Oil Leaks News

Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding and Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry in China have ordered four MAN 10L32/44CR main engines in connection with the construction of a quartet of 41,000 dwt oil-and-chemical tankers for Bremen-based German Tanker Shipping (GTS).The construction of the 199-meter Swedish Fartygskonstruktioner AB-designed newbuildings is set to start at Xiamen Shipbuilding with delivery scheduled from mid-2025 onward. The order includes options for an additional two vessels.Each…

Last month, a Hydrex diver team carried out an underwater stern tube seal repair on a ro-ro ship berthed in Algeciras, Spain.The ship was suffering from an oil leak, making an on-site repair necessary. Using a Hydrex flexible mobdock, the team was able to carry out the entire operation on-site and underwater, saving the owner an expensive and time-consuming trip to drydock.Once the operation was approved, all preparations were handled swiftly and the lightweight equipment was…

Environment and disaster authorities in the Philippines rushed to contain an oil spill on Friday from a sunken fuel tanker that has reached coastal towns on a large central island, warning of dangers to marine ecosystems if more oil leaks. The tanker, MT Princess Empress, was still missing on Friday after sinking en route to Iloilo province carrying about 800,000 litres (211,338 gallons) of industrial fuel oil.The vessel encountered engine trouble on Tuesday due to overheating and drifted due to rough sea conditions, according to the coast guard.

ABS has granted Approval in Principle (AIP) to the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) for its vessel design with a novel aft layout, which eliminates pollution and promotes efficient vessel operations.The SDARI design, developed in cooperation with Thordon Bearings Inc. and the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), introduces a new approach to the vessel’s aft layout, including removal of the stern tube casting, employing seawater for lubrication…

A Russian navy vessel collided with a Swiss-owned container ship in Danish waters on Wednesday near the Oresund Bridge linking Denmark and Sweden, Danish defense authorities told Reuters.The Ice Rose, which was sailing from St. Petersburg in Russia to Gothenburg in Sweden, collided with a Russian frigate early on Wednesday morning, a spokesman for the Joint Operation Centre said.He said the reason for the collision was not clear, but that the Russian vessel had permission to be in Danish waters and had notified Danish authorities of its presence.No one aboard the Ice Rose was injured and there were no signs of oil leaks or ingress of water…

Sri Lanka has "better control" over a fresh fire on a loaded supertanker off the island nation and is looking for any signs of potential oil leaks from the ship. A fire first broke out last Thursday in the engine room of the very large crude carrier New Diamond and spread to the bridge of the vessel, which was chartered by Indian Oil Corp for importing 2 million barrels of oil from Kuwait. That blaze was doused on Sunday. However, new flames erupted on Monday. The re-ignition of the fire occurred on the "right side of the vessel near the funnel at the rear…

A Japanese bulk carrier struck a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius on July 25, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil and triggering a state of "environmental emergency".Scientists say the spill is the country's worst ecological disaster, killing wildlife and damaging pristine waters that attract tourists from around the globe. The full impact is still unfolding. As residents scramble to mop up the oil slicks, they are seeing dead eels and fish floating…

The vessel Aeolian Grace, loaded with some 65,000 tonnes of soybeans, has been stranded in Brazil's São Francisco do Sul port since Wednesday, authorities said in a statement on Thursday.Authorities said they were still evaluating whether there were any damages to the ship and had not identified any oil leaks.In a telephone interview, a press representative for the port authority said ship movements were authorized to resume on Thursday afternoon, with partial restrictions depending on the vessel's size.As operations gradually restart, the Bunga Lilac vessel received permission to maneuver and offload about 5,000 tonnes of vegetable oil, the press person said.Four ships currently are waiting to load soy at São Francisco do Sul, according to the press office.The stranded ship's destination

With the announcements that New York Waterway, a ferry operator running 32 boats around New York and New Jersey waters, had been largely shut down by the U.S. Coast Guard just prior to Thanksgiving, 2019, the reactions ranged from surprise to outright shock. There was also a great deal of grumbling, as commuters, the major customer group, endured delays on New York Waterway’s extensive network across the Hudson River, bringing New Jersey commuters into New York’s business districts.So, what happened?

