Puerto Rico News

Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding started construction on the largest LNG (liquefied natural gas) bunkering barge ever built in the United States. Bay Shipbuilding is expected to complete construction on the barge in late 2023 under contract with Crowley, the largest independent operator of tank vessels in the U.S. Crowley will operate the vessel under a long-term charter with Shell NA LNG, LLC (“Shell”). The 416-ft. vessel, which will have the capacity for 12,000 m3 (3.17 million ga...

In addition to having a COVID requirement for all guests and crew, Viking is also the first and only cruise line to have built full-scale PCR labs on board their ocean and expedition ships. All guests and crew are tested every day and the company’s medical team is able to quickly get the results. Without onboard PCR laboratories, there is no way to screen the samples and determine the results while on the move at sea.&nb...

Blue Water’s Energy and Projects Division has experienced positive and sustainable growth in recent years, both in terms of activity level and expansion of locations. To further strengthen its global position, Blue Water is opening two additional offices in the Middle East: Iraq and Saudi Arabia. This is to underline and strengthen the objective of servicing customers across the business with a regional and local presence. “We want to expand our global presence to serve current an...

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the execution of their respective mandates in the country’s common interest. Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.), said this recently, when Jamoh paid a courtesy visit to Marwa. They admitted that success in the fight against maritime crimes and drug...

When cruise ships start calling at the Port of Aarhus from 2023 onwards, PowerCon A/S will be there to supply them with energy.  Back in September 2021, the Board of the Port of Aarhus resolved to invest in a shore power facility for cruise ships. Before this decision, the job of establishing the facility in the port in Aarhus was tendered as an EU project, a tender that was won by Hadsund-based PowerCon A/S. Small and large shore power solutions PowerCon has been providing small and l...

PARAT Halvorsen will replace an old fired boiler with a new modern high voltage electrode boiler, designed and produced in Flekkefjord. BioMar in Myre has ordered a new 8MW high voltage electrode steam boiler. The boiler has a capacity of 12 tons steam/h, 22kV connection, 13 barg design pressure, and 195°C design temperature. Boiler installation and commissioning The steam boiler will be installed in the customer's existing boiler house, where it will replace the old fired boiler with a n...

Iridium Communications Inc. announced that Manjula Sriram has joined the company as Vice President & Chief Information Officer (CIO). Reporting to Chief Financial Officer Tom Fitzpatrick, Sriram is now responsible for leading Iridium's Information Technology (IT) organisation in implementing information systems to support both distributed and centralised business operations. Iridium® is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Irid...

BAE Systems has been awarded a five-year contract, worth up to $137 million, to provide lifecycle management and sustainment of the U.S. Navy’s command, control, communications, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems. Under this contract, awarded in November, the company will also train military personnel on how to operate the C5ISR systems.   “Our deep C5ISR sustainment experience, skilled workforce, and in-place resour...

Rolls-Royce announces the completion of the sale of our Bergen Engines business to Langley Holdings plc for an enterprise value of €63m. The completion of the transaction, which was announced on 3 August 2021, follows the conclusion of work to separate the business from the Group. Sale proceeds of €91m from the transaction, together with €16m of cash held within Bergen Engines which has been retained by Rolls-Royce, will be used to help rebuild the Rolls-Royce balance sheet in...

BAE Systems has been awarded a five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract worth up to $154 million to continue supporting the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Center Webster Outlying Field. Under the contract awarded in November, BAE Systems will support the rapid integration and sustainment of command, control, communications, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems for the Special Communications Mission Systems Division....

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has commenced total digital manifest management regime for all vessels calling at all Nigerian Ports. The Physical transactions concerning Sailing Certificates and cargo manifest processing are being phased out completely as stakeholders are encouraged to fully embrace the Agency’s initiative by visiting the NIMASA portal. The Director General of the Agency Dr. Bashir Jamoh said that the automation is aimed at fur...

EasyShipping, a well-known international logistics service platform in China is joining forces with TradeLens – the global blockchain digital platform, to provide innovative ocean freight financing solutions for Chinese foreign trade and logistics companies. Cross-border trading is a pillar of the global economy and supply chains are a key component to enable cross-border trading. As the current global supply chain suffers from imbalance, tight resource allocation and low efficiency, most...

Nestled in the North Pacific Ocean and the largest of the Micronesian islands is Guam, an unincorporated territory of the United States of America (USA). There are two main drivers of trade in this island nation in the Pacific Ocean, the US military presence and tourism. The current population of Guam stands at about 170,000 people, with this number expected to increase slightly by 2024, as 5,000 US Marine personnel and their families will be relocated to Guam from Okinawa, Japan. Guam, a ke...

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has taken its first order for LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) fuel gas supply systems (FGSS), for high-pressure dual-fuel marine engines. The company will deliver FGSS to be installed on six (6) LNG-fuelled car carriers, to be built by a group company of Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. LNG fuel gas supply systems (FGSS) The core components of the newly ordered FGSS are LNG fuel tanks, LNG fuel gas supply units and...

The next stage of Wightlink’s £1.5 million investment in the FastCat foot passenger route terminal, between Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde Pier Head, in the United Kingdom, starts on Wednesday, January 5, 2022. The timetable will stay the same, but there will be changes to the way customers can board the catamarans, in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, for the next three months, because of major structural repairs and maintenance at the terminal. FastCat terminal repair work Customers will...

Leask Marine announced that the company has recently completed a major offshore decommissioning project in France, on behalf of Hydroquest, to remove their 1 MW turbine from their test site off Paimpol-Bréhat, in Brittany, France. Offshore decommissioning project The offshore decommissioning project entailed project management, engineering, and marine operations, with the engagement of the North Sea Atlantic vessel. In association with Tadek Ltd, the decommissioning & recovery proc...

