Operational Management News

Ocean Network Express (ONE) has opened a West Asia Regional Headquarters in Dubai. The move aims to expand ONE's growth in the rapidly developing markets of the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East and East Africa.The West Asia Regional Headquarters office will serve as ONE’s central hub across the region, encompassing functions such as commercial activities, customer service, and digitization. It will also house a team dedicated to developing regional trade partnerships and exploring…

On August 17, NYK received ISO9001:20151 certification from ClassNK for its activities to promote the safe operation of its crew transfer vessel (CTV) in the offshore wind industry.In addition to the safety management system (SMS) set up by the ship-management company, NYK will implement NAV90004 activities that promote safe navigation based on NYK’s own safety standard, NAV9000, which has been certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to achieve an even higher level of quality control and safer navigation.

There's a new player in the Jones Act crew transfer vessel (CTV) market: Blue Ocean Transfers (BOT), based on Long Island, N.Y.The McQuilling-Partners-owned company is planning to build a fleet of CTVs to support the U.S. offshore wind industry as it ramps up to meet the Biden administration's goal of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030. "BOT is a marine logistics equipment manager, whose equipment is chartered and deployed by wind field developers and their suppliers," the company said in a statement.

Denmark-based engineering and contracting group Semco Maritime has agreed to acquire German firm Wind Multiplikator, specialized in managing offshore wind farms and projects and providing engineering and consulting services.The transaction also includes all activities in offshore service provider OWS Off-Shore Wind Solutions, which is part of Wind Multiplikator Group. The combined Wind Multiplikator Group focuses on offshore wind O&M related activities, including major component…

Offshore drilling firms Seadrill Limited and Aquadrill (ex-Seadrill Partners) on Thursday announced a definitive merger agreement under which Seadrill will acquire Aquadrill in an all-stock transaction. When the transaction is completed, Seadrill shareholders and Aquadrill unitholders will own 62% and 38% of the common shares in the new company, respectively. Based on Seadrill's 30-day volume-weighted average share price of US$31.25 on the NYSE as of December 22, 2022, the deal…

Plaintiffs seeking to recover from ship managers or the vessels they operate but lacking a direct claim against a particular vessel have developed a clever strategy under U.S. maritime law. They seize a managed vessel under Supplemental Admiralty Rule B and claim the vessel-owning company is an alter ego of the defendant with whom the dispute really exists. In this way, plaintiffs can take advantage of the relatively low evidentiary bar to delve into protracted discovery to develop…

Keeping track of personnel on board (POB) “will be a requirement on all contracts” with offshore energy companies, predicted Tonny Sørdal, vice-president for quality, safety, health and environment of support vessel operator Olympic Subsea ASA.He was speaking just a year after one of its customers first asked for that capability and now, seven of the company’s 10 vessels have been fitted with a system that not only tracks crew and contractors while they are on board, but also as they transfer from the vessel to wind turbines and even within the turbine itself.

Remote vessel and voyage management platform Smart Ship Hub will offer KVH Watch connectivity to enable actionable insights for vessels.KVH Industries announced Thursday that Smart Ship Hub is now a KVH Watch Solution Partner and will offer KVH Watch services as part of its range of remote technical and operational management solutions. The Smart Ship Hub platform provides performance advisory and predictive diagnostics for vessel performance optimization as well as remote video…

Alexander Enström joins Hempel to lead its new global marine organization, effective February 1, 2021.With a strategic ambition to double revenue by 2025, Hempel is keen to build on its position in the marine segment, adjusting its marine organization to ensure it can better serve global marine customers with the full range of coatings and services.“At Hempel, we want to create long-term partnerships with our customers in order to support their needs and sustainability journeys," said Hempel CEO Lars Petersson. "Marine customers are becoming more global.

Global coatings company Hempel announced Todd Cottrell will take over as the company’s new Group Vice President for North America and a member of Hempel’s Operational Management Board.Hempel is an important player on the North American coatings market, with a leading position in the wind tower industry and a growing business in many other areas, including infrastructure, rail and marine. Originally from Detroit, Cottrell will be responsible for further improving Hempel’s position in selected markets and industries in the region.Lars Petersson…

Nakilat  announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 with a net profit of $76 million compared to $64 million during the same period in 2019, with an increase of 18%.Despite the ongoing challenges of the global pandemic, Nakilat continued to uphold operational management of its LNG and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vessels.Additionally, Nakilat group continued to strengthen its value proposition, with the ship repair, offshore fabrication, towage and…

Perth-based Harbor towage operator, Westug Pty Ltd (Westug) has announced their successful start with the OptiPort AI-assisted Dispatch system in its new Port Hedland operation to ensure long-term, efficient and sustainable towage services in the port on behalf of KOTUG for Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue). The announcement was made alongside the official start of Westug’s towage operations in the world’s leading and largest dry bulk export port with an annual export volume of over 500 million tons of iron ore…

