Maris As News

Seafarers calling at Ukrainian ports will receive specialist safety kits designed to mitigate the risks posed by missile and drone attacks under a new initiative from maritime charity Stella Maris.The crew safety kits are designed to help seafarers prepare for and respond to emergencies while operating in conflict affected regions.The initiative comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions affecting major shipping routes around the world, including the Strait of Hormuz, underlining the importance of ensuring seafarers are properly prepared to respond to emergencies.

A crude tanker chartered by Trafigura departed on Sunday from Venezuela's Jose port to Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), LSEG data and documents showed, the first cargo going directly to the U.S. as part of a 50-million-barrel supply deal agreed this month between Caracas and Washington.This month, trading houses Vitol and Trafigura received the first U.S. licenses to load and export Venezuelan oil as part of the deal. They have since shipped cargoes to storage terminals in the Caribbean…

Yinson Production and “K" Line Energy Shipping (UK) (KLES), a London-based subsidiary of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha ("K" LINE), have entered into an agreement to jointly develop and market solutions for the transportation and injection of liquefied CO2.Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), Yinson Production and KLES will jointly develop and market a floating storage and injection unit (FSIU) and a liquefied CO2 carrier.The collaboration will target carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects being developed mainly in Europe.For CCS projects worldwide…

GTCR, a private equity firm,  announced that it has entered into a partnership with maritime industry leader Manish Singh to form Maris Investments, LLC (Maris). Maris will seek to acquire companies in the maritime technology sector to build a market-leading platform addressing critical workflows and enabling digital transformation in the industry.The formation of Maris is supported by GTCR’s Leaders Strategy approach, which involves partnering with exceptional management leaders in its core domains to identify…

The Fifth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee established under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006) is taking place at the ILO headquarters in Geneva from April 7-11, and maritime charity Stella Maris UK is calling for urgent protections to stop seafarers being forced to choose between shore leave and adequate rest.“This should never be a choice,” said Tim Hill, CEO of Stella Maris UK. “But for many crew, it’s an unacceptable reality. We regularly meet seafarers…

Chicago Propeller Club celebrated being named International Propeller Club of the Year at its latest event.Guests from across the Great Lakes and Mid West maritime industry gathered for the reception, a Chicago River cruise aboard club sponsor Wendella Cruises vessel the Iris.Club President Chris Carr, managing partner of SBSB Eastham law firm, said winning the title at the International Convention in Tampa, just a year after restarting the club, following a 15 year hiatus, is…

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) is acquiring four new state-of-the-art Naval Large Tugs (NLT) to modernize its fleet. These new tugs—two for each of Canada's coasts—will replace the current Glen-class and Fire-class tugs.The new IMO Tier III vessels are based on a proven Robert Allan Ltd. RAmparts 2400 design. They are more powerful and more capable, which will improve the RCN's effectiveness in harbor berthing, coastal towing and firefighting. This update will strengthen the RCN's effectiveness in supporting the fleet.In April 2019…

Maritime charity Stella Maris is committing funding “for as long as it takes” to provide urgent support to the thousands of seafarers in Ukraine and those regularly making the perilous journey to and from its Black Sea ports.Seafarers working on vessels that have to navigate Russian threats through the Black Sea face numerous challenges, not least mental health issues associated with life-threatening risks.And in Ukraine itself, seafarers have not been able to work for more than two years because of the country’s wartime rules…

Maris Fiducia Norway has entered into cooperation agreements with maritime technology company HAV Hydrogen and the hydrogen producer and distributor Norwegian Hydrogen with the objective of developing, building and operating hydrogen-powered dry-bulk vessels in Europe.The vessels are being designed by the Dutch ship designer Ankerbeer. Upon successful completion of the project, the vessels will go on hire through a zero-emission time charter agreement with Schulte & Bruns, establishing a commercial operation for vessels operating on hydrogen fuel…

Ukrainian seafarers are experiencing increased levels of loneliness and depression amid fears of conscription if they return home as the war enters its third year, seafarer charity Stella Maris warns.Stella Maris regional port chaplains for Southampton and Southern ports, Charles Stuart and Gregory Hogan, who make multiple daily ship visits report Ukrainian seafarers are under increasing strain.“The initial stresses have been replaced by something else,” Hogan says. “At first…

Biofuels provider GoodFuels announced the results of a new partnership with global certification organization Control Union and France’s IDS Group to test the effectiveness of a unique isotopic tracer for biofuels.A successful pilot, conducted during a recent delivery of 500 tonnes of biofuel to the Norden-owned tanker Nord Gardenia, has proven the effectiveness of the tracer technology in real-life applications.The partnership, which commenced in early 2022, has seen the companies collaborate to create the new tracer…

A Stella Maris chaplain is supporting crew onboard ships berthed at Felixstowe port amid the ongoing dockworkers strike.Julian Wong had gone on board the container vessel George Washington Bridge which arrived in Felixstowe on August 19 before the start of the strike, to meet the crew and left them his contact details in case they needed to get in touch.The ship was scheduled to leave the port on August 20, but its departure was delayed, so the crew had to stay on board. On August 24…

