Epic News

Esgian reports various drilling contractors disclosing details of discussions with Saudi Aramco regarding jackup contract suspensions in its Week 14 Rig Analytics Market Roundup. These contractors include Shelf Drilling, ADES, Borr Drilling, Arabian Drilling, COSL, and ARO Drilling.Meanwhile, Transocean, Noble, and COSL rigs have firmed up new work in the US Gulf of Mexico, Suriname, and the North Sea, respectively.Report overview:ContractsShelf Drilling has received a notice of suspension of operations on four jackup rigs from a customer in the Middle East.

NOV has unveiled a new installation vessel concept design tailored specifically for the unique challenges of the emerging floating offshore wind sector.Floating wind farms are often farther offshore, in deeper waters and in harsher environments, therefore requiring new and robust installation strategies.According to NOV, its new floating wind installation vessel (FWIV) concept—part of GustoMSC's Enhydra offshore wind support vessel series—is designed to operate safely, effectively and longer in the harshest environments and deep waters.

After 268 days in his kayak, 1643 hours of paddling and a journey of almost 6,800 miles, 65-year-old Mark Fuhrmann has completed his epic “Reverse the Bad” charity expedition across Canada and the United States.In doing so, he becomes the first person to solo kayak the ‘Greater Loop’ circuit, beginning (and ending) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and traversing the Great Lakes, the Illinois, the Mississippi, the Tennessee and Tombigbee Rivers, before hitting the Gulf of Mexico and heading up the Atlantic Coast.A smiling…

The question on many minds this week is why did some of the world’s richest men risk death to venture to the bottom of the sea in a cold and cramped “experimental” submersible for a chance to glimpse the wreck of the Titanic?The “unsinkable” ship that sunk on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg is arguably the world’s most well-known boat. The Titanic is recognisable to more of the world’s population than, say, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria (Christopher Colombus’s fleet that launched the Spanish conquest of the Americas)…

Classification society DNV has awarded the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping in collaboration with Nordic Green Ammonia Powered Ships (NoGAPS) partners BW Epic Kosan, Yara, MAN Energy Solutions, Wärtsilä, Global Maritime Forum and Breeze Ship Design an Approval in Principle (AiP) for the design of an ammonia-powered gas carrier – the M/S NoGAPS. The certificate was presented during the Nor-Shipping trade fair at the DNV stand.The maritime industry is accelerating in its drive towards a multi-fuel zero carbon future.

U.S.-based offshore service firm Helix Energy Solutions has secured a 39-well decommissioning contract in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico shelf with an unnamed client. The project, awarded to Helix's Louisiana-based subsidiary Helix Alliance, is expected to start in mid-2023.The scope of work includes the plug and abandonment of 39 wells, 15 pipelines, and seven structures.

The path to decarbonization is defined by partnership and fueled by government funding. This month we examine the players, partnerships, and evolution of Hydrogen Hubs in the Gulf of Mexico.The Green Shipping Challenge, organized by the United States and Norway at COP 27 held in late 2022, brought about dozens of announcements on maritime decarbonization. Among these was a joint statement from the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition (BSMC) – a consortium of North American shipowners and…

Sofar Ocean is on a quest to extract and put to use data from the world’s waterways. Co-Founder and CEO Tim Janssen discusses how his team’s hyper-focus on data is helping to improve weather routing via Wayfinder.Tim Janssen and his Sofar Ocean team continue their ‘Epic Ocean Data Quest,’ remaining laser focused on doing its part to help extract and put to use increasing quantities of information from the world’s oceans. For its part, Sofar continues to build scalable networks to gather information premised on its Sofar Spotter buoy.

Chevron's shipping arm has set out to reduce the carbon intensity of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleet operations.The U.S.-based supermajor said Chevron Shipping Company has entered into an agreement with Singapore's Sembcorp Marine Repairs & Upgrades to install new technologies aboard its vessels, such as a reliquefication system, hull air lubrication and a new gas compressor, that are together expected to reduce cargo boil-off, lower fuel consumption and increase volumes…

Russia suspended participation in the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal after what it said was a Ukrainian drone attack on vessels in the Bay of Sevastopol in the early hours of Saturday. What do we know so far? WHAT HAPPENED? Russia said 16 air and maritime drones attacked civilian and Black Sea Fleet vessels in the Bay of Sevastopol in Crimea at 0420 Kyiv time on Saturday. Russia said all nine of the air drones were destroyed. Four of the seven maritime drones were destroyed on the outer perimeter of the bay, but three more made it inside before they were destroyed, Russia said.

ABB is launching a new solid state circuit breaker to enable the next generation of safe, energy-efficient direct current (DC) power systems. DC power distribution is at the forefront of strategies to make shipping and marine vessels more sustainable and energy efficient – the SACE Infinitus circuit breaker makes it simpler to integrate, protect and control these new DC network architectures for ships of all types and sizes.DC power systems improve fuel efficiency by up to 20 per cent.

In late May 2022, Mark Fuhrmann set out on an epic, solo 10,500 km kayak trip, a venture that the 64-year-old Canadian is using to raise more than over EURO 100,000 for Doctors Without Borders and Captains Without Borders.Fuhrmann has been a staple in the marine industry for the past three decades, running a PR and marketing businesses in Oslo, Norway. Solo paddles for charity are not new to Fuhrmann, who who undertook a 5,900km charity kayak from Oslo to Athens, Greece, in 2018.

