A Freight Forwarder Is Using Drones to Beat Backed Up Supply Chains
Leading German freight forwarder Hellmann will start using unmanned planes operated by Bulgaria's Dronamics from next year to speed up deliveries of vital goods in Europe and work around stretched supply chains, executives involved say.Global disruptions due to COVID, reduced air activity and major congestion at ports due in part to backed up container ships have upended logistics networks over the past year with companies looking for ways to ease pressure.Hellmann Worldwide Logistics said using
Stena Line Bolsters its Baltic Sea Fleet
Stena Line is strengthening its position and expanding services in the Baltic Sea Region, by deploying two new ferries on the route between Ventspils in Latvia and Nynäshamn in Sweden this year. The first of the two vessels, Stena Scandica -- at 222-m long it is 30% larger than the existing vessels on the route -- has entered Ventspils port on June 29, 2021, to get ready for its maiden voyage on the route.
Houlder Tapped to Design Research Vessel Pair
Houlder won two new contracts by Marine Scotland, the Scottish Government Directorate responsible for the integrated management of Scotland’s seas. The two-vessel design contracts ensure support for the design and build of two new vessels which will have enhanced vessel capabilities and be designed to operate in the harsh conditions of the North Atlantic and the North Sea.Following a fleet evaluation in 2019…
Space Tech Meets Maritime: Composites Designed for Space targeted for LNG Tank Tech
The SpaceTech4Sea project sees ABS, OceanFinance and Cimarron Composites joining forces to adapt composite technologies developed for the space industry to shipping. The first target: LNG tank technologyA project to adapt technology developed for use in space to maritime LNG fuel tanks received design approval from ABS.The SpaceTech4Sea project, supported by $1.2m funding from the European Union, explores whether composite technology…
Wilson Sons Eyes Opportunities in Gas
A new gas law in Brazil aims to see liquefied natural gas (LNG) will have a relevant role in the national market, a move that could drive new opportunties on the waterfront.Wilson Sons, the largest operator of maritime and port logistics in the Brazilian market, stands to benefit, and last year the company's Towage division carried out more than 25 special operations, which included services to the natural gas or LNG sector…
Ship Repair Yard Navalrocha Reports 'Robust' Start to 2021
Portugal’s Navalrocha Shipyard reports that it is continuing its robust performance through the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic with a steady pipeline of work through to 2024, with the first six months of 2021 including a series ofdrydock projects involving general cargo vessels, tugs, passenger ferries, bunker tankers, Ro-Ro Pax vessels, LPG carriers and cruise vessels.According to Navalrocha commercial director Sergio Rodrigues…
Saipem Charters Ultra-deepwater Drillship from Samsung Heavy Industries
Italian oilfield services giant Saipem has chartered a newbuild drillship directly from South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard.Saipem expects the drillship - named Samsung Santorini - to be delivered in November 2021, when the Italian firm will take the 7th generation rig on a two-year charter. No dayrate details have been shared. Recent fixtures for 6th/7gen rigs saw dayrates in the $190.000-$210.000 per day range…
Seaspan Continues Containership Ordering Spree
Container shipping company Seaspan Corporation announced on Monday it has ordered another six containerships, growing the number of vessels it has on order to 45 amid continued heightened shipping demand and vessel shortages in the box shipping market.Seaspan said the six scrubber-fitted 15,000 TEU vessels will be built by a "major shipyard" and are expected to be delivered in the first and second quarters of 2024.Upon completion…
Metal Shark: Moving Fast Ahead
In any business, companies that achieve success must do at least one thing extraordinarily well. Shipbuilders like Metal Shark Boats are among companies that have taken their success to the next level by do a lot of things well. Government and commercial. Aluminum, steel and fiberglass. Serial and custom. Newbuild and repair. Sixteen to 300-plus feet. Patrol boats, pilot boats, fireboats, passenger ferries. Domestic and international.
Austal USA Delivers Future USS Savannah
Austal USA delivered the future USS Savannah, the 14th Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), to the U.S. Navy June 25. Savannah (LCS 28) is the seventh ship Austal has delivered to the Navy in less than two years.LCS is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines and fast surface craft.
