Rough Seas News

The U.S. military will not be involved in development of a port in the Philippines' remote northernmost islands near Taiwan, the local governor said, removing a potential source of friction with China over the U.S. presence in the region.The governor of the Batanes islands, less than 200 km (125 miles) from Taiwan, said in August she had sought U.S. funding for a new port there. The U.S. embassy had at the time confirmed its diplomats and U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) experts had…

Recent hostilities in the Red Sea have thrown global shippers of vital goods for a loop - but it is hardly the only issue that big carriers are facing as 2024 kicks off.Giants like Maersk say the industry, which handles 90% of global trade, faces the possibility of significant disruptions, from ongoing wars to droughts affecting key routes like the Panama Canal. Complex vessel schedules are likely to be knocked out of sync for giant container ships, fuel tankers and other commodity haulers throughout the year.That will increase delays and raise costs for retailers like Walmart…

The 2023 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea has been presented to Caleb Halle, Aviation Survival Technician Second Class (AST2) of the United States Coast Guard (USCG). He was recognized for the outstanding courage, endurance and determination he showed during the rescue of the seven-strong crew of the tugboat Legacy in January 2023.AST2 Halle, based at the Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, received the award at the annual IMO Awards Ceremony in London. The ceremony…

The first US-built trawler-processor for Alaskan pollock in over three decades is now undergoing sea trials in the Northern Pacific, testing an integrated technology package from Kongsberg Discovery tailored to locate, inspect, and engage fish with unparalleled efficiency.The 100-meter-long Arctic Fjord, designed by Kongsberg Maritime and built by Louisiana’s Thoma-Sea Marine Constructor, will start full-time operations for 2024’s pollock A season in the Bering Sea.Speaking ahead of this week’s Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle…

A new high-speed low-draft landing craft Island Guardian has been delivered to the Great Barrier Reef Joint Field Management Program in Australia.The new 21-meter vessel has been custom-designed by Incat Crowther and built by Norman Wright & Sons to enhance island protected area management, research, incident response and facilitate more efficient management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.The Great Barrier Reef Joint Field Management Program is delivered jointly by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service…

The Xeneta Summit has heard the ocean freight shipping industry will find new ways of working together in the face of a volatile market.Stanley Smulders, Director of Marketing & Commercial at Ocean Network Express (ONE), took part in a keynote Q&A with Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund during the Summit in Amsterdam this week to discuss the major challenges facing the industry.While there are rough seas ahead, Smulders maintains growth is still on the horizon.He said: “The current market is at best volatile…

A new-generation rescue craft proposed by Saab’s Docksta Shipyard would use remote-operation technology to dramatically cut response times for maritime accidents.Known as the Docksta Loitering, Optionally Crewed, High Speed Rescue Vessel (LHSRV), the proposed vessel could potentially travel at speeds in excess of 40 knots to maritime emergencies to provide a safe evacuation point for up to 20 survivors at a time.One potential application for the craft is in the oceans around Canada…

Finland-based marine technology firm Wärtsila said Wednesday it had launched an innovative retrofit solution for its marine engine governor system in collaboration with Swedish marine green tech company Qtagg. The solution is designed to extend the lifespan of a ship’s propulsion control system, while simultaneously enhancing the vessel’s overall efficiency.Wartsila's Wärtsilä Automation, Navigation and Control Systems (ANCS) business is collaborating with Qtagg in this project."ANCS’s marine governor systems help regulate and control engine speed.

Credeblug and Tecnalia have teamed to improve the maintenance and repair operations carried out on underwater power cables. The end result: the manufacture and validation of s cutting and clamping tool, designed to secure one end of a cable after it has been cut, aiming to save time and money.“This functionality has been called for by offshore cable repair teams all over the world since such operations began in the 19th century," said Joannes Berquè, a TECNALIA researcher. "To this day, current cutting tools mean that the ends of the cable drop off after they have been cut.

Spanish authorities have seized a Brazilian-flagged fishing boat off the Canary Islands with 1.5 tonnes of cocaine in a hidden compartment in its machine room, police said on Friday as they brought the boat to the port of Las Palmas.Authorities shared a video of the 25-metere Efesios 5-20 being approached on rough seas by a speedboat sent from the patrol ship Condor.Officers arrested the crew of six people - five Brazilians and a Venezuelan national. The boat's name - Ethesians…

Brazil has banned the export of live cattle from all its ports.Reuters reports that federal judge Djalma Gomes’s ruling states: "Animals are not things. They are sentient living beings, that is, individuals who feel hunger, thirst, pain, cold, anguish, fear."The verdict was handed down after the National Forum for the Protection and Defense of Animals filed a law suit in 2017.The case, still subject to appeal, comes as New Zealand also banned the export of cattle from its shores from April 30.

Zephyrus Marine has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japanese shipyard Mirai Ships to build the Zephyrus Zero Carbon Offshore wind service vessel. Ad Hoc Marine Designs Ltd. (Ad Hoc) will be providing the design for the zero-emission Crew Transfer Vessel (“CTV”), which will incorporate Shift Clean Energy's  PwrSwäp technology. The class NK-approved energy storage system will allow crew transfer vessels to swap their modular battery systems with ease while providing a zero-emission service to the Japanese offshore wind sector, Zephyrus Marine said.

