Spearhead News

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) has appointed and approved the 2024-2025 term of the NOIA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Jon Landes, President, Subsea of TechnipFMC has been elected as the NOIA Chair and Joe Leimkuhler, Chief Operating Officer of Beacon Offshore Energy, as the incoming NOIA Vice Chair.NOIA President Erik Milito said, “We are at a critical juncture where it's imperative to ensure that energy policy from Washington, D.C. does not hinder American energy production.

The Panama Canal announced that Deputy Administrator Ilya Espino de Marotta will now also serve as the Canal’s first Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO).As CSO, Espino de Marotta will spearhead the development of a comprehensive sustainability strategy focused on decarbonization, adaptation, and transition. Working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, the Canal is already in the process of finalizing an inventory of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and aims to complete a climate risk assessment by the end of the year.

Ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and intelligence platform Xeneta has appointed Tonia Luykx to spearhead its journey to drive revenues through an industry data revolution.Luykx, who has a track record for building and scaling SaaS and tech businesses including Sift, Google, Dropbox and Amazon, has now set her sights on global logistics in the position of Chief Revenue Officer at Oslo-based Xeneta.She said, “I have always worked in organizations that challenge the status quo…

Austal USA formally handed over USNS Cody (EPF 14) to the U.S. Navy as representatives from both parties signed official delivery documentation onboard the ship. Austal USA and the Navy’s Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) program team successfully completed acceptance trials on the EPF 14 in the Gulf of Mexico in December signifying that the ship was ready for delivery to the Navy. These trials involved the execution of intense comprehensive tests by the Austal USA-led industry team while underway…

Ammonia is one of several renewable fuels seen as an option to help the maritime industry decarbonize.One of the companies working to unlock the fuel’s potential is Brooklyn, N.Y. based Amogy, developer of an onboard system that feeds liquid ammonia through a cracking process to create hydrogen on demand for power generation via fuel cell—without carbon emissions.Having already demonstrated its technology on an aerial drone, tractor and semi-truck, Amogy is currently working to…

This is the dawning of the age of AI and Big Data, huge agglomerations of new and transformative energy; almost self-generating, always strengthening and pulling at the reins, seeking to break free and run, a prospect both exciting and terrifying. That image can imply a human is holding the reins. How quaint: these days, AI itself may be holding the reins.In a review of innovation in 2023 – across any industrial or economic sector, not just maritime – AI looms large, a game-changer equivalent to IBM’s programming advances in the 1940s.

Crowley announced it will pilot carbon capture technology on board one of its containerships under the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) program.The Jacksonville, Fla. based shipping company said it has reached an agreement with Sana Monica, Calif. based Carbon Ridge and MARAD to operate, measure and optimize the technology’s effectiveness in actual maritime environments at port and ultimately at sea. The collaboration includes the engineering…

Norwegian energy industry giant Equinor has appointed of Samuel Byrne as Vice President of Operations at Equinor Renewables Americas to lead Equinor's offshore wind operations in the U.S.Bryne most recently served as Vice President responsible for Operations & Maintenance at maker Vestas Wind Systems in Asia-Pacific for both onshore and offshore wind farms, as well as solar and battery storage sites. His responsibilities covered 13 countries and approximately 15GW of wind farms either in operations or being commissioned…

At an award ceremony in Singapore this week, 60 MaritimeONE Scholarships and seven Tripartite Maritime Scholarships (TMSS) were presented, sponsored by 34 partners from industry, foundations, and unions.The number surpassed last year’s award of 54 scholarships by 27 partners. More companies have come onboard to support MaritimeONE Scholarships in recent years, reflecting the focus on talent development by Maritime Singapore. To date, 584 MaritimeONE Scholarships, with a sponsorship value of $16 million have been awarded since the program started in 2007.Besides maritime-related courses…

Dutch company Econowind, manufacturer of sail propulsion systems for commercial ships, announced it has gained the backing of two new investors. The Investment and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands (NOM) and Horizon Flevoland are investing to help accelerate the company's growth.Econowind builds so-called VentoFoils, which it describes as a vertical aircraft wing that converts wind into forward thrust of the ship. Manufactured in Zeewolde and Warten, the systems…

Floating LNG solutions provider Höegh LNG and the Norwegian oil and gas firm Aker BP have entered a strategic partnership to develop a "fully comprehensive carbon transport and storage offering for industrial CO2 emitters in Northern Europe.""The agreement combines the companies’ respective strengths, expertise, and technologies to establish a strong value chain for CCS on the Norwegian Continental Shelf that includes gathering, transporting and securely injecting CO2 for permanent storage in subsea reservoirs…

Boston Ship Repair has been awarded a contract for the regular  overhaul and dry docking of Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) expeditionary fast transport USNS Burlington (T-EPF 10).The $13,824,169 firm-fixed-price contract includes a base period and two unexercised options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $13,880,012. Boston Ship Repair's bid won among four offers received for the project.Work for the 98-calendar day shipyard availability will be performed in Boston…

