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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Texas News

14 Mar 2024

Seapath Launches Jones Act Leasing Business

(Photo: The Libra Group)

Libra Group subsidiary Seapath has launched a Jones Act leasing business offering maritime leasing and financing solutions and a growing portfolio of vessels valued at approximately $25 million.The group said it sees significant unmet demand for the supply of Jones Act compliant transport assets.Joshua Lubarsky, president of Seapath, said, “Domestic maritime transportation is the backbone of the U.S. transportation system. By launching our new Jones Act leasing business, Seapath…

11 Mar 2024

NextDecade Targets Train 4 FID at Texas LNG Facility in H2 2024

© moofushi / Adobe Stock

NextDecade said on Monday it was targeting a final investment decision (FID) and plans to start construction of the fourth liquefaction train at its Rio Grande liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Texas by the second half of 2024.The Rio Grande LNG export plant has been in development for several years, suffering repeated delays. Last year the company made an FID to construct the first three liquefaction trains at the facility.NextDecade expects to finalize commercial arrangements for Train 4 in the coming months to support the FID.

10 Mar 2024

Texas DOT Christens New Ferry Esperanza 'Hope' Andrade

(Photo: TxDOT)

On Friday, March 8, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) christened its new ferry in Galveston Bay.Named for the first female chair of the TxDOT and first Latina Secretary of State, Esperanza “Hope” Andrade, the vessel was designed by the The Shearer Group and built by Gulf Island Fabricators in Louisiana.Stretching 293 feet, the double-ended ferry showcases cutting-edge propulsion technology and pioneering battery energy storage systems.The ferry is outfitted with diesel-powered and electrical engines and Siemens Energy’s BlueDrive PLUSC power and propulsion system…

07 Mar 2024

S&B Names Sipes CEO

Jeff Sipes (Photo: S&B)

Jeffrey G. Sipes has been named chief executive officer at engineering and construction firm S&B, parent company to naval architecture and marine engineering firm TAI Engineers.“S&B has a remarkable record of growth and success over the past sixty years, and we look forward to decades of further success. The markets we serve are changing, creating new opportunities for growth. Jeff is the leader who can successfully guide the company to capitalize on these opportunities. He brings extensive experience and a deep understanding of both S&B’s markets and the company’s distinctive capabilities…

06 Mar 2024

Austal USA Delivers Future USS Kingsville

Source: Austal USA

Austal USA delivered the future USS Kingsville (LCS 36) to the U.S. Navy March 1, 2024. Kingsville is the 18th Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) delivered by the company and the first U.S. Navy vessel to be named after the Texas city home to Naval Air Station Kingsville and directly tied to the historic King Ranch.Delivery documents were signed on board the ship and followed the successful completion of acceptance trials at the end of January during which the ship’s major systems and equipment were tested to demonstrate mission readiness.

06 Mar 2024

Iran to Unload Crude from Seized Tanker Advantage Sweet

© momentscatcher / Adobe Stock

Iran will unload about $50 million worth of crude from a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker seized last year, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Wednesday, in a tit-for-tat action against the United States.Advantage Sweet is a Suezmax crude tanker that had been chartered by U.S. firm Chevron and was seized in April 2023 by Iran's army following an alleged collision with an Iranian boat.The unloading of the cargo follows a Tehran court order in favor of Iranian patients of Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB)…

05 Mar 2024

Speed a Factor in Tug and Tanker Collision -NTSB

Damage to Mark E Kuebler stern hull and fendering system from the Nisalah propeller. (Source: NTSB)

A tugboat maneuvering near a transiting tanker in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel was drawn in toward the tanker, leading to a collision, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday.The tugboat Mark E Kuebler and the tanker Nisalah collided in the channel near Ingleside, Texas, on January 22, 2023. The tugboat’s hull was breached by the tanker’s propeller, which was also damaged in the collision. The collision resulted in nearly $7 million in damages. There were…

01 Mar 2024

US Navy Accepts Delivery of Future USS Kingsville (LCS 36)

