Oil Vessels News

More than two dozen oil vessels were clustered off Louisiana seaports on Tuesday as the U.S. Coast Guard and port operators assessed damages wreaked by Hurricane Ida, according to sources and Refinitiv Eikon data.Dozens of ports from Louisiana to Alabama closed as Ida tore through the Gulf of Mexico and slammed into the coast on Sunday. A few have reopened with restrictions on vessel drafts.Ida made landfall at Port Fourchon, Louisiana, packing 150-mile-per-hour (240 km-per hour) winds that knocked out power to a substantial part of the state.

An Australian frigate has joined three U.S. warships in the South China Sea near an area where a Chinese vessel is suspected to be exploring for oil, near waters also claimed by Vietnam and Malaysia, officials said on Wednesday.The warships arrived this week close to where the Chinese government survey ship Haiyang Dizhi 8 has been operating, which is in turn near where a vessel operated by Malaysia’s Petronas state oil company is conducting exploratory drilling, regional security sources have said.The U.S.

Two U.S. warships are operating in the South China Sea, the Navy said on Tuesday, with three regional security sources saying they were near an area of a standoff between China and Malaysia.The Haiyang Dizhi 8, a Chinese government research ship, was spotted last week conducting a survey close to an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas, months after it undertook a similar patrol off Vietnam.The incident prompted the United States to call on China to stop its “bullying behavior” in the disputed waters, citing concern over Beijing's provocative actions towards offshore oil and gas developments there.The U.S.

A Chinese government survey ship is tagging an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia's state oil company Petronas in disputed waters in the South China Sea, three regional security sources said on Friday.China's Haiyang Dizhi 8 entered waters near Malaysia on Thursday, according to ship tracking website Marine Traffic.On Friday, it was close to the Petronas-operated West Capella, according to the security sources, who did not want to be identified because they were not authorised to talk to the media. One of the sources said a Vietnamese vessel was also tagging the West Capella.The area is close to waters claimed by both Vietnam and Malaysia as well by China…

Loy Stewart, Jr. is President, Detyens Shipyards. He is a 1991 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point where he earned a degree in Marine Engineering. After several months sailing on the Sealift Atlantic, Loy began working at Detyens as a Ship Superintendent and coordinated work on numerous commercial and navy contracts. In 1996, when the Detyens Shipyards were divided into separate profit centers, Loy Jr. was promoted to Profit Center Manager of the Wando facility.

Kirby Corporation announced a net loss attributable to Kirby for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018 of ($24.4) million, or ($0.41) per share, compared with earnings of $231.3 million, or $3.87 per share, for the 2017 fourth quarter. Excluding certain one-time charges, 2018 fourth quarter net earnings attributable to Kirby were $44.9 million, or $0.75 per share. Consolidated revenues for the 2018 fourth quarter were $721.5 million compared with $708.1 million reported for the 2017 fourth quarter.For the 2018 full year…

Kirby Corporation announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Higman Marine, Inc. and its affiliated companies (“Higman”), for approximately $419 million in cash, subject to certain closing adjustments. The purchase will be financed through additional borrowings. Higman’s marine transportation fleet consists of 159 inland tank barges with 4.8 million barrels of capacity, and 75 inland towboats. Higman’s fleet moves petrochemicals, refined petroleum products, crude oil, natural gas condensate, and black oil on the Mississippi River System and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway for large midstream and global integrated oil companies. The closing of the acquisition is expected to occur in the first quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions.

Trafigura has sold five oil vessels to a unit of China's Bank of Communications , ending the trading house's move into owning tankers, the company said on Friday. Under the deal, the five medium-range tankers, ordered by Trafigura in 2013 from a shipyard in China, were sold to Bank of Communications Financial Leasing Company Ltd and subsequently leased back to the Swiss trading house. Financial terms were not disclosed. "The ships were bought at low entry levels and we saw an opportunity to sell now. While we have a significantly growing cargo programme it is not a must for us also to own the steel," Trafigura global head of wet freight Rasmus Bach Nielsen said in a statement.

Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk will hand shareholders a $6.6 billion windfall in dividends this year after it sells its 20 percent stake in Denmark's biggest bank Danske. Analysts had expected Maersk to announce the divestment of some assets on Wednesday as part of its strategy of focusing on its core shipping and oil divisions - but the Danske Bank stake had not been among the anticipated sales. Maersk - the world's largest container shipping company - said it would sell 15 percent to its controlling shareholder, the Moller family foundation, saying the deal ensured Danske remained in Danish hands and had a long-term major investor. It will offer the remaining 5 percent to other existing Maersk shareholders, it added.

Neste Oil extended its VSAT services with Marlink while upgrading its network and on board satellite hardware. As part of the contract extension, Marlink is installing new VSAT antennas on all eight Neste Oil vessels whilst migrating the fleet to the established iDirect platform. The delivery, based on Marlink’s Sealink VSAT services also features multibearer support and the @SEAoptimizer solution, which is designed to enhance the efficiency of satellite data communications, optimize bandwidth utilisation and enhance the performance of web browsing and file transfers.

Foreign Demand For U.S. Military And Commercial Vessels Is Brisk; For Now. In the heavy shadow of possible sequestration-induced federal budget cuts, some U.S. companies are busy supplying vessels to overseas customers under the Navy’s Foreign Military Sales program and through private contracts to foreign government and firms. Demand for offshore oil vessels is strong. A big chunk of overseas business now is under the U.S. FMS, transferring defense equipment, services and training to other nations. Countries approved for the FMS pay for vessels themselves and/or with U.S. government help.

