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Friday, March 29, 2024
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28 Mar 2024

Insights: Cherrie Felder, VP, Channel Shipyard Companies

Cheryl “Cherrie” Felder is among the U.S. barging industry’s most well-known leaders, having built a reputation as a difference-maker and champion for the industry.

For Cheryl “Cherrie” Felder, the path to the maritime industry was both untraditional and seemingly meant to be. After studying African art, she began her career working in a museum in New Orleans before landing a role directing professional rodeo in the Big Easy.“It was a lot of fun, and I learned a whole lot,” Felder said. “But as you may imagine, New Orleans is not a rodeo town. After the third year, the board of directors decided, okay, that's it. No more rodeo.”And that’s when Felder’s doorway to the maritime industry swung open…

27 Mar 2024

Authorities Warned of Ship Approach Moments Before Baltimore Bridge Collapse

(Photo: David Adams / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Federal investigators on Wednesday examined the cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge while emergency teams searched for bodies and details emerged of the intense efforts to save lives in the minutes before the steel span collapsed."Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There's a ship approaching that just lost their steering," someone said on police radio minutes before the 1:30 a.m. crash on Tuesday.While voices were heard discussing next steps, including alerting any work crews to leave the bridge…

27 Mar 2024

Brazilian Built Submarine with French Tech Launched

(Photo: Naval Group)

The presidents of France and Brazil on Wednesday launched a submarine built in the South American country with French technology in a program that aims to build Brazil's first nuclear-powered submarine by the end of the decade.Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended a ceremony in the Itaguai shipyard near Rio de Janeiro, launching the third diesel-powered submarine built in a $10 billion partnership.Brazil first lady Janja da Silva smashed a champagne…

27 Mar 2024

St. Johns Ship Building to Build Six Deck Barges for Seapath

(Photo: St. Johns Ship Building)

St. Johns Ship Building on Wednesday announced it has signed a contract with Seapath for construction of a series of six ABS deck barges in support of their Jones Act leasing business.The barges will be built at St Johns Ship Building’s facility in Palatka, Fla. and will be dispatched to multiple charterers along the US East Coast.Seapath is a subsidiary of the Libra Group, which is also parent to St. Johns’ holding company, Americraft Marine Group.Joshua Lubarsky, CEO of Seapath, said, “Domestic maritime transportation is the backbone of the US transportation system.

27 Mar 2024

Strategic Marine to Build CTV for Polish Offshore Wind Industry

Illustration (Credit: BMT/Strategic Marine)

LOTOS Petrobaltic, an ORLEN Group company, signed a contract for the construction of a Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) with Singapore-based Strategic Marine, set for service in the Polish offshore wind market.The StratCat 27 CTV is scheduled to be completed this summer, with delivery to Europe planned for early September 2024.This CTV will join the existing fleet managed by Miliana Shipmanagement Limited, a company belonging to the LOTOS Petrobaltic capital group, which owns five offshore…

27 Mar 2024

Divers to Search Baltimore Harbor

Search divers were expected to return near dawn on Wednesday to the waters surrounding the twisted ruins of a bridge knocked down in Baltimore Harbor by a faltering cargo ship, leaving six workers missing and presumed dead.The disaster also forced the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, and created a traffic quagmire for Baltimore and the surrounding region.As the odds of their survival vanished, the search for the six workers was suspended on Tuesday evening…

26 Mar 2024

US Approves Orsted's Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm

© chungking / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration on Tuesday gave final approval to Orsted and Eversource's Sunrise Wind offshore wind facility, which is expected to provide power to more than 320,000 homes in New York.The announcement was the latest positive development for the project, which Denmark's Orsted warned just months ago could fail without a new contract that would cover soaring costs for equipment and financing.Orsted and Eversource said separately that they had taken a final investment decision…

26 Mar 2024

Six Presumed Dead After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies.

Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor early on Tuesday after a massive cargo ship crippled by a power loss rammed into the structure, forcing the closure of one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident, U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland…

26 Mar 2024

Carnival Orders Excel-class Cruise Ship

Carnival Jubilee (File photo: Meyer We3rft)

Fresh on the heels of its first newbuild order in five years, the world's largest cruise company has placed an order for an additional vessel.U.S.-based Carnival Corporation on Tuesday announced it has signed an agreement with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft to build an Excel-class cruise ship for its Carnival Cruise Line brand for expected delivery in 2028.The ship will be the 11th Excel-class ship for the corporation's fleet across four of its brands, and the fifth to be sailed by Carnival Cruise Line.

26 Mar 2024

Cargo Ship Lost Power Before Slamming Bridge in Baltimore

Collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore (Credit: Screenshot/StreamTime Live)

A massive cargo ship smashed into a bridge while sailing out of Baltimore early on Tuesday, sending cars and people into the river below and closing one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one of whom was hospitalized, and searched for more in the Patapsco River after huge metal spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the icy water around 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT).The ship reported a power issue before impact…

26 Mar 2024

Davie Awarded Contract for Canadian Icebreaker Design

(Image: Government of Canada)

The Canadian government has awarded a contract to shipbuilder Chantier Davie Canada Inc. of Lévis, Quebec, for initial work related to the construction of new Program Icebreakers. Under this $19.6-million contract including taxes, Davie will begin work to develop the initial design.A series of six new Program Icebreakers is planned to replace the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) medium icebreakers that operate in Atlantic Canada and the St. Lawrence waterways during the winter, and in the Arctic during the summer.This contract enables the shipyard to initiate project planning phases…

26 Mar 2024

Stena Bulk Completes Sale of LNG Tankers

Erik HĂĄnell, President & CEO of Stena Bulk. Image courtesy Stena Bulk

Stena Bulk completed the sale of two of its LNG carriers – Stena Crystal Sky and Stena Clear Sky – to BW LNG.As part of the sale, BW LNG will assume the existing charters for both vessels.Both vessels were originally delivered in 2011 from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea. Stena Crystal Sky and Stena Clear Sky each have an LNG carrying capacity of 174,000 cbm.“As part of our strategy to continuously look for new opportunities, Stena Bulk took the decision some time ago to sell Stena Crystal Sky and Stena Clear Sky," said Erik Hånell, President & CEO of Stena Bulk.

25 Mar 2024

US Dredging: Plenty of Issues, New WRDA on the Way

(Photo: Janet Meredith / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

2024 marks another year for development of a biennial WRDA bill—Water Resources Development Act, critical legislation for the Nation’s waterways, ports and harbors. WRDA encompasses a range of issues, from environmental regs to energy use to agriculture and, of course, a focus on projects critical for economic growth.Because these are dynamic and timely issues, Congress and the maritime sector like to keep WRDA on a two-year reauthorization timeline. Indeed, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, December and January, held three WRDA information hearings.

25 Mar 2024

Fincantieri to Open Support Facility in Everett

A rendering of the first Constellation-class frigate to be constructed by Fincantieri Marinette Marine (Image courtesy of Fincantieri Marine Group)

This spring, Fincantieri Marine Repair (FMR) is expanding its presence to the Port of Everett with a new facility to support U.S. Navy assets.On March 12, the Port of Everett Commission unanimously approved a new one-year lease to establish an FMR office at the Port’s Marina Village at Waterfront Place.The U.S. Navy plans to homeport up to 12 new Constellation-class guided-missile frigates at Naval Station Everett, adjacent to the Port of Everett’s international Seaport. The FMR…

25 Mar 2024

New CTV Ordered for Polish Offshore Wind Sector

(Image: BMT)

Singaporean shipbuilder Strategic Marine reports it has secured an order to construct a newbuild crew transfer vessel (CTV) for the Polish offshore wind sector.The order comes from LOTOS Petrobaltic S.A., an ORLEN Group company, and will see the new vessel—a BMT-designed StratCat 27—delivered to Europe in September of this year.This CTV will join the fleet managed by Miliana Shipmanagement Limited, owned by the LOTOS Petrobaltic capital group, which owns five offshore vessels.