(Photo: U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Kingsville (LCS 36) at Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala., March 1.Kingsville is the 18th Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) constructed, and is the first ship ever named after Kingsville, Texas.The LCS class comprises fast, optimally manned, mission-tailored surface combatants that can operate in both near-shore and open-ocean waters to counter 21st-century coastal threats.Kingsville successfully completed Acceptance Trials on February 1 and will be commissioned later this summer…

01 Mar 2024

Texas A&M to Reduce Tuition For Merchant Mariner License Students

(Photo: Texas A&M University at Galveston)

Texas A&M University at Galveston said it will reduce fees for current and future out-of-state students seeking a merchant mariner license from the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, in an effort that aims to help the maritime industry fill worsening labor gaps.Texas A&M Maritime Academy students earn their U.S. Coast Guard license while completing one of several license-option four-year bachelor’s degree programs at Texas A&M at Galveston.Effective September 1, under a new three-tiered fee structure approved by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents…

22 Feb 2024

Callan Marine Christens New Dredge General Arnold

General Arnold (Photo: Callan Marine)

Galveston, Texas based dredging contractor Callan Marine announced it has christened its newest cutter suction dredge (CSD), General Arnold, built by C&C Marine and Repair in Belle Chasse, La.The 32-inch CSD was ceremoniously christened in Corpus Christi, Texas, on February 20, 2024, and will immediately begin work on Phase Four of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project. The project will beneficially reuse 100%of the dredged material removed from the channel deepening and widening.The General Arnold is the newest, largest, and most environmentally friendly dredge in the U.S.

20 Feb 2024

Fueltrax Wins Contracts with Southeast Asian Vessel Operators

(Photo: Fueltrax)

Fueltrax reports it has won a series of contracts from a group of deep sea and offshore support vessel operators working with a global oil company in Southeast Asia.Of 30 ships that implemented a fuel management system at the urging of their oil company customer to ensure accurate fuel usage transparency and emissions tracking, 28 of them chose the Fueltrax Electronic Fuel Management System (EFMS), the Texas-based company said.The patented Fueltrax EFMS measures direct fuel consumption and transfers on board, enabling vessel operators to reduce operational and fuel costs.

19 Feb 2024

Gulf LNG Tugs to Provide Towage at Texas LNG Terminal in Brownsville

(Image: Texas LNG)

Gulf LNG Tugs of Texas has been selected to provide towage services for the Texas LNG export terminal to be constructed in the Port of Brownsville.Gulf LNG Tugs, a consortium of Suderman & Young Towing Company, Bay-Houston Towing, and Moran Towing Corporation, will build, deliver and operate tugboats under a long term agreement to assist LNG carriers arriving at the facility.Texas LNG will be a 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal owned and managed by Glenfarne Energy Transition.

12 Feb 2024

Future Ships: Picture Perfect

(Image: Siemens)

Big data, advanced computers and AI are allowing vessel designers to prepare models that leave essentially nothing to chance.“Lastly, it may be of considerable importance to form from the draught a block model of the vessel from which a still more accurate judgment may be formed of the fitness and beauty of the body. And should any defect be discovered, farther alterations must still be made, till the draught and the model are perfectly approved of. These different alterations and repeated calculations may appear very tedious…

09 Feb 2024

Steel Cutting Ceremony Held for Fifth NSMV

(Photo: California State University Maritime Academy)

Philly Shipyard on Friday held a keel laying ceremony for the fifth and final vessel in a series of new purpose built, state-of-the-art training ships for America’s state maritime academies.The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) new vessel program – known as National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMVs) – was designed to provide world-class training for America’s future mariners and to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions…

08 Feb 2024

Insights: Blake Powell, JMS Naval Architects

Blake Powell, President, JMS Naval Architects (Photo: JMS Naval Architects)

Blake Powell, president at JMS Naval Architects, discusses his career, company and latest trends in naval architecture and marine engineering.Please give a brief professional bio, including education, experience and overview of current duties as president of JMS Naval Architects.I earned my degree in Naval Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley where I attended on a Navy ROTC scholarship and was commissioned as a Diving and Salvage Officer after I graduated.

