Shipbuilding News

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has participated in the 2018 Vicino/Lontano Festival, which was held from 10 May to 13 May in Udine, Italy. The Vicino/Lontano Festival has, since its very beginning, been closely linked to the figure of journalist and writer Tiziano Terzani, to whose memory the Festival’s annual literary prize is dedicated. It encompasses a broad range of initiatives and events, including debates, discussion forums, seminars, lectures, exhibitions, performances and screenings.

Europe’s largest travel and tourism group TUI Group said it had approved construction of another cruise ship for its Hapag-Lloyd cruise business and that summer trading was good as it reported second quarter results.The group reported a narrower operating loss of 125 million euros ($148 million) for the quarter, which is traditionally loss-making, and confirmed a target for full-year underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) to rise by at least 10 percent at constant currencies.“Trading for Summer 2018 is very good and fully matches our expectations. Demand for Spain remains strong,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.($1 = 0.8438 euros)(Reporting by Victoria Bryan Editing by Maria Sheahan)

Cargotec has signed an agreement with JCE Invest AB to establish a joint venture, Bruks Siwertell Group, specialised in dry bulk handling. The new joint venture will own Siwertell AB (previously part of Kalmar Business Area within Cargotec) and BRUKS Holding AB (previously part of JCE Group). Both companies are world-leading suppliers of bulk materials handling solutions. Cargotec will own 48% of the shares in Bruks Siwertell Group, and JCE Invest AB will own the rest, 52%. The ownerships are included to venturers' consolidated financial statements in accordance with the applicable regulation.

ABS said it has been selected to class two additional very large crude carriers (VLCC) being built for Greek shipping company Kyklades Maritime Corporation. The contract brings the number of Kyklades VLCC orders classed by ABS to four, with two already under construction.The 319,000-dwt vessels, each 330 meters long, are being built by Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and are expected to be delivered in 2020.ABS Vice President, Europe, Vasillios Kroustadis, said, “ABS is the number one class society in Greece and a global leader in the classification of tankers. Our selection for this project reflects our strong reputation in both areas.”ABS said it has a 29 percent share of the global tanker orderbook.

China will shut down more outdated steel plants and bring total capacity to less than 1 billion tonnes by 2025, the president of the country's steel industry association said, adding that national demand for the metal is set to decline gradually. With more than three quarters of firms suffering losses as a result of a price-sapping capacity surplus, China vowed in early 2016 to shut 150-150 million tonnes of annual production in five years in a bid to raise profitability and utilisation rates in the sector. Its capacity then was estimated at 1.2 billion tonnes.

Bob Kunkel needs no introduction to Marine News readers. Kunkel, President of Alternative Marine Technologies, previously served as the Federal Chairman of the Short Sea Shipping Cooperative Program under the Maritime Administration and Department of Transportation from 2003 until 2008. A past Vice President of the Connecticut Maritime Association, he is a contributing writer for Maritime Logistics Professional magazine and of course, Marine News. A graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy…

Four new high-speed patrol boats commissioned on the island of Curacao are the first to be delivered to the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard (DCCG) under a 12-boat order announced last year.The welded aluminum 38 Defiant monohull patrol boats were designed and manufactured by Louisiana based shipbuilder Metal Shark as the result of a multi-year effort by the DCCG to procure a replacement for its fleet of open-cockpit rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RIB).The new enclosed-pilothouse vessels will serve as the DCCG’s main interceptors, patrolling the territorial waters of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, St.

The Project Forward initiative, which is led by Athens-based Arista Shipping, has produced an energy efficient dry bulk carrier vessel that features liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion.Finnish clean-tech software engineering company Eniram, a Wärtsilä company, said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to assist in the development of monitoring and optimization tools.“Our input will help ensure that operational visibility will be maximized, and that the new ships can operate at optimal efficiency…

Seaspan Corporation said it has accepted delivery of the CMA CGM Cochin, a 10,000 TEU containership that will commence a fixed rate time charter with CMA CGM S.A. for a three year term with an option to extend for an additional three years.The new containership, which was constructed at Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., is the second in a series of four 10,000 TEU vessels under time charter to CMA CGM that are scheduled to deliver in the first half of 2018.

Three ships carrying livestock feed grain, sorghum, from the U.S. to China switched their destinations on Thursday to Japan and South Korea, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon ship tracking data, after Beijing hit imports with hefty anti-dumping deposits.The cargoes are among roughly two dozen bought by China but left stranded after Beijing announced last month it would hit U.S. imports with a 178.6 percent deposit on the value of sorghum shipments. The move was part of an anti-dumping probe by China as trade tensions with the U.S.

A rare cargo of U.S. sorghum has arrived in Spain and will be followed by several more, shipping data showed, a sign that Spain's livestock industry is set to become one of the new homes for U.S. sorghum hit by Chinese anti-dumping tariffs.Exporters have been scrambling to divert hundreds of thousands of tonnes of U.S. sorghum bound for China after Beijing announced hefty anti-dumping deposits on the grain in mid-April, part of a simmering trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.Sorghum is mainly used in livestock feed and the fiery Chinese liquor baijiu.U.S.

The leader of Shipbuilding Industry in Sri Lanka Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) has successfully secured a contract with Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) of Japan to build two vessels; Pilot Station Vessel and Buoy Tender Vessel, for General Company for Port of Iraq (GCPI). TTC and GCPI signed the Prime Contract on 27th April 2018 in Dubai. Subsequent to the signing of the Prime Contract, TTC signed the Sub Contract Agreement with CDPLC as TTC’s preferred Shipyard for the construction of these vessels on 2nd May 2018 in Japan.

