Festival News

China's coast guard said on Sunday it will strengthen its law enforcement activities and carry out regular patrols around a small group of Taiwanese-controlled islands off the Chinese coast as tensions rise over the deaths of two Chinese nationals.Taiwan on Thursday defended the actions of its coast guard after two people on a Chinese speedboat, which got too close to a frontline Taiwanese island, died when their boat overturned while trying to flee a coast guard ship.

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.

On Thursday October 6, Captain Richard Phillips, author of A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, will discuss his encounter, his remarkable rescue and lessons learned, in an Ed Fouhy Speaker Series program presented by the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center. The program will begin at 7:00 PM at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Admirals Hall, 101 Academy Drive, Buzzards Bay, MA.The now-famous hostage standoff began on Wednesday, April 8, 2009 when a small band of Somali pirates swung a ladder from their skiff onto the MV Maersk Alabama…

A Russian warship early on Friday twice violated Danish territorial waters north of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm where a democracy festival attended by senior officials and business people was taking place, the Danish Armed Forces said.Denmark called the action an unacceptable provocation. The Russian embassy in Copenhagen said the Danes provided no evidence.The Russian warship entered Danish waters without authorization at 0030 GMT on Friday and again a few hours later, the armed forces said in a statement.

The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index fell for a 12th straight session on Monday, hurt by declining capesize rates.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, fell 24 points, or 1.7%, to 1,391, its lowest since mid-February 2021.The capesize index slipped 55 points, or 6.2%, to 836, its lowest since June 2020.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, dropped by $455 to $6,935.Iron ore prices fell on Monday as traders turned cautious ahead of the Spring Festival holidays and Beijing

Dalian iron ore rose on Friday and advanced nearly 6% this week as traders returned from New Year holidays feeling optimistic about potential demand recovery in top steel producer China.Iron ore's most-active May contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trading 1.4% higher at 719 yuan ($112.78) a tonne, rising for a fourth straight session and touching 725.50 yuan earlier in the day, its highest since Oct. 27.On the Singapore Exchange, the steelmaking ingredient's most-traded contract expiring by end-February climbed as much as 0.7% to $128.25 a tonne…

AMS Global helped out in a most unusual project for the marine consulting and safety firm, helping to return The Floating Head back to the water,  33 years after it was first created.The Floating Head, a sculpture created by artist Richard Groom, was the centrepiece for Glasgow’s 1988 Garden Festival. It has been carefully restored over the past six months, and is now on public display at Canting Basin at Govan Docks, adjacent to Glasgow Science Centre, for the next four weeks.Inspired by the carvings on Easter Island…

Crowley Marine Services Inc. has sold one of its 7,200BHP Invader series tugs, Hunter, to private buyers in Washington.The vessel was built in 1976 and was the 21st Invader Class tug constructed for Crowley by McDermott Shipyard in Amelia, La. The tug measures 136.2’ loa x 36.5' beam x 19.2' depth.Often referred to as the “fastest tug in the Puget Sound” due to its frequent tug race wins at the Seattle Maritime Festival, Hunter is powered by twin EMD 20-645E5 diesels with Falk 4.345:1 gears driving two 132" x 82-88" 5-blade stainless props.

Olympia Harbor Days Festival and Tugboat Races, the 47th edition, has been canceled for 2020 due to health and safety concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The announcement comes from the Olympia Kiwanis Club Board of Directors after much discussion about how to keep the festival safe for all – from attendees and tugboat crews to vendors and volunteers. The festival was to be held Labor Day Weekend, September 4 – 6, 2020. The festival is an Olympia Kiwanis Club event.“We want to keep our community…

British entrepreneur Richard Branson heralded his first cruise ship "Scarlet Lady" on Friday as targeting a younger generation of holidaymakers with a range of attractions that he believes will outweigh any fears around coronavirus.Despite the unfortunate timing, with passengers on one ship quarantined in Japan after hundreds caught the virus and another turned away by five countries over fears someone on board may be ill, Branson sees cruises as a growth area.In an event at Dover…

Damen Shipyards Den Helder is preparing Clipper vessel to undertake world tour promotion of UN Sustainable Development Goals.On 28th October, the iconic Clipper Stad Amsterdam arrived early in Den Helder in sunny weather, after a calm voyage from Amsterdam. After watching her arrival, invited guests were given a tour of the vessel by Captain Moritz Kuhlenbäumer, who provided details of the vessel’s forthcoming maintenance program in Den Helder’s historic Willemsoord harbour.The maintenance will prepare Stad Amsterdam for her green ambassadorial role, during which she will sail to seventeen destinations around the world promoting the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals.During the five-month maintenance program…

The Ferretti Group announced that it has gained new orders worth $510.1 million (465 million euros) during the first nine months of the year, up 18 percent compared to the same period in 2018.The Italian boatbuilder said in a press statement that its Wally brand helped increase its order book. It also signed contracts for 16 coastal patrol boats in its Ferretti Security Division."These positive results have benefited from the launch of five new models under our Riva, Pershing, Ferretti Yachts and Custom Line brands, as well as from the relaunch of the Wally brand, which we acquired in April this year. In particular, our first serial model under the Wally brand…

Mediterranean resort town Cannes, France's fourth-biggest cruise ship port, will ban the most polluting cruise ships from next year in a bid to boost air quality in the city.The ban will target ships that do not respect a 0.1% cap on sulphur in their fuel and could stop some passengers from disembarking in the city famous for its film festival."It's not about being against cruise ships. It's about being against pollution," Cannes Mayor David Lisnard told Reuters Television in an interview.Under the European Union's clean air policy…

Dutch shipbuilding and engineering conglomerate Damen Shipyards Group is once again holding its one-day-only annual industry networking event at its headquarters at Gorinchem in the Netherlands.Following three successful editions as the Damen Workboat Show, this year it has been rebranded as the Damen Maritime Festival to better reflect the full Damen product range as well as the day’s lively atmosphere and will take place on Thursday 19 September.As before, the festival will give industry professionals from across Europe and beyond the opportunity to mingle with each other as well as explore in detail Damen’s current products and plans for the future.

