Treasure News

The construction of the next cruise ship for Disney Cruise Line has reached another milestone: assembly of the ship's hull began today with the traditional keel-laying ceremony. The ship is the sister ship of the Disney Treasure, which is also under construction, and the Disney Wish, which launched in 2022.The keel was laid in the 504-meter-long covered building dock at Meyer Werft in Germany. Philip Gennotte, portfolio project management executive, Walt Disney Imagineering Germany…

Humans have sailed the world’s oceans for thousands of years, but they haven’t all reached port. Researchers estimate that there are some three million shipwrecks worldwide, resting in shallow rivers and bays, coastal waters and the deep ocean. Many sank during catastrophes – some during storms or after running aground, others in battle or collisions with other vessels.Shipwrecks like the RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania and USS Monitor conjure tales of human courage and sacrifice, sunken treasure and unsolved mysteries.

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) announced that WETA’s Gemini Class Clean Air Conversion Project has been completed, resulting in a substantial decrease in air pollution emissions from four San Francisco Bay Ferry vessels serving Oakland, Alameda and Richmond.In September 2021, WETA's Board of Directors approved a $5.5 million project to upgrade the engines and reduce emissions on the agency’s four Gemini-class vessels.

German shipbuilder Meyer Werft held a keel laying ceremony for the second of three new Triton class cruise ships it is building for U.S. based Disney Cruise Line.The 144,000 GT Disney Treasure will have 1,240 cabins and is scheduled for delivery in 2024.Like sister ship Disney Wish, delivered by Meyer Werft in 2022, Disney Treasure will be equipped with low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion. Beyond Disney Wish, Meyer Werft has already delivered the Disney Dream and…

A grounding incident was avoided thanks to swift action by a team of harbor tugs and pilots aboard a Panamanian registered containership that lost power in Southampton, U.K., according to a local pilots group.At around 11 a.m. on January 26, the 20,000 TEU containership MOL Treasure departed the Port of Southampton bound for Le Harve, amid good, though gusty, weather conditions, with clear visibility and calm seas. But not more than an hour into the passage, the 400-meter-long MOL Treasure developed a significant reduction in engine power.An escort tug was already present…

As companies race to expand renewable energy and the batteries to store it, finding sufficient amounts of rare earth metals to build the technology is no easy feat. That’s leading mining companies to take a closer look at a largely unexplored frontier – the deep ocean seabed.A wealth of these metals can be found in manganese nodules that look like cobblestones scattered across wide areas of deep ocean seabed. But the fragile ecosystems deep in the oceans are little understood…

Norway-based H2Carrier announced it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Greenland-based Anori to develop the first commercial wind farm in Greenland with subsequent production and export of green ammonia.The wind farm is projected to comprise 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy which will supply power to H2Carrier’s floating production vessel for hydrogen and green ammonia. Green ammonia will be stored in tanks onboard the vessel, then exported to smaller shipping vessels and carried to the international market.H2Carrier's proprietary design for a vessel that produces…

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) has been awarded a $14.9 million grant from the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) to develop a high-frequency network of battery-electric ferries.The grant will fund the construction of ferries and shoreside charging infrastructure to support the San Francisco Clean Ferry Network, which will use zero-emission ferries to connect waterfront San Francisco neighborhoods including Downtown, Treasure Island and Mission Bay.This grant…

Marvin Ferguson, Commissioner for the Ports of Indiana (POI) from 1993 – 2018, has passed away. First appointed by Governor Evan Bayh in 1993, Ferguson was the longest-serving Commissioner in the Ports’ history, having served under six different Governors (Bayh, O’Bannon, Kernan, Daniels, Pence and Holcomb). “Marvin has a great legacy with the Ports of Indiana,” said Ports of Indiana chief executive officer Vanta E. Coda, II. “I often talk of the foundation that I was handed when taking my current role. Marvin was a huge builder of that foundation.

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. has established a Marine Decarbonation Business Development Group responding to the energy transition strategy promoted by MHI Group. “We have received numerous inquiries from customers regarding growth sectors such as LCO2 carriers and ammonia fuel vessels and we need a dedicated organization to coordinate the technological innovation and handle this business," said Toru Kitamura, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Shipbuilding. "The establishment…

The Flying Buttress once glided across the oceans carrying vital commodities like grain to all corners of the world.Now it bears a different treasure: Paw Patrol Movie Towers, Batmobile Transformers and Baby Alive Lulu Achoo dolls.The dry bulk cargo ship has been drafted into the service of retail giant Walmart, which is chartering its own vessels in an effort to beat the global supply chain disruptions that threaten to torpedo the retail industry's make-or-break holiday season."Chartering vessels is just one example of investments we've made to move products as quickly as possible," said Joe Metzger, U.S. executive vice president of supply-chain operations at Walmart…

