Ryan News

Caterpillar Marine announced it is working with Serco Inc., a provider of professional, technology, engineering and management services, to advance the use of autonomous vessels for naval applications. The initiative supports the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) project.Autonomous unmanned vessels represent an opportunity to protect crews from the inhospitable, dangerous environment encountered at sea. This technological advancement not only promotes safety but also cost savings…

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…

Earlier this year, 30-year Port Houston veteran Jeff Davis announced his retirement as Chief Port Operations Officer. The port's Executive Director Roger Guenther has subsequently announced the promotion of two long-term, well-regarded members of Port Houston’s executive leadership team to vital roles to ensure sustained operations and exceptional service.Ryan Mariacher, a 20-year employee and formerly Director of Container Terminal Operations, was promoted to Chief Port Operations Officer.

Light Structures’ SENSFIB Hull Stress Monitoring System received the ABS SMART(SHM) Tier 3 Product Design Assessment (PDA) certificate.The SENSFIB Tier 3 Smart Structural Health Monitoring system employs an industry-leading, fiber optic, sensor-based approach for structural health assessment and prediction, calibrated and verified using high-fidelity data for improved accuracy and reliability.The system provides information about the stresses on a vessel’s hull from cargo loading…

Oil and gas companies and environmental groups on Monday filed dueling legal challenges to the Biden administration's five-year plan to offer drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico.The petitions to a U.S. appeals court come four months after the Interior Department unveiled a congressionally-mandated plan for offshore leasing that included just three sales, the lowest since the government began publishing the schedules in 1980.The American Petroleum Institute, an oil and gas trade group…

Big data, advanced computers and AI are allowing vessel designers to prepare models that leave essentially nothing to chance.“Lastly, it may be of considerable importance to form from the draught a block model of the vessel from which a still more accurate judgment may be formed of the fitness and beauty of the body. And should any defect be discovered, farther alterations must still be made, till the draught and the model are perfectly approved of. These different alterations and repeated calculations may appear very tedious…

A Chinese research vessel is on its way to the Maldives, according to an Indian military official and an independent researcher, as new Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu deepens ties with Beijing, distancing from New Delhi.It is likely to raise concern in New Delhi, which has previously viewed the presence of such vessels close to its shores, including in Sri Lanka in 2022, as problematic.These vessels are not military ships, officially, but India and others worry about the military use of their research.Relations between traditional friends New Delhi and Male have soured since President Muiz

Chinese state media unveiled new images of China's most advanced aircraft carrier yet, including next generation launch tracks that can catapult a wider range of aircraft from its deck.First shown to the public in June 2022, the Fujian was entirely designed and built domestically.Yet to conduct its first sea trials, the aircraft carrier is larger and technologically more advanced than the Shandong, commissioned in 2019, and the Liaoning, which China bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998 and refitted domestically.On state television late on Tuesday…

The U.S. offshore wind industry is eying a brighter 2024, with work expected to start on several projects following a year marked by stalled developments and billions of dollars in write-offs.The offshore wind industry is expected to play a major role in helping several states and U.S. President Joe Biden meet goals to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.But progress slowed in 2023 after offshore developers canceled contracts to sell power in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey…

China will on Friday conduct sea trials for its first ocean research drilling vessel, capable of drilling at depths of more than 10,000 meters (32,800 feet), a key step towards beefing up the country's deep-sea oil and gas exploration capabilities.It is China's first vessel capable of ultra-deepwater research and drilling, Chinese state media reported on Monday. It can travel 15,000 nautical miles (27,780 kilometers) and operate for 120 consecutive days without returning to port.

Classification society ABS and shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean signed a strategic framework agreement to advance the digital transformation of shipbuilding.Under the agreement, ABS and Hanwha Ocean formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., will work together conducting joint development projects aimed at examining digital technologies related to smart yards and smart ships with a focus on safety, cyber resilience, autonomous, remote-control and smart functions developed by Hanwha Ocean.

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.

