Park News

South Korea remembered the 304 people, most of them school children, who died on the Sewol ferry on the 10th anniversary of its sinking on Tuesday, with families calling for a proper apology for the unnecessary deaths of their loved ones.Many parents attended a memorial service in the city of Ansan, home of the 250 children who died on the ferry during a school excursion, while another 37 family members boarded a Coast Guard ship that sailed to the scene of the disaster, marked by a lone buoy…

For Lee Mi-kyung, whose son was one of the 250 children who died in South Korea's Sewol ferry disaster 10 years ago, coping with the grief and anger has been incredibly hard. She works through her pain on stage."I will no longer hide in darkness, nor be defeated by sorrow, nor cry in despair," Lee, 58, declares in a play in which seven mothers of children who died in the tragedy portray their journey of mourning.The play is one of five that Lee and other mothers have performed over the past eight years…

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck northeast Taiwan on April 3, causing several wharfs at Hualien port on the east coast to bulge.The affected wharfs are used for sand, bulk cargo discharging, and cruise operations. As a result, port operations are currently suspended, and vessels are only permitted to depart, not enter. Apart from Hualien, no damage has been reported at other ports across Taiwan.Reuters reports that the earthquake, which occurred in Taiwan's sparsely populated…

Kimberly Lutz and America’s Watershed Initiative (AWI) are making every effort to sustain the Mississippi River for generations to come.The Mississippi River is one of the world’s largest river systems and is arguably America’s most critical waterway. Flowing over 2,350 miles, spanning, at points, up to eleven miles, and discharging approximately 593,003 cubic feet of water per second into the Gulf of Mexico, the Mighty Mississippi is awe inspiring in terms of its natural characteristics as well as its commercial impact on both the American and global economies.

Techcross recently opened the doors for its new training center in Athens, Greece, its 7th training center opened globally in major shipping hubs that offers training on actual equipment.An opening ceremony for the Greece training center, designated as a hub for training in Europe region, was held recently at the newly relocated ARGO NAVIS building. The ceremony was attended by nine representatives, including Park Seog-won, CEO of Techcross, and Ioannis Alevropoulos and Maximous-Ioannis Katsidimas…

At least nine people were killed when a South Korean-flagged vessel capsized off Japan, South Korea's foreign ministry said on Thursday.Two South Korean nationals were among the dead, it said, adding that the Japanese coastguard had rescued an Indonesian crew member and that another member of the crew of 11 was missing.The ministry did not provide the name of the vessel.Public broadcaster NHK, citing the coastguard, reported on Wednesday that a South Korean-flagged chemical tanker had capsized off the coast of Yamaguchi prefecture in western Japan…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will initiate the environmental review of a proposed wind energy project offshore New Jersey.At its closest point, the approximately 81,129-acre lease area, OCS-A 0549, known as Atlantic Shores North, is located 8.4 miles from the New Jersey coast and approximately 60 miles from New York.The Atlantic Shores’ proposal currently includes installation of up to 157 wind turbine generators, eight offshore substations, one permanent meteorological tower, and two temporary metocean buoys - for a total of up to 168 offshore structures.

Danish offshore marine services company Maersk Supply Service and U.S. vessel owner Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) have partnered up for the construction and operation of a windfarm feeder concept specifically designed for Maersk Supply Service’s next-generation wind installation vessel (WIV).The purpose-built feeder spread includes two tugs and two barges to be delivered in 2026. They will be owned and operated by ECO and constructed by Bollinger Shipyards – the largest privately-owned shipyard group in the United States.As a key component to the installation process…

A 300-acre property along the Mississippi River in Herculaneum, Missouri recently received Port District zoning making way for redevelopment as an intermodal transportation hub and industrial park.Located on the shipping lanes of the Mississippi River, the site has been utilized since the 1700s as a port. With its easy access for barge loading and offloading and the site’s proximity to early lead mines in adjacent Washington County, under early French ownership the port was utilized to ship lead cannonballs and shot to Europe to support Napolean’s army.

Glasgow boatbuilder Ultimate Boats has delivered a recyclable patrol boat to fellow Scottish organisation Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority.The bespoke vessel is 11 meters in length with a 3.1 meter beam. It features six permanent shock mitigation seats and two fold-down shock mitigation crew seats. Powered by two 350 HP Suzuki outboard engines, it has a 2,050kg payload, 1,000 litre fuel capacity and range of 400 miles.The vessel is built from Ultimate Boat’s patented Danu recyclable boat building material including its hull…

First responders and volunteers from Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday sought to contain an oil spill detected last week in the Caribbean country's waters and clean areas of Tobago island's coast already affected by the incident.Trinidad and Tobago's coast guard first spotted the spill on Feb. 7, about 6 kilometers off the coast of Studley Park, the chief secretary of Tobago's national assembly, Farley Augustine, said in a press conference on Sunday.Barriers have been installed to contain the spill…

Incat Crowther has been commissioned by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation to design a new 300-passenger, high-speed catamaran for US operator Yankee Freedom.The new vessel, Yankee Freedom IV, will replace the 250-passenger Yankee Freedom III, which was also designed by Incat Crowther. Like its predecessor, Yankee Freedom IV will provide service on the 70-mile route between Key West in Florida and the Dry Tortugas National Park.The commissioning of Yankee Freedom IV reinforces Incat Crowther’s position as one of the most trusted passenger ferry designers in North America.

