The Beacon News

As the U.S. offshore wind industry endures a predictable number of stops and starts during its adolescence, common mantras are ‘learn from the established European model’ and ‘embrace technology transfer from the offshore oil and gas sector.’ In Robert Langford, the American Bureau of Shipping has all of that and more bundled in one neat package.Rob Langford has worked in the offshore industry for more than three decades, ‘cutting his teeth’ in a UK design firm working in the North Sea oil and gas platforms, the holy grail of rigorous conditions in offshore energy production.

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) has appointed and approved the 2024-2025 term of the NOIA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Jon Landes, President, Subsea of TechnipFMC has been elected as the NOIA Chair and Joe Leimkuhler, Chief Operating Officer of Beacon Offshore Energy, as the incoming NOIA Vice Chair.NOIA President Erik Milito said, “We are at a critical juncture where it's imperative to ensure that energy policy from Washington, D.C. does not hinder American energy production.

With supply chain attacks on the rise, and nation-state attackers constantly looking for new ways to disrupt national security and economic stability, one of the most vulnerable areas is the security around our maritime operations. The Biden-Harris Administration's recent Executive Order to fortify the cybersecurity of U.S. ports underscores this concern, spotlighting the urgency of addressing vulnerabilities in a sector that drives over $5.4 trillion in economic activity annually.

Esgian reports various drilling contractors disclosing details of discussions with Saudi Aramco regarding jackup contract suspensions in its Week 14 Rig Analytics Market Roundup. These contractors include Shelf Drilling, ADES, Borr Drilling, Arabian Drilling, COSL, and ARO Drilling.Meanwhile, Transocean, Noble, and COSL rigs have firmed up new work in the US Gulf of Mexico, Suriname, and the North Sea, respectively.Report overview:ContractsShelf Drilling has received a notice of suspension of operations on four jackup rigs from a customer in the Middle East.

Coden, Ala. shipbuilder Master Boat Builders on Monday announced it has delivered Tortuga, the latest tugboat to join Seaside LNG/Polaris New Energy fleet.Tortuga will connect with the barge Clean Everglades, delivered from Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in 2023, to form a Jones Act compliant articulated tug and barge (ATB) for bunkering liquefied natural gas (LNG).The new tug has an overall length of 109 feet and features two Caterpillar 3512E main engines, EPA Tier 4 certified and each producing 2,000 horsepower.

Esgian reports rig-related updates from Dolphin Drilling, Diamond Offshore, and Seadrill in its Week 9 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDespite Tullow Oil’s recent announcement that it would take a break from drilling offshore Ghana, Noble Corp. has stated that there has been no contract termination announcement and that its 12,000-ft drillship Noble Venturer is currently still contracted to Tullow into March 2025.Masirah Oil Ltd has signed a rig contract with…

Norway's Equinor said on Thursday it had entered an agreement with BP BP.L to independently pursue separate wind projects under its bid for New York's offshore wind auctions.As part of the agreement, BP would take over full control of the Beacon Wind project, while Equinor takes over the Empire Wind project, the Norwegian firm said."The agreement provides Equinor and BP with the flexibility to pursue their respective priorities under their corporate strategies," Equinor said.New…

Several offshore wind developers will likely bid in New York's fourth offshore wind solicitation by the Thursday deadline, including units of European energy firms Orsted, Equinor and BP.The development of the U.S. offshore wind industry took a major blow last year when companies working in several states said they could no longer complete projects profitably because of rocketing construction costs, higher interest rates and supply chain snags. The problems also hit the wind industry in other countries.The development of the industry is key to meeting both U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S.

As we enter a New Year, the memories of the shocks to the foundations to the U.S. offshore wind segment remain fresh. In short, supply chain inflation and capacity/availability, interest rate increases, and tax credit monetization have been the key themes highlighted by developers to explain why many projects became commercially unviable.Several Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states have reacted rapidly, accepting the termination of power sales & purchase agreements and allowing the canceled projects to be rebid into new solicitations.

Twelve mariners were rescued after a small cargo vessel capsized near the Dominican Republic.Carnival Corp said the crew aboard its cruise ship Carnival Vista rescued six from the water early Wednesday morning after the cargo vessel Two Brothers capsized about 30 miles north of Puerto Plata overnight.Carnival Vista’s officers under the direction of Captain Paolo Severini immediately altered the ship’s course, in coordination with Carnival’s Fleet Operations Center in Miami, when…

New York released a new offshore wind solicitation on Thursday to keep the state on track to meet its renewable energy goals and support a nascent industry that has faced financial trouble in recent months.Offshore wind is expected to play a major role in New York's plan to reduce carbon emissions by getting 70% of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030. It is also a pillar of President Joe Biden's plan to decarbonize the U.S. power grid and combat climate change.The state said it is supporting the development of 9…

Equinor has announced the name of its floating offshore wind project off the coast of California, Atlas Wind. The lease area, which lies 60 miles from Morro Bay, has the capacity to provide over 2GW of reliable, renewable power, enough to power 1.7 million California homes once complete.California is poised to become a growing force in the US energy transition with a nation-leading target of 25GW of offshore wind energy by 2045. Approximately two-thirds of the United States’ offshore wind energy potential lies in deep coastal waters…

Saab and GMV are collaborating in ASGARD, an EU-funded project that aims to improve maritime security when using GNSS and OSNMA. The project addresses the growing threat of GNSS spoofing and other cyberattacks on navigation systems used in the maritime industry.The ASGARD project, run by Saab and GMV, is an ambitious European Union (EU) initiative that aims to develop advanced technologies to improve Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) security in maritime environments.

