Iranian forces seized two Greek tankers in the Gulf on Friday, Iranian state media reported, shortly after Tehran warned it would take "punitive action" against Athens over the confiscation of Iranian oil by the United States from a tanker held off the Greek coast."The Revolutionary Guards Navy today seized two Greek tankers for violations in Gulf waters," said a Guards statement, quoted by the state news agency IRNA.It gave no further details or say what the alleged violations were.
Members of the North and Standard Clubs have voted to approve the merger between the two marine insurance firms, creating one of the largest providers of mutual cover in the maritime industries.The P&I clubs, which revealed plans to merge earlier this year, each held special general meetings on May 27 where members voted to greenlight the move to join forces as a single, larger mutual insurer. Pending regulatory approval, NorthStandard is expected to come together as a unified club in time for next year’s February 23 renewal date.
Iran has decided to take "punitive action" against Greece over the seizure of Iranian oil off the Greek coast, the semi-official Nour News reported on Friday.Nour News, which is close to a top Iranian state security body, did not say what kind of action Iran would take.Earlier on Friday, Iran summoned the envoy of Switzerland, which represents U.S. interests in Tehran, to protest against the U.S. seizure of Iranian oilfrom a Russian-operated ship near Greece, the foreign ministry said in a statement quoted by Iranian media.
Norway’s Hammerfest liquefied natural gas plant has resumed operation as planned and is preparing to restart LNG production, a spokesperson for operator Equinor told Reuters on Friday.The plant has been offline for 20 months following a fire in September of 2020.LNG is made by cooling gas to temperatures that liquefy it, thus allowing large quantities to be transported by ship.“We have resumed operations and started cool down of the plant. We will issue a press release when we have LNG to tank,” the Equinor spokesperson said.
Shipping company AET on Wednesday took delivery of Eagle Colombo, its latest second generation dynamic positioning shuttle tanker (DPST) from Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).The Singapore-registered newbuild is the third and final vessel in a HHI-built series to be operated on long-term charter to Shell in Brazil.AET struck a deal with Shell in December 2019 to operate the three shuttle tankers in the international and Brazilian Basin on a long-term charter. The first vessel, Eagle Campos, was delivered in January, followed by Eagle Canoas in February.
The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the national association representing the U.S. shipyard industry, today announced the 2022 Annual Shipyard Safety Awards. SCA recognized a total of 15 U.S. shipyards and repair facilities with seven recipients receiving multiple awards.SCA honors shipbuilding and repair organizations with the “Excellence in Safety” Award and “Improvement in Safety” Award each year for enhancement of operations and promotion of safety and accident prevention.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, discussed ways to free up exports to tackle the food crisis that is threatening the world's poorest countries, Draghi's office said on Friday.Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports has prevented shipments of grain, a major export product of both countries. Russia accuses Ukraine of mining the ports and Ukraine has described the Russian position as "blackmail."In a phone call, Draghi assured Zelenskiy of the Italian government's support for Ukraine along with the rest of the European Union countries.
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) said on Friday it has been awarded a task order from Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD) to conduct a manufacturing assessment of several new propulsor bearing concept designs for U.S. Navy submarines. The task order is under the Propulsor Demonstration Hardware (PDH) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract previously awarded to GA-EMS.
Following the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association’s (WFSA) Professional Program (held virtually on May 18, 2022), Awards were presented to finalist teams in the WFSA’s Ferry Design Competition, now in its ninth year.Dr. Roberta Weisbrod, WFSA’s Executive Director, said the specifications for the design ferry were crafted to be ever more challenging from year to year, but that this year’s objective creating a safe and affordable ferry for transiting India’s Brahmaputra River, “that the River itself created the challenges.
Shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal Australia arm has delivered the 15th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, Te Kukupa II, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Cook Islands at a certificate signing ceremony at Austal’s shipyard in Henderson, Western Australia.The new Guardian-class Patrol Boat replaces the original Te Kukupa, a Pacific-class Patrol Boat gifted to the Cook Islands in 1989 and recently decommissioned, under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project
Abu Dhabi's Al Seer Marine, a subsidiary of International Holding Company (IHC), has said it has acquired two vessels, valued at a combined AED 246 million ($66,97 million), to meet the "rapidly growing demand for transportation of liquified petroleum gas (LPG)."Al Seer Marine has purchased LPG tankers, MT Alcor and MT Alkaid, each with a capacity of 20,700 cubic meters. The vessels are expected to provide an internal rate of return (IRR) of 25%, Al Seer Marine said. The company plans to buy up to 15 ships in 2022.
ION Geophysical Corporation announced its climate-smart, digital platform, Marlin SmartPort, has successfully fulfilled its role to help monitor greenhouse gas emissions in the Data-Led Emissions Management (D-LEMA) project.The D-LEMA project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) launched in March 2021, funded by the Department for Transport, and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. As part of the CMDC, the Department allocated more than £23 million to 55 projects supported by 208 organizations from across the UK.