Norwegian Cruise Line on Wednesday canceled trips on eight ships, a few with embarkation dates as far out as late April, signaling a blow to the recovery of the pandemic-ravaged U.S. cruise industry.The division of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd made the decision with the United States reporting nearly one million new coronavirus infections on Monday, the highest daily tally of any country."Due to ongoing travel restrictions, we've had to modify a few sailings and unfortunately have had to cancel…

A new report from a U.S. offshore services trade group details alleged Jones Act violations by a foreign-flagged vessel in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA), which recently launched its Jones Act Enforcer program to document and report violations of the U.S. law requiring seaborne cargo shipped between two U.S. points to be carried by American-built, crewed, and owned vessels, said it received a tip from an industry stakeholder that Louisiana-based Triton Offshore had posted photos on social media showing its Chinese-built…

On August 16, 2021, Odfjell Gas Shipowning AS, a subsidiary 100% owned by Odfjell SE, entered into a transaction agreement with BW Epic Kosan Ltd. (BWEK) for the sale of two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)/ethylene carriers, Bow Guardian and Bow Gallant, both built in Korea in 2008.The purchase price will be settled partly in cash, to be used for the full repayment of mortgaged loans on the vessels, and partly by the issuance of 6,889,611 freely transferable shares in BWEK. Following the transaction, Odfjell will own 4.3% of the shares in BWEK.The transaction is expected to close prior to October 31, 2021. Pursuant to the transaction agreement…

Cruise shipping company Norwegian Cruise Line on Sunday officially marked return to business, with its Norwegian Jade ship the first of its 17-ship fleet to welcome guests after 500 days. It was also another first for the Norwegian Jade, as it became Norwegian Cruise Line's first vessel to homeport in Athens (Piraeus)."Until November 2021, guests sailing aboard Norwegian Jade's immersive Greek Isles itinerary will wake up in a new destination every day, able to spend eight-to-nine hours exploring some of Greece's most picturesque islands including luxurious Crete…

When the maritime history books are written, 2020 will be viewed as a year of pivots, re-invention and new paradigms. By February 2020, concerns about marine fuel’s sulfur content quickly shifted to near-term disruptions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. By mid-year, with demand recovering, the conversation turned to longer term questions surrounding the moves towards reduced maritime carbon emissions and alternative fuels. How will this all impact the current fleet?Perhaps the most extreme reaction to the shifting landscape is the ongoing “pivot” of Scorpio Bulk (NYSE: SALT)…

Federal prosecutors in Brazil filed a civil lawsuit against Danish shipping company Maersk and former executives representing the firm for alleged corruption involving shipping contracts with state-run oil firm Petrobras, they said on Friday.The lawsuit requests that a judge freeze almost 1 billion reais ($198 million) in assets in order to make sure funds are available to pay for damages resulting from the alleged scheme.Prosecutors said there was evidence of bribe payments to…

Dutch maritime heavy lift and transportation services firm Jumbo has completed the first of two contracts supporting two of Subsea 7’s EPIC projects for Total in Angola: CLOV MPP and Zinia Phase 2.The company's Jumbo Vision vessel was used for the first campaign, called CLOV MPP,  picking up an empty 24-meter diameter carousel from Subsea 7’s headquarters in Dusavik, Norway. The H800 Class vessel then sailed to Halden, Norway to load a subsea umbilical, with the carousel and umbilical having a combined weight of 1,255 tonnes.

Russian shipping company Sovcomflot is guiding investors to expect its initial public offering (IPO) to price at the low end of the marketing range, two bookrunners organizing the transaction said on Tuesday.The first big stock market float by a Russian company in a couple of years comes as wider investor sentiment towards Moscow has turned negative after the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, protests in Belarus and renewed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh.Russian assets…

A lawsuit has been filed in Nueces County, Texas on behalf of a worker who was injured and burned in an explosion and fire that occurred while he was working on the dredge Waymon L. Boyd in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel last month.The dredge worker, Jose Cantu, is among six crew members who were hospitalized after the dredge struck a gas pipeline, causing the vessel to catch fire and sink. Another four personnel on the vessel died.The lawsuit alleges that the dredge owner Orion Marine Group and pipeline owner Epic Midstream “failed to adequately plan the job…

California Energy Commission has awarded Aker Solutions and Cognite a $2 million grant for a project called NextWind Real-Time Condition Monitoring.The project is focused on next-generation solutions in wind through digitalization and aims to develop a holistic digital solution that will enable monitoring the condition of an offshore floating wind farm and its impact on the environment via live data streaming.Aker Solutions, partnering with Cognite, was selected for the grant award as part of the California Energy Commission's Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC).

Nippon Paint Marine has signed a long-term supply contract with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to provide antifouling systems to 13 cruise ships operating under the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands.The agreement, signed late last year, will see the coatings specialist apply its market-leading low-friction SPC antifouling, A-LF-Sea, to six Oceania vessels, five Regent Seven Seas Cruises vessels and Norwegian Cruise Lines ships Norwegian Epic and Norwegian Dawn.A-LF Sea has already been applied in eleven drydocks while three vessels…