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri said it has floated out the sixth ocean cruise ship in a series for owner Viking Cruises.The new vessel, Viking Jupiter, which is under construction at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Ancona, will now undergo interior outfitting before its scheduled delivery in 2019.As its sister ships, Viking Jupiter will have a gross tonnage of about 47,800 tons, 465 cabins with accommodation for 930 passengers, placing the vessel in the small cruise ship segment.The float out ceremony included the traditional coin ceremony…

The Pure Car & Truck Carrier Grande Halifax, owned and operated by the Grimaldi Group, has been christened yesterday in Halifax, New Scotia. Godmother of the new vessel was Ms. Karen Oldfield, President and CEO of the Halifax Port Authority. A ceremony took place at Halterm/Autoport with the presence of a distinguished delegation composed of representatives of civil and maritime authorities, among which the mayor of Halifax Michael Savage, Members of Parliament, the honorary consul of Italy in Halifax Marilisa Benigno…

An explosion has damaged a Turkish vessel carrying wheat to Yemen's Houthi-controlled port of Saleef, with varying accounts attributing the incident on Thursday to an unexplained blast aboard the ship or a possible missile strike.A naval ship of a Saudi-led military coalition received a call from the captain of the vessel, the Ince Inebolu, who reported an opening had appeared in the middle of the ship on the left side, a spokesman for the alliance said."Coalition forces conducted a survey of the incident and visited the ship and found an explosion from the inside to the outside…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose on Friday as rates for capesize vessels climbed to four-month highs.* The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up 19 points, or 1.3 percent, at 1,472 points, its highest since Dec.

Cuba's new Mariel deepwater container terminal hopes to further its plan to become a regional shipping hub by completing dredging next year so it can receive mega-sized vessels, its general manager Charles Baker said on Thursday.The terminal in Mariel Bay, 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Havana, is located in an industrial park where Cuba is seeking to attract foreign investors with tax and customs breaks, as part of its market reform plan to boost the anemic economy.After opening in 2014…

The Port of Hay Point in Queensland, Australia has kicked off a pilot program to investigate the feasibility of recycling garbage from international ships.Currently, ships' crews separate recyclable garbage on board, but have limited opportunity to offload these materials at Australian ports for recycling. Any garbage that is separated on board is combined when offloaded in Australian ports and has to undergo treatment by autoclave or deep-burial to meet Australia’s biosecurity requirements.

China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier headed out for sea trials on May 13, Chinese state media reported. The report said that the new aircraft carrier, temporarily named Type 001A, sailed out at around 7 a.m. in Dalian, in the northeast province of Liaoning. The Chinese Navy — officially the People’s Liberation Army Navy — already has one operational carrier, the Liaoning, which it bought unfinished from Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. So, the 50,000-tonne ship will become the country's second aircraft carrier…

Carnival Corporation's luxury cruise brand Seabourn introduced its newest vessel with a naming ceremony for Seabourn Ovation in the harbor of Valletta, Malta.Seabourn Ovation is the fifth ultra-luxury vessel to join the Seabourn fleet over the past decade, and the second of two ships designed for the line by hospitality design icon Adam D. Tihany.Seabourn Ovation was delivered on April 27 during an official handover ceremony at the Fincantieri shipyard in Genoa, Italy. Following the delivery ceremony…

German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd reported a higher net profit and operating result in the first quarter of 2018 on Monday, citing better transport volumes, but said earnings improvements would mostly be made in the second half."We have had a solid start into the current year, but the market environment is challenging," Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said."Freight rates have been under pressure, bunker costs and trucking costs in some important markets were up and we faced a weaker U.S.

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced it has partnered with a company specializing in 3D printing technologies in a move that aims to transform naval shipbuilding in the U.S.Huntington Ingalls’ Newport News Shipbuilding division will work with 3D Systems to develop additive manufacturing technologies expected to accelerate the adoption of metal 3D printing for building components of U.S. warships.The joint effort, which comes amid a significant technological transformation underway at Newport News…

Jorge Unda, until now the Managing Director of the Engineering and Construction area of the SENER Group, has been appointed CEO for the entire Group, replacing Jorge Sendagorta, who previously combined the positions of President and CEO. Unda becomes the top executive of the company, and Sendagorta remains as President of SENER’s Board of Directors.An industrial engineer in the field of Mechanics from the Higher School of Industrial Engineering of Bilbao (Spain), University of the Basque Country…

The production vessel at Tullow's flagship Jubilee oilfield off Ghana's west coast will shut down next week for 21 days while it undergoes repairs, the country's power utilities said on Monday. The planned shutdown next Monday of the Kwame Nkrumah production vessel, which currently produces both oil and gas, will result in a cut to offshore gas supply, the companies said in a statement. They said any loss of power generation would be offset by generating additional power from the eastern port of Tema area. Tullow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cress Systems helps container terminals reduce fuel bills, emissions and power peaks with ProwESS energy storage for rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs). New technology allows container ports and terminals to capture, store and reuse energy from container yard handling equipment to reduce fuel cost and emissions and better manage peak electricity demands. Following a successful proof of concept trial at the UK Port of Felixstowe, Cress Systems is pleased to announce the commercial release of its ProwESS energy capture, storage and reuse system for container terminal yard handling equipment.

Rolls-Royce reports it has been selected to supply its MT30 gas turbine to power a new class of frigates for the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF).The selection means Japan is the fifth nation to select the MT30 for a major naval shipbuilding program.Sam Cameron, Rolls-Royce, Senior Vice President – Defence, said, “Japan’s selection of the MT30 is very significant and means that the three largest users of marine gas turbines, have all endorsed the capabilities of the MT30…

Carnival Cruise Line has previewed its new Fleet Operations Center (FOC) in Miami, the largest and most advanced in the cruise industry. The 35,000-square-foot facility is custom-designed for hands-on, around-the-clock monitoring and support of the line's 26 cruise ships. The Carnival Cruise Line FOC is the first facility of its kind in South Florida and features a state-of-the-art tracking and data-analysis platform that enables real-time information sharing between Carnival ships and specialized shoreside teams designed to support fleet operations.

Diana Shipping  has announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Koch Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore, for one of its Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels, the m/v San Francisco. The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels said that the gross charter rate is US$24,000 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of approximately 10 months to approximately 12 months (approximately means +/-10 days). The charter is expected to commence on May 13, 2018.

