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26 Mar 2024

Baltimore Bridge Collision Sends Vehicles Tumbling Into Water

Collapsed Key Bridge in Baltimore  (Credit: Screenshot/StreamTime Live)

A container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the U.S. port of Baltimore in darkness on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below.Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one in a "very serious condition," and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after huge spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.The ship "lost propulsion" as it was leaving port, and crew on board notified Maryland officials they had lost control of the vessel, ABC News reported, citing an unclassified U.S.

06 Mar 2024

Russia Oil Fleet Shifts Away from Liberia, Marshall Island Flags Amid US Sanctions Crackdown

© evannovostro / Adobe Stock

Dozens of oil tankers used by Russia have stopped sailing under the Liberian and Marshall Islands flags in recent weeks after the United States ramped up sanctions enforcement on ships linked to those registries, according to shipping data and interviews with industry and government officials.The shift reflects the close relationship between the U.S. and the flag administration companies of Liberia and the Marshall Islands, which are headquartered not in their home countries, but in Virginia, just miles from Washington D.C. and within the jurisdiction of U.S.

04 Mar 2024

HII Completes Acceptance Trials on Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29)

(Photo: HII)

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division on Monday announced  it has completed acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico for amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29), the final Flight I transition ship before Ingalls moves into serial production of the LPD Flight II line.The Ingalls’ Test and Trials team spent several days with the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey running the ship at full power and through steering maneuvers. The team will now complete final finish work on the San Antonio-class ship in preparation for delivery to the U.S.

27 Feb 2024

Gulf Island Sells Excess Property in Houma

© Cavan / Adobe Stock

Gulf Island Fabrication, a steel fabricator and service provider to the industrial and energy sectors, announced on Tuesday it has completed the sale of excess property that was part of the company’s facilities located in Houma, La.Gulf Island said the sale to an undisclosed buyer generated net cash proceeds of approximately $8.5 million.“A key aspect of our strategic transformation has been to improve our resource and facility utilization and the sale of this property at our Houma facility is consistent with this objective,” said Richard Heo, Gulf Island’s president and CEO.

24 Feb 2024

Armada Technologies Wins Hull Lubrication Contract with CoolCo

Alex Routledge, Armada Technologies CEO and Richard Tyrell, Cool Company Ltd. CEO

Armada Technologies has secured a hull lubrication contract with LNG carrier company Cool Company Ltd (CoolCo).Under the partnership, Armada will design, engineer, procure, and provide support for the installation and commissioning of its air lubrication system on a CoolCo vessel scheduled to dry dock in 2024. Once commissioned, CoolCo will conduct sea trials and provide documentation to Armada, following ISO or ITTC guidance, to measure the system's performance.Armada CEO Alex…

21 Feb 2024

Manta Marine Technologies Announces New Leadership

Manta Marine Technologies leadership team from left: Aleksander Askeland (CFO), Ina Reksten (CEO) and Richard Engelhart Bjercke (CCO). Image courtesy Manta Marine

Manta Marine Technologies, formerly known as Yara Marine Technologies (YMT), unveiled its new brand and leadership team, following its recent acquisition by Geneva-based Okapi Supply Trading Advisory SA.The Manta Marine Technologies team will now be led by CEO Ina Reksten, who previously served as Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer. Outgoing CEO Dr Thomas Koniordos has been appointed as Chair of the Board, while former Chief Sales Officer, Aleksander Askeland will be the new CFO and Richard Engelhart Bjercke will be the new CCO.“I am confident that Manta Marine Technologies…

07 Feb 2024

Australian Welfare Organizations Call for Suspension of Live Animal Exports

Source: Animals Australia

The Australian Alliance for Animals has written an open letter to animal exporters imploring them to voluntarily suspend all live animal exports to or through the Red Sea while the risk of attack remains and to suspend any extended journeys to the Middle East via the Cape of Good Hope.The move follows the recently aborted voyage of the Bahijah. The livestock carrier sailed from Australia for Israel on January 5 but was recalled over a week into the voyage after diverting towards…

