Ocean Industries News

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) has appointed and approved the 2024-2025 term of the NOIA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Jon Landes, President, Subsea of TechnipFMC has been elected as the NOIA Chair and Joe Leimkuhler, Chief Operating Officer of Beacon Offshore Energy, as the incoming NOIA Vice Chair.NOIA President Erik Milito said, “We are at a critical juncture where it's imperative to ensure that energy policy from Washington, D.C. does not hinder American energy production.

Swedbank has signed the Poseidon Principles, a global framework for integrating climate considerations into lending decisions within ship financeThe Poseidon Principles provide a standardised methodology for data collection and reporting of emissions from banks’ shipping portfolios, with the overall ambition of supporting and facilitating the decarbonization of the shipping industry.The Poseidon Principles are consistent with the policies and ambitions of the IMO, including its…

Canada's Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Jean-Yves Duclos, on behalf of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Diane Lebouthillier, announced a contract award following a competitive process, valued at approximately $44 million (including taxes) to Ocean Industries Inc. for the vessel life extension of the CCGS Griffon.Scheduled to take place from June 2025 to October 2026, the vessel life extension work entails refurbishing and repairing the main propulsion motors…

Markey Machine won a first-ever contract from SAAM Towage to retrofit the controls on a Timberland towing winch aboard the Point Valiant, a tug based in Vancouver, B.C.SAAM first outlined the project to Markey last May, then hired Sentinel Survey, Markey’s after-market service division, to undertake on-site inspection of the winch. Following inspection, Markey offered its Class I winch-control package, and SAAM responded with an order near the end of December. The winch controls package will be provided in mid-2024.“Markey’s achievements in workboat winches are widely known…

A Biden administration auction of Gulf of Mexico drilling rights raised $382 million on Wednesday as oil companies claimed offshore acreage for what is set to be the last time until 2025.The auction total was the highest of any federal offshore oil and gas lease sale since 2015, according to a Reuters tally.Shell, Hess, Anadarko, BP, Chevron, Repsol and Equinor were among the 26 companies that participated in the sale.Anadarko had the auction's highest bid of more than $25 million for a block in the deepwater Mississippi Canyon area, according to an online broadcast of the sale by the U.S.

COP28 has concluded with agreement on a text named The UAE Consensus that aims to set out a climate agenda to keep 1.5°C within reach. The UAE Consensus calls on parties to transition away from fossil fuels to reach net zero, encourages them to submit economy-wide Nationally Determined Contributions, includes a new specific target to triple renewables and double energy efficiency by 2030, and builds momentum towards a new architecture for climate finance.The UAE Consensus followed a year of inclusive diplomatic engagements and two weeks of intense negotiations.

The Biden administration's plan to slash offshore oil and gas leasing drew fire from both the fossil fuel industry and environmentalists on Friday, with energy companies saying it will raise fuel prices and greens saying it undermines efforts to stop global warming. The criticism from both sides reflects the difficulty Biden's White House has had in dealing with U.S. oil extraction policies, as it seeks to balance national energy security with the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change.

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President Erik Milito has said that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issue of a Notice to Lessees (NTL) with recommended restrictions on ongoing industry activities within the expanded Rice's Whale habitat area imposes “unwarranted restrictions on U.S. energy production at a time of continued inflation with prices rising at the pump for consumers.”With likely fewer than 100 individuals remaining, Rice's whales are one of the most endangered whales in the world.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Monday announced three final Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) offshore Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.These areas, BOEM said, were developed following extensive engagement and feedback from states, Tribes, local residents, ocean users, federal government partners, and other members of the public.If fully developed, the final WEAs could support between four and eight gigawatts of energy production. The Biden administration has a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.The three WEAs total approximately 356…

The United States' Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Tuesday issued a final environmental assessment (EA) on potential impacts from offshore wind leasing on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico, marking another step toward the potential first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf.The assessment, completed with the help of the Gulf of Mexico Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force—a collaboration between Tribal, Federal, state, and local government agencies—found "no significant impacts to environmental resources"…

The US National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) has released a study on global oil production emissions that finds that the greenhouse gas intensity of US oil production, particularly in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, is significantly lower than most other regions around the world.Prepared by ICF, the GHG Emission Intensity of Crude Oil and Condensate Production report, calculates that total US oil production has a carbon intensity 23% lower than the international average outside of the US and Canada.

