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Mmc News

26 Feb 2024

US Coast Guard Announces New Merchant Mariner Credential

Example of the new certificate size one page merchant mariner credential (Image: USCG)

The U.S. Coast Guard announced a new merchant mariner credential (MMC) set to launch on March 1, 2024, marking the first comprehensive revision of the mariner credential in nearly a decade.The Coast Guard is the exclusive source of U.S. MMCs, which are required for U.S. mariners who serve on commercially operated vessels such as passenger boats, tug and barges, offshore supply vessels, and deep draft ocean going cargo vessels throughout the nation and internationally.The Coast…

15 Nov 2023

Marsh, Lloyd's, Ukraine Launch War Risk Ship Insurance to Cut Grain Costs

© glebzter / Adobe Stock

Insurance broker Marsh MMC.N, Lloyd's of London insurers and Ukrainian state banks have launched a programme to cut the cost of claims for damage to ships and crew transporting grain through the Black Sea corridor, Marsh said on Wednesday.Kyiv launched a "humanitarian corridor" in August for ships bound for Africa and Asia to circumvent a de facto blockade in the Black Sea after Russia quit a United Nations-brokered deal that had guaranteed Kyiv's seaborne exports during the war.Lloyd's of London insurers will underwrite the programme…

16 Mar 2023

Marine Propulsion: Inside Schottel's New SRP-D

SRP-D with a propeller shaft with an eight-degree tilt. Image courtesy Schottel

The increased performance of the fast-responsive Schottel RudderPropeller Dynamic SRP-D was confirmed by external sources. Initial investigations into the effect of thruster response on DP positioning were carried out in cooperation with MARIN, based in the Netherlands, and Polish ship designer MMC. The results obtained demonstrated much-improved position accuracy and enhanced operability of the vessel.Further calculations made by DNV and simulations from a cooperation with VARD showed that the SRP-D greatly improves the vessel’s operational performance and environmental impact…

15 Mar 2023

Can Ukraine's Grain Corridor Ease the Global Food Crisis?

© Aleksandr Lesik / Adobe Stock

Russia has proposed that a U.N.-backed initiative that has enabled grains to be exported from Ukraine's Black Sea ports should be renewed for just 60 days.The deal to free up grain exports from Ukraine's southern Black Sea ports, which expires later this month, has previously been renewed for 120 days and there are concerns a shorter extension could cause logistical issues.Reached in July last year, it created a protected sea transit corridor and was designed to alleviate global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine…

10 Nov 2022

Can Ukraine's Grain Deal Ease the Global Food Crisis?

©Elena/AdobeStock

A deal to free-up vital grain exports from Ukraine expires on Nov. 19, and intense negotiations over the next few days will determine whether it is extended and possibly even expanded to help ease concerns about global food security.The agreement, reached in July, created a protected sea transit corridor and was designed to alleviate global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine, a major producer of grains and oil seeds.Here are some of the issues:WHAT HAS BEEN EXPORTED?The pact created a safe shipping channel for exports from three ports in Ukraine.So far…

01 Aug 2022

Obstacles to Overcome Before Ukraine Grain Deal Eases Global Food Crisis

© Elena / Adobe Stock

The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine more than five months ago left Odesa on Monday under a safe passage agreement that has raised hopes hundreds of other vessels will follow.But there are many hurdles to overcome before millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain depart from its Black Sea ports, which handle most of the corn, wheat, barley, sunflower seed and rapeseed exports of one of the world's top grain suppliers.Here are some…

01 Nov 2021

Jackson Offshore Buys Platform Supply Vessel. Five-year Charter with Shell Secured

Credit: Jackson Offshore

U.S.-based offshore vessel owner Jackson Offshore Operators has acquired the M/V STORM platform supply vessel.Once it has completed regulatory requirements, the M/V STORM will start a five-year contract with Shell in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.Built in 2015, the M/V STORM is an MMC-879 design PSV, DP Class 2, and diesel-electric propulsion. It is 260 feet in length with a carrying capacity of 4,200 T DWT. The vessel is expected to go into service immediately upon completion of a special dry-docking survey. "We’re thrilled to add the M/V STORM to our fleet of platform supply vessels.

27 Mar 2021

TECH FILE: Software Helps Merchant Mariners with USCG Credentials

Photo courtesy MM Seas

MM-SEAS is the reportedly the first software that automates the manual task of obtaining, tracking and renewing U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) credentials, helping to eliminate paperwork processing errors while delivering merchant mariner career guidance.Civilian mariners are required to have valid USCG Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMC) to be onboard any commercial or federal ship in the United States. Credentialing is a complex and vague process. From 2012 to 2018, 44.9 percent of approximately 500…

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.

