Ocean Services News

Norwegian company Reach Subsea has extended the charter for the Olympic Taurus subsea vessel and ordered two new Constructor-type remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) from Kystdesign.Back in February, Reach Subsea announced a 100-day project charter for the subsea vessel Olympic Taurus, with extension options for 2+1+1 years.The company has now extended the charter for an additional two years and retain options for another 1+1 years."With a solid backlog and substantial tender pipeline for the coming periods…

KOTUG International, a marine services and towage provider based in the Netherlands, announced on Thursday it has concluded its acquisition of Kotug Seabulk Maritime (KSM), taking full ownership of the Caribbean marine towage business.KOTUG said it has acquired the interest of its joint venture partner, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based SEACOR Holdings via its Seabulk subsidiary KS Maritime Holdings, owner of the 50% share in KSM.Founded in 2017, KSM acts as the exclusive provider of maritime terminal support services for Buckeye Partners’ Bahamas Hub…

SEACOR Holdings Inc. announced it has concluded the sale of its Caribbean liner and logistics business SEACOR Container Lines LLC (“SEACOR Island Lines”) to King Ocean Services Ltd. The transaction includes all operations and assets.King Ocean specializes in marine transportation and logistics solutions to close to 50 destinations across the Caribbean and South and Central America out of their Port Everglades facilities in Ft Lauderdale, Fla.“For 40 years, King Ocean, a multi-generational…

Nova Marine Carriers, the Lugano-based group, controlled by the Romeo and Gozzi/Bolfo families, has taken delivery of a new 38,593 dwt handymax vessel, built in 2019, in Shanghai, acquiring it from a Japanese group.This is the Iris Harmony, renamed Sider Harmony, a latest generation bulk carrier (180 meters long by 30 meters wide) which will be technically managed by the Greek company Pegasus Ocean Services Inc (of the Halkidon/Pegasus group).

Ocean services provider DeepOcean has agreed to charter a converted, battery-powered vessel to further enhance its subsea offering to the offshore renewables and oil and gas industries.DeepOcean has entered into a long-time charter agreement for the Island Condor – to be renamed Island Ocean multi-purpose support vessel (MPSV) – following conversion and upgrade.The vessel has been chartered from Norwegian shipowner Island Offshore., with the contract starting in the third quarter of 2024.

The global offshore wind industry is staring down a potential shortage of foundation installation vessel capacity. A new UK company led by former offshore drilling executive Jon Oliver Bryce intends to help tackle this challenge as the industry’s first pure-play foundation installation vessel (FIV) firm.The number of planned offshore wind projects globally is growing, spurred by green targets and a shift away from Russian oil and gas. This growth, alongside a shift toward the next generation of larger offshore wind turbines…

French shipping group CMA CGM on Thursday announced it has appointed Peter Levesque to take over as president of CMA CGM America and American President Lines (APL) upon Ed Aldridge's retirement on December 6.Levesque is an international global supply chain executive with more than 30 years of industry leadership experience, who until 2021 was president of Ports America Group. Prior to Ports America, he spent 25 years based in Hong Kong and held leadership positions in international transportation…

Richard “Rick” W. Spinrad, Ph.D., an internationally renowned scientist with four decades of ocean, atmosphere, and climate science and policy expertise, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and the 11th NOAA administrator.“As an accomplished and respected scientist, educator, communicator and executive, Rick has dedicated his career to the science that is at the core of NOAA’s mission,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo.

Bunkering ports around the world have long used a variety of small tankers or tug and barge combinations to deliver fuel to visiting ships. Mostly this was heavy oil, but recently a new breed of bunkering vessels is emerging to deliver clean burning liquefied natural gas (LNG) to modern ships with dual-fuel capabilities.The fall of 2020 will see a new addition to this fleet servicing ships in Florida and the Caribbean. As an articulated tug barge (ATB) combination, the vessel will have a cargo capacity of 4,000 cubic meters of LNG.

As the novel coronavirus and its impacts continue to spread across America, U.S. shipbuilders, by and large, continue to build. While most yards have been deemed essential to marine transportation and/or national security and have been able to maintain operations, the situation at and around every shipyard is different, and there are several builders across the country that have had to temporarily suspend activity. In either scenario, it’s far from business as usual for America’s…

Harvey Gulf International Marine announced it has hired John Dunn as Vice President of Subsea Vessel Operations, as the US-based services firm looks to grow its subsea business.Dunn, formerly of Oceaneering, has been hired as a member of Harvey Gulf's executive management team to assemble and manage Harvey Gulf’s subsea vessels, team and operations.Prior to Oceaneering, Dunn was the director of operations at Meridian Ocean Services, a subsea service provider acquired by Oceaneering in 2016.

In the 2019 first half, 106,000 TEU - 20-ft standard containers - were handled in Hamburg on direct services with Indian ports, a gain of 17 percent. This brought India up into tenth place in Hamburg’s ranking of its trading partners for container transport.With Hapag Lloyd and its partner shipowners ONE, YML and COSCO offering an additional weekly sailing from Hamburg on the IEX - South-East India–Europe Express service from November onwards, the prospects for further growth are good.Ten liner services link the Port of Hamburg with India. Of these, four are container liner services, three are Ro-Ro services transporting vehicles, and three are general cargo services…

America’s first offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) barge has been launched for owner Q-LNG Transport, Mississippi shipbuilder VT Halter Marine announced on Wednesday.The Q-LNG 4000 barge, designed to carry 4,000 cubic meters of LNG, with dimensions of 324’ x 64’ x 32’.6”, will be operated as part of an articulated tug and barge (ATB) unit designed to meet the requirements of American Bureau of Shipbuilding (ABS) and the International Gas Carrier code as an LNG bunkering barge.Its tug, the Q-Ocean Services, is scheduled to launch late October.