Tokyo’s renowned classification society, ClassNK has released ‘PrimeShip-PSC Intelligence’, a mobile app to assist the improvement of ship management system and PSC performance, provided free of charge. The application is the mobile version of PSC Intelligence PC version for ship management companies, which was released in 2018. PrimeShip-PSC Intelligence mobile app The PrimeShip-PSC Intelligence mobile application has been developed for seafarers The PrimeShip-PSC Intellig...

Rolls-Royce is focusing on methanol as a fuel for climate-friendly shipping: Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems is currently working on mtu engines for use with methanol. New four-stroke engines The new high-speed four-stroke engines, which are based on proven mtu technologies, are planned to be available to customers as soon as possible for use in commercial ships and yachts. Denise Kurtulus, the Vice President - Global Marine at Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG, said “With the new de...

Rolls-Royce has agreed to work with IHI Corporation, to develop and deliver a future fighter engine demonstrator. Rolls-Royce – IHI Corporation The engine demonstrator programme will be a critical step forward, in enabling the two nations – United Kingdom and Japan, to develop their future fighter aircraft requirements, potentially securing hundreds of future jobs in the UK and Japan. Work on the joint engine demonstrator will kick-start in early 2022, with the United Kingdom (UK)...

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) will be a key technology if the world is to meet the goals of the Paris and Glasgow agreements. Although the technologies and the industry are very much still emerging, a possible challenge is connecting capture sources to facilities for use or storage sites, especially where pipelines are not an option. As a result, CO2 transport ship technology will be needed if large quantities are to be safely transported at costs that are commercially viable. Most transport...

The technology group Wärtsilä has completed the installation and commissioning of a unique hybrid power system combined with a PV solar energy system in collaboration with Marfin Management and Solbian, onboard a bulk carrier vessel, making it one of the most technologically advanced vessel of its type in the global fleet. The installation was carried out on the M/V Paolo Topic, a bulk carrier built in 2016 at the Onomichi Dockyard in Japan and managed by Marfin Management S.A.M. The...

Market sentiments continue to remain strong across major economies in West and Central Asia, driven primarily by strong demand for consumer products. Despite growing concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, the region has seen varied reactions across the logistics sector, over the last month. A truckers’ strike created supply chain disruptions in Bangladesh, while in India, a dip in fuel prices brought welcome relief for both businesses and consumers alike....

As of 1 January 2022, Aarhus Logistics Center (ALC) changes its name to Blue Water Logistics, in order to optimise the port setup and continue increasing the efficiency of the activities for the benefit of customers and business partners. In 2013, Blue Water Shipping acquired ALC, which has been operated independently servicing new and long-time customers within logistics, stevedoring, and warehousing. “The change of name will not affect customer relations, cooperation agreements, or ser...

‘By perseverance, everything reaches its target,’ the saying goes. Yet another year is almost over, and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge everybody’s patience and perseverance. Many probably thought they would be back to a more ‘normal’ situation by now, but unfortunately it seems everyone will have to persevere a while longer. All the more important it is now to acknowledge and celebrate some of the progress and milestones that are being reached in the...

Leask Marine have completed a 5-month O&M preventative maintenance programme, installing Dynamic Bend Stiffeners (DBS) on cables at the London Array offshore wind farm, in order to help extend the life of their subsea assets. C-Fenna and C-Force vessels The programming saw Leask Marine’s C-Fenna and newly commissioned C-Force, working side-by-side to clean marine growth from existing cable protection systems, before installing the Dynamic Bend Stiffener, using a bespoke installation...

At the 32nd session of the IMO Assembly (A 32) from December 6 to December 15, 2021, the Assembly adopted a resolution on comprehensive action to address seafarers’ challenges, during the COVID-19 pandemic, consolidating issues related to crew change, access to medical care, ‘key worker’ designation and seafarers' prioritisation for COVID-19 vaccination. The resolution urges IMO Member States to: Designate seafarers as ‘key workers’, in order to facilitate shore...

Crowley recently awarded cadets Justin Kern and Ryan Tobin of SUNY Maritime College with its Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarships in recognition of their success and pursuit of maritime careers. A senior from East Islip, N.Y., Justin Kern is studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Operations with a U.S. Coast Guard deck licence. Kern is an active member of the Coast Guard Club and the Coast Guard Auxiliary University Program (AUP), serving first as the club operations officer, t...

Inmarsat, the renowned company in global, mobile satellite communications, is giving free connectivity to maritime crews around the globe that use its Fleet Hotspot service. Free connectivity to maritime crews Given the critical role that connectivity plays in crew welfare, Inmarsat will deliver 250 MB of free data to active Fleet Hotspot accounts on December 24, 2021.The seasonal gift will be automatically topped up to active crew accounts. The free 250 MB is available for a variety of conne...

Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation has awarded Blue Water a new four-year contract – covering transport of military equipment with focus on USA, Canada and Europe. Further, the contract includes worldwide relocation services for personal property. Over the years, Blue Water has built a significant setup and wide experience in transport of defence equipment. Through existing cooperation with Danish Defence, they have provided transport and logistics services to the milit...

Solent Gateway, the UK’s fastest-growing port, is offering a unique opportunity for the renewables sector with its designated Freeport status complemented with the sea, road, and rail access, opening substantial growth opportunities in the region. The Sector Deal between the offshore wind industry and the UK Government in 2019 created certainty – unmatched by other European governments – that the UK will remain the anchor market for offshore wind. Productivity and innovation...