Ocean Infinity Locates Stellar Daisy

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February 18, 2019

Ocean Infinity, the next generation seabed survey and ocean exploration company, has successfully located the wreck of the lost South Korean tanker, Stellar Daisy, at a depth of 3461 meter in the South Atlantic Ocean, approximately 1800 nautical miles due west of Cape Town.

Stellar Daisy sank on 31 March 2017, transporting iron ore from Brazil to China. Tragically, 22 of the 24 crew were lost. Working from Seabed Constructor, the search operation involved the deployment of four Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), which, over 72 search hours, explored approximately 1,300 km2 of seabed.

Representatives of both The Government of South Korea, who awarded Ocean Infinity the contract to conduct the search, and the families of Stellar Daisy’s crew, were present throughout the operation. Ocean Infinity’s AUVs are the most technologically advanced in the world. They are capable of operating in water depths from 5 meters to 6,000 meters.

The AUVs are not tethered to the vessel during operations, allowing them to go deeper and collect higher quality data for the search. They are equipped with a side scan sonar, a multi-beam echo-sounder, a sub-bottom profiler, an HD camera, a conductivity / temperature / depth sensor, a self-compensating magnetometer, a synthetic aperture sonar and a turbidity sensor.

Oliver Plunkett, Ocean Infinity’s CEO, said: “We are pleased to report that we have located Stellar Daisy, in particular for our client, the South Korean Government, but also for the families of those who lost loved ones in this tragedy. This operation is further testament to Ocean Infinity’s leading, technology led, search capability. Through the deployment of multiple state of the art AUVs, we are covering the seabed with unprecedented speed and accuracy. I would like to thank the Government of South Korea for their support, as well as all of the team onboard Seabed Constructor.”

First Ship-to-Ship Transfer of LNG in The Bahamas

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February 18, 2019

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Excelerate Energy and Equinor Energy completed the first ever ship-to-ship transfer of LNG in The Bahamas earlier this month.

Using Excelerate's floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) Exemplar and Equinor's LNG carrier Arctic Voyager, a full LNG cargo was transferred using the double-banked LNG transfer system while moored at Equinor's South Riding Point storage and transshipment terminal. Exemplar was delivered in 2010 and has a capacity of 150,900 m³ LNG.

Excelerate conducted the industry's first commercial ship-to-ship transfer of LNG in 2007. Excelerate recently completed its 1,500th commercial ship-to-ship transfer on February 3, 2019, at the Engro Elengy Terminal in Port Qasim, Pakistan. To date, Excelerate has successfully transferred over 170,900,000 cubic meters of LNG using its ship-to-ship protocol. Of the 1,500 operations, over 1300 have been with third-party vessels.

Source:maritime-executive

Output drives EDF clean power earnings

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February 16, 2019

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Earnings at EDF Renewables increased over 4% to €856m last year, up from €751m in 2017, boosted by increased output and new capacity.

Sales grew 8.4% to over €1.50bn in 2018, compared with under €1.28bn in the previous 12 months.

Clean power output jumped 15% to 15.2 terrawatt-hours, with 1.6GW of new capacity added last year.

EDF said it has a further 2.4GW under construction, split evenly between wind and solar power.

Overall, the company reported earnings of over €15bn, up 11% on the €13.7bn reported in 2017.

Sales stood at almost €69bn in 2018, a rise of 6.3% on the €64.9bn posted the previous year.

EDF chairman and chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy said: “The rebound in our results in 2018 has occurred and is in line with our forecasts."

We have achieved all our financial objectives and are exceeding all the targets of our performance plan.

We have stabilised our net financial debt, strengthened our balance sheet, reached a record for generation in renewable energies, succeeded in overhauling the French nuclear sector and strengthened our supply business through several significant innovations.

Our performance will not only continue but will be amplified in 2019.

This is the result of the daily commitment of the Group's employees, mobilised in the deployment of the CAP 2030 strategy.

Source:renews

Fincantieri and Princess Cruises celebrate three c of three “Royal” class ships at the Monfalcone shipyard

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February 16, 2019

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A special event took place at the Monfalcone shipyard: Fincantieri and Princess Cruises, the world’s largest international premium cruise line and a brand under Carnival Corporation & plc, celebrated three construction milestones of three “Royal” class ships, currently in different construction phases.

The day began with the live broadcast of the steel cutting for the sixth and last Royal-class ship, still unnamed, from the shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). The section, once completed, will be transported by sea to the yard in Monfalcone, where the ship will be completed in 2022.

Later, in Monfalcone, the keel laying of “Enchanted Princess,” the fifth unit of the same class to be delivered in 2020, was celebrated. The event was attended, among others, by Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises and Carnival Australia group president, and Luigi Matarazzo, Senior Executive Vice President Merchant Ships Business Unit of Fincantieri.

Finally, the celebration in honor of the recent “Sky Princess” float out took place. Set to join the fleet by the end of the year, the ship is the fourth unit after “Royal,” “Regal,” and “Majestic,” which all took the sea from the Monfalcone yard, as well. Madrina of this ceremony was Ms. Kerry Ann Wright, 2nd officer for Princess Cruises.

