Alden News

For the Design issue Greg Trauthwein asked me to write about a favorite ship design. I have no favorite ship design, or should say there are simply too many that are truly worthy of mention. But when considering favorite designs, ship designers (and builders) do carry a strange curse. Unique among engineers (and artists, architects, and industrial designers) their creations only live for about 30 years. With very few exceptions, in their own life time, ship designers get to see the disassembly of most of their creations. I am not aware of any other creations that are so readily tossed aside.

Joe Biden could erase much of President Donald Trump’s four-year legacy of energy and climate deregulation with the stroke of his pen, according to regulatory experts, but replacing it with something new and durable may prove trickier.Trump’s rollbacks are on shaky ground because most were done not through Congressional lawmaking but via presidential executive orders that can be easily torn up by a new administration. That means signature measures ranging from the withdrawal of…

In 1941, geologist Orval Lester Brace stated “it may be tentatively assumed that the Gulf of Mexico is a potential source of salt-dome oil. Whether or not it will be economically feasible to explore these waters for the domes that must exist is a question for the future to answer.”  The future hypothesized by Mr. Brace was not nearly as far off as it seemed. Less than six years after his proclamation, Kerr-McGee Oil Industries, along with Phillips Petroleum, Stanolind Oil and Gas Co…

An oil platform caught fire and was evacuated in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore Louisiana in the early hours of Friday, though no injuries were reported, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Fire-fighting crews worked to contain the fire on Friday near Breton Island, 50 miles (80 km) offshore New Orleans, the Coast Guard said. All 28 people were evacuated from the platform. It was unclear what caused the incident or how much oil leaked into the ocean, but the Coast Guard said it has observed a 1.4 nautical mile rainbow sheen drifting southwest of the platform. The platform, owned by Texas Petroleum Investment Co, has an estimated 4,000 barrels of crude oil on board, the Coast Guard said. It was not clear if the company also operated the well.

Owners of tank barges eye November 15, 2015 with trepidation, as by then they must ensure that tank barge power units meet USCG Class 1, Division 1 requirements for non-sparking machinery in a hazardous environment. Laborde Products – with the “mechanical advantage of the Mitsubishi” – claims to have the solution. Covington, La.-based Laborde Products is not your standard diesel engine distributor. While Laborde Products was founded in 1998 by Tracy Laborde, the Laborde family has been heavily involved in the marine industry since 1954…

Paal E. Johnsen will take the position as Investment Director in Akastor, and will be a part of the company's executive management team. Johnsen comes from a position in DNB Markets, and has extensive experience at management and board level in various companies in industry and finance, including Carnegie ASA and Alden AS. "Paal has a track record and experience that will be a very valuable addition to Akastors' management team." says Akastors' Chief Executive Officer Frank O. Reite. "I am confident that Paal will play a critical role in developing the many opportunities we see in Akastors' portfolio of investments going forward. I am very happy that he has agreed to take this important position in Akastor.

Houston Ship Channel reopened Friday after shutdown due to fog   The Houston Ship Channel reopened to all inbound and outbound vessel traffic on Friday after shutting on Thursday afternoon due to heavy fog, according to the Houston Pilots.   The largest U.S. petrochemical port was partially shut from midday Monday to early Thursday after a collision between a tanker carrying a gasoline additive and a bulk ship carrying steel. Fog forced another shutdown hours later.     (Reporting By Kristen Hays; Editing by Alden Bentley)

Workers represented by the Building Trades Unions will return to Marathon Petroleum Corp's refinery in Catlettsburg, Kentucky on Monday, even as a strike by the United Steelworkers drags into a second week, documents obtained by Reuters show. The USW began a strike Feb. 1 at nine refineries and chemical plants, including Marathon's 240,000 barrel-a-day Kentucky plant. Buildings Trades Unions' workers will not be replacing striking workers' running the plant, according to the letter. While the Building Trades Unions say they continue to support the USW's cause, their return work comes at a sensitive time for the steelworkers as their strike enters a second week. The backing of the building unions is considered crucial for a successful strike nationally, a person familiar with refining said.

After all, the industry was created in America ... it is only appropriate that the United States dominate it again. Offshore supply vessels (OSVs), also known as platform supply vessels (PSVs), have been a distinct vessel type since 1956, when the MV Ebb Tide was placed into service in the Gulf of Mexico. Ebb Tide was designed by Alden J. “Doc” Laborde to meet the growing demand for vessels to service the increasing number of offshore oil drilling rigs in those waters. Previously, this new industry had been served, albeit inadequately, by existing vessels, particularly surplus amphibious assault barges. Ebb Tide was designed with the pilot house at the bow and with an open deck from there aft to the stern.

Natural gas-fueled engines, touted as a clean, low-cost alternative to diesel, continue to struggle for acceptance in the U.S. transportation sector despite a surge in gas production that has sent the alternative fuel's domestic price plunging. U.S. natural gas prices closed on Friday at $3.766 per million British thermal units, down 42 percent since February. At its current levels, natgas is about $1.50 a gallon cheaper than diesel fuel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. For U.S. railroads alone, which consumed 3.6 billion gallons of diesel in 2012, the potential savings are huge. Yet more than a year after Warren Buffett's BNSF Railways Corp generated big headlines with a plan to test a handful of natgas locomotives…

With a record U.S. harvest just coming in, the river transportation system that is at the heart of the nation's farm economy is overstrained by rising demand for shipping capacity, a low barge inventory, and a dilapidated lock system. The pressure is building on an inland waterways network that is just one flood, drought or mechanical breakdown from calamity after decades of neglect, industry sources say. Looming bumper corn and soybean crops are bringing to light issues that have built for years and which have been exacerbated by new entrants to the marketplace for river logistics, such as producers of crude oil from the nation's shale boom. Rail congestion and truck shortages are shifting more cargo to the creaking infrastructure for floating heartland goods to market.

