The rapid loss of Arctic sea ice is a sentinel. Most of us will never venture into the Arctic, but it can and does provide us with a forewarning of impacts coming to our parts of the Earth – and some of the most significant impacts will directly affect the maritime industry. In earlier times, coal miners were sometimes overcome by the buildup of odorless carbon monoxide gas. Some died as a consequence. Eventually it was realized that canaries were more susceptible to the gas than were humans.

A U.S. warship struck by a container vessel in Japanese waters failed to respond to warning signals or take evasive action before a collision that killed seven of its crew, according to a report of the incident by the Philippine cargo ship's captain. Multiple U.S. and Japanese investigations are under way into how the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald and the much larger ACX Crystal container ship collided in clear weather south of Tokyo Bay in the early hours of June 17.

In the early hours of June 17, U.S. destroyer the USS Fitzgerald was hit by a containership just off the coast of Shimoda, Japan. The collision claimed the lives of seven U.S. Navy Sailors. In the aftermath, both sides are trying to figure out exactly what happened. The containership, ACX Crystal, and the U.S. Navy initially reported the incident at 2:25 a.m. local time. However, they have since revised the time to 1:30 a.m. Apparently, the ACX Crystal made a U-turn at around 2 a.m. to go back and see what it hit.

Britain's most advanced and biggest warship, 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, set out on its maiden voyage on Monday from the Rosyth dockyard in eastern Scotland. The ship, which measures 280 metres and can move 500 miles a day, took 11 tugs to manoeuvre out into the River Forth and then must wait for low tide so as to pass under the Forth's famous bridges - weather and systems checks permitting. It took eight years to build HMS Queen Elizabeth and along with its sister ship…

Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark said it has been awarded a contract worth up to $54 million from the U.S. Navy to build Near Coastal Patrol Vessels (NCPVs) for U.S. partner nations through the Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Metal Shark’s proposal was selected by Naval Sea Systems Command from a field of six competing shipyards. Under the terms of the award, Metal Shark will build up to thirteen 85-foot Defiant-class welded aluminum cutters for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and other U.S. partner nations.

The push to rebuild the U.S. Navy received a boost today when U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Congressman Rob Wittman, R-Va., introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation that would make it the policy of the United States to achieve the Navy’s requirement of 355 ships. Under the “Securing the Homeland by Increasing our Power on the Seas (SHIPS) Act,” the fleet would be comprised of the optimal mix of platforms, with funding levels subject to annual appropriations. Currently, 276 ships are in the battle fleet.

Diversification is the key at Oregon-based North River Boats. Listening closely to the customer’s needs recently won the day on a multi-hull U.S. Navy contract, but that’s not all that’s happening in Oregon. Roseburg, Ore.-based North River Boats has, over time, thrived by delivering one of the most diverse vessel portfolios in North America. Those offerings include both domestic and foreign deliveries, as well as recreational, commercial and military hulls. And, if that formula has taught them just one thing, then that metric would be that different customers need different features.

Lithuania's state-owned gas trader Lietuvos Duju Tiekimas (LDT) said on Monday it had signed a deal to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) directly from the United States for the first time and expects to receive a delivery in the second half of August. The deal is with a unit of Cheniere Energy and is part Lithuania's efforts to diversify its gas suppliers and reduce its reliance on Russia's Gazprom. LDT, part of state-owned energy group Lietuvos Energija, signed a deal last year with Koch Supply & Trading for LNG supplies throughout 2017. Cheniere Energy was expected to supply LNG from a U.S.

U.S. shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) said the structure of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) is now 50 percent complete. The second Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier CVN 79 grew about 70 feet in length with the addition of the lower stern, which was recently lifted into place at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. Like Ford, which was delivered to the Navy earlier this month, Kennedy is being built using modular construction, a process where smaller sections of the ship are welded together to form larger structural units (called “superlifts”)…

Australian shipbuilder Austal has won a  $584.2 million contract to build a 14th Littoral Combat Ship for the US Navy, Reuters reported. The contract includes associated LCS class services and related material and integrated data environment support, as well as options for the construction of additional LCS, class services and post-delivery availability support, the Pentagon said in a statement. Australian Associated Press added quoting Asutal that  the 127-metre LCS28 will be built at its shipyard in Mobile…

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57), Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), along with embarked Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1 arrived in San Diego June 23, following a five-and-a-half-month deployment to the Western Pacific. Carl Vinson, Lake Champlain, Wayne E. Meyer and embarked air wing and staffs departed San Diego for a regularly-scheduled deployment with the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group as part of the U.S.

Completing her maiden voyage, the Damen Multi-role Aviation Training Vessel (MATV) MV Sycamore arrived in Sydney harbor early on Monday morning. The 94-meter-long vessel is now less than a month away from deployment as a versatile multi-role vessel and helicopter training platform for the Royal Australian Navy. “It is definitely an impressive sight to see the Sycamore enter Sydney harbor,” said Damen Sales Director Asia Pacific Roland Briene. “The MATV project really highlights what can be achieved with this joint team effort.

Flames seen rising from vessel after blast; port residents believe vessel may be foreign. A huge explosion was heard from a ship off the coast of Somalia's Puntland region late on Monday and flames were seen rising from what might be a foreign vessel, an official in a nearby port said. "We heard (a) huge explosion and (saw) flame rising from the ship. I believe that the ship is foreign," Ali Shire, mayor of Puntland's port town of Alula, a pirate haven, told Reuters on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether the explosion was caused by an accident onboard the vessel or was triggered by pirate attackers. It was also not clear whether the vessel was still afloat or had sunk.

U.S. shipbuilder Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) informs it has received the 2017 Defense Security Service James S. Cogswell Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement Award. The Cogswell award, given by the Defense Security Service (DSS), a federal security agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, is awarded to less than 10 percent of more than 13,000 industrial firms annually. The criteria focuses on the principles of industrial security excellence, which includes establishing…

One mariner remains missing after 13 of 14 crewmembers were recovered from the sea following the sinking of their oil tanker in severe weather conditions 240 miles off the coast of Yemen. At around 4:30 a.m. June 26, the U.K. Coastguard received a Mayday distress call issued by a 99-meter-long Panamanian flagged oil tanker believed to be carrying crude oil, reporting that the vessel was sinking. The Yemen Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) were unable to assist, so the U.K. Coastguard stepped in to coordinate the rescue, issuing a Satellite Communication Mayday relay broadcast to all shipping in the area. Multiple commercial vessels nearby responded to the original Mayday call and made their way to the tanker, which had sunk in gale force 8 winds and 5 meters swells.

