Polaris News

Coden, Ala. shipbuilder Master Boat Builders on Monday announced it has delivered Tortuga, the latest tugboat to join Seaside LNG/Polaris New Energy fleet.Tortuga will connect with the barge Clean Everglades, delivered from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in 2023, to form a Jones Act compliant articulated tug and barge (ATB) for bunkering liquefied natural gas (LNG).The new tug has an overall length of 109 feet and features two Caterpillar 3512E main engines, EPA Tier 4 certified and each producing 2,000 horsepower.

Esgian reports that drilling contracts have been announced this week for operations in Brazil and the Philippines, and new discoveries have been confirmed in the UK and Namibia in its Week 11 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.ContractsCOSL Drilling has emerged as the winner for Petrobras' moored semisubmersible tender with the 4,600-ft Nanhai 8 (also known as Nan Hai Ba Hao).Noble has secured a high-dayrate drillship contract with Prime Energy in the Philippines.Drilling Activity and…

Thordon Bearings reports it has secured a second major Mexican Navy contract for the supply of its water-lubricated SXL wear rings for retrofit installation to the waterjet propulsion nozzles on 25 interceptor patrol vessels.The contract follows the success of extensive trials in which the SXL material replaced the use of other anti-corrosive coatings in waterjet impeller housings, resulting in increased resistance to cavitation induced corrosion.Rotary Parts, Thordon’s authorized distributor in Mexico, is supplying the housings for 25 Polaris and Polaris II fast patrol boats.

Seaside LNG announced its liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering barge Clean Jacksonville delivered fuel to Carnival cruise ship Carnival Jubilee in Galveston, Texas, marking the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering delivery along the U.S. Gulf Coast.The bunkering operation took place on December 30, 2023, after months of careful coordination with all parties involved, including the Port of Galveston, Seaside LNG said.The 2,200 cubic meter bunkering barge Clean Jacksonville, previously stationed in Florida…

Esgian's last roundup of the year for the Week 52 puts spotlight on new developments for Dolphin Drilling semisub, Seadrill drillships, as well as Shell’s plans for Australia and ONGC’s new tender for jackups in India.ContractsDolphin Drilling has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with an undisclosed operator for the 1,500-ft semisubmersible Borgland Dolphin to undertake a 500-day drilling campaign in the UK. The drilling campaign is planned to begin directly after the firm part of the contract period with EnQuest, which was announced in late November 2023.

Finnish companies have designed about 80 percent of the world’s icebreakers, and about 60 percent of them have been built by Finnish shipyards.Finland is home to a strong and vibrant maritime cluster, with a mix of large, medium and small shipyards, as well as a deep pool of marine engineering expertise and a broad network of vessel equipment suppliers.As one of the world’s northernmost countries, Finland is also home to a fleet of icebreakers that keep imports and exports flowing through its harbors, even during the coldest winter months.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. shipbuilder Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) held a christening ceremony for recently constructed liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge Clean Everglades.The vessel is the sister ship to the LNG barge, Clean Canaveral, which was delivered by FBS two years ago and has made more than 65 successful LNG bunker deliveries. Similar in design and appearance, the articulated tug barge (ATB) will hold 5,500 cubic meters of LNG.“The previous FBS-built LNG barge was delivered on schedule during the global pandemic…

Concordia Maritime on Friday announced it has entered into an agreement to sell two of its product tankers. The vessels are the 65,200 dwt Stena Progress and the 65,200 dwt Stena Premium, built in 2009 and 2011 respectively.After repayment of loans and liabilities to related parties, the transaction generates a liquidity supplement of approx. SEK 100 million (approximately US$9.5 million), Concordia Maritime said. The remaining debts are current operating liabilities.“With the sale, we continue to take advantage of the strong market and the high prices for older vessels.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge Clean Canaveral completed its first barge-to-ship bunkering of a cargo vessel at Port Canaveral’s South Cargo Berth 4. JAX LNG, along with Polaris New Energy, handled the LNG refueling of the Damia Desgagnés on the ship’s inaugural call to Port Canaveral. The asphalt/bitumen tanker Damia Desgagnés completed her discharge of cargo and then JAX LNG proceeded with Desgagnés’s first barge-to-ship bunkering of LNG. The seafarers safely transferred approximately 400 cubic meters of LNG from North America’s largest LNG bunker barge…

An ABB study based on three years of operational ship data mounts a case for integrating battery power onboard modern icebreakers, writes Samuli Hänninen, who specializes in icebreaking vessels at ABB Marine & Ports. The maritime industry is still at the formative stage of realizing the gains available from batteries, but the ability to scale up to megawatt-hour levels is not the only attraction for the zero-emission technology. Evidence newly disclosed by ABB suggests that the…

Survitec has announced a new interactive safety management solution it hopes will substantially improve onboard safety.The Safety Management and Rapid Response Technology Interface (SMARR-TI) uses a graphical monitoring interface to integrate fire detection and fire suppression systems within one system.SMARR-TI, which Survitec developed in cooperation with Turkish shipyard Tersan and Norway’s Havila Voyages, is already in operation on a pair of 15,500gt passenger ships.SMARR-TI…

With the rise of China and her global ambitions, the military importance of Guam in the Indo-Pacific theater has become apparent. The force levels on the island had drawn down from a peak of about 26,000 at the height of the Vietnam War to a tenth of that—just 2,500 people in the early 2000s. Today, that's changing. Guam's defense posture is growing.Guam's proximity to major population centers in East Asia underscores its strategic importance. The island is just 1,400 miles from Tokyo, Manilla or Port Moresby. All of the armed services have a presence on Guam.