China has pledged to buy more U.S. goods to reduce America's huge trade deficit and help avoid exacerbating a trade war between the world's two biggest economies, with energy and commodities high on Washington's list of products for sale.The U.S. trade war with China is "on hold" after the governments agreed to drop tariff threats and work on a wider agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday. Washington is especially keen to sell more of the United States'…

Marine Travelift has recently partnered with RMK Merrill-Stevens for the delivery of a new 100 BFMII (100 metric ton lifting capacity) mobile boat hoist.The custom 100-ton machine will be operational later this summer and will join an older 70 ton Marine Travelift on site, expanding the capacity and versatility of the Miami shipyard as part of their ongoing modernization efforts.RMK Merrill-Stevens is a full-service yacht repair facility performing repair and refit of yachts, commercial craft and government vessels ranging from 30’ to 300’.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Norfolk District accepted delivery of a new high-speed foil assisted hydrographic survey vessel, due to be commissioned on May 31, 2018.The all-aluminum catamaran, S/V Ewell, measures 61’-4” length overall with a 24’ beam. The vessel has two levels; the first has survey stations, and a pilot house is on the second level. The vessel has a galley, mess and sleeping accommodations.Designed to conduct hydrographic surveys using sophisticated multibeam and single beam sonars, the new vessel features Norbit Multibeam sonars and single frequency sonars mounted inside a retractable survey pod.Ewell is…

SSI CEO Darren Larkins, together with President & CTO Denis Morais, acquired ownership of the shipbuilding software development company from founder Rolf Oetter effective March 1, 2018. The two longtime employees have been managing SSI for the past seven years and have been entrenched in all aspects of the company’s day-to-day operations for even longer. Larkins, SSI’s fifth employee in 1999, said that through the years he and Morais have done “pretty much everything that SSI does at some point.” He added…

Diana Containerships has announced that it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party the 2006-built vessel “Puelo”, with delivery to the buyer by latest June 30, 2018, for a sale price of US$20.5 million before commissions. Theglobal shipping company specializing in the ownership of containerships said that it expects to use the whole or part of the net proceeds from the sale of the vessel to prepay existing indebtedness based on the outstanding amount of such indebtedness upon completion of the transaction.

The seaborne iron ore market appears to be in something of a sweet spot currently, with largely steady demand and prices that have been flatlining for the past couple of months. Of course, another way of saying that a market is enjoying relatively stable and good times is that it's boring, but in iron ore there is plenty of action bubbling beneath the seemingly calm exterior. It's not so much that iron ore prices or volumes are expected to shift dramatically in the coming months, it's more that structural changes in the world's biggest importer, China, are re-shaping how the industry works.

A new ship holding company has been formed through a joint venture agreement between physical energy trader Gunvor Group, ship management company Oceangold Tankers and investor Maas Capital.The three partners hold an equal share in the new company, ClearOcean Tankers, which has been incorporated in Cyprus.The new joint venture company has entered into shipbuilding contracts for six vessels from South Korean shipyards, including four MR2 product tankers from STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. and two LR2 product tankers from Daehan Shipbuilding Co.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, edged higher on Monday on firmer demand for capesize vessels.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up four points, or 0.3 percent, at 1,476 points.The capesize index gained five points, or 0.2 percent, at 2,635 points, its highest since Jan.

Compagnie Maritime Monégasque (CMM) and Damen Shipyards Group (Damen) have joined forces to introduce a fast, safe and reliable Fast Marine Access crew change solution for the Brazilian market using a Damen FCS 7011. The solution looks to transfer personnel between shore and the ever more distant deep sea offshore platforms and flotels. The FCS 7011 focuses on increased safety, cost reduction and comfort, while offering a high speed solution to complement existing helicopter transfers.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. announced that Xavier Destriau will take over as the company’s new CFO, effective June 15, 2018. He will replace Acting CFO, Yohai Benita, who has completed his position at ZIM.Destriau has worked at CMA-CGM for 10 years and has served as Vice President - Head of Group Financing from 2014 to 2016. Destriau will be joining the company after two years as Strategic Advisor to Founder and Interim CFO of LTF Partners, an exclusive advisory firm with special expertise in emerging and frontier markets.

Colombia, the world's fifth-largest exporter of coal, produced 19.6 million tonnes in the first quarter, down 11.7 percent from output the year before, the Energy and Mining Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. In the same period last year, Colombia produced 22.2 million tonnes. In full-year 2017, the Latin American nation produced 89.4 million tonnes, slightly below 2016 when output was 90.5 million tonnes. The biggest players in Colombia's coal industry are Drummond Co, Glencore Plc, Murray Energy Corp's Colombia Natural Resources, and Cerrejon, which is owned by BHP Billiton, Anglo American PLC and Glencore. (Reporting by Helen Murphy Editing by Susan Thomas)

Scott Weldon was promoted to vice president of supply chain management at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division. In this role, Weldon will provide leadership to all Ingalls supply chain management functions, including sourcing, procurement, inventory control and material warehousing. He succeeds Lori Harper, who will retire on Aug. 1 after more than 15 years of service at Ingalls. Weldon joined HII in 1998 and served in various leadership positions across the shipyard. Most recently, he served as chief procurement officer.

Hong Kong-based dry bulker company Pacific Basin Shipping has decided to acquire four bulkers with 50% equity funding. "On May 14, 2018, PB Vessels Holding Limited, a subsidiary of the company, entered into four separate ship contracts for the purchase of vessels," said a press statement. The four bulkers are a 58,000 dwt Supramax built in 2010, a 64,000 dwt Supramax resale newbuild, a 37,000 dwt Handysize constructed in 2015 and a 37,000 dwt Handysize resale newbuild. The consideration…

Damen has held the first viewing of its UV 4312 Fish Farm Support Vessel. The new class is the result of extensive discussions with the global fish farming industry and the result is a versatile vessel specifically designed to undertake the maintenance and support tasks particular to saltwater fish farms. The open day took place at the group’s headquarters at Damen Shipyards Gorinchem and was held for the benefit of operators from across the global sector. The 43-meter, 499 metric ton GT Utility Vessel (UV) 4312 builds on the development work that went into its smaller predecessor…

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line) is proud to announce the delivery of “Corona Xanadu,” an 88,000 DWT-type special coal carrier at Shin Kasado Dockyard of Imabari Shipbuilding Group Japan on May 23, 2018. Corona Xanadu is same type as “K” Line’s specialized fleet for transport of thermal coal known as the “Corona-series”. The Corona-series consists of epoch-making coal carriers equipped with wide beam and shallow draft, which are the most suitable type to enter ports of domestic Thermal Power Stations to discharge cargo.

