Cougar News

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) announced that Mark Heward has joined its team as Director. Heward came aboard with MITAGS in October 2022, after retiring from a 22-year active service career in the Royal Navy.“We are thrilled to welcome Mark Heward aboard as the Director of MITAGS. Mark’s underway time, leadership, management and training experience together with being fully STCW qualified and his continuing education experience are a rare combination,” said Eric Friend, MITAGS Executive Director.

The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) said Friday that Mark Heward had joined as Director of MITAGS.Heward came aboard with MITAGS in October 2022, after retiring from a 22-year active service career in the Royal Navy.Eric Friend, MITAGS Executive Director, said: "We are thrilled to welcome Heward Heward aboard as the Director of MITAGS. Mark’s underway time, leadership, management, and training experience, together with being fully STCW qualified…

Genco Shipping & Trading has entered into an agreement to acquire three modern, eco Ultramax bulk carriers in exchange for six older Handysize vessels, the largest U.S. headquartered dry bulk shipowner announced Monday. The transaction with an unnamed trading partner is structured as an asset swap without monetary consideration or additional capital required. The vessels are scheduled to be delivered to both parties through the first quarter of 2021.Genco, which aims to continue building scale in the Ultramax sector while divesting non-core assets, said the swap is part of its fleet moderniztion efforts, reducing the average age of its fleet by 0.3 years.

The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure voted the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (WRDA 2020) favorably out of Committee, Wednesday. The legislation, which provides authority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to carry out water resources development projects and studies, as well as policy direction to the Corps for implementation of its Civil Works missions, now heads to the House Floor for a vote.Maritime trade groups Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) and the American Waterways Operators (AWO) applauded the House T&I bill (H.R.

Scorpio Bulkers Inc. (NYSE:SALT) (“Scorpio Bulkers) has announced that the company has entered into agreements with an unaffiliated third party to sell the SBI Puma and SBI Cougar, 2014 and 2015 built Ultramax vessels, respectively, for approximately $37.9 million in aggregate, generating $16.0 million of additional liquidity.As of June 30, 2019, these vessels were classified as held for sale, with delivery of the vessels to the buyer estimated to take place within October 2019. The company recorded a loss of approximately $4.9 million in the second quarter of 2019 and expects to write-off deferred financing costs of $0.2 million upon closing of the sale and repayment of $21.9 million of outstanding debt.

Bibby Offshore, the leading subsea services provider to the oil and gas industry, has this year been awarded two contracts from Shell to provide inspection services on assets in the Corrib Natural Gas field in the North Atlantic Ocean. The first contract, completed in June this year, saw Bibby Offshore’s construction support vessel Olympic Ares - equipped with Quantum Work Class and SeaEye Cougar Inspection Class ROVs - perform subsea inspections 83km off the North West coast of Ireland, in water depths of approximately 360m. The 40 day campaign involved pipeline survey inspection work on a 83km long 20” gas pipeline, and internal wellhead and manifold fault diagnostics, structural inspection and cathodic protection measurements, to ensure optimum levels of productivity were achieved.

With the accession by Finland to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (better known as the Ballast Water Management or BWM Convention), there are now sufficient ratifications for the Convention to enter into force. Entry into force will occur on 8 September 2017. It has been an agonizingly slow process for a convention that was adopted with such high hopes. Starting in the late 1970s as vessels became larger and faster…

US-headquartered owner and operator of modern Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) Dorian LPG   took delivery of the ECO VLGC Cougar from Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries. Cougar, Dorian LPG's fourth newbuilding delivery, will initially trade in the spot market through the Helios Pool. Cougar (84,000 cbm, built 2015) is the fourth in a series of nineteen VLGCs on order from Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries. The Company has entered into a three-year time charter for the Corsair and, through the Helios LPG Pool, a one-year time charter for the Cobra, which is expected to deliver at the end of this month. The time charters for the Corsair and Cobra are with two separate oil majors.

Aberdeen-based subsea installation contractor Bibby Offshore has invested close to £30million in the past six months increasing its international fleet of subsea support vessels by 40%. Most recently, the company signed a contract to charter EDT Jane, a newbuild remotely operated vehicle support vessel (ROVSV). The company now boasts a fleet of eight vessels and 15 Remote Operating Vehicles (ROV). This dedicated ROVSV with full survey and inspection spread will be mobilized from April 2014 as part of a 180 day charter,  with options to extend for an additional three years.

GLOVIS, a Korean company and a newcomer as a shipping line, was at first expert in global automotive logistics. As a result of a tonnage agreement with Hoegh Autoliners, the latter market this shipping service on the Middle East trade with one vessel per month and GLOVIS manages the operations, with Marmedsa as Agents. The Glovis Condor calls for the first time at Le Havre as part of the service. “Glovis Condor, built in 2011, arrived early this morning to be handled at the Le Havre ro-ro terminal.

The Ministry of Defence is looking for ideas on how best to preserve the legacy of the Royal Navy's Invincible-Class aircraft carriers.The last of the ships, 'HMS Illustrious', is due to retire in late 2014 after 32 years of distinguished service that has seen her involved in operations around the world. Following the announcement last year that the 22,000-tonne ship will be preserved in some form, MOD is now inviting private companies, charities and trusts who are interested in buying her to come forward with ideas for her future use.

