Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
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28 Mar 2024

Svitzer Building New Training Center in Australia

(Image: Svitzer Australia)

Marine towage provider Svitzer Australia is building a new facility to deliver enhanced maritime training capabilities to the East Coast of New South Wales (NSW).The company reports construction is underway at its Port of Newcastle tug base, where Svitzer’s innovative, new TRAnsverse tug vessels are forecast to enter service in 2025 (the second and third to be deployed in the world). The facility will feature state-of-the-art Kongsberg Digital maritime simulators in support of crew training and other marine applications.Svitzer Australia chief operating officer…

26 Mar 2024

Over 100 Cattle Die on Voyage to Indonesia

Source: DAFF

Over 100 cattle have died after departing Australia on the Brahman Express. The vessel, built in 2002 and operated by Vroon, was destined for Indonesia.This is one of the highest mortality rates reported on an Australian short haul cattle shipment, states Vets Against Live Export in a blog, which notes that the mortality rate of 7.69% on the GL Kaihou’s maiden voyage in 2017 is still likely to be higher. On the GL Kaihou, 95 cattle died after the vessel’s non-slip flooring was found to be ineffective.The Australian Department of Agriculture (DAFF) stated that…

26 Mar 2024

Roll Group Cuts Steel on Roll Barge One

Iimage courtesy Roll Group

Roll Group has cut steel for its latest addition, Roll Barge One, in Batam, Indonesia. Scheduled for delivery by ASL Yards in the third quarter of 2024, this marks Roll Group's entry into the barge market with its own assets."This is a new milestone in the history of our company," said Peter Rondhuis, CEO of Roll Group. "By entering the barge market with our own assets, where we have been servicing our clients so far with rented barges, we're aligning with our strategic vision. Roll Barge One represents the first of many we plan to build.

25 Mar 2024

New Zealand Deploys Naval Ship to Solomon Islands

HMNZS Canterbury (Photo: New Zealand Defense Force)

New Zealand said on Monday it will dispatch defense personnel, helicopters and a naval ship to the Solomon Islands to assist in a national election due next month, where relations with China will be a key issue.The deployment is part of a NZ$10.8 million ($6.48 million) support program for the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission announced in January and that will help transport election officers and materials around Pacific Island nations.New Zealand's foreign ministry said the vessel HMNZS Canterbury will leave Auckland on Tuesday to transport two helicopters and crew…

24 Mar 2024

Esgian Week 12 Report: New Finds in Guyana, China and Norway

© bomboman / Adobe Stock

Esgian reports fresh finds confirmed in Guyana, China and Norway in its Week 12 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDolphin Drilling has announced the award of a $154 million drilling contract from India's exploration and production company, Oil India Limited (Oil India), to the 6,000-ft semisub Blackford Dolphin.Malaysian offshore drilling firm Velesto confirmed Friday it had recently secured long-term contract extensions for three of its jackup rigs with Petronas Carigali…

21 Mar 2024

China Grain Imports Near Record High

Cereal and oilseed imports to China, the world's biggest buyer of farm goods, will remain near record highs this year despite a recent spate of cancellations as lower global prices and a domestic output shortfall prompt purchases.China's wheat imports from Australia in January and February this year have nearly quadrupled from the same time last year, the latest customs data show. That trend should continue even after Beijing cancelled or postponed 1 million metric tons of Australian wheat last week.The cancellations, along with those for about 500,000 tons of U.S.

21 Mar 2024

Fiji to Sign Ports Deal with Australia in Shipbuilding Boost

© yorkzel / Adobe Stock

Fiji will strike a deal with Australia to upgrade ports and shipbuilding infrastructure, months after its prime minister said it was likely to partner with China on the project, the government of the Pacific Islands nation said on Thursday.Fiji's government said its cabinet had agreed to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Australia for the project, after Australia committed to financing."The revival of the shipbuilding industry in Fiji has been articulated as a key priority…

22 Mar 2024

Fortescue Conducts World's First Ammonia Bunker Trial in Singapore

Source: MPA

Fortescue has conducted the world's first ammonia marine bunker operation in the port of Singapore, the city-state's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and the Australian mining company said on Friday.The Singapore-flagged Fortescue Green Pioneer was loaded with liquid ammonia from an existing facility at Jurong Island's Vopak Banyan Terminal for the trial, Fortescue and MPA said in a joint statement.The vessel is dual-fuelled and can adopt ammonia for bunkering in combination with diesel.