Louisiana-based inland workboat operator Alexis Marine has awarded a supply contract to Thordon Bearings for the retrofitting of 6in diameter RiverTough bearings to MV Kristin Alexis, the 60ft twin-screw towboat built by Bollinger Shipyard in 1969.Both the vessel’s shafts will be withdrawn at New Orleans yard Bayou Fabricators and Machine Works, where the original rubber bearings will be replaced with Thordon’s RiverTough tailshaft bearings.The polymer bearing manufacturer will…

Greece-based dry bulk shipping firm Star Bulk Carriers has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 18 dry bulk vessels in two all-share transactions. 15 of the vessels will be acquired from Songa Bulk and three of the vessels will be acquired from Oceanbulk Container Carriers. The consideration for the vessels was determined based on average vessel valuations by independent vessel appraisers. The Company has agreed to issue an aggregate of 13.725 million common and pay $145 million in cash for the acquisition of all of Songa’s 15 modern dry bulk vessels .

The Panama Canal welcomed the Norwegian Cruise Lines-operated Norwegian Bliss, the largest passenger vessel which to ever transit the waterway. "The Panama Canal is proud to welcome the Norwegian Bliss and recognizes that this distinct milestone is made possible by the Canal Expansion, as well as the experience and efforts gained in the two years since its inauguration," said Deputy Canal Administrator Manuel Benítez. The Norwegian Bliss left Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard in March to begin a 15-day itinerary this month…

Norwegian shipbuilder Havyard has christened the first battery-powered ferry ordered by transportation company Fjord1. The christening ceremony for MF Husavik was held at the yard in Leirvik in Sogn on May 14. "Havyard has met some very stringent environmental requirements and won a total of 13 contracts for the delivery of both equipment for and the building of Fjord 1's battery-powered ferries," the shipbuilder said in a press statement.The first vessel in the series, Bnr 132 MF Husavik…

Japan is considering tariffs on U.S. exports worth $409 million in retaliation against steel and aluminium import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, media reported on Thursday.Such a move would signal Tokyo is ready to go beyond backdoor talks and pleas for exemptions from the U.S. duties.It would also add to a growing rift that Trump's "America First" trade policies is creating among major economies, which threatens to slow global trade and business activity.Japan is the only major U.S. ally that did not receive exemptions from Trump's tariff decision.

Ship owner Diana Containerships Inc. announced it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party the 2009-built vessel Hamburg, with delivery to the buyer latest by July 31, 2018, for a sale price of $21 million before commissions.Net proceeds from the sale of the vessel are expected to be used by the company to prepay part of the existing indebtedness.Upon completion of the sale, Diana Containerships Inc.’s fleet will consist of five container vessels, including three Post-Panamax and two Panamax ships.

The U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) destroyers program notched two shipbuilding milestones with the recent start of construction at shipyards Bath Iron Works (BIW) in Bath, Maine, and Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Miss.Construction of the future USS Harvey C. Barnum Jr. (DDG 124) officially began on May 17 at BIW, where the ship's namesake, Col. Harvey "Barney" Barnum, Jr. (Ret.), was on hand to mark the start of fabrication on the ship.In Pascagoula, construction of the future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) officially began May 7.

The RB Eden vessel carrying 70,000 tonnes of U.S. sorghum turned around just before reaching the Spanish port of Cartagena and is now heading to Singapore, Thomson Reuters Eikon ship-tracking data showed.This marks the second U-turn for the ship amid a trade tussle between the United States and China. Anti-dumping measures announced by Beijing in mid-April led exporters to divert hundreds of thousands of tonnes of U.S. sorghum. But China dropped its sorghum probe on Friday in what was seen as a goodwill gesture.The RB Eden initially loaded at grain merchant ADM's elevator in Corpus Christi…

Naval architect KNUD E. HANSEN reports it has signed a contract with Chinese shipbuilder Nanjing Jinling Shipyard to develop the basic design of a number of large RoRo vessels, based on a Grimaldi/KNUD E. HANSEN concept.The new vessels, the first of which is expected to be delivered in 2020, will have a length of 238 meters, a beam of 34 meters and a gross tonnage of 64,000 metric tons. Each will be able to transport more than 7,800 lane meters of rolling units, equivalent to approximately 500 trailers.KNUD E.

P&O Cruises marked a construction milestone last week as it cut the first piece of steel for its newest ship being built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg. The steel cutting ceremony was attended by P&O Cruises senior vice president, Paul Ludlow; Carnival UK president Josh Weinstein and managing director of Meyer Werft, Tim Meyer. Josh Weinstein said: “This is the first time in 20 years that P&O Cruises has had a ship built by Meyer Werft and I’d like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get us to the first stage in the life of this ground-breaking vessel.

Diana Shipping announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Koch Shipping, Singapore, for one of its Capesize dry bulk vessels, the m/v P. S. Palios. The gross charter rate is US$17,350 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of about 13 months to maximum 15 months. The charter is expected to commence on May 24, 2018. The m/v P. S. Palios is currently chartered, as previously announced, at a gross charter rate of US$10,550 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties. The “P.

Independent cruise port operator Global Ports Holding announced that it has signed a 15-year management agreement with the Cuban company Aries S.A., for the operation of the cruise port in Havana, Cuba.Under the terms of the Agreement, the Group will from June 21, 2018 manage all of the cruise port operations over the life of the agreement. As consideration, the Group will be paid a management fee that is based on a number of factors including passenger numbers, with growth based incentives.