02 Feb 2024

CMA CGM Halts Red Sea Transit on Security Risks

© Mariusz / Adobe Stock

Shipping group CMA CGM on Friday suspended until further notice all crossings by its vessels of the Bab al-Mandab Strait in and out of the Red Sea due to security risks, a source familiar with the matter said.The decision was taken after the latest attacks on vessels by Houthi militants in Yemen, including the targeting this week of a convoy containing CMA CGM-operated ships, the source said.The move means CMA CGM joins other major shipping firms in suspending transit through the southern Red Sea, disrupting the main route for trade between Asia and Europe.CMA CGM, one of the world's largest c

01 Feb 2024

Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29) Completes Builder’s Trials

San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29) on builder's sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico (Photo: HII)

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss. on Thursday announced new amphibious transport dock ship Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29) it is building for the U.S. Navy has completed builder’s sea trials. The San Antonio-class ship spent time in the Gulf of Mexico testing all systems in preparation for the remaining events that will occur prior to delivery of the ship, expected to occur in the spring.“Our shipbuilders have worked hard to get LPD 29 to sea,” Ingalls Shipbuilding Ship Program Manager Davianne Stokes said.

23 Jan 2024

Offshore Wind Vessels Charging Study Gets Underway in Irish Sea

(Credit: Stillstrom)

Maersk’s offshore vessel-charging venture Stillstrom has launched a collaborative study with EnBW and BP, the developers of the Morgan and Mona offshore wind farms, to assess the viability of integrating offshore charging solutions for service and crew transfer vessels for the two projects.The study will evaluate the operational, technical, and economic viability of integrating offshore charging solutions for Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) and Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) into…

16 Jan 2024

Bahamas Defense Force Orders Four New Vessels from SAFE Boats

(Image: SAFE Boats International)

SAFE Boats International (SBI) reports it signed a contract with the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF), adding another four 41-foot Interceptors to its current fleet of existing SAFE Boat vessels.This latest contract, signed January 11, is the result of collaborating efforts over the past three years between RBDF and SBI, the Pacific Northwest boatbuilder said. This contract is a fully funded, direct purchase by the RBDF to supply four vessels, trailers and support vehicles.Signing the contract for the Bahamian government was the Honorable Wayne Munroe…

03 Jan 2024

Equinor, BP Cancel Contract to Sell Offshore Wind Power to New York

© nblxer / Adobe Stock

European energy firms Equinor and BP  terminated their agreement to sell power to New York state from their proposed Empire Wind 2 offshore wind farm, citing rising inflation, higher borrowing costs, and supply chain issues."This agreement reflects changed economic circumstances on an industry-wide scale and repositions an already mature project to continue development in anticipation of new offtake opportunities," Equinor said in a statement on Wednesday, in an apparent reference…

04 Dec 2023

AUKUS Defense Ministers Agree to Bolster Security

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, United States Secretary of Defence, the Hon Lloyd J. Austin III, and United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence, Grant Shapps.

AUKUS defense ministers have reaffirmed their resolve to bolster security and stability and ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains a region free from coercion and aggression.A statement was released after Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Australia, and Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom, at the Defense Innovation Unit Headquarters in California on December 1.AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific region between Australia…

04 Dec 2023

Marine News' Top Vessels of 2023

Empire State (Photo: MARAD)

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted a selection of the most notable American newbuilds delivered of 2023—from a first-of-its-kind green towboat, to the lead vessel in a series of game-changing ships to train U.S. mariners.Empire StateAs the lead vessel in a series of five new training ships being constructed to serve America's state maritime academies, Empire State is easily one of the most important U.S.-built vessels delivered in recent memory.Built by Philly Shipyard for the U.S.

04 Dec 2023

India Resumes Imports of Venezuelan Oil

© Fotos von Schiffen / Adobe Stock

Indian refiners have resumed Venezuelan oil purchases through intermediaries, with Reliance RELI.NS set to meet executives from state firm PDVSA next week to discuss direct sales following the easing of U.S. sanctions on the South American country, people familiar with the matter said.Trade resumed between the OPEC producer and the second largest destination for its oil after Washington in October temporarily lifted sanctions banning Venezuelan oil exports, prompting a flurry of spot sales of crude and fuel through middlemen and traders…

03 Dec 2023

ExxonMobil CEO Rebuffs IEA Criticism of Carbon Capture Strategy

Darren Woods (Source: ExxonMobil)

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods on Saturday rejected the International Energy Agency's recent claim that using wide-scale carbon capture to fight climate change was an implausible "illusion", saying the same could be said about electric vehicles and solar energy."There is no solution set out there today that is at the scale to solve the problem," Woods told Reuters on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai."So, you could say that about carbon capture today, you could say that about electric vehicles, about wind, about solar.

