Norway News

A team of industry partners say they have successfully tested a new solution for dynamic positioning (DP) system performance and redundancy audits – an industry first.Developed by Norway's Kongsberg Maritime in collaboration with offshore service provider BOURBON and DP experts at Bureau Veritas (BV), the ‘DP Digital Survey’ application runs on an industrial data management system that ensures unprecedented data consistency for the verification of installed systems, Kongsberg Maritime explained.

Data sharing and better understanding of how marine life interacts with manmade structures is the target for the next phase of the Insite program.What to do with offshore structures is a sticky problem for oil companies, regulators and policy makers alike, as many structures are starting to cease production in the North Sea, where some fields have been producing oil and gas since the early 1970s.Regulations, which include the OSPAR (Oslo Paris convention) state that a clear seabed should be left behind, once production has ceased, with some exceptions (platforms over a certain age and weight).

BASF's oil and gas subsidiary Wintershall  said it would build up its presence in the Brazilian offshore oil sector this year where it won exploration licences in 2018."It is part of our growth course that we are also active in new regions, and Brazil offers great potential," said chief executive Mario Mehren at the company's annual news conference.First results of seismic measurements in three blocks of the Potiguar basin to be operated by Wintershall are expected by mid-2020, he said.Wintershall, which is due to merge with rival DEA in the first half of this year, would also invest in the expansion of gas and oil in its core regions Russia, Norway, Argentina, the Middle East and Germany, he said. (Reuters reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Riham Alkousaa)

The Council on Ethics of the Government Pension Fund Global (Oil Fund), Norway's $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund (SWF), said that it will turn its attention towards Indian shipbreaking practices.The SWF cautioned that this may well result in further divestments from shipping companies with poor shipbreaking records.In 2018, the Council on Ethics had already advised the fund to divest from companies, including container line Evergreen, selling their end-of-life vessels to shipbreaking…

Damen Shipyards Group has announced the recent signing of a contract with Oslo, Norway-based SeaDream Yacht Club. The contract marks a historic moment, being Damen’s first for a cruise ship. SeaDream will operate the 155-m Mega Yacht on luxury voyages all over the world.The Mega Yacht, a purpose-built ship, will be prepared to operate in destinations, including polar and tropical, around the world. As such, the vessel will boast ice class Polar Code 6 credentials.The international shipyards group launched its new venture, Damen Cruise, in 2018.

Neptune Energy Norge AS has hired the newly built Beacon Atlantic semi-submersible drilling rig for up to 16 wells offshore Norway.The oil and gas producer said in a press release that it has chartered the rig from China’s rig builder CIMC Raffles, and the rig will be managed by the Norwegian offshore drilling specialist Odfjell Drilling.The commencement of the drilling operations is expected to be in Q4 2019 and the estimated duration of the firm program is 400 days. CIMC Raffles…

The world’s biggest operator of liquid petroleum gas ships BW Group has purchased majority stake of Epic Gas and is looking to buy the remaining shares completing the takeover.BW, based in Norway and Singapore, is making the move after acquiring a 54.7% stake from existing owners, said a press release.With the acquisition of the majority stake BW has launched an unconditional tender for all the remaining shares in Epic Gas at a price of $1.60 per share, plus an additional $3.5m divided across all the shares acquired in the offer…

The world's largest vessel, Pioneering Spirit, received a robotic hull cleaning during a recent port call in Rotterdam.The Allseas owned multipurpose vessel, which is on a temporary break from Nord Stream 2 pipelaying activities, made a stop in Rotterdam to prepare for upcoming topsides lift works at the giant Johan Sverdrup project offshore Norway. While in port, a robotic Fleet Cleaner vehicle cleaned the 382-meter-long vessel's hull despite stormy weather, cold temperatures and wind force 7 Bft.

Wärtsilä won the contract to design a multipurpose transport vessel that will operate in Antarctic waters. Wärtsilä will also provide the vessel with a comprehensive package of integrated propulsion and hybrid solutions to ensure highly efficient and environmentally sustainable operations. The ship has been ordered by Norway-based Aker BioMarine and will be constructed in China, at CIMC Raffles. The ship design order with Wärtsilä was booked in December 2018, while the order for the integrated solutions package was booked in March 2019.The 168 meters long…

Hybrid is not only here, it is growing, and with that growth it will soon reach far beyond coastal applications.For those who were around for the arrival of Y2K, you will remember the anticipation, preparation and perspiration as the maritime world waited for the failure of communications, navigation, security and machinery associated with the digital change of the clock. The forecasts, now historical urban legend, left the world without a digital catastrophe.We wait now for 2020 and the advent of the IMO maritime emissions regulations.

As maritime digests a number of historical changes, Norway’s Fjellstrand shipyard wants to put aside the rule book and look at the whole process in a new way, reducing engineering costs up to 70% and production costs up to 20%.The process of designing and building a ship, even in today’s highly standardized mass manufacturing environment, remains largely a one-off, one-of-a-kind design and build. Ships are most often built to a shipowner’s or operator’s specific requirements, which are often based on fixed parameters such as speed…

Norway-based Saga Tankers ASA has completed its reorganization.It's 100% owned subsidiaries Strata Marine & Offshore AS, Saga Julie AS, Saga Unity AS and Saga Chelsea AS have completed the merger with Saga Tankers ASA, the company announced. As a result, all assets has been transferred to Saga Tankers ASA. This include, but are not limited to, shares in Vistin Pharma ASA.After the completion of the merger Saga Tankers ASA will only have Vallhall Fotballhall KS, Vallhall Fotball AS and Vallhall Fotballhall Drift AS as subsidiaries.

