Maritime Industry News

It is often difficult to push through the federal government morass to focus on the issues that actually matter to the inland operator. While 2020 inevitably will be a contentious year in American politics, it is critical to stay focused on the items that will have direct impact on the U.S. maritime industry. From a potential new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) bill to potential Jones Act challenges, 2020 will be an important year for inland operators to stay politically engaged.Work on WRDAJanuary marked the beginning of Congress’ work in earnest toward introducing a new WRDA bill.

London-based international law firm Watson Farley & Williams has advised TUI Cruises GmbH on its acquisition of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises from TUI AG for US$1.3bn, excluding net debt.According to the the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in summer 2020. The deal includes the acquisition of HL Cruises’ luxury and expedition fleet, consisting of two five-star plus luxury vessels and three expedition cruise ships, by TUI Cruises.

The world’s first adaptive ferry transit conducted during normal service took place last week on a vessel fully loaded with passengers and vehicles, demonstrated fully automatic control from dock to dock, Kongsberg Maritime  announced. The landmark crossing, a key step forward in the integration of autonomous technology into everyday shipping operations, was made possible by collaboration between shipping company Bastø Fosen, KONGSBERG and the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA).The…

Colleen Stephens, President of Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises will be President of the Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) for 2020, the trade association announced.Elected during the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2020 held February 3-6, 2020 in Tampa, Fla., Stephens reaffirmed PVA's commitment to continuously improving safety in passenger vessel operations as well as the association's engagement in being good stewards of the environment. "PVA's Green WATERS program…

Norway-based global maritime industry group Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA  announced that Berge Mafadi, a Berge Bulk vessel has received the world’s first commercial delivery of 3d printed scupper plugs, as part of Wilhelmsen’s Early Adopter Program.According to a press release, the program, where customers have exclusive access to on-demand additive manufacturing was launched by Wilhelmsen’s Marine Products division in December 2019. Customers include Berge Bulk, Carnival Maritime…

Finland's Aalto University and the compatriot  shipbuilding company Meyer Turku have signed an agreement that will strengthen and develop multidisciplinary research and education collaboration as well as give a boost to expert cooperation."We want Finland to be the leading country in maritime technology and science development in the world. At the same time, we are constantly looking to attract new talent to work for us and so need to be present at Aalto campus and in the academic lives of the students.

With the signing by the France-based international lender to global shipping BNP Paribas and the Swiss multinational investment bank Credit Suisse, Signatories of the Poseidon Principles represent around $140 billion in loans to international shipping – about 30% of the total global ship finance portfolio.Poseidon Principles is a global framework for responsible ship finance which helps incentivize shipping’s decarbonization.They establish a common framework to quantitatively…

When I came into office as the Passenger Vessel Association’s President for 2019 last January, I announced two strategic goals for our industry: to enhance safety and foster the professional growth of our next generation of leaders. I am proud to announce we have undertaken major initiatives and made progress on each. These goals match my lifelong professional commitment to safety as well as aligning with PVA’s true north: a responsibility to be ever vigilant and proactive in addressing safety.I have been a longtime member of PVA and served in its leadership for years.

Verifavia Shipping, the independent accredited environmental verification and auditing body for maritime industry, has certified Fueltrax, against the European Union’s (EU) Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) regulation requirements and IMO Data Collection System (DCS).The EU MRV regulation requires ships of 5,000 gross tonnages or higher to collect data from previous years to monitor CO2 emissions, fuel consumption, and other parameters, such as distance traveled, time at sea, and cargo carried on a per voyage basis.

INSIGHTS: Thomas C. Escher, Chairman, Red and White FleetIn 1960, Tom Escher, the grandson of the founder and now the current owner, started working as a sweeper and a mechanics helper on the Red and White vessels. In 1997, Escher purchased the Red and White Fleet, becoming the third generation of the family to own and operate the business. In September 2018, Red and White Fleet welcomed Enhydra, the newest and largest addition to the fleet. Enhydra is the first 600-passenger hybrid-drive vessel operating in the United States.

