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Laura News

06 Mar 2024

Russia Oil Fleet Shifts Away from Liberia, Marshall Island Flags Amid US Sanctions Crackdown

© evannovostro / Adobe Stock

Dozens of oil tankers used by Russia have stopped sailing under the Liberian and Marshall Islands flags in recent weeks after the United States ramped up sanctions enforcement on ships linked to those registries, according to shipping data and interviews with industry and government officials.The shift reflects the close relationship between the U.S. and the flag administration companies of Liberia and the Marshall Islands, which are headquartered not in their home countries, but in Virginia, just miles from Washington D.C. and within the jurisdiction of U.S.

25 Jan 2024

Maersk Names First Large Methanol-Enabled Vessel

Source: Maersk

The world’s first large methanol-enabled container ship has been named Ane Mærsk at a ceremony in the shipyard of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea.The 16,000 TEU vessel is named after Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla, the Chair of the A.P. Moller Foundation and A.P. Moller Holding. Ane’s eldest granddaughter served as godmother, and christened the vessel by breaking a champagne bottle over the bow.Ane Mærsk is the first of Maersk’s 18 large methanol-enabled vessels that will be delivered between 2024 and 2025.

07 Dec 2023

Maersk to Deploy First Large Methanol-Enabled Vessel on AE Trade

Source: Maersk

A.P. Moller - Maersk is about to launch the first of its 18 large methanol-enabled vessels currently on order. On February 9, 2024, it will enter service on the AE7 string connecting Asia and Europe, which includes port calls in Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo and Hamburg, with Ningbo, China, being its first destination.The container vessel built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in South Korea has a nominal capacity of 16,000 TEU and is equipped with a dual-fuel engine enabling…

16 Nov 2023

US Sanctions Maritime Companies, Vessels for Shipping Oil Above Russian Price Cap

© Kalyakan / Adobe Stock

The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on maritime companies and vessels for shipping Russian oil sold above the G7's price cap, as Washington seeks to close loopholes in the mechanism designed to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine.The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it slapped sanctions on three United Arab Emirates-based companies and three vessels owned by them in the action, accusing the vessels of engaging in the export of Russian crude oil priced above the $60 a barrel cap.

08 Nov 2023

Celebrity Ascent Delivered to Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Ascent, the fourth ship in Celebrity Cruises' Edge Series (Photo: Celebrity Cruises)

Celebrity Cruises announced it has taken delivery of its latest newbuild, the 141,420 GT Celebrity Ascent, built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France. The fourth cruise ship in the line's Edge Series, Celebrity Ascent is 1,073 feet long with a 128-foot beam, 27-foot draft and capacity for up to 3,260 passengers. Equipped with Wärtsilä engines and ABB Azipod propulsion, the vessel cruises at speeds up to 22 knots."Celebrity Ascent features all the innovative and award-winning Edge Series signature experiences that launched a new era in cruise ship design…

14 Sep 2023

Maersk Sets Up Green Methanol Company

© A.P. Moller - Maersk. All rights reserved.

Maersk has teamed up with its majority owner to form a new company to produce "green methanol", the shipping company said on Thursday, as it held a naming ceremony for the world's first container vessel powered by the low-carbon fuel.Green methanol, produced either from biomass or captured carbon and hydrogen from renewable power, can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from container ships by 60% to 95% compared with conventional fossil fuels.With more than 100 container vessels capable of sailing on methanol on order…

14 Sep 2023

Historic Moment: World's First Green Methanol-Powered Container Vessel Named in Denmark

© A.P. Moller - Maersk. All rights reserved.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, on Thursday named the world’s first-ever container vessel sailing on green methanol.At a ceremony in Copenhagen on September 14, where the Maersk-owned vessel arrived from Ulsan in South Korea, Von Der Leyen acted as the ship's godmother and named the vessel 'Laura Maersk'.The Danish-flagged 172-meter-long vessel has been described as a key milestone for A.P. Moller-Maersk’s plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2040 across the entire business.To meet its 2040 target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions in time…

22 Aug 2023

Asian Buyers May Seek US LNG if Australian Disputes Worsen

© moofushi / Adobe Stock

Major Asian buyers of LNG could seek US cargoes in the coming weeks if worker-related disputes at key LNG facilities in Australia escalate, analysts said, as electricity demand continues surge due to warm weather.Uncertainty over labour disputes at western Australian facilities run by Woodside Energy Group and U.S. major Chevron have spurred Asian LNG prices to their highest in five months, and analysts say they could rise further.As many as 700 workers at the Australian facilities could potentially down tools over pay and job security, the first of them as early as Sept.

