New Cranes & Offshore Wind Efficiency
The end may be in sight, but the race for bigger cranes is still having an impact on offshore wind project efficiency.The industry has already felt the need for upgrading crane lifting capacity on existing offshore wind installation vessels: NOV is upgrading the cranes on Cadeler’s existing O-class wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs), and a gantry crane extension will soon make Van Oord’s Svanen one of the largest floating heavy-lift installation vessels.It’s a newbuild phenomenon too. NOV has developed a telescoping leg encircling crane for Shimizu’s GustoMSC-designed WTIV Blue Wind.
Seeing the Ship as a System Changes Everything
Shipping must engage with the decarbonization realities that lie ahead by changing the way it crafts maritime legislation to reflect its place in the interconnected, interdependent world economy, says Eero Lehtovaara, Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs, ABB Marine & Ports.ABB Marine & Ports Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs, Eero Lehtovaara has carved out an unusual - and possibly unique - role in the maritime industry over recent years, as a ‘stakeholder’ simultaneously mindful of the perspectives of owners…
Bourbon Orders Exail Tech to Streamline Subsea Fleet’s Services for Offshore Energy
UK-based Exail has secured a contract with French maritime services provider Bourbon to supply several units of its Octans Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (AHRS) for integration into Bourbon Subsea Services’s fleet.These units will be installed on multiple Bourbon Evolution 800 Series multi-purpose support vessels (MPSVs) dedicated to subsea operations at depths down to 3,000 meters.IMO-HSC certified, the Octans AHRS will enhance Bourbon vessels’ efficiency in installation…
Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck: MSC Needs More Mariners, New Ships
Founded as the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and renamed Military Sealift Command in 1970, MSC today not only support the Navy, but we are the Department of Defense's provider of all sealift. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently interviewed Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, U.S. Navy, for insights on the service today and it’s needs to grow in the future.What makes MSC so vital to the Navy’s fleet and our military forces around the world?When we look at the history of contested logistics in World War II…
Avenir LNG Orders Two LNG Bunker and Supply Vessels from Chinese Shipyard
UK-based small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplier Avenir LNG has entered into a shipbuilding contract with Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering in China, a subsidiary of CIMC Enric, for two new LNG bunker and supply vessels.The two 20,000 cbm LNG bunker and supply vessels are scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.The newbuildings will feature new Type C tank designs, lower boil off rates, the latest engine technologies…
MOL and Gaz-System Sing Long-Term FSRU Charter for New Polish LNG Terminal
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has signed a long-term time charter party agreement for one floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with the Polish gas transmission system operator Gaz-System, which is the developer and operator behind the future LNG terminal.The FSRU will be constructed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard and is expected to be completed in 2027. Thereafter, the FSRU will be managed by the MOL group.The FSRU is being built for the project that involves the…
Energy Transition: LNG Prices Plummet, Dual-fuel LNG Newbuilds Rise
Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power ships will rise this year on attractive prices, while more dual-fuel vessels join the global fleet. Prices of LNG delivered as marine fuel at the world's largest bunker hub Singapore are at steep discounts of nearly $100 per metric ton compared with conventional 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), industry sources report.That is a far cry from record premiums of more than $1,000 a ton seen in September 2023, based on data from S&P Global Platts published on industry coalition SEA-LNG's website…
US Plans 12 Offshore Wind Auctions Over Five Years
President Joe Biden's administration unveiled plans on Wednesday to hold up to a dozen auctions of offshore wind development rights through 2028, including four before the end of this year.The schedule will help companies, states and others plan for projects that require massive amounts of investment and infrastructure, the Interior Department said in a statement."Our offshore wind leasing schedule will provide predictability to help developers and communities plan ahead and will…
Simulators Track our Changing Relationship with Technology
Simulation-based training has its whole-of-ship/whole-of-team scenarios, but zooming in, the industry is now working on more specific targets.We have a close relationship with technology, evidenced by, for example, the phones we are estimated to unlock around 50-80 times a day. It has changed us. Half the people surveyed in a 2022 King’s College London study said that they feel like their attention span is shorter than it used to be. They are wrong, though, if they think that the average attention span of adults today is just eight seconds, one second less than goldfish.
Wärtsilä to Supply Cargo Handling System for Scale Gas’ LNG Bunkering Vessel
Wärtsilä Gas Solutions, part of technology group Wärtsilä, has signed a contract for the supply of cargo handling system for a new 12,500 m3 LNG bunkering vessel being built for Spanish shipowner Scale Gas, a subsidiary of Enagás.The order has been placed by the yard building the vessel, Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering, and was booked by Wärtsilä in the first quarter of 2024.The vessel is co-financed from the Support for Sustainable and Digital Transport Programme…
WinGD’s Short-Stroke Engine Passes Shop Test
WinGD will record the first installation of its new X-S short-stroke engine design following successful factory acceptance tests with engine builder Dalian Marine Diesel in March.The six-cylinder, 62cm-bore 6X62-S2.0 engine will be installed on a pulp carrier being built for a Chinese owner at COSCO Dalian shipyard.The X-S series succeeds the well-established RT-flex50 and RT-flex58 engines and is available in 52cm and 62cm bore sizes, for the range of fuel options including traditional diesel or dual-fuel LNG…
Subsea Vessel Market is Full Steam Ahead
Since our last market update in the subsea space about a year ago both our current market view and forecasts have strengthened significantly.While the demand picture is looking solid and arguing for a strong multi-year upcycle, the supply side has also started to wake from its slumber albeit ever so slightly at the time of writing. Moreover, we register an interesting dynamic on the shipowner side, where everyone is trying to position themselves for the impeding market boom.Please note that vessel definitions and abbreviations in this part of our industry can vary…
One-on-One: Rob Langford, VP, Global Offshore Wind, ABS
As the U.S. offshore wind industry endures a predictable number of stops and starts during its adolescence, common mantras are ‘learn from the established European model’ and ‘embrace technology transfer from the offshore oil and gas sector.’ In Robert Langford, the American Bureau of Shipping has all of that and more bundled in one neat package.Rob Langford has worked in the offshore industry for more than three decades, ‘cutting his teeth’ in a UK design firm working in the North Sea oil and gas platforms, the holy grail of rigorous conditions in offshore energy production.