31 Jan 2024

New Fortress Energy Gets US Clearance to Ship Altamira LNG

(Credit: New Fortress Energy)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a ruling to New Fortress Energy, confirming that the transportation of LNG produced at the its FLNG facility located offshore Altamira in Mexico by non-U.S. qualified vessels would not violate the Jones Act.As a result of this ruling, NFE is now able to sell and deliver LNG produced at its FLNG facility located offshore Altamira, Mexico to U.S. locations, including Puerto Rico.Puerto Rico represents a key downstream market for New Fortress Energy…

26 Jan 2024

Freeport LNG Unit Faces Month-long Outage

(File photo: Freeport LNG)

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Freeport LNG said on Friday it expects one of three liquefaction units at its Texas plant will be out of service for about a month after it faced a technical issue during last week's Arctic freeze.This shutdown was the latest in a series of incidents at the plant since it exited an eight-month outage from June 2022 to February 2023 following a fire and explosion.Since April, at least one liquefaction train at the plant has shut or tripped - sometimes several times…

26 Jan 2024

Orion Joins Dredging Contractors of America

(Photo: Chip Worley / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

Houston based dredging and marine construction contractor Orion Group Holdings – Marine Group has become a member of trade group the Dredging Contractors of America (DCA).Orion has a near 100-year legacy and today ranks among market leaders in the provision of dredging services to keep waterways serviceable and to expand ports and other marine infrastructure throughout the United States, territories and Caribbean. The company works to create beneficial marsh habitats, dredging…

24 Jan 2024

Seaside LNG Performs US Gulf Coast's First Ship-to-ship LNG Bunkering

Seaside LNG's bunkering barge Clean Jacksonville is now operating in Galveston, Texas. (Photo: Seaside LNG)

Seaside LNG announced its liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering barge Clean Jacksonville delivered fuel to Carnival cruise ship Carnival Jubilee in Galveston, Texas, marking the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering delivery along the U.S. Gulf Coast.The bunkering operation took place on December 30, 2023, after months of careful coordination with all parties involved, including the Port of Galveston, Seaside LNG said.The 2,200 cubic meter bunkering barge Clean Jacksonville, previously stationed in Florida…

16 Jan 2024

"Port of the Future" Announces Comms Awards

The Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, led by the University of Houston, announced the creation of the annual Port of the Future Award for “Excellence in Port Communications and Community Relations.”  Each year, this award will be presented at the annual Port of the Future Conference, held the first week of April, in Houston, Texas. Finalists may be invited to participate on the Conference panel “Port Communications and Community Relations.”  This year’s Port of the Future Conference will be held April 2-4…

11 Jan 2024

Flooded Engine Room Caused Fishing Vessel to Sink -NTSB

The Captain Alex pictured just after the U.S. Coast Guard arrived on scene. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard)

Uncontrolled flooding through a hole in the plating beneath the engine room of a fishing vessel led to its sinking in the Gulf of Mexico, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.The commercial fishing vessel Captain Alex was fishing offshore of Galveston, Texas on Nov. 25, 2022, when the vessel began flooding. The four crewmembers on board were unable to stem the flooding and evacuated to a responding U.S. Coast Guard boat. The sinking resulted in an oil sheen and debris field; a reported 17,000 gallons of diesel fuel were on board. There were no injuries.

10 Jan 2024

Surging VLCC Rates Impact US Crude Oil Shipments to Asia

© Andriy Sharpilo / Adobe Stock

The economic incentive to import oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia has closed as the cost of booking supertankers on the route has surged amid a jump in bookings for the vessels, traders said this week.With the arbitrage for U.S. shipments closed, Asian refiners may make up some of the difference with similar Middle Eastern crude oil after top regional producer Saudi Arabia cut their sales prices for February, which is expected to carry over to other regional crudes. The spur…

02 Jan 2024

Amogy Brings Ammonia Into the Mix

© Forance / Adobe Stock

Ammonia is one of several renewable fuels seen as an option to help the maritime industry decarbonize.One of the companies working to unlock the fuel’s potential is Brooklyn, N.Y. based Amogy, developer of an onboard system that feeds liquid ammonia through a cracking process to create hydrogen on demand for power generation via fuel cell—without carbon emissions.Having already demonstrated its technology on an aerial drone, tractor and semi-truck, Amogy is currently working to…

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