Swan Hellenic orders new 5-star expedition cruise ship from Helsinki Shipyard

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October 23, 2020

This new contract in the global economic situation shadowed by COVID-19 is a strong signal of the continuity of Helsinki Shipyard’s operations and the customer’s confidence in the shipyard’s operations.

Swan Hellenic and Helsinki Shipyard Oy entered in a contractual agreementfor building a third expedition cruise vessel. The third vessel to be delivered to Swan Hellenic, like the two vessels already in the orderbook, represent a new generation of expedition cruise vessels and is designed for the global cruise market, with an emphasis on high-latitude cruises.

The design for the new vessel has already started and the construction will begin in the summer of 2021. The vessel will be delivered to its customer at the end of 2022. The new vessel is larger than its predecessors and designed to sail to all continents.

Carl-Gustaf Rotkirch, the shipyard’s CEO, says:

“The new order is significant for Helsinki Shipyard, as it shows our customers’ confidence in our operations and is also a strong signal of the long-term nature of our operations. In these times in the world, this is a very good signal, not only for Helsinki Shipyard but also for the Helsinki maritime industry and the whole country’s maritime cluster.”

In September, the keel of the first cruise vessel to be built for Swan Hellenic was laid at Helsinki Shipyard. Following the old traditions, the name of the newbuilding – SH Minerva- after the Roman goddess of creativity and wisdom was announced at the event.

The vessel ordered now will feature a 4,6-megawatt diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system with selective catalytic reduction, 3-megawatt max. battery package and PC6 ice-strengthened hull. At 125 m LOA, the 12,000-GRT vessel has been specially designed to explore the most inspiring and inaccessible places on the planet.

Providing spacious 5-star accommodation for 192 guests in 96 spacious cabins and suites, the vast majority with large balconies. The vessel will be operated by an onboard team of 140 to provide the highest levels of personal service.

Ville Korpela, project manager for the new order, says:

“The procurement of the main equipment for the third vessel to be built for Swan Hellenic has already started on a fast schedule, as our main goal is to stick to the schedules agreed with the customer. This is a pleasant challenge for all of us.”

NKT completes cable repair of cable system between Norway and Denmark

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October 23, 2020

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The national power grids between Denmark and Norway are connected through four HVDC-links crossing the Skagerrak strait with the capability to carry 1700 MW of energy between the two countries.

When the Skagerrak 1 and 2 were damaged, the Norwegian grid operator Statnett awarded NKT the order for the cable repair of the 250 kV MI-insulated HVDC power cables. The operation was completed by mid-October after quick mobilization and efficient execution bringing the two power cable connections back in operation.

While the cut-and-seal operation and deburial were carried out by Statnett, NKT performed all other repair activities. A third-party construction vessel – Olympic Zeus – was quickly converted into a cable repair vessel by mobilizing NKT’s Cable Handling System. Additionally, NKT delivered the repair joint kits, performed the jointing, and cable burial.

Axel Barnekow Widmark, Executive Vice President and Head of Service in NKT, says:

“Time and accuracy are crucial for the success of power cable service operations to minimize the down time of the cable connections essential for the exchange of energy between countries. Once again, we demonstrate that we are quick and efficient when mobilizing our skilled repair team and with our pool of pre-engineered vessels, we have one of the shortest mobilization times in the industry.”

Tilting oil tanker threatens ‘environmental catastrophe’

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October 22, 2020

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The Nabarima tanker, anchored for several months in the Gulf of Paria, is used to store oil but video footage shared on October 16 by the Fisherman and Friends of the Sea NGO, showed it tilting.

According to Eudis Girot, a Venezuelan oil sector union leader, the 855-foot (264-meter) ship has had maintenance problems since 2014.

But he told AFP those problems “have been ignored” by state oil company PDVSA.

Girot said several PDVSA employees reported on October 12 that the tanker was listing by eight percent while the engine room is flooded and water pumps have broken down.

Opposition legislator Robert Alcala told AFP said:

“If the oil is not transferred, and even if the Nabarima can be stabilized, we risk a permanent environmental catastrophe.”

The Nabarima is owned by Petrosucre, a company majority owned by PDVSA, with Italian multinational oil and gas firm Eni holding a 26 percent share.

According to Luis Stefanelli, another opposition legislator, PDVSA has sent two ships to try to unload the Nabarima.

