Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Maritime Service News

20 Feb 2024

Sanmar Delivers Another Tug for Boluda Towage

(Photo: Sanmar)

Sanmar reports it has delivered another tugboat to Boluda Towage, marking the third delivery from the Turkish shipbuilder and operator to Spain-headquartered maritime service provider in three months’ time.The delivery of Boğaçay LXVII, to be renamed VB Tragen by its new owner, follows the sale and delivery of two former Sanmar fleet tugs - VB Horus and VB Amon – to Boluda Towage in November last year.VB Tragen has been delivered to support Boluda Towage’s services for liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations in Germany.

20 Dec 2023

Russia Oil Price Cap Coalition Toughens Shipping Rules

© AUUSanAKUL+ / Adobe Stock

The U.S.-led coalition imposing a price cap on seaborne Russian oil announced changes on Wednesday to its compliance regime the Treasury Department said will make it harder for Russian exporters to bypass the cap.The Treasury also imposed fresh sanctions on a ship manager owned by the Russian government and three oil traders involved in Russian oil trade.The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries last year imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil shipments in


19 Dec 2023

OSG to Install Starlink Fleetwide

(Photo: Overseas Shipholding Group)

U.S. shipping company Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) announced it will equip all vessels in its fleet with Space X’s Starlink satellite internet service in a move that aims to enhance onboard connectivity for seafarers.Since the introduction to the market of Starlink’s Global Maritime service earlier this year, OSG’s IT department has worked to substantially complete installation of Starlink equipment on every vessel in the fleet of OSG and ATC, with full installation expected by year end


05 Dec 2022

TDI-Brooks Installs Starlink on Its Research Vessels

(Image: TDI-Brooks)

U.S. based marine services firm TDI-Brooks announced it has installed the Starlink Maritime platform on two of its four research vessels, with plans to equip the remaining vessels at a later date.The two vessels, Brooks McCall and Miss Emma McCall, are currently working on the U.S. East Coast performing G&G surveys for offshore wind programs. Installation of the Starlink Maritime platform is next planned for installation on the Proteus currently working in the Northern GOM and Gyre working off Trinidad.Richard Byno


03 Nov 2022

Cable Installation Kicks Off at U.S. First Commercial Scale Offshore Wind Farm

©Vineyard Wind

Cable installation has kicked off at Vineyard Wind, the U.S. first commercial scale offshore wind farm, at a site located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Vineyard Wind, the company developing the namesake wind farm, also announced that it expects to begin nearshore cable work off the south coast of Cape Cod in the coming days. The work is being conducted by Prysmian Group, the subsea cable manufacturing and installation firm based in Italy.Prysmian recently announced plans to build the first U.S.-based offshore wind subsea cable factory in Somerset


18 Oct 2022

Finnlines Adds Two New RoPax Vessels Between Sweden and Finland

Antonio Raimo, Tom Pippingsköld, Marco Palmu (Photo: Finnlines)

Finnlines will make major investments in its route between Sweden and mainland Finland via Åland during 2023 as the freight and passenger shipping company continues to bounce back from the pandemic slowdown.The company announced on Tuesday that it is introducing two new Superstar cargo-passenger vessels as part of general plans for increasing passenger comfort on the Kapellskär–Långnäs–Naantali route, with the first ro-pax vessel set to start operating on the route in autumn 2023.The new vessels Finnsirius and Finncanopus are part of Finnlines EUR 500 million investment program


08 Sep 2022

Marlink and OneWeb to Trial of LEO Maritime Connectivity Service

(Image: Marlink)

Network solutions company Marlink and space-based communications company OneWeb announced plans to conduct the first at-sea trial of OneWeb’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) maritime service.The initial integration and evaluation will take place at Marlink’s Eik teleport (Norway), with installation and on-vessel trial scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022. This represents the first at-sea maritime trial on OneWeb’s maritime satellite service and includes evaluation of the new user terminal created by Intellian with a core module from Hughes Network Systems.