Tropical Storm Dora, located off the western coast of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean, is strengthening quickly and is expected to become a hurricane on Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Sunday. Maximum sustained winds were about 70 miles per hour (110 km per hour), with higher gusts. Dora was strengthening quickly and was forecast to become a hurricane on Monday, the NHC said in its latest advisory late on Sunday night. The NHC warned of possible heavy rains along the southwestern coast of Mexico but added that the center of the storm was expected to move parallel to the coast of Mexico but remain offshore. It said no coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

An Irish naval ship rescued 712 people including pregnant women and infants off the coast of the Libyan capital of Tripoli as part of an international migrant rescue effort, Ireland's Defence Forces said on Monday. The LÉ Eithne ship led the rescue of multiple vessels in distress 40 kilometres north-west of Tripoli throughout Sunday. Six migrants, including one baby, were revived from states of unconsciousness. The ship will transport the people, including 14 pregnant women and four infants below the age of four months, to a designated "port of safety" to be handed over to Italian authorities. "I'm very proud to say all lives were saved, no lives were lost.

Russian gas producer Novatek aims to topple Qatar as the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas as it gets closer to completing its first LNG project, a top executive said, batting away concerns about U.S. sanctions on the sector. The country's largest non-state gas producer is expected to start exporting LNG from the first phase of the Yamal project, situated far above the Arctic circle, towards the end of this year and may bring forward its final stage by six months, CFO Mark Gyetvay said.

The second half of 2016 brought shockwaves to some ship owners who were still in a state of denial about the need to install ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) onboard their vessels. The ratification of the Ballast Water Management Convention and the announcement of the first U.S. Coast Guard Type Approved BWTS, saw many ship owners rushing to drydock their vessels at the beginning of the year, or deharmonize their IOPP certificates in an attempt to delay fitting a BWTS onboard their ships. Others have already installed a BWTS on board or have decided to install one. Much has been written on the various constraints that are to be faced for selecting and installing a system, but not much has been heard about the systems installed on board. Do they work?

Two shipping companies based in Egypt and Singapore will pay $1.9 million in penalties after pleading guilty in federal court to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and obstruction of justice for covering up the illegal dumping of oil-contaminated bilge water and garbage into the sea. Defendants Egyptian Tanker Company and Thome Ship Management are the owner and operator of the offending vessel, the 57,920 gross ton, 809-foot long, oceangoing, oil tank ship called the M/T ETC Mena. The plea agreement was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston for the Eastern District of Texas.

Tropical storm Cindy is expected to weaken while moving farther inland and become a tropical depression later Thursday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.   "Continued weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Cindy should weaken to a tropical depression later this morning, and become a remnant low tonight," the Miami-based weather forecaster said.   Cindy, now located about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Lake Charles, Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km/h), will likely move into southeastern Arkansas early Friday, and into Tennessee later that day.   Reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala and Apeksha Nair 

HMAS Newcastle’s capabilities proved invaluable during a complex warfare scenario involving Indian Navy Ships Shivalik and Kamorta during the Australia-India Exercise (AUSINDEX) held off the Western Australian coast. The ships headed out to sea, after a short harbour phase, to focus on the navies’ interoperability and improvement on their war fighting skills. Speaking from the bridge of Newcastle, Commanding Officer Commander Mark Sirois said AUSINDEX was an excellent opportunity to see both navies working together.

In the waning days of 2016, the outlook brightened dramatically for the big U.S. dredging contractors. Just before Congress dispersed for the Holidays, then-President Obama signed a pivotal piece of legislation – the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, S612. Authorized needed investment in America’s ports, channels, locks, dams, and other infrastructure that supports the maritime and waterways transportation system and provides flood protection. Authorized U.S.

The U.S. Navy’s 10th Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Gabrielle Giffords was commissioned at the Port of Galveston, Texas, on Saturday, June 10, becoming the 16th ship to be named for a woman and only the 13th ship to be named for a living person since 1850. The ship’s homeport will be San Diego. “This is the fifth such LCS in a 10-ship Independence–variant ship program with Austal USA that uses our LM2500. The two LM2500 engines are arranged in a combined diesel and gas turbine or CODAG configuration with two diesel engines…

Igor Sechin, the head of Russian oil major Rosneft, said on Wednesday that his company would return to a government proposal for state-owned companies to pay out 50 percent of their profit in dividends for Rosneft's 2017 results. (Reporting by Denis Dyomkin; Writing by Jack Stubbs)

The U.S. and Philippine navies will participate in the Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama June 19-25 in the vicinity of Cebu. Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama is designed to enhance the complexity and diversity of training opportunities, while strengthening the longstanding alliance between the U.S. and the Republic of the Philippines. The exercise will focus on mutual security concerns that affect the Philippines including piracy and sea smuggling, maritime domain awareness and patrol, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness.

The first indigenously built Floating Dock (FDN-2) for the Indian Navy was launched on 20 June 2017 by Smt Anjali Deshpande, wife of Vice Admiral DM Deshpande, AVSM, VSM, Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition at an impressive ceremony at Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) Shipyard at Kattupalli near Chennai. After formal welcome by Vice Admiral B Kannan (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Head of Ship Building, L&T the ceremony commenced with an address by the Chief Guest, Vice Admiral DM Deshpande, AVSM, VSM, Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition.

Qatar's finance minister told U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during a trip to Washington last week that Qatar was committed to maintaining stability around its exports of liquefied natural gas to the global energy market, according to a statement by Qatar's government communication office. "They discussed Qatar’s efforts to counter terror financing ... and Qatar’s commitment to maintaining stability around its exports to the global energy market," the statement said. Saudi-led sanctions imposed two weeks ago on Qatar, the world largest exporter of LNG, have raised concerns about the Gulf state's energy output but officials have said Qatar's LNG exports have not been affected.     (Reporting by Tom Finn)

The United States Coast Guard will on Tuesday start interviewing the crew of a Philippines-flagged container ship which collided with a U.S. warship in Japanese waters killing seven American sailors. The U.S. coast guard investigation is one several into the incident on Saturday involving the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald and the much larger ACX Crystal. The cause of the collision at night and in clear weather is not known. "We are scheduled to interview the crew members," said U.S. Lieutenant Scott Carr told Reuters, referring the crew of the merchant ship.

