Mekong News

Viking has announced the expansion of its river fleet in Southeast Asia with the new Viking Tonle.Designed for the Mekong River, the vessel will join its identical sister ship, the Viking Saigon, which debuted in 2022, and will sail between Kampong Cham, Cambodia, and Mỹ Tho, Vietnam, as part of Viking's 15-day Magnificent Mekong itinerary.The ship is under construction and is currently scheduled to debut in October 2025. To meet strong demand for Mekong River voyages, Viking…

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri announced it has delivered the first vessel for luxury cruise operator Viking equipped with an emissions reducing hydrogen fuel cell system.Identical to Viking’s other ocean ships, the 47,800 ton Viking Neptune is fitted with a small hydrogen fuel system, making it the cruise industry’s first ship to test the use of hydrogen power for on board operations. “We are especially proud to welcome this newest sister ship to our ocean fleet, as it also marks a significant advancement in testing hydrogen as a future fuel for our vessels…

Delta Offshore Energy (DOE), a company working to develop the 3200 MW Bac Lieu LNG-to-Power Project in Vietnam, has said that model testing of the LNG receiving terminal technology has been successfully completed.As previously reported DOE Delta Offshore Energy (DOE) in September 2020 signed a technology license agreement with Stena Power & LNG Solutions, under which Stena agreed to grant DOE a license to use its Jetty-Less LNG receiving and regas technology for the offshore LNG…

Delta Offshore Energy (DOE), a company developing an offshore gas to power project in Vietnam, has signed a technology license agreement with Stena Power & LNG Solutions.Under the agreement, Stena will grant DOE a license to use its Jetty-Less LNG receiving and regas technology for the offshore LNG to power project located in the Bac Lieu Province in Southern Vietnam.DOE will employ Stena’s floating Jetty-Less Autonomous Transfer System (ATS) and Self-installing Regas Platform…

Viking announced it has a new ship under construction expected to launch next summer for its cruise tours in Vietnam and Cambodia.The 80-guest Viking Saigon is scheduled to debut for the August 30, 2021, cruise tour departure; the river cruise portion of the itinerary sails between Kampong Cham, Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.Purpose-built for the Mekong River, the new Viking Saigon will host 80 passengers in 40 outside staterooms. All staterooms will have hotel-style beds and floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors with a veranda or French balcony.

Danish wind turbines manufacturer  Vestas Wind Systems secured a 50 MW order with Cong ty Co Phan Dau Tu Dien Gio Hoa Binh 1 (Hoa Binh 1 Company), a company owned by Phuong Anh Group. The order marks Vestas' third intertidal project in the country with three different customers announced this month, which makes the company leads the market for wind energy in Vietnam with almost 200 MW of projects.The project will be located in Hòa Bình, a district of Bạc Liêu Province where the turbines will be installed in shallow waters close to shore to exploit the full potential of the Mekong Delta region's good wind conditions.The contract includes…

Danish manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems has developed a customized solution for a 50 MW intertidal project in Bạc Liêu Province, Vietnam for the local EPC construction company Bac Phuong JSC, using onshore wind technologies to harvest wind resources from the sea.The intertidal project site is covered in water at high tide and some of the turbines will be uncovered at low tide, said a press note from the sustainable energy solutions provider.Working closely with the customer to overcome the complex operation of planning and executing an intertidal project, Vestas will supervise the installation of the turbines in shallow waters close…

The Dutch non-profit The Ocean Cleanup has just announced a new device to catch plastic before if flows into the ocean.The organization that develops advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, unveiled its invention to prevent the unrelenting flow of plastic pollution into the world’s oceans.The Interceptor, under development by The Ocean Cleanup since 2015, complements the organization’s founding mission by attacking the flow of plastic garbage at its source, the world’s vast network of rivers.“To truly rid the oceans of plastic, we need to both clean up the legacy and close the tap, preventing more plastic from reaching the oceans in the first place.

Schulte Marine Concept (SMC) said it has won its first cruise ship contract with Portugal-based Mystic Cruises. Schulte Marine Concept the project management arm of maritime services company Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), working together with Bernhard Schulte Cruise Services (BS Cruise), will provide technical consultancy and newbuild supervision services to support construction of the oceangoing luxury expedition cruise ship, MS World Explorer. MS World Explorer will be built as a 126-meter long expedition cruise ship with a passenger capacity of 200 and a crew complement of 111.

South Korea's largest shipping line Hanjin Shipping has sold its entire 21.3% stake in Tan Cang Cai Mep International Terminal (TCIT)  in Vietnam to its affiliate in order to secure liquidity. The financially-troubled shipping line will raise about  $33m from the sale. The move came after the government and creditors, led by state-run Korea Development Bank, pushed Cho Yang-ho, the chairman of Hanjin Group, to pour more cash to the ailing shipping arm of the company. TCIT is a joint venture company of Saigon Newport Corporation with Hanjin, Mitsui OSK Lines and Wan Hai as partners. Cai Mep in the Mekong Delta is a huge complex of terminals built in the past 12 years. Almost all the terminals in the area have failed to make money.