01 Sep 2022

KOTUG Buys Seaways

Seaways 24, the latest DP2 asset of the Seaways fleet - Credit: Kotug

Dutch marine services and towage firm KOTUG has closed the acquisition of Seaways, first announced in April. The fee was not disclosed."The acquisition of Seaways brings together the assets, expertise and people of two leading companies that support the worldwide floating facility business such as FSO, FPSO, FLNG, FSRU and SPM Terminals. With all customary, governmental, and other required approvals, KOTUG will now focus on the integration of Seaways and strengthening its leading presence in the floating offshore market


30 Jun 2022

Rimorchiatori Mediterranei Buys Keppel Smit Towage and Maju Maritime

Dutch marine services firm Boskalis and its co-shareholder KS Investments Pte. Ltd. (Keppel) have completed the sale of their equity stakes in their harbor towage activities in Singapore and Malaysia - Keppel Smit Towage Pte Ltd and Maju Maritime Pte Ltd - to Rimorchiatori Mediterranei.Boskalis received EUR 92 million in cash for its 49% equity stake in the joint ventures resulting in a pre tax book gain of approximately EUR 50 million. Keppel Smit Towage (KST) was established in 1991 as a joint venture between Keppel and SMIT, a subsidiary of Boskalis. Over the past thirty years, Boskalis said, KST/Maju has developed into one of the largest and leading providers of harbor towage services in Southeast Asia.

21 Mar 2022

American P&I Club Announces Leadership Change

Joe Hughes and Dorothea Ioannou (Photo: American P&I Club)

After 27 years’ service as Chief Executive Officer of Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc. (SCB), the Managers of the American P&I Club, Joe Hughes will stand down from that role on August 1, 2022. Dorothea Ioannou, currently Deputy Chief Operating Officer of SCB, will succeed Hughes as CEO from that date, making history as the first woman to ascend to the top executive position of an International Group P&I club in the 167 year history of the marine mutuals.At the same time, Vince Solarino will step down as Chief Operating Officer of SCB, Inc.

10 Feb 2022

The Southern Devall Group Names Kenny Devall President and CEO

(Photo: The Southern Devall Group)

Gulf Intracoastal and U.S. inland waterways towboat and barge operator The Southern Devall Group announced it has appointed Kenny Devall as president and chief executive officer.The Southern Devall Group (TSDG), an affiliate of Chicago-based CC Industries, is the combined businesses of Southern Towing and Devall Towing.Kenny Devall, who previously served as chief operating officer at Devall Towing, is being promoted to succeed Chris Sullivan, who served as interim CEO of TSDG


19 Apr 2021

Inside the Red-Hot Offshore Wind Energy Market

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs owned SOV Wind of Change. Photo courtesy Cemre Shipyard

As the traditional offshore oil and gas markets continue to struggle, the renewable offshore wind market is hot and getting hotter.As the cumulative maritime, offshore, port and logistics marketplace gears up for offshore wind energy on a huge scale, World Energy Reports (WER), in its report “2021 The Year When Offshore Wind Takes Off in the United States,” shows the anticipated growth trajectory. Service Operations Vessels (SOVs), which can commission and/or maintain turbines


09 Feb 2021

Long-term Charters for Østensjø Rederi Offshore Vessel Trio

Photo: Øyvind SÊtre / via ØstensjÞ Rederi

Norwegian offshore vessel provider Østensjø Rederi has signed long-term contracts for three of its offshore vessels.The new contracts for the Edda Fauna and Edda Flora vessels, signed with subsea services company DeepOcean, will begin in the first quarter of 2021 and will secure firm utilization until the end of 2022, Østensjø Rederi."Both Edda Fauna and Edda Flora will be delivered to DeepOcean with a fully integrated state-of-the-art hybrid battery system installed, for a significant reduction in fuel and emission.

14 Jan 2021

Kilo Marine Joins KVH Watch Solution Partner Program

© Alex Stemmer / Adobe Stock

KVH Industries, Inc. announced that marine technical services firm Kilo Marine has joined the KVH Watch Solution Partner program and will offer KVH Watch connectivity as part of a wide range of marine services. In particular, the digital services that Kilo Marine offers via its V-Node platform will use KVH Watch to provide dedicated connectivity and on-demand Remote Expert Intervention, allowing Kilo Marine technicians to support their customer base anywhere around the world.

07 Jan 2021

Digital Twins: Rivers, Oceans, Harbors Recreated

(Photo: Seamens’ Church Institute)

In 2001, George Burkley, a maritime educator, wrote a look-ahead article for Maritime Reporter and Engineering News, presenting the benefits and real-world payoffs from using simulators in maritime education. In the late 1990s, new tech and software advances were creating scenario programs that moved a student closer and closer to the realities demanded by, well, reality. “The future is here, and we are ready to simulate it,” Burkley concluded.Burkley is now executive director at the Maritime Pilots Institute in Covington, La.

