Winner News

Venezuela's loss of a key U.S. license that allowed it to freely export and increase investment in its oil sector will hit the volume and quality of its crude and fuel sales while prompting a flurry of requests for individual U.S deal authorizations.U.S. officials had warned that absent progress by President Nicolas Maduro on implementing an electoral roadmap agreed last year, the U.S. would not renew license 44, which since October had eased oil sanctions in place for the last five years.On Wednesday…

Esgian reports that drilling contracts have been announced this week for operations in Brazil and the Philippines, and new discoveries have been confirmed in the UK and Namibia in its Week 11 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.ContractsCOSL Drilling has emerged as the winner for Petrobras' moored semisubmersible tender with the 4,600-ft Nanhai 8 (also known as Nan Hai Ba Hao).Noble has secured a high-dayrate drillship contract with Prime Energy in the Philippines.Drilling Activity and…

Singapore's Temasek Holdings has shortlisted energy giants Shell and Saudi Aramco among a handful of companies to purchase most of the assets of liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading firm Pavilion Energy, sources with knowledge of the matter said.The sale process comes a decade after the state investment firm set up Pavilion Energy to focus on LNG-related investments, and takes place as spot Asian LNG prices LNG-AS have fallen more than 40% since mid-August, potentially weighing on the deal's valuation.Temasek is evaluating bids for the sale of Pavilion Energy's assets…

While Greg Trauthwein never assigns me column subjects, each time the Great Ships issue comes around I go with the theme. However, I try to take a view askew on that subject and have found that these are the rare columns where I am criticized for my views. Greg must enjoy that, and this year he asked me to write a column on the worst ship designs. That was the entire assignment, and it was unclear if he asked me to discuss the worst ship designs for 2023, or in the history of ship design.

Japan's industry and land ministries on Wednesday picked three consortia, including one featuring Germany's RWE and its partners, to operate offshore wind farms in the second round of a public auction. They said they would award a fourth wind farm that was part of the tender at a later date.The results of the second major round under a new law to promote wind power were closely watched by energy companies at home and abroad, after the first round was dominated by Mitsubishi Corp.Japan's…

The Xeneta Summit has heard the ocean freight shipping industry will find new ways of working together in the face of a volatile market.Stanley Smulders, Director of Marketing & Commercial at Ocean Network Express (ONE), took part in a keynote Q&A with Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund during the Summit in Amsterdam this week to discuss the major challenges facing the industry.While there are rough seas ahead, Smulders maintains growth is still on the horizon.He said: “The current market is at best volatile…

During the IADC Annual General Meeting in Barcelona, IADC President Frank Verhoeven revealed the winner of the Safety Award 2023: Boskalis for its improved safety design of the water box.Boskalis introduced new water boxes for sand fill areas, a design which is touted as greatly improving safety for its employees. The water boxes have been designed, calculated and constructed in such a way that the risk of implosion due to soil pressure is eliminated.Using an adjustable platform on the outside of the water box…

The United States opened international aid offices in the Pacific Islands this week, bolstering support for the strategic region and pitting it more forcefully against China, which has been providing infrastructure loans to the area for years.The vast ocean region, pivotal in World War Two, is in the spotlight again amid tensions over Taiwan. Taiwanese officials this week said China, which claims the island as its territory, could launch military drills soon to intimidate voters ahead of an election next year.On Wednesday…

Any commentator on the maritime business decarbonization voyage will offer something along the lines of "There will be multiple fuels…" With the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meetings of its Maritime Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) set for early July, it is likely that targets for emissions will be tightened. Whatever mileposts that the IMO actually establishes, there will be no prescriptions handed down on how to get there. By mid-2023, nearly two years after the late 2021 alternative fuels crescendo in the aftermath of the COP26 meetings in Glasgow…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced nearly $10 million for seven projects that will accelerate development and testing of marine energy technologies. These investments advance research on wave-powered technology for use in seawater desalination and support a feasibility study for a potential ocean current test facility. “Marine energy technologies have incredible potential to provide clean electricity as well as clean water,” said Alejandro Moreno, Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

The Nautical Institute (NI) has announced Rei Misa as the winner of its 2023 Lüddeke Prize.The Lüddeke awards were made possible by a generous legacy endowment from the estate of Captain Christof Lüddeke. The prize recognises an exceptional maritime student – many previous winners have gone on to become leading practitioners in their field with some becoming President of The Nautical Institute.Misa already has wide-ranging maritime experience having worked as a Deck Cadet, Marine…

Germany's Anneliese Jost has been selected as the recipient of the International Maritime Prize for 2022, the the International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced. The decision was made by the IMO Council at its 129th session, being held July 17-21, after Jost was nominated for the award by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.In its statement supporting her nomination for the prize, Germany cited Jost's "crucial contribution towards achieving the objectives of IMO…

With a lame-duck CNO, a divided Congress and the impending launch of the next Presidential election cycle, America’s naval market is locked into something of a fragile and fearful autopilot, cruising inexorably towards whatever excitement 2024 might bring.Materially, don’t expect much change: The demand for naval platforms will continue to outstrip available funding, meaning there will be little movement or growth in America’s major shipbuilding programs of record. The procurement outlines are already set.

