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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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28 Mar 2024

Asia Crude Imports Surge as China, India Snap Up Russian Oil

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Asia's imports of crude oil are expected to rise to the highest in 10 months as heavyweights China and India lifted arrivals from Russia, but impending maintenance schedules and rising prices mean such levels may not be sustained.The world's top importing region is forecast to see arrivals of 27.48 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, up from 26.70 million bpd in February and January's 27.18 million bpd, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research.The bulk of oil arriving in March was arranged before the current increase in prices…

28 Mar 2024

Lawsuits Over Baltimore Bridge Collapse Likely

(Credit: USACE)

The owner, operator and charterer of the container ship that struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday are likely to face lawsuits over its collapse and the people killed or injured, but legal experts say U.S. maritime law could limit the companies’ liability.U.S. laws pertaining to open-water navigation and shipping, which are created through court decisions and by acts of Congress, could restrict the kinds of lawsuits filed against the registered owner of the Singapore-flagged ship…

27 Mar 2024

Pilot Called for Tugboat Help Before Baltimore Bridge Disaster

Source: US Army Corps of Engineers

The pilot of the container ship that knocked down a highway bridge into Baltimore Harbor had radioed for tugboat help and reported a power loss minutes earlier, federal safety officials said on Wednesday, citing audio from the ship's "black box" data recorder.The head of the National Transportation Safety Board also said that Francis Scott Key Bridge, a traffic artery over the harbor built in 1976, lacked structural engineering redundancies common to newer spans, making it more…

27 Mar 2024

Divers Recover Two Bodies After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies.

Divers on Wednesday recovered the remains of two of the six workers missing since they were tossed into Baltimore Harbor from a highway bridge that collapsed into shipping lanes when a faltering cargo freighter rammed into the structure, officials said on Wednesday.The bodies were pulled from the mouth of the Patapsco River a day after the massive container ship lost power and its ability to maneuver before plowing into a support pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, knocking…

27 Mar 2024

Recruiter to Cooperate in Deal with Workers Suing Major US Shipbuilders

© Joseph Creamer / Adobe Stock

A maritime industry recruiter has agreed to work with plaintiffs and share worker compensation data in a lawsuit accusing major U.S. shipbuilders of limiting employee mobility, marking the first settlement in the case.Attorneys for a proposed class of engineers and architects suing General Dynamics, Huntington Ingalls Industries and other companies disclosed the settlement with Faststream Recruitment on Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia federal court.The October lawsuit said the shipbuilders violated U.S.

27 Mar 2024

Authorities Warned of Ship Approach Moments Before Baltimore Bridge Collapse

(Photo: David Adams / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Federal investigators on Wednesday examined the cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge while emergency teams searched for bodies and details emerged of the intense efforts to save lives in the minutes before the steel span collapsed."Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There's a ship approaching that just lost their steering," someone said on police radio minutes before the 1:30 a.m. crash on Tuesday.While voices were heard discussing next steps, including alerting any work crews to leave the bridge…

27 Mar 2024

New England Offshore Wind Auction Draws Multiple Bidders

© Fokke Baarssen / Adobe Stock

Several offshore wind developers bid in a combined Connecticut-Massachusetts-Rhode Island offshore wind solicitation on Wednesday, including units of European energy firms Iberdrola and Orsted.The U.S. offshore wind industry is booming so far this year, with several projects in various stages of development and construction, after a disastrous 2023 of developers cancelling contracts and taking roughly $9.1 billion in write-offs and impairments on U.S. projects.So far, Avangrid…

27 Mar 2024

US Coast Guard Cutter Sea Dog Damaged

(File photo: James Kimber / U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sea Dog (WPB 87373) sustained damage during the crew’s inbound transit from sea to the St. Marys River, Monday, the Coast Guard (USCG) said.The damaged cutter moored in Fernandina Beach, Fla., with assistance from additional Coast Guard assets and a commercial towing vessel, the USCG said.There were no reported injuries, damage to other vessels or environmental impact, and navigation remains unaffected, the agency added, noting the incident is under…

