River Cleanup Towboat Modifications Completed
Environmental nonprofit organization Living Lands & Waters (LL&W) recently had its 38’ towboat, the M/V River Cleanup, modified and shortened to 26’.River Cleanup is part of the LL&W fleet that works to protect, preserve and restore the natural environment of the Unite States’ major rivers and their watershed. Since 1998, the group has removed more than 9.8 million pounds of debris from U.S. waterways.When LL&W decided it wanted to have the towboat shortened in 2017…
Maritime History: USCG Builds 4 Icebreakers
In conducting some research for our Bouchard Transportation 100th Anniversary special edition coming out in July (#BTC100), I was paging through historical volumes of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, which date back to 1939. Pictured here is a page from the November 1944 edition seemed particularly topical and timely, as it is a short story on the commissioning of the first of four heavy duty iceabreakers for the United States Coast Guard.
Ghana to Award New Oil Blocks off West Coast
Ghana is set to award nine new upstream oil blocks for commercial exploration off its western coast beginning this year, the energy ministry said on Thursday.The West African country plans to award six of the nine blocks this year while the remaining three will be given out next year through a mix of open competitive tender and direct negotiations, the ministry said in a statement.It said state oil company Ghana National Petroleum Corporation will acquire one of the blocks to explore in partners
Illegal Fishing: Philippines CG Apprehends 5 Boats
A total of 74 crews including boat captains were apprehended by the joint personnel from Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) 3004 vessel manned by the Philippine…
Construction Milestone for DDG 51 Program
The U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyers program notched two shipbuilding milestones with the recent start of construction at shipyards Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Bath, Maine, and Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Miss.Construction of the future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124) officially began on May 17 at BIW, where the ship's namesake, Col. Harvey "Barney" Barnum, Jr. (Ret.)…
Riding Shipping's Digital Wave
A smart shipping survey conducted in January 2018 found that, while the majority of maritime industry executives believe digitalization and big data will transform the sector, only 8.7 percent currently see it as a major part of their operations. Unpredictability and disruption have made the past decade anything but smooth sailing for the global shipping industry. Volatile trade patterns and policies…
Maersk Revenue Up 30% YOY in Q1
In Q1 2018, A.P. Moller - Maersk had a revenue growth of 30% to USD 9.3bn, 10% excluding Hamburg Süd, with growth in all business segments and a strategic transformation well underway. A.P.
Soget Appoints Herve Cornede as Executive Director
The leading Port Community System operator in France SOGET appointed Hervé Cornède as the Executive Director of the company. Hervé Cornède was appointed as the Commercial…
Scorpio Tankers to Sell, Leaseback Five Product Tankers
Scorpio Tankers announced that it has agreed to sell and leaseback three MR product tankers (STI Ville, STI Fontvieille and STI Brooklyn) and two LR2 product tankers…
IMO Training in India on Port Emissions
India is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s new three-day training package on assessing air emissions in ports and strategies…
K Line Acquires Statement of Conformity for Environmental System
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha ("K" Line) and some of its group companies recently acquired a “Statement of Conformity” for its environmental system, “Drive Green Network” (DGN)…
Successful Factory Acceptance Test for The Switch EBL
The Switch Norway, part of Yaskawa Corporation’s Yaskawa Environmental Energy Division, reports it has completed a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) for its Electronic Bus Link breaker (EBL). It is the first time the new EBL, a key element within its DC-Hub, has undergone a FAT.The procedure was conducted in Trondheim under the supervision of class society DNV-GL and the undisclosed end customers. There were no issues recorded with the first three EBL units to undergo stringent testing…
Oil Removed from Decades-old Swedish Shipwreck
A diving contractor has removed oil from the wrecked research vessel Thetis, more than 30 years after the vessel sank.When the fishery research vessel Thetis went down into 30 meters of water close to Smøgen on the west coast of Sweden in 1985, it took a substantial quantity of fuel oil down with it. Quantities of the oil later escaped from the wreck and appeared periodically among the skerries on…
Diana Containerships to Sell Post-Panamax Vessel
Ship owner Diana Containerships Inc. announced it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third…
USS Slater Receives National Maritime Heritage Grant
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum has received a $200,000 grant from the Department of Interior, National Park Service (NPS) through the National Maritime Heritage (NMH) grant program, for the repair of USS Slater’s mast and hull.Thirty-four of these grants totaling $2.6 million were awarded in collaboration with the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs).
ABS Bags Fleetwide Contract with Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard has awarded a contract to ABS to provide classification and certification services for an existing fleet of 114 vessels and future vessel acquisitions.“Last year, ABS was selected as the exclusive classification organization for all non-combatant vessels in service with the Royal Canadian Navy and now, we are expanding our class and certification services to the entire Canadian Coast Guard fleet,” said ABS Chairman, President and CEO Christopher J.
Four Escort Tugs Delivered to Star Marine
Four new escort tugs designed by Robert Allan Ltd. and constructed at the Triyards SSY facility in Saigon, Vietnam, by contract to Greenbay Marine Services Pte. of Singapore, have been delivered to owner Star Marine Ltd. of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.The four RAstar 3400 escort tugs, named Murjan 1, 2, 3, and 4, will be stationed in the Red Sea port of Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, and managed by Marine Services Co.
New Rules on Ship Emissions Herald Sea Change for Oil Market
New rules coming into force from 2020 to curb pollution produced by the world's ships are worrying everyone from OPEC oil producers to bunker fuel sellers and shipping companies.The regulations will slash emissions of sulfur, which is blamed for causing respiratory diseases and is a component of acid rain that damages vegetation and wildlife.But the energy and shipping industries are ill-prepared, say analysts…
An Unlikely and Remarkable Safety Journey
Late last year, the Transportation Research Board released a major study that was undertaken “in response to the rapid development of domestic sources of energy and questions about the safest ways to move these products.” The Study Committee examined the operational responses of the three primary modes impacted by the fracking revolution – rail, pipeline and maritime. A primary observation of this…
New Towboat Delivered to Marquette Transportation
Louisiana shipyard C&C Marine and Repair has delivered the second towboat in a series of three 6,600 hp, 160’ x 50’ triple-screw z-drive newbuilds for Marquette Transportation Company.The delivery of the new towboat m/v Chris Reeves comes three months after the series' lead vessel m/v Cindy L. Erickson was handed over in February 2018.The third in the series is scheduled for delivery this August, with…
