Navigation and Wind Farms: Competing Ocean Uses Raise Existential Questions
âWind Turbines: The Bigger, the Betterâ -USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, August 24, 2023Last December the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a proposed sale notice regarding new development areas for utility scale wind projects in the central Atlantic Ocean. The notice includes an upfront issue: the need to mitigate conflicts with U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) activities. BOEM explains that in certain areas the Air Force has set an airspace floor of 1,000 feet above sea level and the Air Force asked BOEM to keep structures below that height.
Californian Port Gets $427M Boost for New Offshore Wind Infrastructure
The U.S. government has awarded a major grant to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District for the construction of a new marine terminal to be primarily used for floating offshore wind-related activities.The grant for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind MVP (Minimum Viable Port) project comes through the U.S. Department of Transportationâs Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA) grant program, which received a substantial funding increaseâŚ
Finland Terminal Receives First LNG Cargo after Pipeline Breach
A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) arrived at Finland's Inkoo terminal on Tuesday, vessel tracking data showed, the first such cargo to appear following the Oct. 8 outage of a Finnish-Estonian gas pipeline.The Maran Gas Vergina, carrying U.S. natural gas, docked next to the Exemplar floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which was installed late last year to facilitate LNG imports and thus boost Finland's energy security.The cargo belongs to Finnish gas supplier GasumâŚ
14th Annual Maritime Risk Symposium to be Held Nov. 14-16 at SUNY Maritime
The 2023 Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS) will be held Nov. 14-16, 2023, as an in-person event, hosted by Maritime College, State University of New York (SUNY) at the Maritime Academic Center. The theme of the 14th annual event is âManaging Impacts of Supply Chain Disruptors, Renewable Energy, Emerging Technology on the Maritime Transportation System (MTS)â with a focus on offshore infrastructure risk and disruptors. Founded in 1874, Maritime College is the oldest maritime college in the United States, providing mariner training for 150 years.
Russian âSpy Shipâ in the North Sea Raises Concerns About Maritime Infrastructure Security
A new documentary produced by a consortium of public broadcasters in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway has revealed what appears to be a profound threat to maritime and undersea energy and data infrastructure in the North Sea and the Baltic region. The Shadow War includes footage of a Russian research vessel called Admiral Vladimirsky allegedly collecting data on windfarms, gas pipelines, power and internet cables.The film, which has been widely reported in the UK press this week, asserts that Russia is systematically mapping the vulnerabilities of maritime infrastructure in the North Sea.
Floating Offshore Wind: New Seascape, New Challenges
Offshore wind energy planners are giving close review to fixed-tower systems in order to extend lessons learned to floating wind towers, under development now. In the U.S., floating towers have been most closely associated with plans for new wind energy areas (WEA) in the Pacific, off of California and maybe Oregon and Washington. But important research is also taking place in Maine, at the University of Maine, because of deep ocean Atlantic areas there, and floating towers may also be used in the Gulf of Mexico.As most readers likely knowâŚ
Crowley, Humboldt Bay to Develop and Operate California Wind Terminal
Crowley signed an agreement on Thursday with the Port of Humboldt Bay to exclusively negotiate to be the developer and operator of a terminal to serve as Californiaâs first hub for offshore wind energy installations. Through Crowleyâs Wind Services group, the company will enter into negotiations with the port to lease and serve as the portâs developer of the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal. The services provided will support tenants in the manufacturing, installation and operation of offshore wind floating platformsâŚ
50-meter Section Missing from Damaged Nord Stream Pipeline
Damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Europe was caused by powerful explosions, Danish police said on Tuesday, echoing earlier findings into leaks that erupted in the network under the Baltic Sea and that have been blamed on sabotage.In what a Swedish newspaper described as the first publicly released footage of damage to the system, film from a private drone appeared to show a gaping rupture in one pipe. Expressen reported a 50-meter section missing from one area of pipeline.Dwindling flows of gas from RussiaâŚ
Corvus Energy to open new Battery Factory in the U.S.
