Gulf Of Mexico News

Several workers on a BP Plc oil platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico have tested positive for coronavirus, the company said on Wednesday, a day after a worker at BP's operations in Alaska also tested positive.The cases are the first recorded among oil workers in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, and follow a positive test at an Equinor offshore project in the North Sea.A case of the coronavirus was also reported at BP's Whiting, Indiana refinery, according to local media reports.More than 850…

As the novel coronavirus and its impacts continue to spread across America, U.S. shipbuilders, by and large, continue to build. While most yards have been deemed essential to marine transportation and/or national security and have been able to maintain operations, the situation at and around every shipyard is different, and there are several builders across the country that have had to temporarily suspend activity. In either scenario, it’s far from business as usual for America’s…

Valaris, the world's largest offshore drilling company by fleet size, is set to lose one of the most lucrative contracts in the offshore drilling industry today after it recently accidentally dropped a blowout preventer stack to seabed offshore Angola.The contract, at a day rate of $620,000 per day, is with the French oil major Total for the drillship Valaris DS-8. The Samsung GF12000 designed drilling rig has been drilling for Total since 2015.As previously reported, Valaris earlier in March said it had accidentally dropped Blowout Preventer Stack to the seafloor of Angola…

The U.S. Navy's future guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) completed acceptance trials on March 12, returning to Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), Ingalls Shipbuilding Division after spending two days at sea in the Gulf of Mexico.During acceptance trials, the ship's crew performed a series of demonstrations for review by the U.S. Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). These demonstrations are used to validate the quality of construction and compliance with Navy specifications and requirements prior to delivery of the ship to the U.S.

Deepwater drilling rig contractor Pacific Drilling has found more work for its Pacific Sharav drillship.The drilling company on Wednesday revealed that Murphy Oil had hired the drillship for work offshore Mexico. According to the fleet status report, Murphy has agreed to charter the unit for two firm wells and one optional well.The day rate for the 2014-built drillship has been set to $230,000, and the contract is expected to start in November and last until February 2021.Pacific…

The future USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) completed builder’s trials February 22 after spending three days underway in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Navy said. The trials were conducted by the shipbuilder, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), Ingalls Shipbuilding Division.The ship was previously underway for Alpha trials in December, and will be underway again in March for acceptance trials, which will be conducted by the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey.“The Navy and our dedicated shipbuilders have continued to make strides towards delivering this exceptional capability to the fleet…

Shipbuilder All American Marine, Inc. (AAM) said it has launched an aluminum catamaran built to patrol Texas state and federal waters for the law enforcement division of Texas Parks and Wildlife. The 80’ x 27’ (OAL) Captain Murchison features twin CAT C18 ACERT D Engines, with Hamilton Jet HM 521 waterjets and is built to USCG Subchapter T standards. It is also the first vessel in North America to feature Hamilton Jet’s innovative Advanced Vessel Control (AVX) system. The new AVX features include both a station keeping and a JETanchor positioning system.

Offshore marine transportation firm Harvey Gulf International Marine says it has been able to achieve success in the turbulent offshore market by constantly reinvented itself to fit the industry demands.Never afraid to shake things up, Harvey Gulf has maintained this mindset throughout its 70-year-history, says CEO Shane Guidry. “From a humble beginning of a three oyster fishing vessels used as supply vessels in 1949 to a larger fleet of offshore vessels that towed barges and drilling rigs to its modern day evolution of a fleet of offshore supply…

Unmanned Vehicles Collect Data for Improving Storm ForecastsThe influences of ocean conditions and currents on living environments are now more widely appreciated—from the Earth’s climate and severe weather conditions to fisheries and biodiversity. Sustained and widespread measurements are needed to provide essential clues for understanding the oceans, for effective monitoring of environmental changes, and for helping to clarify the long-term effects of global warming.To meet this challenge, ocean researchers have invented various types of unmanned observing platforms.

Blank Rome’s maritime attorneys have represented clients in some of the largest maritime casualties in the last 20 years, including the Staten Island Ferry allision with a maintenance pier in New York, the blow out and eventual loss of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the sinking of the El Faro during Hurricane Joaquin, and the collision between the Navy Destroyer USS John S. McCain and the tanker ALNIC MC in the Singapore Strait. These casualties have resulted in the catastrophic loss of life…

A latest research revealed that the upstream sector accounted for the bulk of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the global oil and gas industry in 2019, generating some high-value transactions during the process.According to GlobalData's theme report, ‘M&A in Oil and Gas – 2020’, the acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum by Occidental Petroleum in April 2019 for a purchase consideration of US$57bn was the highlight of oil and gas M&A activity last year, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.Ravindra Puranik…

Island Offshore took delivery of Island Victory, a new offshore installation vessel, at VARD Langsten today (Friday, February 7, 2020).Upon delivery the vessel will head straight into operation, spending a couple of weeks in the spot market, before commencing a series of contracts – in the Barents Sea and the Gulf of Mexico – securing work for the vessel potentially throughout October this year.“We experience great interest for this vessel,” said Tommy Walaunet, Managing Director, Island Offshore Management AS. “Having jobs lined up in coming months, confirms this and is highly appreciated.

