Ocean Fleet News

Gearbulk and Grieg Maritime Group joint venture G2 Ocean is adding two more ammonia-ready 82,300 dwt open hatch vessels to its fleet. Chinese shipbuilder CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Longxue will build the vessels for scheduled delivery in 2026.Following its commitment to only purchase newbuilt vessels with zero-emission technology, Grieg signed a contract in May 2023 with the shipyard CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Longxue which included two firm plus two optional 82,300 deadweight tonne (dwt) ammonia-ready open hatch vessels. Last week, Grieg exercised its option for the two additional vessels.

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri announced it has delivered the first vessel for luxury cruise operator Viking equipped with an emissions reducing hydrogen fuel cell system.Identical to Viking’s other ocean ships, the 47,800 ton Viking Neptune is fitted with a small hydrogen fuel system, making it the cruise industry’s first ship to test the use of hydrogen power for on board operations. “We are especially proud to welcome this newest sister ship to our ocean fleet, as it also marks a significant advancement in testing hydrogen as a future fuel for our vessels…

A.P. Moller - Maersk announced it has ordered six more large containerships that can sail on green methanol as the Danish shipping giant makes headway toward its goal to achieve net-zero emissions across its entire business by 2040.Ordered to replace existing tonnage in the Maersk fleet, the six vessels will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and will each have a nominal capacity of approximately 17,000 TEU."Our customers are looking to us to decarbonize their supply chains…

Seattle-based Foss Maritime announced it has promoted Chris Mack Jr. to Chief Operating Officer (COO), responsible for all of the company's harbor services activitiesMack will oversee Marine Assurance, HR and labor, Fleet Engineering and Foss’ regional management teams in Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.Mack joined Foss Maritime as an Able-Seaman in the Ocean Fleet after graduating from California Maritime Academy in 2005. He held several deck positions before moving to shoreside in 2011.

Dry bulk shipowner Golden Ocean Group Limited announced on Tuesday it has sold three Panamax vessels to an unnamed buyer for a combined $52 million.The three vessels, Golden Empress, Golden Enterprise and Golden Endeavour, were delivered in 2010 and 2011 and are among the oldest in the Golden Ocean fleet.The company said it expects to record a gain from the sales of approximately $9.6 million in the second quarter of 2022. Aggregate net cash proceeds of approximately $30.7 million are expected to be received in the second quarter of 2022, when the vessels are delivered to their buyers.Over the past 15 months, Golden Ocean has sold seven older Panamax vessels…

The unforeseen events of recent years have demonstrated how beneficial it can be for parties to contractually “expect the unexpected” – whether the event is extraordinary weather conditions caused by climate change or a pandemic. To help parties prepare for the unexpected, BIMCO has published a new clause.The new BIMCO Force Majeure Clause 2021 provides a comprehensive “code” for the parties to help resolve situations arising from unexpected events impacting the performance of the contracts. It is a “model” clause designed for use with all types of agreements.

Hydrogen or battery technologies? Strict regulations force shipowners to consider alternative energy sourcesThere are more than 60,000 ships in the world, which engines emit almost 2.5% of the world's greenhouse gases. The automotive industry has made rapid progress towards electrification and there is more and more talk of hydrogen solutions for trains, at the same time the transition to non-fossil fuels has been slower in the shipping industry.Energy for moving ships can originate from a wide variety of sources. Ships have been sailing powered by wind for millenniums.

In the context of the agreement announced in March 2018 for the construction of 6 ships, Fincantieri and Viking signed the contracts for the first 2 units, which will be delivered respectively in 2024 and 2025.In partnership with the shipowner, Fincantieri will develop an advanced project based on the successful characteristics of the previous ships, upgraded and revisited in line with the latest available technologies. Viking’s current ocean fleet includes ships having exclusively all-veranda staterooms, a gross tonnage of about 47,800 tons with accommodation for 930 passengers in 465 cabins.Fincantieri started its partnership with Viking in 2012.

