Maritime Industry Top News
Indigenous Protesters in Peru's Amazon Release Captured Oil Tankers
Indigenous protesters in the Peruvian Amazon have released two oil tankers and their crew members being held since last week in protest over changes to a development fund, a source at the company operating the vessels, PetroTal, said on Monday.The firm's marine shipments in the area also resumed earlier on Monday, the source added.The two ships were hijacked on Tuesday, one with 40,000 barrels of crude aboard.
Maersk Secures Fuel for First Methanol Containership Journey
Denmark's Maersk said on Monday it has secured fuel for the first container vessel able to run on carbon-neutral methanol on its inaugural journey, from South Korea to Denmark.The 21,500 km long summer trip from Ulsan to Copenhagen will be fuelled by bio-methanol fuel produced from biogas captured from decomposing organic landfill waste. This will be delivered from a U.S. plant by Dutch company OCI…
A2B-online Orders Two 'Green' Containerships
The Netherlands-based A2B-online announced it has ordered a pair of environmentally friendly container vessels at Sedef Shipyard in Turkey.Each of the new 650 TEU vessels will be equipped with a multi-fuel methanol propulsion system, shore power and battery capacity to operate emission free during port and inland water operations.
UN Chief Concerned Russia Will Quit Black Sea Grain Deal in July
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he is concerned that Russia will on July 17 quit a deal allowing the safe wartime export of grain and fertilizers from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports.Moscow has been threatening to walk away from the deal known as the Black Sea grain initiative - brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July last year - if obstacles to its own grain…
USACE Awards More than $100 Million in Dredging Work
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Friday awarded three contracts totaling more than $100 million for dredging projects in Puerto Rico, Oregon and Pennsylvania.USACE Jacksonville awarded Long Beach, Calif. based Curtin Maritime Corp. a $54,204,676 firm-fixed-price contract for San Juan Harbor construction and maintenance dredging. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work will be performed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2024.
Recognizing and Meeting the Challenges of Autonomous Vessels
Uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), automated vessels, maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS), remote controlled vessels, and the employment of artificial intelligence and smart marine technology to navigate and operate civilian and military vessels have created a lively debate over utilizing and regulating such technology. Recent articles addressing artificial intelligence (AI) have questioned the…
Three Missing After Tourist Boat Fire in the Red Sea
Three British tourists were missing and 12 had been rescued after a motor boat caught fire on Sunday off the Egyptian Red Sea coast, Egyptian officials and security sources said.The survivors were brought to safety in the nearby diving resort of Marsa Shagra, about 21km (13 miles) north of the town of Marsa Alam, along with 12 Egyptian crew and guides, according to a statement from the Red Sea State…
Monjasa Acquires Two Tankers
Oil and shipping group Monjasa announced it has acquired the oil and chemical tankers Monjasa Thunder (19,991 dwt) and Monjasa Shipper (7,991 dwt) for bunkering and cargo operations across West Africa and in the Arabian Gulf. Both tankers will assume operations during this month.Monjasa said it has already taken delivery of Monjasa Thunder (formerly Solando) in Riga, Latvia and Monjasa Shipper (formerly Pearl Mercury) in Singapore…
Work Starts on New Navy Floating Dry Dock
Austal USA began construction on the Navy’s Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock Medium (AFDM) at the company’s Gulf Coast ship manufacturing facility last week. AFDM is the third program to begin construction on Austal USA’s steel assembly line following T-ATS 11 and 12 - the first two of four U.S. Navy Towing, Salvage, and Rescue (T-ATS) ships the company is under contract to build. The AFDM is a “Rennie”…
Ocean Wilsons Says Reviewing Investment in Brazil's Wilson Sons
Brazilian shipping company Wilson Sons' controlling shareholder said on Monday it is conducting a strategic review of its investment in the firm, sending shares in both companies soaring 12%.London-listed Ocean Wilsons said in a statement that "all potential strategic options" would be considered as part of the review, but noted the move was at an early stage and there was still no certainty as to its outcome.It was responding to a Sunday piece by Brazilian newspaper O Globo saying that Swiss sh