German propulsion manufacturer SCHOTTEL announced it has been awarded a contract from Alabama shipbuilder Master Boat Builders to supply a total of six rudderpropellers for a pair of new tugs being constructed for U.S.-based Seabulk Towing Inc, a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc.Both Robert Allan Ltd.-designed newbuilds will feature the Advanced Rotortug (ART) design triangular propulsion system.The tugs will be propelled by three SCHOTTEL Rudderpropellers type SRP 430 FP with a propeller diameter of 2.4 meters, each driven by a 1,771-kilowatt diesel engine.

The Houston Ship Channel reopened on Tuesday morning after a seven-hour closure to raise a fishing vessel that sank in mid-January near the waterway's entrance in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Houston ship pilots association.The ship channel, a 53-mile waterway connecting the busiest U.S. petrochemical port with the Gulf of Mexico, reopened at 10:15 a.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the Houston Pilots, the ship pilots association.Two people aboard the 81-foot (25…

The Houston Ship Channel was shut on Tuesday morning to raise a fishing vessel that sank in mid-January near the waterway's entrance in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the Houston ship pilots association.The ship channel, a 53-mile (85 km) waterway connecting the busiest U.S. petrochemical port with the Gulf of Mexico, is scheduled to reopen at 10 a.m. local time (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, according to Houston Pilots, the ship pilots association.Two people aboard the 81-foot (25-meter) fishing vessel Pappy's Pride remain missing following the collision with the 600-foot (183-meter) tanker Bow Fortune on Jan. 14, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. (Reporting by Erwin Seba Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Matt Tremblay, SVP, Global Offshore, ABS, discusses the next hot growth market ... offshore wind. While the market grows, the question begs: Is the U.S. marine industry ready to meet demand?The American Bureau of Shipping convened a conference to discuss the pace and direction of the U.S. offshore wind market, including challenges and opportunities for maritime, offshore, subsea and logistics markets. Matt Tremblay, SVP, Global Offshore, ABS, moderated the event and shares some of its findings here.Where do you see opportunities today for growth in the U.S.

From their base deep within a former World War II U-boat pen, Norwegian outfit, OceanTech, is developing a set of robot tools that cling to offshore structures in order to effect inspection, maintenance and repair, or IMR. Old submarine anchorages are now subsea testing and training sites, but the North Sea is still the target. Hundreds of aging platforms and subsea structures require IMR that’s too costly, complex or hazardous for divers or remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs.As he walks us through Dora II…

Hornbeck Offshore Services announced its common stock has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on December 20, 2019, and that the company began trading on the OTC Pink marketplace effective December 23, 2019.The NYSE announced that Hornbeck stock was was suspended from trading because the company did not maintain an average global market capitalization of at least $15 million over a consecutive 30-trading-day period, as required by NYSE continued listing standards.Hornbeck…

Niels Aalund was elected President of the International Propeller Club at their 93rd International Convention and Conference. The prominent maritime industry stakeholder will serve a two-year term, commencing from October 17th. Aalund, a well-known maritime subject matter expert and executive, also serves as an Officer and as Senior Vice President of the West Gulf Maritime Association (WGMA). WGMA communicates and coordinates with various governmental entities throughout the West Gulf…

Canadian naval architecture and marine engineering services company Robert Allan Ltd (RAL) has been awarded design contracts of two vessel types for Seabulk Towing (a subsidiary of Seacor), to be built at Alabama-based Master Boat Builders, Inc.The newbuild program consists of 2 upgraded ART 90-98US tugs and 2 new RApport 3000 tugs, said the designer of commercial working vessels of all types.Two of the newbuilds will add to Seacor’s existing Rotortug fleet, with some feature updates to the Rotortug design…

The mission to locate two people missing from a helicopter that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico has been called off, the US Coast Guard said on Monday evening.Air and boat crews were unable to find the downed aircraft and passengers after scouring more than 4,117 square-nautical miles over the course of approximately 68 hours, the Coast Guard said“We searched diligently with our pilots, boat crews and cutter crews but were unable to find the two men aboard the helicopter,” said Lt. Cmdr.

Total S.A announced the final investment decision (FID) to develop the Anchor oil field located in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM), off the coast of Louisiana.Additionally, front-end engineering and design (FEED) has begun for the North Platte discovery in the deepwater GoM.Total holds a working interest of 37.14% in Anchor, alongside operator Chevron (62.86%).The Anchor field will be developed with seven subsea wells connected to a semi-submersible floating production unit (FPU) with a capacity of 75,000 barrels of crude oil and 28 million cubic feet of gas per day.

Seabulk Towing Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc., announced Wednesday it has contracted with Alabama-based Master Boat Builders, Inc. for the construction of four 80 metric ton bollard pull harbor tugs with an expected delivery beginning in the second half of 2021 through early 2022.Two of the newbuilds will augment the company’s existing Rotortug fleet and feature updates to the Rotortug design, Seabulk said.The other two Azimuth Stern Drive newbuilds will be equipped with diesel mechanical and electric motor propulsion systems. These vessels represent Seabulk’s initial investment in hybrid power towing assets and will operate alongside the company’s existing harbor fleet in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. East Coast.