The Coast News

The U.S. military said on Friday it was temporarily pausing the offshore construction of a maritime pier because of weather conditions and instead would continue building it at the Israeli port of Ashdod.The maritime pier, once built, will be placed off the coast of Gaza in a bid to speed the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave."Forecasted high winds and high sea swells caused unsafe conditions for soldiers working on the surface of the partially constructed pier," the U.S.

Ocean freight container carriers are treading a fine line between risk and reward during new contract negotiations as the market remains gripped by uncertainty in the Red Sea, according to new data on the Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI®).The latest data released by Xeneta on May 2 shows the Global XSI (the average rate of all valid long term contracts in the market) remained fairly flat in April at 154.3 points, up by just 1.7% from March.However, looking at sub-indices within this global figure reveals a dynamic market…

The captain of a dive boat that caught fire and sank off the California coast in 2019, killing 34 people in one of the state's deadliest maritime disasters, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in prison for his conviction on a federal charge of seaman's manslaughter.Jerry Boylan, 70, was found guilty by a U.S. District Court jury in November on a single felony count of "misconduct or neglect of a ship officer" under a federal homicide statute dating from steamboat accidents of the early 1800s.Federal prosecutors had sought the maximum penalty of 10 years in prison…

In 2018, convicted cocaine trafficker Slobodan Kostovski fled a Brazilian prison and made his way back to Europe with a fake passport.The Serbian senior quickly fell into old habits, police allege. Last August, Kostovski was arrested in Belgrade, accused of shipping 2.7 metric tonnes of cocaine from Brazil aboard a 22-meter vessel apprehended near Spain’s Canary Islands.Nicknamed “the General” by his associates, he had been trafficking “large amounts” of powder to “Europe for a long period of time,” Serbian police wrote in a 2022 intelligence report obtained exclusively by Reuters.

Louisiana-based boat builder Metal Shark announced it has won a contract to build 22 welded-aluminum high-speed surface interceptor vessels for the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).JDF has selected the Metal Shark 36 Fearless, a high-performance center console craft proven in service with multiple military, law enforcement, and first responder agencies worldwide. Procured via direct purchase, these new surface interceptor vessels will be used by the JDF-Coast Guard for law enforcement, patrolling, and interdiction missions within Jamaica’s exclusive economic zone.

At the Maritime Risk Symposium 2024, scheduled for June 11-13 at Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, RADM Matt Bell, USCG (Ret.) facilitates a panel entitled: Multi-Service and Maritime Industry Collaboration in the Arctic, to better understand how the changing dynamics in the Arctic region will necessitate increased collaboration between the maritime services and industry to mitigate the risks of Arctic maritime operations. Joining RADM Bell on the panel are:RADM Megan Dean, Commander, U.S.

Dominion Energy has announced that any reports that the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project has been delayed are false and grossly misrepresent the facts.“On April 29, anti-wind groups filed a petition in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to delay CVOW construction using the same meritless arguments as have already been rejected before by the courts, including last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in relation to an offshore wind project in Massachusetts.

The U.S. House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security will hold a hearing to discuss delays in the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) shipbuilding and acquisitions programs.The hearing, announced by the subcommittee's chairman, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) on Wednesday, will take place on May 7. It will examine the USCG's shipbuilding and acquisitions process, the state of efforts to modernize the service’s fleet and ways in which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can facilitate faster turnaround times for USCG acquisitions programs…

A new union deal aims to help bolster the workforce of the U.S. Navy shipbuilding and repair industrial base, which has struggled alongside many other sectors to attract and retain the volume of employees needed to achieve efficient operations.The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) and the Bartlett Maritime Corporation (BMC) have signed an agreement as part of ongoing efforts to mobilize skilled workers across the Midwest in support of critical Navy programs.It permits…

China on Wednesday launched sea trials for the Fujian, its third and most advanced aircraft carrier, state media reported.The start of tests by the Chinese navy came nearly two years after the aircraft carrier was first unveiled in June 2022.The Fujian, entirely designed and built domestically, is larger and more advanced than the Shandong, commissioned in late 2019, and the Liaoning, which China bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998.The development of the Fujian is part of a build-up central to President Xi Jinping's bid to make China the preeminent military power in the region…

Logistical constraints at the Port of Vancouver mean waterborne oil exports from the highly anticipated Trans Mountain pipeline expansion due to start up on Wednesday may only be around half what the Canadian government-owned corporation has forecast, traders and shipping sources said.The C$34 billion ($24.82 billion) project to nearly triple the flow of crude from Alberta to Canada's Pacific Coast to 890,000 barrels per day is scheduled to start operating on May 1 after years of regulatory delays and construction setbacks.The extra 590…

Corvus Energy has been selected by HAF Power Solutions (HPS) to supply Energy Storage Systems (ESS) for the Energy Subsea Construction Vessel (ESCV) to be built for shipowner REM Offshore.The new ESCV is of ST-245 design and will be the first vessel to perform heavy construction work in both offshore wind and the subsea market with net zero emissions. The vessel will be equipped with dual-fuel methanol engines and a 1.7MW battery system. The batteries will be used for spinning…

