|  Several passengers were injured after an explosion occurred near a Royal Caribbean ship docked in Gibraltar. In a statement released today, Royal Caribbean says the Independence of the Seas was docked alongside the pier at the port of Gibraltar when a nearby fuel tank exploded. The cruise line also said that the ship immediately retracted the gangway and moved away from the pier to safety. Ten passengers have received medical treatment onboard the ship. Royal Caribbean describes the passenger’s injuries a “minor.” Officials say the blast was most likely caused by a spark from welding taking place on the tank, but they are not ruling out the possibility of an attack until a full investigation is complete. Flames, several feet high shot into the sky and sent thick black smoke into the air. In addition to the 10 passengers, two others were injured, one... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Pirates released the Togo flagged bulk carrier, MV KHALED MUHIEDDINE K, on the morning of May 26, according to a release from EU NAVFOR. Pirates hijacked the Syrian owned vessel, on January 20, 2011, and held the ship and 25 crewmembers for 126 days. Officials say the crew of 22 Syrians and 3 Egyptians are well. Details of the release were not given and it is unknown if a ransom was paid. Pirates are currently holding 22 vessels and an estimated 500-crew members. Read More>>> Back to Top |  From Secretary of the Navy Public Affairs BOSTON (NNS) -- Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced today the next Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier will be named the USS John F. Kennedy. The selection John F. Kennedy, designated CVN 79, honors the 35th President of the United States and pays tribute to his service in the Navy, in the government, and to the nation. "President John F. Kennedy exemplified the meaning of service, not just to country, but service to all humanity," said Mabus. "I am honored to have the opportunity to name the next aircraft carrier after this great Sailor and inspirational leader, and to keep the rich tradition and history of USS John F. Kennedy sailing in the U.S. Fleet." Born in Brookline, Mass., May 29, 1917, Kennedy graduated from Harvard in 1940, and entered the Navy in October 1941. During World War II,... Read More>>> Back to Top |  HOUSTON - Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) announced today a discovery at the Santiago exploration prospect in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The well, located in 6,500 feet of water on Mississippi Canyon Block 519, was drilled to a total depth of approximately 18,920 feet. Open-hole logging identified approximately 60 feet of oil pay in a high-quality Miocene reservoir. Noble Energy is the operator at Santiago with a 23.25 percent working interest. Santiago is the third discovery in the Company's Galapagos project, in addition to the prior successes at Santa Cruz and Isabela. Total gross resources discovered in the larger Galapagos project, including the Santiago well, are estimated by Noble Energy to be 130 million barrels of oil equivalent. Approximately 75 percent of the discovered resources are oil. Charles D. Davidson, Noble Energy's Chairman and CEO, said, "The... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Ft. Lauderdale/Miami Holy Cross facility set to open July 15th Houston based Marine Healthcare Services recently announced that they are poised to launch their fourth crew medical service facility to service the ports of South Florida. Chief Operational Officer, Mr. Lloyd Schwing announced today that MHS has partnered with Holy Cross Hospital of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Mr. Schwing indicated, “Holy Cross represents the best of the best in the South Florida area and understands the challenges when dealing with sick or injured crew making Holy Cross a perfect fit for the two companies. The facility will be positioned to handle crew from both Port Everglades and Miami.” The opening date has been set for July 15th. MHS’s CEO, Mr. Mike Chaney, contributed that the company’s mantra of thinking allows MHS to make sure that the best interest of all parities involved are... Read More>>> Back to Top |  A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to allow the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to fund the building of a regional training center in Djibouti, to promote the implementation of the Code of Conduct concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden (Djibouti Code of Conduct), was signed on Monday (30 May 2011), in Djibouti. The MOU was signed by His Excellency Mr Mohamed Moussa Ibrahim Balala, Minister of Equipment and Transport, Republic of Djibouti, and Mr Koji Sekimizu, Director, Maritime Safety Division, IMO, at the opening ceremony of a high-level meeting, held to formulate a regional coordination process for maritime security training and to endorse the regional training centre. After the signing ceremony, the meeting went on to adopt a resolution to establish the mission and objectives of the regional... Read More>>> Back to Top |  WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today released the findings of its investigation into a fire that occurred Sept. 2, 2010, on Mariner Energy Inc.’s, Vermilion 380 A oil and natural gas production platform located approximately 102 miles off the coast of Louisiana. A BOEMRE Accident Investigation Panel concluded that the fire was caused by the collapse of a fire tube located inside of the platform’s Heater-Treater. The Heater-Treater, a nearly 30-year-old piece of equipment, used heat from a fire tube as well as chemicals and electricity to separate oily water emulsions into oil and water. The fire tube had been weakened over time due to a variety of factors, including heat, corrosion and pitting. Investigators also found that after the platform lost primary power because of the fire, the emergency generator failed to start and supply... Read More>>> Back to Top |  The decision of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee to solve the problem of misdeclared container weights will