Coastal and Inland News

Unions hope a $30 million grant to electrify tractors in a Long Beach, California, port terminal's final push to become the world's first zero-emissions facility will serve as a bulwark against lost jobs in an era of energy transition and increasing automation.The money from U.S. President Joe Biden's administration for Long Beach Container Terminal's purchase of 60 electric yard tractors that haul shipping containers from stacks to waiting trains comes with strings attached:…

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine has made it impossible to navigate parts of the Dnipro River and deprived Kyiv of an important agricultural export route, shipping authorities said.The loss of the route is another problem for Ukraine as uncertainty hangs over the future of a U.N.-brokered deal allowing the safe export of grain from three Ukrainian ports.Ukraine is an important global grain and oilseeds producer, but its exports have fallen significantly…

Unions hope a $30 million grant to electrify tractors in a Long Beach, California, port terminal's final push to become the world's first zero-emissions facility will serve as a bulwark against lost jobs in an era of energy transition and increasing automation. The money from U.S. President Joe Biden's administration for Long Beach Container Terminal's purchase of 60 electric yard tractors that haul shipping containers from stacks to waiting trains comes with strings attached…

U.S. President Joe Biden has urged both sides in the West Coast ports labor dispute to continue collective bargaining, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday, adding acting Labor Secretary Julie Su was actively engaging with the parties.The largest terminal at Southern California's Port of Long Beach closed for the day shift Monday as dock workers rallied for better pay. Monday's temporary closure followed similar disruptions on Friday in Oakland, California.

Kongsberg Maritime announced it has won a contract to provide the design and equipment for two powerful salvage tugs being built by Alexandria Shipyard as main contractor on behalf of the Suez Canal Authority. The tugs will be based on Kongsberg Maritime’s UT 722 CDT Design.The UT 722 tugboat design has a length of 71.6 meters, bollard pull of approximately 200 tonnes, and it can operate independently for up to 35 days.Egypt’s Alexandria Shipyard successfully bid on this contract with the Suez Canal Authority in cooperation with Kongsberg Maritime…

The US Office of Investigations and Casualty Analysis Commandant has released US Coast Guard Marine Safety Alert 07-23, Critical Insight from Ongoing Investigations into Small Passenger Vessel Fires.The Safety Alert was prepared in response to multiple ongoing investigations being conducted by the U S Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into fires onboard two certificated small passenger vessels. Both vessels sustained millions of dollars in structural damages.The alert highlights the risk of the open flames that can be used during dinner cruises.

Groups representing major retailers and manufacturers urged the White House on Monday to intervene in contentious West Coast port labor negotiations, citing worries about shipping disruptions during critical holiday shopping seasons.The call came after the largest terminal at Southern California's Port of Long Beach closed on Monday as dock workers rally for better pay. Monday's closure followed similar disruptions on Friday in Oakland, California.More than 22,000 dockworkers…

Ports in China's Shandong province are demanding more detailed information about oil tankers that are more than 15 years old that call at their terminals, sources with knowledge of the matter said, potentially delaying the unloading of crude shipments in the world's biggest oil importer.Last week, the maritime safety administrations at Qingdao and Rizhao, which covers the oil terminals at the port of Lanshan, notified shipping agencies to submit details on their ships' age, where a ship is flagged…

The largest terminal at Southern California's Port of Long Beach closed on Monday as dockworkers who have been working without a contract since July rally for better pay.The Port of Long Beach is the second-busiest U.S. container terminal and a key trade gateway. Monday's closures followed similar disruptions on Friday in Oakland, California.Total Terminals International LLC (TTI) in a notice to customers said all appointments were canceled for the first gate shift. Mediterranean Shipping Company SA (MSC)…

Austal Vietnam has delivered a new high-speed catamaran to the Degage Group of French Polynesia. The 66-meter Apetahi Express completed a series of sea trials off the coast of Vung Tau in May 2023 and is now preparing for its maiden voyage to French Polynesia. The ferry is anticipated to commence operations between Pape’ete (Tahiti) and Vaitape (Bora Bora) in French Polynesia in July 2023.The new Austal Passenger Express 66 catamaran features a length overall (LOA) of 66.4 meters, beam of 15.2 meters and draft of 1.8 meters.

Abu Dhabi-based AD Ports Group has signed a 25 years agreement with Singapore-based Crystal Offshore a logistics solution provider to the marine & offshore Industry to build an offshore rig and vessel repair base in Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Port.Under the agreement, a 20,000 square meter plot of land and an associated quay wall in Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Port will be allocated for Crystal Offshore to construct a base, featuring office facilities and fabrication workshops to provide advanced repairs and refits to jack-up rigs as well as marine and offshore vessels.Saif Al Mazrouei…

Police in northern Greece have seized dozens of packages of cocaine stashed in containers laden with bananas that had been shipped from Latin America, they said on Saturday. Police seized two suspect containers at the port of Piraeus and, after taking them to the port of Thessaloniki, found 100 "bricks" of concealed cocaine, weighing 161 kilos. The drugs, which would have been distributed across Greece and other European countries, are estimated to be worth about 3.2 million euros, police said.

An oil tanker that suffered engine failure in Egypt's Suez Canal, briefly disrupting traffic in the vital waterway, has been towed away, the canal's authority said on Sunday. The canal authority's head, Osama Rabie, said in a statement that traffic in both directions had resumed as normal after tugboats managed to move the stranded tanker. The crude tanker, SEAVIGOUR, is a Malta-flagged vessel that was built in 2016, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data. It was heading from Russia to China, the canal authority added.

