American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) and C&C Marine and Repair have christened the M/V ACBL Mariner, said to be the most powerful and capable towboat ever built for operations on the Mississippi River.The christening ceremony took place in New Orleans in the presence of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.The ACBL Mariner boasts 11,000 horsepower, and can push up to 64 barges up the river at one time.
U.S. Gulf of Mexico energy firms on Friday were lumbering back from hurricane disruptions as offshore oil and gas producers ramped up operations after halving the key energy region's output, ports reopened, and onshore terminals accepted oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers.Hurricane Francine shut in up to 42% of the region's offshore oil and 53% of its natural gas production.
The pilot of a towboat that struck an industrial cargo pier near Saint Rose, La., last year had fallen asleep, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Wednesday.The pilot of the Marquette Transportation owned and operated towing vessel John 3:16 was experiencing the effects of fatigue during his watch on September 12, 2023, while navigating the Lower Mississippi River.
Shipowners in all sectors face the same decision: build new or refurbish older tonnage. In the booming cruise sector the decision is more pressing, particularly as new construction ships can take two to three years to build, perhaps longer today with global shipyard orderbooks packed full.
DEME's new fallpipe vessel—the world's largest—was officially named Yellowstone by Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid, Princess of Belgium, during a ceremony in Zeebrugge on Tuesday.Originally a bulk carrier, the ship was converted at Pax Ocean Shipyards in Singapore for rock placement work in the offshore energy industry.
The first towboat of 2024 passed through Lock and Dam 2, in Hastings, Minn. on Sunday, signaling the start of this year's navigation season on the Mississippi River.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' St. Paul District said it considers the first tow to arrive at Lock and Dam 2 as the unofficial start of the Mississippi River navigation season
Berge Bulk informs it has placed an order for two ammonia dual fuel vessels from China's Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry as part of a push by the dry bulk shipowner to decarbonize its operations.The two 210,000-DWT Newcastlemax vessels will meet the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Tier III NOx (nitrogen oxides) standards and Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase 3
DHT Holdings announced it has entered into agreements to build four very large crude carriers (VLCC) in South Korea for delivery between April and December 2026.Two of the large tankers will be constructed at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and the other two at Hanwha Ocean (formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering), for an average price of $128.5 million.
Greek shipowner Diana Shipping on Wednesday announced it has placed an order for two new methanol dual-fuel Kamsarmax bulk carriers from China's Tsuneishi Group (Zhoushan) Shipbuilding Inc.The 81,200 dwt newbuilds were ordered at a purchase price of $46 million each, Diana said. The vessels are expected to be delivered by the second half of 2027 and the first half of 2028, respectively.
A Biden administration auction of Gulf of Mexico drilling rights raised $382 million on Wednesday as oil companies claimed offshore acreage for what is set to be the last time until 2025.The auction total was the highest of any federal offshore oil and gas lease sale since 2015, according to a Reuters tally.
Attacks from Houthi-controlled Yemen struck two Liberian-flagged ships in the Bab al-Mandab Strait on Friday, a U.S. defense official said, underlining the threat to vessels in shipping lanes being targeted by the Iran-aligned group.Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk said it would pause all container shipments through the Red Sea until further notice.
Swiss marine power company WinGD will realise the first commercial instalments of its new variable compression ratio (VCR) technology on two new dual-fuel LNG powered vessels being built for NYK Line.A 95,000 DWT bulk carrier being built at Oshima Shipbuilding and a 7,000 CEU pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) being built at Shin Kurushima Dockyard will be the first two-stroke powered vessels