significantly improve the safety of container ships, their crews, shoreside personnel involved in the handling and transport of containers, and other cargo aboard the ship. In December 2010, the World Shipping Council (WSC) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) jointly urged the IMO to establish an international legal requirement that all loaded containers be weighed at the marine port facility before stowage aboard a vessel for export. See http://www.worldshipping.org/public-statements/Solving_the_Problem_of_Overweight_Containers_For_Release.pdf Last week’s meeting of the... Read More>>> Back to Top |  SAN DIEGO – General Dynamics NASSCO announced today that it has received from the U.S. Navy a $744 million modification to its Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) contract to fully fund construction of the first two ships of the new ship class. Construction of the first ship will begin immediately, with delivery to occur by the spring of 2013. The contract includes an option for the construction of a third MLP which, if exercised, will increase the total contract value to approximately $1.3 billion. “With the Mobile Landing Platform Program, NASSCO will continue our tradition of building high-quality ships for the U.S. Navy,” said Fred Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. “The first MLP ship will start production with more design, engineering and planning work complete than any ship that NASSCO has constructed since World War II.” The Mobile Landing Platform is a new class... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Following on the success of the Successful Safety Management - A Practical Primer course, PMI and QSE Solutions would like to invite you to attend the second course offering within the Continual Improvement Workshop Series: Building your own Risk-Based Internal Auditing Team. This new course offering will be held at the Pacific Maritime Institute on: June 29-30th, 2011 You can view our comprehensive flyer by clicking on the following link, Risk-Based Internal Auditing Training To register for this course, please contact our Registrar at: 206 838-1126 or by e-mail at: jpitzen@mates.org; these Continual Improvement Workshops generally run full, so please register early. Read More>>> Back to Top |  Globe Wireless is pleased to announce that Mr. Don Wamsley has joined the company as the Senior Vice President of Customer Care. Mr. Kenneth Jones, Founder and CEO of Globe Wireless commented, “Globe Wireless strives to continuously improve all aspects of the services we provide our customers. The addition of Don to our senior management team reaffirms our commitment to this goal. He comes to us with a wealth of experience in the field of customer support and service.” Prior to joining Globe, Mr. Wamsley previously managed the Global Technical Assistance Center for JDS Uniphase. Before this, he served as the Senior Call Center Director for Hughes Network Systems, where he lead a cross-functional team to redesign customer support organization encompassing six on-shore and off-shore call center located in Philippines, India, and United States. Over 500 staff... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Stena Bulk is on the offensive again – this time in the transportation liquid natural gas. The company has purchased three LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) tankers from the Taiwan-based shipping company TMT for a total of USD 700 million, approx. SEK 4.5 billion. The three LNG tankers are the “Stena Blue Sky” (145,000 cubic metres), which was built in 2006, and the two newly built tankers “Stena Clear Sky” and “ Stena Crystal Sky”, each 174,000 cubic metres. The three tankers are all ultramodern and ice classed. The “Stena Blue Sky” is currently chartered by Russian Gazprom with 22 months remaining on its contract. “We believe this to be a very good investment. LNG accounts for a significant part of the growth in the global energy supply and there is currently a shortage of LNG tankers. Consequently, we expect the two... p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 30px; text-align: center;"> Read More>>> Back to Top |  Maran Tanker Management Further Leads In Sustainable Shipping With energy efficiency at the forefront of today’s environmental agenda, Maran Tankers Management Inc. (MTM), the largest tanker operator in Greece, has collaborated with class society ABS in the development, review and revision of their Company and Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (CEEMP/SEEMP). The plan provides a mechanism for identifying measures aimed at maximizing operational efficiency throughout MTM’s fleet and establishes a management tool for the Company and their fleet of vessels. The goal is to continually improve the energy efficiency of all sea born operations. The Plan is linked to MTM Energy Efficiency Management Policy and to the relevant Environmental Program on Energy Efficiency which has been established, maintained and implemented in accordance with the ISO 14001 procedures. It is... Read More>>> Back to Top |  GE to Provide Austal USA with LM2500 Gas Turbines for United States Navy’s Third LCS-Class-Independence Variant GE Marine reports that it will provide Austal USA, Mobile, Alabama, with two LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines to power the United States Navy’s third LCS-Class-Independence variant. To be named USS Jackson, the vessel will be powered by the LM2500s arranged in a combined diesel and gas turbine configuration with two diesel engines. “GE continues investing in the LM2500 technology to meet customer needs, and we are delighted that Austal and the U.S. Navy recognize the reliability of this engine by again selecting it for this LCS application,” said Brien Bolsinger, GE Marine general manager. “In fact, this newest vessel brings the total to six LM2500s GE will provide to power Austal USA-built LCS-Class-Independence variants, and is part of a... Read More>>> Back to Top |  DSM Shipbrokers of Meppel in the Netherlands offers a new extremely economic vessel, specifically developed for very flexible coastal sea/river trading and built by the Dutch Shipyard De Kaap in the Netherlands. De Kaap is known for previous built coasters and tankers and has a very good reputation as builder of smaller quality coasters. The Green Cape Trader launched in June is the first of a serial production of new “green concept” coasters with very economical fuel consumption. The Green Cape Trader is a 2300 DWT MPP coaster with a low draft with double propulsion, powered by 2 diesel/electric units, placed in line in the vessel. 