Shipping News

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 U.S. Coast Guard’s mission of keeping the seas safe will soon get an additional boost from space with two polar satellites. The two satellites, called “cube satellites” or “cubesats” for their small size of about 60 square centimeters, or a little under 2 feet, will be part of a payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Nov. 28. Although the Coast Guard has used satellite technology for years, these two are the first to be entirely dedicated to a Coast Guard mission. The initiative is part of the U.S.

Passenger and cargo shipping company Blue Star Line has contracted Deltamarin to continue with the design of Titanic II. The contract covers activities and tasks for the design process, consultancy and project management services.Deltamarin will provide Blue Star Line with outline design services including finalizing and modifying the existing design to comply with the latest rules and regulations. These include the SOLAS 2020 requirements and the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI).Deltamarin will also further develop the design together with the selected yard and Blue Star Line…

The  charter owner and manager of containerships Seaspan Corporation announced that it has prepaid a credit facility which was secured by eight of its vessels.Upon completion of the collateral release documentation in respect of this facility and the facility prepaid in November 2018, this will expand Seaspan's pool of unencumbered vessels to 32, from 24 as reported in its press release dated November 26, 2018, and 18 as reported in its Q3 2018 earnings press release.This includes vessels securing debt which has been repaid in November 2018 and January 2019, pending completion of collateral re

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd (HHI) announced  that it won an order to build two crude carriers from a shipping company based in Europe.The ships would be built by the group’s Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries brand and are scheduled to start delivery in the second half of 2020The world’s largest shipbuilder by sales said that the unnamed European shipowner is paying $130m for the two 158,000-dwt vessels.HHI will deliver the 274-meter-long and 48-meter-wide vessels from the second half of 2020 onward…

South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has won orders to build two very large crude carriers (VLCCs).Oman Shipping Company (OSC), the wholly government-owned national shipping line of the Sultanate of Oman, has signed a deal with DSME for the construction of two next-generation, eco-friendly VLCCs, tweeted OSC.The pair of ECO VLCCs will be built at the Okpo shipyard of DSME, which counts among the world’s largest shipbuilders.“The vessels are of 336-metres length, 60-metres wide, and can each carry 300,000 tonnes of crude; these are next generation eco-friendly vessels that meet the environmental regulation standards of IMO (The International Maritime Organisation).

The dry bulk operator Oldendorff Carriers sold the three remaining self-unloaders still operating in the CSL Pool for US$100.5 million to Algoma Central Corporation.CSL International Pool is a partnership between Oldendorff Carriers, Marbulk Shipping Inc. and Algoma Shipping Inc.The vessels -Sophie Oldendorff (70,037 tdw built 2000), Harmen Oldendorff (66,188 tdw built 2005) & Alice Oldendorff (50,259 tdw built 2000) -  are expected to deliver to Algoma around the middle of 2019.All…

Italian banking group BPER Banca is financing up to USD 8 million to Augustea Navigation to refinance its acquisition of a bulk carrier built in 2010 under an Italian flag. Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has advised on the deal.A press release from the  international law firm based in London said that BPER Banca, formerly known as Banca Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna S.C., is a commercial and co-operative bank and the parent of the BPER Group, one of Italy’s leading banking groups.

Dutch ship owner Holland Maas Scheepvaart Beheer II BV has been fined 780.000 EUR and paid a settlement of 2.2 million EUR - totaling to a price tag of almost 3 million EUR - for having beached a ship for scrapping in India.According to a press release from NGO Shipbreaking Platform, in 2013, Holland Maas Scheepvaart Beheer II BV, a subsidiary of WEC Lines BV, sold the HMS Laurence to a cash buyer, a company specialised in the trade of end-of-life vessels to beaching yards.The vessel ended up in Alang…

Global oil refining capacity is set to increase at its fastest pace on record this year, possibly boosting stocks of products such as diesel, gasoline and marine fuel, the International Energy Agency said.Oil refining capacity will rise by 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) and demand for refined products by around 1.1 million bpd, the IEA said in a monthly report.It was not clear yet what that meant for margins, which slumped as the price of crude rose last year, said the Paris-based IEA…

With compliance deadlines on the horizon for many shipowners, the study revealed a critical need for owners to start their technology-selection process, and to resist buying BWM systems based on initial price alone.ABS has just completed its second comprehensive survey of the shipping industry’s progress towards global compliance with ballast-water regulations, finding just over a third of installed management systems (BWMS) to be fully operational.The survey’s findings, which were supported by a series of workshops in New Orleans…

