Pam News

An offshore wind industry is growing in the U.S. with an aim to meet the Biden Administration’s goal of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, and eventually 110 GW by 2050.But as is the case for any new industry that is building up, there are going to be bumps along the way. The U.S. offshore wind industry is currently grappling with rising costs amid unprecedented supply chain issues and inflation, among other issues.One of the main challenges unique to offshore wind is a shortage of vessels.

The installation of the first monopiles and transition pieces has kicked off for the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the United States - the Vineyard Wind 1.“We can finally say it – as of today, there is ‘steel in the water,’” said Klaus S. Moeller, CEO of Vineyard Wind, the company developing the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm, located in a federal wind energy area 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and 35 miles from mainland Massachusetts.Vineyard…

Law firm Cozen O’Connor announced it has promoted 11 members to shareholder including Marine News contributor Jeff Vogel.Vogel focuses his practice on strategic and operational matters affecting the U.S. maritime industry and on government contracts across all industries. In the maritime space, he represents ocean carriers and maritime stakeholders in regulatory and financial matters before government regulatory bodies. In his government contracts practice, he represents clients in the aviation…

Geophysical seismic surveys and port security may appear to have little in-common. However, it turns out that managing complex marine seismic operations, where 10km-long seismic streamers have to be deployed harmoniously alongside other offshore marine assets, isn’t that dissimilar to managing – and protecting – port facilities.It's an area that ION Geophysical, more known for seismic data acquisition technology, has recently been proving its expertise in, using its Marlin system for marine operations management.

Solomon Islands police said on Sunday they had retrieved five bodies in their search for 27 people who were swept off a ferry during a tropical cyclone that is now threatening the nearby South Pacific nation of Vanuatu as category four storm.The MV Taimareho set sail early on Friday in strong winds with 738 passengers including crew and the captain on board. Police said the missing are believed to have fallen off during heavy seas.Cyclone Harold - then a category two storm - crossed just to the south of Solomon Islands early on Friday.

Danish developer Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind has signed a research partnership  with Rutgers University, the University of Rhode Island and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to support academic research activities related to offshore wind.The group is set to launch the Ecosystem and Passive Acoustic Monitoring (ECO-PAM) project.Ørsted signed an initial memorandum of understanding with Rutgers University in May 2019 to support academic research activities related to offshore wind. The ECO-PAM project will be in addition to this initial funding agreement.The company plans to apply the project’s learnings to develop tailored processes and procedures to better protect the North Atlantic right whale during survey, construction and operation phases of their U.S. offshore wind farm portfolio.

Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS), provider of products and services to the shipping industry, said it has signed a partnership with Turner Designs USA to market its Ballast-Check 2 PAM Fluorometer to shipowners worldwide. The easy to use handheld device enables crew to qickly check the quality of treated ballast water for compliance with the D2 standard of the IMO’s Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention. Turner Design’s fluorometer, used by authorities around the world for testing water quality, is simple, uses no chemicals and provides reliable results in less than a minute.

Turner Designs, along with scientists from around the world participated in a research cruise aboard the RV Meteor, a vessel owned by the Federal Republic of Germany through the Ministry of Research and Technology (BMFT) and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The goal of this cruise was focused on ballast water sampling techniques and protocols. Various instruments were used to test collected ballast water enabling researchers to determine efficiency for the various sampling techniques employed.

ASV has collaborated with the Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center Gulf Ecological Monitoring and Modeling (LADC-GEMM) consortium to conduct 10 days of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) data collection for its BP/Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) funded project. ASV worked closely with Seiche Measurements Limited to integrate its PAM technology on both the C-Worker 6 and C-Enduro Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs). The ASV crew operated from the R/V Pelican coastal research vessel to collect extensive data, which will undergo analysis in the coming months. The two ASV’s were able to identify approximately 30 marine mammals whilst operating in challenging sea conditions up to sea state 5.

ASV informs it has collaborated with the Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center Gulf Ecological Monitoring and Modeling (LADC-GEMM) consortium to conduct 10 days of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) data collection for its BP/Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) funded project. ASV worked with Seiche Measurements Limited to integrate its PAM technology on both the C-Worker 6 and C-Enduro Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs). The ASV crew operated from the R/V Pelican coastal research vessel to collect extensive data, which will undergo analysis in the coming months.

HMAS Tobruk (II) sailed through Sydney Heads back to her home port at Garden Island for the last time today. The amphibious heavy lift is scheduled to decommission on Friday 31 July, after 34 years of service in the Royal Australian Navy. Commanding Officer Tobruk Commander Leif Maxfield said the final passage was an emotional time for the ship’s company of 167. “Today signifies that the end of the ship's seagoing life is near,” CMDR Maxfield said. “The people who have served on Tobruk over the years have performed admirably, responding to the call of duty, whenever tasked by Government to do so. Both current and former ship’s crews have absolutely lived up to the motto of the ship, Faithful and Strong.

The U.S. Coast Guard Research Development Center (USCG RDC) and the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) cosponsored a validation study of the effectiveness of variable fluorescence-based instruments as compliance tools for ballast water checks. The study, which began June 1 in Key West, Florida, included blind testing of field and lab samples will be conducted through September, 2015, at three different sites in the U.S. Pam Mayerfeld, Turner Designs Vice President of Marketing and Sales…

In the wake of Tropical Cyclone Pam, which hit landfall on March 13, 2015, latest reports indicate that more than 65,000 people are now homeless and over 110,000 are left without safe drinking water in Vanuatu. Australia's Rivergate Marina and Shipyard, working in conjunction with YachtAid Global, is doing what they can to provide relief to the disaster affected country. YachtAid representatives and activist are on the ground in Vanuatu and report that “Rivergate’s support comes a critical time” for the community. The donation made by Rivergate has made a substantial impact already.