Carras Secures ABS' First Biofuel Notation for Aquataurus Bulk Carrier
Greek shipping company Carras (Hellas) has received the ABS Biofuel-1 notation for its Aquataurus ultramax bulk carrier, the first vessel in the world to qualify.The notation is assigned to vessels that use a biofuel blend of up to and including 30% biofuel in compliance with IMO and ABS requirements.Biofuels are liquid hydrocarbon fuels with similar composition and properties to fuel oil, but they are produced from renewable sources such as crops, agricultural and forestry waste…
BHP Aims to Receive First Ammonia-fueled Bulk Carrier in 2026
Australia's BHP Group is planning to receive its first ammonia-fueled bulk carrier in 2026 as part of the company's plans to cut shipping emissions, a senior executive said.The global mining giant has shortlisted eight companies for the building, operation and fuel supply for at least one such vessel, Rashpal Singh Bhatti, vice president of maritime and supply chain excellence at BHP told Reuters late last week.However, it has not yet decided on the total number of vessels that it will order and is also assessing costs…
Wah Kwong Orders More LNG Carriers
Hong Kong-based shipping company Wah Kwong is finalizing a deal later this month to double the number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers that it has ordered to four, as it eyes growing global trade in the superchilled fuel, its chairman said.The ships would be delivered from 2027 onwards, Wah Kwong's Executive Chairman Hing Chao told Reuters on the sidelines of the Singapore Maritime Week ShipZERO28 event late last week."We have always been very optimistic about the outlook of LNG as a global energy," said Chao, adding that a lot of supply will have to come from the U.S.
MOL Orders Value Maritime’s Carbon Capture Unit for Tanker
Dutch company Value Maritime and Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) have signed a contract for the supply an Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS) and carbon capture feature for an LR1 product tanker.With a deadweight (DWT) of 75,000, this is the largest vessel, in terms of DWT, and the first LR1 tanker that will sail with a Value Maritime’s 15 MW EGSC Filtree and carbon capture unit.The installation is expected to take place before the end of the year, according to…
TotalEnergies, OQ Reach FID for Marsa LNG Project in Oman
French energy giant TotalEnergies and Oman National Oil Company (OQ) have reached the final investment decision (FID) on the Marsa LNG project, which will feature an LNG plant completely powered by renewable energy that will produce LNG for use as a marine fuel for maritime transportation.Through their joint company Marsa Liquefied Natural Gas (Marsa), TotalEnergies (80%) and OQ (20%) have launched the integrated Marsa LNG project which combines upstream gas production, downstream gas liquefaction…
NOIA Appoints New Executives
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.
DNV Awards Certificates for Fortescue’s Dual-fueled Ammonia-powered Vessel
Classification society DNV presented Australian green technology, energy and metals company Fortescue with class and statutory certificates for its dual-fueled ammonia-powered vessel Green Pioneer. This marked the culmination of a project that began in 2021, when DNV was engaged by Fortescue to work on the feasibility study and 'Fuel ready (Ammonia)' notation for the vessel’s conversion. DNV's Technology Qualification process provided the framework for the qualification and assurance of the engine modifications, where industry rules were yet to be developed.
Simulators Track our Changing Relationship with Technology
Simulation-based training has its whole-of-ship/whole-of-team scenarios, but zooming in, the industry is now working on more specific targets.We have a close relationship with technology, evidenced by, for example, the phones we are estimated to unlock around 50-80 times a day. It has changed us. Half the people surveyed in a 2022 King’s College London study said that they feel like their attention span is shorter than it used to be. They are wrong, though, if they think that the average attention span of adults today is just eight seconds, one second less than goldfish.
KEYS Azalea Completes its First Ship-to-Ship LNG Bunkering
Japan’s first dual-fuel LNG bunkering vessel KEYS Azalea has completed its first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering in Western Japan.The vessel - owned and operated by KEYS Bunkering West Japan Corporation, a joint venture established by Kyushu Electric Power, NYK Line, Itochu Enex, and Saibu Gas - bunkered LNG for the car and truck carrier Daisy Leader 2 at the Port of HiroshimaKEYS Azalea was delivered to KEYS Bunkering West Japan Corporation earlier in April. It is equipped with a…
Esgian Week 16 Report: Rigs on the Move
Esgian reports on the many rig movements that occurred last week in its Week 16 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsADES Holding Company has received a letter of award from an international oil company for a one-year firm drilling contract for a jackup offshore Qatar.TotalEnergies has exercised a three-well option for Transocean 12,000-ft drillship Deepwater Skyros offshore Angola at a rate of $400,000, keeping the rig working into December 2025.After initially beginning a short-term job in the US GOM in January 2024…