Cost News

The U.S. Coast Guard said it is evaluating whether other bridges nationwide are at risk after a cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March, killing six people and destroying the Patapsco River crossing.Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Gautier said at a U.S. House hearing on Wednesday that the "size and complexity of ships has grown over the years, placing greater demands on our marine transportation infrastructure that may not have kept pace with…

As companies approach the exploitation phase of Deep Sea Mining, one critical factor is the transportation of mineral ores from the mine site location to onshore refineries While this may appear to be a relatively simple step, involving conventional bulk ore carriers and standard procedures, the nuances and practical limits of operating in the deep ocean mean that this step becomes increasingly complex and challenging. This article will explore the STARS concept, the likely regulatory requirements, and the complexities of this new vessel type.

Global supply chains are braced for further disruption and increasing costs after US President Joe Biden announced new tariffs on Chinese imports on Tuesday.The tariffs will be imposed on a wide range of Chinese imports including semi-conductors, batteries, EVs and solar cells, with the changes staggered to come into effect between 2024 and 2026.Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Xeneta, said: “The new tariffs under President Biden may be a case of history repeating. If so, businesses…

The cargo ship Dali lost electrical power several times before it crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, killing six people and paralyzing a major transportation artery for the U.S, Northeast, federal investigators said on Tuesday.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a preliminary report that about 10 hours before leaving Baltimore the Dali experienced a blackout during in-port maintenance and shortly before the crash.The board said the cargo ship…

The Maritime Risk Symposium will convene in Monteray, CA next month, a small conference with a high-profile speaker line-up from across government, industry and academia. Here we look at Panel 3 – Maritime Policy vis a vis a new National Maritime Strategy, facilitated byCAPT Jon Kaskin, US Navy Reserve (retired)This panel will inform participants and generate discussion regarding the forthcoming National Maritime Strategy (NMS). Congress originally mandated that the NMS be developed…

U.S. crews in Baltimore set off controlled explosions on Monday to allow them to remove a portion of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge from the bow of the massive container ship that toppled the span in March.The detonations were meant to break the bridge's truss into small sections, enabling salvage crews to use cranes and barges to haul away the twisted metal wreckage, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. The work, originally planned for Sunday, was delayed because of weather conditions.The U.S.

U.S. crews in Baltimore plan to set off controlled explosions on Monday to allow them to remove a portion of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge from the bow of the massive container ship that toppled the span in March.The detonations will break the bridge's truss into small sections, enabling salvage crews to use cranes and barges to haul away the twisted metal wreckage, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. The work had been planned for Sunday but it was delayed because of weather conditions.Afterwards…

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) on Monday announced it is teaming up with data analytics company ioCurrents to help drive innovation in the maritime industry.Under a newly signed memorandum of understanding (MOU), the partners have established a collaborative framework to explore new ideas for collecting and evaluating operating and performance data to reduce vessel cost, emissions and other potential benefits to the maritime industry.

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a May 15 hearing on the federal government's response to the collapse of a Baltimore bridge.The Dali containership crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, killing six people.The hearing will include Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy and senior officials with the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers. The NTSB is expected to announce preliminary findings from the investigation next week.Last month…

ClassNK is one of the world’s leading maritime classification societies with more than 9,200 ships totaling more than 273 million gross tons under class at the end of 2023, and a global service network of more than 120 survey offices. Last month while in Tokyo we had the opportunity to sit with Hiroaki Sakashita, President & CEO, ClassNK, a marine industry veteran for his insights on the trends driving ship classification today and in the future.Hiroaki Sakashita took the helm at ClassNK at one of the most historically significant times in history…

Long-term initiatives led by classification societies are building the foundation for future fuels uptake.About this time last year, ABS CEO Chris Wiernicki said: “When you look at where we are and the steepness of the curve ahead, the biggest risk is the unintended safety consequences of change.” Class, he says, is built for the intersection between technology, safety and regulations and must be prepared.Work is underway. China Classification Society (CCS), for example, has released…

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) has teamed up with NYK Line to launch Project LOTUS (long-term impact of continuous use of biofuels on vessel operations).This six-month project will trial the continuous use of a biofuels blend comprising of 24% Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME) and very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) onboard a short-sea vehicle carrier that will call at multiple ports. The use of a vessel plying short-sea routes will allow regular access to fuels stored onboard for sampling and testing during frequent port calls.FAME…

Colombia's majority state-owned energy company Ecopetrol has held talks with big players ahead of a potential bid in an offshore wind auction organized by the country's government, Chief Executive Ricardo Roa said on Wednesday.Roa was speaking during a call with analysts regarding the company's financial results for the first quarter of 2024, where net profit dropped 29% to 4.01 trillion pesos ($1 billion) on the back of lower sales and a re-evaluation of the country's peso.Earlier this week the company told Reuters it was conducting technical…

Fairbanks Morse Defense announced it has received a purchase order from Ingalls Shipbuilding, a division of America's largest shipbuilder, HII, to deliver an FM PC2.5 STC common rail technology retrofit kit, which will upgrade existing PC2.5 STC engines currently installed on the U.S. Navy's U.S. Navy San Antonio-class landing platform dock (LPD) ships.According to FMD, its common rail fuel injection technology maximizes performance through enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced carbon emissions.

