Regional Office News

The IMO will open its seventh Regional Presence Office (RPO), in Suva, Fiji, after IMO Secretary-General, Arsenio Dominguez, and Fiji Minister for Transport, Ro Filipe Tuisawau, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on March 18.The Regional Presence Office will support the maritime needs and priorities of countries in the Pacific Islands region, aligning IMO actions with national and regional development policies, while providing advice on key maritime issues such as training, safety and security, legislation and marine environment.

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…

The United States opened international aid offices in the Pacific Islands this week, bolstering support for the strategic region and pitting it more forcefully against China, which has been providing infrastructure loans to the area for years.The vast ocean region, pivotal in World War Two, is in the spotlight again amid tensions over Taiwan. Taiwanese officials this week said China, which claims the island as its territory, could launch military drills soon to intimidate voters ahead of an election next year.On Wednesday…

Maersk's first-of-its-kind methanol dual-fuel containership made history on July 16 when it became the first to bunker methanol.The newly built vessel bunkered 1,000 metric tonnes of the cleaner burning fuel at Odfjell Terminals Korea in Ulsan  before embarking on its 21,500-kilometer maiden voyage toward Copenhagen, where she will be officially named in September.“This journey is an important step in our efforts to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, as it will allow…

The U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday issued a statement expressing its commitment to crack down on sexual assault offenders in the maritime industry.The statement comes as the Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) and lawmakers grappled with a raft of new sexual assault and harassment allegations revealed online by current and former cadets at America's federal and state maritime academies. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) recently…

Jeffersonville, Ind.-based barging company American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) has agreed to acquire and preserve 649 acres of woodland wildlife habitat and will pay an additional $2 million for damages stemming from a 2008 oil spill on the Mississippi River, near New Orleans.The company has already paid $1.32 million to reimburse the federal and state trustees for their past damage assessment and restoration planning costs after one of its barges discharged approximately 6,734 barrels (282,828 gallons) of No. 6 fuel oil into the Mississippi River upriver of New Orleans in July 2008.

IMO's Technical Cooperation Committee at its 71st session (TC 71) (20-24 September) has approved the establishment of an IMO Regional Presence Office (RPO) for the Pacific Islands region. If approved at the thirty-fourth extraordinary session of the Council (08 - 12 November 2021), this will see the Pacific Region become the sixth to feature an IMO RPO.The existing RPOs are: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire for west and central Africa (Francophone); Accra, Ghana for west and central Africa (Anglophone)…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced Doug Boren has been appointed as the new regional director for the agency’s Pacific Office in Camarillo, Calif. Boren will be responsible for managing the development of energy and mineral resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.“Doug has many years of service with BOEM, working on aspects of OCS energy and minerals programs at the regional, national and international levels,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton.

Classification society ClassNK said it has opened a Kyushu regional office in Hakata, Fukuoka, Japan on April 1, 2021.Hakata is the transportation hub of Kyusyu, the island located in the southwest part of the Japanese archipelago. On top of five existing survey stations in Kyusyu, ClassNK adds Kyusyu Regional Office overseeing its operation in the region in order to expand the service and further improve customer convenience there, the class society said.

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Vard Marine announced Derek Buxton, current vice president business development, has taken on the additional duties as vice president for the company's regional office in Ottawa effective immediately, following Andrew Kendrick’s retirement from the company.Kendrick started the position as president of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) on January 1, 2021 and continues to work for Vard Marine as a principal consultant.Kendrick’s career in the defense and security industry spanned 45 years…

Marine shock mitigation technology provider Allsalt Maritime Corporation announced Thursday it has opened new sales and support offices in the U.S. and Singapore in response to market growth in the commercial and recreational boating industries.Victoria, B.C.-based Allsalt Maritime, owner of the Shoxs and Kinetix brands, said its new U.S. office is located in Edgewater, Fla., and will be led by newly appointed brand development and U.S. managing director Lisa Wood, a marketing and business development professional with more than 20 years of experience managing brands such as Stanley…

Bureau Veritas (BV) appointed Rolf Stiefel as its new Regional Chief Executive based in Hamburg, responsible for Central Europe - Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Russia. He will be based in the BV regional office in Hamburg and his appointment is effective May 1, 2020. He succeeds Dr. Hans Gaetjens who is retiring in July following a two month hand-over period.For the past 17 years Stiefel has been leading engine sales for WinGD’s slow speed diesel and gas engines including developing the market for WinGD’s X-DF gas fueled engine…

The 23,656 teu MSC Isabella became the largest containership to call the Port of Singapore when it berthed on 10 November 2019.The MSC’s Gülsün-Class of container vessels is currently the world’s largest series of container ships.To date, MSC Isabella is the biggest container ship to call at Singapore, the world’s top transshipment hub. Measuring around 400 meters long and 61 meters wide, the ship can carry up to 24 rows of containers, with a height of 13 tiers on deck. Its total capacity is 23,656 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units). Its length exceeds that of the Eiffel Tower and it can transport the equivalent of about 384 million pairs of shoes.Singapore is the ship’s first port-of-call in Asia after sailing back from Europe. The ship was delivered to MSC in August 2019.