27 Jul 2023

Obscure Traders Ship Half Russia's Oil Exports to India, China After Sanctions

© Jouni Niskakoski / Adobe Stock

A Liberian-flagged oil tanker set sail in May from Russia's Ust-Luga port carrying crude on behalf of a little-known trading company based in Hong Kong. Before the ship had even reached its destination in India, the cargo changed hands.The new owner of the 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude carried on the Leopard I was a similarly low-profile outfit, Guron Trading, also based in Hong Kong, according to two trading sources.The number of little-known trading firms relied on by Moscow to export large volumes of crude exports to Asia has mushroomed in recent months…

19 Jul 2023

Maersk's Methanol-fueld Feeder Ship Represents a 'Paradigm Shift', ABS' Wiernicki Says

(Photo: Odfjell SE)

A.P. Moller - Maersk's first-of-its-kind methanol dual-fuel containership represents a paradigm shift for the maritime industry as it continues its efforts to decarbonize, ABS chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki said.The 2,100 TEU feeder vessel, to be named Laura Maersk, was built to ABS Class at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Hyundai Heavy Industries and features dual-fuel main and auxiliary engines from MAN Energy Solutions that are able to operate on cleaner-burning methanol.The ship was delivered earlier this month…

13 Jul 2023

Maersk Takes Delivery of World's First Methanol-fueled Container Feeder

Source: A. P. Moller – Maersk

Maersk has taken delivery of the world’s first container feeder to be fueled by methanol.The 2,100 TEU vessel was built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and Hyundai Heavy Industries and features dual fuel main and auxiliary engines from MAN Energy Solutions that are able to operate on cleaner-burning methanol.The ABS-classed vessel, HMD Hull #4168, is embarking on its maiden voyage from Ulsan to Copenhagen for a naming ceremony in September, when the ships is expected to take the name Laura Maersk.

12 Apr 2023

Celebrity Cruises Names Hodges Bethge President

Laura Hodges Bethge (Photo: Royal Caribbean Group)

Royal Caribbean Group announced Laura Hodges Bethge will take over as president of its Celebrity Cruises brand, succeeding Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, who will transition to vice chair, external affairs for Royal Caribbean Group, effective May 1.Hodges Bethge, currently Celebrity Cruises' executive vice president, shared services operations, has been with the company more than 23 years and has held senior positions in many different areas including product development, hotel and marine operations, sales, marketing, product innovation, market development and investor relations.

31 Jan 2023

As Ice Recedes, Italian Ship Makes Record Journey into Antarctic

(Photo: National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics)

An Italian ice-breaker carrying scientists researching in the Antarctic has sailed further south than any ship has done before, the organizers of the voyage said on Tuesday, a further sign of how ice is retreating around the poles.The Laura Bassi vessel reached a point with the coordinates of 78° 44.280 S in the Bay of Whales in the Ross Sea, according to Italy’s National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics.The voyage was made possible by an unusual lack of ice in the area, it said.

19 Dec 2022

US Defense Bill Amends the Jones Act Waiver Process

© a166f105 / Adobe Stock

An obscure measure in the defense policy bill the U.S. Senate passed this week could make it harder for oil and liquefied natural gas transporters to get a waiver allowing them to ship fuel during emergencies, lobbyists and analysts said on Friday.The changes in the $858 billion annual defense spending bill passed late on Thursday came after lawmakers criticized Biden administration officials for September waivers allowing diesel deliveries to Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, after Hurricane Fiona cut power for 3.3 million people.The waivers apply to the Jones Act…

28 Nov 2022

New Ship Technology Will Produce Hydrogen on Board from LNG

(Image: Wärtsilä)

The technology group Wärtsilä has entered into a joint development agreement with Hycamite TCD Technologies, a privately-owned Finnish company specializing in the development of a technology for producing clean hydrogen and solid carbon from methane. The two companies will work together to enable cost-effective production of hydrogen from liquefied natural gas (LNG) on board marine vessels. The concept design will be ready by mid 2023 and the prototype testing unit will be ready…