A modest event designed as a get-together for commercial workboat operators in upstate New York is now celebrating 20 years as a three-day community festival.On September 11, 1999, local resident John Callaghan had an idea to bring in some friends who ran tugs on the Hudson River and NYS Canal System for a quick one-day get together, right at the entrance to the famed Erie Canal. Callaghan, then a tug captain himself for the state canal system, brought in seven tugs and cooked several dozen hot dogs.

Seakeeper launched its newest model, the Seakeeper 18, at the Cannes Yachting Festival.Designed to provide more angular momentum without increasing weight, size or power, the Seakeeper 18 is a new option for boats ~65-75 feet (~20-23 meters) or up to ~56 tons. The Seakeeper 18 packs a punch with 18,000 Newton-meter-seconds (N-m-s) of angular momentum, the standard in measuring gyroscopic output, but in the same footprint as the Seakeeper 16 (16,000 N-m-s).The Seakeeper 18 will be available for shipment beginning late 2019 and will retail for $119,900.Additional specs include:Weight: 2,244 lbs.

On July 18, 2019, a press conference was held at the Willemsoord historic harbor in Den Helder. The subject of the meeting was the mid-life maintenance program of the Clipper Stad Amsterdam, scheduled to take place in Den Helder in late 2019 and early 2020.During the maintenance program, Damen Shipyards Den Helder will carry out a scope of work in the former naval dockyard Willemsoord that will increase the efficiency and sustainability of the Damen-built vessel, preparing her…

The “Ocean of Opportunities Challenge”  (O3 Challenge), a worldwide contest aimed at creating new value through open innovation in the maritime industry, has been successfully celebrated by NYK Group.This was the second consecutive year for the challenge, which is planned and conducted by NYK Group companies Symphony Creative Solutions Pte. Ltd. (SCS) and Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd. (ONE), together with NUS Enterprise.The contest began in February with ONE issuing six challenges related to its work processes. Over 50 startups from 14 countries subsequently submitted solution proposals, and the top-three were selected on June 27 at Innovfest Unbound…

Dutch towage company and maritime services provider Multraship Towage & Salvage has carried out christening ceremonies at its home port of Terneuzen in the Netherlands for its two new Damen-built tugs – one of which is the first IMO Tier III-compliant tug in Europe.The vessels are a Reversed Stern Drive (RSD) Tug 2513 and an Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) Tug 3212, which were officially named Multratug 6 and Multratug 29 respectively. The naming ceremonies took place on 28 June during the Terneuzen Harbor Days…

Poland-based super-yacht builder  Sunreef Yachts has announced its plans to construct an all-carbon fibre Sunreef 80 sailing superyacht.The carbon edition of the Sunreef 80 will be delivered in 2020, said the manufacturer of luxury sailing and power catamarans. Its weight-reducing features will also include an in-house built carbon mast and boom."An experienced yachtsman, the Owner decided to build his new craft with Sunreef Yachts after chartering one of the Sunreef 74’s. His yacht’s individually-tailored layout will include spacious accommodation for 11 guests and crew," said a release.Wind-free propulsion will come from two 280HP engines, it said.The Sunreef 80 is an all-around sail yacht model premiered last year and one of the shipyards best-selling catamarans.

According to the findings of a new report conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on behalf of Transportation Institute (TI), the domestic maritime industry in Washington ranks sixth among all American states for jobs and labor income relating to the Jones Act.The industry employs more than 22,500 individuals, produces $6.12 billion for the local economy, and generates more than $1.5 billion in worker income.Regionally, the same study shows that the domestic maritime industry employs over 37,590 individuals, supports $2.5 billion in worker income, and produces nearly $10 billion for the Pacific Northwest regional economy.Washington Senator Maria Cantwell joined business and government leaders from around the region at the Seattle Maritime Festival Breakfast…

The global port operator DP World's UAE Region has been recognised for its efforts to create a more efficient and sustainable supply chain when it was awarded the Supply Chain Sustainability Award at this year’s Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Supply Chain Conference.Mohammed Sulaiman, Business Development Manager of DP World, UAE Region, received the award on behalf of the company at a ceremony held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai’s Festival City, said a press release.The Supply Chain Sustainability Award recognises organisations that initiate best practices in supply chain management through programmes or projects that have a noticeable impact on the economy…

Every few years I am handed a high-speed container transport proposal. Generally it consists of some type of high speed vessel design that would be able to move containers at high speed and thereby attract a new market by taking a chunk out of the air cargo market and the premium ocean market. Occasionally we are asked to look at the economics for potential investors, and it always falls short of being economically viable. While it is possible to move containers a little quicker over the ocean with faster vessels…