The environmental ambitions of the politicians in Hordaland were very high when it came to cutting emissions from ferry operations. A tender for new ferries, supported by DNV GL, resulted in a record investment of 140 million euros in zero-emission technology. When ferries pass the stunning scenery of Norway’s Hordaland County today they leave a sizeable pollution and CO2 footprint behind. Hordaland’s 20-vessel ferry fleet has an average age of 29 years and emits as many noxious fumes as all the buses of the county combined. With the current contracts expiring between 2018 and 2020, this seemed to be a good starting point for a review of the entire fleet and the definition of new, low emission targets. And the ambition went high.

A.P. Moller-Maersk missed first-quarter profit expectations on Thursday and warned that political and trade tensions clouded the outlook, sending shares in the world's biggest container shipper sharply lower.Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the three months to March 31 rose 5 percent to $669 million but came in well below the $852 million forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.Chief Executive Soren Skou called the result "unsatisfactory"…

The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum has received a $200,000 grant from the Department of Interior, National Park Service (NPS) through the National Maritime Heritage (NMH) grant program, for the repair of USS Slater’s mast and hull.Thirty-four of these grants totaling $2.6 million were awarded in collaboration with the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs). With these funds, organizations and agencies conduct education and preservation…

As part of the life extension project for the Polvo Floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, operator BW Offshore has contracted Norwegian based liquid handling and pump specialist PG Flow Solutions to supply new water booster pumps.PG Flow Solutions said its scope of work includes the engineering, procurement, assembly of pump skid and commissioning of two produced water booster pumps in super duplex materials, with 150kW electrical motors, variable frequency drives and pressurized seal system.“After a couple of challenging years for the Brazilian offshore industry…

Louisiana shipyard C&C Marine and Repair has delivered the second towboat in a series of three 6,600 hp, 160’ x 50’ triple-screw z-drive newbuilds for Marquette Transportation Company.The delivery of the new towboat m/v Chris Reeves comes three months after the series' lead vessel m/v Cindy L. Erickson was handed over in February 2018.The third in the series is scheduled for delivery this August, with a fourth optional towboat lined up for delivery in December.Chris Reeves was designed by CT Marine…

Four new escort tugs designed by Robert Allan Ltd. and constructed at the Triyards SSY facility in Saigon, Vietnam, by contract to Greenbay Marine Services Pte. of Singapore, have been delivered to owner Star Marine Ltd. of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.The four RAstar 3400 escort tugs, named Murjan 1, 2, 3, and 4, will be stationed in the Red Sea port of Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, and managed by Marine Services Co. Ltd.According to the designer, the RAstar 3400 escort/offshore terminal tug designation is reserved for a distinctive class of high-performance ASD tugs…

The Canadian Coast Guard has awarded a contract to ABS to provide classification and certification services for an existing fleet of 114 vessels and future vessel acquisitions.“Last year, ABS was selected as the exclusive classification organization for all non-combatant vessels in service with the Royal Canadian Navy and now, we are expanding our class and certification services to the entire Canadian Coast Guard fleet,” said ABS Chairman, President and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki.Vessel types covered under the agreement include patrol vessels…

Environmental nonprofit organization Living Lands & Waters (LL&W) recently had its 38’ towboat, the M/V River Cleanup, modified and shortened to 26’.River Cleanup is part of the LL&W fleet that works to protect, preserve and restore the natural environment of the Unite States’ major rivers and their watershed. Since 1998, the group has removed more than 9.8 million pounds of debris from U.S. waterways.When LL&W decided it wanted to have the towboat shortened in 2017, it contracted The Shearer Group, Inc.

Tim Nolan has been named the next president and CEO of U.S. domestic ocean carrier TOTE Inc., parent company Saltchuk announced today. TOTE is the parent company to TOTE Maritime and TOTE Services.Nolan, who is currently president of TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, will succeed retiring president CEO Anthony Chiarello who will step down July 16 after eight years at the helm.Nolan has been with the TOTE family of companies since 2013. He will remain in Jacksonville, Fla., as TOTE’s…

Prosafe has extended a standstill agreement with COSCO Shipping (Qidong) Offshore Co. Ltd in China for two harsh environment semi-submersible accommodation units, Safe Nova and Safe Vega.The standstill agreement has been extended until May 21, 2018 as Prosafe continues negotiations with COSCO and related parties for a workable commercial solution for the two units.A third unit, Safe Eurus, is in a preserved, strategic stacking mode and negotiations continue with COSCO to find a workable commercial solution.If no agreement is reached, Prosafe has the right to claim cancellation of the newbuild contracts due to delay, and claim repayment of the instalments paid including interest of approximately $60 million in total…

A Japanese shipping company will have to pay $1 million after being convicted and sentenced for obstruction of justice and falsification of an Oil Record Book to cover-up intentional pollution from bulk carrier M/V Atlantic Oasis.The company Nitta Kisen Kaisha Ltd., owner and operater of the Atlantic Oasis, admitted that its engineers failed to document the illegal discharge of oily wastes from the vessel’s fuel and lubrication oil purifier systems, as well as discharges of oily bilge waste from the bilge holding tank and from the vessel’s bilges when delivering steel products to Wilmington…

Wise visitors to Bangkok will be sure to take a Chao Phraya river cruise past the spectacular Temple of the Dawn, Wat Arun, and the glories of the golden spired Grand Palace. The ultimate way to do this is on a dinner cruise with a buffet of the celebrated Thai food.This has become such a popular experience that the river at night becomes a spectacular parade of beautifully lit low-slung river cruise ships gliding under bridges and moving sedately amidst that city’s lights and sights.

