Asian Piracy Incidents Down in January

The situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia in January 2019 has improved compared to the same period in 2018, according to ReCAAP ISC's new monthly report.A total of three incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia in January 2019, compared to 11 incidents in January 2018.All three incidents reported in January 2019 occurred on board ships anchored – at Ciwandan…
Consortium Buys Veja Mate Offshore Wind

A consortium led by asset manager Commerz Real AG, WPD Invest, KGAL and IKEA franchisee Ingka Group will acquire an 80% stake in the 402-MW Veja Mate offshore wind park in the German North Sea.Veja Mate offshore wind park in the North Sea is the second-largest German offshore wind farm with 67 turbines and a capacity of 402 megawatts. The total investment comes more than two billion eurosCommerz Real…
Chipolbrok Moon Loads Cable Tanks

Not so much the weight, but rather the precise handling of the cable tanks required the utmost attention while loading the MV "Chipolbrok Moon" in the Port of Hamburg.Four cable tanks with a unit weight of 110 tons and dimensions of 6.06 x 7.31 m had been delivered environmentally friendly by inland waterway vessel. Their dimensions fitted into one of the eight subspaces on the port side of the ship.With a load capacity of max.
Eurogate Container Volumes Stable in 2018

Despite the persistently challenging market environment, German terminal operator Eurogate managed to close the 2018 financial year with stable container handling volumes.In 2018, the Bremen-based group managed to handle a total of 14.1 million TEUs at its twelve locations in and around Europe.The volume of intermodal container transports increased by 2.8 per cent to around 1.05 million TEUs.At the Eurogate Group’s five German terminals, the previous year’s handling figures were confirmed.
European Marine Insurance Firms Join Forces

Italian worldwide leading broker for marine insurance Cambiaso Risso Group has signed a strategic partnership agreement with French insurance broker Siaci Saint Honore to foster a strong positioning in their markets.The deal will be subject to approval by the competition authorities in some of the 42 countries in which the two companies are active and will come into effect in the second quarter. It will give birth to the world’s top three marine insurance broker in the world…
BIMCO to IMO: "Use Real Data"

BIMCO, the largest of the international shipping associations representing shipowners, has proposed that the Fourth International Maritime Organization (IMO) Greenhouse Gas Study does not include unrealistically high gross domestic product (GDP) growth projections to predict future transport demand - and thereby emissions - of the shipping industry.“It is imperative that the industry – and the world…
Scenic Eclipse Launch Delayed, Again

The launch of Scenic Eclipse, which is touted as world's most luxurious cruise ship and the world’s first “discovery yacht”, has been pushed back to 15 August 2019.Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours announced last July a five-month delay until January 2019, although that date was later amended to 13 April.The 228-guest Scenic Eclipse will now be a year late as the company announced it would take delivery…
ITF Blames BHP for Starving Crew

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) informed that crew members aboard a ship at a BHP terminal in Queensland are being neglected and underpaid."Crew aboard a ship at a BHP terminal in Queensland claim they are being starved and underpaid, in yet another instance of the coal giant’s veil of secrecy over its operations in Australian waters," said an ITF release.A seafarer aboard an 80,000-tonne bulk carrier, the Villa Deste, contacted ITF pleading for help.
MOL, Den Hartogh Form Chemical Logistics Alliance

Singapore-based MOL Chemical Tankers (MOLCT) and Dutch Den Hartogh Logistics have established a strategic alliance to jointly develop and streamline liquid chemical logistics services utilizing tank containers, parcel chemical tankers and tank terminals.MOL Chemical Tankers is one of the global leaders in ocean transport, specializing in chemical parcel tankers for bulk liquid chemicals and vegetable…
NYK Conducts Crisis-response Drill with ONE

Japanese shipping line Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) conducted a crisis-response drill based on the scenario of a serious fire occurring on a containership operated by Ocean Network Express (ONE), an integrated global container shipping company headquartered in Singapore.The drill scenario had a fire breaking out inside a containership while the ship was at Tokyo’s Oi Container Terminal.The drill continued with an assumed explosion followed by fire-fighting…
MOL Techno-Trade in Green Initiative

Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) announced that its group company MOL Techno-Trade has joined a Green Award Program aimed at promoting high-quality shipping.The program is run by the nonprofit Green Award Foundation, which was established with the objectives of protecting the marine environment and enhancing safe operation.The program aims to improve the quality of vessels and mariners…
When Siberia Shivers, Time to Fix Ships in the Ice

When the Siberian winter bites and the mighty Lena River freezes, workers at the Yakutsk shipyard brace for a backbreaking but vital task - 'vymorozka'.As Siberia's summer is so short, freighters must be kept moving while the river, whose 4,400 km (2,735 miles) carry the region's economic lifeblood, is navigable. Repairs must be done in winter, when the river is frozen and the ships are wedged tight in the ice.Vymorozka…
Video: FPSO Travels from China to Brazil

Dutch firm Boskalis transported the 90,000-ton FPSO P-67 from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, aboard the semi-submersible heavy transport vessel BOKA Vanguard.FPSO P-67 was built by China’s Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC), and delivered to Brazil's Petrobras in 2018.The FPSO recently began producing in the deepwater Lula Norte area, in the pre-salt of Santos Basin offshore Brazil.
ArgoX90: Rocket Recovery Boat

Parker Shinn and Morrelli & Melvin introduce the ArgoX90, a unique concept designed to significantly reduce space launch and rocket component recovery costs.Rocket reusability has become the space industry’s focus to reduce cost. While SpaceX has landed boosters on drone ships hundreds of miles out to sea, expensive parts of a rocket have still proven unrecoverable. The ArgoX90 may change that.“A boat like this could lower launch costs by 10% in some cases…
Mnuchin: China Talks "So far, so good"

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said talks with China went well on Wednesday, as the world's two largest economies try to iron out an agreement to resolve their trade dispute."So far, so good," he said when asked by reporters on how the meetings in Beijing went. He did not say who he met.Mnuchin said earlier he hoped for "productive" trade meetings as the two countries seek to end a festering dispute that has seen both sides level tariffs at one other.U.S.
Iceland Electric Ferry Powered by ABB

ABB was tapped to supply integrated power and electric storage solutions to the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration’s new electric ferry, the nation’s first.When delivered later this year, the 70m ferry will be able to take up to 550 passengers and 75 cars on up to 3,600 annual trips in the rough waters between Landeyjahöfn on the mainland and the Westman Island, covering eight-mile route in about 45 minutes.The ferry is designed by Polarkonsult and is being built at the Crist S.A.
Hapag Lloyd CEO: Trade Spats Could Dampen Shipping Growth

An escalation of tariff wars between China and the United States could dampen growth in international container shipping as operators pre-emptively brought forward business in the second half of last year, Germany's Hapag Lloyd said."Many customers tried to get their goods through to the U.S. ahead of time in second half 2018, creating additional growth," Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive of the company that is the world's fifth biggest shipping liner…
Offshore Wind: Good Supply, Growing Demand

In its 2019 “Annual Energy Outlook” the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that electric generation from renewables (wind, solar, hydro) will go from 500 billion KWh in 2018 to 1500 billion KWh in 2050, just 30 years from now.“The AEO highlights the increasing role of renewable energy in the US generation mix,” said EIA Administrator Linda Capuano. “Solar and wind generation are driving much of the growth.
Unique Sailing Ship Set to Sail in 2020

DNV GL was selected to class the passenger sailing ship Sea Cloud Spirit, to be built by Metalships & Docks in Vigo, Spain, scheduled to set sail in the summer of 2020.Ordered by the Hamburg-based operator Sea Cloud Cruises, the vessel is designed to meet the demand from both independent travelers and the charter market, mainly in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. “Sea Cloud Spirit will become the third addition to our fleet of luxury sailing vessels.
Maersk Uses Inland Waterway in India

The world's largest container shipping company Maersk Line began moving 16 containers on the Ganga river from Varanasi to Kolkata, the Shipping Ministry of India said.It will be Maersk's first container movement in the 1390-km inland waterway in the River Ganga from Haldia to Varanasi."Maersk Line will move 16 containers on river Ganga (National Waterway-1) from Varanasi to Kolkata tomorrow. The firm is onboard India's inland waterways for the first time…