Norway News

The Danish yard Karstensens Skibsværft is set build and design two new vessels for trawl and purse seine fishing ordered by two Icelandic ship-owning companies. Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine has been selected to deliver an extensive package of ship equipment to both ships.The two fishing vessels of 88 meters will be outfitted with engines, propulsion, steering gear, rudders and winches together with connected control systems from Rolls-Royce. The equipment will be delivered from four of the company’s eight production facilities in the Nordic countries…

UniSea AS, a software developer and consultancy specializing in solutions for the shipping industry, has been selected by Tidewater Inc. as its partner in the digitalizing and standardizing of Tidewater’s business processes related to health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ) and operations. The UniSea software suite will be implemented on all Tidewater vessels and in all offices in one of the largest contract’s in UniSea’s 21-year history.Tidewater Inc., headquartered in Houston…

A training event on oil spill preparedness and response for countries in eastern Africa, was held in Dar Es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania (6-9 November).The  relevant government agency representatives with responsibilities in spill response in the countries like Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda have participated in the training."In the event of a marine oil spill, relevant government agencies in the affected region need to manage and coordinate a response…

Myanmar is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s work to enhance marine oil spill preparedness and response in the ASEAN region.A press note from the UN agency informed that a training course for senior officials and members of the national oil spill management team is taking place in Yangon, Myanmar (12-14 November).The training is focused on the effective response to oil spills, including on both managing risks from shipping and incident management.

Norwegian container operator Yilport Oslo set an all time high record in a single month with 21 363 TEUS in October 2018, registering an increase of 28 % compared to October last year.Maiken Solemdal, Commercial Manager at Yilport Oslo explained the growth as a result of the terminal's Short Sea focus:“In the first 10 months we have a growth of 10,4 % compared to 2017. Increased volume is mainly Intra European cargo that previous was transported from Europe to Norway by trucks."By changing the dynamics in the supply chain with flexible solutions…

Norwegian offshore shipping company GC Rieber Shipping announced acting chief executive officer Einar Ytredal has appointed to the CEO role on a permanent basis. At the same time, Øystein Kvåle was named new chief financial officer (CFO) and Christoffer Knudsen was promoted to chief commercial officer (CCO).Ytredal was appointed acting CEO in mid-September 2018. He has been with the company since 2007, first as vice president finance and then as CFO since September 2011. Before joining GC Rieber Shipping, Ytredal worked at Deloitte.

HullWiper, the hull cleaning solution provider, in partnership with global provider of ship fuel conservation and underwater services SCAMP, is offering an affordable, safe and eco-friendly hull cleaning solution for vessels transiting the Strait of Gibraltar.The agreement marks the latest expansion under HullWiper’s global leasing program, introduced in 2017, to work with partners worldwide to offer ship owners and operators a cost-efficient, brush- and diver-free alternative…

A Norwegian navy frigate that collided with an oil tanker last week was almost completely submerged on Tuesday despite efforts to salvage the sinking vessel, pictures taken by the Norwegian Coastal Administration showed.The ship's plight off the Norwegian coast is, however, not disrupting the nearby Sture crude oil export terminal. "We are in normal operations," said a spokeswoman for the plant's operator, Equinor.The Norwegian military has been working since Thursday to salvage the ship by tethering it with several cables to the shore.

Nordic marine technology company Kongsberg Maritime has selected Swiss battery maker  Leclanché, one of the world’s leading storage solutions companies, as its battery partner and supplier of customised marine energy storage solutions.The partnership contributes to Kongsberg's new generation of hybrid power solutions, which are set to deliver game-changing efficiencies and reduce the environmental impact of transportation with cutting-edge autonomous and crewed vessel newbuilds.Leclanché’s batteries will be an integral part of Kongsberg’s hybrid solutions.

International law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) advised Norway’s DNB Bank ASA (DNB), as facility agent and security agent for a syndicate of banks comprising itself, ABN AMRO Bank N.V., BNP Paribas, Danish Ship Finance and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, in relation to a US$310m loan facility provided to Star Bulk Carriers Corp.Secured on 26 vessels in Star Bulk’s fleet, the facility consists of two tranches: (a) a first tranche of US$240m used to refinance Star Bulk’s debt under five existing facility agreements…

Norway has been forced to close the Sture Oil Terminal near Bergen and has started closing down the nearby Kollsness gas-and-condensate terminal — a lifeline of heating gas to Europe — after an early morning collision between a $440-million frigate and an oil tanker.The frigate Helge Ingstad, now listing heavily to its port side, is loaded with torpedoes and weapons systems said to be unstable as a result of the collision. Eight navy personnel are said to be injured, including two flown to regional hospital…

Norwegian based Reach Subsea said it has entered an agreement with Dubai headquartered Topaz Energy and Marine to charter newbuild light subsea construction vessel Topaz Tiamat for 2.5 years, plus three one-year options.The Norwegian-built vessel will be deployed under a cooperation agreement between Reach and Sweden's MMT. The team has been awarded several frame agreements for survey; inspection, maintenance and repair; and light construction within the oil and gas and renewable sector over the last year.Reach said the commercial terms of the charter agreement are confidential…