Netherlands' short sea shipping firm JR Shipping has expanded its container feeder fleet by purchasing a vessel and entering into a new management contract.According to a press note from the Harlingen-based shipowner and manager, the two vessels were transferred to the shipping company. They will be registered under the flag of Madeira and sail under the names MV Expert and MV Energy. Confeeder Shipping & Chartering is responsible for the commercial management.The new management contract concerns MV Expert. She is an 800 TEU short-sea feeder and was built by Damen Shipyard Group in 2011. This vessel is specifically equipped for 45-feet containers and…

Following the friendly takeover bid for CEVA Logistics, the CMA CGM Group has implemented a turnaround plan which includes a new governance, a new brand identity and priorities reset. CEVA’s new operations center opened in Marseilles.The CMA CGM Group now holds 99.6% of CEVA's equity. Structural decisions have been made during the second quarter of 2019 to enable CEVA’s financial recovery and create the conditions of a solid and successful turnaround.Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of CEVA Logistics at the Annual General Shareholders Meeting held on 29 April 2019.A new, stronger governance structure has been put in place.

Following the friendly takeover bid for the contract logistics and freight management solutions provider CEVA Logistics, the French container transportation and shipping giant CMA CGM Group now holds 99.4% of CEVA's equity.The shipping Group is resolutely committed to CEVA's financial recovery, and has already taken major structural decisions paving the way for CEVA’s rapid return to profitability.Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of CEVA Logistics at the Annual General Shareholders Meeting held on April 29th, 2019.A new, stronger governance structure has been put in place.

Norwegian shipping company Höegh Autoliners AS is now preparing its fleet for the change in fuel, having chosen Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) and Low Sulphur Marine Gas Oil (LSMGO) for complying with IMO 2020.In the Bunker department, new bunker patterns are being planned for and in the commercial section, the new rules also require attention.IMO 2020 entails a great shift for the shipping industry and the preparations started long ago in Höegh Autoliners.Håkon Kiil, Head of Business Analytics is leading Höegh’s IMO 2020 implementation group said: "We fully support the new regulations as this will improve the environment and people’s health.

Dutch shipowner and manager JR Shipping takes over four container spring ships and is expanding its fleet again.Harlingen-based JR Shipping said that it has added three 1,436 TEU container feeders to its fleet. A fourth vessel with the same capacity will be added within the next few months.Taking into account the recent sale of one of its container feeders, JR Shipping will thus increase its container capacity by over 4,500 TEU.The phased purchase concerns the MV’s Aalderdijk, Akerdijk and Alsterdijk (first phase) and the MV Amerdijk (second phase). The first-mentioned two vessels have now been rechristened MV Essence and MV Escape and will sail for JR Shipping under the Dutch flag.The current charter contracts with WEC Lines and Unifeeder will continue.

Cenac Marine Services and its dynamic, third generation leader, Arlen “Benny” Cenac Jr., continue to flourish, in good times and bad. Through it all, leadership, philanthropy and investments that extend far beyond the company’s gates have made all the difference.As this year quickly churns to its inevitable close, Cenac Marine Services isn’t the nation’s biggest towboat operation, but its profound impact on the people and environment of the U.S. Gulf Coast and beyond is unquestionable. At a time when most operators are happy to simply strive for an environmentally correct and regulatory compliant business signature, Arlen “Benny” Cenac Jr.

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.

The chairman and owner of Damen Shipyards Group met with the Romanian Minister of Economy this week to discuss the future of the shipyard jointly operated by the shipbuilding conglomerate and the Romanian government.The Dutch shipbuilding group became joint venture partners with the Romanian government in July when it acquired Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering's (DSME) share in the Romanian shipyard formerly known as Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries. Damen has taken over operational management of the yard…

As a part of initiatives utilizing big data, NYK and MTI Co. Ltd. have developed an advance alarm system (patent pending) that can detect anomalies on a real-time basis caused by water getting in lubricating oil. This alarm has been installed on Haramachi Maru, an NYK-operated vessel, to prevent such troubles and thus realize high-level preventive maintenance for the engine.1. BackgroundControlling the quality and property of lubricating oil is very important for vessel engines to operate stably.

Damen Shipyards Group recently held a keel-laying ceremony for the CEMEX Go Innovation at Damen Shipyards Mangalia in Romania. The vessel is the first Damen MAD – the next generation of marine aggregate dredgers. The construction of the new vessel is drawing upon collaboration with multiple companies within the Damen Group, as well was with external partners, working together towards the development of a new standard in marine aggregate dredging.Damen has designed the future-proof vessel for long-lasting durability for operations in North Sea conditions over the coming decades.

Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat)  has reported about 8.5% year-on-year increase in net profit to QR659mn (USD 181 million) during January-September this year."Nakilat’s stronger performance is a result of the company’s successful expansion, which is attributed to its strategic long-term plan to diversify and seek business opportunities with minimal risk, as well as through effective cost optimisation initiatives across its integrated operations," said a press release from the Qatari marine company providing the essential transportation link in the State of Qatar’s LNG supply chain.This has been achieved through the acquisition of two additional jointly-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and a major stake in the first floating storage regasification unit (FSRU)…