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27 Mar 2024

Baltimore Bridge Port Blockade Won't Trigger New Supply Chain Crisis, Experts Say

Satellite image Š2024 Maxar Technologies.

The catastrophic bridge collapse that closed the Port of Baltimore to ship traffic is unlikely to trigger a major new U.S. supply chain crisis or spike goods prices, due to ample and growing spare capacity at competing East Coast ports, economists and logistics experts say.With six people still missing after a container ship collision destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, it remained unclear how long the span's twisted superstructure would block the harbor's mouth.But port officials…

26 Mar 2024

Six Presumed Dead After Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Satellite image Š2024 Maxar Technologies.

Six workers were missing and presumed dead from a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore Harbor early on Tuesday after a massive cargo ship crippled by a power loss rammed into the structure, forcing the closure of one of the busiest ports on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.With dive teams facing increasingly treacherous conditions in the darkened, wreckage-strewn waters, active search-and-rescue operations were suspended about 18 hours after the accident, U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland…

26 Mar 2024

Seaspan Awarded Contracts for Canadian Coast Guard’s Multi-Purpose Vessels

(Image: Canadian Coast Guard)

The Canadian government on Tuesday announced it has awarded a pair of contracts to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. (VSY) to initiate the next stages of procuring the first flight of Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPV) for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).These contracts, which are worth $490.6 million combined (taxes included), following completion of the vessel’s basic design review in late 2023 and allow VSY to undertake pre-construction work, such as selecting specific pieces of equipment…

25 Mar 2024

US Dredging: Plenty of Issues, New WRDA on the Way

(Photo: Janet Meredith / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

2024 marks another year for development of a biennial WRDA bill—Water Resources Development Act, critical legislation for the Nation’s waterways, ports and harbors. WRDA encompasses a range of issues, from environmental regs to energy use to agriculture and, of course, a focus on projects critical for economic growth.Because these are dynamic and timely issues, Congress and the maritime sector like to keep WRDA on a two-year reauthorization timeline. Indeed, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, December and January, held three WRDA information hearings.

24 Mar 2024

Provaris Energy Begins Fabrication of Prototype Compressed Hydrogen Tank

Source: Provaris

Provaris Energy's prototype compressed hydrogen tank is now under construction, and final class approval is on track for completion in the June 2024 quarter.The proprietary tank design, which utilizes carbon steel plates and an inner liner, is part of the company’s hydrogen carrying vessel design.Awarded to Prodtex and partnered with SINTEF, the tank production project is designed for hydrogen storage and transportation. “The optimized design of the full-scale H2Neo carrier and containment tanks delivers substantial CAPEX and OPEX savings.

19 Mar 2024

Bollinger Delivers Fast Response Cutter David Duren

(Photo: Bollinger Shipyards)

Bollinger Shipyards recently delivered the USCGC David Duren to the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. This is the 182nd vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 56th Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.“We’re incredibly proud to deliver the USCGC David Duren, the first of three Fast Response Cutters to be homeported in Astoria, Oregon,” said Bollinger President & CEO Ben Bordelon. “We’re confident that pound for pound…

18 Mar 2024

Siemens and NVIDIA to Build Industrial Metaverse

Source: NVIDIA

Siemens is bringing immersive visualization powered by new NVIDIA Omniverse Cloud APIs to the Siemens Xcelerator platform, driving increased use of AI-driven digital twin technology and creating an industrial metaverse.“We will revolutionize how products and experiences are designed, manufactured and serviced. On the path to the industrial metaverse, this next generation of industrial software enables customers to experience products as they would in the real world: in context…

18 Mar 2024

Port NOLA Bests Container-on-barge Record

(Photo: Port NOLA)

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) said 2023 was a record year for container-on-barge shipping.During the last calendar year, Port NOLA marked 20,500 container moves by barge, the highest since launching the container-on-barge network—the nation's largest—in 2016 with the Port of Greater Baton Rouge and Ingram Marine Group. Container-on-barge moves containers by water rather than by truck on roads to reduce air emissions; moving an average of 30,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) per year between New Orleans, the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, Memphis and St. Louis.

