Maritime Industry Top News
Car Battery Triggered Fire on Board Höegh Xiamen -NTSB
An electrical fault from an improperly disconnected battery in a used vehicle led to the fire aboard vehicle carrier Höegh Xiamen that resulted in $40 million worth of damages, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.As a result of the investigation, NTSB issued eight safety recommendations to federal regulators and the companies involved in the accident.On June 4, 2020, while the Höegh Xiamen was in Jacksonville…
Rem Offshore Buys PSV Quartet as Axe Falls on K-Line Offshore
Offshore vessel operator Rem Offshore said Friday it had agreed to buy four platform supply vessels from K-Line Offshore AS, which is set to be dissolved and cease to exist.K-Line Offshore, was established in Norway by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K” LINE) in 2007, which wanted to enter the offshore support vessel (OSV) business, expecting stable demand in the oil and gas fields of the North Sea. However…
Master Boat Builders Begins Building Crowley's eWolf Electric Tug
Coden, Ala. shipbuilder Master Boat Builders has started building Crowley’s eWolf, the first all-electric ship assist tug in the U.S.“Initiating construction of the first-ever fully electric U.S. tugboat, the eWolf marks a historic moment for Crowley and Master Boat Builders,” said Garrett Rice, president of Master Boat Builders. “Today is also a remarkable milestone for the entire U.S. maritime industry…
Solstad Bags 572-day Charter for Platform Supplier in Australia
Norwegian offshore vessel operator Solstad Offshore has won a contract with Woodside in Australia for the platform supply vessel Normand Tortuga.The vessel will support the activities of the DPS-1 semisubmersible drilling rig on the Enfield P&A and Scarborough projects, starting in late Q1/early Q2 2022.During the period of the contract, the Normand Tortuga will be operating from Dampier, Western Australia.The vessel is on a firm 572-day contract…
RWO's BWMS Earns USCG Type Approval
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) said its Marine Safety Center issued type approval to RWO GmbH for its ballast water management system (BWMS) after a detailed review of the manufacturer’s application determined the system met the requirements of 46 CFR 162.060.The treatment principle of the CleanBallast-Ocean Barrier System (CB-OBS) BWMS consists of filtration and electrochemical disinfection during ballasting and neutralization of residual active substances during deballasting.
Dockers' Strike Threatens Ivory Coast Cocoa Bean Exports
A week-long strike by dockers in Ivory Coast's two main ports of Abidjan and San Pedro could hurt cocoa bean exports from the world's top cocoa producing nation after workers blocked access to the ports on Friday.The two ports were at a standstill behind closed gates on Friday morning as stevedores and dockers walked away over demands that the government respect a 2019 agreement to pay them three euros ($3.40) per hour…
Carnival Opens New Dubai Cruise Terminal
Cruise ship operator Carnival Corporation has officially opened its new Dubai Harbor Cruise Terminal with Shamal Holding following their strategic partnership signed in 2018 to develop the new cruise port.With the arrivals of Costa Firenze and AIDAbella from the company’s Italy-based Costa Cruises and Germany-based AIDA Cruises brands, the official opening was marked by two passenger cruise ships visiting the Dubai Harbor Cruise Terminal for the first time…
Baltic Dry Index Marks Worst Week in Nearly Three Years
The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index declined on Friday, posting its biggest weekly fall since early February 2019, as demand waned across its vessel segments.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, was down 119 points, or 4.8%, to its lowest level since mid-April at 2,379.The main index lost 27.3% this week.The capesize index shed 167 points, or 5.8%, to an over six-month low of 2,727.
