Tyrrhenian Sea News

Italian energy company Axpo has signed a 10-year deal to charter an LNG bunkering vessel which is expected to begin operations in 2025.The agreement has been signed with Italy’s Gas and Heat SpA and the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard. The vessel will be built in the San Giorgio’s shipyard in Piombino, Italy, and will have a capacity of up to 7,500 cubic metres. In the future, the ship could also transport bio-LNG and ammonia. Active off the coast of Naples, the vessel will provide ship-to-ship bunkering as well as ship-to-truck transfer of LNG to tanker trucks onshore…

Italy is looking to install two floating storage and regasification units (FSRU) to boost liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports as part of plans to cut reliance on Russian gas, Italy's energy transition minister said on Tuesday."Today we officially mandated (gas group) Snam to negotiate the acquisition of an FSRU and the leasing of a second," Roberto Cingolani said in a parliamentary hearing.His comments confirmed sources who earlier told Reuters the two vessels, with a combined capacity of more than 10 billion cubic meters (bcm)…

New research has revealed the highest levels of microplastic yet recorded on the seafloor, with up to 1.9 million pieces in an area of just one square metre.Published this week in the journal Science, this study shows how deep-sea currents act as conveyor belts, transporting tiny plastic fragments and fibers across the seafloor. These currents can concentrate microplastics within huge sediment accumulations, which the authors of the research term ‘microplastic hotspots’. These…

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) became Korea’s first shipbuilder to win an order for a small-to-medium-sized liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier from a foreign shipping company, gaining momentum to pioneer the emerging small-scale LNG tanker segment.HMD signed a contract with Norway’s Knutsen to build a 30,000 cu. m. LNG carrier for $77 million, with an option for a second vessel of the same specification.The signing ceremony, held in Knutsen’s headquarters office based in Oslo, was attended by Hyundai Heavy Industries’ (HHI) President Ka Sam-hyun and Knutsen’s President Trygve Seglem along with others.The vessel on order from Knutsen is 180 meters in length…

Leading Italian tug operator RimorchiatoriRiuniti has ordered a Damen ASD Tug 2411.Reflecting the industry’s move to larger vessels, the new Damen tug, which has a 70-metric-ton bollard pull, will replace a smaller 40-metric-ton unit built in 1990. The new vessel will be deployed in Genoa and is expected to arrive by end-July. Owned by the DellePiane and Gavarone families, RimorchiatoriRiuniti has been operating its orange tugboats in Genoa since 1922.Although the company has traditionally operated in the Tyrrhenian Sea and the ports of Genoa…

Fincantieri Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard in Italy has delivered the patrol boat 'Salahah' to the United Arab Emirates' Navy. The new ship's sister the Ghantut was delivered last January together with an "Abu Dhabi Class" corvette. The two patrol vessels – whose names come from an area of the Emirates near Abu Dhabi – were ordered in 2010 within the  “Falaj 2” program. The contract  provides for an option for a further two vessels in addition to technology transfer to a local shipyard for the construction of further sister ships.

Naming ceremony held in the presence of senior personnel. Drydocks World, a maritime services provider, after the naming ceremony held yesterday by OLT LNG Offshore Toscana, announced that the FSRU Toscana conversion project at the Dubai based shipyard, is going to be finalized. The Floating Storage and Re-gasification Unit is intended for a 20 year design life 12 nautical miles off the shores of north-west Italy, in the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea close to Livorno. The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier Golar Frost…

Helping the Maritime Community adapt to strict emission regulations. What has changed during 2012 in the maritime world and how has it impacted industry? It is recent IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), changes. IMO has adopted amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). These changes will have a vast and fundamental impact on the maritime industry and the world over the next few years. With new IMO regulations pertaining to emission control areas…

Italy plans to ban single hull tankers from seven port areas from April 23 to reduce risks of environmental damage, said an anonymous Environment Ministry official said. The official confirmed remarks by Environment Minister Willer Bordon in Genoa earlier this week that the government was preparing a directive aimed at improving safety standards. "This directive represents a notable leap in safety," Bordon said on the sidelines of a seminar on maritime oil traffic organized by local environmental groups. The ban will apply to the following seven port areas: a sea mammal sanctuary stretching from the upper Tyrrhenian Sea to the Ligurian Sea…

The Italian Navy training ship Amerigo Vespucci, which has been designated a UNICEF ‘ambassador’ vessel, has become one of the first MARPOL-compliant naval ships after receiving MARPOL certification from classification society RINA. And the rest of the Italian naval fleet, numbering roughly 70 vessels, is set to follow suit, even though there is no legal or regulatory requirement for it to do so. A ceremony to mark the Amerigo Vespucci compliance took place in Livorno Harbor on July 6, when RINA CEO Ugo Salerno made a presentation on board the vessel to its commanding officer. Also in attendance was Vice-Admiral Franco Paoli, Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea Department.