Skandi Buzios, a pipelay support vessel owned by TechnipFMC and DOF, caught fire Friday morning in a Brazilian port.The Brazilian media and some social media accounts on Friday showed images and videos of the burning vessel with thick smoke billowing above it and firefighters trying to quell the fire.The incident happened at Porto do Açu, in São João da Barra, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro, and no injuries have been reported.Offshore Engineer has reached out to TechnipFMC seeking more info.

Russia's Black Sea port of Taman is poised to suspend exports of highly-explosive liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) because of concerns linked to drone attacks, three sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters on Friday. Russia has come under repeated attack in recent weeks, suffering a major cross-border incursion and drone attacks including on Moscow, oil refineries in southern Russia and a fuel depot near a strategic bridge that links Russia's mainland with Crimea. Russia says Ukraine was behind the attacks, including on the Kremlin last month. Kyiv denies it.

A German charity said on Friday its rescue ship was impounded by Italian authorities for breaching tougher migration rules introduced by the country's right-wing government as part of a crackdown on NGO sea-rescue activities.The Mare*Go organization said it disobeyed instructions to take 36 migrants it picked up on Thursday to the Sicilian port of Trapani, taking them instead to Lampedusa island, saving itself hours of navigation."The rescue ship is blocked for 20 days" in Lampedusa, the NGO in a statement, adding it would also "likely face a fine because we broke the new Italian Decree Law" sponsored by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.Noting that Trapani was 32 hours away from the location where the migrants were picked up…

Kongsberg Maritime said Friday it had completed a live trial of autonomous shipping technology in Bornem, Belgium, demonstrating the company's progress in fully autonomous systems.The test vessel, Zulu 4, an inland waterway barge owned by Blue Line Logistics NV, is equipped for remote-operated and autonomous transport demonstrations for the AUTOSHIP project, which is part of Horizon 2020, an EU research program.As part of the test, Zulu 4 maneuvered and navigated on unrestricted waterways, and it demonstrated berthing and unberthing capability.

Leveraging its position as a Top 5 Container Port in the U.S., Port Houston will host its 2nd annual Houston International Maritime Conference (HIMC23) on October 30 – November 1, 2023. The conference will tackle broad maritime industry challenges and opportunities that will shape the entire global supply chain, with specific focus on Port Houston’s commitment to investment, growth and readiness for the future.“HIMC23 is designed to not only illustrate how Port Houston is in growth mode…

Norway's Equinor plans to restart production at its Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Hammerfest on June 8 after it was shut down on May 31 due to a gas leak, the company said in a market message on Thursday. The facility will be unavailable until 2100 GMT on June 8, according to a message posted via the transparency page of Norwegian gas infrastructure operator Gassco. Equinor halted production after it detected a gas leak on a cooling circuit valve. The leak had been plugged late on Wednesday.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation, a U.S.-based dredging services giant said Thursday it had secured two major dredging contracts in Texas, worth $186.6 million in total.The contracts are for Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project, Dredging Reaches 1, 2, and 4 ($157.4 million) and Galveston Entrance Channel and Houston Ship Channel Dredging Project ($29.2 million)The Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project entails deepening the channel to authorized depths of 51 to 56 feet, which will make Port of Freeport the deepest port in Texas.

There is no shortage of challenges confronting the U.S. barging industry, and executives such as Mike Ellis, CEO at American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL), are leading their companies past hurdle after hurdle. The Jeffersonville, Ind.-based company, which owns a fleet of approximately 150 towboats and moves a fleet of some 4,500 barges (including roughly 3,500 operated by ACBL), is focusing on factors it can control while planning and investing for the future.The weatherMother Nature is often unkind to the barging industry.

U.S.-based maritime logistics and offshore services firm Crowley on Wednesday announced a new investment in Tugdock. Tugdock has developed "the world’s first road-transportable floating dry dock" known as the Tugdock Submersible Platform (TSP), to help advance offshore wind energy in the U.S.Crowley and Tugdock will explore the potential use of the platforms in locations such as the U.S. West Coast, where depth and conventional dry docks may be ill-suited for the logistics required.“This…

A fishing vessel quickly sank after colliding with a pilot boat near Newport News, Va. on Tuesday.The U.S. Coast Guard said it was alerted at 7:50 a.m. that the Virginia Pilot Association pilot boat Swift and a 38-foot deadrise fishing vessel Miss Heather collided near the Newport News Small Boat Harbor.A pilot aboard the Swift rescued two fishermen from the Miss Heather and brought them aboard as the fishing vessel rapidly took on water and sank.A rescue crew aboard a 45-foot…

Operations to salvage 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker moored off Yemen's coast will soon begin after a technical support ship arrived on site on Tuesday, the United Nations said.U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.The Ndeavor tanker, with a technical team from Boskalis/SMIT, is in place at the Safer tanker off the coast of Yemen's Ras Isa, the U.N.

