Supply Chain Network News

The Federal Maritime Commission met in both open and closed session today to be briefed on efforts to address detention and demurrage, improve supply chain data transparency, and an ongoing investigation of Canadian government regulations that affect U.S. flag Great Lakes shipping. The Commission was also advised of the work its Area Representatives are doing at locations key to shipping around the Nation.Lucille Marvin, the Commission’s Managing Director is leading both the Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (VOCC) Audit Program and VOCC Audit Team…

Plaquemines Port, Harbor and Terminal District (PPHTD) and APM Terminals have announced a Letter of Intent whereby APM Terminals will become the operator of the newly planned Container Terminal and Intermodal Rail Facility and external parties will be the investor in the new port. Plaquemines Port and their financial partners will manage the financial activities associated with the infrastructure development, investment, and ownership of the port.Governor of Louisiana John Bel Edwards applauded the announcement of the agreement.

U.S. shipbuilder Philly Shipyard has won a contract from the dredging giant Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company to build a Jones Act-compliant subsea rock installation vessel that will serve the growing U.S. offshore wind market.The contract award, first in the U.S. offshore wind space for the shipyard, is worth around $197 million. Great Lakes, the U.S. largest dredging services provider, will have a right of first refusal on a second ship. If both ships are ordered, then the total contract value of the two-ship program would be around $382 million."Over the past several years…

At a time when the world has become more aware than ever before about the vital importance of the world’s ocean shipping fleet, which carried supplies, merchandise and much needed personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, an increased risk from a different threat, cyberattacks, presents a set of new challenges. According to Israeli cybersecurity specialist Naval Dome, since February 2020, there has been a 400% increase in attempted hacks on the maritime realm…

Several south Louisiana ports are requesting federal assistance to bolster recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ida.On August 29, Ida made landfall in southeast Louisiana as a category 4 storm, heavily impacting local infrastructure, waterways and communities.The Lower Mississippi River opened three days later, and by September 2, the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) resumed limited operations and became fully operational September 7. Although operations resumed, there remains ongoing assessment of needs, and supply chain disruptions also continue.

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime has secured contracts with China Merchant Heavy Industries (CMHI) to design and equip two construction service operation vessels (CSOV) for Awind AS.Awind AS is a Norway-based offshore ship owner and a subsidiary of Integrated Wind Solutions AS. The combined contract value for Kongsberg Maritime is approximately NOK 250 million ($30,2 million).Destined for the offshore wind market, the new CSOVs will be built to Kongsberg Maritime’s UT 5519 DE design by CMHI.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, a U.S.-based dredging services giant, on Wednesday announced the appointment of industry veteran Eleni Beyko as senior vice president offshore wind – a strategic growth area for the company. Beyko, who started on Jan. 25, brings more than 20 years' experience in program engineering, business leadership and project management in the automobile and offshore oil and gas markets. At GLDD, she is responsible for developing its offshore wind operations, including strategy and business development, tendering and project execution.

U.S.-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is developing a first-of-its-kind vessel to support America's burgeoning offshore wind industry.The nation's largest dredging services provider announced Thursday it is working with Ulstein Design and Solutions B.V. to design and develop the first U.S.-flagged Jones Act compliant, inclined fallpipe vessel for subsea rock installation. The specialized vessel would be built at a U.S. Gulf Coast shipyard and could be operational as early as the first quarter of 2024, GLDD said.