A Retired U.S. Navy Captain was sentenced in federal court today to 41 months in prison for his role in a massive bribery and fraud scheme involving foreign defense contractor Leonard Glenn Francis and his firm, Singapore-based, Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA). Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Alana W. Robinson Southern District of California, Director Dermot O'Reilly of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and Director Andrew Traver of the NCIS made the announcement. In addition to the 41-month prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino ordered Michael Brooks, 59, of Fairfax Station, Virginia, to pay a $41,000 fine and $31,000 in restitution to the U.S. Navy.

Australia's HMAS Ballarat has completed a port visit to Sepanggar, Malaysia as part of a three month South East Asia deployment. She was in the region to enagage with the Royal Malaysian Navy, and load supplies before she returns to Australia for further exercises. Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral David Johnston, said Ballarat’s deployment provided an opportunity to engage with many nations in South East Asia. “Our enduring military to military engagement activities contribute to security and stability in our region,” he said.

The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) continues its work digitalising Blue Denmark in order to utilise the technological solutions available for the benefit of Blue Denmark. Now, the Ship Station License has become digital – just like the other ship certificates. The number of administrative burdens imposed on the industry is reduced through digitalisation of the Ship Station License. Director Rasmus Høy Thomsen said: ”One of the advantages of a digital Ship Station License is that it is always available online.

The Ministry of Shipping in India conducted a workshop on “GST for Shipping” in New Delhi today to sensitize all constituents of the maritime fraternity, as the country lauches the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) to revolutionize the country's tax system. The workshop was attended by representatives from ports, various attached and subordinate organizations under the Ministry of Shipping and industry associations. Chairing the workshop Rajive Kumar, Secretary Shipping said that…

Air New Zealand said its Gas Turbines business unit has been awarded four contracts from the U.S. Navy worth up to $42 million to service its fleet’s gas turbine engines. The contracts will see the Auckland based Gas Turbines team carry out maintenance and overhaul work of the General Electric LM2500 gas turbines that power much of the U.S. Navy fleet for the next few years. Air New Zealand Chief Operations Officer Bruce Parton said the contracts are an important win for the airline, and the company participated in aa competitive bidding process to secure the work. Air New Zealand Gas Turbines is a business unit of Air New Zealand, providing gas turbine overhaul and repair services to clients across a range of industries.

More than 120 migrants are feared to have died at the weekend when the motor of their boat was stolen, causing it to sink, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said, citing testimony from survivors brought to Italy. Two Sudanese men who arrived with around 1,000 other migrants at the Sicilian port of Palermo on Monday told IOM staff they left Libya in a rubber boat packed with 130 people, mainly Sudanese, IOM spokesman Flavio Di Giacomo said. After a few hours at sea, the men said a group of Libyans caught them up. "They described (the Libyans) as pirates, but they are basically traffickers," Di Giacomo said. "They stole the motor - something which has happened a few times recently - and at that point the boat started to take on water and sank," he said.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) said its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a $3 billion contract for the detail design and construction of the new U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship Bougainville (LHA 8). Ingalls was awarded the original long-lead material contract for the third ship in the America (LHA 6) class on June 30, 2016. “Our shipbuilders do an outstanding job building large-deck amphibious warships,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias said. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2018, and delivery is expected in 2024.

Tim Charters has joined the staff of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) as Senior Director of Governmental and Political Affairs. Charters comes to NOIA from the National Stripper Well Association (NSWA) where he represented more than 18,000 small business men and women in America’s upstream energy industry as Vice President of Governmental and Regulatory Affairs. Charters brings nearly 20 years of Congressional experience to NOIA. From 2008-2015, he served as Staff Director of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee under Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.). During his tenure…

The Saudi navy has captured three members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from a boat seized last week as it approached the kingdom's offshore Marjan oilfield, the Saudi information ministry said on Monday. Relations between the two countries are at their worst in years, with each accusing the other of subverting regional security and support opposite sides in conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq. "This was one of three vessels which were intercepted by Saudi forces. It was captured with the three men on board, the other two escaped," a statement from the ministry's center for international communications said. "The three captured members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are now being questioned by Saudi authorities," it said, citing a Saudi official.

The U.S. Coast Guard and local responders have rescued 55 people stranded aboard a high-speed ferry that hit a jetty while entering Hyannis Harbor, Mass. The local fire department notified Coast Guard watchstanders at about 9:30 p.m. Friday and reported that the Massachusetts Steamship Authority Ferry Iyanough, which serves Nantucket to Hyannis, struck the jetty and grounded on the rocks. A Coast Guard helicopter crew medevacd five injured passengers and airlifted 10 uninjured people who were unable to navigate the jetty’s rocks to get aboard the response boats. The remaining passengers and ferry crewmembers were rescued by Coast Guard response boat crews. Multiple units from the Cape Cod Mutual Response System assisted with the rescue efforts.

Nearly an hour elapsed before a Philippine-flagged container ship reported a collision with a U.S. warship, the Japanese coastguard said on Monday, as investigations began into the accident in which seven U.S. sailors were killed. The U.S. Navy confirmed that all seven missing sailors on the USS Fitzgerald were found dead in flooded berthing compartments after the destroyer's collision with the container ship off Japan early on Saturday. The Fitzgerald and a Philippine-flagged container ship collided south of Tokyo Bay early on Saturday. The cause of the collision is not known. Multiple U.S.

Bodies of seven U.S. sailors recovered after the U.S. destroyer collided with with Philippine-flagged vessel CX Crystal near south of Tokyo Bay in Japan. The bodies of missing sailors were found in flooded compartments of the USS Fitzgerald, which came close to sinking after a collision with a container ship off Japan tore a gash under the warship's waterline, the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet commander said on Sunday. The smaller guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald suffered severe damage to its starboard side.

The Indian shipping industry is registering a positive growth amid a downward trend globally, Union Minister of State for Shipping, Pon Radhakrishnan said. “While the shipping sector is seeing a downward trend worldwide, India is registering a positive growth, and the credit for this should go to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said. The Sagarmala programme launched by the Prime minister last year aims to increase the capacity of Major and Non-Major Ports to 3000 MTPA from the present 1054 MTPA, he said.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio today unveiled a series of initiatives aiming to spur 100,000 high-paying jobs over the coming decade across a number of sectors, including the City's maritime and intermodal freight and logistics industries. As part of the New York Works plan, the city will implement a multipronged strategy called Freight NYC that seeks to create 4,000 freight network industrial jobs by building more shipping and distribution infrastructure to connect NYC to the nation’s Marine Highway.