Due to the continuous growth of its South American operations, global logistics provider Dachser recently relocated both its Buenos Aires, Argentina regional office as well as its Santiago, Chile regional office to larger facilities.“The business in both Argentina and Chile is expanding and we simply outgrew our offices in these countries. We needed more employees, equipment and space to properly handle the business we have today as well as prepare for the growth we anticipate in these markets,” said Guido Gries, Managing Director Dachser Americas.

Ecochlor Ramps Up Business Development with a New Regional Office in Korea.Ecochlor is pleased to announce the opening of a new regional office in Korea to increase support of shipyards and owners in their efforts toward ballast water management compliance.DongJu (DJ) Cho will be leading the efforts in Korea as the new Regional Business Development Manager. Mr. Cho has more than 30 years of experience working in the Korean shipbuilding and shipping industry. Mr. Cho has achieved great success in a career that has seen him take on various job positions…

The CMA CGM Group has been awarded the Most Accomplished Asia Pacific Ship Owner Award 2018 at the Maritime2020 Summit, which was held in Singapore on November 27, 2018.The French container transportation and shipping company said that this award recognizes the shipowner who demonstrates the greatest efforts to make its fleet more sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly.Mathieu Girardin, Vice President CMA CGM Asia regional Office, received the award on behalf of the Group and stated:“This industry award salutes the outstanding leadership of CMA CGM to make shipping more sustainable. We are proud to be the first shipping line in the world to equip its giant containerships with LNG powered engines…

China's largest state-owned international and domestic container shipping and related services company COSCO shipping lines is opening its first branch in Sarajevo of Bosnia and Herzegovina.The Sarajevo office was opened within the “One Belt – One Road” (Maritime Silk Road) initiative. As its fourth regional office, it will add Bosnia to Croatia and Serbia, where COSCO already operates. The Maritime Silk Road is a sea route connecting China, Southeast Asia, Oceania, Europe and North Africa.FENA news agency quoted Meliha Mujezinovic, head of the COSCO Shipping office in Bosnia as saying: "The company's commitment is to make the One belt, One road initiative more recognisable in Bosnia and that the two countries continue to develop friendly and business relations.

Seven ASEAN countries have formally launched an ambitious initiative aimed at improving the environmental health of the seas in the region, through the implementation of key International Maritime Organization (IMO) marine environment protection treaties. Senior decisions makers of maritime administrations of the beneficiary ASEAN countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) met for their first high-level regional meeting in Bali, Indonesia (25-27 June), to kick-start the “Marine Environment Protection for Southeast Asia Seas (MEPSEAS) Project”. IMO is implementing the project, with funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).

Preference given to fleets in areas facing air quality challenges. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of grant funding to modernize the nation’s diesel fleet by retrofitting or replacing vehicles with cleaner, more efficient diesel engines. EPA anticipates awarding approximately $40 million in Diesel Emission Reduction Program (DERA) grant funding to eligible applicants, subject to the availability of funds. “These grants will incentivize improvements to aging diesel fleets and improve air quality throughout the country,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “Steps to reduce emissions from older diesel trucks are some of the most cost-effective measures we can take to improve the air Americans breathe,” said Rep. Ken Calvert (CA-42).

For three Japanese ocean carriers combining their shipping container business into ONE, the future is bright and it comes in magenta. The future arrives this April. ONE stands for Ocean Network Express, a joint venture of “K” Line, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and NYK Line that consolidates the three companies’ container shipping units into a single, integrated company. ONE chose the vibrant mix of purple and red to convey the energy and excitement of the new business model with a color that pops amid the muted blue and brown containers crossing the docks. “We’re very excited. We have this moment to combine the best practices of our former companies with new technologies to support our customers,” said Maria Bodnar, Senior Director of Beneficial Cargo Owner Sales for ONE North America Inc.

Advanced Polymer Coatings (APC), based here, has elevated Captain Onur Yildirim to the newly created position of Marine Manager. In his new role, Captain Yildirim will manage the company’s marine coatings operation globally including sales, technical, and after-sales service, working closely with APC senior management. Prior to this role, he held a number of positions at APC, most recently from 2012 to 2018 as Global Technical Manager, overseeing the global technical team including after-sales service. From 2009 to 2012, Captain Yildirim was Technical Manager of Korea and Southeast Asia, responsible for organizing, training and heading the regional technical team, communicating with customers and managing the regional office.

Dr Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister of State (SMS) for Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Health, launched the Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) at the annual Singapore Maritime Foundation New Year Cocktail Reception. Developed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in partnership with the industry, unions and other government agencies, the Sea Transport ITM builds on MPA’s strategic long term plans to develop Singapore’s next-generation port and strengthen our international maritime centre (IMC). Specific initiatives have been laid out under the Sea Transport ITM to catalyse innovation, drive productivity improvements, as well as enhance the skills of the maritime workforce.

GAC Fujairah has been awarded a husbandry contract by the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) to provide ship supply services, spare parts handling and a range of other logistical services to its vessels arriving in Fujairah, Khor Fakkan and Singapore anchorage. As part of global shipping, logistics and marine services provider GAC Group, GAC Fujairah worked in close cooperation with the Middle East Regional Office in Dubai and GAC Singapore to secure the deal. Under the contract, the GAC team is set to handle approximately 450 jobs a year, a figure which is likely to grow as the KOTC fleet expands. This is the third time GAC Fujairah is appointed by KOTC to provide husbandry services to its vessels.