Spinoff News

Any competition requires skill — but when the stakes are high and seas are rough, the right technology can set contenders apart. On the popular National Geographic reality series "Wicked Tuna" and its spinoff, "Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks," commercial fishing crews compete to reel in elusive bluefin tuna. To brave North Atlantic waters off the coast of Gloucester, where the series is set, and bring in fish that are several hundred pounds, it's critical that captains outfit their…

The Indian government plans to invite financial bids for the privatization of Shipping Corp of India Ltd (SCI) next month, as it looks to sell the state-run company after years of delay, two government officials told Reuters.The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had, in 2019, announced plans to privatize a number of state-run companies, including selling its stake in SCI, which was stalled due to regulatory delays.SCI – which owns and operates bulk carriers and crude oil tankers, among others – had to spin off its non-core assets before the government could sell its 63.75% stake, which hit a roadblock over the amount of funds to be transferred to the demerged entity.SCI completed the spinoff last month after getting regulatory approval late in February.This demerged entity…

Melding advanced software, intelligence, robotics and navigation, Armach Robotics – a spinoff of Greensea Systems – leads a step change in ship hull cleaning and maintenance with its Robotics as a Service model. Ben Kinnaman, the CEO of Greensea Systems, explains.Ben, to start us off, please give us a background on Armach Robotics? Where did the idea come from and where are we today?Greensea Systems is a software company, well-known for our software platform on ocean robotics. We're also well-known for our unique navigation and autonomy solutions.

In mid-September, the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Center issued the 35th USCG Ballast Water Management System Type Approval Certificate after a detailed review of Seattle-based manufacturer oneTank, LLC’s type approval application determined its system met the requirements of 46 CFR 162.060.The recent U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Approval, which follows the DNV GL Certificate of Approval awarded on behalf of the Norwegian Maritime Authority in compliance with the International Maritime Organization BWMS Code in July 2020…

It was Canadian whalers, the Norwegians tell us, who first noticed that a dead whale does not bob in the waves. The carcass didn’t pitch or roll, either, and it was somehow “self-propelled” — its fins giving it forward motion and acting as stabilizers, or foils. The story still inspires Trondheim company Wavefoil, maker of scalable, retractable foils that offer ship owners and designers fuel savings and passenger comfort. In Norway, high-speed ferries, cruise ships and fishing vessels are the first customers for retrofits and newbuilds.

South Korean shipbuilding conglomerate Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group has officially started the process to earn approval from anti-trust regulators for its proposed takeover of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. (DSME).HHI has submitted a request for the formal approval from the South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC), as well as from antitrust authorities in Japan, China, Kazakhstan and the European Union.According to Yonhap New Agency the shipbuilding major would submit further requests for approval to other countries.Meanwhile, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group completed the spinoff of Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. into Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co.

German conglomerate Siemens AG said it will spin off and give up its majority stake in its energy division and merge it with separately listed wind turbine supplier Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), creating a new multi-technology global energy powerhouse. The company’s supervisory board announced the spinoff on May 7 as part of its Vision 2020+ strategy concept. The board said the move would help Germany-based Siemens meet medium-term growth and profit targets by “clearly focusing its portfolio on dynamic growth markets and efficiency gains.”"Siemens’ Gas and Power (GP) – comprising the company’s oil and gas, conventional power generation…

A fire in the hold of a bulker ship on Monday briefly closed Australia's Port Kembla, the second-largest coal export port in New South Wales state, stopping shipping for eight hours.The port was shut soon after the blaze began before dawn on the MV Iron Chieftain as it unloaded dolomite, a mineral used in steelmaking which was destined for BlueScope Steel Ltd's nearby blast furnace. No injuries were reported."Shipping recommenced and the port reopened at 1130 (0130 GMT) and is expected to be back on schedule by around 1700…

US-based tanker shipping company International Seaways (INSW) has completed the acquisition of six 300,000 dwt very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from Euronav NV. The tanker company providing energy transportation services for crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas announced in a press release that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of six 300,000 DWT VLCCs for a purchase price of $434 million, inclusive of assumed debt, from Euronav. The six vessels have an average age of two years and include five 2016-built VLCCs and one 2015-built VLCC, each constructed at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. International…

Euroseas announced  that it has completed the spin-off of its drybulk fleet into EuroDry Ltd. Euroseas shareholders received one EuroDry Ltd share for every five shares of the Company they owned. Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas, commented: "We are very pleased to complete the spin-off of our drybulk fleet into a separate publicly listed company, EuroDry Ltd. Euroseas now becomes a pure containership company, the only US-listed containership owner focused on the feeder sector. EuroDry was formed on January 8, 2018 under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. EuroDry operates in the dry cargo, drybulk shipping markets. EuroDry’s operations are managed by Eurobulk. Euroseas operates in the container shipping markets. Euroseas' operations are also managed by Eurobulk.

US based LNG carrier GasLog Partners is expecting to raise up to USD 97 million by selling shares to finance future fleet expansion. The New York-listed spinoff of LNG shipper GasLog  has announced that it has priced its public offering of 4 million units of its 8.200% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Fixed to Floating Rate Preference Units, liquidation preference US$25.00 per unit at a price to the public of US$25.00 per unit. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to 600,000 additional Series B Preference Units from the Partnership. The Partnership intends to file an application to list the Series B Preference Units on the New York Stock Exchange. The offering is expected to close on or about January 17, 2018.