The Saildrone Voyager, a 10-meter commercial uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), is the first autonomous asset built to ABS Class using the ABS Requirements for Autonomous and Remote Control Functions. ABS presented the Class certificate to Saildrone at its headquarters in Alameda, Calif.The Voyager is a marine vehicle developed by Saildrone, a provider of ocean data for climate, mapping and maritime security applications using uncrewed autonomous assets. ABS issued approval in principle (AIP) to the Voyager earlier this year…

The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a 44-year-old man from a motor vessel 250 miles northeast of Nassau, Bahamas, Saturday.The man was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital to receive a higher level of care. Coast Guard Seventh District watchstanders received a medevac request from the motor vessel Skyfall stating one of their crewmembers was reportedly suffering from severe stomach pain. Watchstanders instructed the vessel to navigate to 250 miles northeast of Nassau and consulted with the duty flight surgeon…

Two Chinese icebreaker research vessels and a cargo ship set sail on Wednesday for the Antarctic with more than 460 personnel on board to help complete construction of China's fifth station on the world's southernmost continent.China's biggest flotilla of research vessels deployed to the Antarctic will focus on building the station on the rocky, windswept Inexpressible Island near the Ross Sea, a deep Southern Ocean bay named after a 19th century British explorer.Work on the first Chinese station in the Pacific sector began in 2018.

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday temporarily paused a federal judge's order last month that had required the Biden administration to expand a planned offshore oil and gas auction in the Gulf of Mexico by 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares).The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit stayed the September decision pending an appeal, according to a court document. Oral arguments are scheduled for Nov. 13 in New Orleans.The order was the latest in a legal fight over offshore drilling and federal protection of an endangered species of whale.

U.S. shipping company Crowley and classification society ABS have entered an agreement to jointly explore how to advance the use of augmented and virtual reality technologies for vessels and other marine environments.The ABS partnership agreement builds on Crowley’s new service network using augmented reality on select vessels. Crew wear goggle technology to provide real-time visuals of ship equipment to remote technicians to collaborate on solutions. The technology, developed by Kognitiv Spark…

The Philippines condemned China's coast guard and "maritime militia" on Friday for what it described as "illegal, aggressive and destabilising" behaviour towards its boats during a routine rotation and resupply mission in the South China Sea.Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said that despite the Chinese actions supplies were delivered on Friday to Philippine troops stationed on a warship that had been deliberately grounded on an uninhabited atoll more than two decades ago to support a sovereignty claim in the disputed Spratly Islands.The Philippines task force for the South China Sea…

U.S. Army Mariners assigned to 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) aboard the LCU 2032 Palo Alto rescued an overboard fisherman 10 miles off the western coast of Obi Island, Indonesia Sept. 1, 2023.Sgt. Seth Leonard, a watercraft engineer, was on the bridge of the ship when he observed the typical calm waters in the path of the ship were more active than usual.“I noticed what looked like someone waving their arms, which is the signal for distress in water,” said Leonard.

An oil and gas industry trade group, the state of Louisiana and Chevron on Thursday sued the Biden administration over its decision to withdraw acreage from an upcoming oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico to protect an endangered whale.The suit is the latest dispute between the oil and gas industry and the administration of President Joe Biden over leasing federal lands and waters for energy development.Biden paused federal drilling auctions shortly after taking office in 2021 as part of his climate change agenda…

A salvage team has refloated a charter fishing vessel that sank near California's Santa Cruz Island.Overseen by the U.S. Coast Guard and the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), the salvage operation included underwater assessment, refloating, stabilization and the safe transfer of the vessel to harbor. The operation was led by a seasoned salvage master and supported by a crew of four experienced salvage technicians and divers.Two dedicated recovery vessels equipped with lift bags, dewatering equipment and custom rigging were brought in to handle the vessel recovery.

Maritime nations including Denmark and the Marshall Islands are rallying support for a global carbon dioxide emissions levy on shipping, with talks at a critical stage ahead of a U.N. agency meeting next month that could back the measure.The levy could provide funds to help countries cope with climate change and help curb emissions from shipping - a sector that transports about 90% of world trade and accounts for nearly 3% of global CO2 emissions, but whose international nature means it often avoids national CO2-cutting regulations.Member countries of the U.N.

I guess it was only a matter of time. After years of debating whether or not Celestial Navigation should be taught it is now time to debate the relevance of Terrestrial Navigation. The argument is same: why do I need to know this if there is technology available to do it for me?The answer is also the same. If you want to be a professional mariner than your knowledge base and skill sets should far exceed that of a weekend boater that follows the direction of their chart plotter…