Pemex Trading Arm Mulls Canceling May-June Cargos
The trading arm of Mexican state oil company Pemex is mulling options to slash the number of fuel cargoes the country imports in May and June as demand plummets because of the coronavirus, three sources close to the talks told Reuters.Pemex last week declared force majeure over fuel supplies from its trading arm PMI Comercio Internacional after a bottleneck of more than 60 vessels built up outside Mexican ports…
Namdock Shipbuilders Help Local Hospital Get Ship-shape
Namibian ship repair company Namdock, situated in Walvis Bay on the west coast of Africa, has utilized its fabrication expertise to provide assistance to the Walvis Bay state hospital in its fight against COVID-19 by helping with the maintenance and repair of hospital beds, trollies and bedside cupboards.“While national infection rates and fatalities are currently low, COVID-19 has the potential to trigger a major health crisis in Namibia.
MEPs Urge EU to Stop Funding Libya's Coastguard
Members of European Parliament say the EU should stop channeling funds to Libya to manage migration and to train its coastguard, as the violation of human rights of migrants and asylum-seekers continues.In a debate in the Civil Liberties Committee with representatives of the Commission, Frontex, UNHCR, the Council of Europe and NGOs, a majority of MEPs insisted that Libya is not a “safe country” for…
Meyer Turku Announces Layoffs
Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku on Tuesday started statutory talks to lay off up to 450 of its roughly 2,000 employees because of a hit to business from the coronavirus pandemic.The Turku shipyard on Finland's west coast, which primarily builds cruise ships, had initially started talks over temporary layoffs, but said the market situation had now forced it to look for permanent cuts."These negotiations…
Willis Towers Watson Launches New Cyber Insurance, CyNav for Ship Owners
Willis Towers Watson unveiled a new type of cyber insurance product for shipowners that redesigns standard cyber policies to better navigate the risks for ship operators in the digital era.The solution, CyNav, addresses cyber threats in the broadest sense, including losses that occur from cyber-related business interruptions, even when the cyber events originate with third party IT service providers.CyNav’s…
Nexans Aurora Cable Layer Blocks Fall into Place
All the grand blocks for the Cable Laying Vessel (CLV) ‘Nexans Aurora’ have now been assembled at the hull yard, CRIST, Norway's Ulstein has informed. "Work tasks such as some steelwork, outfitting, and paintwork now need to be carried out before the hull can be towed to Ulstein Verft, Norway, for finalizing," Ulstein said Tuesday.Nexans Aurora is a DP3 cable laying vessel that will be outfitted for power cable laying…
Rolf Stiefel Joins Bureau Veritas as Regional Chief Executive
Bureau Veritas (BV) appointed Rolf Stiefel as its new Regional Chief Executive based in Hamburg, responsible for Central Europe - Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Russia. He will be based in the BV regional office in Hamburg and his appointment is effective May 1, 2020. He succeeds Dr. Hans Gaetjens who is retiring in July following a two month hand-over period.For the past 17 years Stiefel has been…
Schottel to Power 'Wind of Hope'
Schottel will provide a range of propulsion systems for Louis Dreyfus Armateurs's second wind farm service operation vessel (SOV) the Wind of Hope.The new walk-to-work vessel, a sister vessel to the Wind of Change SOV, is currently under construction at Cemre shipyard in Turkey and will enter service operating under a long-term contract with Ørsted.The propulsion system of the vessel designed by Salt Ship Design vessel is powered by four diesel generators…
Van Oord Installs Slip Joint Foundation at Borssele Wind Farm Site
Dutch offshore installation and construction company has installed what it calls the "Slip Joint" foundation at the Borssele Wind Farm Site V in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.The Slip Joint is an alternative connection between foundation elements, a monopile, and a transition piece. It consists of two conical sections placed on top of each other. The foundation was installed at at the Borssele…
Covid-19 Catches up with Seaborne Coal in Asia
The coronavirus pandemic has finally caught up with seaborne thermal coal in Asia, as soft demand in major importers India and China sends prices to multi-year lows and dents the polluting fuel's relative outperformance against other energy.The price of low-energy coal from Indonesia, the world's top exporter of thermal coal, has dropped to the lowest since assessments were started by commodity price reporting agency Argus in 2008…
Danish Companies Testing New Workboat Stabilizer
Two Danish companies have joined forces to test a novel workboat stabilizer for the first time at sea.DACOMA’s groundbreaking Airkeel-technology will be integrated on a 7-meter test vessel from Tuco Marine's ProZero workboat range to demonstrate heel compensation and optimization of roll damping in waves.The DACOMA stabilizer is based on the Airkeel, a submerged, air-filled flotation body mounted at the bottom of the hull.