New York State will issue a new offshore wind solicitation on Nov. 30 with bids due in January 2024, the state government said, in a move that should support the troubled industry. European energy companies Orsted, Equinor, and BP have taken a combined $5 billion of writedowns on U.S. offshore wind projects that are not even completed, in part because their existing power sales contracts would not cover the cost of building and financing the projects. That is because soaring inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain problems have led to much higher costs than anticipated.

European energy companies, including Denmark's Orsted, will likely write down more of their U.S. offshore wind investments this week after BP and Equinor booked $840 million in impairments in recent days.Orsted, the world's largest offshore wind developer, said in August it may see impairments of 16 billion Danish crowns ($2.3 billion) on its U.S. offshore developments due to supply chain problems, soaring interest rates and a lack of new tax credits.Orsted, which was not immediately available for comment…

Developers in the U.S. offshore wind industry will likely cancel some power sales contracts in New York after the state last week denied passing on more of the costs to consumers, but major projects off Massachusetts and Rhode Island are set to start up later this year.Several states and U.S. President Joe Biden's administration consider offshore wind to be a key part of their plans to transition away from fossil fuels for energy, create jobs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.Last week…

Norwegian energy industry giant Equinor has appointed of Samuel Byrne as Vice President of Operations at Equinor Renewables Americas to lead Equinor's offshore wind operations in the U.S.Bryne most recently served as Vice President responsible for Operations & Maintenance at maker Vestas Wind Systems in Asia-Pacific for both onshore and offshore wind farms, as well as solar and battery storage sites. His responsibilities covered 13 countries and approximately 15GW of wind farms either in operations or being commissioned…

The owner and skipper of a rowing vessel has received a 12-month prison sentence after a 21-year-old was lost overboard in the middle of the Atlantic.In February 2016, Michael Johnson was swept overboard by a large wave in the North Atlantic Ocean, between the Canary Islands and Barbados, during a world record row attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 32 days. The seven remaining crew members on board were unable to save Johnson.Simon Chalk, owner of the rowing boat Toby Wallace…

While trouble areas continue to emerge in the young U.S. offshore wind industry, analysts at Intelatus Global Partners maintain an optimistic outlook for the industry in the long term.The business intelligence and consulting firm said in its latest U.S. Offshore Wind Report that it sees long-term foundations for the U.S. offshore wind sector solidifying, referencing several positive advancements such as the recently announced auction of three shallow water lease areas with at least 3.6 gigawatts (GW) of capacity in the Gulf of Mexico at the end of the month…

Cash buyer GMS reports that the ongoing complications experienced in the Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets have shown few signs of dissipating this week.The company says the lack of vessels and financing approvals in Bangladesh and Pakistan has seen market prices reach new lows with each concurrent sale into the sub-continent destinations.“Notwithstanding, despite being moderately placed in the market rankings, India remains a beacon of hope amidst a dire 2023 recycling landscape…

A Panamanian-flagged vehicle carrier vessel rescued three sailors from a Russian yacht that was mauled by sharks in the Coral Sea. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it coordinated the rescue after the Russian-registered Tion activated its emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) at 1:30 a.m. (AEST) on Wednesday.The distressed vessel, a 9-meter inflatable catamaran with three people on board, including two Russian and one French citizen, was sailing…

Voluntary near-miss reporting scheme CHIRP Maritime is celebrating its 20th anniversary by introducing a new fishing sector safety newsletter alongside its regular 'Maritime FEEDBACK' editions.Adam Parnell, CHIRP Director (Maritime), says: “We hope to create a safe and non-judgemental learning environment where fishers can share, and learn from, the experiences of others. This helps to prevent similar incidents in the future and contributes to a safer maritime environment overall.”The…

Much has been written recently about the challenges facing U.S. offshore wind projects, resulting in requests to terminate or renegotiate contracts to sell power to states. Examples of these challenges can be found from Massachusetts to Virginia. Coming on top of last week’s somewhat disappointing events of the Gulf of Mexico lease auction, speculation has mounted around the longer-term prospects for U.S. wind. But how serious is this problem, and what does it mean to the longer-term goals of the federal administration to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind by 203 and 110 GW by 2050?Below…