On December 22, 2018, a continuing resolution passed by Congress to fund a portion of the U.S. Government into the 2019 fiscal year expired and was not renewed resulting in a partial federal government shutdown. Among the affected Executive Departments are the Department of Homeland Security (which includes the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection), the Department of Transportation (which includes the Maritime Administration), the Department of Interior (which includes the Bureau of Environment and Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM))…

British ship insurer North has received regulatory approval from Ireland's central bank for a new subsidiary in Dublin to ensure continued access to trade in the European Union in case Britain loses single market access, the firm said on Friday.North, which has its headquarters in the northern England city of Newcastle, is the first specialist Protection and Indemnity (P&I) club to announce regulatory approval for Brexit trading arrangements in the EU. It said a team of senior…

The Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) and the Government of Assam, a key state in India’s north-east, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further enhance the state’s inland water transport (IWT) system to improve commuter safety.The MOU follows the funding agreement between the Government of Assam and the World Bank to modernize and transform inland water transport in the state which has the largest network of navigable inland waterways in India. Plans include…

Currently, the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered fleet has grown globally from 118 LNG-powered vessels in operation in 2017, to 143 LNG-powered vessels in operation – with a further 135 on order and 135 LNG-ready ships either in operation or on order.According to the LNG bunkering coalition SEA\LNG, Orders for LNG-powered vessels span a variety of vessel types including tankers, cruise ships, container ships, car carriers, and Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC)s.A press note issued by Peter Keller…

CMA CGM Marco Polo, the largest container ship in the world, docked at the major international seaport Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) in the southern Vietnamese province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, commencing a new weekly service to transfer cargo directly from Vietnam to Northern Europe.Important guests, including senior government officials will attended the vessel maiden call’s celebrations jointly organised by CMIT and CMA CGM at the Cai Mep terminal in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province.CMIT…

CMA CGM will retain the only Containerships brand for its intra-European operations, giving up MacAndrews, which had already erased OPDR."Containerships: from April 1st, 2019 a single brand resulting from the union of two experts of intra-European transport CMA CGM reinforces its strategy aimed at densifying its regional coverage to the benefit of its clients," said a press release from MacAndrews.According to the French container transportation and shipping company, by joining the forces of two recognized experts of intra-European multimodal transport…

Partners in the world’s largest operational agreement between shipping companies have agreed to extend their alliance until 2027.The Ocean Alliance, consisting of CMA CGM Group, COSO SHIPPING, Evergreen and OOCL, was launched in 2017 for an initial period of five years with an option for a five-year renewal.The partners confirmed they will extend to the alliance's full 10-year duration, during a signing ceremony in Hainan, China on Thursday.Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL)  is to increase the roll-out of Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress Service, across the remainder of its owned and managed fleet. The Japanese shipping company was among the earliest adopters of Fleet Xpress; deploying Inmarsat’s global high-speed broadband connectivity on the majority of its Car-Carriers in 2016, shortly after the launch of the next-generation service. Currently it has over 100 vessels installed. MOL will now install Fleet Xpress across its managed and owned fleet of Bulk carriers…

BWC and ERMA FIRST have agreed a collaboration which will increase the Ballast Water Management options available to the shipping industry.Ballast Water Containers CEO, Richard Lawson commented: "After working closely with their technical team over the past three months we are now able to offer a containerized version of the ERMA FIRST FIT system. A ship owner can now reduce yard installation time and achieve a better control of their budget by ordering a pre-fabricated, pre-installed BWC ERMA FIRST container or deckhouse.”

Shipping was blocked on the Brussels-Willebroek canal just north of the Belgian capital on Thursday after a ship struck a bridge near the town of Grimbergen, police said.The Humbeek bridge, which rises on cables to allow barges to pass beneath, was badly damaged, according to police cited by local media, although no one was injured.The canal carries significant amounts of freight between Brussels and the Scheltdt estuary around Antwerp.(Reuters reporting by Alastair Macdonald Editing by Gareth Jones)

The offshore marine support vessels operator Seacor Marine Holdings announced it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire three platform supply vessels (PSVs) from Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry, an affiliate of Cosco Shipping Group, the world’s largest ship owner.Aggregate consideration for the vessels will be approximately $46 million, of which 30% will be paid in cash and 70% will be paid under a four-year deferred payment agreement between Seacor   Marine and Cosco…

Adnoc Logistics & Services (Adnoc   L&S) announced that it has reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 23% across a fleet of 27 vessels.The marine and logistics subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc ) said in a press release that the ‘Al Daffah Energy Efficiency Project’ is one of many ongoing initiatives by the shipping and logistics giant to deliver greater operational efficiency and a more competitive offering to its customers.As the owner and operator of 27 shipping vessels and a total fleet of 122 shipping and offshore vessels…