25 Mar 2024

QatarEnergy Inks Nakilat Deal for Operation of 25 LNG Ships

Image courtesy QatarEnergy

QatarEnergy signed time-charter party (TCP) agreements with Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) for the operation of 25, 174,000 cubic meter LNG vessels as part of the second ship-owner tender under QatarEnergy’s historic LNG Fleet Expansion Program.The agreements were signed by His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy and Mr. Abdullah Al Sulaiti, the CEO of Nakilat, in a special ceremony held at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha…

25 Mar 2024

US Revises Tax Credit Rule to Help Offshore Wind Projects

© Kruwt / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration on Friday released new rules that will make it easier for offshore wind developers to claim a subsidy for facilities planned in areas that have historically relied on fossil fuel industries for employment.The revision follows nearly a year of warnings by offshore wind companies that their projects might not move forward without access to certain subsidies in President Joe Biden's landmark climate change law, the Inflation Reduction Act.Offshore wind is a critical part of Biden's plan to decarbonize the U.S.

21 Mar 2024

Somali Pirates' Return Adds to Crisis for Global Shipping Companies

© Antony / Adobe Stock

As a speed boat carrying more than a dozen Somali pirates bore down on their position in the western Indian Ocean, the crew of a Bangladeshi-owned bulk carrier sent out a distress signal and called an emergency hotline.No one reached them in time. The pirates clambered aboard the Abdullah, firing warning shots and taking the captain and second officer hostage, Chief Officer Atiq Ullah Khan said in an audio message to the ship's owners."By the grace of Allah no one has been harmed so far," Khan said in the message, recorded before the pirates took the crew's phones.

21 Mar 2024

Bollinger Lays Keel for USNS Muscogee Creek Nation

(Photo: Bollinger Shipyards)

Bollinger Shipyards announced it has laid the keel for the future USNS Muscogee Creek Nation at its yard in Houma, La.The vessel is the 10th Navajo-class Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS) and the fifth T-ATS vessel being constructed by Bollinger since acquiring the program in April of 2021.The keel authenticators were the Hon. David W. Hill, Principal Chief of the Muscogee Creek Nation, the Hon. Geri Wisner, Attorney General of the Muscogee Creek Nation and ship sponsor…

21 Mar 2024

Inland Waterways Focus: The Pacific Northwest Columbia-Snake River System

© Rich / Adobe Stock

"The Columbia River and its tributaries, wetlands, and estuaries are the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, providing abundant water, power, recreation, agriculture, transportation and natural resources that have supported livelihoods, cultural and spiritual practices, commerce and economic growth.” - President Biden, Memorandum of September 27, 2023.Those abundant benefits directly impact about 13 million people in the Pacific Northwest. Hydropower extends that plentitude to millions more, powering cities and industry from Idaho to California.

21 Mar 2024

Two soldiers and eight militants lose their lives in Pakistan port attack

© Samarttiw / Adobe Stock

On Wednesday, Pakistani forces stopped an attack by militants with gunfire and bombs near the port of Gwadar, killing eight attackers and two soldiers.China has invested in the province of Balochistan, focusing on Gwadar and its resources.The militants used guns and bombs to attack a complex near the port, which holds government offices and forces, as per Saeed Ahmed Umrani, a government official.After setting off bombs, the militants fought and tried to enter the complex, according…

21 Mar 2024

Fiji to Sign Ports Deal with Australia in Shipbuilding Boost

© yorkzel / Adobe Stock

Fiji will strike a deal with Australia to upgrade ports and shipbuilding infrastructure, months after its prime minister said it was likely to partner with China on the project, the government of the Pacific Islands nation said on Thursday.Fiji's government said its cabinet had agreed to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Australia for the project, after Australia committed to financing."The revival of the shipbuilding industry in Fiji has been articulated as a key priority…

22 Mar 2024

St. Lawrence Seaway Opens Navigation Season

© Ravi / Adobe Stock

The St. Lawrence Seaway opened its 66th season of operation today with an official ceremony in Niagara Region.Terence Bowles, President and CEO of the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) was joined by U.S. Great Lakes St. Lawrence Development Corporation Administrator Adam Tindall-Schlicht in welcoming the many who came out for the event, including M.P. Vance Badawey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Canadian Minister of Transport.“We are thrilled to have a renewed Management Operations and Maintenance Agreement with the Government of Canada.