Venezuelan Detains More than 30 PDVSA Workers
At least 38 workers from Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela’s, including the president of maritime subsidiary PDV Marina, were detained on accusations of trafficking fuel…
Mesaieed Shipyard Adds Floating Dry Dock
Qatari maritime transport and logistics conglomerate Milaha said it has acquired a new floating dry dock as part of ongoing upgrade and modernization work underway at its shipyard facilities.The dock is set to arrive at the group’s Mesaieed Shipyard in the coming months and will be fully operational in the second half of this year to support local government and commercial clients in the maritime and oil and gas sectors.Milaha president and CEO…
NY/NJ Port Head Tests Positive for Coronavirus
Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday.The Port Authority, which oversees both states' seaports as well as airports and other major travel hubs, said in a statement that Cotton is currently asymptomatic and has self-quarantined at his home while maintaining a…
USS Hershel 'Woody' Williams Commissioned
The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest Expeditionary Sea Base, USS Hershel “Woody” Williams (ESB 4), during a ceremony Saturday, March 7, in Norfolk, Va.USS Hershel “Woody” Williams is optimized to support a variety of maritime-based missions and designed around four core capabilities: aviation facilities, berthing, equipment staging support, and command and control assets. ESBs can be enhanced to meet special operations force missions through increased communications…
US to Warn Shipping Industry Against Storing Iranian Oil
The Trump administration will soon issue an advisory warning ports, tankers and shipping industry players against storing Iranian oil in violation of U.S. sanctions, a State Department official said on Monday.David Peyman, the deputy assistant secretary of state for counter threat finance and sanctions, said the United States will also encourage ship captains and others to take photos of anyone conducting ship-to-ship transfers in case those transfers involve sanctioned oil.
Port of Rotterdam Sees Slight Recovery in China Shipments
The number of container ships travelling from China to the port of Rotterdam seems to have recovered slightly, as coronavirus measures that had significantly curbed traffic from China have been eased, the port's CEO said on Monday."A few weeks ago we estimated that the number of ships leaving ports in China had dropped by about 20%", the Chief Executive of Europe's largest port, Allard Castelein, told Dutch radio broadcaster BNR."This seems to have recovered somewhat…
SBG Systems' INS Chosen for Shom Fleet
Shom, the French national hydrographic and oceanographic office selected SBG Systems’ inertial navigation sytems to renew their whole fleet of INS. They chose Navsight Apogee INS for their speedboats and survey vessels for both shallow and deep-water real-time bathymetric surveys and Qinertia PPK software for post-processing tasks.Shom has 3 major objectives: national hydrography and cartography, defense support in hydro-oceanographic fields…
Baltic Index Falls on Weak Rates
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index fell on Monday, breaking a 20-day winning streak, as weak demand for capesize and panamax vessels offset strong rates for the supramax segment.The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels that ferry dry bulk commodities, fell 1 point, or 0.2%, to 616.The capesize index fell 60 points to -372.Average daily earnings for capesizes…
Amsterdam's Boats Go Electric Ahead of 2025 Diesel Ban
The century-old Amsterdam canal boat Gerarda Johanna looks like a classic with wood paneling, but beneath its floorboards lies a high-tech underbelly: rows of lithium ion batteries, 66 in all, with an electric drive train powering its propeller.The boat is part of a push by Amsterdam’s new Green Party mayor to ban diesel engines from the center’s ancient canals by 2025, helping the city’s efforts to combat climate change.The transition among commercial vessels is well underway…
33 New Coronavirus Confirmed on Nile Cruise Ship
Egypt confirmed 33 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday on a River Nile cruise ship.None of the new cases were showing symptoms of the virus, Health Minister Hala Zayed told reporters. Of 12 suspected cases among the crew announced on Friday, 11 tested negative, she said, but would nevertheless be quarantined for two weeks.Tourism is a key sector in Egypt’s economy and an important source of foreign exchange.
