The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrived in New York Monday to support COVID-19 response efforts in the epicenter of America's coronavirus outbreak.The ship will serve as a referral hospital for non-coronavirus patients currently admitted to shore-based hospitals, and will provide a full spectrum of medical care to include general surgeries, critical care and ward care for adults. This will allow local health professionals to focus on treating COVID-19 patients and for shore-based hospitals to use their Intensive Care Units and ventilators for those patients.
Carnival-owned Holland America Line, owner and operator of the coronavirus-stricken MS Zaandam, announced it will extend its pause of global cruise operations for an additional 30 days, cancelling sailings scheduled to depart through May 14, amid continued port closures and travel restrictions surrounding global health concerns."As the world addresses global health concerns, travel has come to a temporary standstill as communities take necessary precautions to protect themselves," said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line.
Our planet is facing its greatest challenge, and it’s not coronavirus. Asbjørn Halsebakke, Product Manager, Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch, ponders how greater political action could help the maritime industry meet its most ambitious environmental goals.Why hasn’t the climate crisis elicited the same urgent response from global governments as the corona pandemic? When confronted with the terrible threat of viral spread, national leaders from Boris Johnson to Narendra Modi, and from Donald Trump to Xi Jingping, have rapidly introduced emergency measures
Supertanker freight rates are on the rise for a second time this month as producers, refiners and traders scramble to secure ships to transport crude or store a fast-growing global glut of oil, industry sources said.Freight rates for very large crude-oil carriers (VLCC) along the Middle East Gulf to China route were assessed at about $180,000 a day on Monday, up from some $125,000 on Friday and a weekly low of about $90,000 a day on Wednesday, according to several ship broking sources.
Carnival Corp’s luxury cruise ships operator Cunard said on Monday it would extend the suspension of all voyages by a month to May 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.Carnival, also the operator of two coronavirus-stricken Princess cruises, has already temporarily suspended several of its ships due to concerns over the rapidly spreading COVID-19 crisis earlier this month.“The impact of COVID-19 is affecting personal routines and businesses as well as placing significant travel restrictions around the world,” said Simon Palethorpe, president, Cunard.
What will COVID-19 mean for the offshore wind industry? An industry not yet spinning on its own.Epitomized by the roller coaster ride that defined the stock market over the last few weeks, unpredictability has emerged as one of the few certainties of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. Every industry has seen the effects of the pandemic, from hospitality, to travel, and even to the renewable energy sector. Indeed, even though the US offshore wind industry is not yet fully established, the repercussions of market contraction, stay at home orders
Emiliano González, President of MSC Cruises Spain passed away on March 25 in Madrid at the age of 68.González joined MSC Cruises Spain as Commercial Director in 2002, becoming Country Manager in 2004. He restlessly worked to turn MSC Cruises into one of the country’s most popular cruise lines and witnessed the entry into service of the 17 innovative cruise ships in MSC Cruises’ fleet. In 2017 he moved on to become President of MSC Cruises Spain. Leaving his commercial responsibilities aside, he focused on the company’s representation with the Spanish authorities, ports and other institutions.
The future USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) was launched at the Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Ingalls Division shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., March 28. Fort Lauderdale is the Navy’s 12th San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ship.On March 7, the ship was transferred from the land level facility to the dry dock in preparation of floating off. During the launch, the dry dock was slowly flooded until the ship floated off the blocks.San Antonio class ships support embarking, transporting, and landing elements of 650 Marines by landing craft or air cushion vehicles.
A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker which loaded a cargo from the United States is currently heading to China, the first shipment since March 2019, according to shiptracking data from Refinitiv Eikon and Kpler on Monday.The tanker SK Resolute loaded the cargo from the Cameron LNG terminal on March 22 and was originally headed to Cristobal, Panama, according to shiptracking data from Refinitiv Eikon and data intelligence firm Kpler.It changed its destination to Tianjin in China on March 28 and is expected to arrive at the Chinese port on April 28, the data showed.
A Japanese destroyer and a Chinese fishing boat collided in the East China Sea on Monday night but no one was injured or missing, Japan's defense minister said.The collision occurred about 650 km (400 miles) west of the Japanese island of Yakushima, Defense Minister Taro Kono said in a tweet on Tuesday.It opened a 1 meter by 20 millimeter hole above the waterline of the destroyer, the Shimakaze, Kono said."No personnel were injured and no one from the Chinese fishing boat was missing. We are checking details," Kono tweeted.
Built to guide mariners through safe waters, the Valiant Rock Lighted Whistle Buoy 11 was dangerously adrift in the Long Island Sound.When ferry operators traveling between Orient Point and Fishers Island, New York, first reported the buoy off station on Jan. 17, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak (WLB-211) was already underway but foul weather kept the cutter from removing it.This was the beginning of a two-week saga that would involve several Coast Guard units. Like the Loch Ness monster of the Long Island Sound, the 35-foot-tall green buoy was occasionally seen but hard to catch.
An event officially signalling the start of construction on Qingdao International Cruise Terminal in China was held alongside a global promotion launched to attract investment. At the event, the People's Government of Qingdao signed a cooperation agreement with Shandong Port Group for a RMB10 billion project, and inked contracts with a number of partners for 14 industrial projects with a total investment of RMB31.35 billion.