Maritime Industry Top News
US Seeks Faster Approval of Small-scale Natural Gas Export
The United States is proposing to speed up approval of small-scale exports of natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), the U.S. Department of Energy said in a statement released on Friday. The department said the proposed rule would "expedite the review and approval of applications to export small amounts of natural gas in the emerging small-scale LNG export market," which it said includes the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
Largest Ship to Visit US East Coast Calls Savannah
The largest containership ever to serve the U.S. East Coast, the 14,414 TEU CMA CGM Theodore Roosevelt, called the Port of Savannah on Friday. Working the vessel with seven cranes at the 1,200-acre Garden City Terminal, the Port of Savannah is expected to move 4,500 containers (approximately 8,000 TEUs) on and off the ship. The GPA will work six other vessels simultaneous to the Roosevelt. “Not only do these massive ships play to Savannah's strengths…
Austal Opens Adelaide Office
Austal Australia has opened its Adelaide office, which will support the design and production for the $3 billion Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) program. Officially welcoming Austal’s expansion into Adelaide were Martin Hamilton-Smith, Minister for Defense Industry (SA), Senator David Fawcett, and several locally based Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are already a part of Austal’s 1000 plus Australian supply chain.
US Drillers Add No Oil Rigs as Harvey Slows Production
U.S. energy firms did not add any oil rigs this week as Hurricane Harvey barrelled into the nation's energy heartland, forcing drillers to halt production and refiners to shut plants. The total oil rig count for the week ended Friday stayed at 759, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its report on Friday. That compares with 407 active oil rigs during the same week a year ago. Drillers have added rigs in 56 of the past 67 weeks since the start of June 2016.
Fishing Vessel Owner Convicted for Pollution
A fishing vessel company that operated in and around American Samoa was convicted and sentenced for maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oil and garbage…
MV WERFTEN Fertigmodule Starts Production
MV WERFTEN Fertigmodule GmbH will supply fully prefabricated state-of-the-art passenger and crew cabins for the ships of the Global and Endeavor Class, with the first ones due as early as spring 2018. With the building of the first reference cabin, MV WERFTEN Fertigmodule GmbH officially started production September 1. Genting Hong Kong Group President Colin Au, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Economics Minister Harry Glawe and numerous representatives of MV WERFTEN attended the landmark occasion.
Columbia, Marlow Receive Regulatory Approval for Merger
Columbia Shipmanagement and Marlow Navigation announced confirmation of regulatory approval allowing their previously reported intended merger to proceed. The merger…
Brunswick Acquires Lankhorst Taselaar
Brunswick Corporation said it has completed its acquisition of Lankhorst Taselaar, a marine parts and accessories distribution company based in the Netherlands and Germany.
Wärtsilä Tests Remote Control Ship Operating Capability
Wärtsilä said it has taken a further important step toward developing its Smart Marine capabilities by successfully testing the remote control of ship operations. The testing, which involved driving the vessel through a sequence of manoeuvres using a combination of Dynamic Positioning (DP) and manual joystick control, was carried out on August 21 off the North Sea coast of Scotland in collaboration with Gulfmark Offshore, the U.S. based operator who provided the vessel for the project.
MV WERFTEN Takes On 90 New Trainees
In an official ceremony held in Wismar, MV WERFTEN welcomed 102 new recruits to the maritime industry. 90 apprentices in five different professions and 12 students taking sandwich degree courses were given a warm welcome by the company management, works councils and training supervisors, set against the impressive backdrop of the company’s shipbuilding hall. “Today is a very special day for us – we…
Corpus Christi Ship Channel Reopened
The Corpus Christi Ship Channel is open to restricted operations following a record six-day closure caused by Hurricane Harvey. Harvey has left many Gulf Coast petroleum…
Harvey Produces Rare Jet Fuel Exports to U.S.
Traders are shipping jet fuel from Europe to the United States, where Tropical Storm Harvey has sparked concern over possible shortages of the aviation fuel. French…
Baltic Index Slips on Weaker Capesize Sector
The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell slightly on Friday, dragged down by lower rates for capesize vessels.
Fincantieri Launches New Cruise Ship for Seabourn
The second cruise ship in a newbuild series for Seabourn Cruise Line has been launched by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri at its shipyard in Sestri, Genoa. Seabourn Ovation is due to join the fleet of Carnival Corporation brand Seabourn Cruise Line in spring 2018, following on the delivery of sister ship, Seabourn Encore, at the end of 2016 from Fincantieri’s Marghera, Venice yard. Seabourn Ovation will be 40…
VLCC, Product Tanker Rates Headed in Opposite Directions
No impact on VLCC rates yet from Hurricane Harvey, even as rates for smaller product tankers double. Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) on Asian…
Retail Gasoline Prices Surge in Harvey's Choppy Wake
Nearly a quarter of U.S. refining capacity out; Motiva down for two weeks; Corpus Christi starts to reopen. Retail U.S. gasoline prices hit two-year highs and global…
HMM Orders New Carriers
South Korea’s largest ocean carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) will invest USD 417.61 million in five new very large crude oil carriers (VLCCs), Reuters reported quoting company sources.
China Merchants Port's 1H Profit Soars 86%
Hong Kong-Listed China Merchants Port Holdings reported an 86% surge in first-half net profit, thanks to a one-off gain and higher volume handled by the company's ports.
DVB Bank Losses on Shipping
DVB, the specialist in international shipping finance, reported a consolidated net loss before taxes of EUR 506.3 million in the first six months of 2017 (previous…
Awilco LNG Reduces Net Loss in Q2
Norwegian based LNG transportation provider Awilco LNG reduced its net loss in the second quarter of this year due to higher activity of its vessels and steady spot rates.
