Contracts between China's top state-owned shipbuilding firm and Taiwan's leading shipping company are likely lowering the costs of upgrading China's navy, posing security concerns for the island claimed by Beijing, a U.S. think tank said on Thursday.China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) is a key producer of vessels for China's rapidly expanding People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)
The U.S. Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bill to improve oversight of ocean shipping, a step supporters say will help ease export backlogs.The Ocean Shipping Reform Act, led by Senators John Thune and Amy Klobuchar, would strengthen the investigatory authority of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the U.S.
A rule change in the United States aims to make it easier for cruise ship passengers to receive refunds after their voyages have been canceled or delayed.The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced on Wednesday it is amending its regulations governing "non-performance" by passenger vessel operators to establish new requirements for when cruise passengers should be provided refunds.
Canadian rescue officials on Wednesday suspended the search for 11 missing crew members from a Spanish trawler that sank the previous day in rough seas off the coast of Newfoundland, killing at least 10 people.Three surviving sailors from the trawler, suffering from severe hypothermia, were plucked from a life raft early on Tuesday.
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE: HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division launched the amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29). Richard M. McCool Jr., the 13th LPD in the San Antonio class of amphibious assault force ships, will support U.S. amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare missions through the first half of the 21st century.
A vessel accident off the coast of northeastern Madagascar killed at least 19 people, and searches were under way to locate 66 passengers who remained unaccounted for, the country's maritime agency said on Tuesday.The vessel, a cargo ship that was not authorized to transport people, was overloaded and water flooded the engine, said Mamy Randrianavony
A U.S. Navy investigation released on Wednesday found that a fire aboard a warship last year, which was caused by arson, was preventable and that a series of failures after it started led to the destruction of the ship.More than 60 people, including about 40 sailors, were treated for minor injuries during several days of fighting flames on the 844-foot-long (257-meter) amphibious assault ship
Saildrone Inc. and NOAA have released the first video footage gathered by an uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) from inside a major hurricane barreling across the Atlantic Ocean.The Saildrone Explorer SD 1045 was directed into the midst of Hurricane Sam, a category 4 hurricane. SD1045 is battling 50 ft.
A U.S. Navy sailor was charged on Thursday with starting a fire last year that burned for four days on the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, injuring more than 60 people and destroying the vessel.The sailor, who was not identified by name, was charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and could face court martial, Navy Commander Sean Robertson, a spokesman for the U.S.
Two crew members, a Briton and a Romanian, were killed when a petroleum products tanker managed by Israeli-owned Zodiac Maritime came under attack on Thursday off Oman's coast, the company said on Friday.London-based Zodiac said on its website that the attack in the Arabian Sea on the Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged Japanese-owned ship, was still being investigated.
Chinese shipyard CIMC Raffles on Monday announced it has secured an order to build up to six liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered car carriers for Swedish shipping company Wallenius Lines.The order is for two initial ships, plus a pair of options—each for two additional vessels. The ships will be built at CIMC Raffles' Longkou yard in Yantai, China.Designed by Danish naval architect Knud E.
Richard “Rick” W. Spinrad, Ph.D., an internationally renowned scientist with four decades of ocean, atmosphere, and climate science and policy expertise, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and the 11th NOAA administrator.“As an accomplished and respected scientist, educator, communicator and executive