Wood Chips News

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has launched a new and augmented gravity self-unloading system that it says will allow bulk carriers to deliver a wider variety of cargo, in greater volume.The new system, the MacGregor GravityVibe, deploys a patent-pending vibrating unloader to reduce internal friction and ease the discharge of coarse materials such as wood chips from the cargo hold.While the automated unloading sequence remains a gravity-based operation, the MacGregor system includes…

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), NYK Group’s Asahi Shipping, and Kobe Steel have announced a successful trial run of biofuels on a voyage between Japan and Australia.The companies supplied biofuel via ship-to-ship transfer to the bulk carrier Sunrise Serenity at the port of Kobe in Japan. The vessel was supplied with biofuel by Toyota Tsusho Marine Fuels Corporation and then sailed to the port of Newcastle, Australia.The vessel is operated and managed by Asahi Shipping and…

A newly built wood chip carrier vessel recently delivered to Japanese shipping company NYK is equipped to collect ocean microplatics for researchers to study.The Stellar Harmony, built by Imabari's Iwagi Zosen Co., Ltd shipyard, was officially handed over on August 23. The vessel will transport wood chips mainly from New Zealand, Australia, North America and South America under a long-term contract between NYK and Marusumi Paper Co., Ltd.Once in operation, the ship will pump in seawater along its routes to collect microplastics floating in the ocean.

A new wood-chip carrier for the Hokuetsu Corporation was delivered on March 2 at Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Saikai city, Nagasaki, Japan. NYK and Hokuetsu have a long-term contract for this vessel.Dubbed Southern Ace, the vessel will transport wood chips made from logs that have been confirmed to have been legally obtained through sustainable plantations in the Southern Hemisphere and the ship will continue serve the company in the tradition of wood-chip carrier HOKUETSU…

South Africa's logistics firm Transnet said it would reduce transport services and non-essential cargo operations during a nationwide lockdown that began at midnight on Thursday to contain the coronavirus.The state-owned company said shipments of metals and minerals would depend on demand and government approval. It was unclear if these exports would be affected.The transport of coal to state-run utility Eskom's power stations would continue, Transnet said.Transnet operates nearly three quarters of the African rail network…

Inland Dredging Company helps keep commerce flowing on America’s inland waterway system.Dyersburg, Tenn. based Inland Dredging Company completed dredging projects spanning eight states and across four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Districts. Beginning in July and finishing in December (2019), Inland Dredging crews dredged ports and harbors along the Mighty Mississippi River, Ouachita River, Red River, Black Warrior River, Atchafalaya River, Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway, and the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway from Apalachicola to Morgan City.Richard Jackson…

Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that the new scrubber-equipped wood chip carrier Southern Treasure has been delivered.The delivery ceremony for the 60,300 dwt vessel with with a cargo capacity of 4.3 million-cubic feet was held at Oshima Shipbuilding, Nagasaki Prefecture.MOL will operate the vessel, which transport wood chips for Hokuetsu Corporation, said a press release."The vessel is equipped with a SOx scrubber and Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) to comply with today's stricter environmental regulations," said the release.It features Oshima Shipbuilding's technologies such as Seaworthy Bow (a bow shape that reduces the decline in vessel speed during adverse weather)…

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE) announced that an agreement has been made with Nippon Paper Industries Co. Ltd., on consecutive voyage contract of new 3.6 million CFT woodchip carrier delivered in 2022. The carrier will be carrying woodchips for paper materials and woodchips for Biomass power generation business which will operate at Tomakomai in 2023.The Carrier will be equipped with the latest economical and environmental-friendly features. The carrier installs Hybrid fin behind the propeller to save energy and Ballast water treatment system to compliant with the ballast water discharging rules. Furthermore, for complying with the regulation of SOx global cap that will be enforced in all sea areas from January 2020…

The shipping and logistics company NYK (Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha) has concluded a long-term contract with Mitsubishi Paper Mills Limited for a new wood-chip carrier to be built by Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.The ship will be able to load 4.3 million cubic feet of wood chips, said a press release from NYK.The vessel features the latest design that will allow the vessel to perform well in all types of weather while ensuring low water resistance and high efficiency and energy-saving equipment that will lower fuel consumption considerably compared with conventional vessels.The advanced eco-ship complies with SOx (sulfur oxide) emission…

