Viking Launches Seven New River Ships

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March 20, 2019

Viking welcomed seven additions to its river fleet on Tuesday during a celebration on the Rhine River in Basel, Switzerland.

Of the seven ships, six are 443-foot, 190-passenger Viking Longships – Viking Einar, Viking Sigrun, Viking Sigyn, Viking Tir, Viking Ullur and Viking Vali – which will be deployed on Viking's most popular itineraries on the Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers. The seventh, smaller 263-foot ship – Viking Helgrim – was inspired by the Longships design and built specifically for the Douro River, bringing the company's total number of sister ships in Portugal to four.

This launch of new river ships is Viking's latest milestone as the company continues to expand. Last month the company took delivery of its sixth ocean ship, Viking Jupiter, built by Fincantieri and to be named in Oslo on June 6.

"We began hosting guests on the rivers of Russia 22 years ago, and we have always done things differently. We focus on the destination, and we provide travel experiences that allow our guests to learn, to enrich their lives and to explore the world in comfort. It is 'The Viking Difference,'” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking.

Viking invited seven long-serving employees and important members of the company's family to serve as honorary godmothers of the new ships:

Leah Talactac, Godmother of Viking Einar
Natalia Hofmann, Godmother of Viking Helgrim
Wendy Atkin-Smith, Godmother of Viking Sigrun
Rikke Semb Pertile, Godmother of Viking Sigyn
Gisela Rückert, Godmother of Viking Tir
Linh Banh, Godmother of Viking Ullur
Minxuan Zhao, Godmother of Viking Vali

In keeping with another maritime tradition, a bottle of Gammel Opland aquavit was broken on the bow of each new ship. Gammel Opland hails from the same county in Norway that Hagen's mother, Ragnhild – also lovingly known as "Mamsen" – was born in and was her favorite brand of aquavit.

Source:maritime-executive

Equinor extends Island light well intervention contract

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March 20, 2019

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Island Offshore and TIOS will continue to provide light well intervention services (LWI) to Equinor after signing a new agreement for use of the Island Wellserver.

The vessel has worked for Equinor offshore Norway since April 2009. The new contract is due to begin in 2020 and carries options for three one-year extensions.

In 2018, Island Offshore and TechnipFMC agreed to jointly deliver RLWI services worldwide and at the same time TechnipFMC took a 51% stake in Island Offshore’s wholly owned subsidiary, Island Offshore Subsea, since renamed TIOS.

Source:offshore-mag

Aker BP finds oil close to North Sea Bøyla field

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March 20, 2019

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Aker BP has proven oil and gas with its latest wells in the Alvheim Area of the North Sea, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).

The semisubmersible Scarabeo 8 drilled both wells in 120 m (394 ft) of water in license 869, around 4 km (2.5 mi) northwest of the Bøyla field and 225 km (140 mi) west of Stavanger.

Well 24/9-14 S delivered a total gas column of 30 m (98.4 ft) and an oil column of 38 m (125 ft) in the Hordaland group in sandstone layers (injectites), with mostly favorable reservoir properties.

The sandstones are thought to be re-mobilized sand from the Heimdal and Hermod formations in the Paleocene which are injected into the overlying Hordaland group.

Appraisal well 24/9-14 A followed, 2,650 m (8,694 ft) to the northeast. It was drilled horizontally, encountering various gas-bearing and oil-bearing injectite zones.

The NPD estimates recoverable resources in the range of 10-21 MMcmoe, adding that the nearby 24/9-3 (Gamma) oil discovery can be viewed as part of the discovery. The find may also extend across the North Sea median line into UK waters.

Aker BP and its partners will consider a tie-in to infrastructure serving the Alvheim area.

These were the first wells on the license, which was awarded under Norway’s APA 2016 round.

The Scarabeo 8 will next drill a combined wildcat/test production well, 24/9-15 S, for Aker BP in PL 340.
Source:offshore-mag

UK marine sector publishes blueprint

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March 19, 2019

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The Marine Energy Council and Scottish Renewables have unveiled detailed price support mechanism proposals designed to allow wave and tidal technologies to deploy in UK waters.

The ‘UK Marine Energy 2019: a new industry’ report sets out the sector’s innovation power purchase agreement (iPPA) and innovation Contracts for Difference (iCfD) policies to provide market incentives for the technology.