Inspired by the European program for Air Traffic Managemen, the Sea Traffic Management (STM) methodology has been developed by the Swedish Maritime Administration MonaLisa project to define a set of systems and procedures to guide and monitor maritime traffic. The STM Validation project co-financed by the European Union has made the first operational tests with the shore center manufacturers. The key to the interoperability between different systems is the robust underlying infrastructure.

In a four-month span, Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 of the Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces has proven itself a formidable force against narcotics trafficking, with 10 drug seizures totaling over 3,300 kilograms of heroin, cocaine, cannabis resin and hashish since March. It started with the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta (FFH 151) on March 2, when the crew seized 800 kilograms of hashish, a drug made from cannabis. Eleven days later on March 13, the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) seized 270 kilograms of heroin and then again on March 17…

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Chairman of the Senate Seapower Subcommittee, today met with Richard Spencer regarding his nomination to be President Donald Trump’s Secretary of the Navy. “Mr. Spencer and I had an encouraging meeting,” Wicker said. “I reiterated my commitment to helping the President and the Navy build a larger, more modern fleet that can meet growing demands around the world. I was pleased to learn that Mr. Spencer shares that goal. Wicker is leading the…

A U.S. Navy sailor feared to have fallen overboard has been found alive aboard USS Shiloh (CG 67) a week after he went missing. Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) 3rd Class Peter Mims was reported missing June 8 and was presumed to have fallen overboard in the Philippine Sea, triggering a search involving U.S. Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Japan Coast Guard assets that lasted more than 50 hours and covered some 5,500 square miles. The ocean search was suspended on June 11, but the ship’s crew continued to search on board the vessel.

U.S. Navy ships are on track to spend more time in the South China Sea this year, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Scott Swift said on Thursday in China, where a U.S. warship was making a port call. The visit by the USS Sterett guided-missile destroyer to Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, the first U.S. warship to visit China since President Donald Trump took office, comes amid tension in the disputed South China Sea, where Washington has criticised Beijing for building artificial islands. U.S.

One crew member was wounded when Yemen's Houthis fired a missile at a United Arab Emirates ship in the Red Sea, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Thursday, in the latest in a series of attacks on ships in the area. SPA said the ship came under attack as it was leaving the port of al-Mokha. The ship itself was not damaged. "One crew member was injured," SPA said, citing a statement by a Saudi-led military coalition, without giving further details. The Houthis had reported the attack earlier, broadcasting a grainy video of what Houthi-run media said was a missile being fired and then bursting into a ball of fire as it hit its target. The attack was part of a protracted conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition.

Chris Remont, Bollinger Shipyards, Vice President, Government Programs, explains the importance of long-term relationship between the U.S. Coast Guard and Bollinger Shipyards. As the offshore oil and gas bust drags into its third year, Bollinger Shipyards is holding its own courtesy of a long-running relationship in building for the United States Coast Guard (USCG). Today Bollinger has 38 Sentinel-class FRCs under contract, with the possibility for 20 more. Remont explains that the contract was split into two phases.

A South African court ruled on Thursday that a seized ship carrying a Moroccan cargo of phosphate from the disputed Western Sahara should remain in port until the case goes to trial or security is posted, a lawyer for the Polisario independence movement said. The Polisario Front alleges the 50,000 tonne shipment en route to New Zealand was illegally taken from Western Sahara territory and went to court to have the cargo seized. The case is a test of Polisario's new legal tactic in its long-running conflict with Morocco over Western Sahara, a disputed territory where the two sides fought a war until a 1991 ceasefire and where U.N. talks have failed to reach an accord.

A container terminal at the Port of Charleston has resumed normal operations after being cleared of a potential bomb threat aboard a containership. At approximately 8 p.m. Wednesday authorities were informed of a potential threat in a container aboard the vessel Maersk Memphis moored at Charleston's Wando terminal, forcing a temporary evacuation of the terminal while federal, state and local bomb detection units investigated the threat. Law enforcement identified four containers aboard the Maersk Memphis where the threat was posed. The containers were scanned and cleared.

In pursuance of India’s ‘Act East’ policy, Eastern Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, YSM, VSM, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet are on an overseas deployment to the South East Asia and Southern Indian Ocean. Indian Naval Ships Jyoti, Shivalik and Kamorta are on a port visit to Freemantle, Australia from 13 June to 17 June 2017. Vice Admiral HCS Bisht, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command is also visiting Freemantle during the period.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) arrived in Zhanjiang, China, June 12, 2017, for a scheduled port visit. Sterett's visit is the first U.S. Navy visit to Zhanjiang since 2015 and the first U.S. Navy visit to mainland China in 2017. "This visit is an exciting opportunity to promote maritime cooperation and reinforce a navy-to-navy relationship with our People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA(N) counterparts," said Cmdr. Claudine Caluori, Sterett's commanding officer.

Devon Grennan, president and CEO of Global Diving & Salvage, and president of the Spill Control Association of America (SCAA) asks the tough questions. What are the biggest challenges the spill response industry faces in light of the current political and economic climate in the United States? And what is SCAA doing to meet these challenges? I see the primary challenge that the spill response industry – as well as SCAA’s membership – currently has is to manage expectations and competing interests at a unique point in our nation’s energy renaissance.

The shipwreck remains of a historic U.S. Coast Guard cutter have been discovered off of Southern California 100 years after the vessel was lost at sea. In its heyday, the Coast Guard Cutter McCulloch – commissioned in 1897 as a cruising cutter for the U.S. Treasury’s Revenue Cutter Service, a predecessor of the Coast Guard – saw its share of action, having served with Commodore George Dewey in the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 as part of the U.S. Asiatic Squadron that destroyed the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first major battle of the Spanish-American War.

Three Indian warships sailed into Fremantle to participate in a week-long naval exercise off the Western Australian coast. Exercise Australia India is a regular bilateral maritime exercise aimed at developing a deeper understanding and cooperation between the two navies. Commander Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Stuart Mayer, said the Exercise was a concrete example of India and Australia working more closely together to increase maritime security. “Australian and India share a commitment to a stable and prosperous Indian Ocean region,” Rear Admiral Mayer said.

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Chairman of the Senate Seapower Subcommittee, delivered the first in a series of scheduled remarks aimed at making the case for growing the U.S. Navy fleet to 355 ships, a goal shared by President Trump. Wicker’s speech focused primarily on shipbuilding and the capacity of the submarine industrial base to meet the Navy’s requirements. “President Trump wants a 350-ship Navy, which aligns with the Navy’s requirement for 355 ships. Right now, we only have 275 ships in the battle fleet.

