Auxiliary Services News

The European Union (EU) and Japan signed the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement during the 25th EU-Japan summit in Tokyo. The European Shipowners welcome the signing of a highly ambitious trade agreement between two of the world's largest economies.“At a time that unilateralism and protectionism are rising, the EU and Japan are sending a strong message in support of free, fair and rules-based trade”, said European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA)' Secretary General Martin Dorsman.The agreement with Japan will remove the vast majority of customs duties that cost EU companies exporting to Japan EUR 1 billion a year and will…

The European Commission presented trade agreements with Japan and Singapore to the Council to eventually be adopted. The European shipowners are very pleased that the first step towards the conclusion of these agreements has been taken. “With Japan and Singapore agreements Europe sends a strong message to the world in support of fair and regulated trade”, said European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) Secretary General Martin Dorsman. The agreement with Japan is the biggest bilateral trade partnership ever negotiated by the European Union. It will remove the vast majority of customs duties that cost EU companies exporting to Japan €1 billion a year. EU exports to Japan could increase by over one third.

President Donald Trump addressed the more than 10,000 people attending the ceremony where the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), was commissioned on Saturday, July 22 in Norfolk, Va. “Wherever this vessel cuts through the horizon, our allies will rest easy and our enemies will shake with fear because everyone will know that America is coming and America is coming strong,” said Trump. Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley recalled President Theodore Roosevelt, who used to say, “Walk softly, and carry a big stick.” Stackley then turned to Trump and said, “Mr.

The Chinese-built Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT), which opened for business in 2014, has made significant gains in container handling last year surpassing 1.5 million TEUs, according to local media. The Terminal has set a record in 2015 with handling 1.561 million TEUs representing 1.57 percent increase over the year before and 67 percent of this volume is from ULCC (Ultra Large Container Carrier) and VLCC (Very large Container Carrier) segments. CICT is the first and currently the only deep water terminal in South Asia equipped with facilities to handle the largest vessels afloat. "The CICT-run “South Terminal” is making the right kind of waves, raking it in for Colombo port like never before and transforming Sri Lanka into a regional shipping hub," say local newspapers.

U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-LA) and Mexico’s general coordinator of ports and merchant marine, Guillermo Ruiz de Teresa, have been jointly selected to receive the American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) 2015 “Port Person of the Year” award. The AAPA selected Sen. Vitter and General Coordinator Ruiz de Teresa for their work toward reforming their country’s water resources development legislation, including boosting federal funding to maintain and improve their nation’s ports and harbors, as well as their efforts in creating jobs and improving economic competitiveness in the U.S. and Mexico. “Both Sen. Vitter and General Coordinator…

A pickup in offshore drilling is swelling the orderbooks of the handful of helicopter operators that shuttle oil workers to and from remote rigs. Their stock prices, depressed after Big Oil's recent spending cuts, could also be readying for take-off. Bristow Group Inc plans to invest $1 billion this year to procure just some of the 300 new helicopters that Barclays estimates will be needed by the oil and gas industry over the next five years. "We will invest more in this one year than in the last two-and-a-half years combined," said Jonathan Baliff, the chief financial officer of Bristow who will take over as CEO on July 31. With a market value of $2.7 billion…

The delivery of the Aquarius-G and her sister ship Astra-G to offshore services company RederijGroen (Scheveningen, the Netherlands) marked a milestone in Offshore Support Vessel construction. According to Damen, never before have such Chasers have purpose-built. The vessels were designed by Saltwater Engineering in close cooperation with both RederijGroen and Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam. Both Seismic Research Support Vessels were constructed by Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam, part of Damen Shipyards Group. “Indeed, all our other SRS Chaser vessels so far involve converted fishing trawlers”, HenkGroen, director and proprietor of offshore company RederijGroen proudly noted about his new twins.

Cavotec wins order from ABB for twenty compact Marine Propulsion Slip ring (MPS) units to be fitted to advanced Azipod marine propulsion systems. Under the terms of this project, Cavotec is scheduled to complete deliveries of the MPS units to ABB by the beginning of Q2 2013. Cavotec MPS units, fitted to Azipod systems, enable vessel propellers to rotate through 360 degrees in its vertical axis thus providing steering. The units ensure the safe transmission of electrical power for the main motors…

Sener Ingeniería y Sistemas, S.A. is one of the companies participating in the CENIT-E OCEAN LIDER Project, led by Iberdrola. The Project is a technological initiative promoted by a consortium of companies with strong research capacity facing the challenge of generating knowledge for the efficient exploitation of the oceanic renewable resources. SENER is going to investigate in two of the five Activities within the Project. Activity II aims to research technologies and energy production systems from renewable oceanic sources, such as waves and currents. But the most ambitious project is the energy obtained from the wind, waves, currents and tides simultaneously.

Wärtsilä has received an order to power the new cruise vessel of Carnival Corporation, USA carrying the preliminary name Carnival Dream 3. The vessel will be built by the Fincantieri Monfalcone shipyard in Italy and its launch is scheduled for August 2011. Carnival Dream 3 will enter service in the spring of 2012. Wärtsilä's scope of supply includes six Wärtsilä 46 engines. "Wärtsilä and Carnival Corporation have been cooperating for many years and a number of Carnival Cruise vessels carry our propulsion solutions.

ZF Marine has debuted a special reduction gear designed to match Vericor Power System’s TF 40 and TF50 marine turbines. The HSMT 410/730 reduction gear is available in reduction ratios ranging from 9.5 to 20:1, designed to meet the demand for larger and faster high-speed yachts. Vericor turbines are used in a number of applications, including naval vessels, fast ferries and mega-yachts. These aero-derivative engines are designed to run on diesel fuel and can deliver power up to 5,600 shp. Marine Turbines are typically used for booster propulsion on 78-to-165-ft. high-performance luxury yachts.

At the end of a three-day long negotiation, the EU and China delegations have reached an agreement on maritime transport, based on the principles of freedom to provide services, free access to cargoes, and cross-trades, unrestricted access to an non-discriminatory treatment in the use of ports. It also contains provisions for auxiliary services as well as wider range of commercial maritime questions. This agreement follows the strong commitments taken by the Vice-President of the European Commission Loyola de Palacio and the Chinese minister of Communication Huang Zhendong, in June 2001 in Beijing and September 2001 in Brussels. Being the first maritime agreement concluded at European level…

The European Union (EU) and China have signed a maritime agreement, which replaces existing bilateral agreements between China and various EU member states. The agreement provides for freedom to provide maritime transport services, free access to cargoes and cross trades, unrestricted access to and non-discriminatory treatment in the use of ports and auxiliary services as well as on the principle of commercial presence.

The Jones Act will not be on the table when a new round of talks on international trade in services begins this fall, according to a draft document prepared by U.S. trade officials outlining U.S. objectives for the negotiations. The document outlines the Administration's broad goals and industry-specific negotiating objectives for the upcoming "Seattle Round" of services trade negotiations under the World Trade Organization, so called because the talks will begin with a meeting of international trade ministers in Seattle, November 30-December 3. The 1994 General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) requires a new round of services negotiations begin by January 1, 2000. While the Administration is still consulting with Congress and the private sector to finalize U.S.