Risk Management News

Marine fuel logistics company Aegean Marine Petroleum Network  announced  that its plan of reorganization became effective and it has emerged from the voluntary Chapter 11 restructuring commenced on November 6, 2018.The company will now operate under the name of 'Minerva Bunkering', a fully-owned subsidiary of Mercuria Energy Group Limited, a major privately-held energy and commodities group with an annual turnover in excess of $100 billion.“We are pleased that Aegean has completed its restructuring…

Stephen Wang is counting the costs of President Donald Trump's trade war. He had to put down 12 times more cash as a guarantee to U.S. customs that he would pay the bill for tariffs on the Chinese-made pumps, valves and motors he imports.The cost of the guarantee - a U.S. customs bond - has shot up, an additional hit to importers already facing steep customs bills adding up to tens of billions of dollars for tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on incoming Chinese goods…

Carver Pump, a manufacturer of American-made pumps, has obtained DNV GL certification for their line of GH end-suction centrifugal pumps.DNV GL (Det Norske Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd) is a global quality assurance and risk management company that provides classification, technical assurance, and certification to the maritime, oil & gas, power and renewables industries. This certification verifies that the GH line from Carver Pump can be used reliably in marine vessels, such as offshore drilling units…

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…

In a new report, marine and social scientists are urging a precautionary approach towards these techniques which involve deliberate large-scale manipulation of the environment.Adding iron or other nutrients into the oceans to enhance natural processes to draw carbon from the atmosphere and creating foams which float on the surface of the sea to reflect sunlight back into the atmosphere are among a wide range of geoengineering practices which have been put forward as potential tools for countering climate change.But the report…

ABS Advanced Solutions has announced a partnership with SecurityGate to provide enhanced cyber risk analysis to the maritime market.The effort integrates the ABS proprietary FCI Cyber Risk Methodology into the award-winning SecurityGate SaaS platform, further solidifying the ABS maritime cyber security leadership. The resulting dashboard provides an instant shared view, illustrating the degree of cyber risk across assets, operations and critical suppliers. “ABS is the global leader in marine and offshore cyber security.

Danish product tanker operator Torm has joined Glencore subsidiary Inatech on an app to tackle the anticipated complex bunkering landscape in shipping post-2020.Inatech, which specialises in energy trading risk management systems, has built the ‘Smart Trader’ app to enable companies to map their entire fleet of ships and visualise best routes given sea and port conditions to achieve lowest prices for the desired quality of fuel.The toolkit leverages bunker alerts and pricing data from S&P Global Platts…

The global quality assurance and risk management company DNV GL released an in-depth study, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which examines the challenges associated with manufacturing and deploying next-generation, increasingly larger land-based wind turbines.In the past decade, the U.S. wind energy industry has achieved significant improvements in energy production and cost efficiency, driven in part by increased turbine…

Indonesian state-owned energy company PT Pertamina and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) of Malaysia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop oil and gas business – upstream and downstream, not only in Indonesia or Malaysia but also in other countries.As per MoU, Pertamina will swap crude produced in its Malaysian fields of Kikeh, Kimanis and Kidurong with crude from Petronas' Indonesian fields of Jabung and Ketapang, said a Reuters report quoting Pertamina sources.Meanwhile…

From high-traffic ports to bustling boatyards, and busy shipyards to expanding marinas, marine professionals operate in a challenging environment. They work on land, on or around water, and are exposed to all kinds of weather. And the challenges won’t ease up any time soon. Our nation’s ports continue to expand as trade surges. Add in increased commercial vessel traffic and recreational boating, and it’s clear that marine businesses have to be in shipshape condition. It means that the marine insurance industry has to stay on its toes too…

At the end of December, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) announced its selection of ten dredging projects that will form the core of a pilot program to advance the beneficial use of dredged material.The recent U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ announcement culminated a program required by Congress, established within the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016, specifically Section 1122. Congress directed that the ten pilot projects selected were required to present environmental…

HudsonTrident, which offers security services for the maritime sector, and Fundación Tito Mella have received the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) technical assistance grant to develop a national port cyber security assessment platform in the Dominican Republic.HudsonTrident’s HACyberLogix-informed assessment approach will enable four Dominican ports to cost-effectively assess their entire organizational cybersecurity capabilities and identify cybersecurity capability vulnerabilities.The assessments will support HudsonTrident…