Fincantieri's Ancona shipyard has delivered Viking Jupiter, the sixth in a series of 930-passenger ships for Viking Cruises.The delivery ceremony took place this morning when the ship was presented at Fincantieri's shipyard in Ancona, Italy.On February 16, Viking Jupiter will be the first in Viking's fleet to sail the Journey to Antiquities itinerary, a new itinerary sailing between Athens and Rome offering guests the chance to experience the Mediterranean during the quiet season.During its maiden season, Viking Jupiter will sail itineraries throughout the Mediterranean and then Scandinavia. The ship will officially be named in Oslo…

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has delivered the fifth cruise ship in a series of oceangoing newbuilds for ship owner Viking Cruises. The new vessel, Viking Orion, was delivered today from the builder’s shipyard in Ancona.Viking Orion, as its four preceding sister ships, fits into the small cruise ship segment, with a gross tonnage of about 47,800 tons. It has 465 cabins with accommodation for 930 passengers.Viking's ocean ships are all equipped high-efficiency engines, hydro…

Viking Cruises has announced a new agreement with Fincantieri that could see the delivery of six additional ocean ships by 2027. The new understanding expands Viking's partnership with Fincantieri, raising the company's total ocean ship order and options to 16 – the highest-ever for a shipyard from a single owner. The agreement for the six additional ships, which will be delivered in 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027, is subject to specific conditions. "When we launched our first ocean ship in 2015, we set out to reinvent ocean cruising. We focus on the destination, and we do not cram our ships with gimmicks and waterslides. Our understated, elegant, award-winning ships are designed to simply enable our guests to better explore their destination," said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.

Golden Ocean Group has  announced that it has entered into agreements to sell six Ultramax vessels built at Chengxi between 2015 and 2017 en bloc for USD 142.5 million to an unrelated third party. The net cash proceeds from the sale after the repayment of $39.2 million of associated debt will be slightly in excess of $100 million. All vessels are expected to be delivered to their new owner during the fourth quarter of 2017. Separately, the Company has agreed to take early delivery of the Golden Nimbus, a Capesize vessel under construction at New Times Shipbuilding. The Company will make a final payment of $29.4 million for the vessel at delivery and will draw $25 million from the related bank financing in early October 2017, resulting in a net cash outlay of $4.4 million.

Two Greek shipping companies were sentenced to pay corporate penalties totaling $2.7 million after being convicted for obstructing justice, violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), tampering with witnesses and conspiracy. Each company was ordered to pay part of its penalty to Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary in recognition of the threat posed by illegal discharges of oily waste to the marine environment. The case stems from an inspection of the M/V Ocean Hope, a large cargo ship, conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard at the Port of Wilmington, N.C. in July 2015. During that inspection, senior engineers for the companies tried to hide that the vessel had been dumping oily wastes into the ocean for months.

Cassius Samson, 52, and Rustico Ignacio, 66, both of the Philippines, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard for the Eastern District of North Carolina to serve jail time for obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard inspection that took place in July 2015 aboard the cargo ship Ocean Hope at the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina. Samson was sentenced to a term of 12 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release and Ignacio to a term of nine months followed by a year of supervised release. Ignacio was the chief engineer and Samson the second engineer of the Ocean Hope. In September 2016, both were convicted of conspiracy, violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, by a federal jury in Greenville, North Carolina.

Greek shipping companies Oceanic Illsabe Limited and Oceanfleet Shipping Limited, and two of their employees, were convicted of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), obstruction of justice, false statements, witness tampering and conspiracy, according to the US Department of Justice. Oceanic Illsabe Limited is the owner of the M/V Ocean Hope, a large cargo vessel that was responsible for dumping tons of oily waste into the Pacific Ocean last year. Oceanfleet Shipping Limited was the managing operator of the vessel. Both companies operate out of Greece. Also convicted at trial were two senior engineering officers who worked aboard the vessel, Rustico Ignacio and Cassius Samson. The jury convicted on each of the nine counts in the indictment.

A federal grand jury in Greenville, North Carolina, has returned a nine-count indictment charging two engineering officers employed by Oceanfleet Shipping Limited with crimes relating to the illegal discharge of oily wastes directly into the sea, announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Oceanfleet Shipping Limited is a Greek shipping company that operates the cargo carrier M/V Ocean Hope. The two engineering officers indicted are the vessel’s Chief Engineer, Rustico Yabut Ignacio; and Second Engineer, Cassius Flores Samson, bolth of the Philippines.

