Meyer Werft Floats Out New Ship for Silversea Cruises
German shipbuilder Meyer Werft has floated out its latest newbuild for Royal Caribbean's luxury cruise line Silversea Cruises.After water had filled the drydock at Meyer Werft's shipyard in in Papenburg, tugboats maneuvered the vessel Silver Nova from one of the world’s largest enclosed construction halls into the adjacent harbor, where the fitting out phase will continue. Meyer Werft’s craftspeople cleaned the ship’s hull…
First Large Cruise Vessel Arrives in Aberdeen South Harbour
Port of Aberdeen said Tuesday it had welcomed the first cruise ship into the "transformational" £400 million Aberdeen South Harbour expansion. The 203-meter-long AIDAaura, with a capacity for more than 1,200 guests, is the longest vessel to visit the Port of Aberdeen to date. The vessel arrived from Hamburg, Germany, for a full day visit as part of a Scottish cruise. The AIDAaura berthed on Castlegate Quay…
Germany's LNG Import Terminals Tackle Challenges
Germany's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Stade said it would in the coming weeks begin testing market appetite for ammonia as a way to transport hydrogen, as the country's efforts to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas gather pace.The quest for alternatives has included focusing on hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany…
Baltic Index Falls on Lower Vessel Demand
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Tuesday, pressured by lower shipping rates across all vessel segments. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, dropped 24 points, or 1.5%, to 1,552 - its biggest dip in two weeks. The capesize index lost 33 points, or 1.4%, to 2,268.
Singapore Ammonia Bunkering Gets Reality Check from Port Authority, Industry
Top global ship fuelling hub Singapore is unlikely to be ready for ammonia bunkering by the end of this year, Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said, while industry players have also raised concerns about feasibility. The port authority's clarification came after the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) said on April 27 that Singapore's first transfer of ammonia for bunkering could take place by the end of 2023.
Russia Calls for Probe into Nord Stream Pipeline Blasts to Speed Up
The Kremlin on Tuesday called for the investigation into the blasts of Russia-designed Nord Stream gas pipelines to be speeded up and any results to be published. In September 2022, several unexplained underwater explosions ruptured the Nord Stream 1 and newly-built Nord Stream 2 pipelines that link Russia and Germany across the Baltic Sea. The blasts occurred in the economic zones of Sweden and Denmark and both countries say the explosions were deliberate…
Bollinger Shipyards to Refit NOAA's Largest Ship "Ronald H. Brown"
Bollinger Shipyards has begun fabrication at its newly acquired Mississippi repair facility, Bollinger Mississippi Repair, in preparation to refit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) Ship Ronald H. Brown, the largest ship in NOAA’s fleet. The overhaul is expected to extend the vessel's life, first launched in 1996, by an additional 15 years. Work is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2024.“Here on the Gulf Coast…
Impasse Remains Over Russian Grain, Fertilizer Exports
There is no progress in removing obstacles to Russian grain and fertilizer exports caused by the West's "sanction strategy", a senior Russian diplomat in Washington said on Tuesday, ahead of the expiry of a deal safeguarding Ukrainian grain exports.The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July which allows Ukrainian grain trapped by the conflict to be safely exported from the country's Black Sea ports, is set to expire on May 18.Russia has said that parts of the deal that are mea
Australia Readies New Icebreaker After Repairs
Australia’s icebreaker RSV Nuyina has been conducting sea trials in Hobart’s River Derwent as part of familiarization exercises with TasPorts pilots after returning from Singapore for repairs.The 160-meter vessel was built by Damen Shipyards in Romania and delivered in October 2021. In Singapore, issues identified with couplings that connect the propulsion shafts with the clutches were rectified under…
Black Carbon and Biofouling Guidance to be Advanced by IMO
The IMO Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) Sub-Committee held its 10th session from April 24 to 28, 2023, discussing a range of topics including black carbon regulation and an update to biofouling guidance.ABS has provided a summary of the session, noting that after extensive discussion, the Sub-Committee agreed to establish a Correspondence Group that will seek to finalize draft guidelines on black carbon emission data collection and reporting.