International maritime network Stella Maris has teamed up with tech start-up FrontM to develop a new crew collaboration and wellbeing platform and super-app designed to give seafarers and fishers across the world quick access to Stella Maris's global chaplaincy directory, media content and faith resources.Stella Maris, formerly known as Apostleship of the Sea, is a ship-visiting network with more than 1,000 chaplains and volunteers in 330 ports across 60 countries. Its team makes 70…

Only three weeks after launching, a relief fund established to help seafarers and the families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic has collected $530,000 in pledges to date, nearly $400,000 of which has already been allocated to help those worst affected.The Seafarers International Relief Fund (SIRF), set up by seafarer welfare charities and the wider shipping industry, said the first three SIRF grants were enabled through The Seafarers’ Charity’s agile and established grant making processes and will provide funds to three seafarer charities…

Dutch shipbuilding giant and Maris Projects, a player in marine and oceanographic data management services,  have joined forces to tackle the issue of invasive Sargassum seaweed in the Caribbean region – including the Dutch Caribbean Islands.The partners are working towards the developments of a holistic solution. The work of the two companies is expected to greatly increase knowledge of bio-processing, leading to the design of efficient and scalable technologies with the capability to deliver both environmental and socio-economic benefits.A significant – and to date, inexplicable – rise in the quantity of Sargassum in Caribbean waters and along its shores, has been recorded in recent years. The weed is causing considerable problems in the region.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced that during July, there were three new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in a UK port.It also informed that  four foreign flagged ships remained under detention in UK ports after failing port state control (PSC) inspection.The UK is part of a regional agreement on port state control known as the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) and information on all ships that are inspected is held centrally in an electronic database known as THETIS. This allows the ships with a high risk rating and poor detention records to be targeted for future inspection.Inspections of foreign flagged ships in UK ports are undertaken by surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at Mumbai hosted a high-level delegation led by the Prime Minister of Latvia Mr Maris Kucinskis, on 4th November, 2017 . The delegation was on a five day visit to India starting 2nd November, 2017, during which the Latvian PM also met Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The delegation was given a detailed tour of the port to observe various port operations and the implementation of various Ease of Doing Business initiatives. Deputy Chairman of JNPT, Neeraj Bansal also briefed the delegation about the Government’s flagship programme Sagarmala and the opportunities that were expected to emerge as the ports developed into engines of growth.

The winners of ISWAN's International Seafarers' Welfare Awards 2016 were announced on 24th June at a high-profile ceremony held in Manila, the Philippines. The ceremony forms part of ISWAN's celebrations in the Philippines for the IMO Day of the Seafarer. The awards were presented by IMO Secretary General Mr Kitack Lim to seven recipients who have provided exceptional services for the welfare and wellbeing of seafarers. The Welfare Personality of the Year Award is named after Dr Dierk Lindemann who sadly passed away on 17 March 2014. Dr Lindemann served as the Shipowner's Group spokesperson at the ILO and took a lead role in the adoption of the Maritime Labour Convention. Shipping Company of the Year: Masamichi Morooka - Chairman of ICS.

Marine electronics group Navico, a literal ‘house of brands’ for the recreational, sail, power and commercial marine markets, is making a strong push in the commercial sector with its Simrad brand. The ascension of Navico in recreational marine electronics business – an estimated $1 billion market globally – was fast and furious, growing from roughly 7% of the global market in 2005 to nearly 30% in 2007, standing steady at about 35% today, fueled by a strategy built on the acquisition of strong brands mixed with organic growth.

Integrated electronic navigation specialist Navico has secured type approval for its SIMRAD MARIS ECDIS900 Mk 5 and Mk 15 electronic chart data information systems (ECDIS) by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. The IMO type-approved navigation systems are designed for use on board merchant vessels which must meet mandatory compliance deadlines as set out in the International Maritime Organization’s SOLAS Convention regulations, as amended. “This is a big step for Simrad-branded ECDIS after a thorough type-approval process initiated in 2014…

PDMS Maritime has announced that it has been awarded a new contract to deliver its international ship registry and seafarer management platform (MARIS) to Maritime Cook Islands (MCI) Limited, the corporate administrators of the Cook Islands international ship registry. MARIS will replace MCI’s existing legacy systems to provide the registry with a new, modern and complete enterprise system which covers all the key aspects of their business including: registry, survey, seafarers and service operations. The platform will also help the MCI to prepare for the IMO’s mandatory audit scheme (IMSAS).

Navico’s list of approvals received from the Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute of South Korea has grown following type approval of the latest generation Simrad MARIS ECDIS900 Mk 5 and Mk 15 Electronic Chart Display & Information Systems, joining already approved products such as Simrad Broadband 4G radars, ARGUS antennae, gyrocompasses, autopilots and control and display units. The integrated electronic navigation specialist has secured certificates warranting the new type approvals from KMERI for its IMO type-approved ECDIS navigation systems for use on board merchant vessels.

PDMS Maritime is delighted to announce a significant new contract with the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to provide a new integrated system to incorporate seafarer management and approved doctor records, delivering process efficiency improvements and enhanced customer services, in line with the MCA's Digital Strategy. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport. Its responsibilities include UK ship registration and seafarer certification and it is widely recognised for its operational and technical ability. This investment in cutting edge digital technology is strategically aligned with the IMO's recent recommendations to reduce registry administrative burden through electronic record keeping.