QatarEnergy will sign a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal with an Asian entity on Thursday, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.The deal will be one of many to come this year as the major LNG producer secures sales for its North Field expansion project, the source said on Tuesday. Competition for LNG ramped up last year after the Ukraine war, with Europe in particular needing vast amounts to help replace Russian pipeline gas that used to make up almost 40% of the continent's imports.

As geopolitical upheaval continues, Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta, explores how global trade patterns have (and will) evolve.Geopolitical unrest could have dramatic and long-term impacts on global trade patterns for all goods and commodities, as political alliances are essentially being ripped up and rewritten. Spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, changing trade patterns are emerging in the container shipping sector, said Xeneta’s Peter Sand, as the term of the day is “friendshoring”…

After a bumper year for floating offshore wind farm tenders, the nascent industry is poised for explosive growth in the coming decade as countries strive to cut their carbon emissions. But it's unlikely to be all plain sailing. Rising costs and supply chain bottlenecks have hit some projects and without investment in infrastructure to launch the vast turbines and tow them to sea, hopes of harnessing the full power of the ocean's winds to hit climate targets could be dashed, industry experts say.

Finnish shipbuilder Helsinki Shipyard Oy, having received bids for the auction of NB518, announced that Swan Hellenic has been awarded the tender.Helsinki Shipyard has exercised the right to sell the ship by tender, provided for by the shipbuilding contract, after the original buyer, Russian-owned GTLK Europe, failed to take delivery. The auction ended at midnight December and was satisfactory for Helsinki Shipyard, which analyzed the bids and declared Swan Hellenic the winner.The shipyard said it will now enter into a new agreement with Swan Hellenicfor the completion of the vessel…

Five developers selected to build the first floating wind farms in U.S. federal watersTo support the California Energy Commission’s planning goals of 2-5 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045 as well as a federal target to deploy 15 GW of floating wind by 2035, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has concluded the auction date for five 33-year leases offshore California. Exhibit 1 summarizes the outcome of the auction and estimates the potential of the lease areas using BOEMs standard power density formula of 3 MW per square kilometer…

The clear winner in the race to replace Russian oil at Europe's refineries is Norway's Johan Sverdrup crude, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and traders.Johan Sverdrup was launched in 2019, making it a relative newcomer compared to Russia's Urals grade.Initially sold mostly to Asia, an EU ban on Russian seaborne oil imports imposed in December has opened up the European market where the medium sour grade has become a primary feedstock for refiners in countries such as Germany…

San Rafael, Calif. based dredging and marine construction contractor The Dutra Group was awarded a $67,478,100 dredging contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.Under the firm-fixed-price award, Dutra will perform dredging by hopper or mechanical dredge as well as potential clean-up operations in Norfolk, Va.Dutra is the winner among four bidders for the project.Related - Interview: Harry Stewart, President & CEO, The Dutra Group

When Hurricane Michael slammed the Florida Panhandle in October 2018, the deadly category 5 storm inflicted billions in damages to the region, tearing apart homes and businesses in its path. Among those severely impacted was Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which suffered a nearly direct hit at its Allanton shipyard, located about 15 miles east of the company’s headquarters and main yard in Panama City.Eastern, which had been scheduled to begin building the first of up to 11 Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released its Offshore Wind Energy Strategy, a first of its kind, comprehensive summary of the Department’s efforts to meet President Biden’s goal to deploy 30GW of offshore wind energy by 2030.The strategy aims to set the nation on a pathway to 110GW or more by 2050.Deploying 30GW of offshore wind would provide enough power for 10 million homes, support 77,000 jobs, and spur $12 billion per year in direct private investment, says the DOE.The…

The U.K. Royal Navy’s NavyX trials ship, XV (eXperimental Vessel) Patrick Blackett, left Portsmouth Naval Base to undergo sea acceptance trials - ensuring the vessel and its onboard equipment is fully functioning and ready to support innovative experimentation.The ship will be used by NavyX innovation and autonomy team to independently test and trial novel technologies, including unmanned underwater vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles, paving the way for advanced experimentation, innovation and future capabilities within the Royal Navy.