Ukraine wants to begin work to make its Danube shipping canal deeper as early as this year to expand its alternative routes to export grain, Deputy Minister of Renovation and Infrastructure Yuriy Vaskov said on Tuesday.Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia last year, has already increased the depth of its southwestern Bystre Canal on the Danube River to 6.5 meters from 3.9 meters with the aim of increasing food exports from its river ports.The push for alternative export routes has taken on urgency during the war after Russia blocked Ukraine's traditional export route via the Black Sea and only

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) announced that WETA’s Gemini Class Clean Air Conversion Project has been completed, resulting in a substantial decrease in air pollution emissions from four San Francisco Bay Ferry vessels serving Oakland, Alameda and Richmond.In September 2021, WETA's Board of Directors approved a $5.5 million project to upgrade the engines and reduce emissions on the agency’s four Gemini-class vessels.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a panel to investigate U.S. allegations that a Russian ship had collected weapons from a naval base near Cape Town last year, the presidency said in a statement on Sunday.The U.S. ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety said on May 11 that he was confident that a Russian ship, which docked at a naval base in Simonstown in the Western Cape in December last year, took aboard weapons from South Africa. An allegation South Africa has since denied.

Boudewijn Siemons will become interim CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority effective July 15, 2023, taking the reins from Allard Castelein, who is stepping down as CEO this summer after nearly a decade in the position.Siemons, who currently serves as the port's COO, will combine both positions until a new CEO has been appointed.In addition, Vivienne de Leeuw will stay on as CFO. Her term of office has been extended by four years.Miriam Maes, chair of the Supervisory Board, said, "The process of finding a new CEO is still in progress.

The Association of Maryland Pilots has ordered a new pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. The high-speed vessel is a sistership to its first Baltimore Class launch, delivered less than two years ago. Delivery is scheduled for 2024. With a length overall of 48.5’, beam of 15.6’, and draft of 4’, the all-aluminum pilot boat features the Ray Hunt Design deep V hull. It will be powered by twin Volvo Penta D13, EPA Tier 3-compliant diesel engines, each delivering 600 hp at 1,900 rpm with a top speed of 30 knots.

Dutch shipping company Future Proof Shipping (FPS) on Thursday officially launched the first hydrogen-powered zero-emissions inland container ship, H2 Barge 1, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.Earlier in the week, Nike introduced the H2 Barge 1 at its European Logistics Campus in Laakdal, Belgium. As part of its journey toward a zero carbon and zero waste future, Nike is partnering with Future Proof Shipping (FPS) and BCTN Network of Inland Terminals, to accelerate zero-emission shipping.Future Proof Shipping’s zero-emissions 110m x 11.45m inland containership…

Tugboats refloated a large ship that had been stranded for several hours in the Suez Canal on Thursday, and sources said shipping traffic through one of the world's busiest waterways had returned to normal.Two canal sources said traffic was back to normal by around 11:00 am local time (0800 GMT), around six hours after the incident began and three-and-a-half hours after the vessel was refloated.Shipping agent Leth Agencies identified the ship as the 190 meter (623 foot) Xin Hai Tong 23…

A fire broke out aboard a Canadian-registered bulk carrier transiting on Lake Erie near Pelee Island in the overnight hours on Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The fire, which originated in the engine room of the 80-year-old laker Cuyahoga, is said to have been contained, with no injuries reported.U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Detroit, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, TowBoatUS and the Canadian Coast Guard responded the incident.The 664-foot-long self discharging bulk carrier is operated by Lower Lakes Towing…

The Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi has halted operations because Russia is not allowing ships to enter it, in effect cutting it out of a deal allowing safe Black Sea grain exports, a Ukrainian official said on Tuesday.The Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Russia and Ukraine last July, and extended last week for two months, is intended to guarantee the safe wartime export of grains and foodstuffs from three Ukrainian ports - Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi.The United Nations, which together with Turkey…

In a first for UK ports, the Port of London Authority (PLA) and University College of London (UCL) have launched a fully electric, remotely operated survey vessel.It will support a MSc Hydrographic Surveying course they have run in partnership since 1999.The state-of-the-art platform, manufactured by Maritime Robotics, was acquired by the partners, following a successful bid and award of an £263,000 grant from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).The vessel features the most advanced sonar and scanning system from technology manufacturer NORBIT, called a WINGHEAD.

The United Nations expressed concern on Monday that Ukraine's Black Sea port of Pivdennyi (Yuzhny) has not received any ships since May 2 under a deal allowing the safe wartime export of grain and fertilizer.U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric did not say who was to blame for the lack of ships traveling to the port, near Odesa, which is also where Russia used to pump up to 2.5 million tonnes of ammonia annually for export via a pipeline from Togliati.That pipeline has been shut down since Moscow's February 2022 invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Germany cannot be relaxed about the need for liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the Baltic Sea, a high-ranking economy ministry official said on Monday, a week after plans emerged to scale down the region's Mukran project after local resistance. "We should not be relaxed about supply security in the next winter," said Stefan Wenzel, a parliamentary state secretary in the ministry led by Robert Habeck of the Green Party. "We cannot afford to be unprotected and we also have…

Shell has cut crude oil imports at its Singapore refinery this month and is relying on smaller tankers after extending repairs at its single buoy mooring (SBM) facility to June, according to government notices and shipping data.The company is moving crude from Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) onto smaller Aframax tankers through ship-to-ship transfers before discharging them at another jetty on Pulau Bukom, the island south of Singapore where the refinery is located, shipping…