The Biden administration needs until the end of this year to finalize a long-awaited five-year plan for offshore oil and gas development in federal waters, according to court documents filed this week.The U.S. has been without a congressionally-mandated five year schedule of offshore oil and gas auctions since the previous one expired in June 2022. The process is being closely watched by the oil and gas industry, which has pressed for more leasing to boost domestic fuel supplies, and by environmentalists, who say drilling conflicts with President Joe Biden's promise to fight climate change.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said Friday that it would hold an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in March 2023.The Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 259 will offer approximately 13,600 blocks on 73.3 million acres in the Western, Central, and Eastern Planning Areas on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. Lease Sale 259 was one of three offshore lease sales initially cancelled by the Biden Administration in May 2022. The subsequent Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) mandated that BOEM hold Lease Sale 259 no later than March 31…

The U.S. administration on Wednesday proposed the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, as part of the government's plan to spur offshore wind deployment beyond the East Coast.The proposed sale is part of the leasing path announced by Secretary Haaland in 2021 to meet the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and follows the Department’s approval of the nation's first two commercial-scale offshore wind projects.The Proposed Sale Notice (PSN) announced Wednesday includes a 102…

Several dead whales have recently washed up on the shores of New York and New Jersey, with environmental groups blaming the offshore wind industry and calling for its halt.The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), which represents the offshore oil and gas and offshore renewables industries in the United States, said that while it was true that there was an unusual whale mortality on the Atlantic coast, there was no connection to the offshore wind industry.NOIA President…

The Biden administration on Monday proposed offshore drilling safety measures that it said would help prevent oil spills and protect workers and the environment.The proposal aims to restore safety provisions put in place by the Obama administration in 2016 following the fatal 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon spill, the worst in United States history.The Trump administration had revised the rules in 2019 to reduce what the oil and gas industry said was a financial burden.The Interior Department…

Stillstrom, an offshore charging company recently launched by Maersk Supply Service, said Thursday it would collaborate with Port of Aberdeen on a project aimed at cutting emissions from vessels on standby outside the port.Stillstrom and Port of Aberdeen will conduct a joint feasibility study into an innovative offshore renewable charging hub. "The ocean clean-tech concept provides a platform for vessels to utilize electricity from either offshore wind or grid-energy, thereby eliminating the need for vessels to consume fossil fuels while idling.

The words “blue economy” will soon shape the future of Canada’s oceans, from the fiords and straits of British Columbia to the rugged coastlines of the Atlantic to the vast seascapes of the Arctic. The transformation of Canada’s ocean economies will be felt throughout the country and will set an example for nations around the world.But what is a blue economy? And what makes it different from business as usual?The term blue economy was first championed by small-island developing countries, including Fiji, Bahamas and Palau, to bring more local benefits from ocean industries.

High Tien Offshore, a Taiwanese company that specializes in offshore wind marine engineering services, announced its collaboration with Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center (SOIC) and Jong Shyn Shipbuilding (JSS) to build offshore vessels.“In order to support government’s localization development policy and developers’ bidding for the offshore wind farms of zonal development in Round 3, High Tien Offshore plans to build Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) and Service Operation Vessel (SOV), with the mission of creating Taiwan values and establishing autonomous capability of marine vessels.

As the geopolitical landscape continues to quickly transform with the Russia/Ukraine war, Europe's over-dependence on Russian energy has become painfully apparent. VSM – the German Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Association that represents the political and commercial interests of the German maritime over a diversity of maritime market segments – issued the following statement and overview of the global shipbuilding market, highlighting how highly subsidized shipbuilding markets…

Erik Milito, president of the U.S. National Ocean Industries Association, said this week that the U.S. government's decision not to hold offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Cook Inlet was expected, but also "devastating to Americans.""This decision is not surprising at all. As early as March 2020, then-candidate Biden made it clear that he would stop federal oil and gas development if elected. This was followed by additional formal campaign declarations…

Scana reports that it has more than doubled revenues and EBITDA in the first quarter. Revenues increased by 126 percent to $21.2m (NOK 208 million) compared to the same period last year, while EBITDA was up 140 percent to $1.63m (NOK 16 million), with the acquisition of PSW Group being the main driver.“Scana have transitioned to a new company. The acquisition of PSW Group closed on 11 January 2022, and Scana now forms a driving force for the green shift in the ocean industries,” says Styrk Bekkenes, CEO of Scana.“Our ambition is to reach $173m (NOK 1.7 billion) in revenues in 2025.

U.S. National Ocean Industries Association has welcomed this week's news that the U.S. government is looking to open more areas - off Oregon and in the Central Atlantic - for offshore wind development, but has also called for a "legislative fix" to a prohibition on new offshore wind lease sales on the east coast that takes place July 1.NOIA President Erik Milito said: "Interior pursuing the first wind lease sale offshore Oregon and an additional lease sale in the Central Atlantic is welcome news.