As the maritime industry increasingly moves towards propulsion solutions that help cut emissions, battery technology is increasingly taking center stage on a number of ship, boat and offshore energy installations. Leading the charge are a number of battery manufacturers globally, including Norwayâs Corvus Energy, which announced that the company is expanding its US operations by opening a new factory in the Port of Bellingham, Washington.The U.S.-based manufacturing facility, starting with Corvusâ Orca batteryâŚ
Crowley Opens Rhode Island Office to Support Offshore Wind Ops
Crowley Maritime Corporation on Thursday opened a new Rhode Island office for its New Energy division, to advance the development and operation of offshore wind energy installations.The new office, the opening of which was announced by Crowley and Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee, is located at CIC Providence in the Innovation and Design District.Crowley's plan is to provide landside and marine logistics solutions during all phases of the offshore wind lifecycle to customers throughout the United States.
Amphibious Transport Dock Ship Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) Christened
Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division christened amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the christening was livestreamed, and a small socially distanced event was held with limited in-person attendance.âShipbuilding is about teamwork and bringing together the most intellectually and physically challenging efforts we can imagine for a common purpose,â Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson said. âWe each leverage our essential and unique abilities to estimateâŚ
Abu Dhabi's Gulf Marine Services Reaches Debt Restructuring Deal
Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Marine Services (GMS) said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement with its syndicate of banks to restructure its debt that will help it weather the coronavirus crisis.London-listed GMS provides support vessels for offshore oil and gas and other energy installations. It has been hurt by a downturn in the oil and gas services industry triggered by a prolonged slide in oil prices that has turned into a deep slump since the coronavirus crisis destroyed demandâŚ
Europe Leads in Ocean Energy
European tidal stream installations reached 26.8MW, and wave energy installations 11.3MW in 2018, according to yearly statistics published by Ocean Energy Europe.Europe continues to lead the world in ocean energy deployments, and last year its tidal projects produced record volumes of electricity.Annual installations - 3.7 MW of tidal stream capacity was put in the water in 2018. This represents more than twice the capacity installed in 2017, making this a solid year for tidal activity.26.8 MW of tidal stream technology has been deployed in Europe since 2010. Of this, 11.9 MW is currently operating, and 14.9 MW has been decommissioned as projects successfully complete their testing programmes.Over the past decadeâŚ
Wind Provides 14% of European Electricity
Wind energy provided 14% of the European Unionâs electricity last year, according to figures published by the regionâs wind energy trade body, WindEurope, with 11.7 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity added, including 2.65 GW of offshore wind. Continued growth in capacity and the use of more powerful turbines are helping to drive up windâs share in the electricity mix. Denmark had the highest share of wind in its electricity last year (41%) followed by Ireland (28%) and Portugal (24%). Wind was 21% of Germanyâs electricity.Wind accounted for 49% of all the new power generation capacity in Europe in 2018. But the amount of new wind capacity was down a third on 2017 (a record year).
Triton Knoll Announces Decommissioning
UK-based Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm is consulting on the draft Decommissioning Programme for its 860MW offshore wind farm."Triton Knollâs draft Decommissioning Programme is underway, with all comments to be received no later than 25 January 2019. Once complete, the final programme will be submitted to the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)," said a statement from the company.The draft Decommissioning Programme outlines TKOWFLâs plans for the removal of the offshore infrastructure associated with the wind farm array and export cable route after the Project has reached the end of its lifecycle.The documentâŚ
New Navy Leaders as Trump Takes Office
The Honorable Sean J. Stackley assumed the responsibilities of acting secretary of the Navy Jan. 20 at noon. Stackley, who served as the assistant secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) for more than eight years, will carry out the day-to-day responsibilities of the secretary of the Navy until the incoming Trump administration nominates, and Congress confirms, a replacement for Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. The Honorable Thomas W. Hicks, deputy undersecretary of the Navy (Management), will also perform the duties of under secretary of the Navy until a replacement for the Honorable Janine Davidson is nominated and confirmed. The Honorable Allison F. Stiller will perform the duties of assistant secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition).