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri said it has signed through one of its subsidiaries an agreement for the acquisition of a stake in Isselnord, an Italian company operating in defense-related sectors and in the main industrial branches in the civil sector, specialized in logistic support engineering, maintenance and information technologies. The agreement was signed through Fincantieri’s company Delfi, created in 2008 in joint venture with Isselnord, charged with the development of logistic support engineering and maintenance activities related to orders in the naval sector. The initial transaction is for a majority stake in the company, with full takeover to be completed within a predetermined time frame, Fincantieri said.

The Indian Navy launched a massive search operation for a Mexican lady cadet who reportedly fell overboard from the Mexican sail training ship STS Cuahtemoc off Goa, on June 11. "Indian Navy has launched a “Search & Rescue” operation to look for a lady cadet who has reportedly fallen overboard from Mexican Sail Training Ship (STS) Cuauhtemoc, at 1400 hrs on 11 June 2017 in position about 560 Nm west of Goa," said a statement from the Navy. It has been reported that the lady cadet was not donning life saving gear when she fell overboard.

Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri has visited Papua New Guinea on its four-day overseas deployment to the Southeast Asia and Southern Indian Ocean aimed to strengthen existing bonds between the two countries. The ship would be on a port visit to Moresby from 12 June  to 15 June 2017. The visit of the Indian Naval Ships seeks to underscore India’s peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly and harmonious countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and to strengthen existing bonds between Papua New Guinea and India.

The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Center issued the fourth U.S. Coast Guard Ballast Water Management System Type Approval Certificate to Sunrui Marine Environment Engineering Co., Ltd. after a detailed review of the manufactures type approval application determined the system met the requirements of 46 CFR 162.060.   The Sunrui BalClor system incorporates a three step process consisting of filtering and electrolysis during uptake and neutralization at discharge. This approval covers 14 models with maximum treatment rated capacities between 170m3/h and 8500m3/h.

Seawork 2017 is being held at the waterside location Mayflower Park in Southampton, U.K. from June 13-15, 2017. Seawork will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with a packed schedule including the Seawork Conference which will once again be offering thought-provoking sessions covering a wide variety of topics. John Haynes, Maritime Professional of the Year 2016, is running a topical panel discussion titled, ‘Shock Mitigation, International Vibration Directives and the Implications of Brexit’ at 12.15 on Tuesday, June 13.

U.S. Navy and Japanese ships and aircraft are searching for a sailor reported missing from USS Shiloh (CG 67) about 180 miles east of Okinawa, June 8. USS Shiloh (CG 67) reported a man overboard at approximately 9:30 p.m. JST. The ship was conducting routine operations at the time of the incident. Multiple searches of the ship were conducted, but were unable to locate the sailor. Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft from USS Shiloh, USS McCampbell (DDG 85) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), as well as a P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft, are conducting an airborne search while Shiloh, McCampbell, Reagan, USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) and Japanese Coast Guard Ship Kudaka conduct a surface search.

Piraeus Port, operator of Greece's biggest port and majority-owned by China's COSCO Shipping, has agreed to team up with the operator of Shanghai port, the world's largest container port, to promote container shipping traffic. Piraeus, COSCO Shipping and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) have agreed to cooperate in project planning, staff training and information exchange, Piraeus said in a statement on Monday. It said the agreement would create synergies to boost trade and create new business opportunities.

Qatar and container lines have launched new shipping services via Oman in an effort to sidestep a port ban in neighbouring countries and secure a food lifeline after other Gulf states severed ties with Doha last week. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and some other Arab countries cut diplomatic, travel and trade ties with Qatar last week, accusing it of supporting Iran and funding Islamist groups, accusations Doha denies. The severing of air, sea and land transport links has closed crucial import routes for Qatar and its population of around 2.7 million people who are dependent on imports for most of their food needs. China's COSCO Shipping Lines Co Ltd, Taiwan's Evergreen and Hong Kong Kong's OOCL have suspended container services to and from Qatar.

Swiss-based MSC will offer a new shipping service to Qatar from Oman, the world’s No.2 container shipping line said on Monday, a week after Gulf states imposed port and trade restrictions on Doha. "MSC never stopped accepting bookings to Qatar as it investigated alternative routing options," the privately owned group said in a statement.   (Reporting by Jonathan Saul)

The search for a U.S. Navy sailor missing from guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) has been called off after three days of exhaustive searching. U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard assets ended their search efforts just after sunset June 9 for Fire Controlman 2nd Class Christopher W. Clavin, who went overboard June 6 at about 3 p.m. while Normandy was conducting training 80 miles off the coast of Cherry Point, N.C. Personnel observed Petty Officer Clavin fall into the water…

Maersk Line, a part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, said on Monday it will accept new bookings for container shipments to Qatar from Oman. To avoid trade restrictions imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and others, Maersk Line said Friday it would deliver cargo to Qatar by loading containers on smaller vessels in Oman and travelling on from there. "We have now opened acceptance of cargo to and from Qatar to be transshipped at Salalah (in Oman)," Maersk said. The first feeder shipment is scheduled to depart Salalah on June 19 and arrive in Doha on June 25…

Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Ballarat has completed a passage exercise with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Royal Canadian Navy and United States Navy ships during her South East Asia deployment. The exercise, conducted in the South China Sea from 8-10 June, included Japanese ships Izumo and Sazanami, Canadian ship Winnipeg and USS Sterett. The ships completed close quarters manoeuvres, helicopter operations, personnel exchanges, gunnery exercises and air defence training.

USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), the Navy's newest littoral combat ship, was brought to life by her crew before a crowd of nearly 2,500 guests at Pier 21 at the Port of Galveston, June 10. Adm. William Moran, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, delivered the ceremony's principal address before officially commissioning the ship into service. "As we man the rails today, blood gets pumped, the ship comes alive, and the heart begins to beat," said Moran. "It's the blood that is infused by the spirit, the attitude, and the courage of its namesake. Following the commissioning, Dr.

The Indian Union Minister of Shipping Nitin Gadkari has said that an investment of INR  2500bn (USD 39bn) is being made in Tamil Nadu under Sagarmala program. Of this Rs.39,000 crore will be for port modernization, Rs.55,000 crore for port connectivity and Rs.1,50,000 crore for port led industrialization. The minister said this at Kamarajar Port in Chennai, where he inaugurated several new projects. The projects include a New Container Terminal worth Rs.1270 crore, a new multi cargo terminal worth Rs.151 crores, Railway line to Container and Multi cargo terminal worth Rs.