29 Nov 2023

Gulf Island Receives Multiple Subsea Fabrication Awards

© Scott Bufkin / Adobe Stock

Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. has been awarded multiple subsea fabrication projects from a leading integrated subsea engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) company.The projects consist of procurement, fabrication, coating and testing of subsea structures for multiple developments located in the Gulf of Mexico. The fabricated components include pipeline end terminations (PLETs), jumper kits, jumpers and sleepers that will be fabricated at Gulf Island’s Houma fabrication facility.

23 Nov 2023

Angad Banga Elected Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association

Angad Banga courtesy of HKSOA

Angad Banga of The Caravel Group was elected Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association at the organization’s annual meeting held on November 22, 2023.Banga succeeds Wellington Koo, of Valles Steamship, who stepped down after completing his two-year term as Chairman.Richard Hext of Swire Shipping was elected Deputy Chairman, succeeding Banga. Qian Weizhong of COSCO Shipping (Hong Kong) and Wang Yongxin of China Merchants Energy Shipping Company Limited were re-elected as the Vice Chairmen.Koo…

17 Nov 2023

NY Offers New Offshore Wind Auction, May Revive Troubled Projects

Credit: Ian Dyball/AdobeStock

New York State will issue a new offshore wind solicitation on Nov. 30 with bids due in January 2024, the state government said, in a move that should support the troubled industry. European energy companies Orsted, Equinor, and BP have taken a combined $5 billion of writedowns on U.S. offshore wind projects that are not even completed, in part because their existing power sales contracts would not cover the cost of building and financing the projects. That is because soaring inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain problems have led to much higher costs than anticipated.

16 Nov 2023

HydroWing Unveils Plans for Tidal Energy Project in Wales

Source: HydroWing

HydroWing is gearing up for deployment of its tidal energy technology, following the recent announcement that it has been awarded a contract for a 10MW tidal stream energy project in Wales.HydroWing was the largest tidal stream project in Wales to be successful in the UK government’s latest Contracts for Difference round. The project will be located at the Morlais tidal energy site in Anglesey, which is managed by the social enterprise Menter Môn. The Morlais site is the UK’s largest consented tidal energy scheme.Richard Parkinson…

27 Nov 2023

Biden's Clean Energy Agenda Faces Mounting Headwinds

Credit: Dragon Claws/AdobeStock

Canceled offshore wind projects, imperiled solar factories, and fading demand for electric vehiclesA year after the passage of the largest climate change legislation in U.S. history, meant to touch off a boom in American clean energy development, economic realities are fraying President Joe Biden’s agenda.Soaring financing and materials costs, unreliable supply chains, delayed rulemaking in Washington and sluggish permitting have wrought havoc ranging from offshore wind developer Orsted’s project cancellations in the U.S.

28 Nov 2023

SAFE Boats and Vita Power to Build Zero-emission Patrol Boats

(Image: SAFE Boats International)

Bremerton, Wash. boatbuilder SAFE Boats International (SBI) announced it is teaming up with U.K.-based electric powertrains provider Vita Power to develop a 100% electric, emissions-free patrol boat.Under a new memorandum of understanding to bring electrification to the patrol boat market, the partners have adapted one of SAFE Boats’ most proven hull designs - the 23’ Center Console - to be propelled by Vita Power’s V300 electric motor and battery package. Dubbed the “223e”, this concept provides a zero-emission solution for operators who are working long hours at lower speeds…

15 Nov 2023

US Appeals Court Orders Gulf Lease Auction Within 37 Days

Source: Earthjustice, Credit: NOAA

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ordered that a postponed federal auction of drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico be held within 37 days, a setback for environmentalists seeking expanded protections for the endangered Rice's whale.According to court papers, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit dismissed an effort by four green groups to block an expansion of the sale ordered by a lower court judge in September.The judges said the groups lacked standing to challenge the September decision.