Euroseas  announced that it took delivery of M/V EM Athens, a feeder containership of 2,506 teu built in 2000 that the Company agreed to acquire last month from Euromar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company that previously was partially owned by the Company. M/V EM Athens was acquired along with EM Oinousses, a feeder size containership also of 2,506 teu built in 2000. The Company also announced today that it exercised its option to purchase from Euromar two additional container vessels, the M/V EM Corfu, a feeder size containership vessel of 2,556 teu built in 2001, and the M/V Akinada Bridge, a post-panamax size container vessel of 5,600 teu built in 2001. The Company has secured financing for the acquisitions of the four vessels with a combination of debt and equity.

The labor unions of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) downed tools in their first full strike since 1994, in protest to a sweeping restructuring plan that includes spinoff all non-shipbuilding operations as well as shutdown of a dock in Gunsan in southern coastal region. According to Yonhap News Agency reports the other reason for the industrial strike was failed wage negotiations. Although 15,000 union members were invited to take part in the eight-hour strike, only ten percent of workers participated in it. The labor unions’ employees started a strike for eight hours from 8 a.m. on Thursday, which will last also on Friday and Monday. Company executives of the world’s largest shipbuilding company  said that the strikes have had minimal impact on productivity.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME) plans to spin off its IT business unit next year in an effort to streamline its business structure, reports Yonhap. The unit, provisionally named DSME Information System, will be started on Jan. 1, the company said. The company will manage DSME’s IT system and related tasks with some 150 employees, it said. The planned spinoff is part of the shipyard's restructuring schemes which include asset sales and a reduction in workforce. Last month, Daewoo Shipbuilding said it would secure an additional 700 billion won through asset sales, raising the total amount prepared as part of its self-rescue measures to 6 trillion won. The shipyard aims to reduce the number of its employees by some 20 percent to 10,000 by the end of this year.

Shipbuilder to be split into four companies; spinoff is part of restructuring plan submitted to creditors. South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries is being split into four companies, with its non-shipbuilding businesses being spun off to improve management efficiency and competitiveness, the shipbuilder said on Tuesday. South Korean shipbuilders have been selling non-core assets and slashing jobs to cope with shrinking orders from the oil industry that forced the firms into heavy losses last year. South Korea is home to the world's three largest shipbuilders - Hyundai Heavy, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine and Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd. Under the plan, Hyundai Heavy will be divided into four companies.

South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) is going all out to secure cash amid growing concerns over a possible liquidity crisis and a widening probe into accounting fraud, reports Korea Herald. DSME, currently under a creditor-led corporate rehab, plans to submit later this week a detailed plan to secure funds to its creditors. According to local reports, the plan may include an earlier than scheduled spinoff and initial public offering of its special-purpose ship business. DSME is also accelerating cost reductions, including job cuts. The shipbuilder had initially agreed with creditors to separate the cash cow business by 2018. DSME will now push to separate the division and make it public no later than late this year, they said.

New Orleans builds enviable cruise traffic on top of a carefully crafted business plan. It may surprise you to learn that, on the lower Mississippi River, cruise traffic now accounts for over one fifth of all revenue at the Port of New Orleans, a major cargo hub. With recently modernized terminals, able to handle big ships, the Crescent City last year accommodated over a million cruise passengers, setting its fourth straight record. How they did it is perhaps more impressive than what they have created…

A convergence of forces makes for market opportunities for new safe ferry systems in the developing world. Need, policy, and funding are poised to provide a moment of opportunity. The expanding global economy has resulted in economic and population growth in developing world cities, resulting in horrendous road congestion. In response, governments and businesses have begun planning for intra-urban ferries wherever possible. Ferries in the developing world have a deserved reputation for being unsafe.

Transocean Ltd. Assuming Miller is elected by shareholders at the EGM, the board intends to designate him as Vice Chairman. Transocean explained that Ian C. Strachan, the current Chairman of the Board, will reach 72 years of age before the 2015 Annual General Meeting (AGM). In accordance with the company's Corporate Governance Guidelines, it is anticipated thathe will retire from the board at the end of his term at the 2015 AGM. The board currently expects to recommend that shareholders elect Miller in his place as Chairman at the 2015 AGM. Miller is the Executive Chairman of NOW Inc., a spinoff of the distribution business of National Oilwell Varco, Inc., a supplier of oilfield services and equipment to the oil and gas industry.

At just one year old, ReShore LLC said it is still in its infancy, but over the past 12 months, the fledging spinoff from Rubberform Recycled Products has gone through many changes and faced many challenges. The company’s original flagship product (an erosion control device) had to be tabled for budgetary and testing constraints. Early supply issues constantly tested the firms commitment to quality and consistency. These and other barriers strained ReShore’s resources and hammered on leadership’s enthusiasm. But they’ve weathered the worst of the storm.

'President's Awards for Excellence' have been awarded to 5 teams & 3 individuals for their outstanding & innovative work on shipbuilding projects. "We build very sophisticated and complex products, and it takes skill and innovation to do it more cost-effectively," said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Irwin F. Edenzon. "These awards recognize the forward-thinking measures our shipbuilders are taking on a daily basis to improve our performance and streamline our processes. Each year…

A new economic impact study released by the North West & Canada Cruise Association (NWCCA) shows $2.38-billion generated. “We are very pleased to see growth in both overall economic impact and per passenger spending,” says Greg Wirtz, President of the NWCCA. In the report prepared by Business Research and Economic Advisors (BREA), 2.05 million cruise passenger visits generated $1.16 billion in direct spending by the cruise lines, their passengers and crews, generating 9,849 annualized full and part-time jobs.

Algorithms enable robot to navigate and view propellers and other complex structures. For years, the U.S. Navy has employed human divers, equipped with sonar cameras, to search for underwater mines attached to ship hulls. The Navy has also trained dolphins and sea lions to search for bombs on and around vessels. While animals can cover a large area in a short amount of time, they are costly to train and care for, and don’t always perform as expected. In the last few years, Navy scientists…