Marine Jet Power (MJP) announced it has been selected to supply its 850 DRB waterjets for a new fireboat being built for South Korea's Incheon Metropolitan City.The 36.2-meter fireboat, set to become the flagship vessel at the littoral of Incheon, will be built at Asian Shipbuilding in Korea for scheduled delivery in January 2025.It will be equipped with dual MJP 850 DRB waterjets. MJP will also provide a dynamic positioning system to enhance station-keeping capabilities during firefighting operations.MJP’s JetMaster 3 control system will govern the helm…

eFuels provider Infinium and Amogy, developer of carbon-free, energy-dense power solutions, have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore opportunities to integrate their technologies and develop commercial applications across the eFuels and green ammonia value chain. Infinium and Amogy are also exploring collaborations with both Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group and SK Innovation for deployment of the integrated solution.To accelerate the decarbonization of heavy industry sectors…

Anschütz completed the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) of its Warship Integrated Navigation and Bridge System (WINBS) for the first ship of the new Type 31 Inspiration Class for the UK Royal Navy. Anschütz, as part of the Thales led T31 Missions Systems team, is delivering the first Integrated Bridge and Navigation System for the Babcock Type 31 Arrowhead 140 frigates in the New Year.The FAT was carried out by Anschuetz UK Ltd., who are responsible for the integration, testing and commissioning of the Type 31 WINBS.

Danfoss Drives announced that Hannes Leichtfried has been appointed head of sales and marketing for the Drives business segment in North America.Leichtfried, an Austrian native, brings to the role nearly 30 years of experience at Danfoss in Austria and Germany. He began his career at Danfoss in 1994 as a technical support engineer, then moved into sales and marketing roles. He was most recently the head of sales and marketing for Danfoss Drives in the Central European region.

Key West, Fla.-based Yankee Freedom has ordered a new 300-passenger, high-speed catamaran from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation for passenger service between Key West and the Dry Tortugas National Park. The new vessel will replace Yankee Freedom III, a 250-passenger catamaran built for the 70-mile run by the Mass.-based shipyard in 2012. Delivery of Yankee Freedom IV is planned for 2026.The new larger vessel, designed by Incat Crowther, retains the strong brand presence Yankee Freedom has established with tourists to the national park, said company officials.

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has launched the masterplan for THE RIG – a world-first adventure tourism destination to be built on an offshore platform in the Arabian Gulf.The vision for THE RIG project is to redefine the sea sports and leisure experience while celebrating the legacy of Saudi Arabia's rich oil and gas heritage.The project will be developed by PIF’s subsidiary the Oil Park Development Company (OPDC), under its CEO Raed N.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid said on Wednesday their joint venture Vineyard Wind began generating power for the first time, supplying five megawatts (MW) to the New England grid.The project is expected to have five turbines operating at full capacity in early 2024, the companies said.The announcement comes after offshore wind projects in the United States faced financial troubles in recent months on account of soaring inflation, interest rate hikes and increased project costs due to supply chain issues.The 806-MW Vineyard Wind 1 project, offshore construction of which began

The U.S. offshore wind industry is eying a brighter 2024, with work expected to start on several projects following a year marked by stalled developments and billions of dollars in write-offs.The offshore wind industry is expected to play a major role in helping several states and U.S. President Joe Biden meet goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.But progress slowed in 2023 after offshore developers canceled contracts to sell power in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey…

An Iranian fishing vessel, Almeraj 1, was reportedly hijacked by Somali pirates in November 2023. According to media reports, the pirates demanded US$400,000 in ransom and threatened to use the Iranian ship for additional hijackings if the payment was not made.Two days later, other Somali pirates hijacked a tanker, Central Park, off the Yemeni coast. The tanker sent a distress signal during the attack. Forces from a nearby American warship captured the pirates as they tried to…

The Australian Border Force (ABF) has apprehended 30 illegal foreign fishers and seized and destroyed three fishing vessels as part of an ongoing operation targeting illegal fishing off the coast of Western Australia.ABF's Maritime Border Command in partnership with the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) detected and apprehended the vessels found to be fishing illegally in the Kimberley Marine Park between December 23 and 26, 2023.The illegal fishing crews have been…

Qatar-based energy shipping company Nakilat has placed orders to with Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) of South Korea for the construction of six new LNG and LPG carriers.The order includes two LNG carriers with a cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters each and four very large LPG/ammonia gas carriers, with a substantial cargo capacity of 88,000 cubic meters.The vessels are set to be delivered between 2026 and 2027, Nakilat said.Upon delivery, Nakilat's LNG fleet will expand to 71 vessels…