Maersk has implemented new guidelines on dangerous goods stowage that aim to improve safety practices across its fleet in the wake of the fire aboard containership Maersk Honam that killed five crewmembers earlier this year.Following the deadly fire, Maersk evaluated more than 3,000 United Nations (UN) numbers of hazardous materials in order to further understand and improve dangerous cargo stowage on board container vessels and developed a new set of principles called Risk Based Dangerous Goods Stowage.
A fishing vessel crewmember has been arrested and charged in federal court in connection with the murder of a fellow crewmember while their vessel was sailing off the coast of Massachusetts.Franklin Freddy Meave Vazquez, a Mexican national illegally present in the U.S., was charged with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S.According to the charging document, on September 23, 2018, Vazquez allegedly assaulted a fellow crewmember with a hammer in one hand and a knife in the other while the U.S.
Dutch dredging and offshore contractor Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. said it will run its vessels on a biofuel blend while working on a project to install the export cable to the Borssele offshore wind farm.The Borssele Alpha project is being executed on behalf of TenneT and is aimed at connecting the Borssele offshore grid with the Dutch high-voltage grid.During this project, Boskalis will run its vessels on a biofuel blend of up to 30 percent.
New trading sanctions against Iran and new fuel rules coming in 2020 for the entire maritime sector were the headlines of a seminar hosted by marine insurer North P&I Club yesterday in Dubai at the Taj Dubai.On the topic of sanctions against Iran, Mark Church, Director (FD&D), said that “practical issues will continue to impact on the ability to trade with Iran even where the trade is permissible. We encourage members to enforce their own due diligence and assess high-risk areas to avoid non-compliance.
International Seaways announced that it has signed contracts with Clean Marine AS of Norway and a qualified system installer for the purchase and installation of exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) on seven of its modern VLCCs, with an option for a further three systems covering the remaining three modern VLCCs in its fleet.The tanker company providing energy transportation services for crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG) said in a press release that the seven scrubbers are all to be installed prior to January 1, 2020, when the new 0.
French oil and gas major Total has agreed to take all of Chevron’s share capital in the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), which will increase its stake in the project and expand its North Sea presence."Total has agreed to purchase from Chevron all the share capital of Chevron Denmark Inc. which holds a 12% interest in the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), a 12% interest in Licence 8/06, and a 7.5% interest in the Tyra West pipeline. The transaction remains subject to approval of partners and the relevant authorities," said a press release from the company.
China's largest state-owned international and domestic container shipping and related services company COSCO shipping lines is opening its first branch in Sarajevo of Bosnia and Herzegovina.The Sarajevo office was opened within the “One Belt – One Road” (Maritime Silk Road) initiative. As its fourth regional office, it will add Bosnia to Croatia and Serbia, where COSCO already operates. The Maritime Silk Road is a sea route connecting China, Southeast Asia, Oceania, Europe and North Africa.
Kotug Smit Towage has taken four newly-built Damen tugs into service for its European harbour towage activities, in 2017 and 2018. One of this quartet, the Southampton is currently operating in the Port of Zeebrugge.The Southampton is an ASD Tug 2913 and has a bollard pull in excess of 80 tonnes. The tug is renowned for its manoeuvrability and environmentally efficient performance. The naming ceremony of the tug Southampton was performed by Lady Sponsor Mrs. Ariane Labargue, the spouse of Mr. Rik Goetinck, Vice President of the Port of Zeebrugge (MBZ).
The U.S. Navy accepted delivery of the 17th submarine of the Virginia class, the future USS South Dakota (SSN 790), on September 24.The next-generation attack submarine began construction in 2013 and is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2019.South Dakota is the seventh Virginia-class Block III submarine. Block III submarines feature a redesigned bow with enhanced payload capabilities, replacing 12 individual vertical launch tubes with two large-diameter Virginia Payload Tubes, each capable of launching six Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point (USMMA) installed John R. Ballard, Ph.D., as the new Academic Dean and Provost in a brief ceremony at the Academy yesterday. Dr. Ballard will serve as the chief academic officer and principal advisor to the Superintendent in all matters relating to the academic program and faculty. He will also co-chair the educational priority working group for the recently released USMMA Strategic Plan.
BMT has introduced new vessel designs in response to a tender issued by Hong Kong’s Transport Department.Addressing a need to support the development of domestic passenger ferry services in Hong Kong, the new hybrid Eco Ferry and a smaller, nimble 14 passenger harbor craft have been designed for on-demand and ad-hoc trips, both of which could enable passengers to experience faster, smoother, and more fuel-efficient transits across Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor.
The crude oil tanker company operating a fleet of crude oil tankers in the VLCC, Suezmax and Aframax segments, DHT Holdings announced that it has secured commitment to a $50 million financing for its earlier publicized scrubber retrofit project, subject to final documentation.The financing is structured through an increase of the existing $300 million secured credit facility entered into in the second quarter of 2017. The increased facility will bear the same interest rate equal to Libor + 2.40%.The increased facility is available immediately and will have quarterly repayments of $2.