Federico Martinengo, the seventh multipurpose FREMM frigate recently delivered to the Italian Navy by shipyard Fincantieri, like all 10 ships in the new Carlos Bergamini-class FREMM frigate program, features the power dense GE LM2500+G4 gas turbine in a COmbined Diesel eLectric And Gas turbine (CODLAG) propulsion system.In 2013, Fincantieri delivered the first Italian FREMM, Carlo Bergamini. In addition to the Italian FREMM frigates, DCNS shipyard in Lorient, France, is well underway having delivered six FREMM frigates in a 10-ship program.

The world's top two container shipping groups Maersk Line and MSC are reviewing their Iran operations after the United States withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement with Tehran.The 2015 agreement, worked out by the United States, five other world powers and Iran, lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits to its nuclear program.U.S. President Donald Trump also instructed his administration to re-impose U.S. sanctions after a winding down period."MSC is reviewing its services…

U.S.-based ballast water treatment system (BWTS) manufacturer Ecochlor, Inc. said it has been awarded a contract to retrofit 36 vessels, including Suezmaxes, Aframaxes, VLCCs, Minicapes and Capes for Angelicoussis Shipping Group Limited (ASGL). Installations are expected to take place between 2018 and 2020 in Singapore, Dubai, Qatar and China.Ecochlor CEO Steve Candito remarked, “Having both IMO and USCG Type Approval were very important factors in the selection process by ASGL.

TOTE Maritime Alaska has adjusted its liquefied natural gas (LNG) conversion schedule, pushing back works on its RoRo vessel Midnight Sun by one year in order to align with the most recent timeline for Tacoma’s LNG-plant completion.Under the new schedule, Midnight Sun, which was originally scheduled to undergo phase 1 of the LNG conversion from mid-December 2018 through early-February 2019, will wait until 2019-2020 for the work to be performed.The new conversion schedule is as…

We visited Grand Bahama Shipyard CEO Dave Skentelbery, who updates us on his shipyard and the cruise shipping industry.How do you see the market today?In terms of the cruise ship market, it is very healthy. As a business, we are growing the amount of work we do on each of those projects. We’re doing more complex scopes of work. I think we’re truly demonstrating our capability as a project management company to the cruise lines.How do you evolve to more complex jobs?It’s investment in people and facilities.

Work has kicked off at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque to convert the trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Samuel de Champlain from diesel-electric propulsion to dual-fuel capability combining marine gas oil (MGO) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). A ceremony was held at the yard to mark the first cutting of steel for the prefabrication of a new section of hull that will hold the new generators and other equipment.Present at the occasion were Jean-Pierre Guellec, CEO of GIE Dragages-Ports…

Tuco Marine reports it has sold another 8m Full Cabin service boat to Norway.The 8m Full Cabin Service Boat will be outfitted and utilized as a fast and flexible dive boat for fish farming service and construction works in Norway, the boat will be delivered summer 2018 and is set up specifically for fast utilization of divers to the fish farming and construction industry. It will be delivered to Fiskå Undervannservice AS through ProZero Norge AS.The boat is designed and optimized to serve as a platform for dive operations…

The U.S. Navy has awarded a $42.2 million contract to Vigor for repairs and changes to the guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson (DDG 102).Work on the USS Sampson will be done in Seattle and Everett and may include blasting, painting and surface preparation, as well as work on the ship's freeboard, struts, rudders, hull, electric infrastructure and other parts, Vigor said.The $42.2 million dollar award to perform the work is on top of the $35 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite…

Drewry says that recovering demand recovery in the North America-East Coast South America box trades provides encouragement, but local political conditions bear watching. Elsewhere, reports that Maersk and MSC are reviewing their Iran operations underpins broader political uncertainties that could get in the way. North America-East Coast South America box tradesMaritime Research Consultancy Drewry is reporting that the headhaul East Coast South America to North America trade fell by 1% in the first quarter 2018 to 137,000 teu.

Monaco based cruise line Silversea Cruises has ordered another new ship from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, with delivery scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2021.The $382 million contract for the construction of luxury cruise ship Silver Dawn follows Silversea's September 2017 order for sistership Silver Moon to be delivered from Fincantieri in 2020.The newbuilds will be the second and third vessels in the Muse-class series. Both are sisters to Silversea’s 40,700 grt flagship…

The Coast Guard Sector New York is responding to a report of a collision at sea May 12, 2018, involving the loaded tankship Tofteviken and the commercial fishing vessel Polaris. Coast Guard marine inspectors and investigators are investigating the cause of the collision and assessing the damage to the Tofteviken’s hull, and to ensure appropriate repairs are completed. The collision allegedly occurred nearly 30 miles southeast of Bridgehampton, New York. The Tofteviken was transiting to New York while the Polaris was transiting back to its homeport in Massachusetts after a night of fishing.

The RB Eden vessel carrying 70,000 tonnes of U.S. sorghum is heading to the Spanish port of Cartagena, Thomson Reuters Eikon ship-tracking data showed, in what will be a fifth cargo of U.S. sorghum to be diverted from China to Spain.The ship had sailed towards the Spanish Canary Islands after turning around in the Indian Ocean. Having circled off the coast of Tenerife, it changed destination late on Monday to Cartagena in southern Spain, a regular import terminal for livestock feed grain, Eikon data showed.Traders had been expecting the RB Eden to go on to mainland Spain, like four other U.S.

On Monday, May 14, shipbuilder General Dynamics Bath Iron Works held a keel laying ceremony for the U.S. Navy’s future USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118). The $642.5 million Arleigh Burke-class destroyer DDG 118 has been under construction since October 2014 and is now over half completed. The 3,000-ton keel unit was moved onto the building ways from the Maine shipyard’s Ultra Hall earlier this year, signifying the start of hull integration and the precursor to integration, test and trials. The U.S. Navy named the ship in honor of Sen.

Alabama shipbuilder Master Marine has delivered Sam P. Hise, the third towboat in a series of four newbuilds for Illinois-based inland operator Waterfront Services Co.The 67’ x 28’ boat is set up with 10,400 gallons of fuel, 4,359 gallons of potable water and 9,500 gallons of ballast water along with providing a maximum 7’ 9” working draft.Each vessel will be powered by a pair of Laborde Products, Inc. S6R2-Y3MPTAW Mitsubishi 803 HP tier III diesel marine engines to be operated at 1,400 RPM coupled to Twin Disc MG 5321, 5:1 gears, E300 electronic controls with RW Fernstrum, Inc. keel coolers.