USCG, NTSB Extend Collaboration
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) signed an updated memorandum of Uunderstanding (MOU) to institutionalize best practices developed during recent joint investigations including El Faro, Stretch Duck 7, Golden Ray and Conception.The NTSB and the Coast Guard entered into this MOU to facilitate timely cooperation between the agencies as they carry out their respective statutory missions.
Kanal Istanbul Project Kicks Off
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday launched a $15 billion canal project intended to relieve pressure on the busy Bosphorus Strait by laying the foundations of a bridge over the planned route.Critics of what Erdogan dubbed his "crazy project" when he revealed it a decade ago question the viability of a waterway running 45 km (28 miles) through marshland and farms on the western edge of Istanbul…
New Workboat to Serve Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty
A new utility/passenger vessel has been delivered and will soon go to work for the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) to serve Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.The all-steel newbuild, designed by New Orleans-based TAI Engineers, LLC, has been named Annie Moore after the first immigrant, a 15-year-old Irish girl, who signed the Ellis Island register."TAI has designed and built many boats and ships, but this project is particularly special to me," said Anil Raj, President of TAI.
Cruise Operator Carnival to Sell $500 Million in Shares
Carnival Corp said on Monday it would sell shares worth $500 million, as the cruise operator restarts its operations after a long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Money raised will be used to purchase ordinary shares of Carnival Plc, trading in the United Kingdom, and for general corporate purposes, the company said.The cruise operator has raised over $2.5 billion by selling its shares over the past…
Repsol Sinopec Extends Bleo Holm FPSO Charter Until 2024 End
FPSO specialist Bluewater has secured a contract extension for its Bleo Holm FPSO with Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited and its JV Partner RockRose Energy.The FPSO, deployed in the UK, will see the contract extended until December 31, 2024. Repsol Sinopec will have further options to extend the charter.The Bleo Holm FPSO is located in UKCS Block 13/28a on the Blake and Ross Fields, 72 miles northeast of Aberdeen…
Baltic Dry Index Hits 11-year High
Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index , tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, hit a more than 11-year peak bolstered by firmer rates across vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up 69 points, or 2.1%, at 3,324, its highest level since June 2010The capesize index edged up 34 points, or 0.9%, to 4,021.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron or
Svanehøj Bags Fuel Pump Orders for 22 LNG-powered ULCVs
Svanehøj announced its 'breakthrough' in the containership market with an order for deepwell gas fuel pumps for 22 ultra large container vessels (ULVC) from South Korean shipyards Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI).Svanehøj’s scope for each vessel consists of two EFP 24-5 liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel pumps (22 m.) with caisson, foot valves and control systems…
Ship Design: Pure 3D Process Deployed for US-built Advanced Rotortug
The evolution of commercial ship design and construction now includes a first in the U.S.: the first commercial U.S. vessel designed, built and verified using an end-to-end 3D design process, a project coordinated through ABS, Robert Allan Ltd. (RAL), Signet Maritime Corporation (Signet) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).Designed by RAL, the Advanced Rotortug (ART), which is designed to escort vessels and offshore assets at the Port of Corpus Christi…
DEME Names Groenewind Offshore Wind Service Vessel
Belgian offshore installation company DEME Group last Friday held a naming ceremony for its DP2, twin-hulled Service Operation Vessel Groenewind. The Belgian Federal Minister of Energy, Tinne Van der Straeten was the godmother of the vessel, for which DEME says is the world's first vessel of the type.The Groenewind is set to enter service as the vessel has a long-term charter contract with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE).
Shipbuilding: Ice-Class Expedition Yacht Named Crystal Endeavor
Crystal Endeavor, the 164 x 23-m, 20,200 GT ice-class expedition yacht was built at MV Werften and recently named in in Stralsund.The first luxury expedition yacht with ice class built in Germany is being dubbed 'the fastest, highest-performance and most spacious expedition mega yacht in its sector' with a passenger space ratio of more than 100. Her Polar Class PC6 classification enables her to navigate Arctic and Antarctic regions.