2 Reintjes gearboxes drive the new developed sophisticated propellers pushing the vessel to a speed of 10 knots.(Vessel fully loaded) The double propulsion will give the vessel also a very good maneuverability, which is an additional advantage in... Read More>>> Back to Top |  In the light of indications of possible irregularities during the handover of 4-stroke marine diesel engines produced by MAN Diesel & Turbo SE, the management board of MAN SE has launched an investigation, to be carried out by the compliance department of MAN SE together with external consultants. This investigation is still ongoing. The management board of MAN SE was today informed about interim results. According to these, it was possible to externally influence the fuel consumption values for 4-stroke marine diesel engines obtained on test stands at MAN Diesel & Turbo SE (formerly: MAN Diesel SE) and to display results that deviated from those actually measured. The extent to which this influence possibility has been made use of in the context of handover to customers and the potential financial consequences for the MAN Group will be examined in the course of further investigations. MAN SE will... Read More>>> Back to Top |  WISTA Norway announces Rikke Lind as the “Shipping name of the year” during Nor-shipping 2011. Lind receives the award as recognition of her dedicated efforts to support women in the maritime industry for more than 10 years. Rikke Lind will accept the award this afternoon at a ceremony in Oslo. Women´s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) is an organisation for women at management level in the maritime industry. Its mission is to facilitate networking and professional development for women in shipping. Statement from the jury justification:
The award is given out as recognition to women in shipping who truly lives the WISTA values - professional, dynamic, open-minded and committed - for their contribution to the development of the maritime industry. Since 2001, Rikke Lind has held several leading positions in the shipping business, including... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SHI-ME) decides for the RWO ballast water treat-ment system RWO Marine Water Technology, a part of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, has received an order for three of its ballast water treatment systems CleanBallast from the Japanese shipyard Sumitomo Heavy Industries Marine & Engineering Co. Ltd. (SHI-ME). The shipyard located in Yokosuka, Japan, has built in excess of 1,300 ships. Specialising in medium-sized tankers with high added value SHI-ME has a reputation in the industry as one of the technology leaders. The ballast water treatment plants of the long-established Bremen company RWO will be installed in 2012 in three Aframax tankers which will be built for a European shipowner. The CleanBallast ballast water treatment system, with a maximum capacity of 3,000 m³/h, will be equipped with several of RWO’s advanced disinfection systems... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Washington, DC Area (Linthicum Heights, Maryland), USA
June 6-7, 2011
MITAGS
An international survey (Michel et al., 2005) has identified over 8,500
sunken shipwrecks in marine waters around the world, including more than 1,500 sunken tank vessels (≥ 150 gross tons) and nearly 7,000 sunken non-tank vessels (≥ 400 gross tons). These wrecks may contain as much as 20 million tons (140 million barrels) of oil and other hazardous materials. Sporadic or continuous leakages or potential sudden massive spillages from these wrecks, 75 percent of which stem from World War II, pose a con/nual risk across the globe.
The problem of potentially-polluting wrecks has long been discussed and recent incidents around the world have caused government agencies and responsible parties to look... Read More>>> Back to Top |  Training and Certification by Equipment Manufacturers The member companies of the Subsea Solutions Alliance continually develop their work force through in-house as well as training provided by the Original Equipment Manufacturers. By maintaining a dedicated FULLY EMPLOYED work force, training records are maintained and development plans for personnel are in place. Employees receive on average between 60 and 80 hours of equipment repair specific or ship repair specific training PER YEAR. Trained and certified personnel for different types of equipment and repairs are maintained in order to meet specific equipment repair and vessel repair requirements throughout the world. This year project manager training, underwater welding courses, underwater welding certification tests and propulsion equipment training has been performed with all levels of the Subsea... Read More>>> Back to Top |  At a major event at its Diesel Research Centre in Copenhagen today, MAN Diesel & Turbo presented its ME-GI gas engine to a 300-strong invited audience of customers, licensees and journalists. The unveiling of the two-stroke engine represents the culmination of many years’ work that began in the 1990s with the company’s prototype MC-GI dual-fuel engine. MAN Diesel & Turbo originally announced plans to carry out full-scale testing of the new engine in September 2010. Today’s successful, full-scale demonstration and performance verification test of the GI principle for all kinds of marine applications was carried out on MAN Diesel & Turbo’s 4T50ME-X R&D research engine, which has been rebuilt as a 4T50ME-GI engine operating on natural gas. Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) has... Read More>>> Back to Top | | |
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