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) on Monday announced the delivery of R.B. Weeks, a 8,550 cubic yard capacity trailing suction hopper dredge constructed for Weeks Marine, Inc.“It’s our pleasure to once again deliver a quality vessel on time and on budget to our valued customers at Weeks Marine, Inc.,” said Joey D’Isernia, president of Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. “The R.B. Weeks joins an impressive fleet that works alongside the Army Corps of Engineers to preserve our treasured waterways.”Despite building the vessel through the height of the COVID pandemic…

Bangladesh's Moheshkhali liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, operated by Excelerate Energy, resumed supply at nearly full capacity late on Sunday, two government officials told Reuters, after being closed for about a week due to a deadly storm. The resumption of operations at the two terminals is set to provide a respite to millions of Bangladesh citizens, who have been hit by frequent outages in recent months. The closure of the Moheshkali and the Summit LNG floating regasification…

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Availability of $220 Million to Modernize Ferry Service and Better Connect Rural CommunitiesThe U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on Friday announced the availability of $220 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support or modernize passenger ferry service in rural and urban communities across the country. Across the country, there are approximately three million ferry riders each month.

A new barge has been designed to transport rockets for spacecraft launch service provider United Launch Alliance (ULA).Naval architecture firm Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) said it was recently selected by ULA to design a river and oceangoing manned roll-on / roll-off barge for the transportation of its Vulcan Centaur rockets. The barge will be supported by an operations and cargo monitoring crew.In support of ULA’s competitive solicitation for ship fabrication this summer…

South Africa has granted Turkey's Karpowership access to the three ports of Ngqura, Durban and Saldanha Bay for a period of 20 years, the transport ministry said on Thursday, as it tries to find solutions to the country's power crisis.Karpowership aims to generate power on its floating gas ships and distribute it through South Africa's electricity grid. The plan received a boost from President Cyril Ramaphosa last week after he told lawmakers the ships would help ease the prolonged…

Some U.S. importers who shifted cargo away from West Coast ports to rival gateways over fears that labor contract talks could disrupt shipments have begun bringing some of that volume back, even as those negotiations stretch into their 13th month, company supply chain executives said.But anxiety over labor negotiations only explains part of the market share losses at West Coast container ports, including the nation's busiest at Los Angeles/Long Beach, eight importers said at the…

The American Waterways Operators (AWO) is taking action to help address an industry need and a national imperative to recruit, retain and develop the next generation of maritime employees.As much as the tugboat, towboat and barge industry contributes to our nation’s prosperity and security today, we are an industry with an incredibly bright future that has even more to offer in the years to come. Our industry is uniquely positioned to be part of the solution as shipper-customers…

Seattle-based dredging and marine construction contractor Manson Construction Co. has been awarded a contract for dredging in Alabama, Mississippi and FloridaThe $49 million firm-fixed-price contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received.Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 15, 2024.

NY Waterway has been selected to provide ferry services five days a week on Jersey City’s southernmost coast in Greenville, N.J.Mayor Steven M. Fulop, Councilwoman Denise Ridley and the Department of Infrastructure announced a resolution awarding the contract for services out of the Port Liberte Ferry Terminal, which the City of Jersey City recently acquired.Additionally, utilizing $4 million in State grant funding, ferry fares to and from the Port Liberte terminal will be discounted…

China's ambassador to Australia urged Canberra on Thursday to step up its rescue efforts to help locate the 39 missing crew members on board a Chinese shipping boat that capsized in the Indian Ocean early this week.President Xi Jinping has ordered that all efforts be made to search for the missing crew, which includes 17 Chinese nationals, 17 Indonesians and five from the Philippines, state media reported on Wednesday."This is within Australia's search and rescue area ... we wish…

The newest Great Lakes freighter in the U.S. registered fleet has run aground in the Detroit River off Belle Isle, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The 639-foot self-unloading bulk carrier Mark W. Barker was headed toward Lake St. Clair from Cleveland when it lost propulsion and ran soft aground at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. The ship, which is carrying 21,000 metric tons of salt, was due to arrive in Milwaukee on Friday.The Coast Guard said planning is underway to refloat the ship and determine what caused it to run aground. No injuries, pollution or damage has been reported.

Greece has secured 24 million euros ($26 million) in European Union funding to upgrade its northern Aegean Sea port of Alexandroupolis, privatization agency HRADF said on Wednesday.Alexandroupolis, which is close to Bulgaria and Turkey, has been used by U.S.

China’s COSCO Shipping Holdings suspended construction on a tunnel for a major port project in northern Peru after a partial landslide struck, a company official said on Tuesday.The company is working to understand what caused the landslide, said Romulo Zarauz, a manager with the Chinese company’s local unit.The incident took place Tuesday morning in the coastal province of Huaral, about 56 miles (90 km) north of the capital Lima, damaging at least four houses near the tunnel…

Sean Strawbridge, chief executive of the Port of Corpus Christi, the largest U.S.

