|  Devastation in Japan continues to unfold as shipping into the nation’s ports is severely affected by infrastructural damage, and the threat of radiation exposure to vessels. According to industry sources, there is significant damage to all of the following Japanese ports: Hachinohe, Hitachi, Hitachinaka, Ishinomaki, Kamaishi, Kashima, Ofunato, Onahama, Sendai-Shiogama and Soma. The world’s largest container shipping company, Maersk Line, has officially suspended service to three Japanese ports that were affected by the tsunami, Sendai, Onahama, and Hachinohe. The company reported that while details regarding the state of their terminals at the ports, they do know they have suffered serious damage. Maersk’s suspension to multiple Japanese ports is just one instance of supply chain disruption in... Read More>>> Back to Top |  The oil tanker part of Libya's shipping Line GNMTC says one of their tankers, the Anwaar Afriqya, was seized by a group of armed rebels from the east of the country. The ship was taken off the coast of Darnah en route from Greece, according to a source and being diverted to the port Tobruk near Egypt. GNMTC confirmed that the vessel carrying 23,800 metric tons of gasoline is now docked at Tobruk. Libyan authorities have acknowledged that rebels did indeed capture the state-owned oil tanker, which is run by Moammar Gadhafi's son Hannibal’s state oil company. Websites for the opposition and reported late on Tuesday that an oil tanker had been hijacked by rebels who are hoping to unseat Gadhafi. Read More>>> Back to Top |  Israeli Navy officials have successfully intercepted a cargo ship in the Mediterranean bound for the Gaza strip in Egpyt that was carrying arms, reportedly linked to Iran and Hamas. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) made a statement declaring that they intercepted a Liberian-flagged and German-owned vessel named Victoria about 200 nautical miles off the Israeli coast in the Mediterranean on Tuesday. The vessel was en route from Turkey to the port of Alexandria in Egypt before being boarded by the Israeli naval officials. The prime minister of Israel said that this operation was internationally approved and that they had a solid basis that there was weaponry destined for Palestinian militant use against Israel on the ship. The weapons are reputedly considerable and descended from Iran, although the details of the seized weapons is... Read More>>> Back to Top |  The Carlyle Group has teamed up with Seaspan and other key maritime players in Asia, Dennis Washington, Gerry Wang, and Graham Porter, to expand upon the growing demand of cargo in Asia, particularly China, with containership and tanker proliferation. Carlyle Group stated that they will be investing the $4.95Billion into containerships that transport consumer goods, dry bulk carriers with coal and iron ore, and tankers bringing in oil and LNG. The opportunity for growth and rising demand of energy resources and steel merits their vast investment into trade. Containership company and venture partner, Seaspan, has placed a $2 billion order for 22 newbuilds with Chinese shipbuilder Yangzijiang. The New Panamax vessels will cost around $98 million a piece and about 30% more energy efficient than previous models. The new company is slotted to... Read More>>> Back to Top |  The proposed Keystone XL pipeline from TransCanada to carry Canadian oil sands oil to Gulf Coast refineries will be further delayed as the U.S. government conducts extended environmental review of the drastic undertaking. The action by the U.S. seeking public comment in mid-April on the pipeline is in response from environmental groups calling on the Obama administration to further investigate before making a decision. The decision should be made by the end of the year, with opposition from environmentalists increasing the present fear of another North American oil disaster and contamination of key drinking water sources. New studies by U.S. environmental organizations said there is a warning for higher risk of corrosion-related spills due to the higher number of abrasives, temperature, and acidity in tar sands oil. TransCanada has rebutted this... Read More>>> Back to Top |  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced it is seeking information and nominations from all interested parties regarding proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico Western and Central Planning Areas for the 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Natural Gas Leasing Program. BOEMRE will analyze information received in response to this Call for Information and Nominations (Call), which will primarily identify and evaluate areas with potential for oil and gas development, as well as determine possible environmental effects and potential conflicts in the Call area. This is in addition to the information collected through the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. Comments will be used to develop lease terms and conditions to ensure safe offshore operations. Comments will also be used to assess... Read More>>> Back to Top |  According to the U.S. Maritime Administration, a U.S. flagged tanker named “Prince William Sound,” owned in part by a BP subsidiary, has been given clearance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be sold, knowing it would be beached on the infamous scrapping beaches at Alang, India. Meanwhile EPA has refused after repeated requests to deliver to BAN any particulars as to why the clearance was given. The ship was built in 1975 and likely contains toxic wastes including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, lead and TBT based paints. Sources indicate that 50-70 shipbreaking workers die each year at Alang from explosions, falling steel plates and exposure to toxic materials.[1] According to reliable industry sources, the beaching at Alang is expected to happen in a matter of hours should nobody intervene. Toxic exports of this kind violate the United Nations... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Austal-built high speed ferries have recently been engaged to assist in relief efforts in Japan and Libya, demonstrating the adaptability and suitability of high speed craft in providing a rapid response to humanitarian assistance operations. Austal’s 101 metre “WestPac Express”, which has operated as a high speed theatre support vessel with the Okinawa based Third Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) of the United States Marine Corps for over 10 years, is currently deployed to mainland Japan to provide support for foreign humanitarian assistance operations following the devastating March 11, 2011 earthquake. “WestPac Express” will deliver a Forward Arming and Refuelling Point (FARP) for use in the assistance operations. A FARP is a temporary facility that allows aircraft to conduct continuous operations without having to return to an established airport to obtain fuel. The vessel... Read More>>> Back to Top |  The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation today conducted a hearing on acts of piracy on the high seas, particularly off the Horn of Africa, and the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to address and respond to this growing international threat. The following is the statement of Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) from today’s hearing: “The Subcommittee is meeting this morning to review efforts by the United States and the international community to respond to piracy on the high seas and prevent future attacks. Since the Subcommittee’s last hearing on this topic, Somali pirates have vastly expanded the range of their attacks on merchant vessels to encompass much of the western Indian Ocean. But even more alarming, the pirates have dramatically increased the number and viciousness of their... Read More>>> Back to Top |  The Federal Maritime Commission today announced four compromise agreements recovering a total of $297,500 in civil penalties for alleged violations of the Shipping Act. The agreements were reached with five ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs), acting as non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs). The agreed penalties resulted from investigations conducted by the Commission’s Area Representatives in Los Angeles, South Florida, and Washington, D.C. Staff attorneys with the Bureau of Enforcement negotiated the compromise agreements. The parties settled and agreed to penalties, but did not admit to violations of the Act or the Commission’s regulations. Read More>>> Back to Top |  Commanded by Commander Abry, the ship and its crew are fully prepared and trained to take an active part within ATALANTA and in all anti piracy operations. NIEDERSACHSEN is equipped with extensive self defence and has 2 Sea Lynx MK-88 helicopters at its disposal. As a flexible warship, NIEDERSACHSEN is perfectly adapted to counter-piracy missions and will improve the capability of EUNAVFOR to protect vulnerable vessels, especially those of the World Food Programme, to deter and prevent acts of piracy, and to contribute to monitoring fishing activities off the coast of Somalia. F-208 NIEDERSACHSEN holds 215 crew members, including 14 officers. She has been commissioned for service in the German Navy since 1982; the displacement is 3.680 tons and she has a length of 130 meters. |  Over 20 Members have been approved by the ISSA Quality Standard 2010 in the first two months of this year - more than the total number for the whole of last year. The figure underpins the determination of the International Shipsuppliers & Services Association to improve the quality of global ship supply. The ISSA Quality Standard was devised to set the minimum standard bench-mark for the ship supply industry that ISSA Members should strive to achieve and an updated Standard came into effect on 1st January this year to take into account a number of fresh initiatives. These included catering standards onboard ship and many environmental considerations such as avoiding the use of excessive packaging and better control of the disposal of toxic and carcinogenic material in port. ISSA President Jens Olsen said: "These figures are excellent news because they really show a significant increase... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Rapidly-emerging oil and gas remote camera technology specialists EV has secured more than £6 million investment in order to fast track its growth. The company will use the investment to commercialise new technology and rapidly grow its business on a global basis. Norwich and Aberdeen based EV has developed ground-breaking camera and video technology that allows pictures to be taken in remote and challenging environments such as down oil and gas wells and on the seabed. It secured the investment from leading energy-focused private equity firm Lime Rock Partners. EV has already experienced rapid expansion over the last year during which the company has opened new premises in Aberdeen and Louisiana, USA, as well as created more than 50% new jobs, bringing the number of employees to more than 30. Six new jobs have been created in Aberdeen. Francis Neill, chief executive... Read More>>> Back to Top |  April 5-6, 2011, at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute, Linthicum Heights, Maryland, near Baltimore, Maryland
Theme: INTERMODAL’S ROAD AHEAD
The supply chain of the future will be intermodal, but the fundamentals remain the same. Companies want the best value for shipping their products: the most efficient transportation for the lowest cost, and the value proposition may not be truck or rail alone. Shippers will face complex decisions to make as carriers contend with congestion, air quality issues, rising fuel costs, driver shortages, and new regulations.
We would like to introduce the waterways as the newest piece of the intermodal mix. The marine highway can be a link in an intermodal supply chain that moves goods to their destination by ocean, inland river or Great Lakes in a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly way. Marine transportation can... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Marine Travelift Inc. is proud to recognize Ribeca Equipment Inc. as its newest dealership in South America. Created by Roberto Rizo Benedetto, along with his wife and two sons, the new company seeks to advance the Marine Travelift products throughout Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica. “I am very excited to work with my sons and to be able to pass along and share my years of experience and continued product training,” he said. Rizo worked with Marine Travelift products for twelve years as the special projects manager with a South American machinery and equipment company. There he promoted sales of parts, service and new equipment for Marine Travelift line of products. Now with Ribeca Equipment Inc. he hopes, “to create a sense of confidence with each customer that they are buying the best product out there and have people that will support them with service and parts... Read More>>> Back to Top | 
Maritime Lecture Series
April 1, 2011
“The Use and Misuse of Nautical Paper and Electronic Charts & the New STCW95 ECDIS Standards”
By Captain Robert Ward, Director, International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) Captain Robert Ward, Director of the IHO, will speak to the “Use and Misuse of Electronic Charts.” He will also provide insight into fundamental issues affecting the proper use of ECDIS and the upcoming STCW95 electronic chart training standards. The event will be held at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) on Friday, April 1, 2011, at 1000. Captain Ward will be available after the morning lecture... Read More>>> Back to Top | | |
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