President Barack Obama's plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants, due to be announced on Monday, will win muted applause abroad with some hopes it could help a U.N. deal to fight climate change in 2015. Emerging economies including China and India are likely to be lukewarm because they have often said that Obama's plans for emissions cuts until 2020 - even if fully implemented - are far short of the curbs they say are needed by the rich. But the U.S. plan to limit emissions by existing power plants could put pressure on other nations in U.N. talks on a deal meant to be agreed at a summit in Paris in late 2015. Obama's plan will be a "good signal" for Paris by showing that "one of the world's biggest emitters is taking the future of the planet and its people seriously…

A deep-ocean exploration company is seeking to recover a lucrative haul of gold aboard the shipwreck of the SS Central America, nearly 160 years after it sank off the coast of South Carolina in a 1857 hurricane. The 280-foot (85 meters) sidewheel steamship carried as much as 21 tons of gold ingots, freshly minted gold coins and raw gold from the California mines, as well as the personal wealth and belongings of its 477 passengers, most of whom were lost when the ship sank in September 1857.

The U.S. Energy Department on Wednesday unveiled a plan for up to $4 billion in loan aid for renewable energy companies to help rejuvenate a program that faced harsh political attacks over past failures of federally subsidized projects. The Obama administration's draft plan would provide loan guarantees for innovative projects that limit or avoid greenhouse gas emissions. It will specifically focus on advanced electric grid technology and storage, biofuels for conventional vehicles, energy from waste products and energy efficiency.

Canada needs to invest in shipping more grains and oilseeds off the West Coast as harvests get larger, to avoid the massive transportation backlogs that followed last year's record crops, industry officials said on Wednesday. Last year, 19.3 million metric tons of grain moved in bulk and containers combined through Port Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, the country's biggest port, which connects Canadian commodities with Asian buyers, according to the port. But handling Canadian…

GasAtacama, energy provider to metal producers in Chile's Atacama desert, has lined up eight potential U.S. natural gas suppliers for a proposed import terminal on its Pacific Coast, but uncertainty about energy demand has delayed deals, CEO Rudolf Araneda told Reuters on Thursday. GasAtacama plans to build a $350 million offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal that would take shipments of the fuel to help create 500 megawatts of electricity for power-hungry miners in the mineral-rich north.

Commerce Secretary William M. Daley, has appointed three new members to the National Sea Grant Review Panel, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Appointed to the 15-member panel are: Robin Alden, former Maine Commissioner of Marine Resources; Robert Duce, professor of oceanography and atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University; and Nathaniel Robinson, a senior executive in Wisconsin's state government serving as administrator of the Division of Energy and Intergovernmental Relations. Composed of individuals with diverse backgrounds in marine affairs, the panel advises the secretary, the undersecretary for oceans and atmosphere, and the director of the National Sea Grant College Program on scientific and administrative policy.

Norway-based Xeneta gets funding to advance their comparison engine to the shipping industry & expand into new markets. The company, a price comparison service for sea freight, say they have received €1.2m in institutional financing. The round was led by Stockholm based venture capital firm Creandum with Norwegian private investment company Alden co-investing. Using the principle of crowdsourcing, Xeneta delivers transparency to an industry burdened with supply chain complexity and hidden rates. Xeneta’s SaaS platform represents a new generation of open information links in shipping, allowing freight buyers and sellers to compare their rates both to the market average-and best-in-class rates.

Seeks to Restructure Financing and Move Brands Forward. Efforts are underway to resume operations of popular boat builders Baja Marine, Donzi Marine, Fountain Powerboats and ProLine Boats, according to Ronald Glass, a Principal  in GlassRatner Advisory & Capital Group, LLC. Glass, who is headquartered in Atlanta, has been named temporary receiver of the four boat builders and their assets, along with Palmetto Park Financial, by North Carolina Business Court Judge James Gale. Following the Court’s decision, Mr. Glass made the determination that the interests of the boat builders would be served best by focusing their resources on managing through the transition process.

Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC) announced its top suppliers for the year 2000 as measured by its supply chain management program, Continuous Customer Value Improvement (CCVI). DDC evaluates major suppliers quarterly regarding quality, delivery, cost and technical support, with the goal of waste elimination. The three providers named DDC 2000 CCVI Supplier of the Year were Motorola’s Automotive and Industrial Electronic Group (AIEG), Ferry Cap & Set Screw Company and Vibratech. AIEG’s manufacturing facility in Seguin, Texas supplies DDC with electronic control modules for its heavy-duty electronically controlled engines. The Ferry Cap & Set Screw Company of Cleveland, Ohio provides DDC with a variety of specialized, engineered fasteners, while Vibratech of Alden, N.Y.

After a 35-year hiatus, the Trumpy name will soon grace the hull of a new motor yacht. Trumpy Yachts, now headed by former Alden Yachts executive Jim Ewing, is introducing the Trumpy 63 Flush Deck Motor Yacht, to be built by Vicem Yachts, builder of cold-molded yachts. “The Trumpy 63 has been designed from original Trumpy drawings, but enhanced with modern yacht systems, equipment and accessories,” Ewing said. With a base price just under $3m, the Trumpy 63 will be fully equipped when ready for sea trials. Delivery time will be approximately 12 months from order. Length o.a.