US Coast Guard Medevacs Five Passengers Off Cruise Ships Within 24 Hours
US Coast Guard helicopter aircrews medically evacuated four separate passengers off three different cruise ships, off the southern California coast, during a 24-hour period beginning Friday night.A 47-year-old woman, reportedly suffering from a progressive acute illness, was hoisted off the cruise ship Carnival Panorama, which was 100 miles south of San Diego. The cruise ship and an MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew from Coast Guard Sector San Diego rendezvoused 100 miles south of San Diego.
Philly Shipyard Lays Keel for Third NSMV
Philly Shipyard held a keel laying ceremony on Monday for the third vessel in a series of new purpose-built, state-of-the-art training ships for America’s state maritime academies.The newbuild is the third of five new National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV) being built under a program for the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD), which owns and operates training ships for the nation's state maritime academies.
Shipbuilding Contributes to Higher Costs in US Offshore Wind
Higher shipbuilding costs are contributing to greater overall project costs in the U.S. offshore wind industry, according to maritime and offshore consultancy Intelatus Global Partners.The United States will rely on a large fleet of foreign and domestic vessels as it builds up toward the Biden Administration's target of 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 110 GW by 2050. This fleet will consist of both existing and newbuild tonnage…
Venezuelan Oil Gets More US Buyers as Chevron Steps Up Loadings
Chevron Corp has stepped up sales of Venezuelan crude oil to rival U.S. refiners, adding PBF Energy Inc and Marathon Petroleum Corp to its list of customers for the crude, vessel tracking and loading schedules showed.U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, which historically processed Venezuelan oil, have shown a renewed appetite for the heavy sour crude grade after Chevron late last year received authorization from the U.S.
US Gulf Coast’s First Barge-to-ship Methanol Bunkering Completed
Proman Stena Bulk, the joint venture between tanker company Stena Bulk and methanol producer Proman, announced the successful completion of the first ever barge-to-ship methanol bunkering on the U.S. Gulf Coast.The JV tankers Stena Pro Marine and Stena Prosperous were refueled with methanol via barge while discharging clean petroleum products at a terminal in the Port of Houston in the first week of April.Stena Pro Marine was bunkered with 1…
ABS Publishes Guide for Offshore Spaceports
Classification society ABS announced it has launched a new set of requirements to guide the burgeoning maritime aspects of the space flight industry in the safe design and construction of offshore assets.The new requirements, launched this week at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston amid growing global demand for offshore spacecraft launch and recovery, are said to be the first of their…
Boston Ship Repair Awarded Contract for USNS Patuxent Overhaul
Boston Ship Repair has been awarded a contract for the the regular overhaul/dry docking of Military Sealift Command’s fleet replenishment oiler USNS Patuxent (T-AO 201).The $14,759,604 firm-fixed-price contract includes a base period and four options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $15,853,866. This contract was a small business set-aside with proposals solicited…
US LNG Exports Go Full Steam Ahead
U.S. producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported at top capacity in April for a second consecutive month, with over two-thirds of shipments bound for Europe and rising volumes to Latin America, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Monday.Following the full restart of a key Texas export facility in February, U.S. LNG producers are taking advantage of firm prices overseas and increasing demand in some markets.A total of 107 cargoes departed from U.S.
Three Crew Missing After Tanker Catches Fire off Malaysia
Three crew members of a Gabon-registered tanker were missing after the vessel caught fire on Monday in waters off Malaysia's southern coast, Malaysian maritime authorities…
US Navy Sends Ship to Evacuate Americans from Sudan
The United States has sent a Navy ship to Sudan to help evacuate American citizens who have been stranded in the country since fighting broke out earlier this month, two U.S. officials told Reuters.The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USNS Brunswick, a fast-transport vessel, was in Port Sudan temporarily. One of the officials said hundreds of citizens are likely to be evacuated on the vessel.(Reuters - Reporting by Idrees Ali, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