15 Dec 2020

Iridium's GMDSS Service Goes Live

© Suphanat / Adobe Stock

Satellite communications provider Iridium Communications Inc. announced Tuesday that its Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service officially went live on Friday, December 11, ending a monopoly held by rival Inmarsat and enhancing the integrity of global safety communications for seafarers globally.GMDSS is an internationally regulated service, governed by the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention. It provides life-saving assistance to seafarers in distress and has required equipment on board more than 60


23 Sep 2020

Tug Sails Using AI Route Planner and Autopilot

(Photo: Kotug)

A high-tech tug in the Netherlands has traveled without human intervention on an AI-optimized route from Boompjes to Waalhaven in the Port of Rotterdam, marking a milestone on the path toward fully autonomous and maritime sustainable operations.The milestone voyage was led by maritime service provider KOTUG International, ship design company Rotortug and tech start-up Captain AI, as part of the Netherlands Forum for Smart Shipping.The demonstration follows the summer 2018 trial of a Rotortug sailing under remote control from Marseille


08 Jul 2020

BV Appoints Gregg-Smith as China Chief Executive

Alex Gregg-Smith (Photo: Bureau Veritas)

Testing, inspection and certification (TIC) services company Bureau Veritas (BV) announced Alex Gregg-Smith has joined the BV group as Marine & Offshore Country Chief Executive, China.Reporting to Claude Maillot, Senior Vice President North Asia Zone, Gregg-Smith is based in Shanghai."We are delighted to have Alex back onboard with BV – and in such an important role," Maillot said. "China is so central to our activities, both for new construction and ships in service, so we needed someone with the expert background in classification that Alex provides.

22 Apr 2020

Autonomy on Trial

(Image: Wartsila)

When discussing the arrival of autonomous workboats, many – especially those developing the technologies that enable them – say it’s is not a matter of if, but when. In fact, autonomous harbor tugs are already being put to the test in Singapore, where authorities hope to establish the technological infrastructure to enable fully autonomous ship operations. In the U.S., an autonomous vessel was shown to be able to respond to marine oil spills.But is autonomy really the future?

31 Mar 2020

V.Group Names Traaholt CFO

Petter Traaholt (Photo: V.Group)

Ship management and marine services company V.Group announced it has appointed Petter Traaholt as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the V.Group Board.Traaholt joined V.Group from Eltel Group where he was Group CFO, based in Stockholm. Prior to joining Eltel in 2017, he held a number of senior operations and finance roles in Wilhelmsen Holding ASA; initially combining roles as CFO and Deputy CEO of Wilhelmsen Maritime Service, then in 2010 becoming President of Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions.

04 Mar 2020

World’s First: Abu Dhabi Builds Autonomous Tug

Abu Dhabi Ports has signed an agreement with Canadian naval architects Robert Allan Ltd to develop the world's first fully autonomous commercial marine tugs.The tugs will undertake operations with SAFEEN, Abu Dhabi Ports’ maritime service arm.One of the primary advantages of the innovative design includes greater capability, as shifting the human element from on-board to on-shore, will allow such vessels to operate in far more adverse weather conditions. Furthermore, the new technology will help increase efficiency and enhance operational safety.Abu Dhabi Ports will work closely with one of Canada’s oldest privately-owned Naval Architectural and Marine Engineering firms on the research and development of remotely-controlled marine tugs that will be fully unmanned


17 Jan 2020

AEGIR-Marine to Open Middle East Office

AEGIR-Marine has announced a new office in Dubai, UAE. The maritime stern tube seal and propulsion system service provider will now operate out of offices in the Netherlands, Singapore, Shanghai, Namibia, USA and UAE. The Dubai service team will focus its activities on both the strong Middle East oil and gas industry in addition to the company’s core business of commercial vessels.“In terms of stern tube seal and propulsion system service and parts, we are filling the gap between equipment makers and maritime service providers. This strategy resulted in a significant increase in service work and sales of parts in the Middle East,” says Serge Lapré


27 Oct 2019

PTS to Manage Lake House Boxship Pair

Lake House, a Hong Kong and London based investment company, has appointed PT-Shipmanagement (PTS), a Hamburg based company, to manage two container ships.The two ships have a capacity of 1,300 TEU each and sail with an average crew of 15. The reason for the change to PTS was the high level of digitalisation and improved transparency on actual costs incurred.Lake House expects the ships to operate at significantly lower costs and improved yields, said a press release from the company.PT-Shipmanagement  is a maritime service provider that specializes in optimizing technical ship operating costs and simplifying and digitizing administrative processes.