PDVSA has not commented but last month it branded as “fake news” claims by environmentalists that the Nabarima was in a state of disrepair.

The operation to transfer the oil has been hindered by US sanctions against PDVSA.

Oil spills are common in Venezuela due to a lack of infrastructure maintenance.

The South American country is almost entirely dependent on its oil revenue, but production has dropped from 3.2 million barrels a day over a decade ago to just 400,000 now.

The opposition and analysts accuse the government of corruption and neglect while the regime of President Nicolas Maduro blames US sanctions.

Red Hook terminals modernizes operations with Octopi by Navis

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October 22, 2020

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Octopi, part of Navis and Cargotec Corporation, the provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for leading organizations throughout the global shipping industry, announced today that Red Hook Terminals has signed a subscription agreement for Octopi by Navis at its Newark, NJ and Brooklyn, NY locations.

Red Hook Terminals selected Octopi’s cloud-based TOS because it offered a solution that would help its business become more dynamic and remain competitive in the industry.

With over 30 years of experience, Red Hook Terminals is the only terminal operator with facilities in Brooklyn and Port Newark. At its locations, Red Hook is able to handle any size or type of cargo to serve beneficial cargo owners and shippers east and west of the Hudson River, as well as regions north and south. To remain competitive in the evolving industry, Red Hook Terminals was looking to upgrade its TOS at the New York and New Jersey locations to a flexible system that would be able to be deployed with maximum value and little IT investment. As Red Hook Terminal’s business goals were to increase visibility, productivity, and optimize operations at the terminals, Octopi was the only choice to meet their needs with maximum ROI.

Tom Griffith, Executive Vice President of Red Hook Terminals, said:

“By choosing Octopi’s cloud-based TOS, we will be able to easily transition to a more modern and comprehensive system, which will upgrade our offerings to benefit our business and customers. Octopi’s functionality and utilization of real-time data will give us the tools and critical insights into our operation that will allow us to improve productivity and efficiency at our terminals.”

Martin Bardi, Vice President of Global Sales, Octopi by Navis, said:

“With Octopi’s innovative TOS, we are able to provide a more affordable and nimble solution to help terminals reach their full business potential with enterprise-level functionality. We are thrilled to partner with Red Hook Terminals and look forward to helping them transition to a new system to optimize their operations and better serve their customers in the region.”

North launches digital tool to support voyage planning

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October 22, 2020

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Leading international shipping insurer North P&I Club has launched a new marine risk awareness solution, hosted on its market leading interactive MyGlobeView digital platform.

Route Risk Advice, from North, offers users an innovative digital tool designed to evaluate and demonstrate the potential hazards of a voyage from port of origin to destination. The application joins a growing stable of MyGlobeView solutions, which includes the 2020 Safety4Sea Technology Award-winning Covid-19 Tracking Tool.

MyGlobeView provides North members and correspondents with exclusive access to over 40 alerting and reporting features, including industry news, port details, trading and commercial updates, and guidance on sanctions, travel and weather. The addition of the new application means that users can now input a voyage plan and receive up to date information on the risks that may arise at sea and in port.

Colin Gillespie, Director of Loss Prevention, North P&I Club, says:

“We developed Route Risk Advice with our Members in mind, taking into consideration their feedback to give them greater control of the datasets available on MyGlobeView. It is a constantly evolving solution to which we regularly add new layers of data, helping Members to plan safe and efficient routes based on up-to-date, reliable information.”

Users of Route Risk Advice can establish bespoke reports based on specific routes and locations, which they can save or print for future reference. These reports are uniquely supplemented with North’s in-house expertise and knowledge from our claims, legal and loss prevention teams, Gillespie adds. A built-in measurement tool accurately determines the distance between any given points, while a feedback function encourages suggestions for general enhancements and new data feeds, enabling continuous improvement. These features and more are available to North-entered members and correspondents via their personal MyNorth account, says Paul Jennings, Chief Executive, North P&I Club.

He concludes:

“Route Risk Advice is a welcome solution and a worthy addition to our digital portfolio, the full benefits of which can be accessed by anyone with a MyNorth account. Subscribers to MyNorth can also create their own publications library, address books and tailored news feeds and access premium content from our in-house experts.”