On 26 September, the Seychelles Peoples Defense Force, Coast Guard and Air Force, together with the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta and EUCAP Nestor, carried out a search and rescue exercise in Seychelles waters. The operation was coordinated centrally by the Seychelles Coast Guard Maritime Operation Center and held in conjunction with the port visit of the Dutch EU NAVFOR flagship, HNLMS Johan de Witt, to the Seychelles. The EUCAP Nestor team in the Seychelles worked closely with the Coast Guard on the exercise and facilitated the liaison with EU NAVFOR.

The Dutch Landing Platform Dock 'HNLMS Johan de Witt' has joined the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta. For the next 4 months, Johan de Witt will be the EU Naval Force flagship, hosting the Force Commander, Commodore Peter Lenselink, and his multinational staff on board. HNLMS Johan de Witt is a Landing Platform Dock, 176.5 metres in length and 16,948 tonnes displacement. She can accommodate up to 600 persons and has many different assets, teams and capabilities on board…

Incat Crowther designed 'CrewZer Class' 58m Catamaran Crew boat, 'SEACOR Lynx', is the first of two to be constructed in the Louisiana shipyard. SEACOR Marine pioneered the use of large, fast catamarans in the offshore industry with the commissioning of the innovative SEACOR Cheetah in January 2008, and SEACOR Cougar in April 2009. The operator takes this evolution further with the SEACOR Lynx, and sister ship SEACOR Leopard, currently nearing completion at Gulf Craft. Benefiting from operational experience of the Cheetah and Cougar…

On his visit to the company, UK Secretary of State for Energy applauded the subsea expertise of ROV service provider ROVOP. During the visit the Secretary of State described the company as ‘a leading specialist in its field’ and one which is ensuring that the country remains at the global vanguard of the energy industry. ROVOP is set to take delivery of its two new ROV systems within the next two months. The two new systems are a Schilling HD and a SAAB Seaeye Cougar XT, both adding numbers to vehicle types already within the fleet.

The UK Secretary of State for energy and climate change has hailed subsea services company ROVOP as ‘a leading specialist in its field’ and one which is ensuring that the country remains at the global vanguard of the energy industry. The Rt Hon Ed Davey was speaking as ROVOP announced that it had further bolstered its fleet of cutting-edge ROVs by investing £4million into two new vehicles. Mr Davey, who met senior management at ROVOP during his visit to Aberdeen to engage with high-profile energy business leaders…

The Royal Navy has described how the combination of a Type 23 frigate fitted with Thales UK’s Sonar 2087 and a Merlin helicopter equipped with the Thales FLASH dipping sonar has delivered an outstanding anti-submarine warfare capability. HMS Northumberland, sailing as part of the UK’s Response Force Task Group on the Cougar 12 Mediterranean deployment, recently conducted advanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training with a friendly submarine. The exercise involved the ASW surface ships trying to ‘sink’ the hunter-killer submarines…

Fugro has developed a new version of its DeepWorks ROV simulator for the Saab Seaeye family of electric ROVs. The new version supports console integration of the Seaeye Tiger, Lynx, Cougar XT and Panther XT/XT Plus models. To cater for the training needs of a mixed fleet of ROVs, Fugro Operating Companies in UK, Singapore, UAE, Brazil, and Australia will be the first to benefit as an enhanced set of training configurations is rolled out across the company. DeepWorks now allows rapid building and evaluation of new electrical ROV configurations…

After many years of negotiation, the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments was adopted on 16 February 2004 by an international conference sponsored by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention was a major step forward in reducing the risk of the introduction of non-indigenous aquatic species into local marine ecosystems by means of the discharge of ballast water from ships arriving from distant locations.

More than 3,000 sailors & Royal Marines are geared up for a three-month deployment to the Mediterranean. 'Cougar 12', which begins later this month, will see four warships, one amphibious support ship, a giant ro-ro ferry/transporter, three commando units and helicopters and personnel from eight Fleet Air Arm and Army Air Corps squadrons committed to the three-month deployment – in all more than 3,000 sailors, Royal Marines, soldiers and airmen. They will take part in two large…

SEACOR Marine has selected marine diesel engines from the Tognum brand MTU for its latest pair of fast supply vessels. The two vessels, SEACOR Lynx and SEACOR Leopard, will have an overall length of 190 feet and the capacity to carry up to 150 passengers. The vessels will also have the capacity to carry 150 tons of deck cargo and the ability to achieve speeds of 46 knots. Each vessel will be powered by four MTU 16V 4000 M73L engines rated at 3,860 bhp at 2,050 RPM. “The high-speed…

construction at Gulf Craft LLC in Louisiana, USA. The vessels’ operator, SEACOR Marine, is a progressive company that pioneered the use of fast catamarans in the offshore industry with the commissioning of SEACOR Cheetah in January 2008, and SEACOR Cougar in April 2009. The operator intends to push the boundaries even further with these larger, faster vessels, by offering increased capacity and comfort. The vessels will each be powered by four MTU 16V4000 M73L main engines, which will drive Hamilton HT-810 water jets. The vessels will have the capacity to reach speeds in excess of 46 knots.

Global Diving & Salvage, Inc. announces the acquisition of a Saab Seaeye Falcon ROV, adding substantial capacity to their existing fleet of underwater vehicles. The Falcon, depth rated to 1000 feet, will be fully outfitted with manipulator, high resolution color and black and white cameras, fast scanning sonar, and a digital altimeter. Lightweight and portable it goes where needed - inshore, offshore, down tunnels, or for flyaway operations. The Falcon provides added capabilities to Global’s current diverse fleet of ROVs.