Maritime Industry Top News
Slow Progress in US West Coast Port Talks
The union for 20,000 dockworkers and a group of their employers at 29 U.S. West Coast ports say they are making slow but steady progress in months-long contract…
MARAD Considers Deepwater O&G Exports
A U.S. agency is considering how the country could export crude oil and natural gas from deepwater ports as the domestic drilling boom adds pressure for Washington…
Denmark Claims Slice of Arctic Continental Shelf
Denmark has claimed ownership of around 900,000 square kilometers of the continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean by filing documents to United Nations. "The submission of our claim to the continental shelf north of Greenland is a historic and important milestone for the Kingdom of Denmark," minister of foreign affairs Martin Lidegaard said in a statement. Denmark, along with Canada, Norway, Russia and the United States -- is eager to control as much Arctic territory as it can.
Gate Installation Begins at Panama Canal Expansion
The installation of the gates for the new locks of the Panama Canal began today on the Atlantic side of the waterway, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) reported. “This is a very important milestone for the Expansion Program,” said Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano. The gate will be located in lock head two in the new locks on the Atlantic side. The installation of the gate began early in the morning and is expected to be completed in the next couple of days.
Partnership Promotes Seawater Lubrication
Thordon Bearings Inc. signed a letter of intent (LOI) under which it will cooperate with MSR Gryfia of Poland to promote the conversion of ships to an open seawater lubricated propeller shaft Thordon bearing system from a sealed oil lubricated propeller shaft bearing system. The LOI will create an action plan in which a Ship Conversion Team, comprised of MSR Gryfia and Thordon Bearings representatives, that promotes this initiative to the marine community.
BAE Systems to Upgrade UK Navy Torpedoes
BAE Systems has been awarded a £270 million contract from the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) to upgrade the Spearfish Heavyweight Torpedo for the Royal Navy’s submarines. Following the completion of the design phase, existing torpedoes will be upgraded by BAE Systems at its Broad Oak facility in Portsmouth to the new design with initial deliveries in 2020 continuing until 2024. The contract secures 100 skilled engineering jobs for BAE Systems’ Maritime Services business at Broad Oak…
Bill Secures Funding for US Warship
The United States Senate voted 56-40 to pass bill H.R. 83 which funds the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year. The funding ensures the construction…
UPI Wins Engineering Contract from Dominion Resources
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) subsidiary UniversalPegasus International (UPI) was awarded the engineering services contract for the Pleasant Valley Compressor…
Maritime Reporter @ 75: The Daily Cartoon
Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was founded by John J. O'Malley (1905-1980) in 1939, and today ranks as the world's largest audited trade publication in the world serving the maritime industry, with a circulation of more than 35,000 worldwide, including ship and boat owners, ship and boat builders, naval architects and marine engineers. Today Maritime Reporter heads a group of four print and 10 websites serving the global maritime, offshore and subsea sector.
Containership, Fishing Boat Collide; 13 Dead
Egypt has ordered an investigation into an accident in which a Kuwaiti container ship and a fishing vessel collided in the Red Sea in an incident that killed 13 Egyptians. A statement from the prosecutor's office said initial enquiries showed the fishing boat capsized after it and the Kuwaiti ship hit each other after the latter has passed through the Suez Canal. The collision is at least the second such recent incident involving vessels passing through the Suez Canal.
Eni Performs Production Test in Offshore Congo
Italian oil and gas group Eni estimated the potential of the Minsala Marine discovery offshore Congo Brazzaville at about 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent, after successfully completing the production test of an exploration well. The Minsala Marine 1 well, which is located in the Marine XII Block, delivered during the test more than 5,000 barrels of oil per day and 14 million standard cubic feet of gas per day in natural flow from an opened section of 37 meters…
US, UK Navies Plan Future Cooperation
Leaders of the U.S. and British navies agreed on a shared vision for closer cooperation Dec. 11, the culmination of a yearlong effort that will build on a long-standing…
Tanker Markets See Storage Boon from Oil Price Collapse
The oil price drop will hand tanker markets an unexpected bonus next year, boosting demand for oil storage at sea while distant eastern markets also bargain-hunt fuel and need shipping. Supertanker rates are already close to five-year highs of over $83,000 a day - helped by a drop in shipping fuel bunker prices. Overcapacity, which has dogged owners for years, is also receding. Herbjorn Hansson, chairman and chief executive of Nordic American Tankers…
Crewman Overboard Near Texas
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the crew of a nearby ship are searching for a crewman who fell overboard while painting the side of a bulk carrier at anchor about 10 miles off Sabine Pass…
Cape Horn Delivered into Service
Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG), a naval architecture and marine engineering firm with offices in Seattle and Ketchikan, announced the delivery into service of the Cape Horn, a Specialty Oilfield Vessel. EBDG partnered with Gulf of Mexico Operator SeaMar, LLC and Gulf Island Marine Fabricators on the class design and production engineering for the ship. "We would like to congratulate our valued client…
GE Gas Turbine to Power Italian Frigate
GE Marine has received an order to supply one LM2500+G4 aeroderivative marine gas turbine to Avio Aero of Turin, Italy, a GE Aviation business. The gas turbine will power the Italian Navy’s eighth FREMM frigate. Through Avio Aero, at least 17 LM2500+G4 gas turbines are expected to provide propulsion for the Italian-French-Moroccan FREMM program, which includes eight ships each for the Italian and French navies and one ship for the Royal Moroccan Navy.
USCG Begins Northeast Icebreaking Season
The U.S. Coast Guard's (USCG) winter icebreaking season has officially kicked off in the Northeast, starting December 15 and running through March. OP RENEW is the USCG's region-wide effort to ensure Northeast communities have the security, supplies, energy and emergency resources they need throughout the winter. Coast Guard units throughout the Northeast have been busy preparing for Operation RENEW by conducting training operations and prioritizing efforts.
UASC to Open Agency in Switzerland
United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), a leading global shipping company based in the Middle East has announced that it will open a wholly-owned representation in the Swiss market as of 1st of January 2015. UASC’s new agency in Switzerland (UASAC Switzerland GmbH) will be a subsidiary of UASAC Deutschland GmbH and will take over all agency activities from Fiege Logistics LTD, which successfully represented UASC in the Swiss market for 24 years.
Delaney Joins Portwide as President
Thomas J. Delaney has been named President of Portwide Cargo Securing Co. Inc., which supplies lashing services throughout the Port of New York/New Jersey. The announcement was made by Christopher Guido, owner of Portwide. Most recently, Delaney served as Senior Director, Sales and Marketing for APM Terminals (North America) Inc., out of the Elizabeth, N.J. office. Delaney joined APM Terminals as Vice President, Labor Relations, in 2006.
Container for LNG Hybrid Barge Reaches Hamburg
In the coming year, the HUMMEL (bumblebee) LNG Hybrid Barge will enable Becker Marine Systems to supply low-emission power to cruise ships lying at port in Hamburg. The first container with liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel has now arrived in the Hanseatic City. As part of the LNG Hybrid Barge’s testing program, the first gas container for the marine fuel was delivered on Monday. “The testing of the…