Niche Product News

Wind power pioneer Henrik Stiesdal built his first wind turbine in 1978. It was one of Denmark’s first step towards becoming a wind energy powerhouse, with Stiesdal regularly at the helm. He’s now got wider climate initiatives in his sights, including industrializing floating offshore wind. He reflected with OE’s Elaine Maslin.By 2021, a total of 35 GW of offshore wind had been installed across the world. To meet global climate targets, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says that another 80 GW of it needs to be built per year by 2030.

The IMO’s MEPC 70 proposals for a marine fuels sulfur cap of 0.5% to be in place by 2020 have attracted severe criticism from several major stakeholders in the maritime sector, including the International Bunker Industry Association, the organization that defends the interests of bunker fuel suppliers. The IBIA has stated that several unknowns remain about the proposed limit and has asked whether assumed global capacity will translate into actual marine market supply in 2020: “Will refiners produce suitable fuels, and what will these fuels look like?

Liquefied Petroleum Gas, long a niche product used by the poor to cook and the rich to barbecue, has become a rare bright spot amid a broad commodities rout, riding on the wave of strong economic growth in India and parts of Southeast Asia. LPG is best known to consumers as propane or butane used in heating appliances and vehicles. But it is also used in the petrochemicals industry and the electricity sector, acting as a replacement for diesel in generators and power stations. While tumbling prices for oil, gas, coal and industrial metals have seen energy companies and miners slash capital expenditure, investment is flowing into the LPG sector to feed burgeoning demand from the world's poorer nations.

Liebherr mobiles cranes which comply with stage 3b or over now come with a rescue sheet as standard. This shows the structure of the crane and any hazardous substances on it. It is a tool to provide valuable help to fire service and recovery personnel for rescuing personnel and recovering the mobile crane after an accident. The rescue sheet is located behind the driver's seat. Rescue sheets have been available for new cars for some time now. Rescue sheets are now also available for lots of commercial vehicles and trucks. Modern automotive engineering is safer but also hampers the fast rescue of passengers. The rescue sheet is an information sheet which provides details of the vehicle's structure and the best places to cut the bodywork open.

Fidelis Group Holdings, LLC (FGH) with its subsidiary company Continental Underwriters, Ltd. announced  the formation of its new ocean cargo division. Doug Fischer and Crystal Prout were named Managing Directors of the division, utilizing the Company's existing national platform. The new Ocean Cargo division will be based out of FGH's Chicago office. H. Elder Brown, Jr., FGH's President and Chief Executive Officer, said in a company statement, "The senior talent of Doug and Crystal bring tremendous expertise to our new Ocean Cargo division.

The marine environment is extremely harsh and delivering equipment capable of performing reliably and efficiently requires expert design engineers combined with advanced materials technology. Neil Wright, Managing Director of Wichita Clutch, assesses the requirements of modern marine clutches and brakes, which play such a crucial role in a variety of applications. As marine exploration for oil and gas continues to greater depths, so the equipment used to exploit the new reserves needs to perform on a whole new level.

Nordic Yards has been awarded the tender for the construction of a deckhouse for a Russian icebreaker. A contract for the fabrication of a deckhouse as part of the superstructure for the icebreaker LK-25 was concluded between the St. Petersburg Baltic Shipyard, which is part of the Russian state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation OSK, and Germany's Nordic Yards. According to the terms of the contract, the deckhouse weighs 2,500 tonnes and is fully fitted out. The keel-laying for the icebreaker "Viktor Tschernomyrdin"…

"Le Soléal", the third of 3 super-luxury cruise ships built by Fincantieri for the French cruise line Compagnie du Ponant has been  delivered. "Le Soléal", whose size and characteristics make it very much like a mega-yacht, is a unique niche product and will be the cruise line's new flagship. Targeting a select clientele, it is designed to offer passengers a unique experience, with its small size letting it reach destinations inaccessible to larger vessels. The new ship, which will fly the French flag, is approximately 11,000 gross tonnes, 142 metres long and 18 metres wide.

The Russian government will pour $250m into modernizing the production of special steel alloys. The lack of modern technology is holding back the production of ultra-strong alloys and steel currently used in aerospace and shipbuilding, Russia Today said. Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov launched the first modern smelting furnace in the region. The government plans to commission another three furnaces by the end of the decade.  Russian officials say it's currently a low-profit, niche product, but that could change. The government also promises to provide state-backed credits for steel producers to buy new equipment. Source:  Today

A new 10,000-dwt product carrier specially built with a shallow draft was built at the Frisian Shipyard, Welgelegen in the Netherlands, and named Asprella. The double-hulled vessel, leased from Pritchard Gordon Tankers Ltd. and chartered by Shell, is purpose built for shallow draft trade, and will be employed by Shell for trade on South American Rivers for Shell's activities based in the Caribbean. "Asprella will enable Shell to continue developing its strenght in the niche product market for specailist vessels, thereby adding value to the bottom line," said Jeff Jarman, Shipping Portfolio Manager for Shell Trading, as quoted in the April edition of Shell's house magazine. Asprella was named by Elisabeth De Cuba, wife of John De Cuba, who was, until recently, G.M.

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico region is again poised to prosper, spurred by the buzz of activity surrounding the oil patch, and specifically the renewed vigor with which companies will explore and develop deepwater fields for the production of natural resources. Though the resumption of business at "full throttle" has taken perhaps a bit longer than many observers would have initially predicted, particularly given the continued high price of oil and gas and the "pro" oil industry political team occupying the White House, it is a safe bet that, at least for the next several years, the offshore oil business will ensure that the marine business in the GOM region is a prosperous one.