A key stretch of the lower Mississippi River dropped this week to within inches of its lowest-ever level and is expected to remain near historic lows just as the busiest U.S. grain export season gets underway, according to the National Weather Service.Low water has slowed hauling of export-bound corn and soybean barges over recent weeks as shippers lightened loads to prevent vessels from running
Stolt-Nielsen said that, after 23 years as Chief Executive Officer, Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen will step down from his role as CEO on September 1, 2023, and will assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Stolt-Nielsen Limited. He will be succeeded as CEO by Udo Lange.Lange, who will join Stolt-Nielsen as Chief Executive Officer on September 1, 2023
Laborde Marine, a New Orleans-based offshore support vessels (OSV) operator, announced it is entering the U.S. inland marine market with the creation of a new division to provide towing and pushboat services.LabMar Inland will initially charter Ivy Steiner, a 2,000-horsepower pushboat newly built by Steiner Construction in Bayou La Batre, Ala.
Bourbon Mobility on Tuesday announced it has ordered six new crewboats from shipbuilder PIRIOU for scheduled delivery in 2025.These new Surfer-type vessels will enhance the fleet operating in West Africa, offering customers a balance between modularity, comfort and energy efficiency, Bourbon said, noting the newbuilds aim to reduce fuel consumption by 20%.
The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) said 2023 was a record year for container-on-barge shipping.During the last calendar year, Port NOLA marked 20,500 container moves by barge, the highest since launching the container-on-barge network—the nation's largest—in 2016 with the Port of Greater Baton Rouge and Ingram Marine Group.
Singaporean aluminum boat builder Strategic Marine recently delivered TMS Ranod, the first of two Gen 4 Fast Crew Boats to growing Thai offshore services provider Truth Maritime Services (TMS). The pair of newbuild contracts were signed in 2023.Strategic Marine launched the 42m Gen 4 FCB design in collaboration with Southerly Designs
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation on Thursday announced the receipt of five dredging contracts totaling $173.7 million. The projects are in Texas, New Jersey, Florida and Louisiana.The Sabine-Neches Waterway Channel Improvement Project-Phase 1 (Capital, Texas, $62.8 million) includes dredging for channel deepening along the Sabine-Neches Waterway from Sabine Bank Channel to Sabine Pass
Singaporean shipbuilder Penguin International Limited last week held a ceremony marking the delivery of a milestone vessel.The 40-meter aluminum crewboat, Pelican Breeze, is noteworthy for being Penguin's 100th newbuild vessel powered by Cat C32 ACERT main propulsion engines and Cat C4.4 auxiliary generators.