ONE adds new service from Asia to Indian Subcontinent

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October 22, 2020

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Starting from 26th October 2020, the new China-India-Pakistan (CIP) service will provide an additional service option for customers providing greater flexibility to efficiently streamline their supply chains.

The China India Pakistan (CIP) service rotation is as follows:
Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Port Kelang – Nhava Sheva – Karachi – Mundra – Colombo – Port Kelang – Hong Kong – Shanghai

Enhancing coverage of the Indian Subcontinent market, ONE will continue to innovate with a goal of providing a superior, reliable, and efficient solution to the shipping community.

Incat Crowther launches a new robust 32m catamaran

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October 22, 2020

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Incat Crowther has announced the launch of Coolgaree Cat, a robust 32m catamaran developed specifically for the Palm Island and Magnetic Island runs, operated from Townsville in Queensland, Northern Australia.

Developed in close conjunction with the operator, Sealink Travel Group, the vessel offers critical improvements over those currently in service on the run. Optimised for through-life efficiency on the offshore Palm Island route, the vessel is a more robust and sustainable addition to the Sealink fleet.

Long-term value is enhanced by improved durability, with a clear focus on operational features including cargo handling, passenger vision, green water shedding, cleaning and maintenance.

Operational costs are reduced with the lower fuel burn seen during sea trails, despite being a larger and stronger vessel than those it is replacing.

Boarding is via stern side gates or a port side midship boarding door. The main deck features 206 seats in a mix of booth and forward-facing, with deep windows giving the cabin a light and airy feel. There is a large kiosk aft, in addition to multiple storage areas.

The upper deck seats 86 passengers in a mix of lounges and regular seats. 26 exterior seats are available on the upper aft deck. The bulk of the aft deck is dedicated to containerized freight stowage, with space for 12 luggage trolleys and a cool room for a further 3. The aft end coamings of this deck have been reinforced to cope with the impact of the trolleys whilst loading gates are specifically located o work with existing infrastructure.

The vessel is fitted with twin Caterpillar C32 engines, delivering 970kW each. Propulsion is via fixed-pitch propellers. Capable of speeds in excess of 30 knots, she has a fuel-efficient fully loaded operational speed of 26 knots at only 60% MCR offering increased time between main engine overhauls.

Incat Crowther Technical Director, Dr Andrew Tuite said:

“In partnership with the operations team at SeaLink in Townsville, Incat Crowther developed a functional robust ferry for unique operating conditions experienced to Palm Island. Incat Crowther is proud of the technically advanced Coolgaree Cat, designed specifically for the Queensland environment and built in Queensland using world’s best shipbuilding processes.”

Chris Briggs, General Manager of Sealink North Queensland, said:

“Coolgaree Cat has achieved the performance envelope we were aiming for and has actually exceeded our performance expectations in some areas. This result has been achieved through Incat Crowther’s willingness to combine SeaLink’s operational knowledge and experience with their expertise and industry-leading approach to designing aluminium passenger ferries.”

Archer secures a contract extension for platform drilling operations in the UK North Sea

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October 22, 2020

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The extension will commence November 1, 2020 in direct continuation of the current contract. Over the next two years Archer will continue to deliver drilling operations, maintenance and intervention support services including the provision of well services and rental equipment.

In addition, Archer’s engineering team has been contracted to conduct one rig reactivation, as well as provide brownfield engineering and operation preparational support to the other six assets.

Dag Skindlo, CEO of Archer comments:

“We are delighted that our client has elected to continue their relationship with Archer. This contract extension reflects our client’s confidence in our ability to maintain safe operations whilst delivering improvements to both the drilling facilities and to the platform drilling and well intervention operations on their assets. This extension testaments the hard work and dedication of our personnel who have been supporting these assets since 2015. We firmly believe this extension is a result of Archer’s continual commitment to provide our clients with solutions to improve well delivery, integrity and performance”.

ABS awards AIP to DSME’s FLNG hull design

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October 21, 2020

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ABS has issued Approval in Principle (AiP) for the design of a wide breadth, single row, near-shore LNG Floating Production Storage Offloading Vessel (FPSO) hull with a jetty-moored system developed by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME).

The AiP is the completion of a joint development project (JDP) between DSME and ABS, combining the latest industry trends of shipbuilding practices and ABS rules to advance LNG FPSO safety standards.