18 Dec 2019

Captain's MMC Suspended After Alcohol-related Grounding

A tugboat captain's Merchant Mariner Credential has been suspended after it was determined that he was operating his vessel under the influence of alcohol during a grounding incident in eastern Virginia.On November 14, 2019, the tugboat Niki Jo C drifted off course and ran aground outside the main channel of the Rappahannock River.In conducting their investigation, the US Coast Guard, the Virginia Marine Resource Commission and the Richmond County Sheriff's Office tested the crew's blood alcohol content to determine if alcohol was a causative factor. The results showed that the captain of the vessel was intoxicated at the time of the incident…

12 Nov 2019

Southeast Asia Bullish on OFS Market

Offshore project sanctions in Southeast Asia could lift greenfield investments in the oilfield services market by nearly 70 percent in 2020, said Rystad Energy.According to Norwegian energy research firm, the growth will be driven by a handful of new mega-projects across Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam, according to the latest tally of project commitments in Southeast Asia by the Norwegian energy research and consulting firm.New final investment decisions (FIDs) in 2021 are expected to sound the starting gun for big contract awards in Vietnam, Indonesia and even politically-troubled Brunei.“We anticipate that operators will aim to place most of the associated contracts within their domestic markets…

13 Aug 2019

N4 - A Shot in The Arm for PTP

With Navis N4 TOS, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) has again broken the record for vessel utilization after the MSC Gulsun, the largest container ship in the world, departed with 19,574 TEU in July 2019.This milestone means PTP has broken the record three times in a row and has become the first port in the world to set back-to-back records for container vessel utilization.Navis, a part of Cargotec Corporation and provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for the world’s leading terminal operators said that PTP terminal has gone live with the Navis N4 TOS to help them scale as demand at the terminal grows.PTP…

12 Aug 2019

New Name for MMC Green Technology

MMC Green Technology AS will be renamed Norwegian Greentech AS.In connection with the sale of MMC First Process, it was agreed that MMC Green Technology would change its name. The new name is Norwegian Greentech AS, and Havyard Group ASA is the company's majority owner with 77.78% of the shares. The remaining shares are still owned by key employees who have been with the company since its formation.Ballast water treatment system – a requirementShips built after September 8, 2017 are bound by the requirements of the IMO convention concerning treatment of ballast water, while existing ships must have a ballast water treatment system installed by September 8, 2024. Also, all ships are already required to have an approved ballast water management plan in place.

23 Jul 2019

Regulatory Crewing Challenges for Offshore Wind Vessels

Photo: © halberg/Adobe Stock

Every day we see more and more news about how the planning for new offshore wind projects continues to expand with the increasing investment from both domestic and foreign interests in these projects. This is resulting in both developers and contractors making logistics plans to secure vessels and crew for the purposes of meeting the demands necessary to crew and operate vessels in support of future wind farm operations. Unfortunately, there are challenges associated with the…

24 Apr 2019

Tanjung Bruas Receives Container Ships

Malaysia's Tanjung Bruas Port (TBP), a member of MMC Group, announced that it now offers container ships services at its Tanjung Bruas Port terminal.TBP recently welcomed the MV West Scent, the first Container vessel to ever call its terminal at Tanjung Bruas Port. The 145.68 meters long MV West Scent came alongside on 18 April 2019 with an exchange of 1,150 move counts.The specially chartered Container vessel by manufacturer Xinyi Glass Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, is currently at TBP berth and will depart to Humen Port, China after completing its cargo operations. This is the first ever project undertaken by TBP in handling Containerised shipment.Captain Davidiuk Aleksandar, the Master of the Container vessel was welcomed by Mohamad Nizam Ibrahim, General Manager of TBP together with Ir.

25 Jan 2019

Government Shutdown: USCG Update

To mitigate the impact caused by the partial lapse in appropriations and shutdown of National Maritime Center (NMC) operations, the following updated actions are being taken:• Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMC) (National Endorsements only) and Medical Certificates that expire in December 2018, January 2019, or February 2019 are extended as valid until April 30, 2019. Print letter and carry it with your credential.• Additional Information (AI) letters, sent to mariners that expire in December 2018, January 2019, or February 2019 are extended to April 30, 2019.• Approval to Test (ATT) letters and mariner training course certificates that expire in the months of December 2018…

