Trace News

The Methanol Institute (MI) and SEA-LNG, key representatives of the methanol and LNG industries respectively, have expressed their deep concerns following the recent announcement by the European Commission impacting the trade of biomethane and biomethane-based biofuels such as biomethanol.The Commission has noted the intention to exclude the automatic certification of biomethane and biomethanol-based fuels produced through mass balance chain of custody in third-party countries outside the EU gas grids within the Union Database (UDB)…

EH Group said its EH Fuel Cell System TRACE-M250, designed for high power and maritime applications, has been awarded approval in principle (AIP) following an assessment by classification society DNV to confirm that the fuel cell design meets all the applicable maritime rules, regulations, codes and standards.Based on EH Group’s stack technology, the 250kW EH TRACE-M250 module is designed to improve efficiency and safety, in a more compact and lightweight module, the Switzerland-based manufacturer said…

Mauritius will allow a ship belonging to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to dock after no trace of cholera was found in samples taken from passengers on board, a senior health official said on Monday.Authorities on the island nation off the coast of east Africa prevented the Norwegian Dawn from docking over the weekend over what they said were "health risks," without elaborating.Samples were taken from around 15 passengers who were experiencing a mild stomach illness.Bhooshun Ori…

Campbell Transportation Company has repowered one of its towboats, the M/V Louise S, as part of an ongoing effort to modernize its fleet and enhance operational efficiency.The vessel, a 150-foot-long triple screw towboat built in 1968, was previously powered by three EMD 12-645 propulsion engines. Its new Tier 3 Mitsubishi S16R-Y3 engines, provided by Laborde Products and each outputting 1,675 horsepower, bring the total vessel power to 5,025 horsepower, significantly enhancing the boat's capability and efficiency.

Danish shipping company A.P. Moller - Maersk announced it has signed an agreement with Norwegian energy company Equinor to secure supply of methanol for its new methanol-enabled feeder vessel during its initial months of operation from September 2023 and into the first half of 2024.The agreement ensures methanol supply for the ship from its entry into operation on a loop from Northern Europe into the Baltic Sea after the name giving ceremony later this month in Copenhagen. The green methanol will be bunkered in Rotterdam.The 2…

An investigation by Australian research organisation CSIRO’s research vessel RV Investigator has confirmed the location of the wreck of the MV Blythe Star.The 44-metre motor vessel Blythe Star was a coastal freighter that disappeared off Tasmania nearly 50 years ago. The vessel was travelling from Hobart to King Island with a cargo of superphosphate fertiliser and a ton of beer in kegs when, on October 13, 1973, it suddenly capsized and sank off the southwest coast of Tasmania…

Romania and Poland are in talks with the European Commission over export tracing mechanisms for Ukrainian grains to ensure local farmers are not hurt by a flood of cheap imports, the Polish and Romanian prime ministers said on Tuesday.Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters, has seen its Black Sea ports blocked since Russia invaded more than a year ago and has been forced to find alternative shipping routes through European Union states Poland and Romania.But logistical bottlenecks mean that large quantities of Ukrainian grains…

Commercial engine distributor Laborde Products announced it has appointed Michael Murzi, Jr. as its new marine sales manager. Murzi brings with him over 10 years of experience in the marine industry and over 30 years of experience in sales, customer service and business development.Murzi has held various senior sales roles throughout his career and has a proven track record of developing successful sales strategies, managing key accounts, and aggressively driving revenue growth.

Spanish police seized 4.5 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of 105 million euros ($114 million) after raiding a cattle ship off the Canary Islands earlier this week, a statement said on Saturday.The ship had stopped at ports in about a dozen countries before Tuesday's raid, and police said drug smugglers had started using livestock ships because it was more difficult for police to trace their illicit cargo."International organisations are reinventing themselves to transport drugs from Latin America to Europe, using livestock to make the control and localisation more difficult," the Spanish police statement said.Police arrested 28 crew members on the Togo-flagged Orion V, which had been trailed from Colombia in an operation by Spanish authorities, the U.S.

Divers from a documentary crew looking for the wreckage of a World War Two aircraft off the coast of Florida found a 20-foot section of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded and broke apart shortly after its launch in 1986, NASA said on Thursday.The divers contacted NASA after spotting a large, clearly modern object mostly covered in sand at the bottom of the ocean and bearing the shuttle's distinctive tiles, the space agency said in a written statement."This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again…

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…

Shadowcat expanded its portfolio to include a monohull shadow vessel. Dubbed Shadowolf, this is its first single-hulled support yacht and is available to meet the increasing demand for guest-level comfort and services. The vessel's new hybrid hull design focuses on passenger comfort and accommodation, while still enhancing adventures at sea.Designed by Shadowcat partners Incat Crowther and YCTS, Ltd., the 69.2m Shadowolf offers an 11.5m beam and 3.25m draft, and will be built upon Incat Crowther’s aluminum hull design.Other Shadowolf features include a fully certified helipad and hangar…