Jeppesen optimization solutions to be used aboard BP's LNG, Product & Crude Oil vessels to increase efficiency, reduce risks & save fuel. The contract will result in the installation of Jeppesen’s Vessel and Voyage Optimization Solution (VVOS) on 52 BP vessels carrying crude oil and LNG shipments globally. The contract also provides for integration of Jeppesen’s FleetManager shoreside component into BP Shipping operations. FleetManager will be used to track BP’s owned and chartered vessels. VVOS will help BP vessels optimize ship routes and engine settings to increase efficiency, minimize risks such as cargo loss and weather damage, and reduce fuel costs.

On Monday, February 7, 2011, Transpetro opened the selection process for the immediate admission of 342 officers of the Merchant Marine to man the vessels operating in its fleet. The period to register for the contest - which is free of charge - ends on April 4. The public notice and the registration form are available on the company's website (www.transpetro.com.br) or can be picked up at the addresses that are listed in the notice itself. To fill these 342 openings, Transpetro foresees for the registration of the 394 best qualified candidates. In total, 204 candidates will be registered for the position of 2nautical officer, of which 177 for immediate admission, and 190 candidates for the 2 engine officer, of which 165 for immediate admission.

The 2003 workboat construction market had its ups and downs and at best has given mixed signals about 2004 and beyond. Among the various workboat vessel segments, passenger vessels, excluding ferries and inland waterway vessels such as tugs and push boats, are in a static mode. Vessels will be built in 2004, but at a pace constant with years past. Some markets such as the building of patrol boats and other vessels with national security implications appear are sure bet winners for 2004 with several shipyards with large contracts that have deliveries stretched out for two years or more in some cases. Another market that continues to grow is high-speed aluminum passenger ferry and the slower passenger/vehicle ferries.

The one constant about the management of offshore vessel operating companies is the domination of family members of the founder. Except for the largest of these companies, Tidewater, Inc., that is a public NYSE-listed firm, most of the companies in this category, large and small, are run by the descendents of the founder. Many of these companies still bear the founder's name and most of the vessels are named after family members. In 1948, Abdon Callais converted a shrimp trawler into an offshore service vessel and that began a company that is in its third generation of providing transportation of fluids and cargo to offshore oil and gas rigs. Abdon's sons Harold and Ronald became involved with offshore oil buisness.

Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd hopes to secure shipbuilding contracts. The company, formerly known as PSC Industries Bhd and currently undergoing restructuring, expects to know the results by year-end, he told reporters after the company's annual general meeting. Part of the negotiations was for the construction of leisure vessels which are currently handled by its shipyard in Langkawi. The company also planned to tap the oil and gas sector, driven by the growing global demand for services related to oil vessels. The exercise, which also included rebranding, was likely to see the company focusing on heavy engineering and electronics. The restructuring exercise is expected to be completed by August this year. Source: Bernama

A Unified Incident Command (UIC) comprised of Chevron Products Co., the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) continues to respond to a crude oil spill in the Arthur Kill. • The portion of the Arthur Kill north of Woodbridge Creek has been reopened to traffic. • The total volume of the crude oil spilled is estimated to be approximately 31,000 gallons. • Chevron is managing the spill response with oversight from regulatory agencies represented within the UIC. The UIC is also coordinating with other key stakeholders in the area.

Work started on what will be Vietnam's biggest container ship on Feb. 24 at the Nam Trieu Shipbuilding Industry Company in the northern port city of Hai Phong. The 7,200-KW ship, which is 133.60 metres long, 19.40 metres wide and 9.45 metres high, will be capable of carrying 707 containers. The ship is part of a project, worth 2.6 trillion VND or 129 million EUR, to build ten 700-TEU container ships for MPC of Germany. The Nam Trieu shipbuilder is also building seven cargo ships, which have a capacity of 53,000 dead weight tonnes (DWT) each, under a contract signed with a UK partner. It is also building 6,500 DWT cargo ships and 13,500 DWT oil vessels for the domestic market and export. The company plans to be capable of generating stable jobs for 3,500 workers by the end of 2012.

According to reports, Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) will undertake a $44 million joint venture project to replace the existing Single Point Mooring (SPM) facility to handle bigger oil vessels and an increased volume of crude oil at the Dar port. The joint venture, which is expected to commence in 2008, will see partners in the investment contribute equity and possibly manage and operate the SPM facility in collecting the revenue. Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) officials, said the proposed facility will have the capacity to handle both bulk and refined liquid products. The TPA expects the new facility to provide increased revenue in addition to improvements in quality of service, safety, efficiency and the capacity to handle bigger vessels.

Transpetro, a unit of Brazil's state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA, signed contracts worth $866m for the construction of nine new oil tankers. The Rio Naval consortium will build five Aframax tankers for $517m, and four Panamax oil tankers for $349 million , Petrobras said. The vessels are to join Transpetro's fleet between 2009 and 2011, and are part of a $2.48b program to buy 26 new oil vessels in an initial phase. The first phase will create 11,000 direct jobs in Rio de Janeiro state alone, Petrobras said. The shipbuilding program is financed by Brazil's National Development Bank and aims to bring down Petrobras' costs for chartering ships and to revitalize Brazil's once-flourishing shipbuilding industry. Petrobras said it plans later to raise the number of new oil vessels to 42.