Australian shipbuilders Austal Limited and ASC Shipbuilding have joined forces for the build of the SEA5000 Future Frigates Program. Under this arrangement, the two say they will collaborate in support of the program, pooling complementary strengths, skills and experience. “The Austal/ASC Shipbuilding teaming arrangement offers a compelling, low risk, Australian shipbuilding solution for each of the three shortlisted international designers; BAE, Fincantieri and Navantia,” Austal CEO, David Singleton said.

The Virginia-class submarine Indiana (SSN 789) was launched into the James River at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division, the shipbuilder announced. The boat was moved to the shipyard’s submarine pier for final outfitting, testing and crew certification. “Launch is a true testament to our shipbuilders’ roughly four years of hard work,” said Matt Needy, Newport News’ vice president of submarines and fleet support. “Over the next several months, we will work closely with the Indiana crew to bring this great ship to life.

Western manufacturers are shying away from supplying equipment for an Iranian port that India is developing for fear the United States may reimpose sanctions on Tehran, Indian officials say, dealing a blow to New Delhi's strategic ambitions in the region. Lying on the Gulf of Oman along the approaches to the Straits of Hormuz, the port of Chabahar is central to India's hopes to crack open a transport corridor to Central Asia and Afghanistan that bypasses arch-rival Pakistan. India committed $500 million to speed development of the port after sanctions on Iran were lifted following a deal struck between major powers and Tehran to curb its nuclear programme in 2015.

Seattle based Foss Maritime, owner and operator of a fleet of tugs offering maritime transportation and logistics services, has awarded a contract to classification society ABS to support compliance with U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Subchapter M requirements. The contract positions ABS as Foss’ Third Party Organization (TPO), providing a complete suite of Subchapter M services, including TPO surveys, International Safety Management (ISM) compliance, Load Line compliance and audits of its Responsible Carrier Program (RCP).

Iran's oil exports to the West surged in May to their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in early 2016 and almost caught up with volumes exported to Asia, a source familiar with Iranian oil exports said. Iran, which used to be OPEC's second biggest oil exporter, has been raising output since 2016 to recoup market share lost to regional rivals including Saudi Arabia and Iraq. While many Asian nations continued to purchase oil from Iran during sanctions, Western nations halted imports, halving Iran's overall exports to as little as one million barrels per day (bpd).

The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.

Qatar's row with its powerful Gulf neighbours should not scupper the just-agreed merger of German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd with sector peer United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) that is owned by six Arab states of the Gulf region, a source close to Hapag-Lloyd said. He said there were currently no signs that the diplomatic crisis would impact the deal that the states had made last month as one party, vis-a-vis Hapag-Lloyd, bilaterally. The source, a senior manager close to the German firm's current owners, said there was no disagreement between the Arab shareholder parties.

John Temple has been appointed vice president of strategic sourcing at Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division. Temple, an Apprentice School graduate, began his shipbuilding career in Newport News’ pipe department. He has worked in quality inspection, cost engineering and contracts and pricing. Five years ago, he earned the “Master Shipbuilder” designation, which celebrates shipbuilders who have worked 40 years of continuous service. He most recently served as vice president of contracts and supply chain management at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina…

China said on Friday it was monitoring U.S. military activities in the South China Sea, after two U.S. bombers conducted training flights over the disputed waters. The U.S. Pacific Command said on its website that two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flew a 10-hour training mission from Guam over the South China Sea on Thursday, in conjunction with the Navy's USS Sterett guided-missile destroyer. The exercise comes after a U.S. warship in late May carried out a "maneuvering drill" within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea. The U.S. military conducts such "freedom of navigation" patrols to show China it is not entitled to territorial waters there, U.S. officials said at the time.

Gulf tensions fail to ignite VLCC market; owners waiting for July MidEast cargoes that could buoy rates. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) face an uncertain week, possibly coming under pressure from a dearth of new Middle East cargoes but they could also find support from geopolitical tensions over Qatar, brokers said on Friday. There is also continuing unpredictability over whether tankers could co-load Qatari crude with other grades and the impact on future trading activities if tankers did load Qatar crude. "No one is really sure what is going on.

The flagship programme of Indian Ministry of Shipping – Sagarmala, has moved from the conceptualization and planning to the implementation stage. The Sagarmala project is introduces to harness India's 7,500-km coastline will promote port-led development in the country. As a part of the programme, more than 400 projects have been identified across the areas of port modernization and new port development, connectivity enhancement, portlinked industrialization and coastal community development.

Waterways Council, Inc. "WCI applauds President Trump’s visit to the heartland and for his speech today that will surely bring heightened attention to the investment needs of the inland waterways system. Our country has not seen this kind of leadership on infrastructure since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1930s New Deal to build our locks and dams, or since the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to construct the National Defense and Interstate Highway system. Today, Presidential…

The German Navy’s fourth and final new F125 frigate Rheinland-Pfalz was christened during a ceremony held at the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems shipyard in Hamburg on May 24. This surface combatant uses a GE LM2500 gas turbine-based propulsion system. According to a ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems press release, company CEO Dr. Rolf Wirtz noted, "With state-of-the-art technology and a multiple-crew strategy, the F125 sets new standards in naval shipbuilding. It is designed to meet the requirements of our Navy in current and future missions…

A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday said there are no active El Niño or La Niña patterns and that neutral conditions are likely in the Northern Hemisphere during fall 2017. However, chances for El Niño remain elevated, between 35 and 50 percent, relative to the long-term average into the fall, the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center said in a monthly forecast. (Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru)

ABB said it will modernize 10 out of 14 Medium Icebreakers and High Endurance Multi Task Canadian Coast Guard ships to extend operational life of the vessels by another 20 years. “For more than 75 years ABB has been working at the cutting edge of icebreaker technology and we are delighted to bring this expertise to these Canadian Coast Guard ships,” said Jyri Jusslin, Senior Vice President of ABB Global Marine & Ports Service. Design and work supply on first of the 10 vessels, CCGS Pierre Radisson, is already underway and will be completed in July 2017. From then on the remaining nine vessels will be completed in following order: CCGS Ann Harvey (2018), CCGS Des Groseilliers (2018), CCGS Sir William Alexander (2018), CCGS Martha L.