12 Mar 2024

First Aid Ship to Gaza Leaves Cyprus Port in Pilot Project

First aid ship to Gaza sets sail (Credit: World Central Kitchen)

A ship transporting almost 200 tons of food to Gaza left a port in Cyprus early on Tuesday in a pilot project to open a new sea route for aid to a population on the brink of famine.The charity ship Open Arms sailed out of Larnaca port in Cyprus, towing a barge containing flour, rice and protein.The 200-mile (320 km) voyage across the eastern Mediterranean to Gaza with a heavy tow barge could take up to 2 days, Cypriot officials have said.The mission, funded mostly by the United Arab Emirates, is organised by U.S.

11 Mar 2024

Quality Tank Cleaning Unveils New Vessel Tank Cleaning Facility

Source: QTC

Quality Tank Cleaning LLC (QTC) has inaugurated a new industrial tank cleaning facility in collaboration with Harvey Gulf (HGIM).The company has introduced Ivan Galicia as a partner in the new endeavor located at Harvey Gulf’s Operations Facility in Port Fourchon, LA.With an illustrious career spanning over 25 years in the industry, Galicia is esteemed for his unparalleled expertise in tank cleaning operations, earning him recognition as a foremost authority in the field. He and…

11 Mar 2024

Coast Guard Will Not Enforce New California Rule, Citing 'Safety Concerns'

Š Jill Clardy / Adobe Stock

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Coast Guard says it “will not enforce” a new California Air Resources Board regulation, citing “safety concerns.”The Coast Guard and business organizations oppose CARB's requirement that commercial harbor craft install diesel particulate filters (DPF) linked to a number of fires. Seventeen states are suing the Environmental Protection Agency for giving an exemption to California alone to enact its own air standards that, by power of its market size…

11 Mar 2024

Callan Marine Awarded Houston Dredging Contract

General Arnold (Photo: Callan Marine)

Galveston-based dredging contractor Callan Marine has been awarded a $136 million contract from Port Houston to dredge segment 1C of the Houston Ship Channel Expansion, under the port's Project 11 program.Callan will use its recently christened 32-inch cutter suction dredge, the General Arnold, among the newest, largest and most environmentally friendly cutter suction dredge in the U.S. fleet for the undertaking. The dredge features four EPA Tier 4 engines developing a combined 24…

01 Mar 2024

Post-cyclone Dredging Underway in India's Port of Krishnapatnam

Dutch dredging contractor Van Oord reports it is carrying out dredging works in the Port of Krishnapatnam, India.The depth of the port channels must be restored after a severe cyclone Michaung caused siltation in the port area. The Port of Krishnapatnam, now owned by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited, selected Van Oord for the project.Van Oord said it is deploying trailing suction hopper dredger HAM 318 to dredge the navigation channel of the port to the required depth…

26 Feb 2024

IMO’s PPR11 Agrees Guidance on Key Environmental Issues

Source: IMO

The IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 11) agreed new guidance on several key environmental issues.Meeting from February 19 to 23, 2024, the following guidance will now be submitted to the Marine Environment Protection Committee for approval this March (MEPC 81) and October (MEPC 82):• the safe transport of plastic pellets by sea• best practices for cutting black carbon emissions from ships operating in or near the Arctic• reducing risks of use and carriage…

22 Feb 2024

Callan Marine Christens New Dredge General Arnold

General Arnold (Photo: Callan Marine)

Galveston, Texas based dredging contractor Callan Marine announced it has christened its newest cutter suction dredge (CSD), General Arnold, built by C&C Marine and Repair in Belle Chasse, La.The 32-inch CSD was ceremoniously christened in Corpus Christi, Texas, on February 20, 2024, and will immediately begin work on Phase Four of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project. The project will beneficially reuse 100%of the dredged material removed from the channel deepening and widening.The General Arnold is the newest, largest, and most environmentally friendly dredge in the U.S.

22 Feb 2024

Vitol Bunkers Receives its First Biofuel Barge in Asia

Marine Future biofuel bunker barge (Credit: Vitol Bunkers)

Vitol Bunkers has taken delivery of the Marine Future vessel, its first specialized biofuel bunker barge in Singapore.The addition of this specialized IMO type 2 notation bunker tanker to the V-Bunkers fleet will make it possible to supply biofuel blends including B24, B30 and up to B100, depending on customer specifications.Built in China, Marine Future is 102.6m in length and has the capacity to carry about 7,000 MT of biofuels.The current fleet of bunker tankers in Singapore are classified as ‘oil tankers’ and are therefore restricted to a maximum of 25% bio component in biofuel blends.