An oil tanker and a Norwegian navy frigate collided off Norway's west coast on Thursday, injuring eight people and triggering the temporary shutdown of a North Sea crude export terminal, Norway's top gas processing plant and several offshore fields.The frigate, which recently took part in a major NATO military exercise, was aground and tilting on one side, live television pictures showed. The Norwegian military was attempting to save the ship."We are working on stabilizing the vessel…

Höegh Esperanza, the Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) unit operated by Norway’s Höegh LNG Holdings, has arrived at the Tianjin LNG terminal in China and started commissioning for FSRU operations.Höegh Esperanza is currently serving a three-plus-one year FSRU/liquefied natural gas carrier (LNGC) time charter with CNOOC Gas & Power Trading and Marketing, said a press release from the LNG transportation and services provider.Under the contract, Höegh Esperanza will be utilised in FSRU mode for a minimum period each year…

The hull of the 'Color Hybrid', European cruiseferry line Color Line's next flag ship that will be servicing Sandefjord-Strömstad, has arrived Ulstein Verft for completion.The ship is contracted by Color Line at Ulstein Verft and is scheduled for delivery Q2 2019, said a press release from the largest cruiseferry line operating on routes to and from Norway.The ship presents an increased capacity on the line between Norway and Sweden. The 'Color Hybrid' is the world’s largest plug-in hybrid ship, measuring 160 metres in length, and with a capacity of 2,000 passengers and about 500 cars.

Henriksen Hooks of Tønsberg, Norway, believes that the maritime world is becoming a little safer thanks to the take-up of its hook inspection training courses. In February, Henriksen introduced an online training course that enables customers to perform their own annual product inspections. Since then, the company has been surprised by the number of individuals who have completed the course, thereby ensuring that their Henriksen boat lifting hooks remain safe for use.In what is believed to be a first for SOLAS regulated lifting gear…

The Middle East is the most active export market of LPG exports on very large gas carriers(VLGC), said Norway-based LPG shipping firm Avance Gas.Oslo-listed Avance Gas said in a statement that traditionally Saudi Arabia was the largest exporter, but though growing LNG production from mid-2000 combined with increased petrochemical use of LPG in Saudi Arabia, resulted in Qatar and UAE becoming the largest exporters.Today Qatar and UAE each export about 10 million tons annually, Saudi Arabia 8-9 million tons and Kuwait 4-5 million tons.

Rosenberg WorleyParsons has been awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract (EPCI) by Lundin Norway ASO in the Norwegian Continental Shelf.The services include planning, engineering, prefabrication, offshore installation and commissioning support. The objective of the modification is to prepare Lundin’s Edvard Grieg platform to receive and process oil and gas from nearby offshore fields.The project starts immediately and has a duration of two and a half years.

A primer on the quickly evolving topic of on board battery technology.Energy storage itself is actually old news. Since the sails were taken down for good, merchant vessels have crossed the oceans using some kind of energy safely stored on board. Be it Coal, Diesel, Gasoline or Natural Gas, and regardless of energy type, safe storage onboard has been vital for safety and completion of the planned trip. On the other hand, active use of batteries in propulsion systems is relatively new.

Center for the Ocean and the Arctic has commissioned DNV GL to produce report that answers questions like 'how do we manage ocean industries and future opportunities in the Arctic as part of a sustainable future?'.The newly established Center for the Ocean and the Arctic is based deep within the Arctic circle in one of Norway’s northernmost cities, Tromsø. Their task is to coordinate efforts to chart a course for sustainable use of the ocean and the Arctic.Their mandate also includes working towards the UN’s sustainable development goal #14 on conservation and sustainable use of the oceans.

Norwegian Sintef Ocean and ABB Marine will use two 30kW hydrogen fuel cells, set up in laboratory to model the operation and control of a complete marine power system in a megawatt-scale propulsion plant."ABB and Sintef Ocean are undertaking groundbreaking research to test the viability of fuel cells as an energy source for main ship propulsion. The new research project seeks to provide the answers required for fuel cell technology to be delivered at the scale needed to power commercial and passenger ships…

Brazilian shipping company Grupo CBO has taken delivery of the final vessel in a series of six Brazilian-built anchor-handlers.The half dozen anchor-handling vessels are of the Havyard 843 design by Norway's Havyard Design & Solutions, which developed the design specially for Brazilian conditions to offer greater width and deck capacity.Havyard signed the initial design contract for the first four vessels in 2014 and a further two in 2016, marking the design firm's first contract…

Kathy Metcalf, CEO of the Chamber of Shipping of America, was honored as the 2018 WISTA International Personality of the Year.New WISTA BoardWomen's International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) elected Connie Roozen, Director of C&B More (WISTA the Netherlands) as Treasurer and Angie Hartmann, Vice President Crew Affairs, Starbulk S.A. (WISTA Hellas) as Board Member, to the WISTA International Executive Committee at their 38th International Annual General Meeting in TromsØ, Norway on October 24, 2018.