The document proposes government-backed iPPAs for wave and tidal stream of up to 5MW with the scheme capped at 120MW overall.

The first iPPA projects would receive £290 per megawatt-hour, digressing by 15% at every 30MW allocation.

The iCfD is conceived as a bridging mechanism for wave, tidal, floating wind and advanced conversion technologies of between 5MW and 100MW unable to compete with offshore wind in regular CfD allocation rounds.

Marine Energy Council chairwoman Sue Barr said the technologies are “effectively locked out of the UK energy market”.

She added: “The industry has come together to deliver these recommendations to government, offering a sensible plan to scale-up the development of both tidal stream and wave power in the UK, and we look forward to working with them on these proposals over the coming months.”

Scottish Renewables chief executive Claire Mack said: “Getting the development pathway right means being able to increase the benefits the sector delivers, help balance our energy system and export more of our knowledge abroad – as well as cutting the costs of these innovative technologies.”

Source:renews

APM Terminals Mumbai & CMA CGM sets a new national record

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March 19, 2019

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The terminal handles largest volume in a single port call with 11,026 TEUs

APM Terminals Mumbai, India’s busiest container terminals has achieved yet another milestone. The terminal has set a new national record for handling servicing largest volume exchange in a single port call – 11,026 TEUs on March 12, 2019.

Working closely with the CMA CGM Group India Operations Team, APM Terminals Mumbai set a new Indian container terminal operation record handling 11,026 TEUs on CMA CGM owned M.V. APL New York during a single port call.

This milestone once again re-affirms APM Terminals Mumbai’s commitment to India’s EXIM trade. The new record is a testimony to the terminal’s customer centric, safe and productive operational credentials.

Speaking of this new record, Mr. Ravi Gaitonde, COO, APM Terminals Mumbai said, “We would like to thank CMA CGM India for believing in the terminals capability to execute this operation as per their requirement. It is our constant endeavor to deliver on our customer expectations.”

He further added, “This national record is a fine example of excellent collaborative efforts by the operations team, commercial team and all the support functions at APM Terminals Mumbai. They have efficiently and smoothly handled the gate, yard and vessel operations in close coordination with the operations team at CMA CGM.”

Ugo Vincent, Managing Director, CMA CGM Agencies India, added: “The CMA CGM Group, is proud to achieve this national record-breaking number of 11,026 TEUs (7179 Container moves) of cargo handling with the APL New York, in close association with APM Terminals. This achievement confirms the Group’s commitment to India’s economic development and to spur the country’s growing role in world trade.”

JAXPORT accommodates its largest ever container ship

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March 19, 2019

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The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) achieved a new port record on March 18, with the arrival of the ZIM vessel Cape Sounio, the largest container ship to ever call Jacksonville. The 11,000-TEU container ship is operated by ZIM on a service offered by the 2M alliance.

The ship transited the Panama Canal from Asia before reaching the US East Coast, where it loaded and offloaded cargo at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal.

The ship’s arrival comes two weeks after JAXPORT and terminal operator SSA Atlantic signed a long-term agreement on a $238.7 million international container terminal at Blount Island. The terminal will feature a capacity of around 80 acres with the potential to grow up to 120 acres.

The Jacksonville Harbor Deepening project will offer 47 feet of deepwater access, enabling ships like Cape Sounio to call JAXPORT more fully loaded. The project is planned to be complete in 2023, and includes the addition of a vessel turning basin.

JAXPORT is also investing $109 million in berth rehabilitation and upgrades which are ongoing and will allow the terminal to accommodate two post-Panamax vessels at the same time.

JAXPORT Chief Commercial Officer Kristen DeMarco, said:"Investments like harbor deepening and our international container terminal at Blount Island ensure that JAXPORT will continue to provide efficient logistics solutions for our customers while growing our region’s economy through the jobs and economic opportunity these bigger ships bring."

Seadrill chooses Tata for drilling rig IT support

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March 19, 2019

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Seadrill has contracted Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to overhaul and maintain its global digital infrastructure.

TCS will support Seadrill’s global IT operations across the business, both on its mobile offshore drilling rigs and across its onshore locations, and will provide local support in the UK, US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Thailand.

The company says one of the factors behind the contract award was its Machine-First Delivery Model, which uses automation and artificial intelligence technologies to lessen operating risk, improve speed-to-market, and increase productivity.