Merchant ships traditionally operate in the open sea at or near full speed. This is hard on the engine, hard on the ship and hard on the crew. Slowing down reduces wear on the engine, improves fuel efficiency, reduces harmful air emissions and improves safety by providing the bridge personnel additional time to evaluate developing situations. Some marine engines, though, are designed to operate at near full load. Thus, for these engines, slow steaming creates its own set of problems – not insurmountable…

Global Marine Travel, a Florida-based travel management company to the maritime industry, has partnered with the Greek travel firm Argo Travel Group to enhance its travel offering, particularly in terms of service delivery and driving growth in the Greek and international markets."In Argo, Global Marine Travel, gains a marine partner with an experienced team and a strong reputation for service delivery, that will drive the growth of the business in Greece and other international locations…

Northern European growth equity investor  Verdane Capital has taken a majority stake in the Denmark-based maritime hardware and software company Danelec Marine.Under the agreement, which was signed December 31, 2019, Verdane assumes a majority shareholder position in the privately held corporation. Danelec’s existing shareholders will continue to own shares in the company, and the management team, including CEO Hans Ottosen and COO Casper Jensen, will continue in their positions.Headquartered in Birkeroed…

A tanker captain has been convicted and fined for failing to immediately alert Australian authorities of a main engine breakdown in 2019.On January 31, 2019, the tanker Asphalt Spirit suffered a main engine breakdown and began drifting 30 kilometers northeast of Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island while carrying 14,000 tonnes of asphalt from from Korea to Australia.The ship’s master reported the incident via email to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) just after 10 p.m.

Maersk's towage operator arm Svitzer announced on Thursday it has appointed Arjen Van Dijk as its new Regional Managing Director (MD) for the Americas region, effective February 1, 2020.Van Dijk is taking over from Marc Niederer, who has decided to step down due to personal reasons and is currently considering various options for his future role, the company said.Van Dijk joined Svitzer in July 2019 as regional CCO and is now advancing to Regional MD. With more than 15 years in global shipping and transportation…

Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group and Australian-based Gentium Solutions have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Industry of Bangladesh, seeking to establish and develop shipbuilding and ship repair industry in Bangladesh."The aim is to build ships in Bangladesh, for Bangladesh, with a long-term view of serving export markets. The partners in the MoU will undertake a number of tasks in this direction," said a press release from the Netherlands…

The end of 2019 promises to be a busy, and potentially discordant, legislative and regulatory period for the United States maritime industry as both Congress and the Executive Branch look to take decisive action, with both positive and negative potential impacts depending on your perspective. With appropriation and authorization bills still pending, and various open regulatory actions, there are significant opportunities for maritime stakeholders to influence policy outcomes.Funding Fights Continue in CongressOn October 31…

Maritime industry partners striving to advance shipping's decarbonization efforts are working to develop an ammonia-fueled tanker, classification society Lloyd's Register (LR) announced.The joint development project (JDP) involving LR and shipping line MISC Berhad, builder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and engine maker MAN Energy Solutions aims to develop commercially viable deep-sea zero-emissions vessels (ZEVs) that would be operational by 2030, ahead of the International Maritime Organization’s 2050 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target.Nick Brown…

Iridium Communication signed on to provide Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service.On December 19, 2019 a Letter of Compliance was signed by the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), stating it has positively verified the operational and technical requirements as requested by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for Iridium to provide Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service. Iridium’s GMDSS service is bringing many capabilities to the maritime industry…

ShipServ has appointed Henrik Hyldahn as its new CEO, effective January 1, 2020. Hyldahn was previously ShipServ’s Chief Solutions Officer. He replaces CEO Kim Skaarup, who will join the company's board as Vice ChairmanAs new CEO, Hyldahn will prioritize driving further collaboration with customers and partners, as well as seizing the opportunity to capitalize on the significant advancements in digitalization within the maritime industry. A key component of this will involve leading…

The Korean Register (KR) has appointed Hyung-chul Lee as its 24th Chairman & CEO. His term began on December 23, 2019 and runs for three years until December 22, 2022.Hyung-chul Lee joined KR in 1988 and has until now held the position of Executive Vice President of KR. He was elected as Chairman & CEO at KR’s General Assembly meeting held on December 23.Over his 30 years with KR, Hyung-chul Lee has held many senior roles, including head of Statutory Service and head of Overseas Business Development Team…

Stay in your lane. Ignoring such wisdom can result in catastrophe if you’re drag racing and lead to general unpleasantness on bowling league nights. This same guidance in other circumstances, for example, can be toxic. It can inhibit innovation and, at the worst possible moment, prevent the sensible use of available resources to improve a bad situation.In satisfying the demands of the offshore energy sector, the U.S. maritime industry has developed incredibly versatile tools.

The UK shipping industry brings in a remarkable GBP 19 billion (USD 25Bln) to our economy, an increase of 41% from 2010, and directly supports 181,000 jobs, UK Chamber of Shipping said quoting a new report from the Center for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). The Chamber, which represents nearly 200 members, and works with Government, parliament and international organisations to champion and protect the industry, welcomed the report.Chief Executive of the UK Chamber of Shipping…