Damen Shipyards Group signed a contract with Corpetrolsa Group of Guayaquil, Ecuador, for the supply of three tugs; one Stan Tug 1205 and two Stan Tugs 1606. The tugs will be operated by Corpetrolsa subsidiary DLEN S.A. to support its bunkering operation. Corpetrolsa Group operates its own fleet of tankers in the 2,000 to 7,000 DWT range and the three new tugs will be used to assist them in the Ecuadorean ports of Esmeraldas and La Libertad. The vessels were already in stock at Damen Shipyards Gorinchem and will be supplied in their standard format without modifications.

Keppel Singmarine Pte won contracts from Van Oord to build two Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (with an option for a third), the shipbuilder announced, scheduled for completion in 4Q 2020 and 2Q 2021 respectively. Built to the standards of Bureau Veritas, Each TSHDs will have a hopper capacity of 10,500 cubic meters, and more importantly for environmental concerts, both will be equipped with dual-fuel systems capable of running on LNG. "We are pleased to work with Keppel on these modern and environmentally-friendly dredgers which will strengthen our mid-class dredger fleet as well as our presence in the region. Last month we already launched our first LNG powered crane vessel," said Jaap de Jong, Staff Director, Ship Management Department at Van Oord.

There's a new report out from the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) -- authorted by Lloyds Register (LR) and University Maritime Advisory Services (UMAS) -- that examines different fuel options and costs as increasingly the world's oceangoing fleet is pushed toward decarbonization. As a back drop, as Mariitme Reporter & Engineering News reports in its May 2018 edition with its cover feature interview with Kitack Lim, Secretary General of the International Mariitme Organization (IMO), the IMO mandate is to cut emissions 50% by 2050, as agreed in mid-April 2018, as compared to 2008 levels.

The world's No. 2 container shipping line MSC said on Wednesday it would stop taking new bookings for Iran due to the decision by the United States to re-impose sanctions on Tehran after withdrawing from the international nuclear deal. In a note to clients, privately held MSC said it was "ceasing to provide access to services to and from Iran", adding that they would "conclude this period with the minimum disruption" to their customers' business. "While MSC is not accepting bookings for shipments originating from Iran…

View onto the cleaned container vessel before new cargo will be loaded. Herbert Boettcher took this photo for Hamburg Süd when he travelled on the container ship Cap San Antonio from Europe to South America and back to Hamburg. Boettcher started with his worldwide long time project Seamotion in 2004. Boettcher is a German professional photographer working worldwide for shipping companies to create photos of merchant ships with his unique visual language. already received numerous awards for his applied and free photographic work.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Wednesday, hurt by weak demand for capesize vessels. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was down 65 points, or 4.4 percent, at 1,403 points, registering its highest percentage fall since Jan. 17. The capesize index lost 195 points, or 7.5 percent, at 2,407 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 170,000-180,000 tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $1,645 to $19,001.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’  Newport News Shipbuilding division has authenticated the keel of the 21st Virginia-class submarine, Montana (SSN 794). “This is an important day for us,” said Dave Bolcar, Newport News’ vice president of submarine construction. In keeping with a U.S. Navy tradition, former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, the ship’s sponsor, chalked her initials onto a steel plate. Mariah Gladstone, a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, performed a Native American blessing.

The Korean container shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has started a new, independent Asia-North Europe service in April. The first vessel of the AEX service to call at Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg on 12 May was ‘Hyundai Forward’ with a capacity of the 4,700 TEU. A total of ten units of these comparatively small Panamax container ships will rotate weekly between Busan (Korea), Shanghai (China), Ningbo (China), Kaohsiung (China), Yantian (China), Singapore, Colombo (Sri Lanka)…

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) in New London, Connecticut, is the service's only command conducting research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) support for all 11 statutory missions. Since its commissioning in 1972, RDC has been involved in over 2,000 projects and initiatives that have significantly benefited the Coast Guard and the components of the Maritime Transportation System. As the demand for research and development capability grows within the service…

The 5th annual inland IMX show coincides with the first ever FreightWeek STL. For transport professionals, supply chain stakeholders and inland operators alike, there was something for everyone. St. Louis, MO: This week’s IMX inland marine industry tradeshow may have been the primary focus for inland stakeholders, but there were many more reasons to be here in St. Louis. Parallel with and coordinating with the 5th annual event was the weeklong FreightWeek STL event intended to spotlight freight and transportation industries, opportunities and to underscore the St.

Crowley Maritime Corp. has announced that Tim Bush has been promoted to vice president and deputy general counsel. In his new position, Bush will help support the company’s growth as a provider of solutions for the U.S. government and various public-sector agencies. He will be based in Houston and report to Michael Roberts, senior vice president and general counsel. “Tim is an outstanding lawyer, and adds a great deal of value to the Crowley team,” Roberts said. Bush will continue to serve as Crowley’s lead attorney on several large projects for the U.S government…

Maersk Line, the world's largest shipping company, announced the expansion of its product portfolio between Europe's Mediterranean region and Canada to cater for the growing demands of importers and exporters on both sides of the Atlantic. The exclusive, fully Maersk Line-operated weekly service will be a five-vessel rotation stopping in Salerno and La Spezia (Italy), Fos-sur-Mer (France), Algeciras (Spain), Montreal and Halifax (Canada), and Valencia (Spain). Other Mediterranean…

Corvus Energy was selected by Norwegian Electric System (NES) to supply lithium ion battery-based energy storage systems (ESS) for two new all-electric ferries being built by Havyard for Norwegian ferry operator Fjord1. The ferries will operate on the Magerholm-Sykkylven route. This follows a previous order in November 2017 to supply the ESSs for three similar newbuilt Fjord1 ferries that will operate on the Hareid-Sulesund route. Each of the five all-electric ferries, which are 111 meters in length and holds 120 cars…