The 64m wide barge-shaped hull features a GTT NO96 single row containment system with a storage capacity of 209,000 m3. It accommodates a jetty-moored system and approximately 40,000-metric tons of topside modules, which may produce 3.0~3.5 Million Tonnes Per Annum of LNG.

Due to wider breadth and different hull configuration compared to existing standard LNG carriers, various sloshing model tests have been carried out with the 6-DOF sloshing rig, driven by electric servomotors, at DSME’s sloshing research center in Korea. Through these extensive tests, DSME have verified that the new hull design and the membrane cargo containment system (CCS) can withstand the sloshing impact loads under actual operating conditions.

Matt Tremblay, ABS Senior Vice President, Global Offshore, said:

“ABS has been a part of the FPSO industry since its earliest days and has played a key role in the development of the industry. The benefit from that involvement is that we’ve been able to both witness and participate in the evolution of FPSOs in size, complexity and technology. This project is the next step in that evolution, and we are proud to be able to support it.”

Odin (Oh Yig) Kwon, Executive Vice President, DSME’s CTO, said:

“As today’s offshore oil and gas market demands more cost efficient and fast track projects, this single row CCS tank configuration will become a desirable model for our clients and this new line-up together with the two (2) row CCS configuration will provide greater flexibility to fulfil various needs.”

Wergeland and PSW to extend port capacity with Huisman Quayside Crane

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October 21, 2020

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The Skyhook crane has a lifting capacity of 2,600mt in regular configuration as well as a ‘high lift’ mode with a super flyjib, facilitating the assembly of today’s and tomorrow’s offshore wind turbines.

The crane will be deployed at the Gulen Industrial Harbour, the base of Wergeland and near PSW Group in Mongstad, providing additional potential for both decommissioning work as well as for outfitting the next generation deepwater semi-submersibles in the port’s 100-metre wide dock.

The location of the harbour, in the west of Norway, adds value to both the ambitions for offshore wind in Norway, and to the ongoing oil and gas developments on the Norwegian continental shelf. With the installation of 11 8MW Siemens Gamesa turbines for Norway’s first floating wind farm ‘Hywind Tampen’, Wergeland will demonstrate that Gulen Industrial Harbour has the potential to become the key assembly location for Norwegian offshore wind projects. The large available area can be used for marshalling wind turbine components as well as foundations. Combined with the unrivalled deepwater port facility, the setup is highly suitable for the assembly of floating wind turbines; even onto long floating spar foundations as a result of the natural advantages of the location. Furthermore, the layout of the area has been optimised for efficient backyard pre-assembly works for regular bottom fixed offshore wind projects.

Trygve Wergeland, CEO at Wergeland Base AS:

“Wergeland has the ambition to become the primary assembly site for the growing offshore wind industry. During our preparatory work for ‘Hywind Tampen’ we have seen some of the challenges related to logistics and assembly of large offshore wind turbines. By establishing a crane capacity such as the one we are planning with Huisman and PSW, we will contribute to cost reduction and efficient logistics for clients in the years to come. With this crane capacity, along with the drydock that is currently under construction, we can offer a complete service portfolio together with PSW.”

Oddbjørn Haukøy, CEO at PSW Group:

“By entering into this LOI with Wergeland and Huisman, PSW fortifies its position as a leading full spectre service provider to the energy sector. Over the years, PSW has established a long standing cooperation with Wergeland. The new state-of-the-art quayside crane will further strengthen the drydock’s capabilities for its operations in the maritime, drilling, and renewable energy markets.”

With the 2,600mt Skyhook, Huisman has designed and built the largest Slewing Jib Quayside Crane in the world. Recently, Huisman lifted several 1,700mt monopiles for a local wind farm with its Skyhook Crane, based at its facility near Xiamen, P.R. of China. With this lift Huisman demonstrated that the Skyhook is highly suitable for marshalling wind turbine foundations as well as turbine components.

David Roodenburg, CEO at Huisman:

“We are proud to team up with Wergeland and PSW to bring Europe’s largest fit-for-purpose quayside crane to the west coast of Norway. With Norway’s focus on connecting its decade-long offshore expertise to today’s drive for clean energy, Huisman sees the installation of the proven Skyhook crane as a key driver to further enable logistic efficiency for Norway’s offshore industry.”