Austal Limited's Philippines shipyard delivered a 50-mcatamaran to Taiwanese Brave Line in what is the company’s first commercial contract in the East Asian country.The catamaran is the first of two 550 passenger Austal-designed vessels being constructed at the company’s Philippines shipyard in Balamban, Cebu. The contract was awarded to Austal by Taiwan’s Brave Line in September 2017. The vessels include an optimized hull form for improved fuel efficiency and passenger comfort.Austal…

Norway's dry bulk owner Belships Group has secured a USD 140 million loan facility. The loan replaces the Group's current senior debt of USD 105 million.The new loan will be available in two tranches, said a press release from the bulk ship operator and management company. An initial tranche of USD 110 million will replace Belships existing loan and strengthen the Group's working capital. An accordion tranche of USD 30 million will be available for fleet expansion.Following the merger with Lighthouse Group in December 2018, Belships currently owns twelve supramax and ultramax dry bulk vessels.

One of the world’s largest and most advanced subsea construction vessels has been equipped with three energy storage systems (ESS), featuring for the first time ever energy and load sharing capability.Finland based technology group Wärtsilä said the new system on board North Sea Shipping AS owned North Sea Giant combines a diesel-electric configuration with batteries, and is designed to deliver as much as 50 percent fuel savings in optimal operating conditions.The installation was carried out in February 2018.

A cruise industry veteran of more than 25 years, Nikolaos Doulis, Lindblad Expeditions’ SVP, New Buildings, discusses with Maritime Reporter & Engineering News the build plan for “the best expedition cruise ship ever built.”Born in Greece to a seafaring family, Nikolaos Doulis was destined for a maritime career. His father was a ship captain and eventually a ship owner, and to support the family business he wanted his son to have an engineering education. So at the age of 14, Doulis started spending more time in and around ships…

Houston-based subsea engineering company Oceaneering International has secured a contract renewal from Equinor, the Norwegian multinational energy company, covering the provision of maintenance, reliability and integrity management.The oilfield provider of engineered services and products, primarily to the offshore oil and gas said in a press note that the contract, which was originally awarded to Oceaneering’s integrity business in 2005 and competitively tendered again in December 2013…

Cruise line Seabourn has announced that it will name its first new ultra-luxury purpose-built expedition ship Seabourn Venture. The newbuilding is scheduled to be launched at Mariotti Damen Cruise yard in Italy in June 2021.The cruise line said the name is paying tribute to the remote destinations visited by the brand’s expeditions and Ventures by Seabourn excursion programs and the places yet to be explored in the future.Seabourn began offering expedition experiences during its first sailing to Antarctica in 2013 led by a highly qualified…

The ethics watchdog for Norway's $1-trillion wealth fund will focus this year on shipbreaking on India's beaches, which endangers workers and pollutes the sea and sand.The world's largest sovereign wealth fund, created from the proceeds of Norway's oil industry, operates under ethical guidelines set by parliament.The fund's Council of Ethics checks that companies the fund invests in meet these ethical standards. It set out its latest priorities in its annual report published on Wednesday.Johan H.

The launching ceremony of the ‘Greg Mortimer’, the first polar expedition cruise vessel in SunStone Ships’ INFINITY series, was held in the morning of 12 March at the CMHI yard, China.The steel cutting ceremony of ship number three in the series was also arranged yesterday, said a press release from Ulstein Group ASA, Norway based ship designer.The cruise operator, Aurora Expeditions, has chartered the vessel, and named her after their founder, Greg Mortimer, who also attended yesterday’s launch ceremony.According to Xianpu Hu…

The United States is set to drive the global oil supply growth over the next 5 years, thanks to the strength of its shale industry, triggering a rapid transformation of world oil markets, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).IEA said that oil exports from the United States will overtake Russia and close in on Saudi Arabia, bringing greater diversity of supply, by the end of the forecast.While global oil demand growth is set to ease, in particular as China slows down, it still increases an annual average of 1.2 mb/d to 2024, according to the report, Oil 2019.

TechnipFMC announced Monday it has acquired a newbuild diving support vessel (DSV) Deep Discoverer. The vessel will primarily service the North Sea diving construction and inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) markets.The company signed a deal with VARD shipyard in Norway to purchase the vessel in late 2018. The vessel is currently undergoing an operational readiness program and will begin work in the first half of 2019.Deep Discoverer has DP3 capabilities, as well as an 18-person twin bell saturation diving system…

A contract signed in London at the end of last month by Inmarsat and SRH Marine SAIT formalizes arrangements for real-time Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) updating to be accomplished ‘ship-to-shore’ using an application over FleetBroadband for the first time.The SRH Delta platform, which includes chart updates, publications and notices of mariners, will be available for L-band transmission to any FleetBroadband user equipped with the new, dedicated bandwidth…