Cargo Ship Mistakenly Thought Pirates Boarding
Eritrean forces in the Red Sea have boarded a merchant vessel that was in their territorial waters in an incident the crew initially reported as a pirate attack, reports Reuters. It was not immediately clear why the forces boarded the ship, the MV Marzooqah, and it was not possible to contact authorities in Eritrea, one of Africa's most isolated nations. Reuters quotes Lieutenant Commander Jacqueline Sherriff…
Singapore Cancels Two Bunker Supplier Licences
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) states it has cancelled the bunker supplier licences of Excel Petroleum Enterprise Pte Ltd and Lian Hoe Leong & Brothers Pte Ltd with effect from 15 January 2014 for contravening the terms and conditions of the bunkering licences. Both companies were found to have breached Clause 3 of the terms and conditions of the Bunkering Licence (Bunker Supplier) by allowing other companies to use their Bunker Delivery Notes to supply bunkers.
Kværner to Play Part in Construction of Enormous Offshore Spar Platform
Norway's Kværner ASA say that Technip Norge AS has awarded them a sub-contract for the Fjord Base and Support Services up-ending and preparation for mating operations of the sub-structure for the Aasta Hansteen Spar platform. With a total length of 198 meters, Aasta Hansteen will be the world's largest spar platform, claims Kværner, and the first of its kind on the Norwegian continental shelf. Statoil has contracted Technip and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in a consortium to engineer…
Korean Yard to Build World's Largest Container Ship for CSCL
Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) say they have begun building the first of five 19,000 TEU container ships for China Shipping Container Lines (Hong Kong). HHI explain that the shipowner upgraded the original order for five 18,400 TEU containerships to ones capable of delivering 600 more containers, and thus these new ships will be the largest container ships ever built they claim. The new container ships will feature 77…
Statoil North Sea Platform Incident Leads to Partial Evacuation
Statoil say that a situation arose in which drill fluid was lost as a new well was being drilled on Snorre A, in the Tampen area of the North Sea. Statoil explain that while it was possible to quickly reduce the loss of drill fluid to the reservoir, adverse weather conditions created some uncertainty as to when a vessel might get out to the platform with a new supply of drill fluid. As a purely preventive measure…
Panama Canal Extension Contractors' Work Stoppage
In response to an announcement by Grupo Unidos por el Canal, S.A. "Currently, the production levels are low in the new locks project without any justification. work only when the employer has failed to issue payment to the contractor. However, this is not the case and, therefore, such notice of intent to suspend work lacks merit. In fact, the ACP pays GUPC within the first 15 days after the invoice is presented, significantly in advance of the contractually-stated period of 56 days.
The Sea Shall Not Have Them: Latest Rescue News
In the Philippines a large scale rescue of ferry passengers, on the other side of the world, a British fishing boat crew is airlifted to safety, and a man is plucked from rough seas off Aberdeen breakwater. A rescue team from Philippine Coast Guard search and rescue vessel, BRP EDSA II (SARV-002) evacuated 132 passengers from the MV Our Lady Of All Nation after the inter-island ferry ran aground at Danajon Bank, Bohol.
New Navy O-FRP Emphasizes Training
The U.S. Navy's new Optimized Fleet Response Plan (O-FRP) was unveiled in a keynote address delivered at the 26th Annual Surface Navy Association National Symposium in Crystal City, Va., Jan. 15. Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command Adm. Bill Gortney explained the changes to the new O-FRP, addressing Quality of Service and blending both Quality of Work and Quality of Life efforts by providing stability and predictability to deployment schedules over a 36 month O-FRP cycle.
Update: Philippines Grounding Incidents
The Philippines Couast Guard issued an update on three recent grounding incidents near Central Visayas. The MV Subic Bay 1, which ran aground at Bantolinao Point…
NOAA Satellites Helped Save 253 People in 2013
The same NOAA satellites that helped forecasters predict severe weather, such as the Moore, Okla., tornado last May and November’s deadly Midwest tornado outbreak, also played a key role in rescuing 253 people from potentially life-threatening scenarios throughout the United States and its surrounding waters last year. A combination of NOAA polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites detected distress signals from emergency beacons carried by downed pilots…
New Industries Expands Piping Fabrication Shop
New Industries, Inc. has announced the completion of the expansion of its Morgan City piping fabrication shop. The expansion adds an additional 10,000 square feet of useable space, two additional overhead cranes, and a new automatic Submerged Arc welding system. The piping fabrication shop is used for manufacturing subsea piping components and assemblies. “The expansion of the pipe shop provides additional…
USCG Medavacs Fisherman
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) reported that rescue crews from Air Station Cape Cod medically evacuated a 25-year-old fisherman approximately 35 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. Friday.
Harley Adds Mini Training ASD Tug
Harley Marine Services has added the newest component to their comprehensive training program by purchasing the Azimuthing Stern Drive (ASD) Training Vessel, BRAtt, from Robert Allen Ltd. The BRAtt is representative of a modern ASD tug and was purposefully built as a training tool for the maritime industry. Its compact design is scaled to proportionately represent a full size tug with dimensions of just 25.6 feet by 11.8 feet and a horsepower of 450.
AAPA Applauds Port Infrastructure Funding
In applauding Congress’ passage late yesterday of the $1.1 trillion Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2014, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) noted that several high priority programs crucial to the safe, efficient and competitive operation of American seaports are included in the appropriations mix. This includes funding for U.S. DOT’s Transportation Infrastructure Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grants, U.S.
Bauzá Takes Command at EU NAVFOR
On 17 January 2014, Rear Admiral Jean Martens (German Navy) handed over the role of Deputy Operation Commander (DCOM) of the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta to Rear Admiral Bartolomé Bauzá (Spanish Navy). The handover took place at the Operation Headquarters (OHQ) in Northwood, London. Rear Admiral Martens joined the Operation in July 2013. On leaving the OHQ he was applauded by the staff of EU NAVFOR for his hard work and efforts.
Maritime Reporter @ 75: The Daily Cartoon
Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was founded by John J. O'Malley (1905-1980) in 1939, and today ranks as the world's largest audited trade publication in the world serving the maritime industry, with a circulation of more than 35,000 worldwide, including ship and boat owners, ship and boat builders, naval architects and marine engineers. Today Maritime Reporter heads a group of four print and 10 websites serving the global maritime, offshore and subsea sector.
Commercial Icebreaking on Lake Erie
The U.S. Coast Guard is warning residents of southern Lake Erie islands that commercial icebreaking operations are scheduled to take place Monday, and possibly Tuesday…
Legionella Tests for Pax and Cruise Vessels
Scottish environmental engineers Albagaia announced the latest range of Hydrosense Legionella testing kits specifically designed to suit the marine industry. Shipping has been increasingly hit by demands of officialdom in health and safety compliance viz a viz Legionella. Vessels failing tests can be stuck in port for days awaiting remedial solutions and yet more tests proving compliance; (the latter can take up to two weeks).
2013 Great Lakes Iron Ore Trade Down 5.3%
Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 58.3 million tons in 2013, a decrease of 5.3 percent from 2012. While the trade had been slightly behind 2012’s pace through November…
Great Lakes Iron Ore Trade Down 5.3% in 2013
Shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 58.3 million tons in 2013, a decrease of 5.3 percent from 2012. While the trade had been slightly behind 2012’s pace through November…