RINA announced it has acquired the entire share capital of Denmark-based software company Logimatic Solutions, in line with Italian classification society’s plan to boost its digital solutions knowledge and offering.The company, with a turnover of about 6 million euros, will be fully integrated within the RINA Group, and its nearly 50 employees will continue in the current structure from its offices in Denmark, Singapore and Chile.For RINA, the move will add the SERTICA fleet management solution to the RINA portfolio of maritime offerings…

The Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association’s retiring executive director reflects on key progress made and vital work remaining.As my tenure as President, Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association (GICA) ends after 11 years, it is gratifying look at the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and reflect on its compelling relevance to our nation. Often referred to as the “Silent Giant,” as I wrote in this publication in 2014, the Giant indeed awoke and emerged as a vital waterway which delivers…

Seemingly overnight, a new structure appeared on San Francisco’s waterfront. Situated at Pier 22½ just behind historic Firehouse 35 and nestled beside the Bay Bridge, this floating building is San Francisco’s new Fire Station 35. The facility is an answer to the city’s long-awaited need for updated fire and marine safety on the Bay.The overnight materialization of Fire Station 35 on San Francisco’s waterfront was due to the method in which it was built. To reduce public impact and avoid disruption along the bustling Embarcadero…

Austal USA broke ground on its steel manufacturing line Friday, March 26, 2021, positioning the company to start steel production in April 2022.“This world-class steel manufacturing line is a treasure for the Gulf Coast, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard that will provide a much needed boost to the defense industrial base and our Nation’s defense,” said Jerry Carl, Congressman for Alabama’s first district.“As demand for the greater and larger Navy and Coast Guard fleets grows, Austal USA is investing to meet those changing requirements,” Rusty Murdaugh, interim president said.

It is widely expected that cuts in defense and security budgets are coming as governments across the world grapple with the fiscal fallout from the COVID-19 crisis. To ensure that these cuts do not undermine global security, policymakers should approach their defense budgets with a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.In navigating the tough choices that lay ahead, government decision-makers should pursue spending reforms that enable states to operate both leaner and smarter, without sacrificing their vital security interests.The maritime security domain offers an exemplary case study.

A set of 10 hand-drawn, 16th century maps showing the progress of the Spanish Armada that attacked England in 1588, an event that shaped national identity, will remain in the country after a museum raised 600,000 pounds ($824,000) to buy them.The ink and watercolor maps, thought to be the earliest surviving images of the battles between the fleets of Queen Elizabeth I of England and of Philip II of Spain, had been at risk of export after a private sale last year.The government placed an export bar on the maps in July…

This month MR dives inside the $60 million refit of RV Roger Revelle, a project which leverages a treasure trove of ‘lessons learned’ from recent refits in the academic research vessel fleet and highlights the value of slimming the vendor list.Research vessel (R/V) Roger Revelle is back at work after a midlife refit involving upgrades from top to bottom, bow to stern. The ship is owned by the Office of Naval Research and has been operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego since 1996. It is one of the largest ships in the U.S.

Polish divers say they have found the wreck of a German World War Two ship which may help solve a decades-old mystery - the whereabouts of the Amber Room, an ornate chamber from a tsarist palace in Russia that was looted by the Nazis.Decorated with amber and gold, the Amber Room was part of the Catherine Palace near St Petersburg, but was last seen in Koenigsberg, then a Baltic port city in Germany but now the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.It was from Koenigsberg that the Karlsruhe steamer set sail in 1945 with a heavy cargo…

Ocean mapping at scale is the target of a new unmanned systems player started by two ex-US Navy SEALS. They have big ambitions, from new building unmanned vehicles to creating the intelligence that will drive them to changing how accessible ocean data is. Elaine Maslin learned more. The pace of change in the ocean mapping space has been fast in recent years. New entrants have come into the scene offering “force multiplier” mapping using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and unmanned surface vessels (USVs).

A new information paper on assurance of dynamic positioning (DP) system failure mode and effects analysis (FMEAs) seeks to improve the process of identifying all possible consequences and failures of DP systems.Entitled ‘Dynamic Positioning Failure Mode and Effects Analysis Assurance Framework, Risk-based Guidance’, the new information paper has been published by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), a global voluntary association, providing expertise in the safe…

Dozens more people onboard a cruise ship quarantined in the port of Yokohama, Japan, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday and thousands of passengers remained confined to their cabins, only allowed on deck briefly for fresh air.The Diamond Princess, owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp, was placed on a two-week quarantine on arriving at Yokohama on Monday after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus.Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told a news conference that 41 people on the liner had tested positive for coronavirus on Friday…

A new plan is being formulated to preserve and improve one of the world's most historic and well-known vessels.The record-setting superliner Queen Mary has been sitting permanently moored in Long beach, Calif. since its removal from transatlantic service in 1967. A 2015 survey revealed the once glorified liner has been in an escalating state of disrepair, but estimates detailing the extent of work needed have varied.Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said in his State of the City…