A new wood chip carrier was delivered for Hokuetsu Corporation on September 11 at Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Saikai city, Nagasaki, Japan, and a naming and delivery ceremony was held on the same day. NYK and Hokuetsu have a long-term contract for this vessel.According to NYK, the new vessel uses about 15 percent less fuel compared to conventional wood chip carriers.The ship was named Snow Camellia after the prefectural tree of Niigata, the location of the Hokuetsu paper mill receiving the wood chips.Length Overall: 209.96 metersBreadth: 37 metersDeadweight Tonnage: 60…

Taking the Furuno 15X8 series radar out for a spin; Furuno’s newest entry has found a welcome place on inland waters. Furuno’s newest radar is now on the market. The first workboat installation of the company’s FAR-15X8 series was completed in late February and early March. Following installation, test runs were carried out on the Bruce M, a 65-foot, 1,900 Hp inland pushboat operated by SDS Lumber based out of Bingen, Wash. The vessel works the Columbia Snake River system, mainly pushing either construction or wood chip barges.

Port Metro Vancouver today released its 2015 year-end statistics. Overall volume remained steady at 138 million tonnes of cargo as sectors experiencing declines were offset by others that hit new records. This is the port’s third consecutive year of strong cargo volumes, with new records set in the container, potash, and grain and agri-product sectors. Cargo shipped in containers continued to show substantial growth due to increased trade with Asia, with a five per cent jump in units (known as twenty-foot-equivalent units or TEUs) for a new record of 3.1 million TEUs. Grain and agri-product exports increased by eight per cent over 2014 to 25.1 million metric tonnes, and potash exports were 8.7 million metric tonnes, up 15.6 per cent from the prior year.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced the delivery of the new woodchip carrier, C.S. Bright, which has a cargo hold capacity of about 4.3 million cubic feet, at Mizushima Shipyard of Sanoyas Shipbuilding Corporation (President: Takashi Ueda; Head Office: Osaka). Following the delivery ceremony, the vessel left to take on a cargo of wood chips in Australia for Hokuetsu Kishu Paper Co., Ltd. The C.S. Bright was designed with a shallow draft while maximizing cargo hold capacity to allow efficient loading of wood chips, which are lightweight and take up a relatively large amount of space. It also features environmental-friendly specifications to cut CO2 emissions, such as a rudder bulb fin to enhance propulsion efficiency and low-friction ship-bottom paint.

NYK has concluded a long-term contract with Hokuetsu Kishu Paper Co. Ltd. for a new wood-chip carrier to be built by Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. and delivered in 2018. The ship will be able to load 4.3 million cubic feet of wood chips and will feature an advanced eco-design and electronically controlled engines.   NYK currently has long-term contracts with Hokuetsu Kishu Paper for six wood-chip carriers, the largest share of contracts that any shipping company has with Hokuetsu Kishu Paper, and this new contact will strengthen NYK’s transportation capacity further.   In accordance with its “More Than Shipping 2018” medium-term management plan, NYK will continue its efforts to make use of creative solutions to provide stable and economical coal transport.

Latvia's gas utility Latvijas Gaze sold 10.9 percent less natural gas imported from Russia in 2014 than a year before, the company said on Wednesday. Sales fell to 1.3 billion cubic metres (bcm) due to warmer weather and as more gas was switched for woodchips for heating, the company said when reporting its full-year results. Germany's E.ON wants to sell its 47.2 percent stake in the Latvian utility, which is 34 percent owned by Russia's Gazprom. The Russian firm is the sole supplier of gas to the Baltic country. Latvijas Gaze Chief Executive Adrians Davis confirmed on Wednesday that European infrastructure fund Marguerite was negotiating with E.ON. "There is a buyer - Marguerite. The buying and selling process is taking place at the moment ...