A massive one kilometre-wide iceberg has forced the Volvo Ocean Race to change the positioning of their ice gates to keep the fleet clear of trouble in the Southern Ocean on Leg 5 from New Zealand to Brazil, says a Reuters report. The berg was heading towards the path of the six-strong fleet, so organizers and their advisers, French company CLS and Dutch weather expert Marcel van Triest, opted late on Thursday night to move the current ice limit route further to the north. The main iceberg is not the only concern. Growlers – pieces of ice that have broken away and float semi-submerged in the icy cold water – are also a major threat to the fleet. The race has pre-set ice gates, or ice limits, on this leg to keep the fleet clear from icebergs.

The American Boat Builders & Repairers Association (ABBRA) presents its 2013 Boatyard of the Year Award to Front Street Shipyard, Belfast, Maine. The award was presented at Boatyard Business Conference Awards Dinner & 70th Anniversary Celebration held recently in Fort Lauderdale Beach, Florida. It is one of ABBRA’s most prestigious Awards of Excellence, given to the service or repair facility that demonstrates excellence in all facets of their company. “You would be hard pressed…

The merger earlier this year of Fugro's three UK-based environmental service providers to form Fugro EMU made it the largest organisation in the UK. Fugro EMU Limited, the largest commercial marine environmental services organisation in the UK, employs in excess of 220 staff with expertise in oil and gas, renewables, aggregates, ports and harbours, cables and pipelines. "Fugro EMU will build on the excellent reputation of the three predecessor organisations within all industry sectors. In the oil and gas industry we have over 40 years’ experience and have undertaken over 150 environmental assessments and 1,000 environmental surveys for exploration, development and decommissioning projects.

Cyclone Pam continues to delay the restart of the Volvo Ocean race with organizers grounding the six yachts in the race until weather associated with the deadly system stabilizes. The organizers are being cautious with the sea state in the wake of the cyclone an immediate concerns. Race management and operations team have a round-the-clock watch system of personnel on Auckland's viaduct to monitor the weather and its effect on the boats. “We now don’t expect the impact in Auckland to be as high as first feared,” said Volvo Ocean race meteorologist, Gonzalo Infante. Organisers had already been forced to postpone the start of Leg 5 to Itajaí from Sunday (0100 UTC) to no earlier than midnight on Monday (2400 UTC)/Tuesday midday local time because of Cyclone Pam…

Mega-cruise ship Queen Mary 2 has ditched its Wellington visit with the capital in sight on account of heavy swells caused by Cyclone Pam. The Queen Mary 2 was due in Wellington this morning after spending time in the Marlborough Sounds, but 8-metre swells at the entrance to the harbour meant it was too risky. The vessel has a deep draft which doesn't leave much margin for error, harbourmaster Mike Price told said. The 345-metre long ship, which can carry more than 3000 passengers, was sailing on to Auckland via the west coast to avoid the rough seas created by Pam, he said. "Due to the swell and current depth restrictions at the harbour entrance, the Master of the vessel made the decision to abandon the call. The Queen Mary is now heading for Auckland," says a statement.

The fifth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race in New Zealand finally got underway on Wednesday following a three-day delay to avoid the worst of Cyclone Pam. The nine-month round-the-world yacht race was scheduled to leave Auckland for Itajai, Brazil on Sunday. The 6776 nautical mile race from Auckland to Itajai in Brazil will take roughly three weeks to complete. It will take the fleet back into the Atlantic for the closing stages of the leg for the first time since November before passing Cape Horn. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, skippered by Britain’s Ian Walker, are currently leading the overall standings ahead of the Dongfeng Race Team thanks to a better performance in the In-Port races.

OIA Global, a worldwide transportation, supply chain management and packaging solutions provider, announced that it has acquired U.S. Worldwide Logistics, Inc. (USWWL) a Kentucky-based provider of domestic and international freight forwarding, and warehousing and distribution services. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “This acquisition is an important step in our overall growth strategy and confirms our commitment to continue building our U.S. client base, particularly in the Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky metropolitan area,” said Charlie Hornecker, CEO of OIA Global. “Both Pam and Steve Stapleton have built a growing and profitable company by delivering full-service, worldwide transportation and logistics services for a variety of clients.

Rise in Asian Tiger Shrimp sightings prompts scientific look at invasion concerns. The recent rise in sightings of non-native Asian tiger shrimp off the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts has government scientists working to determine the cause of the increase and the possible consequences for native fish and seafood in those waters. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are working with state agencies from North Carolina to Texas to look into how this transplanted species from Indo-Pacific, Asian and Australian waters reached U.S.

When guests arrived at IYRS Annual Summer Gala--the annual fundraiser for this Rhode Island marine trades and technology school--they came ready for a great party. But the crowd of gala-goers also gathered at this waterfront school for a reason that runs far deeper than a good time through this maritime community: to celebrate the craftsmanship of IYRS students and graduates and ensure continued opportunity for the generation to follow. The exhibits and film told the story of a school that has evolved since the first students walked through the doors in 1997.

ASV introduced C-Worker, a multiuse offshore unmanned surface vehicle developed to conduct subsea positioning, surveying and environmental monitoring for oil and gas operations. C-Worker was demonstrated to members of the oil and gas and offshore surveying industries in January 2014 when ASV, alongside sister company C&C Technologies operated the vehicle in the Solent off Portsmouth, U.K. Fitted with a Sonardyne Gyro USBL acoustic positioning system, the vehicle successfully executed seabed positioning and Compatt calibration as well as station keeping and following survey lines.