The U.S. Coast Guard has called off its search for five migrants missing in waters off the Florida Keys since their makeshift vessel capsized on Friday, adding to the dozens lost at sea in attempted boat crossings from Cuba in recent months.The five who disappeared about 14 miles (23 km) south of Sugar Loaf Key brought to seven the toll of dead or presumed dead in Friday's accident, even as the Coast Guard on Tuesday repatriated another 43 Cubans intercepted elsewhere in the Keys…

Late last month, a Russian-flagged cargo ship carrying corn pulled into the Turkish port of Izmir on the Aegean Sea. The SV Nikolay had loaded the grain at Port Kavkaz, in Russia, six days earlier on June 18, according to documentation provided by an employee of the Russian company that owns the ship.A Reuters analysis of satellite imagery, ship-tracking data and open-source photos and videos yields a different port of origin for the SV Nikolay. On June 18, Reuters’ analysis of a satellite image indicates…

Contaminated fuel supplied to some 200 ships in Singapore came from a tanker that loaded the oil from Khor Fakkan port in the United Arab Emirates, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.MPA began investigations after it was notified on March 14 that a number of ships had been supplied with high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) containing high concentration levels of chlorinated organic compounds (COC) in Singapore.MPA said in April that the tainted oil was supplied by Glencore Singapore Pte Ltd.In further investigations to trace the oil's origin…

On January 14, 2022 the European Parliament’s Rapporteur, MEP Peter Liese, published his draft report on a proposal to revise the Emissions Trading System (ETS) Directive¹ which forms part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package of climate and energy reforms published on July 14, 2021. The draft report includes a number of ambitious amendments to emissions trading for the maritime sector – the Maritime ETS – which, if agreed, will put more pressure on the maritime industry to switch to cleaner fuels sooner than originally planned.

COVID-19 infections have been spreading in pubs and clubs in Australia's biggest city, including three new cases of the Omicron variant found among people who went on a harbor party cruise, sending officials rushing to trace contacts.Authorities have been easing restrictions in Sydney since early October when the city emerged from a nearly four-month lockdown to contain the Delta coronavirus variant after the population reached higher vaccination levels."We have seen recently increased transmission in larger social venues ...

An Ohio man has been arrested on federal charges after suspected explosive devices were found on Ohio River towboats, authorities said.Nathaniel Blayn Becker, of Marietta, Ohio, was charged on October 28 in a federal criminal complaint with possession of one or more unregistered destructive devices.Forty-two-year-old Becker is accused of purchasing pipes and other components that formed suspected destructive devices recovered by law enforcement officers from two different tugboats on the Ohio River on October 21 and October 25, 2021.

A vehicle with a flashing siren and "Makassar COVID Hunter" written on the side pulls up to a ship docked at a jetty in the Indonesian port city of Makassar, and masked COVID-19 patients carrying bags board the boat.This ship, called the KM Umsini, used to ply a route ferrying up to 2,000 passengers between Indonesia's island cities. Now, it has been turned into an isolation center for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms, amid the spread of the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant.Over 800 beds have been installed and sixty medical workers take turns in shifts to help patients recover.The patients have to spend 10 days in isolation…

The Suez Canal blockage laid bare many of the challenges being faced by the global shipping industry today. With 12% of global trade passing through the canal each day, the total revenue lost from delayed, damaged or lost goods due to its blockage is estimated to be up to $10 billion. Many of the organizations that faced a logistical nightmare in the face of the Ever Given blockage struggled to respond to things as they happened and make informed predictions about future occurrences…

The second vessel in the ShadowCat range, Wayfinder, has been delivered, naval architect Incat Crowther and yacht services fir YCTS Ltd announced. Wayfinder builds on the capability of Hodor, delivered in 2019.Wayfinder has a 68-meter length, 14-meter beam and a draft of 2.4 meters which permits close coastline navigation. Features include a fully certified helipad and helicopter hangar, with accommodation and storage over four decks. Wayfinder's carrying capacity includes a helicopter, five large tenders, jet skis and more.

Ropes manufacturer Samson says it is now offering several of its products with the option of sustainable, bio-sourced fiber, enabling customers to reduce their carbon footprint.Made from climate-neutral feedstock through sustainable forestry, this innovation utilizes the mass balance approach to sourcing and further reduces reliance on fossil-based resources. Samson and DSM are introducing the first-ever bio-sourced ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber and further reducing reliance on fossil fuel-based resources.

More than 44 pounds of cocaine was seized from a Marshall Islands-flagged bull carrier anchored in the Chesapeake Bay near Annapolis, Md., on Wednesday.The drugs were discovered during an early morning examination by officers and agents from the DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Coast Guard, and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police aboard the 958-foot Samjohn Solidarity. The 20 bricks of cocaine found concealed inside the vessel’s anchor locker has a street value of more than $1 million.No arrests were made…