Dry bulk shipping firm Golden Ocean reported first-quarter earnings below forecasts on Thursday and said its market had gone from "bad to worse" with market conditions not seen in three decades. Golden Ocean, controlled by shipping tycoon John Fredriksen, said its made a net loss of $75.3 million in the first quarter, below expectations for a loss of $27 million, the result was weighed down by a $141 million impairment charge on its vessels. Excluding the impairments, the firm made an EBITDA loss of $3.6 million, not far from forecasts for a $1 million loss. Its shares were trading 3.13 percent lower at 32.84 Norwegian crowns at 0821 GMT.

The U.S. continues to lead the push towards "LNG as Fuel" in the commercial shipping sector, as these 'historic' announcements are now becoming more routine. Totem Ocean Trailer Express (Totem Ocean) announced that Wärtsilä will supply main engines, generators and integrated LNG storage and fuel gas handling systems (LNGPac(TM)) for the largest LNG conversions ever undertaken in North America. In making this decision John Parrott, President of Totem Ocean, cited Wärtsilä's proven technology as a deciding factor in selecting the company.

United Maritime Group, LLC Announces Agreement to Sell U.S. United Barge Line, LLC to Ingram Barge Company. United Maritime Group, LLC ("UMG") today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell U.S. United Barge Line, LLC ("UBL"), a wholly owned barge transportation subsidiary of UMG, to Ingram Barge Company. Based in Tampa, the subsidiaries of UMG operate businesses in the dry bulk transportation and logistics industry, including U.S. United Bulk Terminal, LLC, the largest coal and petroleum coke handling facility in the Gulf of Mexico, and U.S. United Ocean Services, LLC, which operates the largest Jones Act dry bulk ocean fleet by capacity.

United Maritime Group agrees to sell its U.S. United Maritime Group, LLC ("UMG") announces that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell U.S. United Barge Line, LLC ("UBL"), a wholly owned barge transportation subsidiary of UMG, to Ingram Barge Company. Based in Tampa, the subsidiaries of UMG operate businesses in the dry bulk transportation and logistics industry, including U.S. United Bulk Terminal, LLC, the largest coal and petroleum coke handling facility in the Gulf of Mexico, and U.S. United Ocean Services, LLC, which operates the largest Jones Act dry bulk ocean fleet by capacity. "Since acquiring UBL in 2007…

On the first 24-hour charter trip this May 5, the repowered 110-ft.Capt. Bill III achieved speeds over 25 knots and used 240 gallons less fuel than with the old engines. The additional speed resulted largely from the increase in horsepower to 2,100 hp total generated at 2,100 rpm by the three six-cylinder, four-stroke Cummins KTA19 M4 engines. These replaced three 12-cylinder two stroke engines that produced a combined 1,740 hp at 2,300 rpm for a top speed around 22 knots. The fuel savings, that came in spite of approximately 20 percent increase in horsepower, results from the move to 4-cycle technology, reduced rpm and design efficiencies. The reduced rpm and fuel burn can also be expected to result in longer intervals between engine overhauls.

While Z-Drive can still be considered a "revolutionary" design trait of today's tugboats, engineers aren't resting on their laurels. New technical standards being introduced are testimony to designers' creativity and imagination; and the functionality is improved, as well. The use of tugs with either Z-drive or VSP propulsion have led to much faster, safer and more efficient ship-assist operations, without fail, says Robert Allan, of the marine engineering firm, Robert Allan Ltd. In fact, he adds, some tug companies with Z-drive tugs have had insurance premiums lowered because of the reduced risk of them damaging an attended ship with better tugs. But in no way have tugs evolved to their highest achievable level. The birth of such innovative designs was not unexpected, says Allan.

The 1999 Containerization & Intermodal Institute's Connie Awards will be presented to Evergreen Group Chairman Dr. Yung-fa Chang and J. Robert Bray, Executive Director of the Virginia Port Authority. The awards will be presented at an industry-wide luncheon Dec. 14, 1999 at the Marriott World Trade Center in New York. Both recipients were selected through an industry ballot. Group Chairman Chang is being honored for his leadership in founding and developing Evergreen into one of the world's largest container carriers with innovative round-the-world services serving every continent. Mr. Bray, recently installed chairman of the America Association of Port Authorities…