A shift to coastal shipping and rail could cut NZ’s freight transport emissions – why aren’t we doing it?According to a recent study, coastal shipping produces a fifth of the carbon emissions (well-to-wheel) of road freight. Rail also performed well, with about a quarter of trucking emissions.Despite this, trucking accounts for nearly 80% of New Zealand’s heavy goods transport, and a 94.5% share of the total emissions from heavy freight transport.The dominance of trucking follows the expansion of the road network…

French ferry operator Corsica Linea has signed 10-year Guaranteed Asset Performance (GAP) agreement with Wärtsilä to help ensure optimal performance of the power systems onboard the company’s new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled RoPax vessel A Galeotta, which will sail between Marseille and Corsica in France. The 206-meter-long ship was built at the Visentini yard in Italy. It features two Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel main engines and two Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel auxiliary engines.The scope of the agreement includes scheduled maintenance of the main and auxiliary engines…

A German government-backed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Mukran on Ruegen island in the Baltic Sea, near existing LNG reception facilities delivering into the mainland port of Lubmin, will be downsized.The quest for alternative imports intensified as the country sought to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.Apart from gas, industry and the government are anticipating increased use of hydrogen, which when produced using…

An investigation by Australian research organisation CSIRO’s research vessel RV Investigator has confirmed the location of the wreck of the MV Blythe Star.The 44-metre motor vessel Blythe Star was a coastal freighter that disappeared off Tasmania nearly 50 years ago. The vessel was travelling from Hobart to King Island with a cargo of superphosphate fertiliser and a ton of beer in kegs when, on October 13, 1973, it suddenly capsized and sank off the southwest coast of Tasmania…

Maersk's APM Terminals has pledged a €962 million (US$1 billion) investment in its Brazilian operations up to 2026.This figure includes a €296 million of a total €483 million investment exclusively for the Phase One development of a new terminal in Suape. The terminal, located in Estaleiro Atlântico Sul, is in the final stages of acquisition and will rejuvenate infrastructure and increase competition in the port.APM Terminals has committed an additional €666 million of investment to the company’s four other terminals and inland depots, by 2026.

The members of the American Waterways Operators, the national tugboat, towboat and barge industry association, elected a new slate of leaders during the association's Spring Convention and Annual Membership Meeting.Rick Iuliucci, Vice President, The Vane Brothers Company, was elected Chairman; Kelly Teichman, Chairman of the Board, T&T Marine, was elected Vice Chair; and Brian Hughes, Vice President Operations & Sales, Hughes Bros., Inc., was re-elected Treasurer. Iuliucci succeeds outgoing Chairman Clark Todd…

The prosperity of port cities, throughout history, has been closely tied to the ports’ ability to adapt to economic and technological change. As ships got bigger, ports had to keep up. This has often seen the port proper grow apart from the city whose name it bears because the old harbor could no longer accommodate the needs of modernized shipping.In those European cities located by rivers, port activities have often migrated towards the estuary. The ships headed for the port of Liverpool now berth in docks stretching north of the original Royal Albert dock…

German ferry operator Aktien-Gesellschaft EMS (“AG EMS”) has partnered with Hogia Ferry Systems to implement their standard reservation software BOOKIT.AG EMS operates a ferry service between Emden and the island Borkum, using both traditional and high-speed ferries. The company will also use BOOKIT for its river cruises and excursions.“We had reached the end of opportunities with our current system, and we needed a modern and reliable standard ferry reservation and check-in system to replace it," said Stefan Beekhuis, CIO, AG EMS.

A Singapore-registered containership that lost power and steering in heavy seas off the west coast of New Zealand has been towed to safety.The 5,100 TEU capacity Shiling requested assistance from Maritime New Zealand at around 8:30 a.m. local time Friday, after losing main propulsion while en route from Auckland to Wellington.The 294-meter-long containership started rolling severely after drifting into heavy swells about 22 nautical miles northwest of Farewell Spit and issued a mayday call at 11 a.m.

Oil pipelines from the top U.S. shale field to Houston that have run half empty are filling again as rising output has absorbed most of the space on lines to the main south Texas export hub in Corpus Christi.U.S. crude exports climbed to a record of about 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, spurred by recovering Chinese demand and competitive pricing for U.S. oil. Sanctions on Russian crude purchases by the European Union and Britain also have boosted demand.Pipelines…

The U.S. Department of Energy's refusal to grant export permit extensions to liquefied natural gas (LNG) developers that fail to meet a construction deadline poses a new hurdle for greenfield plants, analysts said on Thursday.The DOE last month said it would grant future extensions solely on extenuating circumstances and rejected an extension for Energy Transfer's proposed Lake Charles LNG project.The change will fall heavily on firms without a track record and available financing, analysts said.Around a dozen LNG projects in the U.S.

Toyota Tsusho and subsidiary Toyotsu Energy have launched Japan's first continuous, commercial supply of biodiesel blended fuel at the Port of Nagoya.Toyotsu Energy is supplying Toyofuji Shipping's car carrier Toyofuji Maru after earlier conducting ship-to-ship bunkering trials.Toyota Tsusho, in cooperation with Daiseki Eco. Solution, is procuring waste cooking oil collected from the employee cafeterias and other facilities of Toyota Group and Toyota Tsusho Group companies, which…

Port logistics firm HHLA said on Wednesday the German government has cleared the purchase by China’s Cosco of a 24.9% stake in a container terminal in the sea port of Hamburg, amid a political row over Chinese investment in the German economy.A spokesperson for the German government said in a statement that Berlin had informed HHLA and Cosco that their reworked deal was compliant with a cabinet decision in the fall of last year that limits the ownership of Chinese state firm Cosco in the terminal to less than 25%.The deal was also in line with Berlin declaring the terminal, known as Tollerort,