So far, the Israel-Hamas conflict has had limited impact on the global economy. However, an escalation to a direct war between Israel and Iran, could result in oil prices rising to $150 a barrel and global output cut by $1 trillion, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) and Bloomberg Economics (BE).The new study from BI and BE – Middle East Energy Scenarios – looks in detail at four broad scenarios and their potential impact on global GDP and inflation, from a sustained ceasefire to a confined conflict…

The U.S. Navy's efforts to build a fleet of unmanned vessels are faltering because the Pentagon remains wedded to big shipbuilding projects, according to some officials and company executives, exposing a weakness as sea drones reshape naval warfare.The lethal effectiveness of sea drones has been demonstrated in the Black Sea where Ukraine has deployed remote-controlled speed boats packed with explosives to sink Russian frigates and minesweepers since late 2022.Yemeni-backed Houthi rebels have employed similar vessels against commercial shipping in the Red Sea in recent months…

When Bertrand Charrier worked with Jacques Cousteau four decades ago on the development of a revolutionary sail for the maritime industry, the time for widescale adoption of wind power wasn’t right. Now, he argues, there’s simply no time to waste.“Sometimes the best discoveries are rediscoveries.”Bertrand Charrier is a champion of simplicity. Sitting in a comfortable chair overlooking the rolling fields of rural France, he delivers frank observations backed by a blend of common sense and scientific expertise.The maritime industry…

Meyer Turku Group's results for 2023 indicate the company's turnover was 1.43 billion euros, which means a growth of 10.6% compared to the previous year.Both the turnover and the number of personnel have been growing for three consecutive years. The loss for the financial year 2023 was 103.8 MEUR (i.e. -7.2% of the turnover).The fiscal year 2023 of the shipyard company was affected by the ship deals that were closed before the covid pandemic, the new prototype ship project and the loss provision for the ship to be delivered in 2024.Beyond that…

As Big Oil returns this week to the industry's annual showcase for offshore energy projects and equipment in Houston, deepwater discoveries off Guyana, Namibia and the U.S. Gulf Coast will take the spotlight.Offshore exploration had dimmed after the U.S. shale boom ushered in new and cheaper-to-tap supplies of oil, and as past offshore cost overruns pushed deepwater projects onto the industry's backburner.Newer deepwater projects have the attributes oil and gas companies are looking for: longer-term production…

Maryland said on Thursday it estimates it will cost $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion to rebuild a collapsed Baltimore bridge and anticipates it will be completed by fall 2028.The Maryland Department of Transportation said the state's "planning level cost estimate is between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion" which "is in line with similar projects of this scale and complexity."The Dali cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, killing six people. Lawmakers in Congress…

Maryland said on Thursday it estimates it will cost $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion to rebuild a collapsed Baltimore bridge and anticipates it will be completed by fall 2028.The Maryland Department of Transportation said the state's "planning level cost estimate is between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion" which "is in line with similar projects of this scale and complexity."The Dali cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, killing six people. Lawmakers in Congress…

Kongsberg Digital concluded a new project funded by FHF (the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund) for the development of its K-Sim Fishery simulator to incorporate a new purse seine application. The new simulator capabilities were demonstrated to the stakeholders at an event hosted by Nordland Vocational School (Lofoten Maritime) in Leknes, Norway on April 30th.Launched in 2018, K-Sim Fishery is a fishery simulator that introduces a whole new level of detail, authenticity, and content for crew training in the techniques and processes of trawl fishing.

Tristar Eships, the maritime logistics division of the Dubai-based Tristar Group, has selected technology group Wärtsilä’s Decarbonization Services to support its decarbonizing operations.Wärtsilä’s Decarbonization Services will initially be applied to two tankers in the company’s fleet and is tailored to create a significant reduction in their carbon emissions.The analysis to be undertaken for the first two Tristar Eships vessels, includes Wärtsilä’s EnergoFlow, EnergoProFin…