09 Jan 2019

USCG Update – Mitigation Efforts Due to Partial Government Shutdown

Image: CREDIT USCG

To mitigate the impact caused by the partial lapse in appropriations and shutdown of National Maritime Center (NMC) operations, the following actions are being taken:Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMC) (National Endorsements only) and Medical Certificates that expired in December 2018 or expire in January 2019 are extended as valid until March 31, 2019. Print the attached letter and carry it with your credential.Additional Information (AI) letters, sent to mariners that expired in December 2018 or expire in January 2019 are extended to March 31…

14 Sep 2018

MOL Magsaysay Maritime Academy Opened

Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced that an inauguration ceremony for MOL Magsaysay Maritime Academy (MMMA), jointly operated by MOL and Magsaysay Maritime Corporation (MMC), was held on September 12 in Salitran, Dasmariña City, the Philippines.Around 700 people attended the event, including Senator Grace Poe, Secretary of the Department of Transportation Arthur Tugade, H.E. Koji Haneda, Japanese Ambassador-designate to the Republic of the Philippines, President and CEO Doris Teresa Magsaysay-Ho of A. Magsaysay, Inc.(Magsaysay), MMC's holding company, and MOL President & CEO Ikeda.In his congratulatory address, MOL President & CEO Ikeda said, "MMMA symbolizes the strong ties linking Japan and the Philippines.

08 May 2018

MOL to Open New Maritime Academy in Philippines

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines announced that the establishment of MOL Magsaysay Maritime Academy  in Salitran, Dasmariñas City, the Philippines — a joint project with Magsaysay Maritime Corporation (MMC) — has acquired official approval from the Philippine government's Commission on Higher Education (CHED), clearing the way for the academy to open in August. MOL has offered training programs in Philippines with the goal of developing crewmembers who will uphold strict safety standards in vessel operation, such as onboard training program with its own instructors and crewmembers aboard its training ship, and the "3rd Year Program" targeted new seafarers from among third-year students at partner maritime schools in the Philippines…

05 May 2017

Havyard to Build World's Largest Live Fish Carrier

Sølvtrans orders the world’s largest live fish carrier from Havyard. The world’s largest shall, in addition, offer the best fish welfare in the world. The live fish carrier, to be named Ronja Storm, will be 116 meters long with a breadth of 23 meters. The vessel will feature fish tank capacity of 7,450 cubic meters of water, more than twice the amount of normal-sized live fish carriers. In addition, the vessel has capacity for carrying 5,000 cubic meters of freshwater. After delivery, the ship will enter a 10-year contract for the fish farming company Huon in Tasmania, outside of Australia. Tasmania is short on freshwater both in terms of quality and availability. This is solved through equipment within the new Havyard design that can produce nearly 17 million liters of freshwater a day.

06 Dec 2016

Fuel Talk: Greener Ships 'Abandoned'

Push Back: Leaders citing limited returns for “green-fuels” investments include (from left): Håvard Ulstein, MD, Island Offshore; Karsten Sævik, CEO, Remøy Shipping; and Ståle Kyrkjedelen, Norway’s Operations Manager, Bourbon Offshore. (Photo: William Stoichevski)

In the immortal words of one Kermit the Frog, “it’s not easy being green.” Nor inexpensive. Offshore ship owners managing the demand “fallout” of the past year and navigating myriad environmental strictures say their leap of faith toward greener fuels has taken its toll. The idealism of a decade ago has eroded, they say, in the face of lost offshore business, especially long-term contracts. Oil company clients that once insisted on high-spec, “green” vessels haven’t renewed contracts for those ships.

10 Mar 2016

MOL Breaks Ground for New Philippines Academy

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced that on March 8, it held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new merchant marine academy in Salitran, Dasmariñas City, the Philippines. It will be jointly established with Magsaysay Maritime Corporation (MMC) (*1), MOL’s partner in the Philippines, and is scheduled to open in June 2018. A large audience was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony, including special guests from the city of Dasmariñas and from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); from MOL, Chairman Koichi Muto and Senior Managing Executive Officer Masaaki Nemoto. Everyone in attendance prayed for the safe completion of the construction project.

01 Feb 2016

Non-EU Europe Fishing Fleets: Europe’s Profitable 'Outsiders'

Biggest in class: Kleven’s Gitte  Henning newbuild. (Illustration: Handout)

With three species of migrating cod to fish and new commercial species arriving as oceans warm, Norway is a fisheries Valhalla. Yet, recent boat sales suggest the Scandinavian country’s role is changing. Vessel orders and rules in Norway are propping up yards and designers on Europe’s fringes. Medium-sized hull orders for Romanian, Russian and Turkish boat builders are new, while large vessel orders for Denmark or Spain continue apace. Unconventional Icelandic designs, too, are gaining ground here as catches and profits soar.