Ferry operator Stena Line announced it is building two new freight vessels for its expanding Belfast-Heysham freight service.Each of the two new 147-meter NewMax vessels has been designed to maximize freight volumes and will provide 2,800 lane meters of capacity which is an 80% increase on current ship capacities. The new vessels will be equipped to carry 12 passengers and 26 crew.The vessels will be able to operate on methanol fuel. Stena Line is currently working closely with…

India has set a deadline of 2035 to establish green hydrogen bunkering and refuelling facilities at major ports in the drive to cut its carbon footprint, the shipping ministry said in guidelines issued on Wednesday.One of the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, India aims to cut emissions to net zero by 2070, and the shipping minister said three of its ports would initially have bunker facilities for green hydrogen and ammonia."Our target is to cover all 12 major parts with a green hydrogen bunkering facility by 2035," Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told Reuters.The initial por

Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd is looking to sell its North American port facilities business, Ceres Terminals, for about $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday citing sources familiar with the matter.The financial conglomerate acquired full control of the general cargo stevedoring operations in 2019 from Tokyo-based shipping and logistics firm Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line).Ceres moves about 4.3 million containers annually at several major ports in the United States, according to its company website.The shipping industry globally has been under pressure as supply-chain bottl

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority held a ceremony to officially welcome a new survey vessel to its fleet in Columbus, Miss., April 28, 2023.The Miss Agnes, built by Theodore, Ala. based Silver Ships, is a custom 26-foot multibeam and single beam capable marine survey vessel that features an enclosed center console, a three-monitor survey station, and an air conditioner unit that is paired with a generator.

Stena Line announced on Tuesday that it has acquired the operations of the ferry and RoRo terminals in the Port of Ventspils, Latvia, representing the latest in a range of investments in the Baltic region, including the addition of upgraded ferries and new ferry routes.The acquisition in Latvia is the latest among several moves to support Stena Line’s long-term expansion in the growing Baltic Sea region. Stena Line has operated the route between Ventspils and Nynäshamn, Sweden…

India's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, a group company of the beleaguered Adani Group, said on Tuesday that it would pay $130 million of its debt early, after nearly $413 million worth of debt has been tendered for early payment.Adani Ports had floated a tender of up to $130 million of 3.375% 2024 maturity dollar-denominated bonds late last month, as it seeks to boost investor confidence after the group's shares were pummelled earlier this year by a U.S. short-seller's report.

A fuel contamination issue led to the grounding of a Washington State Ferries (WSF) vessel in April, the operator said in a recent update.The 440-foot double-ended Jumbo Class ferry Walla Walla was traveling from Bremerton, Wash. to Seattle with 596 passengers and 15 crew members on board when it ran aground in Rich Passage, just off Bainbridge Island, Wash., at approximately 4:30 p.m. on April 15. No injuries, pollution or damage to the vessel was reported.At the time of the incident…

The new floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) set up in the Tuscan port of Piombino will start its commercial operations at the end of this month, the CEO of Italy's gas grid operator Snam said on Friday.The terminal will make available around 2 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas this year and around 5 bcm next year said Snam's Stefano Venier at a press conference to mark the arrival of the first LNG tanker in Piombino."This ship is a great service to the country," Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said at the same event.The expansion is part of the Italian government's

The Biden administration on Friday launched a $4 billion effort to electrify U.S. ports and cut heavy duty truck emissions as the government looks to address disproportionate impacts on nearby communities.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it was seeking input in its $3 billion Clean Ports Program to reduce pollutants at U.S. ports and its $1 billion Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicle Program to reduce vehicle emissions near ports and other truck routes. EPA wants details about the availability…

Singapore-registered passenger ferry 'QUEEN STAR 2' caught fire on Friday while en route from Singapore to Batam, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has informed.The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was alerted that there was a fire in the ferry's engine room on Friday, 12:30 local time."MPA, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), and Police Coast Guard (PCG) immediately deployed their crafts to provide assistance. MPA also deployed a tug boat to provide assistance and tow the ferry…

Equinor's Hammerfest LNG plant in Arctic Norway suffered a compressor failure on Thursday and is expected to remain offline until May 19, Norwegian gas system company Gassco said in a regulatory note on Friday. The outage was caused by a technical problem with a heat exchanger that occurred during a restart of the plant following a one-day maintenance outage, an Equinor spokesperson said. The plant will remain offline until repairs have been carried out, the spokesperson added.

The pace of shipments from Ukraine under a U.N.-backed initiative has slowed as concerns grow over ships getting stuck if a deal is not renewed later this month, according to sources and data. Russia, which is one of the key parties involved, said it will keep talking, although Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18, which has created more uncertainty for traders and shipping companies trying to plan ahead. Under the accord, Ukraine has been able to export some 29.5 million tonnes of agricultural products, including 14.9 million tonnes of corn and 8.1 million tonnes of wheat.