TCS’ ignio AIOps software is said to assist smarter and faster decision making, with first-time-right identification of probable causes of outages achieved within minutes.

The software is also said to remove silos across business divisions, enable automation of 80% of routine IT tasks, and to predict potential future incidents with more than 90% accuracy.

Source:offshore-mag

Spirit Energy Begins Production from Oda Field Ahead of Schedule

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March 19, 2019

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The Oda field is Spirit Energy’s first development as operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. When the Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for the field was submitted to the authorities in November 2016, production start was scheduled for 1 August 2019 and total investment costs were estimated at 5.4* billion kroner (£485 million).

The most recent calculations indicate that the project will be delivered at a price of around 4.6* billion kroner (£413 million) – an improvement of nearly 15%. Important reasons for the cost cuts include efficient drilling of production wells and a new type of cooperation with suppliers.

“Norway is a key region for our business and we have now reached production start for our first development project as operator on the Norwegian Shelf, without serious incidents. When we are also well ahead of schedule and well below budget, there is every reason to be proud,” says managing director Rune Martinsen in Spirit Energy Norway AS.

Prior to start-up of the Oda project, Spirit Energy entered into long-term contracts with four supplier companies; Aibel, Subsea 7, TechnipFMC and DNV GL.

The agreements were based on a new initiative on the Norwegian Shelf, and were signed for up to 10 years. The objective was to achieve long-term cooperation, as well as to create value and predictability.

Spirit Energy Norway is the operator for Oda, with an ownership interest of 40%. The partners are Suncor Energy Norge (30%), Faroe Petroleum (15%) and Aker BP (15%).

Shipyard Fire on Costa Smeralda Causes Minor Damage

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March 19, 2019

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Finish shipyard Meyer Turku has reported that there was a fire on the deck 15 of Costa Smeralda.

There was stored equipment on fire, started by welding inside the ship. The fire started approximately at 16:45 Finnish time on Monday. The shipyard’s fire brigade was first to attend the scene and start firefighting measures. Local fire brigades arrived shortly after.

The ship was evacuated. Work recommenced in the ship at approximately 18:15.

The yard says 10 people have slightly inhaled smoke and two people have had slight injuries checked.

Material damages were minor, and there is no effect to the building schedule of the ship.

The 180,000GT, LNG-powered Costa Smeralda was floated out last Friday. She is expected to be ready for delivery to Costa Cruises in October 2019 and will be the first LNG powered cruise ship in the Costa fleet.

Source:maritime-executive

Royal Haskoning Hails 2018 Innovation

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March 19, 2019

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Marine engineering experts Royal HaskoningDHV enjoyed income growth of 3.1% in 2018 following 12 months of digital and technological innovation, according to its financial statements.

The company earned what it described as a “stable” earnings before interest taxes and amortization (EBITA) of US$14.4 million, which saw restructuring and one-off costs drop by almost a $1 million from its 2017 level.

Furthermore, it also hailed its several of its ground-breaking projects from 2018, including the construction of the world’s longest sea bridge and tunnel combination, which connects Hong Kong and Macau, China.

In addition, it also entered into a partnership for the delivery of the state-of-the-art Nereda technology, an innovation designed to deliver sustainable wastewater treatment, and designed the Milaha shipyard upgrade in Doha, Qatar an artificial business hub island in Vietnam.

In a statement accompanying its financial results, Royal HaskoningDHV’s CEO Erik Oostwegel said: “Looking back at 2018, I’m excited about the progress we made with regards to our strategy implementation."

We have invested in our people and innovations to accelerate our digital ways of working in order to deliver better and faster solutions with and for our clients.

To bring our strategy to life, we proactively co-create innovations with partners and clients to enhance society.

We can do this effectively because our clients see us as their trusted partner and are satisfied with the services we provide them to face challenges such as climate change, urbanization, resource optimization and technology disruption.

Looking ahead to 2019, Oostwegel said Royal HaskoningDHV said it expected growth in two of its biggest markets – the Netherlands and Indonesia and that it will continue its digital innovation in order to drive growth.

“We have a great team, the right processes in place and sound long-lasting client relationships,” Oostwegel said.

Our focus on data and digital will continue in 2019, both internally, with clients and partners, and through strategic acquisitions.

We look forward to making the coming year a success and driving forward in our mission to enhance society together.

Source:porttechnology