Walter News

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) reports its cruise passenger numbers are back to pre-pandemic levels. The port said Monday that it finished calendar year 2023 with nearly 1.2 million cruise passenger movements and renewed commitments to the New Orleans cruise market from both oceangoing and river cruise lines.“The cruise business has rebounded in New Orleans and cruise line partners are confident in our Port NOLA cruise market,” said Port NOLA president and CEO Brandy D. Christian.

Norway's minority government and two opposition parties have agreed to allow seabed mineral exploration in the Arctic region, they said on Tuesday, in a key step towards full-scale ocean mining.The deal comes as Norway hopes to become the first country to make deep-sea mining happen on a commercial scale and secure critical minerals and jobs despite concerns over the environmental impact and international calls for a moratorium.The amended version of the government's proposal, which parliament will formally debate on Jan.

Around 61,165 barrels of daily oil output from at least six producers, making up about 3% of crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, has been shut in by Third Coast Infrastructure's underwater pipeline leak, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.The oil producers whose facilities are impacted include W&T Energy, Occidental Petroleum, Walter Oil and Gas, Cantium, Arena Offshore and Talos Energy Ventures, the Coast Guard said, citing the U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of…

ZF announced the expansion of its azimuth thruster (AT) lineup with the new AT 90, compatible with a wide range of commercial vessels such as tugs and ferries, supporting max power of 1,978 kW / 2,651hp.The well-mounted, Z-Drive thruster is one of the most flexible on the market, fully customizable to nearly any hull shape or vessel profile. It also supports auto-trolling. The combination with ThrusterCommand ensures precise and efficient propulsion control.As is true of all thrusters in the AT series…

The 47th Annual Interferry Conference takes place in Hobart, Tasmania on November 4-8, 2023. With focus on elevating the customer experience and sustainability, expert presentations will feature the latest trends in tourism, service automation and onboard entertainment, as well as ship construction and conversion trends, optimised operations, and safety measures.How global tourism trends have changed and will develop post COVID-19 are part of the keynote of Robert Dougan from Tourism Australia, who kicks off the conference on Day 1.

Global energy and commodity group, Mercuria, and Netherlands-based ÈTA Shipping have established a joint venture for the construction of six diesel-electric shortsea general cargo vessels with the option for another 10.The vessels will be built by Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering in China and will be owned by Mare Balticum BV, a subsidiary of Mercuria, with ÈTA Shipping acting as a minority shareholder. The maiden voyage of the first vessel is planned for the second quarter of 2025.ÈTA Shipping’s modular design of the ÈTA 6700 vessel involves an electric motor that powers the propeller.

Flat panel satellite antenna company Kymeta and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb announced that Kymeta’s electronically steered Peregrine u8 LEO terminal is now commercially available, becoming the first flat panel antenna to serve the maritime market on OneWeb’s LEO network.Kymeta launched its maritime product line in 2017, and its streamlined Peregrine u8 LEO terminal is purpose-built for maritime applications. According to Kymeta, the slim, energy…

$2 million for Suffolk County Community College to stimulate workforce training and redevelopment. At a recent meeting of the Corporate Committee of the Long Island Council of the Navy League of the United States, US Navy Command Master Chief Joshua Sturgill who is Command Senior Enlisted Leader for Team Submarines, announced a $2 million grant for Advanced Manufacturing Scholarships supported by the Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base. The $2 million grant was awarded to Suffolk…

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…

Mexico plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export hub worth between $4 billion and $5 billion in the Gulf of Mexico that will help serve European demand, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday.The planned LNG facility in the port of Coatzacoalcos, in the eastern state of Veracruz, would transport gas by boat to Europe, Lopez Obrador said."We're about to promote private sector involvement, it's going to be an investment of $4-5 billion this plant," he told a regular news conference.Lopez Obrador had previously floated the idea of an LNG plant in Coatzacoalcos, alongside

Rhe Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) on Thursday elected Jack C. Jensen, Jr. to serve as Board Chairman, succeeding Charles H. Ponstein, whose term as Chairman ended this month. Also elected were Joseph F. Toomy, who will serve as Vice Chairman, and Walter J. Leger, Jr., who will serve as Secretary-Treasurer for the nine-month term.“Jack Jensen has brought decades of transportation and logistics experience to this board, and we look forward to his…

Houma, La. shipbuilder Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors hosted a keel-laying ceremony for NOAA’s newest oceanographic research ship, Oceanographer.“Today’s keel-laying ceremony marks a major step forward both in the construction of Oceanographer and the revitalization of NOAA’s ship fleet,” said Rear Adm. Nancy Hann, director of NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps.Oceanographer is one of two ships being built for NOAA by TMC to support a variety of missions…

ZF Marine has appointed Walter Fienco to the position of Product Line Manager, Commercial Thrusters. In this role, Walter will lead ZF Marine’s commercial thruster product sales across the North and Central American and Caribbean markets.Fienco brings nearly 15 years of commercial thruster product experience to the position. During his tenure at ZF Marine, he managed/led the company’s engineering, technical support and aftermarket teams to successfully commission customer vessels. He was previously Senior Engineer, Customer Applications, for ZF Marine. He holds a B.S.