Germany-based inland waterway shipping firm HGK Shipping has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hydrogenious LOHC Maritime and Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies to work on developing a scalable solution to make hydrogen available as a source of energy on a large scale. The technology is based on hydrogen, which is bound in a liquid carrier (LOHC, liquid organic hydrogen carrier). The partners are planning to develop a demonstration vessel by 2028 and then put it into service…

The OSIL Vibrocorer has been in use on the early works for the River Thames Scheme, a £600 million project to develop two new flood channel sections for the River Thames.The River Thames Scheme aims to reduce the risk of flooding for approximately 15,000 homes and businesses along the River Thames involving a series of measures, including new flood walls and embankments, improvements to existing flood defenses, and flood storage areas and diversion channels to temporarily hold…

German company HGK Shipping on Thursday held a naming ceremony for two chemical tankers “Courage” and “Curiosity” on 4 May 2023.The chemical tankers have already been in service for the materials manufacturer, Covestro, on the river Rhine and its tributaries for several weeks. The hulls of the shallow-water vessels are 93 metres long and 10.5 meters wide. The two sister vessels are able to carry a load weighing 160 tonnes in a draught of just 1.00 meter and still be fully operational and maneuverable…

The United Nations on Thursday fell far short of raising the money it needs for an operation to salvage 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying vessel moored off Yemen's coast and avert an environmental disaster.U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.The war in Yemen suspended maintenance operations on the Safer in 2015. The U.N. has warned its structural integrity has significantly deteriorated and it is at risk of exploding.Deputy U.N.

Lithium-ion batteries and other possible ignition sources could pose a fire safety issue in the transportation of scrap materials as cargo, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.Although scrap metal cargo is typically nonhazardous and poses a low fire risk, there have been several recent fires involving such cargo. In January 2022, a shoreside pile caught fire in Newark, N.J. Two international vessels carrying scrap material experienced cargo fires in 2022…

Quincy, Mass. dredging contractor Cashman Dredging & Marine Contracting has been awarded a contract for maintenance dredging in Baltimore.The $23,963,300 firm-fixed-price contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Baltimore District. Bids for the project were solicited via the internet with four received.Work is expected to be completed  by September 9, 2023.The project consists of maintenance dredging approximately 1,500,000 cubic yards (cy) from the deep-draft…

Towage provider SAAM on Thursday announced it has concluded the purchase of 21 tugboats from the Brazilian company Starnav, including 19 tugs currently in operation and two additional vessels in the final phase of construction.“This is one of the largest transactions in SAAM's history and is part of our strategy to continue advancing our leadership in the towage industry. Brazil is home to our company’s largest operations and with this deal we will have one of the most competitive…

In a canyon at the Idaho border and alongside a bayou in Louisiana, two nearly identical cruise ships were just christened. American Cruise Lines announced the christening of sister ships American Jazz and American Serenade, two of the lines’ six new riverboats.“The two christenings, one in a desert canyon and one on the bayou, show the incredible breadth of river cruise options in the USA,” said Charles B. Robertson, President & CEO, American Cruise Lines. “They also show the growth of American Cruise Lines and the range of places that we explore.

Crowley announced it will launch an end-to-end, integrated ocean and rail service between Mexico and the U.S. Midwest region and into Canada. Featuring Crowley’s new Mexico-U.S. ocean route in the Gulf, the service will leverage the inland rail network of Canadian National Railway Company and its U.S. rail subsidiaries (CN). The companies’ combined network provides broad reach across the Midwest and into Canada to increase solutions for global customers in North American market…

Shipbuilder Austal Vietnam announced Wednesday that it has launched a new high-speed catamaran built at the company’s shipyard in Vung Tau for the Degage Group of French Polynesia.The 66-meter Apetahi Express is undergoing final fit-out, prior to sea trials which are due to commence in May. The vessel is scheduled for delivery in June 2023. The new ferry is anticipated to commence operations between Pape’ete (Tahiti) and Vaitape (Bora Bora) in French Polynesia in July 2023.Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said…

ORPC, an marine renewable energy developer whose power systems harness the energy of free-flowing rivers and tides, has signed a contract with Shell Technology – Marine Renewable Program to initiate a Modular RivGen Power System demonstration project in the Lower Mississippi River.The collaborative project represents an opportunity to showcase how the next generation of ORPC’s hydrokinetic technology can provide predictable baseload electricity to help decarbonize onshore assets.

Port of Aberdeen said Tuesday it had welcomed the first cruise ship into the "transformational" £400 million Aberdeen South Harbour expansion. The 203-meter-long AIDAaura, with a capacity for more than 1,200 guests, is the longest vessel to visit the Port of Aberdeen to date. The vessel arrived from Hamburg, Germany, for a full day visit as part of a Scottish cruise. The AIDAaura berthed on Castlegate Quay, and the guests were greeted by a 50-strong pipe band and Highland dancers from Robert Gordon’s College and ‘Welcome to Aberdeenshire’ volunteers.

Germany's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Stade said it would in the coming weeks begin testing market appetite for ammonia as a way to transport hydrogen, as the country's efforts to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas gather pace.The quest for alternatives has included focusing on hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany, however, would need to import much of its hydrogen needs and the low density of the gas makes transportation over long distances complicated unless a carrier…

Proman Stena Bulk, the joint venture between tanker company Stena Bulk and methanol producer Proman, announced the successful completion of the first ever barge-to-ship methanol bunkering on the U.S. Gulf Coast.The JV tankers Stena Pro Marine and Stena Prosperous were refueled with methanol via barge while discharging clean petroleum products at a terminal in the Port of Houston in the first week of April.Stena Pro Marine was bunkered with 1,408MT of methanol, and Stena Prosperous was refueled with 1,203MT during the operation.