Dublin-based SSE Renewables, a renewable energy subsidiary of Airtricity, has selected the port of Montrose on the east coast of Scotland to serve as the operations and maintenance (O&M) base for its 1100MW Seagreen offshore wind farm.Situated over 27km off the Angus coastline, Seagreen is the furthest from shore of any Scottish offshore wind farm and is expected to produce enough renewable energy to power over 40% of all households in Scotland. When completed, it will become Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm.John Hill, Seagreen Project Director, said: “The Operations and Maintenance base will play an important role in the day-to…

The provider of specialized services for the offshore industry, Jan De Nul Group said that its cable laying vessel Willem de Vlamingh has completed installation of the three export cables at the 120MW Formosa 1 phase two offshore wind farm in Taiwan.The maritime infrastructure main focus is dredging has a engineering procurement construction and installation (EPCI) contract for overall balance of plant at the project."As part of Jan De Nul Group’s EPCI contract for building of the overall Balance of Plant, Jan De Nul Group mobilized its Cable Laying Vessel Willem de Vlamingh to install the 17 inter array and 3 export cables," said a press release from the company.These three export cables have been successfully installed within one week.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has announced that reclamation work for Tuas Terminal Phase 2 began ysterday (4 July), with the installation of the first caisson.Singapore’s next-generation trade hub has commenced at a ceremony attended by Dr. Lam Pin Min, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health.MPA awarded the Tuas Terminal Phase 2 reclamation project to Penta-Ocean Construction Co. Ltd/Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd/Boskalis International BV (PHB) Joint Venture in 2018. This is the largest of the four phases to be reclaimed at 387 hectares. The 8.6 km wharf structure will be constructed with 227 caissons that will be fabricated on site. All container operations in Singapore will be consolidated at Tuas Terminal by the 2040s.

The independent power producer EDF Renewables North America and  Shell New Energies US,  offshore wind company in the U.S,  have formed a 50/50 joint venture, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind to develop a lease area within the New Jersey Wind Energy Area (WEA).The area, spread over 183,353 acres and located off the coast of Atlantic City  on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), has the potential to produce about 2,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy - enough to power close to one million homes, EDF said in a statement.“Shell has bold ambitions to grow our renewable power business and we see great potential in U.S. offshore wind,” said Dorine Bosman, VP Shell Wind Development.

RSC Bio Solutions said its high performance Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) are now available through Drew Marine’s global supply chain network, which is capable of delivering to more than 900 ports worldwide. RSC Bio Solutions and Drew Marine announced a new global marine distribution partnership that has expanded the global availability of RSC Bio Solutions’ range of EALs. RSC FUTERRA HF Series renewable hydrocarbon hydraulic fluids are Ecolabel certified and formulated to withstand extreme conditions and corrosion while operating in severe environments. Available in 46, 68 and 100 viscosity grades. Typical applications include stern tubes, controllable pitch propellers, stabilizers and various deck equipment.

A Shanghai district government plans to spend about 5 billion yuan ($739.97 million) to develop a cruise ship industrial park to house foreign firms that it hopes will help build China's first luxury passenger vessels, a local official said. China's government has earmarked cruise shipbuilding as a major objective in its "Made in China 2025" programme to upgrade its manufacturing and support jobs at its shipyards, as domestic demand for cruise trips increases 30 percent a year. Firms who set up shop in the new zone could expect financing support from banks and recently established government funds, Lei Shuguang, director on the administrative committee of Shanghai Baoshan Industrial Zone, told Reuters on Wednesday.

RSC Bio Solutions and Drew Marine announced a new global marine distribution partnership at a press event held at Nor-Shipping’s annual conference in Oslo, Norway. This strategic alliance creates enhanced global availability for RSC Bio Solutions’ high performance environmental lubricant offerings. With Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) growing quickly in the global marine market and demand from shipowners expanding into a wider range of auxiliary lubricant and grease applications…

Abu Dhabi Ports celebrated the groundbreaking of Schmidt ME Logistics’ new facility in Khalifa Port’s industrial, trade and logistics zone, Kizad. The ceremony officiated by Dr. Wolfgang Hoppmann, CEO of Schmidt ME Logistics along with senior representatives from both companies took place on May 27, 2015. Schmidt ME Logistics specializes in the packaging, product handling and intermodal transportation of dry bulk products in addition to providing services to include patent technologies exclusive to Schmidt Logistics.

