Iran Holds Naval Drills in the Gulf
Iran held joint naval, air, and ground exercises in the Gulf on Friday near the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway, state media reported.The drills involve submarines and drones "practising information-gathering operations against attacking forces, as well as reconnaissance operations,” Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the official IRNA news agency.The exercises, code named Zolfaghar-1401, were launched overnight Friday in the eastern side of the strait in the Gulf of Oman.Tehran…
Management Shuffle at SunStone Ships
Sunstone Ships reports that its president Ulrik Hegelund, 52, has, for family reasons, decided to move back to Denmark. As of January 1, 2023, Hegelund will take the position as CFO of SunStone Maritime with overall responsibility for the group’s accounting, budgeting, cash flow, reporting, legal, and IT matters.As of January 1, Christian Lund, 40, will take over the position as President of SunStone Ships Inc., Miami.
US Judge Orders Norwegian Cruise Line to Pay $110 Million for Use of Cuba Port
Norwegian Cruise Line must pay $110 million in damages for use of a port that Cuba's government confiscated in 1960, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday, a milestone for Cuban-Americans seeking compensation for Cold-War era asset seizures.The decision by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami follows her March ruling that the use of the Havana Cruise Port Terminal constituted trafficking in confiscated property owned by the plaintiff…
Ecuador Insecurity, Drug Crime Hitting Shipping
Insecurity in Ecuador is hurting the Andean country's exports of products like bananas and shrimp, an exporters association said, amid assaults on shipping containers and contamination of shipments with drugs.At least 63 people linked to exports of bananas, shrimp and cacao - the raw material used to make chocolate - were murdered by organized criminal groups in 2022, while another 1,500 have been injured during attacks…
Chevron Sending Two Oil Tankers to Venezuela Under US Approval
U.S. oil company Chevron Corp is sending two oil tankers to Venezuela, one of which will load the first cargo of crude destined for the United States in nearly four years…
Hafnia to Add Four Dual-fuel LR2 Newbuilds
Hafnia will soon welcome four new dual fuel LR2 product tanker additions to its fleet from China's Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI).Owned by a joint venture of Hafnia and CSSC Shipping, the vessels will be time chartered out, including two each for TOTAL Energies and Equinor.The newbuilds are currently under construction and the first of the vessels Hafnia Languedoc, will be delivered in January 2023, with Hafnia Loire following in April.
Boluda Towage Starts Ops to Support German FSRU
Boluda Towage has started towing services at the German port of Lubmin for the first installation of a floating LNG storage plant.The Deutsche ReGas LubminLNG import terminal will become the first operational FSRU-based facility in Germany. The floating storage and regasification unit is based inside the port of Lubmin, where an existing gas pipeline allows for a quick connection.In mid-December 2022…
Seapeak Completes Evergas Acquisition
Canadian headquartered shipowner Seapeak on Thursday announced it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Danish shipping company Evergas from France-based Jaccar Holdings.Evergas…
Finnlines’ Second New Superstar RoPax Vessel Launched
Finnlines’ second new Superstar passenger-freight vessel, Finncanopus, was launched on Friday at the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai. The new Superstar class ro-pax vessels, along with sister vessel Finnsirius launched in August 2022—both part of Finnlines’ €500-million investment program—will enter service in 2023, serving the Naantali–Långnäs–Kapellskär route between Finland, Åland Islands and Sweden.Both vessels have capacity for 1…
2023 Outlook: The Offshore Service Vessel Market
The market for offshore support vessels has been through a rather rough few years since offshore exploration and production activity took a nose-dive in 2015 following the oil price crash the year before.The newbuild order boom that came with the ever-greener pastures imagined in the industry ensured that not only was the supply- and demand balance off by an insurmountable degree in the years that followed…
Tech File: A Robotic Reach in Offshore Wind
With a background in subsea and offshore, coming up with new ideas is the norm’ for UK-based engineering consultancy STL (Submarine Technology Limited), writes Elaine Maslin.The last few years have been no different. The company has been focusing on ship-based robotics, including robotic arms. These aren’t just any robotic arms – they’re motion compensated systems for deploying/recovering people and robots to and from fixed or moving objects.