A Ukrainian drone strike set ablaze a Russian fuel storage facility in the Crimean port of Sevastopol early on Saturday, sending a vast column of black smoke into the sky in the latest attack on the Russia-occupied peninsula.The city's Moscow-installed governor blamed Ukraine and later said the fire had been put out before a disaster occurred.A Ukrainian military intelligence official said more than 10 tanks of oil products with a capacity of about 40,000 tonnes intended for use by Russia's Black Sea Fleet were destroyed…

Reserve, La. based DSC Dredge announced it has appointed Doy Dugan to succeed Kevin Dolan as vice president and chief financial officer.Dugan is a CPA with an MBA and brings to the role more than 30 years of global financial and operational experience working for both public and private companies. Most recently he served as CFO at Diversified Well Logging and prior to that, he held the CFO position at Advanced Drilling Solutions and Spartan Offshore. Dugan began his career at Falcon Drilling Company…

The agency that provides San Francisco Bay Ferry service has won a $13.8 million grant  to electrify ferry terminals and facilities in San Francisco and the East Bay, enabling zero-emission, electric ferry operations on routes connecting Oakland and Alameda to San Francisco.The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) grant for the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) will fund electric infrastructure and increased charging capacity to the Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal…

The Canadian government has approved a marine container terminal expansion project in Delta, B.C., following a environmental assessment process that started in 2013.The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project includes building new land and a new three-berth marine container terminal near existing port terminals at Roberts Bank in Delta, B.C., about 35 kilometers south of Vancouver. The project will incrementally deliver an additional 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of capacity…

Damen Shipyards' division Damen Marine Services has taken delivery of the first of a new class of Damen Multi Cat, a Multi Cat 3313 SD named DMS Snipe. Damen Marine Services, which offers Damen vessels for charter, both fully crewed and bareboat, has described the DMS Snipe as a "Swiss Army Knife of workboats""While Damen’s Multi Cat range is known for its shallow draught capabilities, this new class can draw less than two meters, an exceptional achievement for a 33-metre vessel," Damen said."The Multi Cat 3313 SD continues the Multi Cat ethos of being the Swiss Army Knife of workboats.

HGK Shipping and the Port of Rotterdam signed a long-term cooperation agreement to promote sustainable concepts for inland waterway services leading to and from seaports. The document primarily focuses on the energy revolution and logistics for hydrogen as well as reducing CO2 emissions by using innovative drive concepts and digitalization. These topics are crucially important to ensure reliable and sustainable supplies for industry. The agreement therefore ensures that stable…

A new electric-powered ring crane being built for Dutch engineered heavy lift company Mammoet is set to become the world’s highest capacity land-based crane.The first parts of the new 6,000t ring crane will soon be delivered to Mammoet’s engineering nerve center in The Netherlands. In the months ahead, fabrication and production will continue as it is being readied for its very first project, with delivery scheduled in 2024."The introduction of this 6,000t ring crane sets a new…

BYD-Naval Architects has secured a contract to develop the design for a new electric 27-meter passenger catamaran for Ottawa Boat Cruises as part of their initiative to continue delivering zero emissions tourism to Canada.Robert Taillefer, president of Ottawa Boat Cruises, said, “Ottawa Boat Cruises is a leader in sustainable technology innovation. They built the first certified 100% electrical boat in the world in 2016. Their second electrical boat was built in 2022 and they are now building two new electrical vessels.

Norway-based Zinus announced it has secured a contract to supply shore power technology and autonomous solutions for Canada's Seaspan Ferries. Seaspan Ferries serves the Vancouver Island supply chain and with a commercial ferry service. The contract includes the supply of three Zinus Autonomous Solution units, consisting of three ZPP700 Automatic Telescopic Charging Towers and three SWC100 Autonomous Onboard Receiver systems. These advanced technologies will enable quick and autonomous…

Throughput in the port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest sea port, fell 1.5% in the first quarter as high inflation slowed down container traffic, the port's operator said on Monday."Especially in the container segment, we faced a decline in volumes due to high inflation and a weakening economy," port CEO Allard Castelein said in a statement."Results in the other segments mainly show growth and confirm that dependence on Russian energy flows has been further reduced in line with…

Hornblower's Alcatraz City Cruises has selected Corvus Energy to supply the battery system for the Hornblower Hybrid NY passenger ferry.San Francisco based Alcatraz City Cruises was the first to introduce hybrid-powered passenger ferry service in the United States. Two vessels, the Alcatraz Flyer and the Alcatraz Clipper, currently offer transit to Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. Completing multiple rounds per day, the operation carries thousands of passengers daily and nearly 1.7 million total annually powered by electric propulsion.

Three boaters were rescued Wednesday after their yacht collided with a tug near Bay St. Louis, Miss.The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector Mobile received a report Wednesday of a 53-foot yacht and a tug vessel pulling two barges were involved in a collision. Sector Mobile watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Station Gulfport 45-foot Response Boat–Medium boatcrew to assist.The response boatcrew arrived on scene, embarked the three boaters from the yacht and transported them to Bay St.

North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP) will soon begin maintenance dredging at the Port of Weipa. NQBP Acting Chief Executive Officer Belinda Kenny said the dredge vessel TSHD Brisbane is due to begin work from early May 2023.“Maintenance dredging works are an integral part of port operations,” Kenny said. “In the same way we maintain roads and rail lines for freight transport, we need to look after our port infrastructure to keep trade flowing. Regular maintenance dredging ensures efficient…