ChartWorld launched its next generation eGlobe G2+ ECDIS, reported by the company to be the world's first 4K ECDIS..“ENCs and ECDIS, like paper charts before them, are at the heart of modern navigation," said Steven Schootbrugge CEO, ChartWorld, in a press release on the product. "One of the great advantages of digital navigation is our ability to navigate more accurately and update charts quickly as more detailed, or even specific, information becomes available.”ChartWorld’s…

The evidence and industry subject matter experts both say ‘yes.’In its recently released SAFER SEAS DIGEST, Lessons Learned from Marine Accident Investigations (2017), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports investigating numerous accidents across all modes of transportation where a properly implemented safety management system (SMS) could have prevented injuries, loss of life, or material damage. That document spans analysis of casualties across the full spectrum of all manners of marine craft…

The Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) said that it is now recognised by 41 flag states globally, seeing recent additions in 2018 from the Netherlands, Vietnam, Jordan and Bahrain.Towards the end of 2018, it also received approval from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), strengthening its offshore portfolio in the Middle East and opened an office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to better service its customers in the region.IRClass claimed in a press release that it continues to record steady growth in its classed fleet…

Crowley Maritime appointed Parker Harrison to its leadership team as senior vice president of procurement and risk management, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Harrison, former VP of procurement, will continue to be based at the company’s headquarters in Jacksonville, and will report to Bill Pennella, vice chairman and executive vice president.In her new role Harrison will work across all of Crowley’s business units to strategically align risk management functions while continuing the company’s procurement transformation into a strategic center-led competency.

The American Waterways Operators (AWO) has released a new publication - Cyber Risk Management: Best Practices for the Towing Industry, Version 1.0.This best practices guide is the product of a year-long initiative of the Cyber Risk Management Quality Action Team, an AWO workgroup, with technical input and guidance from Coast Guard prevention staff. The guide is designed to help the towing industry identify and manage cyber risks and detect and respond to cyber attacks or accidents.Cyber Risk Management: Best Practices for the Towing Industry, Version 1.0, is available on AWO’s website.

Lloyd's Register (LR), one of the leading global providers of engineering and technology-centric professional services, announced that it is partnering with AXELOS RESILIA Frontline to offer its customers engaging cyber awareness training for all their employees.According to a release from LR, the new addition to the LR Cyber Resilience portfolio will provide an effective solution to the ‘human factor’ and addresses the need for sustained behavioural change to build an organisation’s…

Milaha, a Qatar-based shipping and logistics conglomerate, participated in the 2nd Business Continuity and Resilience Conference, which was held in Doha on November 20th, under the patronage of H.E. Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed al Kuwari and attended by business continuity, risk management and organizational resilience professionals from all sectors.Milaha’s PCEO Mr. Abdulrahman Essa Al-Mannai headed the company’s delegation to the conference where he delivered a presentation…

As the Offshore Service Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority’s new dynamic positioning operator (DPO) certification body evolves, its pathway to training and certification gives mariners options, and a seat at the table.The other day I was thinking about what makes me a captain. What I came up with as the relevant points were the ability to handle the vessel and read the environmental conditions, leadership abilities, risk detection and mitigation, managing peers, and mentoring my crew.

Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), a leading international classification society, plans to further expand its operations into the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region with new offices in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Lebanon and Nigeria.The expansion plan underlines its commitment towards the growing number of customers from this region and enhances the classification society’s proximity to flag administrations, ship owners, shipyards and other stakeholders in the MEA region.Promoting its new strapline - ‘Your Partner in Maritime Risk Management’…

The world’s largest testing facility for carbon capture, Technology Centre Mongstad (TCM), has signed a collaborative agreement with DNV GL to deliver advisory and verification services for CO2 capture technology.According to a press release from the quality assurance and risk management company, the new global advisory partnership will offer advisory and verification services at TCM`s facilities on the west coast of Norway and other worldwide carbon capture projects.Carbon capture…

BMT’s integrated navigation and maneuvering simulator suite REMBRANDT has been awarded Class A, B and C certification from DNV GL. The certification further builds on BMT REMBRANDT’s 30-year history as one of the maritime industry’s most recognized advanced project engineering support tools, supporting marine pilotage, ship operations, port design and risk management associated with complex transportation infrastructure systems.This classification award verifies BMT as a quality…