The emergence of mega gateway ports is in danger of failing the global supply chain, causing congestion, adding cost and impacting on air quality and local environments, delegates at South America’s largest multimodal logistics event will be told next week. During a presentation in Sao Paulo on Tuesday 7 April, Patrick Walters, Commercial Director of Peel Ports, the UK’s second largest port operator, will call for a radical rethink by the supply chain to refocus on direct calls to ports closest to cargo centres as an integral part of the global supply chain network design. Speaking before the event, Mr Walters said, “Port selection needs to be based on proximity to market.

Manager and operator of Khalifa Port Container Terminal, Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT), says it has signed a contract with Borouge, a leading provider of plastics materials, to design, construct and operate a state-of-the-art packaging facility for Borouge’s export products at Khalifa Port. The contract was signed by Abdulaziz Alhajri, CEO of Abu Dhabi Polymers Company (Borouge), and Martijn Van De Linde, CEO of ADT, during a ceremony that took place at Borouge’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The signing ceremony was attended by Wim Roels, CEO of Borouge’s Marketing & Sales Company, and senior management officials from Borouge and ADT. Khalifa Port explains that it is the primary UAE gateway for Borouge’s products to their customers around the world.

Cross Keys Group, a business consulting firm dedicated to providing services and solutions across the maritime and energy sectors announced the implementation of Quality Management System for the Bunker Supply Chain in Nayada and Nakhodka Port Bunker, Russia. The implementation of quality standard is a vision of RN-Bunker, a marine fuel arm of Russian state owned oil giant Rosneft, to further strengthen their commitment towards offering consistent quality products and services to ship owners and operators in the region. Cross Keys Group acted as an advisory partner to introduce Quality Management System for the Bunker Supply Chain in 2012 that was broadly based on the best practices as set in Singapore’s SS 524 to ensure that Rosneft’s Quality Management System is accurately drafted…

Today’s marine and offshore industry faces increasing challenges: the need to work faster on more complex marine products with an extended supply chain in a very competitive environment; to deliver on-time information to customers on the project’s status at any time; and to reduce program management costs as well as design and production time. In order to keep a competitive advantage, shipyard executives are pressuring both their suppliers and their own organizations to integrate…

Aker Solutions contracted by a subsidiary of McDermott for the delivery of subsea tie-in connectors to the Australian Ichthys LNG Project. The scope of work in the contract, valued at NOK 500-million, includes the delivery of 6"-18" horizontal and vertical diverless tie-in connectors to be included in the McDermott umbilicals, risers and flowline scope for the Ichthys LNG Project. Engineering, procurement, construction and installation specialist, McDermott, is the lead contractor for the Ichthys LNG SURF field development project.

Sept. 11-15 conference to also spotlight Port of Seattle’s centennial anniversary. Against the backdrop of one of the USA’s busiest and most picturesque working waterfronts, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) -representing seaports throughout the Western Hemisphere - will hold its 100th Annual Convention, Sept. 11-15, in Seattle. “We’re thrilled to be holding our 100th Annual Convention and Expo in Seattle, which last hosted it 22 years ago and, prior to that, during the Port of Seattle’s 10th anniversary in 1921,” said Kurt Nagle, AAPA’s president and CEO. “Throughout the week-long business program, attendees will hear from top government…

Dassault Systèmes (DS) announced that the shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has built a simulation-based digital shipyard using DELMIA digital manufacturing technology, enabling the company to successfully establish a real-time supply chain network for collaborative production. With DELMIA, SHI’s Korea-based Geoje Shipyard is able to simulate design and engineering processes and digitally manage its facilities, procedures, and engineering schedules by shipbuilding in a virtual environment. “In the future, Simulation-Based Manufacturing (SBM) will play a pivotal role in strengthening the competitiveness of manufacturing by applying IT technologies,” noted Hwang Gyu-Ok, general manager of the Information System Group for SHI.