American Shipping News

American shipping companies are spending more than $120 million to repair and maintain their fleets of Great Lakes bulk carriers this winter.The fleet of U.S.-flagged ships, known as "lakers", can move more than 90 million tons of cargos annually, including iron ore, stone, coal, grain, salt and sand. Each year after the shipping season draws to a close, these vessels enter shipyards and repair facilities around the Great Lakes for a period of winter maintenance and repair. This…

American Shipping Company (AMSC) has signed a deal with Project Merchant Acquisition LLC, a newly-formed company owned and controlled by a fund managed by Maritime Partners, for the sale of its subsidiary American Tanker Holding Company.Pål Lothe Magnussen, CEO of AMSC, said: “The management team at AMSC is pleased that a Maritime Partners managed fund, a leading Jones Act leasing company, is acquiring our Jones Act business. We believe this is the ideal new owner of this business for the next phase in the lifecycle of these assets.

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Solstad Offshore  said Friday it had  secured letters of awards from multiple unnamed subsea contractorsfor the hire of the construction support vessel Normand Maximus for the execution of projects during 2023.The projects have a combined duration of at least 200 days, plus additional option periods.

International shipbroker Braemar announced on Monday that it has acquired Southport Maritime, one of the highest volume U.S.-based shipbroking tanker companies.With a particular focus on spot tanker fixtures, Southport’s 18-strong team will complement Braemar’s existing Tanker desks in London, Singapore, Madrid, Houston and Geneva.Braemar’s new offices in West Palm Beach and Winter Park Florida, will continue to be led by Michael Corey and Peter Tornaben, the co-founders of Southport Maritime.

American Shipping Company ASA (AMSC) has completed the acquisition and taken delivery of the Normand Maximus construction support vessel.The vessel has already started a long-term bareboat charter with a subsidiary of the Norwegian offshore vessel operator Solstad Offshore upon delivery."The Normand Maximus is a premier offshore construction vessel and one of  the most modern heavy duty subsea vessels. Solstad is a leading offshore services company with a large fleet of offshore vessels operating  globally.

American Shipping Company ASA (AMSC), A Norwegian-based ship finance company focused on the intercoastal U.S. Jones Act shipping market, announced it has entered into bareboat charters for two of its vessels commencing in December 2022 with U.S. tanker operator Keystone Shipping Co.The bareboat charters have minimum terms of three years which may be extended at the charterer’s options. The charters are secured by back-to-back time charters of the same duration between Keystone and a major U.S. based oil and refinery group.AMSC said the new charters add almost $60 million to its existing charter backlog, excluding any proceeds from the profit share component of the charters.AMSC CEO Pål Lothe Magnussen said…

American Shipping Company ASA (AMSC) has agreed to acquire the Normand Maximus construction support vessel from Maximus Limited, a company controlled by its secured lenders.In parallel with the transaction, AMSC will enter into a long-term bareboat agreement with a subsidiary of the Norwegian offshore services provider Solstad Offshore. Solstad Offshore has managed the vessel for years, and the deal with AMSC means it will continue to do so.The total purchase price for the vessel is about USD 157 million…

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday approved $1 billion for U.S. Coast Guard shore side infrastructure nationwide and $350 million for a heavy Great Lakes icebreaker as part of its budget reconciliation bill, an action that the Great Lake Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) called “great news for the Great Lakes.”The GLMTF described the heavy Great Lakes icebreaker as desperately needed and expects that a portion of the infrastructure funds will go to good…

Without action from the shipping sector to decarbonize, the sector will be responsible for approximately 17% of global CO2 emissions by 2050. And given the scale of the change required, we must address this now. Across the industry, many are wrestling with what steps to take to drive their decarbonization journeys.Last year, Shell and Deloitte published a joint report, Decarbonizing Shipping: All Hands on Deck, assessing the key factors affecting decarbonization of the shipping sector.

Edward Schwarz, Vice President for ABB Marine and Ports, received the United States Merchant Marine Academy’s Rear Admiral Lauren S. McCready Award as the 51st recipient.Edward A. Waryas, Jr., Board Member for NYSE-traded KNOT Offshore Partners, LP as the 43rd recipient of the award and co-chair of the award’s committee made the announcement.The Lauren S. McCready Award is intended to recognize graduates of the United States Merchant Marine Academy who have made significant technical…

Philly Shipyard announced Wednesday that Jeffrey Theisen will re-join the company as Chief Financial Officer, effective September 8. Theisen fills the vacancy created by last month's sudden passing of Brian Leathers.Theisen previously served as Philly Shipyard's CFO for eight years, from 2007 - 2015. He was involved in the spin-off of Philly Shipyard from its parent Aker American Shipping and subsequent listing of the company on Oslo Axess, and he was instrumental in securing backlog and negotiating various financings, investments and other significant transactions.