Earlier this year in New York City the Exhaust Gas Cleaning System Association (EGCSA) held its annual meeting to discuss the business, technologies and future of scrubbers as a solution to the looming IMO 2020 fuel rules. At the meeting, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was afforded the opportunity to pick the brains of several leading executives to help understand the challenge and promise that scrubbers provide. In October 2016 a landmark decision was handed down from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which set January 1…

San Francisco Bay Area boat designer and builder Moose Boats said it has been awarded a contract from The City of Memphis Fire and Police Departments for the construction of a M2-38 Fire Rescue and Patrol Catamaran.Twin Cummins engines at 425hp each with Hamilton water jets will power the boat, which is being built to respond to incidents on the Mississippi River and in The Port of Memphis, Tenn. Memphis Fire and Police’s new boat will be equipped with a single Hale fire pump flowing close to 2,000 gallons per minute of water through Task Force Tips fire monitors and valves.The M2 will be equipped with a host of Simrad electronics including multifunction navigation screen…

Alfa Laval said it has signed fleet agreements with Polsteam and Nova Ship Tech SA for the supply of PureBallast 3, the third generation of Alfa Laval’s ballast water treatment technology.Under the agreements, Alfa Laval will provide dozens of Polsteam and Nova Ship Tech SA vessels with PureBallast 3 systems – the vast majority of which will handle large flows of more than 1,000 m3/h.The agreements with Polsteam and Nova Ship Tech SA come as many ship owners shift their focus from individual ballast water treatment systems to complete fleet solutions.

Challenge Fisheries LLC, Quinn Fisheries Inc., Charles Quinn II, and Charles Quinn III have agreed to pay a total of $414,000 in civil penalties and to perform fleet-wide improvements and other compliance assurance measures to resolve federal Clean Water Act claims stemming from oily bilge discharges from the commercial fishing vessel Challenge, and a related fuel oil discharge in August 2017 in New Bedford Harbor, Mass., the Department of Justice and the Coast Guard announced.In its complaint filed Monday, along with the lodging of a consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the United States alleges…

A fundraising cruise dedicated to saving America’s Flagship has raised $100,000 for the cause.Once America’s fastest and most glamorous ocean liner, the SS United States has spent years away from her former glory in an escalating state of disrepair, at dock in Philadelphia, out of commission and relying on donations to stay afloat and out of the scrapyard.This week a group dedicated to preserving the historic vessel has received a financial lifeline that will help to keep the…

When two of the world’s top trading partners get entangled in a stand-off, where the outbreak of a trade war could become the extended tool of intense negotiations, BIMCO says we’d better prepare for what may come while hoping that it will never take place.The U.S. is China’s largest trading partner measured by value – and China is the largest one-country trading partner that the U.S. has.“The global shipping industry naturally gets concerned when two nations of huge importance to most shipping sectors get in the ring to fight a trade war – gloves off…

MSC Cruises, the world’s largest privately owned cruise company and leading cruise line in Europe and South America, has announced today that to date it has raised more than €8 million for UNICEF thanks to the generous contributions of its guests. The funds raised are used to provide malnourished children with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) such as Plumpy’ Nut and to date more than 6.5 million sachets of RUTF have been delivered to children in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia and Malawi.

Greece-based owner of containerships and bulk carriers Euroseas has spun off its drybulk fleet into a separate company. The Company announced that it filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to spin-off the Company's drybulk fleet into a separate company, EuroDry Ltd., which has applied for listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market. "We believe that separate drybulk and containership investment options will give our shareholders the flexibility to adjust their holdings, if they so wish, between the two sectors,: he added.

Coming off of three straight profitable years, Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku said it is using its profits to finance a 200 million euro ($237 million) investment program at its Turku shipyard.The cruise ship builder reported its 2017 revenue was 807.7 million euros ($959 million) compared to 2016’s 787.5 million euros ($935 million). Net profit for the financial year rose from 26.2 million euros ($31.1 million) (3.3 percent of revenue) to 32.2 million euros ($38 million) (4 percent of revenue).Meyer Turku delivered two ships in 2017, the first time in decades.

Rolls-Royce said it has signed a long-term service agreement with offshore vessel owner Siem Offshore for the maintenance of its deck machinery installations aboard 12 anchor handling vessels.The five-year Maintenance Inspection Program (MIP) is the formalization of a cooperation agreement between the two companies following the delivery of 10 new AHTS vessels in 2010, and two additional AHTS vessels that Siem Offshore took over ship management of in 2017.Jon August Houge, Operations Manager…

Diana Containerships announces its Q1 revenue has more than doubled.Dry bulk shipper's shares jump 64 pct to $2.70, top advancer across U.S. exchanges in heavy premarket trade.DCIX trading with 20 pct of their free float volume in premarket, as per TR data.Q1 revenue more than doubles to $8 mln from a year ago, also posts a smaller YoY loss.Increase was mainly due to higher revenue from improved fleet utilization and increased time charter rates.If gains hold, DCIX shares set to more than erase YTD losses of 59.6 pct.Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru

A recent dry dock rehab project in Chicago provides new options and money saving opportunities for inland and Great Lakes stakeholders alike.From software to steel plating, Indiana-based TPG Marine Enterprises provides a range of services in the Great Lakes and inland waterways markets. River based tug and barge services are based in Jeffersonville and Mt. Vernon, IN, on the Ohio River, as well as on Kentucky’s Green River. The company also owns TPG Chicago Dry Dock, located on the Calumet River.

Great lakes limestone shipments totaled just 1,254,226 net tons in April, a decrease of 23 percent compared to a year ago as the coldest April in more than two decades put a chill on the trade. According to the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA), loadings trailed the month’s five-year average by even more – 33.3 percent.Loadings at U.S. ports totaled 1.1 million tons, a decrease of 19 percent, while shipments from Canadian quarries totaled 177,000 tons, a decrease of nearly 41 percent…