Houston Office News

BIMCO announced it has hired Thomas Damsgaard to head its new office in Houston, as the shipping organization expands its global reach to better provide services to members in the Americas.Damsgaard has extensive experience working in shipowning companies, agency business, and is engaged in training activities. The main part of Damsgaard’s career has been in the United States, including in the Houston area. He joined BIMCO on June 1, 2022 and an additional staff member will be joining the Houston office shortly…

Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has added Felisa Sanchez as of counsel in the maritime and finance practices. She joins the firm’s Houston office from Foley & Lardner LLP.Sanchez focuses her practice on a wide variety of corporate, finance, and commercial matters for domestic and international clients in the financial services, maritime, transportation, and energy sectors. She has nearly 20 years of experience representing public and private companies in complex transactions, including maritime financings and restructurings…

German heavy lift and project logistics company Combi Lift said  its expanding its business into the Americas through the opening of a new office in Houston. “Houston is the perfect location in the U.S.A. It is one of the main project capitals in the world,” explained Klaus Hilpert, Managing Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Combi Lift. “Solutions are becoming more complex and project risk profiles are increasing. Clients are looking for trusted and globally connected partners who can leverage their assets and drive risk sharing throughout project delivery.

Pilot LNG, developer of the Galveston LNG Bunker Port (GLBP) project, announced that it has awarded the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for the project’s marine infrastructure engineering to W. F. Baird & Associates.Baird will provide a variety of services to Pilot LNG including design of marine structures, metocean modeling including storm surge and tidal currents, dredging design and dredged material placement analysis, and support for vessel maneuvering assessments.

Erik Lewenhaupt will take over as CEO of Concordia Maritime on January 1, 2022, succeeding Kim Ullman, who informed the Board his wish to step down as CEO and retire.Lewenhaupt has a long track record in tanker shipping. He started his tanker career at Nordström & Thulin in 1996, and was later recruited to Stena Bulk, where he was tanker chartering manager in both Gothenburg and Singapore. His most recent position has been Head of Sustainability at Stena Line, where he has been…

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Vard Marine has informed that Kristin Jovel, its Corporate Business Manager, has been appointed the position of Vice President Business Operations for its North American offices.Jovel joined the Houston office in 2010 after serving as a Director of a top-tier service management company. "Over the past 11 years, she has successfully led various strategic development initiatives aligned to the company’s business operations and corporate governance.

Automation, where routine tasks are handled by machines, has been talked about throughout maritime sectors for much of the 21st Century. Initially touted by suppliers of engine room and bridge management systems for its cost savings (with reduced manning levels), its value proposition was then infused with risk management (reduced human error) and remote operations, where vessels could be managed from a shoreside control room. In early 2017, Rolls Royce —an early proponent of unmanned operations—teamed with tug operator Svitzer on a remotely operated vessel…

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Gibbs & Cox announced it is expanding its services into Houston with the aim to generate revenue in non-naval markets, develop and sell new products and/or services to non-traditional clients and contribute to existing programs."Over the last several months, we have hired a number of staff from the Houston area and expect this trend to continue as we continue to grow with our recent contract wins," Gibbs & Cox said in a statement on Monday.In the near term…

In the past few years, the commercial use of facial recognition technology has advanced at an explosive rate, expanding into numerous industries and trades. For instance, facial biometrics is increasingly relied on by airlines and airports across the globe; a similar trend is starting to take hold in the maritime industry, particularly the cruise sector.While this expansion is occurring, states and cities across the country—as well as the federal government—are attempting to enact strict laws regulating the use of facial recognition technology by commercial entities.

The Liberian Registry announced Dallas Smith has been hired as the Director of LNG and Offshore Technology, and as General Manager of the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry’s (LISCR) new Houston Office.Smith brings to his new role at LISCR over 20 years of experience as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. Before his retirement last month, Smith was head of the USCG Liquefied Gas National Center of Expertise where he was responsible for executing the Coast Guard’s entire liquefied gas safety, security, and environmental compliance mission around the world.

Born and raised on the water by entrepreneurial parents, Basjan Faber knew from a young age that his future and fate was in maritime, specifically ship design. Today the CEO leads a vibrant, diverse and fast-growing naval architecture firm that he co-founded with partners in 2007. Headquartered in Amsterdam, C-Job has a unique approach to its business and is expanding its international footprint, as Maritime Reporter & Engineering News discovered when we visited with him in The Netherlands last month.“I have always been inspired by ships…