Austal Hosts Littoral Combat Ship Gabrielle Giffords Christening
Austal joined the Honorable Gabrielle Giffords, her husband, retired Navy captain Mark Kelly, and shipâs sponsor Dr. Jill Biden in celebrating the christening of the future USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) today in Mobile, Alabama. This is the third littoral combat ship (LCS) in Austalâs 10-ship, $3.5 billion block-buy contract. The Independence-variant littoral combat ship is a 127-meter (419-foot) aluminum trimaran, capable of being outfitted with reconfigurable payloads (mission packages) which can be changed to support mine countermeasure, anti-submarine and surface warfare missions. It is named Gabrielle Giffords after the former Congresswoman from Tuscon, Arizona. This is only the sixteenth U.S.
Hybrid Technology for Military and Commercial Vessels
The marine industry is now recognizing the potential of utilizing hybrid power and innovative propulsion systems. Certain maritime sectors are potentially well suited to hybrid systems. These include ferries, pilot boats and workboats that have relatively consistent duty cycles. For military applications, hybrid systems are relevant for patrol, intercept and autonomous vessel duties. Submarines have utilized batteries and stored energy for many years. Diesel/electric systems have long been in use, but these are not hybrid systems.
The Hour of Power
In 2015 two significant developments are going to make many operators, owners and builders of professional vessels consider hybrid marine power. First, the new emissions laws in ports and second, there is now an incentive for high technology manufacturers to invest in developing highly efficient batteries. Hybrid is âhere and nowâ technology that is being utilized by many industries around the world. The marine industry is now recognizng the potential of utilizing hybrid power and innovative propulsion systems for vessels in the sub IMO / sub 24 meter (80 feet) professional sector.
Technology Transformation in the Offshore Survey Market
Offshore surveys are a necessary precursor for both Oil & Gas (O&G) and renewable energy installations on the seafloor. Particularly for new projects in remote regions, surveys (oceanographic, geotechnical, geophysical etc.) are critical for successful project design and implementation. However, current market conditions are forcing all parties in the supply chain to rethink their approach. Douglas-Westwood (DW) has engaged with industry experts within the market on future strategy and operator expectations. Feedback includes the obvious â âoutprice competitorsâ, âmeet highest standardsâ, âbe flexible to operatorsâ needsâ and âspecialiseâ â but this is tough advice for those who are already attempting to accommodate all of these factors whilst trying to remain afloat.
Energy Action Month Reinforces Navy's Energy Resiliency
Through a presidential proclamation, October has been designated as Energy Action Month to stress the importance of energy for our nation's economic vitality today and for a sustainable future. The Department of Navy's Energy Action Month theme for 2016 is "Power. Presence." This theme illustrates the strong connection between the Navy and Marine Corps' wise use of energy and our ability to be when and where we're needed for national security and humanitarian assistance missions worldwide. In honor of Energy Action Month, naval commands and organizations are demonstrating their commitment to energy resiliency by reducing energy consumption and promoting awareness of energy as an enabler of combat capability.
Damenâs Norway Foray
The Damen Shipyard Groupâs man in Norway likes picking up the phone these days. With offshore markets in the doldrums, a unique phenomenon is occurring: âNorwegians are talking to me,â said Damenâs Norway sales boss, Remco Hottentot. Three years after opening shop in oil town Stavanger, Hottentot is expanding with a new Aalesund branch. From offshore supply and service to wind parks, fisheries and construction workboats, the Damen offices mark the existence in Norway of valuable alternate âvalue,â also known as choice. We reach Mr. Hottentot during his whirlwind tour of arctic Norway.
Sea Trials Begin for Vessel Efficiency MOVE Project
Sea trials have begun on two Falmouth based pilot vessels which will provide data for the Innovate UK funded MOVE (Monitoring for Operational Vessel Efficiency) project. Rising fuel costs, emissions regulation and concerns about carbon emissions are severe challenges for marine vessel operators and their supply chains. Under the âManaging Energy on Marine Vesselsâ Competition, the MOVE project is developing a novel solution to all three, initially targeting the commercial workboat sector.