Enterprise Products Partners on Tuesday said it expects to have two contracts for its proposed deepwater oil export terminal by May 31 and reach a final investment decision before year-end.Enterprise's ambitious Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT), proposed off for a site off the coast of Texas, would be able to load two supertankers at a single time. It received a key government license this month, but is yet to sign any commercial customers.The cost of the project has soared to about $3 billion…

Greece has dropped criminal charges against dozens of international aid workers, ranging from spying to facilitating what authorities had called illegal entry into the country through the island of Lesbos, court documents showed on Tuesday.Most of the 35 people, accused in 2020 of setting up a criminal organization and providing support to traffickers ferrying migrants, were German nationals. The rest included people from Norway, Austria, France, Spain, Switzerland and Bulgaria.

Bellingham, Wash. shipbuilder All American Marine (AAM) has delivered a new high-speed and long-range eco-tour vessel to Phillips Cruises and Tours. The vessel will operate daily in Prince William Sound and will be based out of Whittier, AlaskaDeveloped by Nic de Waal of Teknicraft Design in Auckland, New Zealand, the Chugach Express boasts an 84.5’ x 30.7’ semi-displacement aluminum catamaran hull.The new sightseeing vessel integrates the signature Teknicraft Design symmetrical and asymmetrical combined hull shape, bow wave piercer, and a patented hydrofoil-assisted hull design.

The Philippines on Tuesday accused China's coast guard of harassment and of damaging two of its boats in a disputed area of the South China Sea, rejecting Beijing's position that it had expelled those vessels from the hotly contested shoal.The Philippines' task force on South China Sea issues said a coast guard ship and a fisheries vessel were damaged by water cannons used by Chinese coast guard ships, as the vessels headed to Scarborough shoal to assist Filipino fishermen in the area.The fisheries vessel was rammed thrice both by the Chinese coast guard and maritime vessels…

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä reports it will supply the engines for a new Canadian Coast Guard Polar Icebreaker being designed and built at Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards.The 158 meter-long multi-mission Polar Icebreaker will operate under PC2 conditions with four 16-cylinder and two 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 31 engines, delivering 47 MW of power. The engines will be fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems for IMO Tier III environmental compliance. Wärtsilä will also supply the center shaft line with a stainless-steel ice-class propeller…

The New Zealand government may restart the live export trade which has been banned since May 1, 2023.The ban was imposed in response to veterinarians, animal welfare advocates and the New Zealand public decrying conditions and outcomes for the animals. There have also been multiple disasters for the industry.Animal welfare group SPCA says politicians claiming to be champions of farming and business do not have the support of all farmers or a business case for it.“Government would have the public believe that any opposition to their plan is anti-farming…

China's coast guard said on Monday it "expelled" a Philippine coast guard ship and another vessel from waters adjacent to the Scarborough Shoal, Chinese state media reported.The coast guard did not provide additional information, according to the report from Chinese state media broadcaster CCTV, but the incident was the latest to occur between the two countries at the disputed atoll in the South China Sea.Beijing and Manila have repeatedly clashed in recent months at the submerged reef…

Dutch offshore contractor Allseas informs it has secured the contract to perform transport and installation (T&I) of two major substations (so called OSS) for the Gennaker offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea, developed by transmission operator 50Hertz.Located 15 kilometers off the German coast near the Darß peninsula, and with a production capacity of 900 MW, Gennaker will be the largest and most powerful offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea to date.Awarded by the Dutch-Belgian HSI consortium – HSM Offshore Energy…

Approximately one month has passed since the Singaporean-flagged container vessel M/V Dali allided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26. The bridge, which connects Hawkins Point and Dundalk, Maryland, collapsed into the lower Patapsco River, bringing all maritime traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore to a standstill.The Unified Command offers its reflection on the response efforts underway:During the incident involving the Dali, eight road crew workers, who were on break from repairing potholes, were present on the bridge when it collapsed.

Esgian reports that new drilling contracts have been announced in the North Sea and West Africa in its Week 17 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsShelf Drilling (North Sea) has secured a letter of award with an unnamed operator, believed to be TotalEnergies, for the 400-ft jackup Shelf Drilling Fortress for a campaign in the North Sea.Noble 12,000-ft 7th generation drillship Noble Venturer has secured new contracts in West Africa with Trident Energy and Rhino Resources…

At a high-level, there are three solutions to transferring technicians from shore bases to offshore wind farms for construction and O&M activities: crew transfer vessel (CTV), helicopter, and SOVs/CSOVs.SOVs and CSOVs generally house 60-120 technicians offshore for a few weeks at a time, allowing them to transfer to structures on integrated heave compensated gangways, by daughter craft or on CTVs. The vessels are also equipped with cranes, storage, and small workshop areas.SOV: Service operations vessels…