American multinational engineering company McDermott International announced it has been awarded a contract by Argentina-based YPF to provide pre-front-end engineering design (Pre-FEED) services for a five million tons per annum (MTPA) LNG Liquefaction Facility, with a potential expansion to 10 MTPA, at the Vaca Muerta Shale field in Argentina.The scope of work is a continuation of a previous conceptual study developed for the YPF LNG Export Facility in Argentina under a contract in 2018.McDermott's London office will provide engineering services while the Houston office will perform project management and estimation services."The award of this Pre-FEED project is a testimony of McDermott's technical expertise in LNG and our successful partnership with YPF over the years…

C-Job Naval Architects will expand its business to the United States by opening a dedicated branch office in Houston, Texas this summer.Basjan Faber, CEO at C-Job, an independent ship design and engineering company in the Netherlands, said “At C-Job we believe clients should be closely involved in the entire ship design process as it benefits the design which is why we work in close cooperation with ship owners and shipyards.“Opening an office in Houston, Texas allows us to be…

LOC Group’s Houston office provides perspective on decommissioning developments in the Gulf of Mexico.The Gulf of Mexico basin covers approximately 1.6 million km2 and is one of the most important petroleum production regions in the world. A significant portion of the area is shallow continental shelf waters. These areas were developed first by oil companies, with deeper water development only being undertaken once the ‘easier’ sites had been exploited. Many years on, numerous…

Norwegian based offshore services provider Reach Subsea said its Houston office has secured several contracts from oil majors in the region, comprising some 100 days of work.Reach Subsea opened its Houston office earlier this year with sights on expanding its services into the important subsea hub. So far, the company has executed a couple of projects in the region utilizing subsea spreads hired-in on a project-by-project basis. The company said it is gaining traction at a higher-than-expected pace with two frame agreements now signed with oil majors…

Bill Lind, current vice president of Vard Marine’s Houston operations, has announced his plans to retire from the company at the end of June.Lind has led the Houston team since 2013 and has transformed the office into a key contender in the marine engineering industry in the Gulf Coast and in U.S. government programs. He was also instrumental in expanding Vard Marine’s clientele base and helping to mold the Houston office into what it is today.Moving forward, Vard Marine has announced that Darren Truelock…

Reinforcing its three-decade-long presence in North America, transportation and logistics firm Bahri took part in Breakbulk Americas, being held from October 17-19, in Houston. The Bahri booth at Breakbulk Americas was opened by Mr. Sultan bin Abdullah Al-Angari, Consul General of Saudi Arabia in Houston, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the first day of the annual event in the presence of Amal Al-Ruwaii, Director for Trade and Investment, Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in United States of America…

The loading and response dynamics of an Articulated Tug & Barge (ATB) load box are complex. They typically require advanced finite element analysis methods and procedures to design an efficient support structure to ensure a durable design and to facilitate meeting Class strength requirements. To study the dynamic response of the loads imparted on the tug from the barge, a finite element analysis (FEA) is carried out. Loading conditions that include the static sea pressure, gravity loads, and reaction forces from the ATB Coupler are incorporated into the FEA analysis.

Dr. Alberto Morandi has been appointed to the position of General Manager of GustoMSC’s office in Houston. He will be responsible for running the office and will act as point of contact for GustoMSC’s U.S. clients. GustoMSC is a design and engineering firm serving the offshore energy sector, and its U.S. office represents the company’s design solutions, associated hardware and specialist consultancy and engineering services in the local markets of the U.S. and the Americas. With Dr. Morandi’s appointment, GustoMSC said it aims to further ensure close working relations with its local clients and to facilitate easy access to the technical expertise of its headquarters in the Netherlands. Dr.

Bas Coppes has joined the senior management team at Global Diving & Salvage, Inc., aiming to guide the global growth of the marine services company. Coppes will be based out of Global’s Houston office and will focus on salvage and wreck removal operations worldwide. Coppes brings two decades of salvage and offshore experience to the organization, having managed an extensive number of salvage, wreck removal, and offshore projects across the globe. “In my role as president of Mammoet Salvage Americas, I worked with Global extensively over the last 10 years,” Coppes said.

Sinking a 6,000-ton, 371-foot former cargo vessel to help create an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico is a herculean feat, one only accomplished with strict adherence to rigorous federal and state environmental regulations. When the cargo ship Kraken was recently sunk 67 miles off the Galveston coast, Matrix New World Engineering helped the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Artificial Reef Program ensure that the vessel was free of environmental hazards and safe to support coral, fish, sea turtles and other aquatic life.

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.

With familiar faces, new partnerships and Houston office, Damen widens its North American profile with a flurry of new work orders. With a flourish and a flurry of new business, Damen’s new U.S.-based office officially opened in Houston, Texas on July 1, 2016. Registered as Damen Area Support North America BV Co., it has been established to provide a local presence and work hand-in-hand with the North American market, offering a full range of ready built, standard and custom design vessels as well as the products and services of Damen Shipyards group ‘License to Build’ program.