At the conversion into contracts of the Memorandum of Agreement announced in July 2018, the partnership between the Monfalcone yard and Princess Cruises will continue with two next-generation cruise ships. These will be the largest built so far in Italy with a gross-tonnage of 175,000 tons, expected to be delivered at the end of 2023 and in spring 2025. The vessels will accommodate approximately 4,300 guests and will be the first of the ship owner’s fleet to be dual-fuel powered primarily by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

Fincantieri has built 88 cruise ships from 1990 to today, 66 of which for Carnival Corporation, 16 for Princess Cruiss, while other 55 are currently being designed or built at the Group’s yards.

Source:portnews

Connectivity contracted for long-range maritime surveillance

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February 16, 2019

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A contract signed by a European agency will enable satellites to boost connectivity for maritime surveillance drones on long-range missions.

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has contracted SES Networks’ managed services to provide satellite coverage for remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) services that will be mobilised for maritime surveillance activities. These services will be utilised when RPAS units fly outside radio coverage.

These aircraft drones will be deployed to improve maritime security and safety operations in European waters and to help respond to pollution caused by ships and oil and gas installations.

Drones can provide images during ship salvage and pollution clean-up operations. A remotely piloted unit was used to scan the area during the salvage of containers off the German and Dutch coasts after containers fell from MSC Zoe in January 2019.

RPAS-driven missions will be carried out in the seas surrounding the European Union.

Drones will communicate with shore control centres over SES’ satellite constellation, particularly during long-range and long-endurance operations.

For this, SES Networks will design, deploy and maintain connectivity during the missions through satellite communications.

EMSA executive director Maja Markovčić Kostelac said satellite coverage is essential for long-range RPAS operations. “It will help our users to gain a more complete maritime picture and will enable the transmission of data from multiple sensors in real-time,” he said, “allowing users to focus more closely on the actual operation.”

SES Network’s managed services will include secure end-to-end satellite and terrestrial links, satellite capacity and teleport infrastructure.

This will be required to support EMSA’s Beyond Radio Line-of-Sight RPAS operations. It will also be used for satellite-enabled internet services to distribute the RPAS data and enable end-users to remotely follow the mission.

“To enable real-time and long-range RPAS data applications, we will be leveraging our global satellite fleet, which boasts virtually 100% availability,” said SES Networks senior vice president for global government services Nicole Robinson. “Coupled with the managed service, this will give multiple advantages to those fulfilling mission-critical tasks at sea.”

In 2017, EMSA asked Martek Marine to provide RPAS services for maritime surveillance, including monitoring ship emissions and marine pollution. Martek was responsible for developing remotely piloted aircraft to monitor emissions, including sulphur oxide from ship exhaust. At the time, Martek said it would develop methods of incorporating command and control and payload data streaming over satellite so the drone can operate beyond radio line-of-sight capabilities.

Source:marinemec

Angelikoussis Chooses Daewoo Shipbuilding For Latest LNG ship

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February 16, 2019

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Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major shipyard here, said Friday it has received an order to build a liquefied natural gas ship for a Greek company.

Daewoo Shipbuilding will build the 174,000 cubic meter LNG carrier for Maran Gas Maritime Inc., the gas shipping unit of Angelicoussis Shipping Group, by the first half of 2021, the company said in a statement.

But the company didn’t provide the value of the contract, citing a confidentiality agreement.

Daewoo Shipbuilding has obtained US$740 million worth of orders so far this year to build seven ships, including oil tankers, it said.

Daewoo Shipbuilding is aiming to win $8 billion worth of new orders in 2019, up 10 percent from last year’s order target of $7.3 billion.

For the whole of 2018, the shipyard clinched deals valued at $6.81 billion.

Yinson wins $578m FPSO contract from JX Nippon

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February 16, 2019

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Malaysian FPSO operator has received a letter of award from JX Nippon to provide operation and maintenance services for an FPSO due to commence operations at the Layang field offshore Malaysia by the fourth quarter of 2019.

The estimated value of the operation and maintenance contract, assuming the extension options are fully exercised, is about $578m.

The contract follows Yinson being awarded the EPCIC contract for the Layang FPSO facilities last year. The charter contract is for a firm period of eight years and comes with options for 10 extension periods of one year each.

Yinson took over the contract to build and lease the Layang FPSO from THHE in 2014, after THHE was unable to complete the project due to financial issues.

Source:splash247

USCG approves first Cameron LNG export

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February 16, 2019

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USCG wrapped up a safety inspection at the Cameron Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project, enabling it to move on to loading its first LNG cargo for global export. Cameron LNG also submitted its Marine Operations Manual and Emergency Manual to the Coast Guard for examination.

Specifically, USCG also got a detailed look on the terminal’s design, construction, equipment, operations, maintenance, personnel training and firefighting systems.

As the project got approval from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to export up to 14.95 Mtpa to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries and non-FTA countries, it is close to completing its first LNG cargo export.

In April 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) published its official and finalized environmental impact statement to build and operate the liquefaction facility.