MOL (America) Inc. announces the May 2014 results of its Regional Key Performance Indicators (KPI) in the following categories:  operations, customer service, and electronic data interchange (EDI). The results are available on a monthly basis and posted in greater detail at www.CountOnMOL.com. Asia to U.S. U.S. U.S. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has the world’s largest ocean shipping fleet. Backed by experience and technologies developed over 130 years, MOL moves today’s global economy. MOL operates specialized bulk carriers for iron ore, coal, and woodchips; tankers that transport crude oil and LNG; car carriers; cruise ships; ferries and coastal liners…

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway awaits the chance to rescue the crowded eastern seaboard with a readymade alternative to the parking lot known simply as I-95. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) extends 1,200 miles from Norfolk, Va. to Key West, Fla.. That much is common knowledge. What you may not know is that the U.S. Congress authorized the creation of the AIWW in 1919 and the entire waterway was completed in 1940. Consisting of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are manmade canals, the canal is included on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark.

MOL (America) Inc. announces August 2013 KPI results showing continued improvements in documentation accuracy and in-terminal truck turn time. MOL (America) Inc. announces the August 2013 results of its Regional Key Performance Indicators (KPI) in the following categories:  operations, customer service, and electronic data interchange (EDI). Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has the world’s largest ocean shipping fleet. They operate specialized bulk carriers for iron ore, coal, and woodchips; tankers that transport crude oil and LNG; car carriers; cruise ships; ferries and coastal liners; and containerships that deliver a variety of finished products as part of the largest and most diverse global network of liner and logistics services. MOL (America) Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MOL.

We rolled into town on the last train north, arriving Portland, Maine at 2:00 a.m. Half an hour later we were at the dock, hauling our kit - and when Marine News travels light, we're like Hannibal crossing the Alps - over silent tugs resting abreast: Captain Bill, Justine McAllister, Stamford. On the phone a few days before, Capt. Brian Fournier had said something about leaving a light in Stamford's forward port cabin, and there, finally, it shone. But something brighter had caught our eye, and could we believe it? Last time we saw something like it, it was in Aberdeen, Scotland. Now, from Stamford's starboard rail, it loomed and glistened four hundred feet away - rising nearly as high - a pair of deep-sea drilling platforms, afloat waters barely up to their ankles.

An Indian-registered container vessel has run aground west of Melbourne in stormy weather but there is no immediate risk of pollution, an Australian maritime official said. The 47,349 dwt Devprayag had been anchored off Portland harbor waiting to load woodchips. A spokesman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said tugs had been sent from Melbourne to refloat the ship. "The ship is sitting on sand, a beach area," the spokesman said. "There isn't any pollution that we're aware of, although we know the ship is carrying about 960 tons of fuel oil."

The Coast Guard said that it had found a New Bedford, Mass., fishing vessel missing since Friday night submerged 36 feet in Nantucket Sound. The four crew members are missing. Coast Guard rescuers said it appeared unlikely that the crew would be found alive in the frigid waters, but two Coast Guard cutters continued searching overnight, using large lights. The vessel’s life raft was found attached to the boat. The 75-foot boat, the Lady of Grace, was supposed to return to New Bedford Harbor on Saturday morning, cutting a planned eight-day trip in half because of the weather. The boat’s last known position was 12 miles south of Hyannis, which is 60 miles southeast of Boston. At the time the boat was lost, the wind was blowing at 30 to 35 miles an hour, and there were 8- to 10-foot waves.

The Georgia Ports Authority has announced  that the authority posted increases across all reporting categories for the first two months of fiscal year 2013. At its Oct. 8 meeting, the GPA board heard a report from Executive Director Curtis Foltz detailing 5.6 percent growth in tonnage across July and August, with 13.8 percent growth in total TEUs for the month of August. That’s an increase of 240,000 tons over the same two months in FY2012. “Our deepwater ports achieved a good start for fiscal year 2013, despite a slow national economy,” Foltz said. The Port of Savannah handled 522,744 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) over the first nine weeks of the fiscal year, for a growth of 4.4 percent.

Maritime authorities in Quang Ngai ban a Panamanian-flagged ship from leaving after it spilled nearly 1,000 liters of oil at a local port. The Panama-flagged Chinese-owned Race Express belonging to Nova Shipping & Logistics Pte Ltd can only leave Dung Quat Port after its owners have cleaned up the spill, reports Thanh Nien News. The 43,000 DWT ship had anchored at the port to load wood chips for transport to China. Reportedly the crew of Racer Express was pumping fuel oil to ballast the vessel as it prepared to leave port. Provincial agencies have started estimating the spill's impact on the environment and carry out further cleaning after a local response team mopped up the oil. Estimates were that the spill measured 300-350 square meters.