Reverse Osmosis and the New Dawn of Marine Desalination
Today’s desalination plants are rugged, durable and highly automated to meet the demands of operators and the crew, enabling them to meet schedule and mission with ample potable water production.In the days of old, marine distilling plants – then mostly steam – relied on archaic flash evaporators, which used steam to heat, power an air ejector, and ultimately create a vacuum whereby seawater would flash or boil and ultimately be distilled.
Bridge Heights Are Not Guesswork: Accuracy Is Imperative
“Your true pilot cares nothing about anything on earth but the river, and the pride in his occupation surpasses the pride of kings.” -Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi (1883).That statement made by the great chronicler and river pilot over 137 years ago is arguably as true today as it was then. But what has changed dramatically in the almost century and a half since then is the variety and complexity of the daily challenges that river pilots confront on our increasingly busy inland waterways.
Comprehensive Sanctions: Iran, Syria and North Korea
This article will focus on “comprehensive sanctions,” which prohibit most trade between the U.S. and the target country, with a particular focus on three countries currently targeted by comprehensive sanctions: Iran, Syria and North Korea. Similar jurisdictions which are subject to varying levels of comprehensive sanctions, including Cuba, the Crimea region (Russia/Ukraine) and Venezuela (which may…
MARAD Awards $220 Mln in Port Infrastructure Grants
More than $220 million in discretionary grant funding has been awarded to improve U.S. port facilities in 16 states and territories through the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced Thursday.“This $220 million in federal grants will improve America’s ports with nearly half the projects are located in Opportunity Zones…
MarineTraffic Extends Partnership with ORBCOMM
Ship tracking and maritime information service MarineTraffic has extended its contract through the end of 2023 for ORBCOMM’s satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) data.MarineTraffic…
NAPA Loading Computer Awarded DNV GL Type Approval
Maritime software, services, and data analysis provider NAPA said it has been awarded type approval by DNV GL for its latest loading computer, the NAPA Loading Computer Type 4 and Loading Computer System Damage Control, LCS(DC). The type approval, which is the first of its kind to be awarded by DNV GL, is significant in enabling further adoption of a new generation of loading computers, which assess damage in real time with increased accuracy…
IMO, IAPH Partner to Reduce Emissions from Ships and Ports
A new strategic partnership to strengthen cooperation between ships and ports to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been signed (on 13 October) by the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) and the GreenVoyage2050 Project, which is executed by IMO.The partnership will result in collaboration to jointly deliver technical cooperation and capacity-building activities to support implementation…
Svitzer to Commence Operations in Emden, Germany
Towage operator Svitzer Europe announced it will start a new towage operation in Germany’s third-largest North Sea port from January 1, 2021. To fully service customers at the seaport of Emden, Svitzer will deploy two tugboats: the Svitzer Valand, a tractor tug with 45 tons bollard pull and part of the organization’s existing European fleet, and the newly purchased Svitzer Vestri, an azimuth stern drive tug with 60 tons bollard pull.
Scotline Marine Exercises Option for Fourth Newbuild at Royal Bodewes
Dutch shipbuilder Royal Bodewes announced that U.K.-based shipping company Scotline Marine Holdings Ltd has exercised its option for a fourth newbuild 4,800 DWAT Bodewes Trader, to be named Scot Isles and launched in the third quarter of 2021.A 90-meter sister ship Scot Ranger is currently being built at Royal Bodewes' yard in Hoogezand.Previous vessels in the series include Scot Explorer delivered…
Seismic Surveys in East Med: 'Ankara Toying with Brussels'
The European Union's latest strategy to defuse tensions with Turkey is unraveling, two weeks after it was sealed, raising the risk of conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean…
Gulf of Guinea Kidnappings by Pirates Rise 40%
Kidnappings rose by 40% in the Gulf of Guinea in the first nine months of this year, and the region off West Africa's coast now accounts for 95% of global maritime kidnappings, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said on Wednesday.Eighty seafarers were taken in the Gulf of Guinea, a 2.3 million sq km (888,000 sq m) area bordering more than a dozen countries, sharply up from the same period in 2019…
US Army Corps Clearing Debris from Louisiana Calcasieu Ship Channel After Delta
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Wednesday that it may be able to clear enough debris from Hurricane Delta to open the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Louisiana to vessels drafting up to 30 feet (9.14 m) with restrictions by the end of the week.The Army Corps, however, said it does not have a timeline for restoration to full deep draft (40 feet) traffic.Analysts said a fully laden liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker has a draft of around 40 feet.
Scorpio Bulkers Sells Two Ultramax Vessels
Scorpio Bulkers, Inc. announced Wednesday that it has entered into agreements with an unaffiliated third party to sell two 2017-built Ultramax bulk carriers for…
Ships Wait to Unload at Port of Los Angeles as Imports Boom
Incoming cargo to the Port of Los Angeles is surging as businesses restock depleted inventories and retailers prepare for an early holiday season, the executive director for the nation's busiest seaport said on Wednesday.Workers unloaded 471,795 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) of imports in September, 17% more than the year earlier, marking the second month of robust import gains at the No. 1 gateway for U.S.
Tidewater Names Degodny CCO
Tidewater Transportation and Terminals said it recently added Aaron Degodny as its new Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer. As part of Tidewater’s executive leadership team, Degodny will focus on establishing strategic partnerships in new markets, expanding and strengthening client relationships, and extending the regional and global footprint of Tidewater, the largest barge transportation and terminal network on the Columbia-Snake River system.
UN Access to Decaying Yemen Tanker Could Take Weeks
A United Nations team will have to wait several weeks to access a deteriorating tanker off Yemen's shore that is threatening to spill 1.1 million barrels of crude oil in the Red Sea, two U.N. sources told Reuters.The United Nations has warned that the Safer, stranded since 2015, could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster near Alaska, but access to the vessel has been complicated by the war in Yemen.Yemen's Houthi movement…
Maritime Cybersecurity in Focus
Maritime cybersecurity is more important than ever, as made clear during an international webinar chaired Wednesday by the United States, the Netherlands and Denmark.The webinar was a continuation of the maritime cybersecurity event in the margins of the One Conference in The Hague in October 2019.Andreas Nordseth, Director General of the Danish Maritime Authority, said, “The technological developments hold great potential for improving the maritime sector even more…
ABS CEO Calls for Cooperation on Decarbonization
The successful decarbonization of the shipping industry will require teamwork and cooperation, said ABS Chairman, President and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki.“Building the future is clearly a team sport – even if not all players see it that way all the time,” he said. “In our industry, the more all stakeholders in the supply chain cooperate on meeting the challenges of getting to 2030 and 2050, the sooner we will reach those goals…
Baltic Index Marks Worst Day in Two Months
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Wednesday to mark its worst day in over two months, hurt by falling capesize rates.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was down 95 points, or 5.5%, at 1,637 points, its biggest percentage fall since July 23.The capesize index lost 264 points, or 8.6%, at 2,810 points, registering its worst day since July 22.Average dai
Norden Sells Product Tanker Nord Andes
Danish shipping company Norden said it has sold the 2011-built product tanker Nord Andes to an unnamed Asian buyer just 10 months after the vessel was acquired.The…