The Jones Act has no significant impact on the cost of living in Hawaii, according to a recent report produced by economists from Boston based Reeve & Associates (Reeve) and Hawaii based TZ Economics.“The Impact of the Jones Act on Hawaii” also found that freight rates in the U.S. mainland-Hawaii trade lane have declined in real terms over the last 10 years, while the Jones Act has delivered positive and substantial economic contributions, including job creation, new infrastructure investments…

Two U.S. shipping conferences have joined forces to create the first ever North American Shipping Week, to be held October 12-16 in Stamford, Conn., organizers announced Thursday.SHIPPINGInsight will open the week on October 12, one day ahead of its orginal opening date, followed back-to-back by CMA Shipping starting on the afternoon of October 14. CMA Shipping, originally scheduled to be held from March 31 through April 2, had been rescheduled to take place June 29-July 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Crowley Maritime Corp. announced today that Ray Fitzgerald, who began his career with Crowley and most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Solutions, and chairman of American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier (ARC), will rejoin the company March 1 as chief operating officer reporting to Tom Crowley, company chairman and CEO. He will be based at the company’s headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla.Fitzgerald will lead the team of Crowley’s four senior vice presidents and general managers: Rocky Smith…

Florida-based tanker shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) has exercised options to extend its bareboat charter agreements with Norwegian-American shipowner American Shipping Company (AMSC) for four vessels currently under charter from AMSC.The New York-listed Jones Act player said each bareboat charter agreement was extended for additional three-year terms, commencing from December 2020 and ending in December 2023.OSG previously exercised its options to extend charter agreements for all of the six other vessels that it leases from AMSC. As a result, all ten bareboat charter agreements with AMSC have now been extended for additional periods.OSG’s CEO Sam Norton said…

Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) has hosted a meeting with the guests from the United States of America.The meeting was attended by Robert Sekuta, former US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan in 2015-2018, former Read Admiral Ron MacLaren, director of the US Joint Reserve Forces, and Afghan Niftiyev, Director of the Caspian Research Center.ASCO Chairman Rauf Veliyev informed the guests about crucial projects implemented in Azerbaijan for the development of the transport system in recent years. Thanks to the implemented projects, our country is rapidly becoming a major transit and logistics hub.During the meeting…

Florida-based provider of energy transportation services delivering crude oil and petroleum products Overseas Shipholding Group (OSC) and American Shipping Company (AMSC) jointly announced that OSG has exercised options to extend its charter agreements with AMSC for nine vessels currently under charter from AMSC.AMSC is a  Norwegian-American shipping and shipyard company and part of the Aker Group."A Charter agreements for five of the vessels were extended for additional three-year terms, commencing from December 2019 and ending in December 2022. The charter agreements for four vessels were extended for one-year terms commencing from December 2019 and ending in December 2020…

Industry leaders from across North America met to discuss global challenges facing the maritime sector at the annual ABS North American Regional Committee.The group heard strategies to meet the IMO’s 2020 Sulfur Cap, as well as a look ahead to 2030 when vessel data will play a significant role in compliance management.“Thanks to our deep links with industry across North America, ABS continues to leverage technology to develop new ways of supporting our partners and members. As the leading classification organization in North America, ABS can bring together the diverse expertise of many knowledgeable stakeholders to address the industry’s complex challenges…

American shipping company, TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, has returned very positive reports on its LNG-powered containerships, ‘Isla Bella’ and ‘Perla del Caribe’ as they approach the third anniversary of commencing operations, said a press release.It said that the 3,100-teu sister ships serve the route between Jacksonville, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico and are notable for being propelled by the first ME-GI dual-fuel engines produced by MAN Energy Solutions.Tim Nolan, President and CEO of TOTE noted: "The relationship between MAN and TOTE has been strong with excellent collaboration from the top level all the way to the engine room, and that continues. TOTE is proud to be an LNG first mover.

The proposed OCEAN Alliance between several of the world’s largest container shippers has received approval from the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), allowing it to become effective Monday, October 24, 2016. The OCEAN Alliance, comprising COSCO Shipping, CMA CGM, Evergreen Marine and Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (OOCL), was subject to an exhaustive FMC review process by that thoroughly examined all aspects of the proposed agreement to assure that competition in the ocean transportation industry would not suffer.

The status of Hanjin Shipping and the disruptions caused by its bankruptcy to the American shipping community, as well as global supply chains, was examined closely by the Federal Maritime Commission during the closed session of the September 20, 2016 public meeting. Commissioners were briefed by staff from the Office of the General Counsel; the Bureau of Trade Analysis; the Bureau of Enforcement; and the Office of Consumer Affairs & Dispute Resolution Services about a variety of developments related to the insolvency of Hanjin Shipping. Topics addressed included: proceedings in the U.S.

On Saturday, August 27, shipbuilders at General Dynamics NASSCO celebrated the christening and launch of the Constitution, the sixth ship in a series of eight eco-friendly tankers constructed or under construction at the company’s San Diego-based shipyard. The ship, the Constitution, is a 610-foot, 50,000 deadweight-ton, and LNG-conversion-ready ECO Class product tanker with a 330,000 barrel cargo capacity. As part of the ceremony, the ship’s sponsor, Cristin Thorogood – wife of Dan Thorogood…

50 years after the beginning of modern container shipping in Germany, international trade is handled by 6,397 containerships, with a capacity of 21.1 million TEU. Hapag-Lloyd’s container fleet numbers among the largest in the industry. The revolution reached Germany 50 years ago. And even if no gunshots were heard, there was still a loud bang. On May 5, 1966, the Fairland, owned by the American shipping company Sea-Land, called at Bremen’s Überseehafen (overseas port). On the next day…