Therefore, FERC authorized the project in June 2014.

Moreover, Cameron's LNG partners are Mitsui & Co., Sempra LNG & Midstream, Mitsubishi Corporation, Total, and NYK Line.

Mitsubishi, in December 2016, presented its plans for a 165.000 cbm LNG carrier for the project.

The carrier is expected for delivery in 2019 from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Shipbuilding’s yard.

Finally, after the vessel's delivery, the LNG carrier will transfer the LNG produced at the Cameron project to Japanese Toho Gas and Tohoku Electric through Mitsubishi Corporation’s Singapore-based energy business subsidiary, Diamond Gas International.

Source:safety4sea

IMB to address bills of lading fraud

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February 16, 2019

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The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) announced that it has launched a new initiative aiming to mitigate bills of lading (B/L) fraud conducted by non-vessel owning common carriers (NVOCCs). The IMB NVOCC Register provides a business solution to a business problem impacting parties involved in international shipping and trade.

B/Ls are important documents in which many stakeholders in the trading chain rely including banks, shipping companies, carriers and charterers. IMB now says that while the vast majority of NVOCCs issue B/Ls correctly, there is a small minority that do not.

This could cause fraudulent practices, and banks that unwittingly process false B/Ls could discover that either there are no cargoes underlying the documents or that the shipments may be misrepresented.

IMB also added that up to 95% of the false B/Ls identified by the Bureau are issued by NVOCCs. Speaking about this development, an IMB spokesman said that:"Incidents of ship owners/carriers or their agents issuing false B/Ls are uncommon because they take a big risk in doing so and open themselves to legal action. However, unlike the carriers or their agents, the majority of NVOCCs do not have any assets which are at risk in these transactions except for their reputations."

IMB now called NVOCCs to sign up to its NVOCC Register. If they do that, they will be able to sign up to a Code of Conduct for the issuance of B/Ls. In case they fail to comply with the Code of Conduct, the NVOCC may be removed from the Register in certain instances.

As IMB explained, the intention is not to exclude defaulting NVOCCs, but to help them improve the steps taken to issue bills of lading which is relied upon by a number of other stakeholders.

Finally, an advantage of signing up to the Register is that banks may process the documents of NVOCCs on the Register faster than those that are not.

Source:safety4sea

Port-Related Funding Boost in FY19 Minibus Agreement

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February 15, 2019

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Funding for U.S. port-related programs advocated by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) fared well in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 agreement announced by Congress on February 13.

Of particularly significance to America's deep-draft ports is the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) funding for a dedicated port infrastructure program in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT's) Maritime Administration. House and Senate appropriators agreed to provide $292.73 million in funds for U.S. coastal port grants to be distributed by the Maritime Administration as part of its Port Infrastructure Development Program.

The minibus funding agreement also includes $900 million for USDOT’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants, which when combined with funding for MARAD’s infrastructure program, brings USDOT’s multimodal grants funding level to almost $1.2 billion. While less than the $1.5 billion provided for BUILD grants in fiscal 2018, the key difference is the dedicated infrastructure funding for ports. The minibus agreement also provides increased funding for MARAD’s America’s Marine Highway Program from $5 million last fiscal year to $7 million this year.

Another component of the THUD appropriation important to ports is $255 million in grant funding for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program, which can be used for multi-modal port access projects.

Kurt Nagle, AAPA president and CEO, said: “AAPA has long advocated for dedicated port infrastructure development funding and recently identified $66 billion in port-related infrastructure needs over the next decade to build projects that better connect ports to the freight network, with rail and road access points. This funding is needed to ensure U.S. job creation, economic growth and tax fairness. The MARAD infrastructure program is a good step forward toward meeting these needs.”

Beyond THUD, there were several other programs on which ports depend that will get increased funding. The Act also includes a significant allocation for USDOT’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program in which ports are eligible, level funding in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Port Security Grant Program in addition to a substantial increase in Customs and Border Protection personnel, a $12 million increase in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emission Reduction Act grants program and an increase in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Navigation, Observations and Positioning program.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grants program appropriation will rise 16 percent, from $75 million last year to $87 million this year. Ports use these grants to reduce ambient air emissions through a variety of initiatives, including clean truck programs, retrofitting or replacing yard equipment, installing shore power for vessels at docks and retrofitting dredges and tugs.

While funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Port Security Grant Program will remain level at $100 million, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency staffing, which increased by 325 officers last year, will increase by 600 officers this year. AAPA, which advocates increasing CBP officers by at least 500 annually, has voiced strong concerns in recent years over CPB under-staffing at America’s seaports. This has serious cost and efficiency ramifications for clearing international cargo and cruise passengers at port terminals, says AAPA.

Within the Department of Commerce, NOAA’s Navigation, Observations and Positioning (NOP) program is set to receive $227 million, a $7.8 million increase above fiscal 2018 funding. Included is $2 million that will go to funding hydrographic surveys to update nautical charts. NOAA’s popular PORTS program is a component of NOP, and fiscal 2019 funding is the same as last year.

Source:maritime-executive