Cruise Ship Turned Away by Malaysia, Thailand to Dock in Singapore
Singapore will allow cruise ship Costa Fortuna to dock in the city-state on Tuesday, authorities said, after it was turned away from ports in Malaysia and Thailand over coronavirus fears.Costa Fortuna departed from Singapore, where it is home-ported, on March 3.Italian cruise line Costa Crociere said there were no suspected virus cases among its guests, which includes Italians. Italy has the largest number of cases of the virus outside China with 7…
Rumo Says No Impact from Coronavirus on Soy Freight
An executive at Brazil's largest railway operator Rumo said soy crushing in China is returning to normal levels after an extended halt, a good sign for logistics operators involved in moving the oilseeds from Brazil's fields to the world's top importing country.Speaking at an event on Monday, Rumo's Chief Executive João Alberto Abreu said ship line-up data for soy vessels at Brazil's biggest port of Santos is robust…
Grand Princess Passengers Bound for Coronavirus Quarantine
An ocean liner barred from returning to port in San Francisco due to a coronavirus outbreak on board will dock briefly at a nearby terminal in Oakland, where passengers will be unloaded and sent on to medical and quarantine sites elsewhere, officials said on Sunday.The cruise ship Grand Princess, whose guests have been largely confined to their staterooms since Thursday, is due to arrive at the Port of Oakland on Monday to begin immediately disgorging its 2…
MarTID 2020 Survey Deadline Extended
The deadline to take the 2020 MarTID survey of mariner training practices has been extended to March 31, 2020, and your participation is vital to its success.Take the survey today:Vessel operators: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020MarTIDOperatorTraining institutions: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020MarTIDMETISeafarers: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020MarTIDSeafarerFor a full background on the initiative, visit http://scholar.wmu.se/martid.
ClassNK Releases CBM Guidelines
Classifaction society ClassNK released new guidelines that explain the revised rules for using condition based maintenance (CBM) in class surveys to promote the use of CBM technology.Condition based maintenance, a method for monitoring the operating state of equipment, diagnosing the state of said equipment based upon the information obtained from such monitoring, and then performing necessary maintenance and inspections, has been attracting attention in recent years.
Cochin Port Upgrades Vessel Traffic Management System
The technology group Wärtsilä will upgrade its Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) installed in the Indian port of Cochin, bringing additional benefits such as improved traffic monitoring and control.The system was originally delivered in 2008, and the order with Wärtsilä to upgrade the system was placed in February 2020 by the Cochin Port Trust (CoPT). The upgrading project is scheduled for completion by the end of July 2020.According to Wärtsilä…
US Retailers Face $700 Mln Hit as Virus Disrupts Shipping
U.S. retailers face an estimated $700 million sales hit from the coronavirus and some shipping lines are sending vessels to retrieve empty cargo containers from Los Angeles to prevent further supply disruptions.The extended shutdown of factories in China caused by the virus, travel restrictions on workers and canceled sailings by shipping lines have thrown off the movement of containers, resulting in a surplus at the Port of Los Angeles and a shortage in Germany.U.S.
Diamond Princess' COVID-19 Death Toll Rises to Seven
A man who had been aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship and was infected with coronavirus has died, bringing the death toll from the ship to seven, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Saturday.The man was not Japanese, NHK said, without giving details of his nationality or age.
Survey Vessel Launched for Geo Plus
Dutch shipbuilder Royal Niestern Sander said it has launched a new vessel currently under construction for hydrographic survey firm Geo Plus BV. The newbuild, to be named Geo Ranger, is due to be christened and delivered this summer.The contract for the construction of the hydrographic research vessel Geo Ranger was signed by the builder and Geo Plus in April 2019.After the start of construction in September 2019…
New Cat Ferry MV Tricia for Transperth Fleet
A new passenger ferry built by Dongara Marine has been introduced to the public transport system in Perth, Western Australia. MV Tricia - named after Perth Zoo's popular 62-year-old Asian Elephant - is the third ferry in the Transperth fleet, joining two other low-wash catamarans introduced in 1997 and 2009. Operating across the Swan River between Elizabeth Quay and South Perth, the 23.7-m aluminium…