South Bank News

Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Gondán has tapped ABB to supply all-electric power solutions for ten fast 40-meter urban passenger ferries transporting up to 540 passengers each across Lisbon’s Tagus river.The contract comes a week after Astilleros Gondan said it would start building a series of 10 fully electric passenger ferries for the Portuguese river passenger transport operator Transtejo.The ten new ferries will replace the existing fleet serving this route when they enter service between 2022 and 2024.In addition to energy storage…

UK towage company SMS Towage has purchased two tugs from Damen Shipyards. The first vessel, called Manxman, was handed over on April 12, just seven days after contract signing. The contract for the second vessel, to be called Marksman, was signed on May 1 with a delivery date scheduled for June 7th. Both vessels are Damen ASD Tugs 2411, and mark the first Damen tugs for SMS Towage.Established in 2002, SMS Towage started towage activities on and around the Humber Estuary on the UK’s east coast.

Every year, more than 800 landmark buildings in London throw their doors open to the general public in a scheme called Open House London. The scheme enables the public to witness at first hand buildings of architectural, cultural or other significance that are normally off-limits to them. This year, for the first time, International Maritime Organization (IMO) is participating.The IMO headquarters was purpose-built for the Organization by the UK Government to a design by architects Douglas Marriott Worby & Robinson and opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1983.Among its most significant original design features is the effective and extensive use of wood…

The countdown to London International Shipping Week 2017 (LISW17) officially began last night with an exclusive launch reception held at the iconic Norton Rose Fulbright building on London’s South Bank. The launch reception brought together representatives from many of the maritime world’s leading organisations and figures from UK Government to learn of the aspirations, plans and exciting opportunities that LISW17 will deliver between September 11-15, next year. Addressing the 130 invited guests, Jeremy Penn, Chief Executive at the Baltic Exchange and Chairman of the LISW17 Steering Group, proudly acknowledged that London International Shipping Week had firmly established itself as a major event in the world’s maritime calendar.

Last month Maritime Reporter spent some time with Vivek Seth, CEO, of Qatar-based Halul Offshore  Services Company, for his insights on the impact of low oil prices in the Middle East and beyond. What is your background? I became part of the Milaha family when I joined Halul Offshore in February 2014 as CEO. I am a second generation Marine Engineer. After sailing as a C/E I took my first shore job as Technical superintendent in Hong Kong for more than two years. Subsequently, I got my Masters in Business Administration from UK.

To take advantage of the global increase in on-board touring holidays, the Firth of Forth is planning a new cruise ship terminal. Developers hope to secure permission for the first purpose-built terminal on the Scottish mainland at site of the decommissioned Cockenzie power station on the estuary’s south bank, east of Edinburgh. Developers say that the terminal would be able to accommodate modern liners that are unable to dock further up the Firth of Forth because of their height and width. It is estimated that Cockenzie could accommodate at least 200 cruise liners a year, bringing around 500,000 visitors to Scotland. At present only Orkney has a purpose-built terminal for cruise ships in Scotland, although many liners call into Scottish ports around the country.

In 2013, the Port saw cargo volumes increase by 25% to 8.1m tonnes, and turnover rose 16% to £73 million compared to 2012. Andrew Moffat, Port of Tyne Chief Executive Officer, said that 2013 had been another record year, and looking back over five years, the Port had achieved substantial growth not only in the performance of the business, but also in the investments made in Port infrastructure, and in the impact the Port has had on the regional economy. "We have continued to develop the Port's vital infrastructure and have invested a total of over £60 million since 2009 with £15 million invested just last year," he said. In 2013, 8.1 million tonnes of cargo was handled at the Port of Tyne…

David Dalgleish appointed Senior Sales Executive by Kort Propulsion Ltd, a UK company founded by the inventor of the Kort Nozzle. "Kort’s expertise as propeller and Kort nozzle specialists, means the company has an unparalleled reputation in the propulsion field. We offer packages which include detailed calculations necessary to meet specific performance criteria and we are also able to supply the complete power train, which includes prime movers, marine gears,  through to the propellers and, of course, Kort Nozzles. Naval architects and boat builders have been increasingly availing themselves of Kort’s experience especially when achieving the right balance between performance, operating economy and environmental legislation – an area which Kort’s experience allows us to excel in.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) issues its report on last year's St. In summary: on 31 March 2011 at 0309 Eastern Daylight Time, the downbound vessel BBC Steinhoeft, under the conduct of a pilot, ran aground in the South Shore Canal of the St. Lawrence Seaway downstream of St. Lambert Lock. Seaway traffic remained closed for 10 hours after the grounding until the vessel was refloated by 2 assisting tugs. There were no injuries or pollution as a result of this occurrence.

Sea Containers, by Blackfriars Bridge, was covered with the giant picture measuring 100m by 70m and weighing in at nearly two tons. The image was erected by a team of eight people over 45 hours. It is due to remain in place until the end of June. The 'Sea Containers' building was originally built as a hotel in the mid 1970's but opened instead as offices, taking its name from its long term tenants, the 'Sea Containers', a transport and container leasing business. In spring 2011…

The management of J.J. Sietas KG Schiffswerft GmbH u. Co. and J.J. Sietas Verwaltungs GmbH have filed a petition for insolvency at the Municipal Court Hamburg on 17 November 2011, due to over-indebtedness. Work on ships under construction will continue, according to the company. The court has appointed a provisional creditors’ committee of inspection and, following a hearing of this provisional creditors’ committee of inspection, has appointed Lawyer Berthold Brinkmann of Hamburg…

Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Group, has completed all work required under contract with Miller Boat Line, Put-in-Bay, Ohio, to fabricate and install a new 40-ft mid-body extension in the passenger/vehicle ferry Put-in-Bay. The contract was awarded on August 17, 2009, and all work was completed at Great Lakes Shipyard facilities on the South Bank of the Old River Channel, on Cleveland's Cuyahoga River. What started out as a straight forward mid-body extension project grew into a complete rebuild, including replacement of the main engines with new CAT C18 diesels.

Great Lakes Shipyard, a division of The Great Lakes Group, has been awarded a contract by Miller Boat Line, Put-in-Bay, Ohio, to fabricate and install a new 40-ft mid-body extension in the passenger/vehicle ferry Put-in-Bay. The contract was awarded on August 17, 2009, and all work is underway at Great Lakes Shipyard's state-of-the-art facilities on the South Bank of the Old River Channel, on Cleveland's Cuyahoga River. The project is slated for completion by year end. Miller Boat Line operates a fleet of four all-steel passenger/vehicle ferries, each approximately 96-ft in length, which run on Lake Erie from Catawba to the islands of Put-in-Bay (South Bass Island) and Middle Bass Island, Ohio.

Simon Group Plc has reportedly been awarded the marine construction contract for the Humber Sea Terminal, to be built on the south bank of the River Humber in north east England.

Sophisticated they may be, but the designs of today's LNG, LPG and ethylene carriers are in reality based on the simple parameters of the ideal gas laws governing the relationships between pressure, temperature and volume. In addition, the materials in direct contact with the cargo must be matched with the properties and characteristics of the cargo. The key to the designs is the atmospheric boiling temperature of the cargo, i.e. ambient for fully pressurised LPG, -33 deg. C for anhydrous ammonia, -48 deg. C for propane, -104 deg. C for ethylene and -163 deg. C for LNG. In terms of fleet numbers the total number of gas ships is small compared with oil tankers, general cargo ships or passenger vessels.