Missiles flew about 200 km into sea off east coast - S.Korea; launch is fourth by Pyongyang in four weeks. North Korea fired what appeared to be several land-to-ship missiles off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after the South postponed full deployment of a controversial U.S. anti-missile system designed to deter a North Korean attack. The launches, the latest in a fast-paced series of missile tests defying world pressure to rein in its weapons programme, come less than a week after the United Nations Security Council passed fresh sanctions on the reclusive state. South Korea on Wednesday said it will hold off on installing remaining components of the U.S.

Luerssen, ThyssenKrupp and German Naval Yards have agreed to bid jointly for a German navy warship contract after competition authorities struck down an earlier bid, an industry source said. The contract had originally been worth 1.5 billion euros($1.68 billion) but it is unclear how much the government will ultimately pay. The contract for five corvettes, which had been due to be awarded without tender to a consortium of ThyssenKrupp and Luerssen, was struck down by the German cartel office after German Naval Yards complained.

Royal Dutch Shell has sent a replacement cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States to Dubai, shipping data shows, after a diplomatic row disrupted typical trade routes from Qatar. Shell has a deal to supply the Dubai Supply Authority (DUSUP) with LNG which it typically sources from Qatar because of its proximity. But bans on Qatari vessels entering ports in the United Arab Emirates, imposed after top Arab powers severed diplomatic and transport links with Qatar on Monday, meant it had to source the LNG from elsewhere.

The Indian Navy's sailing vessel INSV Tarini, with an all-woman crew,  visited Port Louis harbour in Mauritius as part efforts by the two countries to ramp up maritime security cooperation. Tarini, which inducted in the Indian Navy in Feb 2017, is the sister Vessel of Indian Navy's first sailing Vessel INSV Mhadei, that has numerous accomplishments to her name. INSV Tarini is 55 feet in length and built in India in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Indian Navy, fructified by M/s Aquarius Shipyard, Goa.

The Indian Cabinet of Ministers gave ex-post facto approval to the agreement signed in April between India and Cyprus on merchant shipping. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) is aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two nations for sea trade development. "The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to the agreement between India and Cyprus on merchant shipping, which was signed in April 2017," the Ministry of Shipping said in a statement.

Abu Dhabi port authorities have eased restrictions on oil tankers going to and from Qatar, according to industry sources and shipping circulars seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Authority issued a new circular on Wednesday removing previous restrictions on non-Qatar owned, flagged or operated vessels sailing to and from Qatar. This effectively allows direct trade between the two ports and co-loading of crude cargoes, a Singapore-based shipbroker said. A Middle East-based industry source said there had been no official notification on halting the co-loading of crude cargoes. The ban on vessels carrying the Qatari flag and vessels owned or operated by Qatar is still in place, according to the circular.

Ferries resumed crossings between Germany and Denmark after a brief halt on Wednesday following a threat made to local police by phone, Danish police said. The police said in a statement that it had searched and cleared the first ferries at the Danish ports Rodby and Gedser and allowed them to resume operations. Ferry routes between Denmark and Sweden, which had also been suspended due to the threats, were resumed shortly after, the police said. Ferry operator Scandlines said Wednesday it has evacuated all its ferries in the Danish town Rodby and suspended ferry traffic between Denmark and Germany due to security reasons following a telephone threat.

In the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO)’s annual conference entitled “Ports in a changing Climate, a Changing world” Alvaro Rodriguez, high level Climate Reality representative, inspired the audience with an eye opening presentation on the impacts of climate change and a positive message showing that solutions, the new zero-carbon technologies, are within reach. His opening was followed by contributions and sharing of best practices of different stakeholders. These debates…

 Saudi Arabia Consul General Sultan Al Angari recently met with officials of Saudi Arabia based transportation and logistics company Bahri in Houston, where they presented the Consul General with a Bahri ship model in appreciation of his support of Bahri Logistics’ Houston office opening.   Bahri announced the opening of its second North American office in Houston on March 20, 2017.  

Exxon Mobil Corp said on Tuesday that production and exports of liquefied natural gas from Qatar have not been affected by rising diplomatic tensions in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing the country of supporting extremism. Qatar denies the allegations. The growing diplomatic rift has raised concerns about global access to Qatar's LNG, especially after some regional ports in the Persian Gulf said they would not accept Qatari-flagged vessels. Commodities traders have grown concerned Qatar's LNG could be barred from Saudi Arabia or from traversing Egypt's Suez Canal, though so far no limitations have been imposed.

As the Central Ohio River Business Association (CORBA) pushes commerce on the Ohio River, stakeholders are beginning to take notice. On January 19, in an office tower overlooking the Ohio River, Eric Thomas convened the first meeting of 2017 for a business group working in the 13th largest port in the U.S.: the Ports of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky (PCNK). Thomas serves as the Executive Director of CORBA – the Central Ohio River Business Association. PCNK’s high rank is likely a surprise to many.

Maersk can no longer transport goods in or out of Qatar after Arab countries imposed restrictions on trade with the tiny Gulf state and the company is looking at alternative shipping routes. Shipping lines normally transship cargoes from the United Arab Emirates port of Jebel Ali to Qatar, which relies heavily on imports by sea and land. "We expect disruptions to our Qatar services. The situation is very fluid," the spokesman said, adding that Maersk would notify customers about alternative options as soon as possible. The spokesman said the company, which is the world's biggest container shipping line, was looking at other routes such as Oman.

Egypt has imposed temporary import tariffs on steel from China, Turkey and Ukraine, the trade ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The tariff will be set at 17 percent for Chinese steel, 10-19 percent for Turkish steel, and 15-27 percent for Ukrainian steel, it said. "The decision comes following a thorough study...and is intended to protect local manufacturing from harmful practices by imported alternatives," Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said in the statement.   (Reporting by Eric Knecht and Arwa Gaballa)

Ellicott Dredges announced it was recently awarded three contracts with the U.S. government. The first contract is for a customized Ellicott 860SL Swinging Dragon dredge and support boat for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). This dredge will be used to increase depth and restore water flow in the Colorado River, and to create wetland habitats. One of the primary objectives of this program is multi-species conservation, including birds, fish, turtles, insects and plants. Ellicott has already supplied multiple dredges to the USBR for the Colorado River management project.