1912 - The scout cruisers USS Chester (CL 1) and USS Salem (CL 3) sail from Massachusetts to assist RMS Titanic survivors, and escort RMS Carpathia, which carried the survivors of the Titanic, to New York. 1914 - USS New York (BB 34) is commissioned. 1918 - First Marine Aviation Force, under the command of Capt. Alfred A. Cunningham, USMC, is formed at Marine Flying Field, Miami, Fla. 1943 - USS Yorktown (CV 10) is commissioned. 1945 - USS Frost (DE 144) and USS Stanton (DE 247) join to attack and sink German submarine U 880 and then German sub U 1235, north of the Azores.

Thailand-based construction firm Italian-Thai Development is planning to construct a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Dawei industrial zone Myanmar, with an investment of $500m says a news story in the Reuters. A press release from Roland Berger, who are consultants to the project, says that the LNG terminal is part of the first phase of the $1.7bn Dawei project. It will be designed with an annual capacity of six million tons. The initial phase development involves the construction of a small port, power plants, a two-lane road to Thailand, and an LNG terminal. Japan, Thailand and Myanmar recently signed a Memorandum of Intent (MoI) to build the Dawei Special Economic Zone in Myanmar as part of the “New Tokyo Strategy 2015 for Mekong-Japan Cooperation…

Today in U.S. 1952 - USS Coral Sea (CVB-43) took Marshall Josip Tito for a one-day cruise in the Adriatic Sea where he was shown flight operations. 1966 - Launch of Gemini 11, piloted by CDR Charles Conrad Jr., USN and LCDR Richard F. Gordon Jr., USN. Their mission lasted 2 days and 23 hours and included 44 orbits at an altitude of 1368.9 km.. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.

Today in U.S. Naval History - August 19 1812 - USS Constitution captures HMS Guerriere. 1812- Devastating hurricane struck the Navy's New Orleans station, delaying military preparations in the War of 1812 1818 - Capt. James Biddle takes possession of Oregon Territory for U.S. 1967 - Operation Coronado IV begins in Mekong Delta 1981 - Two VF-41 aircraft from USS Nimitz shoot down two Libyan aircraft which fired on them over international waters For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

Today in U.S. Naval History - March 26 1942 - Adm. King becomes both Chief of Naval Operations and Commander, U.S. Fleet 1943 - Battle of Komandorski Islands, prevents Japanese reinforcements from reaching Attu 1966 - Operation Jackstay in Navy's first amphibious assault in Vietnam's inland waters 1968 - Operation Bold Dragon III began in Mekong Delta For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

Today in U.S. 1958 - Commissioning of USS Grayback, first submarine built from keel up with guided missile capability, to fire Regulus II missile. 1960 - USS Kearsarge (CVS-33) rescues four Russian soldiers from their landing craft 1,000 miles from Midway Island, which was drifting several weeks after their engine failed off Kamchatka Peninsula. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

The freezing weather that swept the United States in the first two months of the year led to a surge in cruise bookings as winter-weary holidaymakers headed south to warmer climes. "Many companies have recorded their best booking month ever in January," Christine Duffy, head of trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), told Reuters at the ITB travel trade fair in Berlin. Large parts of the United States have been gripped by freezing temperatures and snow storms since the start of the year as a series of Arctic weather systems swept the country.

Today in U.S. Naval History - February 13 1854 - Admiral Perry anchors off Yokosuka, Japan to receive Emperor's reply to treaty proposal 1913 - Naval Radio Station, Arlington, Va. begins operations 1945 - First naval units enter Manila Bay since 1942 1968 - Operation Coronado XI begins in Mekong Delta For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

Today in U.S. Naval History - January 6 1916 - First enlisted flight training class at Pensacola, Fla. 1942 - Japanese capture 11 Navy Nurses in Manila, Philippines 1967- Operation Deckhouse V begins in Mekong Delta, Vietnam. 1996 - USS Hopper, named for R.Adm. Grace Hopper, launched. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

Today in U.S. Naval History - January 2 1969 - Operation Barrier Reef began in Mekong Delta, Vietnam For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

The Saigon Shipbuilding & Marine Industries One Member Co, Ltd. (Saigon Shipmarin) is completing construction of an 60- x 11-meter LPG carrier. With capacity for 1,400 cubic meters in two tanks the vessel’s hull has a four-meter molded depth and a 2.6-meter draft. Designed by a related company to Saigon Shipmarin, the vessel, to be named FACO, is owned by the F.A. Joint Stock Company. Being built to the Vietnam Register Rules and National Inland Regulations, the vessel will be classed for near shore and river operations.

Today in U.S. 1902 - Admiral of the Navy George Dewey receives orders to send his battleship to Trinidad and then to Venezuela to make sure that Great Britain's and Germany's dispute with Venezuela was settled by peaceful arbitration not force. 1944 - Admiral Halsey's Third Fleet encounters typhoon northeast of Samar. Destroyers USS Hull, USS Monaghan and USS Spence sink, while 21 other ships are damaged. 1965 - River Patrol Force established in Vietnam. 1965 - Helicopters from HS-11 on USS Wasp (CVS-18) pick up crew and capsule of Gemini 7…

Today in U.S. 1830 - Naval Observatory, the first U.S. national observatory, established at Washington, D.C., under commander of Lieutenant Louis Malesherbes. 1901 - First report of Ship Model Basin at Washington Navy Yard issued by Naval Constructor David W. Taylor who designed the basin. First facility of this type in U.S. to test hull shapes. 1917 - German submarine torpedoes sink USS Jacob Jones (DD-61) off England. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.