of fuel cargoes the country imports in May and June as demand plummets because of the coronavirus, three sources close to the talks told Reuters.Pemex last week declared force majeure over fuel supplies from its trading arm PMI Comercio Internacional after a bottleneck of more than 60 vessels built up outside Mexican ports, waiting to discharge.But PMI still has not declared force majeure…

13 Nov 2019

Pirates Attack OSV in the Gulf of Mexico

OSV Remas (Photo: Micoperi)

Pirates attacked an Italy-flagged offshore supply vessel in the southern Gulf of Mexico, injuring two crew members, the Mexican Navy said on Tuesday, in the latest outbreak of robbery and piracy to hit oil platforms and infrastructure in the area.One of the crew members of the vessel, Remas, received a bullet wound, and the other suffered a concussion, and both were transferred to a nearby hospital, the Navy said in a statement.Owned by Italian offshore contractor Micoperi, Remas…

19 Jul 2019

TRIG Acquires French Wind Farms

UK-based investment fund  The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) has acquired stakes in four French onshore windfarms, with a total capacity of 107.8 MW. InfraRed’s listed renewables vehicle did not disclose financial details of acquisitions. Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has advised British investment fund.WFW assisted TRIG on the acquisition, from their operations manager Renewable Energy Systems (RES), and financing of the two ready to build “Rosières” and “Montigny” wind farms in the Northern French departments of Meuse and Aisne with a total installed capacity of 31.8 MW.It also assisted the acquisition from the Chinese energy…

26 Dec 2018

Soldier-run PDVSA and AWOL Oil Output

© natanaelginting/Adobe Stock

Last July 6, Major General Manuel Quevedo joined his wife, a Catholic priest and a gathering of oil workers in prayer in a conference room at the headquarters of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA.The career military officer, who for the past year has been boss at the troubled state-owned oil company, was at no ordinary mass. The gathering, rather, was a ceremony at which he and other senior oil ministry officials asked God to boost oil output."This place of peace and spirituality…

21 Sep 2018

Pemex Reaches Deal to See if Talos Find Reaches Its Block

(Photo: Premier Oil)

Mexican state oil firm Pemex has reached a preliminary agreement with a consortium led by Talos Energy to evaluate whether the group's find in the Gulf of Mexico extends into a neighboring Pemex block, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.The deal, which covers territory in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico, is the first of its kind for Pemex and will be in force for two years.The Talos consortium, which includes Britain's Premier Oil and Mexico's Sierra Oil & Gas, won development rights for two blocks during the first oil auction launched by President Enrique Pena Nieto.

19 Feb 2019

Vens Close Maritime Border with Dutch Antilles

Venezuelan authorities have closed the maritime border with the Dutch Antilles, a regional navy chief told Reuters on Tuesday, preventing boats and aircraft from arriving from the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire.Vice Admiral Quintero Martinez did not give a reason for the closure, though Venezuela's opposition have said they plan to bring humanitarian aid into the country from Curacao on Saturday, which President Nicolas Maduro's government has pledged to block.Reporting by Mircely Guanipa

12 Dec 2018

Kalmar Forklifts Delivered to ENTP

The marine industry equipment manufacturer Kalmar has delivered a total of 18 forklift trucks to Algeria's leading drilling contractor Entreprise Nationale des Travaux aux Puits (ENTP).According to a press release from Kalmar, part of Cargotec, the company  will also support ENTP with parts supply and provide operator training to their staff. The machines, ordered in the first quarter of 2018, were delivered during the third quarter.Established in 1981, ENTP is the leading drilling contractor in Algeria with a market share of close to 45 percent. The company performs drilling and maintenance operations on both deep-water and hydrocarbon wells across Algeria.ENTP is a subsidiary of Sonatrach, which is Algeria's largest company in terms of both turnover and number of employees.

03 Oct 2018

Austal Starts Building Trimaran Ferry for Fred. Olsen

(Image: Austal)

Shipbuilder Austal said it has commenced construction on the first of two 117-meter high-speed passenger trimaran ferries for Fred. Olsen.Developed in Henderson, Western Australia at Austal’s center of excellence in maritime design, the next-generation vessels will be used by Fred. Olsen Express in the Canary Islands, joining their sister ship, The Benchijigua Express.Capable of transferring over 1,100 passengers and 276 cars at speeds up to 38 knots these vessels will feature…