Steel Plating News

Uncontrolled flooding through a hole in the plating beneath the engine room of a fishing vessel led to its sinking in the Gulf of Mexico, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.The commercial fishing vessel Captain Alex was fishing offshore of Galveston, Texas on Nov. 25, 2022, when the vessel began flooding. The four crewmembers on board were unable to stem the flooding and evacuated to a responding U.S. Coast Guard boat. The sinking resulted in an oil sheen and debris field; a reported 17,000 gallons of diesel fuel were on board. There were no injuries.

The U.S. Great Lakes shipping fleet has begun the annual transition from sailing to scheduled periods in regional docks and ship repair facilities for repair, maintenance and modernization.This year alone, U.S. Great Lakes shipping companies will invest more than $126 million in their vessels—from over 1,000-feet to smaller tug and barge combinations—at shipyards and facilities across the Great Lakes, according to trade group the Lake Carriers’ Association. This includes more than $48 million in Wisconsin…

Inadequate planning for hot work led to a fire aboard a commercial fish processor while docked at a shipyard in Tacoma, Wash., the National Transportation Safety Board said in its marine investigation report released Thursday.On Feb. 17, 2021, a fire was reported on the commercial fish processor Aleutian Falcon while the vessel was docked for repairs at a shipyard in Tacoma, Washington. The Tacoma Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire four days later. No one was on board the vessel at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries reported.

A fatigue crack ultimately led to a fishing tender barge breaking loose from its mooring buoy and grounding during a storm near Ekuk, Alaska, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a recent marine investigation report.On August 30, 2020, the fishing tender barge SM-3 broke free from the buoy it was anchored to and began drifting. The six-person crew deployed two emergency anchors, but the barge continued to drift and grounded on the beach. No injuries were reported. There was a 3-mile debris field on the beach.

Mobile, Ala. shipbuilder Austal USA announced it has entered into contract with local Alabama steel provider SSAB to provide steel for the new Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ships (T-ATS) it is building for the U.S. Navy.Austal said it will source various strength and sized steel plating from SSAB capable of being cut, shaped, welded, and fitted resulting in the construction of support ships and potential combat ships for our U.S. military.“SSAB not only provides us with quality steel…

U.S.-flag Great Lakes shipping companies continue to invest heavily in their ships and the region.This year alone these companies will spend nearly $87 million for winter ship repair and maintenance work at shipyards and facilities across the Great Lakes. That includes more than $36 million in Wisconsin, $33 million in Ohio, $13 million in Pennsylvania, and over $4 million in Michigan. The work includes replacing steel plating, engine overhauls, navigation equipment updates, and conveyor belt repairs and replacements.The conveyor belt work is critical as the U.S.

Three years ago, an Ecospeed hull coating was applied on Antarctic, a shallow draft anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel owned by Ark Shipping Company. The success of this application led the vessel's owner to order the same protection for its next two shallow draught AHTS vessels: Polar and Polus. Building of these vessels will start in 2021 and will again take place at the Atlas Shipyard in Kocaeli, Turkey.Ark Shipping is a Russian river and sea shipping company that has been operating in the transport and logistics market since 1992.

A recent dry dock rehab project in Chicago provides new options and money saving opportunities for inland and Great Lakes stakeholders alike.From software to steel plating, Indiana-based TPG Marine Enterprises provides a range of services in the Great Lakes and inland waterways markets. River based tug and barge services are based in Jeffersonville and Mt. Vernon, IN, on the Ohio River, as well as on Kentucky’s Green River. The company also owns TPG Chicago Dry Dock, located on the Calumet River.

More than 440 tons of heavy fuel oil was extracted from the tanks of the sunken general cargo vessel Thorco Cloud. The wreck lies in two sections 1,730 meters apart and 70 meters down in the middle of the eastbound traffic lane of the Singapore Strait following a collision in December 2015. The heavy oil in the fuel tanks and in trapped compartments was seen as a major pollution hazard. Both the bow and stern sections contained fuel tanks that required emptying, so the Thorco Cloud’s owner, Marship GmbH, supported by the P&I insurance company Standard Club, contracted Jaya Salvage Indonesia early last year. Bumi Subsea provided remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and the dynamically positioned Surf Allamanda, owned by Bourbon Offshore.

Shipowners, shipbuilders and representatives from the Green Award Foundation  attended the first in a series of planned ‘roadshows’ Subsea Industries has initiated to demonstrate the zero environmental impact and simplicity of cleaning hulls protected with its Ecospeed hard coating. Taking place last week in Maassluis, just outside Rotterdam, guests boarded Subsea Industries’ maintenance and dive support vessel to watch how vessels coated with Ecospeed can be cleaned effortlessly and legally in harbours…

There are new-builds, and there are conversions. In lean times, there’s also “life-extension” for FPSOs increasingly seen as the best hope of developing oilfields too pricy as platform projects. Life extension is about making first-time money, cutting costs or continuing to earn when a field or floater enters a new stage. It’s also about safety. Life extension involves major, multiyear considerations for operators and FPSO contractors, and for all approaches to longer life, history is the great decider.