Venezuela's state-run PDVSA suspended oil storage and shipping from its Caribbean facilities following a move by ConocoPhillips to temporarily seize the firm's assets on four islands, according to a PDVSA source and Reuters data.PDVSA has begun concentrating most shipping in its main crude terminal of Jose on Venezuela's eastern coast and recalling tankers to Venezuelan waters to avoid seizures that would further cut its exports and worsen an economy on the verge of collapse.U.S.…

Following a spate of stern tube seal failures, Antwerp-based Hydrex has reiterated its capability in carrying out repairs to stern tube seals during a ship’s routine port visit, saving the expense and loss of revenue of unscheduled drydocking. Stern tube seals can suffer undue wear or damage due to a variety of causes, causing water ingress and oil leaks. With ever-tightening environmental regulations resulting in heavy penalties for oil pollution, rapid and timely repairs are essential.

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has delayed and canceled crude deliveries to commercial partners in recent months, according to documents seen by Reuters, a further sign of the steady production decline of the country's top export. From October through January, PDVSA canceled or delayed delivery of almost 7 million barrels of crude due to cargoes being rescheduled or skipped, often because it did not have enough oil available, according to internal company documents seen by Reuters. Most pending cargoes were supposed to be delivered to regular buyers including U.S. Phillips 66 and Thai TIPCO Asphalt. Other shipments were canceled even before being assigned to specific customers.

More than 4 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil and fuels are stuck in tankers in the Caribbean because Venezuela’s state-run oil firm cannot afford to pay for cleaning dirty tankers and port inspections, Reuters reports, quoting internal company reports and Reuters tanker tracking data. According to PDVSA’s trade documents and Reuters shipping data, some dozen tankers full of  barrels are being held back because the hulls have been soiled by crude, stemming from several oil leaks in the last year at key ports of Bajo Grande and Jose, which has resulted in delayed operations for loading and discharging. Since debt-laden PDVSA cannot afford to have the ships cleaned, they have to wait for weeks to navigate international waters, delaying shipments.

The Patterson Company provides a full product line for an array of industries – from winches to ratchet turnbuckles to tensors and beyond. Every day, Patterson seeks out new ways to improve its products through innovative teamwork with customers and partners throughout every market sector they touch. Patterson’s winches, turnbuckles, and tensors are designed and manufactured with an eye toward innovation. This year, the company that brought the inland towboat industry the patented YoYo Winch…

Poland based Protea, supplier of offshore and marine lifting and mechanical handling equipment including cranes, winches and launch and recovery systems, is expanding its offering to also deliver heavy lift cargo cranes. Protea engineers are currently developing an all new, all electric cargo crane constructed from ultra high strength steel and will be available in a range of sizes from 60t to 500t (or even higher upon client request). “The combination of high strength steel and the electric drive system allows our customers to benefit from significant improvements in operational efficiency…

Longtime waterjet propulsion equipment provider NAMJet introduces key advancements for the workboat sector. Back in 2011, when boat builder Birdon went looking for a propulsion system that they could utilize in the bid phases of a multi-boat contract with the U.S. Army, they landed on NAMJet propulsion systems and its TRAKTOR Jet line of high-thrust marine jets. Subsequent to that, and because their Army Bridge Erection boat (BEB) concept, powered by NAMJet, performed so well, Birdon went ahead and purchased the company. Since then, NAMJet has gone on to blaze its own trail for propulsion solutions over a wide range of workboats. Denver-based NAMJet provides waterjet technology designed for a wide variety of commercial…