Coast Guard Calls Off Search for Four Missing from Helicopter that Crashed Near Gulf of Mexico Platform
The Coast Guard called off its search for four passengers onboard a downed helicopter about 10 miles off the coast of Southwest Pass, Louisiana, at 6:15 p.m. Thursday.At around 8:40 a.m., Coast Guard District Eight watchstanders got a call from Rotorcraft Leasing Company personnel indicating that a company helicopter with four people aboard had gone down in the Gulf of Mexico while departing an oil…
Ship Insurers to Cancel War Cover for Russia, Ukraine
Ship insurers said they are cancelling war risk cover across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, following an exit from the region by reinsurers in the face of steep losses.Reinsurers, who insure the insurers, typically renew their 12-month contracts with insurance clients on Jan. 1, giving them the first opportunity to scale back exposure since the war in Ukraine started, after being hit this year by losses…
Japan Insurers to Continue Offering War Coverage for LNG Shippers in Russian Water
Japanese insurers are expected to continue providing marine war insurance which covers the sinking and requisition of ships due to war in Russian waters after Jan. 1, the Nikkei daily said on Thursday.Japan's Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance told shipowners last Friday that from Jan. 1 they would stop offering insurance coverage for ship damage caused by war in Russian waters, because reinsurers were withdrawing coverage.
Operation Coal Shovel: US Coast Guard Kicks Off Great Lakes Icebreking
The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday commenced Operation Coal Shovel, a domestic icebreaking operation to maintain commercial vessel traffic from southern Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair, to the St. Clair / Detroit River system, and into Lake Erie and Lake Ontario including the St. Lawrence Seaway.U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard icebreakers work together in these waterways as conditions worsen throughout the winter to ensure the ability to conduct search-and-rescue…
What's in a Foot? December 31, 2022 Marks End of U.S. Survey Foot
NOAA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (or NIST) are starting the new year off on the “right” foot.On New Year’s Eve, the two federal agency partners will officially retire the use of one of two measuring feet, to reduce surveying errors that can cost money.Discontinuing the use of the U.S. survey foot and embracing of its replacement — the international foot — are also part of…
Sanmar Delivers Four New Tugs
Sanmar Shipyards delivered four tugs during the final week of 2022 rounding off a year that saw the Turkish tugboat-builder deliver a total of 30 tugs to operators across Europe, the Middle East, Australia, South and Central America and Asia, along with others to its domestic market in Türkiye.The last tug to be delivered in 2022 was YENICAY XVI to Türkiye based Marintug, where it was been renamed ADAKALE by its new owners.
Sembcorp Delivers 8th-generation Drillship Deepwater Titan to Transocean
Singapore-based shipbuilder Sembcorp Marine has delivered Deepwater Titan, the world’s second 8th-generation drillship, to Transocean subsidiary Triton Titan GmBH.Deepwater Titan is the second of two new 8th-generation drillships constructed by Sembcorp Marine based on the group’s Jurong Espadon 3T design. The dual-derrick drillship is the first-ever unit delivered with two 20,000-psi blowout preventers (BOPs)…
Euroseas Sells 2001-built Containership for $14.2 Million
Greek shipowner Euroseas on Thursday announced it has sold a 2001-built post-Panamax containership to an undisclosed buyer for $14.2 million.The 5,610 TEU vessel…
New Lock at the Soo Reauthorized in WRDA 2022 at $3.219 Billion
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District New Lock at the Soo Project in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan is reauthorized in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) 2022 on Dec 23, 2022. The project reauthorization amount is $3.219 billion.An authorization sets how much money agencies and programs can receive, and how they should spend the money. This authorization makes it possible for the project to maintain efficient funding eligibility.