10 Mar 2024

Esgian Week 10 Report: Additional Backlog Secured

© freddytb Foto / Adobe Stock

Esgian reports that offshore drilling contractors secured additional backlog in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Egypt, Nigeria, and Brazil and operators confirmed new discoveries in Indonesia, Côte d’Ivoire, and China in its Week 10 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.ContractsDiamond Offshore has executed a two-year contract extension with a subsidiary of bp in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for the 12,000-ft drillship Ocean BlackHornet.Shelf Drilling’s 250-ft jackup Rig 141 has secured a two-year…

05 Mar 2024

Singapore and Australia Formalize Corridor Collaboration

© ake1150 / Adobe Stock

Singapore and Australia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formally collaborate on establishing the Singapore-Australia green and digital shipping corridor.The MoU was signed by Chee Hong Tat, Singapore’s Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance, and Catherine King, Australian Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government.Both countries will work with interested partners to explore opportunities to develop zero or near-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emission fuel supply chains for the maritime industry…

04 Mar 2024

After Failed Voyage, 14,500 Australian Livestock Sail Again for Israel

Image courtesy of Michael Mondello

Around 14,500 livestock sailed from Australia to Israel on Sunday for the second time, two months after their first voyage was curtailed by the threat of attack by Houthi militants in the Red Sea.The animals left Fremantle port in Perth on Jan. 5 but halfway to the Middle East, their ship abandoned its route and was ordered home by the Australian government.The turn-back was part of the havoc wrought by the Houthi strikes in support of Hamas militants in Palestine that have forced…

01 Mar 2024

Animal Welfare Groups Decry Bahijah Re-Export Decision

Image courtesy of Michael Mondello

The Australian Alliance for Animals and the RSPCA have expressed dismay over the decision by Australia’s Department of Agriculture to allow the re-export of more than 15,000 sheep on board the Bahijah to the Middle East.Originally, 16,000 Australian sheep and cattle were onboard the Bahijah for over a month after the vessel departed from Australia and then turned back from the Middle East due to maritime security concerns in the Red Sea. It was then recalled to Perth by the Department of Agriculture.The animals were unloaded after the Department rejected a plan for their immediate re-export.

22 Feb 2024

Austal Awarded Contract for Two More Patrol Boat Builds

Austal Australia has been awarded a contract extension for two additional Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boats for the Royal Australian Navy (Image: Austal Australia)

Shipbuilding group Austal Limited announces that Austal Australia has been awarded a contract extension for the construction of two additional Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boats for the Royal Australian Navy.The A$157 million contract follows the procurement announcement made by the Commonwealth of Australia (CoA) on November 23, 2023 and brings the total number of Evolved Cape-class Patrol Boats being delivered to the Navy, under the SEA1445-1 Project, to ten.Austal Limited Chief…

22 Feb 2024

Pearlson to Upgrade Shiplift at Australia's Osborne Naval Shipyard

Australian Naval Infrastructure in Osborne, South Australia (Photo: Pearlson Shiplift Corporation)

Pearlson Shiplift Corporation, a subsidiary of The Pearlson Group, announced it has been awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to deliver a large capacity upgrade and extension for Australian Naval Infrastructure (ANI) in Osborne, South Australia.The works will be installed by McConnell Dowell, one of the largest construction companies in the region. Once completed later this year, Pearlson Shiplift Corporation will recommission ANI’s shiplift system as the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.“We are honored to be awarded this project - the largest in the region.

22 Feb 2024

Liberian Bulk Carrier Banned from Australian Ports

Source: AMSA

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has banned the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier KMAX Leader from entering Australian ports for 12 months, effective February 15, 2024.The ban was instigated as a result of serious safety violations and breaches of Australian legislation committed by the ship’s master and owner while in Gladstone Harbour.KMAX Leader first experienced mechanical issues on October 26, 2023, reporting unidentified engine room vibrations.On October 28, the ship’s agent advised work had commenced on the mechanical issues and would take eight to 10 days to complete.