Concordia Maritime announced Wednesday it has entered into an agreement to sell its 13-year-old product tanker Stena Penguin to an unnamed European buyer.The 65,200 dwt Stena Penguin is scheduled to be delivered to its new owner during the second quarter of 2023.Overall, the sale is expected to have a positive liquidity effect of approximately SEK 215 million (about $20.9 million) after repayment of the remaining bank debt to Svenska Skeppshypotek, Concordia said.Concordia Maritime CEO, Erik Lewenhaupt, said, “We are now divesting another vessel with a good margin.

Seaside LNG announced the acquisition of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling barge the Clean Jacksonville from TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, LLC, a subsidiary of TOTE Group, LLC.Seaside LNG’s maritime transportation company, Polaris New Energy, has contracted to continue fueling TOTE’s Marlin Class LNG-powered containerships and other commercial customers with its fleet of LNG bunker barges. The Clean Jacksonville recently reached a significant milestone having successfully completed…

Houston-based investment manager Arroyo Investors announced it has closed an investment in Seaside LNG and its affiliated entities, an integrated shore-side liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and bunkering platform in the U.S. Financial details were not disclosed.Seaside LNG owns interests in two separate operating businesses, including a 50% ownership interest in JAX LNG, a small-scale (360,000 gallons/day) LNG liquefaction facility operating two trains in Jacksonville…

Diana Shipping on Monday announced it has taken delivery of the DSI Andromeda (formerly STH Tokyo), a 2016-built Ultramax dry bulk vessel. The 60,309 dwt vessel is one of nine modern Ultramax dry bulk vessels that the company entered into an agreement to purchase in August 2022.The company also announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with ASL Bulk Marine Limited, for one of its Ultramax dry bulk vessels, the DSI Polaris. The gross charter rate is $13,100 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum 18 months to maximum 20 months. The charter commenced on November 12, 2022.The DSI Polaris is a 60,404 dwt Ultramax dry bulk vessel built in 2018.

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri announced it has delivered the first vessel for luxury cruise operator Viking equipped with an emissions reducing hydrogen fuel cell system.Identical to Viking’s other ocean ships, the 47,800 ton Viking Neptune is fitted with a small hydrogen fuel system, making it the cruise industry’s first ship to test the use of hydrogen power for on board operations. “We are especially proud to welcome this newest sister ship to our ocean fleet, as it also marks a significant advancement in testing hydrogen as a future fuel for our vessels…

Dry bulk shipowner Diana Shipping Inc. announced on Thursday that it has taken delivery of one of nine secondhand Ultramax bulk carriers that agreed to purchase in August 2022.The vessel, DSI Polaris—formerly named STH Oslo—is a 60,404 dwtUltramax dry bulk vessel built in 2018.Including the newly delivered DSI Polaris, Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet currently consists of 38 dry bulk vessels, including four Newcastlemax, 11 Capesize, five Post-Panamax, six Kamsarmax, eight Panamax and four Ultramax.The company expects to take delivery of five Ultramax dry bulk vessels in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Coden, Ala. shipbuilder Master Boat Builders, Inc. (MBB) announced it has delivered a new 4,000-hp tug to Polaris New Energy.Named Polaris, this tug will be coupled with the recently delivered barge Clean Canaveral, built by Sturgeon Bay, Wis. shipyard Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, forming the largest Jones Act compliant articulated tug barge (ATB) providing liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker fuel in the U.S.“Master Boat Builders is committed to producing the most dependable and reliable tugs in the maritime industry…

The Clean Canaveral, a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge operating along the coast of the southeastern United States, recently completed its inaugural bunkering in Jacksonville, Fla. The Clean Canaveral has a capacity of 5,500 cubic meters, making it the largest Jones Act LNG bunker barge. The vessel operates as an articulated tug barge unit (ATB) and is owned by Polaris New Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Seaside LNG Holdings.The operation marks the first barge-to-ship cool down performed in the United States.

Coden, Ala. shipbuilder Master Boat Builders, Inc. on Thursday announced the construction of a new 4,000-hp tug for PNE Marine Holdings, LLC. Slated for delivery in 2023, the new tug is the sister ship to Polaris, which was handed over to Polaris New Energy, LLC earlier this year.The sister ship to Polaris will be coupled with a barge currently under construction at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Company and will form a Jones Act-compliant articulated tug barge (ATB) to help fuel…

Shipbuilder VARD has delivered Viking Polaris, the second of two ice-strengthened expedition vessels for operator Viking.Built at Vard Søviknes in Ålesund, Norway, Viking Polaris is specifically geared for adventure cruises in polar destinations. The vessel has a length of 205 meters and a beam of 23.5 meters, especially designed and developed for expeditions in Antarctica and North America’s Great Lakes. The vessel hosts 378 guests in 189 staterooms."Together with her sister…

Brunswick Corporation announced it has appointed Alexandra Cattelan as its chief technology officer, effective immediately. Cattelan will be responsible for continuing to advance Brunswick’s ACES strategy and, more generally, for maintaining Brunswick’s position of technology leadership in the marine industry.Cattelan has more than three decades of experience leading electric propulsion and advanced mobility programs and organizations, most recently serving as vice president, engineering, connected, controls, electrification and autonomous systems for Polaris Industries.