There are new-builds, and there are conversions. In lean times, there’s also “life-extension” for FPSOs increasingly seen as the best hope of developing oilfields too pricy as platform projects. Life extension is about making first-time money, cutting costs or continuing to earn when a field or floater enters a new stage. It’s also about safety. Life extension involves major, multiyear considerations for operators and FPSO contractors, and for all approaches to longer life, history is the great decider.

Profitability in shipping goes up and down in waves. 2012 wasn’t too bad, with annual operating costs shrinking by 1.8% on average versus 2011, when average costs rose 2.1%, but 2013 weighed anchor in the losses column for many. And 2014? So far the waters are choppy, with the overall mood up in May but dipping down in the quarter that ended in August, according to Moore Stephen’s quarterly Shipping Confidence Survey. Much of what worries the industry concerns issues over which it has little to no control – oversupply…

Damen ARNO Dunkerque, part of the Damen Shiprepair & Conversion Group, has given a new set of feet to what they are caling the world’s first purpose-built offshore wind turbine installation and maintenance vessel, the 2003-built MPI Resolution*.The yard has carried out upgrades on the feet or spudcans of all the jack-up vessel’s six legs to give them the additional strength they need to withstand the huge loads to which they are subjected when spudding on rocky seabeds. The operation…

Once queen of the express liners, and the fastest, safest and biggest passenger liner in history, the SS United States today quietly awaits rescue from a pending cruise to the scrapyard. The Big Ship the Big U, the one that didn’t sink. The S.S. She is waiting for a rescue that may never come from an appointment with the scrap yard looming large on her summer schedule. And that would be a shame according to her many supporters, not the least of which was the late newsman and sailor, Walter Cronkite.

Shipdock Harlingen repairs the 'Amazone', a De Boer Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) to meet owner's next contract deadlne. "Occasionally a project comes along that sticks in your memory as being truly exceptional”, says Michel Heerschop, project manager at Shipdock Harlingen, referrring to the contract awarded to Shipdock Harlingen by Sliedrecht-based dredging company De Boer for dry-dock work on its TSHD Amazone. The Amazone was scheduled for a special certification review this year and, additionally, there were many necessary maintenance jobs and modifications to be carried out.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc. announced the early delivery of the Sisuag, the second of three  292-foot Tiger Shark Class Offshore Support Vessels, to Harvey Gulf International Marine LLC of New Orleans, La. Launched in October, the Sisuag is a DP II, SOLAS-approved, FIFI 1 Classed, AC diesel-electric powered, twin Z-drive propelled OSV. This high-tech vessel features four Cummins QSK60-DM 16-cylinder turbo-charged Tier II diesel generator engines, rated 1825 Kw at 1,800 rpm.

Mobile-Alabama based Offshore-Inland Marine & Oilfield Services has completed hull repairs on the battleship USS Alabama, the state of Alabama's most popular tourist attraction. The 680-ft. battleship was in need of extensive hull repairs after spending 38 years in the muddy waters of Mobile Bay. The USS Alabama sits in about 10 feet of water while her hull rests in another 20 feet of mud. To get to the corroded portions of the hull, a cofferdam was built around the ship and the water pumped out. Approximately 4 feet of mud was excavated from both the port and starboard sides of the vessel. vessel. Offshore-Inland Marine & Oilfield Services removed 10,000 square feet of corroded steel from the battleship's hull.

A new 272-passenger high-speed monohull ferry, for Island Ferries of Galway, Ireland, has been delviered, and is currently making 10-nautical-mile commuter and tourist crossings between Galway and Aran Island. Draiocht Na Farriage (Magic of the Sea), a 123-ft. aluminum vessel, was designed and built by WaveMaster International, Henderson, West Australia. The design incorporates a substantial keel, fine entry lines and steep deadrise. Two chines give the hull a narrower waterline beam underway for speed, while adding stability and buoyancy as the vessel slows down and the hull immerses. Both strength and stability are maximized to withstand fierce North Atlantic sea conditions. The new ferry is powered by three Cat 3412C marine engines, each rated 1,050 bhp at 2,300 rpm.

Mobile, Ala.-based Offshore-Inland Marine & Oilfield Services has been subcontracted by Jordan Pile Driving Inc. to repair the hull of the battleship USS Alabama, one of the state of Alabama's most popular tourist attractions. Offshore-Inland Marine & Oilfield Services has been tasked with installing 18,000 sq. ft. of .5-in. inch thick steel plating on the battleship's hull at and below the waterline. Currently, Offshore-Inland is in the process of replacing the rusted sections of the hull to provide a solid base for the steel plating. The hull refurbishment, which is a part of overall improvements to the park, will be completed by late December 2003.