21 Feb 2024

Aussie Pumps Releases New Bronze Pump

Source: Aussie Pumps

Australian Pump Industries (Aussie Pumps) has launched a 4-inch NiAl bronze self-priming pump with hydraulic drive.The new pump, called the B4XRA/B HYD34, produces 2,200 lpm and can operate at up to 42psi. It can also lift water through a vertical suction lift of 6m.Aussie Pumps Chief Engineer John Hales said: “The pumps self-prime. You can see from the big tank that’s designed into the body. When the product is properly primed it will have no trouble fulfilling its suction responsibilities in any installation.”“Most vessels today have hydraulic capabilities.

13 Feb 2024

DOF Group Secures Over $20M for Asia Pacific Projects

(Credit: DOF Group)

Norwegian offshore vessel owner DOF Group has secured a new contract and a contract extension for two of its vessels that will be employed in the Asia Pacific region.The latest contract secured for the region is related to Skandi Hercules vessel that will see it fully utilized off the Australian coast into the third quarter of 2024.The contracted scope includes project management and engineering, logistics support and execution of various inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR)…

12 Feb 2024

Unloading of Stranded Australian Livestock Begins

Image courtesy of Michael Mondello

Thousands of sheep and cattle stuck on a ship that was forced to abandon a passage through the Red Sea last month have begun disembarking at the same Australian port they left nearly six weeks ago, Australia's agriculture ministry said late on Monday.The MV Bahijah sailed from Fremantle, Western Australia on Jan. 5 for Israel with about 14,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle on board, but diverted from its route due to the threat of attack by Yemen's Houthi militia before being ordered…

07 Feb 2024

Australian Welfare Organizations Call for Suspension of Live Animal Exports

Source: Animals Australia

The Australian Alliance for Animals has written an open letter to animal exporters imploring them to voluntarily suspend all live animal exports to or through the Red Sea while the risk of attack remains and to suspend any extended journeys to the Middle East via the Cape of Good Hope.The move follows the recently aborted voyage of the Bahijah. The livestock carrier sailed from Australia for Israel on January 5 but was recalled over a week into the voyage after diverting towards…

06 Feb 2024

Concern Raised that Australian Sheep Will be Re-Exported

Source: Michael Mondello

The Australian government refused a request by an Israeli livestock exporter to send a ship carrying around 14,000 sheep and hundreds of cattle on a month-long voyage around Africa to Israel earlier this week, but it left the way open for other options.The Bahijah sailed from Australia for Israel on January 5 but was recalled over a week into the voyage after diverting towards South Africa, unwilling to sail through the Red Sea.The ship has been docked in Fremantle port, Western Australia…

05 Feb 2024

Australia Stops Ship Carrying Livestock from Sailing Around Africa to Israel

FILE PHOTO: Livestock carrier Bahijah berthed at North Quay, in the inner harbour of the Port of Fremantle, Western Australia, in 2018. (Credit: Bahnfrend / CC BY-SA)

The Australian government said on Monday it had refused a request by a livestock exporter to send a ship carrying around 14,000 sheep and 1,500 cattle on a month-long voyage around Africa to Israel.The animals have been on board the vessel for a month, prompting outcry from animal rights advocates who have likened their treatment to torture.The MV Bahijah sailed from Australia for Israel on Jan. 5 but abandoned a passage through the Red Sea due to threat of attack by Yemen's Houthi…

02 Feb 2024

Australian Livestock: Second Vessel Heads to Red Sea

Bahijah and Jawan in Fremantle (Source: Michael Mondello)

A ship carrying 16,000 sheep and cows that turned back from the Red Sea due to the risk of attack off Yemen was stranded at an Australian port in a heatwave on Friday as the exporter sought to offload at least some of the animals into quarantine.Meanwhile, another vessel carrying an even larger cargo - tens of thousands of animals - from Australia sailed for a Red Sea port in Jordan, with a contingency plan to unload them in the Gulf if it fails to obtain permission to enter the…

02 Feb 2024

DOF Vessel to Report for Duty Offshore Australia

PSV Skandi Kvitsøy (Credit: DOF Group)

Norwegian offshore vessel owner DOF Group has secured ‘substantial contract’ with an international oil company for the platform supply vessel (PSV) Skandi Kvitsøy.The vessel will work in Australian waters and further strengthen DOF’s presence in Australia.DOF Group defines a ‘substantial contract’ as the one with value between $23 million and $48 million (NOK 250 million to NOK 500 million).The contract is set to start in the first quarter of 2024, with two-year firm and two years options…