Norwind Offshore Expands Fleet with Versatile Offshore Wind Support Vessel
Norwind Offshore, an offshore vessel company formed in late 2021 by Norway's Farstad, Volstad, and Kleven to be focused purely on offshore wind, has taken delivery of the first of four Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (CSOVs) built by Vard. The delivery ceremony took place Monday, in Ålesund, on the west coast of Norway. The naming ceremony was attended by representatives of Norwind Offshore…
Cargo Operations Halt at the Port of Seattle Amid Labor Dispute
PMA says US West Coast port workers shut down Port of Seattle; workers' union denies claimThe Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents terminal operators, said in a tweet on Saturday that coordinated and disruptive work actions led by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have shut down cargo operations at the Port of Seattle."On the first shift today, the ILWU refused to dispatch any longshore workers to container terminals…
Turkish Vessel Sets Sail off Italy After Special Forces Operation
A Turkish cargo vessel that Italian special forces boarded after the crew detected a group of unidentified people aboard has left waters off the southern city of Naples…
Russia Says Ukraine Tried to Attack Russian Ship Near Major Gas Pipelines in Black Sea
Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine had made unsuccessful attempt to attack a Russian naval ship with six high-speed drone boats as the Russian vessel patrolled major natural gas pipelines in the Black Sea.The 'Priazovye' ship was carrying out what Russia's defense ministry said was "monitoring of the situation and ensuring security along the routes of the TurkStream and Blue Stream gas pipelines in…
Italian Forces Board Turkish Cargo Ship to 'Liberate' Crew
Italian special forces boarded a Turkish cargo vessel on Friday after the crew detected a group of unidentified people onboard, some of them armed, Rome's defence ministry said on Friday, adding the o
First Zero-emission Electric Pusher Tug & Barge Enters Service for Cargill
Cargill will charter the world’s first fully electric pusher boat and barges to transport cocoa beans in the Netherlands.The company will use Kotug International’s zero emission E-Pusher and E-Barges to transport cocoa beans from the Port of Amsterdam, the largest cocoa import port in the world, to its cocoa factory in Zaandam. The fully electrified pusher and barges eliminate both emissions and noise pollution for inland shipping.The E-Pusher 1 was christened this week…
Davie Completes Félix-Antoine-Savard Ferry Repairs
Canadian shipyard Davie reports it has completed repair of the ferry MV Félix-Antoine-Savard for the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ).The car and passenger ferry, originally built in 1997, operates between L’Isle-aux-Coudres and Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive in the St. Lawrence River.Repairs on the vessel required over 30,000 hours of work, and the replacement of 28 tons of steel.Davie crews worked…
Maritime Partners Announces $235.3 Million Securitization
Maritime Partners, a provider of maritime financing solutions primarily focused on Jones Act vessels, has announced the successful completion of the inaugural capital markets issuance of vessel asset-backed securities (ABS) by MP 2023 LLC, its controlled affiliate. This transaction was the first ABS issuance composed entirely of inland marine vessels.MP 2023 LLC issued an aggregate principal amount of $235.3 million of its MP 2023-1…
Business Group Urges Biden to Intervene in West Coast Ports Labor Dispute
The largest U.S. business group on Friday urged President Joe Biden him to intervene immediately and appoint an independent mediator to address a West Coast ports labor dispute.More than 22,000 dockworkers at ports from California to Washington state have been working without a contract since July. U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark in a letter to Biden cited "continued and potentially expanded…
Kymeta Launches Flat Panel Antenna on OneWeb’s LEO Network
Flat panel satellite antenna company Kymeta and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb announced that Kymeta’s electronically steered Peregrine u8 LEO terminal is now commercially available, becoming the first flat panel antenna to serve the maritime market on OneWeb’s LEO network.Kymeta launched its maritime product line in 2017, and its streamlined Peregrine u8 LEO terminal is purpose-built for maritime applications.