27 Mar 2024

St. Johns Ship Building to Build Six Deck Barges for Seapath

(Photo: St. Johns Ship Building)

St. Johns Ship Building on Wednesday announced it has signed a contract with Seapath for construction of a series of six ABS deck barges in support of their Jones Act leasing business.The barges will be built at St Johns Ship Building’s facility in Palatka, Fla. and will be dispatched to multiple charterers along the US East Coast.Seapath is a subsidiary of the Libra Group, which is also parent to St. Johns’ holding company, Americraft Marine Group.Joshua Lubarsky, CEO of Seapath, said, “Domestic maritime transportation is the backbone of the US transportation system.

27 Mar 2024

Britain’s Forgotten Prison Island: Remembering the Thousands of Convicts Who Died Working in Bermuda’s Dockyards

An 1862 photo of a prison hulk docked in Ireland Island, Bermuda. (Photo: UK Royal Navy)

We think of Bermuda as a tiny paradise in the North Atlantic. But long before cruise ships moored up, prison ships carried hundreds of convicts to the island, first docking in 1824 and remaining there for decades.Islands have long been places to deport, exile and banish criminals. Think of Alcatraz, the infamous penitentiary in San Francisco, or Robben Island in South Africa, which held Nelson Mandela. The French penal colony Devil’s Island was immortalised in the Steve McQueen film Papillon…

27 Mar 2024

Baltimore Bridge Port Blockade Won't Trigger New Supply Chain Crisis, Experts Say

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies.

The catastrophic bridge collapse that closed the Port of Baltimore to ship traffic is unlikely to trigger a major new U.S. supply chain crisis or spike goods prices, due to ample and growing spare capacity at competing East Coast ports, economists and logistics experts say.With six people still missing after a container ship collision destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, it remained unclear how long the span's twisted superstructure would block the harbor's mouth.But port officials…

27 Mar 2024

Strategic Marine to Build CTV for Polish Offshore Wind Industry

Illustration (Credit: BMT/Strategic Marine)

LOTOS Petrobaltic, an ORLEN Group company, signed a contract for the construction of a Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) with Singapore-based Strategic Marine, set for service in the Polish offshore wind market.The StratCat 27 CTV is scheduled to be completed this summer, with delivery to Europe planned for early September 2024.This CTV will join the existing fleet managed by Miliana Shipmanagement Limited, a company belonging to the LOTOS Petrobaltic capital group, which owns five offshore…

27 Mar 2024

Baltimore Rescuers Lose Hope for More Survivors from Bridge Collapse

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies

Rescuers have lost hope of finding more survivors of the Baltimore bridge collapse, the coast guard said, as efforts switched on Wednesday to looking for bodies of the missing and more answers to why a container ship smashed into the span.Search divers were expected to return near dawn to the waters surrounding the twisted ruins of the bridge in Baltimore Harbor to search for six workers missing and now presumed dead.The disaster has forced the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the U.S.

27 Mar 2024

Divers to Search Baltimore Harbor

Search divers were expected to return near dawn on Wednesday to the waters surrounding the twisted ruins of a bridge knocked down in Baltimore Harbor by a faltering cargo ship, leaving six workers missing and presumed dead.The disaster also forced the indefinite closure of the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, and created a traffic quagmire for Baltimore and the surrounding region.As the odds of their survival vanished, the search for the six workers was suspended on Tuesday evening…

26 Mar 2024

Bridge Collapse Freezes Ship Traffic in Port of Baltimore

(Photo: David Adams / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Ships sailing to the U.S. port of Baltimore dropped anchor in waters nearby while vessels were stranded inside the port after traffic was halted following a bridge collapse, shipping data showed on Tuesday.A 948-foot container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the port in darkness early on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below.Port traffic was suspended until further notice, Maryland transportation authorities said.At least 13 vessels that were expected to load coal were anchored near to Baltimore port…

26 Mar 2024

US Approves Orsted's Sunrise Wind Offshore Wind Farm

© chungking / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration on Tuesday gave final approval to Orsted and Eversource's Sunrise Wind offshore wind facility, which is expected to provide power to more than 320,000 homes in New York.The announcement was the latest positive development for the project, which Denmark's Orsted warned just months ago could fail without a new contract that would cover soaring costs for equipment and financing.Orsted and Eversource said separately that they had taken a final investment decision…

26 Mar 2024

Six Presumed Dead After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies.

Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor early on Tuesday after a massive cargo ship crippled by a power loss rammed into the structure, forcing the closure of one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident, U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland…

26 Mar 2024

New High-speed Vessel Joins the San Francisco Bay Ferry Fleet

(Photo: San Francisco Bay Ferry)

The latest newbuild for the San Francisco Bay Ferry fleet has been commissioned. The high-speed passenger vessel Delphinus was built by Mavrik Marine in La Conner, Wash. as the second of four new Dorado class ferries. Design was completed by One2three Naval Architects and construction management services were provided by Aurora Marine Design.Vessel construction was funded through the Federal Transit Administration and the State of California’s Proposition 1B in collaboration with…

26 Mar 2024

FMD Acquires AMMCON

Image courtesy FMD/AMMCON

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management (Arcline), has acquired AMMCON Corp., a Jacksonville- based fittings and assembled components manufacturer. The defense contractor’s acquisition continues its expansion and commitment to providing critical components to the U.S. Navy and other marine defense customers.“Fairbanks Morse Defense is working to build fully integrated products and services that will meet every need of maritime defense…

26 Mar 2024

Timeline: Within Minutes of Departure, Faltering Containership Crashes into Baltimore Bridge

Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies

Here is a timeline of the collapse on Tuesday of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was hit by the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali. All times are EDT:01:04 a.m (0504 GMT). – Loaded with shipping containers, Dali departs from Baltimore's port, headed to Colombo, Sri Lanka.01:24 a.m. – Dali slowly approaches the Key Bridge, according to video captured by StreamTime Live.1:24:33 a.m. – Dali appears to suffer a total power failure as all its lights go out.1:25:31 a.m. – About a minute later, the ship's lights flicker back on.

26 Mar 2024

Automakers Reroute Shipments After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

© aerial-drone / Adobe Stock

U.S. automakers General Motors and Ford will reroute affected shipments after a bridge collapse in the U.S. shuttered the Port of Baltimore, but the companies said on Tuesday the impact will be minimal."We expect the situation to have minimal impact to our operations. We are working to re-route any vehicle shipments to other ports," GM said in a statement.The Port of Baltimore is the busiest U.S. port for car shipments, handling at least 750,000 vehicles in 2023, according to data from the Maryland Port Administration.

26 Mar 2024

Shipping Industry Faces Fuel Dilemma in Bid to Cut Emissions

© Yellow Boat / Adobe Stock

The shipping industry is under increasing pressure to decarbonize, but unclear regulatory guidelines, including around what sorts of cleaner fuels large vessels should run, is complicating that path to net zero, according to executives.Global shipping firms are looking for ways to lower their carbon footprints, particularly as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which regulates the global shipping industry, is being pushed to implement a charge on the sector's greenhouse gas emissions.The IMO's Maritime Environment Protection Committee concluded its 81st meeting last week…

26 Mar 2024

Leadership Profile: Tor Svanes and NAVTOR's Quest to Transform Shipping

Tor Svanes, Founder and CEO, NAVTOR. Image courtesy Navto

Compliance, performance, profitability, sustainability; take the biggest ‘pain points’ for almost any shipping company and watch NAVTOR’s digital ecosystem work wonders. Here Tor Svanes, Founder and CEO, explains how NAVTOR has grown to lead the smart shipping world, why the recent merger with Voyager Worldwide was so critical, and how he hopes to help steer the industry towards brighter, simpler, and more intelligent horizons.“The morning of the announcement I got a text from the boss of one of our biggest competitors…