A Papua New Guinea-flagged cargo ship Kiunga Chief has been banned from entering or using Australian ports for three months after the ship was detained for a third time in less than 18 months due to the failure of its operators to safely and effectively manage the operations of the vessel. “Substandard ships will not be tolerated in Australia,” said Stephen Curry, acting general manager of operations at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). AMSA issued an official direction banning Kiunga Chief to the master in the Port of Brisbane, and the ship has now gone to an anchorage within the port to undergo an inspection by its class society before it continues its voyage. The three month ban will take effect once the vessel leaves the port.

Group of Arab states cuts all ties with Qatar; tankers going to/from Qatar barred from Fujairah port. Oil prices slipped further below $50 a barrel on Tuesday on concerns that a diplomatic rift between Qatar and several Arab states including Saudi Arabia could undermine efforts by OPEC to tighten the market. Benchmark Brent crude oil was 10 cents a barrel lower at $49.37 by 1110 GMT, down around 8 percent from the open of futures trading on May 25, when an OPEC-led policy to cut oil output was extended into the first quarter of 2018. U.S. light crude was down 10 cents at $47.30.

A new report by U.S.-based One Earth Future Foundation Inc.'s Oceans Beyond Piracy program found that seafaring incidents involving kidnap for ransom jumped in 2016. Asia led the way with 125 instances of piracy, while West Africa had 95. Incidents of kidnap for ransom rose in West Africa and in Asia (in the Sulu and Celebes Seas specifically) from 2015 to 2016. 2016 saw a 57% rise in the number of seafarers affected by piracy in West Africa. The total cost of counter-piracy operations in the Western Indian Ocean has steadied out at around $1.5 billion.

Naval leaders from the United Kingdom, France and the United States signed an agreement June 1, designed to increase coordination for anti-submarine warfare activities of the three countries as they operate in the 5th Fleet area of operations. Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) Vice Adm. Kevin M. Donegan signed the trilateral agreement with Vice Adm. Louis-Michel Guillaume, commander, French Submarine and Strategic Oceanic Forces (ALFOST) and Rear Adm. Robert K. Tarrant, commander, Operations of the Royal Navy, at Donegan's headquarters in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Italy and France have agreed to seek a rapid solution in discussions over selling a large stake in the STX France shipyard to Fincantieri, Italy's economy ministry said on Monday. Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan and Industry Minister Carlo Calenda discussed the planned sale with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire in Rome. "Taking into consideration the openness of both countries to foreign direct investment, talks will continue to find a shared solution rapidly," the ministry said in a statement.

A crane barge that will be used to hoist a sunken tug in Sitka, Alaska has arrived to the wreck site. The evolution to raise the tug is expected to take up to 10 days, the U.S. Coast Guard said. U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Sitka and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation have been monitoring the out-of-service tug Powhatan, which sank at a pier in Sitka, April 19 and slid approximately 300 yards down a bank ultimately settling in 160 to 180 feet of water. The tug's owner, Samson Tug and Barge Company, contracted Southeast Alaska Petroleum for pollution recovery and Alaska Commercial Divers to plug vents and survey the vessel underwater. Since the sinking, an estimated 400 gallons of mixed product has released from the sunken tug.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced that its 13th Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard in Our Nation’s Capital will take place on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly and Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, Commandant of the Coast Guard will deliver keynote remarks. Dinner chairs are Coast Guard Foundation board members Admiral Thad Allen, USCG (Retired) and Corrine Kosar. Secretary John F.

Some of Spain's biggest port terminals came to a standstill on Monday as shipping companies redirected cargos to avoid a dockers' strike. After months of talks between unions, companies and the Spanish government over a reform of port hiring practices, dockers held the first of several planned strikes to protest against possible job losses. Some container shipping firms such as Maersk re-routed boats destined for the southern port of Algeciras to get around the strike, during which dockers will stop working every other hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week.

The U.S. Coast Guard responded to reports of a collision between a 17-foot recreational boat and a 406-foot cargo vessel in Lake St. Clair approximately two miles offshore east of Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, Sunday morning. The master of the involved cargo vessel, the Esta Desgagnes, a Canadian-flagged vessel home-ported in Quebec, Canada, immediately hailed the Coast Guard on VHF channel 16 to report the collision and that the operator of the recreational vessel was in the water. A rescue crew from Coast Guard Station St. Clair Shores launched a response boat and found the operator of the recreational boat clinging to a buoy. He was uninjured, but his boat was damaged and sank just outside the channel. U.S.

Ports in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' barred ships flying Qatari flags after the two countries broke off diplomatic ties with Doha, in a move that raised fears of disruption to oil and gas shipments from the Gulf OPEC member. The Saudi Ports Authority has notified shipping agents not to accept vessels flying Qatari flags or ships owned by Qatari companies or individuals, it said on its Twitter account on Monday, adding that Qatari goods would not be allowed to be unloaded in Saudi ports. "Vessels flying the flag of Qatar or vessels destined to or arriving from Qatar ports are not allowed to call on the Port of Fujairah or Fujairah Offshore Anchorage regardless of the nature of their call until further notice…

USS Nimitz (CVN 68), USS Kidd (DDG 100) and USS Shoup (DDG 86) departed their homeports of Naval Base Kitsap and Naval Station Everett, respectively, for a regularly scheduled deployment. This is a previously planned, routine deployment and is not in response to any specific incident or regional event. This deployment is an example of the U.S. Navy's routine presence in waters around the globe displaying our commitment to stability, regional cooperation and economic prosperity for all nations. "This deployment is the culmination of months of intensive training and preparations," said Rear Adm.

Skills necessary in dealing with maritime transnational organised crimes at sea, including, piracy, armed robbery against ships, drug trafficking, marine terrorism and more were at the core of a two-week training course which concluded today in Mombasa, Kenya (22 May – 2 June 2017). The course was conducted under the auspices of the JeddahAmendment to Djibouti Code of Conduct 2017, as a joint initiative between the East African Standby Force (EASF), Nordic Advisory and Coordination Staff (NACS) and  International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved a long-term application to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the first offshore project, Delfin LNG, LLC. Exports in the amount of 1.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas are approved from Delfin’s proposed offshore Louisiana floating LNG terminal in the Gulf of Mexico. Development of the Delfin project offshore of Cameron Parish, La. will include the construction of floating liquefaction and storage vessels.

The ratification of the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention date is fast approaching, and according to a survey we conducted with more than 35 port state control (PSC) personnel, many will not be prepared come September. There is a lot of uncertainty in the shipping industry in general, with 70 percent of the survey respondents aware that ballast water regulations had been ratified, but zero percent had a plan in place to address the duties of ballast water compliance. The…