Thru-Deck & Right angle Capstans: From the company that brought the inland towboat industry the patented YoYo Winch, now comes not one but two new, equally revolutionary products in the form of Patterson’s Thru-Deck Capstan and Right Angle Capstan. Just as the YoYo standardized safety and slowly eliminated the need for the ratchet when making barge connections, the Patterson Thru-Deck Capstan promises to keep inland firms up and running for years to come with little to no maintenance, minimizing downtime, all while saving money. The Thru-Deck Capstan boasts bollard pull of 100,000 pounds, leveraging a 14” Diameter Whelped Head at 25 Feet Per Minute. Features include Full Length Barrel Whelps which eliminate the traditional but unnecessary double whelped barrel.

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has secured orders for environmentally-friendly equipment for four next-generation eco-cruise ships which will be built in Germany and Finland. The vessels will be the first liquefied natural gas-powered cruise ships to enter the market. The orders were booked into first quarter 2016 order intake. "Cruise ships operate in some of the world's most fragile ecosystems and a rising demand from both authorities and operators requires that onboard systems are as environmentally-friendly as possible," says Lars Öberg, Sales Manager, RoRo at MacGregor. MacGregor deliveries include electrically-operated shell doors and electric frequency-controlled Hatlapa winches.

Chinese cruise ship "Ocean Dream" , anchored off Laem Chanang port in Sri Racha for over a year, sank into the sea today, raising fear by Thai environmental authorities that it could cause pollution in the sea. Ocean Dream capsized on Saturday while anchored around 2 miles off Laem Chabang port located in Sri Racha on Thailand’s east coast. Local news reports the vessel had been abandoned by the owners for over a year. Local fisherman saw the vessel was taking on water, the authorities at Marine Department’s Marine Safety Centre were then contacted. Authorities immediately coordinated with the Chinese owner to stabilise the vessel back to its position, and were working out a plan to have it fixed soon.

Propulsion evolves, improves and powers forward in the inland markets. And, Z-Drive propulsion is the future. In a white paper released late in 2014 by The Shearer Group, Ed Shearer and Greg Beers outlined The Next Generation of inland vessels, what will drive design changes and the advantages of azimuthing stern drives – or ‘Z-Drives,’ for short. The authors point out that, until recently, towboats on all the inland waterways and Gulf Coast have traditionally been built using main engines connected to reduction gearboxes connected to long drive shafts passing through the towboat hull. In a nutshell, according The Shearer Group, the advantages of using z-Drives on inland towboats include decreased installation time…

Noble Drilling (U.S.) LLC was charged with environmental and maritime crimes for operating the drill ship Noble Discoverer and the drilling unit Kulluk in violation of federal law in Alaska in 2012, the Department of Justice announced. Under the terms of a plea agreement filed in federal court today, Noble will plead guilty to eight felony offenses, pay $12.2 million dollars in fines and community service payments, implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan, and will be placed on probation for four years. In addition, Noble’s parent corporation, Noble Corporation plc, headquartered in London, England, will implement an Environmental…

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has a longstanding ‘heightened attention’ initiative where surveyors attending on board LR classed ships give increased attention to areas where the most common PSC deficiencies are identified. LR announced it has decided to continue this heightened attention initiative for a further year. LR’s analysis of PSC detentions shows that ships less than five years old are now more likely to be inspected and detained than before – therefore, the initiative will now apply to ships of all ages. fire safety, fire detection, firefighting equipment and appliances (e.g. cleanliness of accommodation/galley. Ensuring the above items are suitably maintained and remain in a fit and effective condition reduces the potential for a ship being detained by PSC authorities, LR said.

Last month a Hydrex diver/technician team carried out underwater stern tube seal repairs on a 148-meter container vessel in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The ship was suffering from an oil leak, making an on-site repair necessary. Using one of the company’s flexible mobdocks the team was able to carry out the entire operation on-site and underwater, saving the owner an expensive and time-consuming trip to drydock. Every Hydrex office has a fast response center designed specifically to increase speed of service.