Retlif Testing Laboratories, a globally recognized, independent EMC/EMI and environmental testing organization, welcomed New York State Congressman Andrew Garbarino to its secure facility for an escorted tour of their EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) and Environmental Simulation Services (ESS) laboratories. The tour was followed by a roundtable discussion in support of military contracting and defense manufacturing on Long Island, logistics and supply chain issues, and the…

After a program of vital welding work, the Scottish Maritime Museum is on track to complete essential repairs to what is believed to be the oldest floating Clyde-built ship in time for the vessel’s 150th anniversary this Summer.The Scottish Maritime Museum raised £40,000 for much-needed repairs to the 1872 MV Kyles, one of Britain’s most important historic vessels and a rare and nationally important survivor from a key period in Glasgow shipbuilding, through a Keep the Kyles Afloat Crowdfunder campaign last year.The Museum’s technical team…

Offshore services provider Aqueos Corporation is moving into its new office facility in Boston to support the growing offshore wind industry in the U.S. Northeast.Broussard, La.-based Aqueos has primarily provided marine construction, commercial diving, ROV and vessel contracting services for offshore oil and gas, but in 2020 the company identified the demand to expand its operating lines to include the offshore renewable energy sector.Walter Aguilar, Aqueos' vice president of civil…

While it is starting to look like some clever wind/power sail technologies are starting to appear, too often I have looked at the cargo cranes of geared bulkers and wondered if it makes sense to rig some sort of sail on them.I think the fancier approaches fight the “build a little, test a little, learn a lot” engineering maxim in new technology development, and maybe doing more simple stuff may be a better way to achieve lasting results quicker.A recent conversation with a sustainable propulsion advocate compelled me to run a few numbers.I found a bulker with a GA for a 2010 era 25…

In the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress established a commission to rename several military bases and ships that commemorate members of the Confederacy. One of these is the Naval oceanographic ship USNS Maury (T-AGS 66), named after oceanographer Matthew Fontaine Maury, who resigned his commission in the U.S. Navy to join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War. The USNS Maury is an asset of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC), which I led from 2014-2017.

Boat builder Metal Shark said it has delivered a 55- by 17-foot welded aluminum pilot boat to the Pascagoula Bar Pilots Association in Mississippi.Designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team and built at the company’s Franklin, La. shipyard, the new Singing River Island is the second Metal Shark pilot boat to join the Pascagoula Pilots fleet. It represents the latest evolution in the Louisiana-based builder’s Defiant-class pilot boat lineup, combining a proven hull form with a modern…

Mercy Ships is known globally for its charitable work performing medical procedures in developing countries. For the first time, the organization has a new ship, Global Mercy, recently delivered from a shipyard in China. Jim Paterson, Marine Executive Consultant, Mercy Ships takes Maritime Reporter & Engineering News inside the construction of the world’s largest civilian hospital ship.Jim Paterson already had a career and Chief Engineer’s Certificate when he joined Mercy Ships nearly 34 years ago, in search of a life change to make a difference.

Global maritime group Wilhelmsen and the Norwegian offshore supply base firm NorSea have together acquired an 18% stake in the Norwegian deep-sea mining company Loke Marine Minerals."As the energy transition continues to gather pace, we are actively looking at new projects and business areas, outside of the oil and gas industry, where NorSea’s unique port infrastructure and proven service and supply know-how can continue to be a key driver of success. The development of the seabed mineral industry in Norway is far from certain…

Seattle-based cargo and waterfront services company SeaTac Marine Services announced it has been approved and supplied with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection FIRMS code (Facilities Information and Resources Management System).As one of only a few private waterfront facilities approved to welcome foreign commodities in the Puget Sound, the company is looking to expanding its terminal and tug and barge services. Walter Seay, president of SeaTac Marine Services, said, “We aim to capitalize on Canadian coastal trade, specifically lumber commodities bound for U.S.

Retlif Testing Laboratories (Ronkonkoma, NY) achieved a milestone through the deployment of an effective cybersecurity plan that is in compliance with NIST 800-171 and Levels 1, 2 and 3 of the Department of Defense Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).Overseen and coordinated by Team Logic IT (South Setauket, NY), completion of the 12-month NIST cyber security compliance project means that Retlif’s Ronkonkoma New York, Harleysville, Pennsylvania and Goffstown, New…