Maritime Industry Top News
Oceanographic Survey Ship Christened at VT Halter Marine
VT Halter Marine’s Halter Moss Point facility was the scene of the christening of T-AGS 66’, USNS Maury’. Construction began in September 2010, the keel laying ceremony was held in February 2011, and delivery is expected in January 2014. The vessel has an additional 24 feet in length to the previous T-AGS 60 design which will accommodate a moon pool for deployment and retrieval of autonomous underwater vehicles.
Vietnam University Selects Intergraph SmartMarine Enterprise
PetroVietnam University (PVU) joined the Intergraph Education Grant Program. PVU is located in the offshore oil and gas hub of southern Vietnam, and was established…
Survey Indicates American Boating Industry Growth
A recent forecast indicated a 2013 growth of 8% in the American boating industry. In light of an improving consumer outlook, more than half (51%) of marine industry…
Rig Decommissioning Specialists Meet in Houston
Safety Management Systems were at the global meeting of decommissioning professionals, which attracts nearly 1,000 attendees annually. Along with other expert speakers…
Shell Europort Readies as North Sea Oil Diminishes
Deeper draft VLCC’s can now be berthed, and facilities for handling and storing crude oil in the Port of Rotterdam are also being further expanded. At Shell Europoort…
Port of Houston Commissioners Approves Dredging Agreements
The Port Commission approved U.S. Army Corps of Engineers MOA’s for Maintenance Dredging at Barbours Cut and Bayport. Two Memoranda of Agreement with the U.S. Army…
Cement Carrier Cargo Handling Orders for MacGregor
Two new 20,000 dwt cement carriers on order in China will feature advanced MacGregor cement handling systems. MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has secured an order with…
Coastguard Rescues Lakers Stuck in Ice
Three icebreaking cutters worked together to keep traffic moving through the St. Mary’s River. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, a 240-foot icebreaker homeported in Cheboygan, Mich., along with Coast Guard Cutter Alder, a 225-foot buoy tender with ice-breaking capabilities homeported in Duluth, Minn., and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley assisted vessels in the ice-bound river. The Mackinaw…
Nigerian Offshore Equipment Facility Taking Shape
Kaztec Engineering announced that construction of its Phase 1 Lagos factory is now underway. Kaztec, a subsidiary of the Chrome Group a leading West African oil and gas conglomerate…
‘Parallel Track’ at Upcoming IMUA Meeting
The Inland Marine Underwriters Association (IMUA) annual meeting will be held in Atlanta, May 19-22, 2013 and will feature Parallel Track. The Parallel Track addition is specifically focused on newer…
Indian Shipyard Delivers PSV Sea Tantalus
Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) delivered the high specification Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) to PSV Holding Inc., Liberia. Sea Tantalus is a PSV 05L CD type, designed by Vard Group AS, Norway, and is classed by Det Norske Veritas (DNV). The vessel has been assigned the "Clean Design" notation by DNV signifying the highest levels of environmental compliance, and is the first ship built by CSL to be filled with a ballast water treatment plant.
Tri-fuel LNG Carrier Delivered to GasLog
GasLog Ltd. announced the delivery of a new LNG carrier GasLog Santiago, from Samsung Heavy Industries. Immediately on delivery, which was on budget and ahead of schedule…
Cal Dive Wins GoM Subsea Pipeline Contract
Cal Dive International awarded an EPIC contract by Pemex Exploración y Producción; updates Q1 2013 expectations. The contract is for the engineering, procurement…
Arctic Ice Melt Has Begun
NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab reports ice now shrinking. After reaching its maximum extent for the year on March 15, 2013, the average extent of sea ice in the Arctic has begun shrinking and will probably reach its minimum extent sometime in mid-September. This year’s maximum extent was the sixth lowest in the satellite record, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. At 15.13 million square kilometers…
PPG Appoints Sklarsky
PPG Industries said Frank S. Sklarsky will join the company as executive vice president for finance, effective April 15, reporting to Chairman and CEO Charles E. Bunch.
London P&I Issues Warning on Bagged Rice Cargoes
The London P&I Club has advised shipowners to seek advice before loading bagged rice cargoes in view of the inherent risks associated with the trade and an increase in the severity of claims in recent years. In the latest issue of its StopLoss Bulletin, the club notes that poor freight markets have seen an increase in the number of owners employing their ships in the bagged rice trades. It says the…
Keppel to Build Jackup Rigs Worth $820 Million
Keppel FELS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), secured contracts from Mexican drilling company, Grupo R, to build four jackup rigs worth $820 million (USD).
AKA Partners with KOTUG International
Aspin Kemp & Associates (AKA) announced a collaboration with KOTUG International for the newbuild construction of two hybrid Advanced Rotortugs. Following AKA and KOTUG’s hybrid retrofit of the RT Adriaan in early 2012, the team are partnering once again to provide the next generation of hybrid Rotortugs for KOTUG’s fleet on behalf of Elisabeth Ltd. based in Malta. AKA’s XeroPoint hybrid marine propulsion system will be installed onboard Rotor tug’s new and innovative tugboat design…
Port of Gibraltar Joins Green Award Scheme
The Port of Gibraltar announced its participation in the Green Award scheme at an official ceremony on March 27, 2013. The Port will award sustainable ships certified by Green Award with a 5% reduction in tonnage dues starting April 1. In keeping with their mission to ensure navigational safety and pollution control, the Port of Gibraltar have decided to provide a 5% reduction in tonnage dues for all…
KPI Project Gains Momentum
So far, 120 companies have registered with the international KPI Project, started by InterManager but now an industry-led initiative. KPI data is being uploaded from more than 1,600 vessels into the web-based InterManager KPI Environment (IMKE) system. To date more than 5,000 sets of data have been submitted for each KPI category — enabling analysis to provide industry rankings for each measurement. Of the vessels submitting data tankers form the largest sector. Capt.