21 Feb 2024

EST-Floattech Receives €4 Million Investment

Source: EST-Floattech

Developer of maritime battery systems EST-Floattech has received an investment of 4 million euros from Energy Transition Fund Rotterdam and existing shareholders Rotterdam Port Fund, PDENH, Ponooc, and Yard Energy.Energy Transition Fund Rotterdam is investing 3 million euros, the fund's first investment in maritime battery systems. The existing shareholders are jointly investing 1 million euros.The announcement was made by Chantal Zeegers, the Alderman for Climate, Building, and Housing in Rotterdam.

13 Feb 2024

Sunken Ship Spilling Oil in Trinidad and Tobago

(Photo: Office of the Chief Secretary)

First responders and volunteers from Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday sought to contain an oil spill detected last week in the Caribbean country's waters and clean areas of Tobago island's coast already affected by the incident.Trinidad and Tobago's coast guard first spotted the spill on Feb. 7, about 6 kilometers off the coast of Studley Park, the chief secretary of Tobago's national assembly, Farley Augustine, said in a press conference on Sunday.Barriers have been installed to contain the spill…

21 Feb 2024

Ultimate Boats Delivers Recyclable Patrol Boat

Source: Ultimate Boats

Glasgow boatbuilder Ultimate Boats has delivered a recyclable patrol boat to fellow Scottish organisation Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority.The bespoke vessel is 11 meters in length with a 3.1 meter beam. It features six permanent shock mitigation seats and two fold-down shock mitigation crew seats. Powered by two 350 HP Suzuki outboard engines, it has a 2,050kg payload, 1,000 litre fuel capacity and range of 400 miles.The vessel is built from Ultimate Boat’s patented Danu recyclable boat building material including its hull…

21 Feb 2024

Yantai Dual-fuel Methanol WTIV Design Receives ABS Approval

Illustration of the wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) design (Image: Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd.)

Classification society ABS reports it has issued approval in principle (AIP) to Chinese shipbuilder Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd. for its design of a dual-fuel methanol, heavy-duty, offshore wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV).The WTIV is capable of transporting and installing the largest wind turbines in the world, those capable of producing up to 20 megawatts (MW) of electricity, and promises to reduce carbon emissions with its dual-fuel methanol propulsion system. The design also features a 3…

15 Feb 2024

Is Stern Tube Damage Declining?

Shaft removal during stern tube repair procedures courtesy of Marine and Industrial Transmissions.
Photo courtesy Marine and Industrial Transmissions

It might be easy to blame EALs, but the ongoing causes of stern tube damage are varied, and possibly declining.Environmentally Acceptable lubricants (EALs) gained market traction with the introduction of US VGP regulations in 2013. Since then, DNV has observed two major trends. The first, starting in 2013 was early life damage, either during sea trials or within the first five years of operation, where aft stern tube bearings typically failed under extreme load conditions. Then from around 2018…

19 Feb 2024

Insights: Catherine Gianelloni, MITAGS

Catherine Gianelloni, Director, MITAGS East Coast Campus (Photo: MITAGS)

Catherine Gianelloni sailed with the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (IOMM&P) for about 10 years after graduating from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 2009. But in between times at sea, she would help out at the MITAGS (Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies). Operating simulators evolved into teaching opportunities, and Gianelloni took a full-time position in 2012. “Because we are the union school, I was allowed to take breaks—leave of absences—to go out and sail.

19 Feb 2024

African Union Bans Donkey Skin Trade

Source: The Donkey Sanctuary

African Heads of State have agreed a landmark moratorium on the donkey skin trade. The agreement was reached on February 18 during the 37th African Union Summit in Ethiopia.Over the last decade, Africa has seen its donkey population decimated due to Chinese demand for ejiao, a gelatine used in traditional Chinese medicine that is made from boiling down donkey skins. Believed to have unsubstantiated health benefits, demand for ejiao has obliterated China’s own donkey population…