25 Oct 2022

Idled St. Croix Refinery Risks Explosion, 'Catastrophic' Releases

Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.5

Equipment corrosion at an oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands presents a risk of fire, explosion or other "catastrophic" releases of hazardous substances, U.S. environmental regulators said on Tuesday, after performing an inspection last month.The idled St. Croix refinery, formerly called Limetree Bay, was shut down by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in May 2021 after a series of chemical releases into the environment sickened neighboring residents. The refinery was sold in December 2021 for $62 million to West Indies Petroleum and Port Hamilton Refining and Transportation…

20 Sep 2022

TotalEnergies Bunkers CMA CGM Containership with Sustainable Marine Biofuel in Singapore

Credit: TotalEnergies Marine Fuels

TotalEnergies Marine Fuels recently completed the refueling of a CMA CGM containership in Singapore with sustainable marine biofuel. "This operation marks another milestone in TotalEnergies Marine Fuels’ ambition to become a key biofuel bunker supplier across strategic bunker hubs by 2030," the company said.On July, 29, 2022, the 4,294 TEU CMA CGM MONTOIR container vessel was bunkered via ship-to-ship transfer with TotalEnergies-supplied biofuel. The biofuel is made of VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil) blended with 24% second-generation…

18 Aug 2022

Oil Companies Work Around Jones Act to Supply US Fuel Markets

U.S. oil companies are working around a century-old shipping law to supply fuel to the U.S. East Coast, according to data from Refinitiv and oil trading sources, as high demand for gasoline and global disruptions in fuel markets sent prices higher.Traders are increasingly sending unfinished gasoline components from the Gulf Coast to Buckeye Partners LP’s terminal in the Bahamas, also known as Borco, where they are blended into finished gasoline to be sent to the U.S. East Coast. The uncommon trade is a sign of heavy demand for products up and down the coast, home of some of the nation's largest consumer markets.The trade represents a legal workaround to the Jones Act, which requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by ships built domestically and staffed by U.S.

17 Aug 2022

Britain to Receive Rare LNG Cargo from Australia

Britain is set to receive a rare shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Australia later this month, as countries across Europe strive to secure enough supplies ahead of winter.European nations are seeking to diversify energy supplies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a sharp drop in Russian gas flows to the continent.LNG tanker Attalos, with a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters, is set to arrive at Britain's Isle of Grain terminal on Aug. 22, according to data and analytics firm Kpler."The (LNG tanker) Patris was the original vessel that loaded at the North West Shelf liquefaction plant in Australia. It did a ship-to-ship transfer with the Attalos in Malaysian waters…

17 Aug 2022

Greensea Appoints Krahn as Director of Programs

Greensea Systems hired  Laura Krahn as Director of Programs. Photo courtesy Greensea

Greensea Systems hired  Laura Krahn as Director of Programs, a newly created position.Prior to joining Greensea, Krahn worked in Software Development, IT Management, and as a Senior Consultant. As Director of Programs, Krahn will lead Greensea’s team of Program Managers and will ultimately be responsible for the overall success of each program and product.

28 Jun 2022

US Authorities Make Checks on Oil Tanker Arrived from Russia

© Andrea Izzotti / Adobe Stock

U.S. authorities have stopped an oil tanker traveling from Russia to New Orleans to check whether it is Russian in origin, a source confirmed to Reuters.The Vitol-chartered vessel was shipping intermediate oil products including vacuum gasoil and fuel oil from Russia's Taman port to New Orleans last week, according to a trading source and shipping data.The products were due to reach a Valero refinery in the New Orleans region, two sources said.The cargo was stopped by U.S.

25 Mar 2022

Guided Missile Destroyer Ted Stevens (DDG 128) Keel Authenticated

(Photo: HII)

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss. authenticated the keel of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Ted Stevens (DDG 128). The ship’s name honors former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, who served as a pilot in World War II and later as a senator representing Alaska. At the time he left office in 2009, he was the longest serving Republican U.S. senator in history.“With this ship we honor Senator Stevens’ exemplary service to our nation,” said Kari Wilkinson, president of the Ingalls Shipbuilding division.

24 Mar 2022

Xeneta Appoints Finbow, Irvine to Exec Team

Laura Finbow, Director of Sales Enablement of Xeneta

Xeneta, a leader in ocean and air freight rate benchmarking, market analytics platform and container shipping index, announced the appointment of two new sales executives. Scott Irvine joins Xeneta as VP of Freight Forwarding and Laura Finbow will serve as Director of Sales Enablement. Scott Irvine has worked in the logistics industry for over two decades holding senior leadership roles across both shippers and freight forwarders. Most recently Scott was the VP of Air & Ocean for Zencargo, a leading digital freight forwarder.

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