VT Halter Marine, Inc., a ST Engineering North America company, held a vessel naming ceremony for America’s first offshore Liquefied Natural Gas Articulated Tug and Barge (LNG ATB) unit.The Q-LNG 4000 (barge) and the Q-Ocean Services (tug) were officially named in a ceremony that included U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, along with Shane Guidry, CEO of Q-LNG, and Tom Vecchiolla, President and CEO of ST Engineering North America.Over the last four years…

As agreement between Associated British Ports (ABP) container terminal located in Hull and Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping line,  to open a trading link between the north of England and the Far East.The service begins in the New Year into the 21-acre container terminal in Hull which has seen significant recent investment by ABP. The weekly feeder vessels will see ABP handle around 240 boxes per week, equivalent to 12,000 containers per year.“Unlocking this new trade gateway to the rest of the world is not only significant for the local economy, but also for the national and international economy,” said Simon Bird, ABP Humber Director.“We’re proud to welcome the world’s largest container shipping line…

A.P. Moller - Maersk, an integrated container logistics company, announced that it is moving its  North-East England coverage from Immingham to Hull.The existing connection between Immingham and continental Europe, will change to Hull, enabling better accessibility for local shippers and offering convenient connection with mainline services."Starting January 12th, 2019, the short sea service, operated by BG Freight and currently calling Immingham, will be moved to Hull Container Terminal in East Yorkshire, also operated by Associated British Ports," said a press release from the Danish shipper.“We are very pleased with the feedback received from our customers…

Global container shipping lines MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has announced the launch of a new dedicated train set-up between Giengen (a.d. Brenz) and Trieste, starting mid of November 2018.This stand-alone solution finally offers an A-B connection between metropolitan area of Ulm and the Adriatic, as the fastest gateway to/from Asia and the Mediterranean.The terminal in Giengen is operated by the leading European home appliance manufacturer BSH Hausgeräte GmbH. BSH has identified the huge potential and benefits to their supply chain and has become shareholder and largest single customer on this product.In times of heavily congested inland terminals and scarcity of truck capacities…

Twill, a digital freight forwarder designed to make shipping simple, has announced a change in its brand affiliation from Damco to Maersk.Launched in April 2017, Twill was created as a ‘Damco innovation’ and operated as a partner with the freight forwarder and supply chain management company, which is part of A.P. Moller - Maersk.The realigning of the brand will make it possible to offer Twill to all Maersk customers, in line with the A.P. Moller - Maersk strategy to become a global integrator of container logistics offering end-to-end solutions.The easy-to-use online Twill platform provides greater control of shipments by offering instant price quotes and booking…

Maintaining the system of buoys and beacons that guide mariners through our nation’s waterways is the United States Coast Guard’s oldest mission. Tracing its roots to the ninth law passed by Congress in 1790 that moved lighthouses under Federal control, the U.S. Lighthouse Service and its vast portfolio of buoys, beacons, buoy tenders and lightships were a founding part of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939. Along with the mission, many of the beacons the Coast Guard maintains today date back centuries.

Matson, Inc. president and chief executive officer Matthew J. Cox will succeed retiring chairman of the board Walter A. Dods, the company announced today. The appointment becomes effective at the end of the company's annual shareholders’ meeting today, as Dods retires in accordance with the company's corporate governance guidelines limiting board members’ age. “In my nearly 30 years associated with Matson, I've never felt stronger about its leadership and long-term prospects,” Dods said.

The privately owned U.S.-flag foreign trading fleet, which is an essential component of U.S. sealift capability, stands on the edge of a precipice. The fleet – roughly stable in terms of cargo carrying capacity from 2000 to 2012 – has declined from 106 vessels in 2012 to 78 vessels at October 30, 2016 primarily because of a substantial decline in available U.S. Government-reserved cargo. The size of the fleet has reached a point where the viability of the U.S.-flag industry involved in foreign trade – including its trained mariners…

Broward County's Port Everglades exceeded one-million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units, the industry's standard container measurement), for the third consecutive year, reporting a total of almost 1.04 million TEUs and maintaining its status as Florida's number one container port, according to preliminary data for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016. Compared to the prior fiscal year 2015, total TEUs were down by 2 percent from 1.06 million, which Port officials attribute to market fluctuations. However, Port Everglades posted its best September ever with 90,641 TEUs compared to 80,550 TEUs in 2015. Looking at growth over the past five years, TEU throughput is up almost 18 percent from FY2011 to FY2016.

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero announced that the Commission has completed compromise agreements recovering a total of $338,000 in civil penalties. The agreements were reached with one vessel-operating common carrier and six ocean transportation intermediaries (both non-vessel-operating common carriers and ocean freight forwarders). The agreed-to penalties resulted from investigations conducted by the Commission’s Area Representatives in Houston, Seattle, South Florida, and New York, and by Washington D.C. headquarters staff.