Maritime Industry Top News
Two Cruise Ships Dock in Florida After Coronavirus Ordeal
An ocean liner forced by a deadly onboard coronavirus outbreak to languish at sea since mid-March pulled into a South Florida port on Thursday, after authorities settled plans for the vessel and its sister ship to dock and most passengers to come ashore.The Holland America Line cruise ship MS Zaandam and its twin, the MS Rotterdam, docked late in the afternoon at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale…
PGS Cold Stacks Two Seismic Vessels in Response to Low Oil Price
Norwegian offshore seismic surveyor PGS has said that the coronavirus pandemic and the disruption in the oil market present unprecedented challenges for the offshore services industry, including the marine seismic industry.PGS expects the low oil price will have a material adverse impact on demand for seismic services and activity levels.Brent crude futures fell 3.2%, or 97 cents, to $28.97 per barrel as of 0636 GMT…
Oil Posts Biggest One-day Gain After Trump Touts Saudi-Russia Deal
Crude prices posted their biggest-one day gains on record on Thursday after President Donald Trump said he expects Russia and Saudi Arabia to announce a major oil production cut, and Saudi state media said the kingdom was calling an emergency meeting of producers to deal with the market turmoil.Trump said he had spoken to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and expects Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut oil output by as much as 10 million to 15 million barrels…
US Navy Relieves Commander of USS Theodore Roosevelt
The U.S. Navy on Thursday relieved the commander of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote a scathing letter that leaked to the public asking the Navy for stronger measures to control a coronavirus outbreak onboard the ship.The removal of Captain Brett Crozier from the command of the 5,000-person vessel, which was first reported by Reuters, was announced by acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly…
Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2020 Canceled
The 2020 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic."While OTC’s purpose is to provide an opportunity for those in the offshore petroleum industry from around the world to meet and share knowledge, our first priority is to the health and safety of our attendees and exhibitors. Therefore, OTC has made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s conference…
Coronavirus-stricken Zaandam to Dock in Florida
Two Holland America Line cruise ships, including the coronavirus-hit Zaandam, are scheduled to dock at Port Everglades on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Florida port confirmed.The port said it would hold berths open for the two ships as details for the conditions of arrival are being finalized. An estimated time of arrival is to be determined.Florida has been working with the cruise line and the U.S.
IMO Urges Governments to Allow Crew Changes
United Nations shipping agency the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has echoed industry calls for governments to grant special travel exemptions to seafarers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.In a Circular Letter (link) issued on Monday, the IMO distributed a series of recommendations for governments and relevant national authorities, proposed by a broad cross-section of global industry…
Profiles in Training: American Seafoods
Lance Camarena recognized from a young age that he wanted to work in the learning and development arena. But his plans changed while studying in college to become a public school music teacher and a job working a swing shift at Intel led to a new path of study and a career in the IT world.Still, after graduating and securing full-time employment with another IT firm, he knew training was still his calling. “I managed to switch roles and became one of the first people in the U.S.
SBI Lynx Delivered to Ocean Yield
Ocean Yield said it has taken delivery of the kamsarmax dry bulk vessel SBI Lynx which it purchased and is leasing back to Scorpio Bulkers on a 12-year bareboat charter.In February…
Kirby Completes Savage Fleet Acquisition
Houston-based Kirby Corporation said Thursday it has completed the acquisition of Savage Inland Marine’s inland towboat and tank barge fleet. The total consideration paid was approximately $278 million and was financed with additional borrowings. Savage’s fleet consists of 46 inland towboats and 90 tank barges with approximately 2.5 million barrels of capacity. Savage primarily moves petrochemicals…
EU Antitrust Regulators Pause Hyundai, Daewoo Deal Probe
EU antitrust regulators have halted their investigation into world No.
Carnival Pays High Price to Get Credit Investors on Board
Carnival Corp, the world’s largest cruise operator, said it has raised $6.25 billion by issuing new debt and equity on Wednesday, borrowing at a high cost to weather the economic storm of the coronavirus pandemic.Despite having its cruise ships idled to comply with coronavirus travel restrictions, the company was able to attract enough investors that its capital raising was oversubscribed several times over…
Hornbeck Offshore to File Chapter 11
U.S.-based offshore vessel owner Hornbeck Offshore Services announced it will file chapter 11 after defaulting on payment obligations.The New York-listed company said in an SEC filing that it has reached an agreement with lenders and holders of the company’s unsecured 5.875% and 5% senior notes pursuant to which the creditors have agreed to forbear, until April 20, from exercising certain of their…
While Oil Prices Plummets, Tanker Rates Fly High
If one ever needed proof that, no matter how dire the situation, there is always a silver lining, look no further than the crude tanker market, which has seen it day rates skyrocket in the face of a global pandemic that has effectively ground world commerce to a crawl.As is the case with other gravity defying business phenomena, geopolitics is a central factor, in this case a battle between Russia…
Long-Term Charter with Total for Havila PSV
Norwegian offshore vessel owner Havila Shipping has secured a long-term contract for its platform supply vessel Havila Commander.Havila Shipping said Thursday that the contract was with Total E&P UK, the UK subsidiary of the French oil major Total.The new contract for the 2010-built platform supply vessel is for a firm period of 18 months. The contract will begin in mid-April 2020 in direct continuation…
Covid-19: Boskalis Stops Crew Changes, Cuts Spending
Dutch offshore transportation and dredging giant Boskalis has halted crew changes and will slash spending this year due to the COVID-19 virus crisis, it said on Thursday.The company said that, while its workers work from home where possible, this is not an option for staff working on international projects and vessels."Therefore, as a consequence of global travel restrictions and to ensure the business continuity and health of our colleagues…
Vard Scores Fishing Vessel Contract
Norwegian shipbuilder Vard announced it has secured a NOK 500 million $47.8 million) contract to design and build a stern trawler for fishing company P/F Akraberg, a subsidiary of Framherji in the Faroe Islands.Erik Haakonsholm, Vard's General Manager of Offshore and Specialized vessels, said, “The new contract is a bright spot for Vard, our employees and suppliers, and shows that it is possible to…
Remote Surveys Becoming Business as Usual
Remote vessel and equipment surveys have been available in the maritime world for years, but classification societies are seeing increased demand for these services as more firms turn to digital solutions to continue business during the coronavirus outbreak.Using real-time video communication tools, and even drones and robotics when applicable, surveyors are able to work with stakeholders to perform inspections without having to be on site…
Greensea’s New Ship Hull Crawler Tech Launches with VideoRay Defender ROV
Greensea introduces a new hull crawler that easily attaches a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to a ship hull without magnetics, allowing the operator to “drive” the ROV and payloads over the hull. Initial hull crawlers are designed to work exclusively with the VideoRay Mission Specialist Defender ROV. The hull crawler represents a milestone in Greensea’s hull robotics program, which is advancing navigation…
Vitol Marine Fuels Acquires Sinanju Tanker Holdings
Vitol Marine Fuels Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the Vitol Group, has acquired 100% of Singapore-based bunkering specialist Sinanju Tankers Holdings.The Singapore Bunkering license holding entity has been renamed Vitol Bunkers (S) Pte Ltd and from 1st April 2020 all bunker deliveries will be carried out by Vitol Bunkers (S) Pte Ltd.Through the transaction, Vitol has acquired an expert bunker tanker manager and operator with extensive experience of physical bunker supplies in the port of Singapore…