FPSO for Greater Tortue Gas Project Due in Senegal by end-2022
BP's floating, production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO) for the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project offshore West Africa is expected in Senegal waters for commissioning and testing by the end of 2022, a company executive said on Friday.The FPSO for the project, which straddles Senegal and Mauritania, is being built in China by France's Technip Energies.Massaer Cisse, BP's vice-president, and…
Maritime Training Insights – MarTID 2021 Report Available
As trainers in the maritime industry, we benefit from the sharing of information. Understanding what training trends are emerging, how training budgets are growing (or shrinking), what training models are on the rise or decline, and how the world pandemic has affected training operations is all of great important to us. Having a global understanding of these questions and more allows us to improve based on best practice…
VIDEO: DemoSATH Floater Manufacturing Accelerating in Spain
Manufacturing works on DemoSATH, Saitec Offshore’s & RWE Renewables concrete floating wind platform project, are accelerating in the Spanish Port of Bilbao, with the latest milestone being the handling operation of the prototype, Saitec Offshore said Friday.The SATH Technology floater is based on a twin hull, made of modularly prefabricated and subsequently braced concrete elements. It can align itself…
DNV Certifies SimFlex Cloud Simulator Platform
DNV has certified Force Technology’s SimFlex Cloud navigation simulator platform according to DNV’s ST-0033 Maritime Simulator Systems Class D standard requirements, for the approval of simulators used for mandatory simulator-based training or as a means to demonstrate competence. DNV requires that all simulators are DNV certified when used as tools for training and examination in accordance with STCW Regulations I/12…
Israeli Ministry Won't Allow Oil Tankers to Enter Red Sea Resort, Potentially Blocking UAE Pipeline Deal
Israel's Environmental Protection Ministry said on Thursday that it would not allow oil tankers to enter its Red Sea resort of Eilat as planned under a deal with partners from the United Arab Emirates to transport crude from the Gulf to Europe via Israel.The announcement could lead to the cancellation of the deal, one of the biggest to emerge from the normalization of ties between Israel and the UAE last year.
Successful Trial: BP, Maersk Tankers Use Biofuel Blend on Tankers
BP and Maersk Tankers successfully completed trials using marine fuel blended with biofuel on tankers as efforts grow to tackle the shipping sector's greenhouse gas emissions.Global shipping accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions. The sector is considered relatively hard to decarbonize because of a lack of alternatives to marine fuel.The trials were completed on two refined oil product carriers chartered to BP from Maersk Tankers - Maersk Cirrus and Maersk Navigator…
British Man Ordered Detained by Swedish Court After Deadly Ship Collision
A Swedish court ordered a British crew member of the ship Scot Carrier to be remanded in custody on Thursday, following a collision earlier this week that left one crew member of a Danish barge dead and another missing, TT Newsagency reported.The court detained him on suspicion of causing death through negligence, maritime drunkenness, and negligence in maritime traffic.The suspect only admitted one count of negligence in maritime traffic, and denied all the others, according to TT.Neither the p
First Ship Fit with 'Seawing' Kite Propulsion System
A French ro-ro ship will be the first commercial vessel to trial a novel wind-assisted propulsion system designed to curb emissions from shippingAirseas said it has installed its Seawing system on the vessel Ville de Bordeaux owned and operated by Louis Dreyfus Armateurs. The ship, which is chartered by Airbus to transport major aircraft components between France and the U.S., will deploy the 500-square meter Seawing on its monthly transatlantic journeys from January 2022…
Swan Hellenic Takes Delivery of New Cruise Ship SH Minerva
Helsinki Shipyard has delivered SH Minerva, the first of three Vega-class ships under construction in Helsinki for Swan Hellenic’s heritage brand.After being christened on November 23, the vessel left Helsinki on December 3 and is heading toward Ushuaia, from where the vessel will take off for a New Year maiden Antarctic cruise departing December 29. The new ship sailed through the Kiel Canal on December…
New York Bight Offshore Wind Leasing: No Significant Impact on Environment, BOEM Says
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its environmental review of potential impacts from offshore wind energy leasing activities in the New York Bight, a portion of the Atlantic Ocean located offshore New York and New Jersey, and found no significant impact.The New York Bight WEAs are located in an area of shallow waters between Long Island (to the north and east) and the…
USMMA Set to Resume at Sea Training
Students from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) are set to resume at sea training with new safety measures in place following a temporary pause due to sexual assault and harassment concerns. The U.S. federal maritime academy’s Sea Year training program, which typically consists of a sailing period during a cadet’s sophomore year and a longer sailing period during a cadet’s junior year, was put on hold in early November as lawmakers and the U.S.
Langh Tech Researches Ways to Reduce CO2 Emissions Using SOx Scrubbers
In view of the upcoming CO2 emission regulations, Langh Tech has started researching the possibility of carbon capture on board vessels. The Finnish company said first tests have been successfully performed on board one of the vessels in sister company Langh Ship’s fleet, utilizing the existing Langh Tech hybrid scrubber installed on board.Langh Tech revealed Thursday it has conducted several preliminary…