BHP to Expand Iron Ore Exports from Port Hedland
Miner BHP Group said on Tuesday it plans to expand its iron ore export capacity from Port Hedland, the largest global shipping hub for the steel-making commodity, by up to 40 million tonnes a year to 330 million tonnes a year.The move comes as improvements across BHP’s supply chain have opened the way to raise shipments if market conditions allow, Tim Day, BHP’s Acting Asset President Western Australia Iron Ore…
Jones Act Tankers Booked for Storage, Foreign Trips Amid Oil Glut
Oil traders are hiring expensive U.S. vessels, normally only used for domestic shipments, to store gasoline or ship fuel overseas, five shipping sources said, in…
MetalCraft Delivers Patrol Boat to Port of LA
MetalCraft Marine has delivered a new patrol boat to the Port of Los Angeles. The new vessel is one of a new breed of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) detection patrol boats.According to the builder, the bow entry is the critical design feature of all Interceptor models. Its high-speed rough water performance allows the operators to go offshore to inspect incoming ships before…
Interview: Todd Thayse, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding
Vice President and General Manager of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Todd Thayse, has 34 years of experience in the maritime construction and repair industry, working with clients from all over the world as well as vendors and suppliers from the Great Lakes region and beyond. He has an extensive background in manufacturing production, material procurement, strategic planning, estimating, budgeting, labor negotiations…
Gibbs & Cox Hires Hobbs as Chief Information Officer
Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Gibbs & Cox announced Brian Hobbs has joined the company as Chief Information Officer. In his new role, Hobbs will provide executive leadership and oversight of the full spectrum of corporate information technology infrastructure, security, end user services, people and processes."With the cyber landscape constantly evolving and threats becoming increasingly more sophisticated…
Navy Wants to Reinstate Fired Captain of Coronavirus-hit Carrier
In an extraordinary reversal, the U.S. Navy has recommended reinstating the fired captain of the coronavirus-hit aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, whose crew hailed him as their hero for risking his job to safeguard their lives, officials said on Friday.The Navy’s leadership made the recommendation to reinstate Captain Brett Crozier to Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Friday, just three weeks after…
ClassNK Grants AIP for LPG Dual-fuel Bulker
Classification society ClassNK granted Approval in Principle (AIP) for a 180,000 DWT liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel bulk carrier concept design developed by Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in cooperation with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.The AiP was granted to the concept design based on ClassNK’s Guidelines for Ships Using Low-Flashpoint Fuels and its Rule Part GF (regulation for ships…
FMC Eases Requirements for Service Contract Filings
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission voted to temporarily allow parties to file service contracts up to 30 days after they take effect, as a measure to relieve COVID-19 impacts to the supply chain.The Commission published an order today making the relief effective immediately and lasting through December 31, 2020.The benefits of service contract filing relief were identified by the Fact Finding 29…
Russian Grain Exports to Continue Despite Quota
Russia’s online grain export quota was running out fast on Saturday as big traders rushed to get customs documents for future shipments, analysts said, adding that supplies from the world’s biggest wheat exporter would continue nevertheless.Russia set a quota for grain exports of 7 million tonnes for April through June following the outbreak of the virus. Russia's online calculator showed here that as of Saturday only 873…