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA has been awarded a $71,706,745 fixed-price incentive contract option from the U.S. Navy for the construction of an additional Navajo-class Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS 15).With the award, the company is now under contract for five T-ATS, having received awards for T-ATS 13 and 14 in July 2022 and T-ATS 11 and 12 in October 2021.Paddy Gregg, CEO of Austal USA's Australian parent company Austal, said the contract award again highlights Austal USA’s growing steel shipbuilding capability…

Ørsted broke ground on Europe’s largest e-methanol project, FlagshipONE, on May 24.FlagshipONE will start production in 2025 and will produce 50,000 tonnes of e-methanol annually. The maritime sector is a key target for the methanol. Currently, over 110 e-methanol vessels have been ordered or are in operation, up from 80 vessels at the end of 2022.Originally developed by the Swedish e-fuels company Liquid Wind, FlagshipONE will be located next to Övik Energi’s combined heat and power plant Hörneborgsverket in Örnsköldsvik…

Scientists warn that climate change is the greatest peril that humankind has ever faced. Yet oil and gas exploration is set to clock the highest growth for more than a decade this year and next. Protesters cause disruption but, for the moment, hydrocarbon energy underpins life as we know it“Offshore oil and gas production probably matters now more than ever,” said Audun Martinsen. The Rystad Energy Partner and Head of Energy Research told Maritime Reporter & Engineering News.“It…

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA delivered Expeditionary Fast Transport USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) to the U.S. Navy. This is the second Navy ship named after the coastal Florida city; both ships were built in Mobile.EPF 13 is now the largest surface ship in the U.S. Navy fleet with autonomous capability. EPF 13 went to sea five times over a several-month duration allowing Austal USA and their industry partners, L3Harris and General Dynamics Mission Systems, to test and analyze…

The UK Royal Navy has awarded a £15.4 million (currently around $18,8 million) contract for a crewless submarine to the Plymouth-based company MSubs. The submarine is expected to be delivered to the Navy in two years. The Navy expects the submarine to further advance the UK’s ability to protect our critical national infrastructure and monitor sub-sea activity."Project Cetus – named after a mythological sea monster – enhances the Royal Navy’s experimentation with autonomous underwater systems.

Nautilus Labs, the technology firm unlocking commercial decarbonization for the ocean supply chain, announced the designation of Todd Sundsted as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).In his new role, Todd Sundsted, who is based in New York, will lead product development, engineering, and data science, including the enhancement of Nautilus’s AI capabilities and best-in-class machine learning models. Prior to joining Nautilus Labs, Sundsted was CTO at Odeko, which builds smart mobile ordering and supply chain management software for coffee shops and cafés…

Austal Limited announced that the future USNS Apalachicola (EPF-13) has successfully completed acceptance trials for the U.S. Navy.Constructed at Austal USA’s Mobile, Ala. shipyard, EPF-13 is the first Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ship with capabilities for V-22 Osprey flight operations and enhanced medical support. It is also the U.S. Navy’s largest ship with the capability to operate as an unmanned surface vessel (USV).Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said the completion of acceptance trials for EPF-13 was a significant milestone…

The U.S. Navy needs more ships. And that means the Navy has to build more ships than it is decommissioning.The sea service has a stated a goal of 355 ships, and as many as 500 and more when unmanned platforms are counted. There are 298 ships in the fleet today. For surface ships, this number includes a high-low mix of highly capable large surface combatants, and smaller ships such as littoral combat ships LCS).The Navy’s smallest combatants are the 330-ton, 197-foot coastal patrol boats (PCs). Up until recently, ten of them have been serving in the Middle East with the U.S.

Australian shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal USA arm has been awarded a $156,171,650 fixed-price incentive contract option from the U.S. Navy for the construction of two additional Navajo-class Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ships (T-ATS 13 and 14). With the award, the company is now under contract for four T-ATS, having received awards for T-ATS 11 and 12 in October 2021.Austal CEO Paddy Gregg said the latest contract award re-affirmed the Navy’s great confidence in Austal USA’s capabilities as a steel shipbuilder…

Crowley has appointed Clay Heil as vice president of global government relations, where he will lead the company’s full spectrum of government advocacy across all of the company’s business interests and activities.Based in Washington, D.C., Heil will spearhead Crowley’s engagement with federal, state and local government partners and elected officials on policy and regulatory matters that support the company’s strategic growth. Heil joins Crowley with more than 25 years of legislative and legal experience. In Congress, he worked in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Maritime Administration announced the appointment of Rear Admiral Joanna M. Nunan (U.S. Coast Guard, Ret.) as the next superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). Nunan, who spent more than three decades in the U.S. Coast Guard, has commanded units at every level both afloat and ashore. She will begin work at the Academy in a few weeks.Rear Admiral Nunan retired earlier this year as the Coast Guard’s Deputy for Personnel Readiness.