Philippine authorities have increased efforts to contain an oil spill from a sunken fuel tanker that has affected coastal towns and was still spreading, the environment ministry said on Tuesday, as the country grapples with cleanup challenges.Improvised spill booms made from cogon grass and coconut materials were helping to restrict oil leaking from MT Princess Empress, the Philippine-flagged tanker that encountered engine trouble in rough seas on Feb.

The Italian coastguard launched multiple rescue operations on Friday to save hundreds of migrants packed aboard several boats off the toe of Italy, less than two weeks after at least 73 drowned in a shipwreck."More than 1,000 people are in danger," the coastguard said in a statement.The president of the southern Calabria region, Roberto Occhiuto, said a total of around 1,300 migrants were aboard boats which the European Union's border force Frontex had warned could run into problems.Three…

Philippine authorities believe they have found the location of a tanker that sank off a central province last week, the environment ministry said on Monday, amid a race to assess the extent of an oil spill and contain further environmental damage.The tanker, the MT Princess Empress, is thought to be lying at about 1,200 feet (366 meters) below sea level, off Oriental Mindoro province, though the information still needed to be verified, the ministry said in a statement.A remotely operated vehicle would be deployed to help determine the exact location of the tanker…

A joint U.S. and Australian law enforcement operation busted an international drug ring after intercepting 2.4 tonnes of cocaine aboard a vessel off the coast of South America that had been bound for Australia.The cocaine, linked to a Mexican drug cartel, had a street value of around A$1 billion ($677 million), and was equivalent to half of Australia's estimated annual consumption, making the seizure one of the biggest that Australian police have been involved in.Twelve suspects have been arrested and charged in the case…

Five mariners were rescued by the crew of a U.K. Royal Navy patrol ship after their tug started to sink in rough seas last week in the Caribbean.The oceangoing tug began taking on water after suffering an engine failure some 20 miles west of Sint Maarten. The vessel's crew sent out a distress call around 1 p.m. on Friday and took refuge on the large sand barge their vessel had been towing.Patrol ship HMS Medway, the Royal Navy’s permanent presence in the region, was slightly more than a dozen miles away and promptly responded to the Mayday call.

Finland-based marine engine and technology provider Wärtsilä will supply its hybrid propulsion system for four new heavy lift vessels being built at the Wuhu Shipyard in China. The ships are set to be delivered in 2025, and they will mostly be used to help set up wind farms. The vessels have been contracted by SAL Heavy Lift GmbH, a German heavy lift and project cargo specialist and part of the Harren Group, in cooperation with its joint-venture partner, Netherlands-based Jumbo Shipping.

The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday said it had recovered the body of one person after a vessel carrying Cuban migrants capsized off Florida's Little Torch Key, adding it rescued nine people and was searching for five others. Survivors told rescuers a total of 19 people were originally on the homemade vessel and that four people drowned immediately after it capsized, Coast Guard spokesperson Nicole Groll said. Rough seas and winds of 30 miles per hour made an already dangerous voyage more perilous, she said.

About the Author: Captain Rahul Khanna is Global Head of Marine Risk Consulting at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty. A marine professional with 26 years of experience within the Shipping and Maritime industry, Captain Khanna served more than 14 years on board merchant ships in all ranks, including Master of large oil tankers trading worldwide. Although shipping losses have more than halved over the past decade fires on board vessels remain among the biggest safety issues for the maritime industry.

Vestdavit said Monday it had secured a contract to deliver its docking-head davit technology on a construction service operation vessel (CSOV) being built for Rem Offshore by Norwegian shipbuilding group VARD.The order for a PAP-15000 davit with painter boom has been secured with contractor Mare Safety for the first of two firm newbuild CSOVs that is due to be delivered in the first half of 2023 from Vard Søviknes.The PAP-15000 has an anti-pendulation system with a fully integrated docking head that is compensated for movement in three dimensions…

Wärtsilä Voyage, part of the technology group Wärtsilä, announced that its Smart Panoramic Edge Camera System (SPECS) will be used by Brittany Ferries to improve the safety and efficiency of its passenger ferry operations. SPECS will be first installed onboard the Salamanca – the 214.5 meter, 1015 passenger ferry which started operations between Portsmouth and Bilbao in March 2022.The SPECS super-wide cameras will give the crew a 360° view, from the edge of the hull to the horizon, streamed directly to the bridge in real-time.

Seventeen people died after a boat carrying dozens of Haitian migrants capsized off the coast of The Bahamas, authorities said on Sunday, as more Haitians attempt to reach the United States to flee gang violence and poverty at home.Rescue teams recovered the bodies of 17 people, including an infant, and 25 people were rescued, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis told a news conference. Davis said authorities believe they were on a speedboat heading for Miami."It is believed that the vessel capsized in rough seas," he said.Up to 60 people may have been on board and more people were presumed missing, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said.Bahamian authorities said that two people were taken into custody, both from Bahamas, over the suspected human smuggling operation.