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| Volume 10, Edition 17 (February 9, 2012) |
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At least four Balkan nations along the Danube River have suspended shipping due to severe frost and massive ice that is blocking the popular waterway. Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Serbia have come to this decision based on the fact that 90 percent of the river’s surface is consumed by floating ice. These conditions have made any travelling on Europe’s main commercial waterway almost impossible.
The route winds from Germany and also acts as a natural border between Bulgaria and Romania. Europe has been in a constant battle with the deep freeze for a few weeks; it has already killed hundreds, trapped thousands, and damaged numerous homes.
A frozen Danube usually occurs just once or twice in a lifetime. (February 2006)
Serbian officials have said that the country’s army will use explosives to...
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By Captain Peter Squicciarini, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Master Merchant Mariner
“Captain Schettino, what were you thinking?” the world wonders. This should be the question at the core of any investigation conducted on the Costa Concordia tragedy off Isola del Giglio the night of Friday the 13th. Captain, I ask you the same question as one seagoing captain to supposedly another, imposter though you may be.
There are any number of international accident investigations in full swing. Investigators are interviewing your ill-fated ship’s officers, crew and passengers in an attempt to glean every morsel of information. Your navigation will be scrutinized. The ship’s and Costa’s management, perhaps even Carnival’s records concerning all things Costa Concordia and, yes, your captain’s license will be dissected. But you already know that,...
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A new multilateral pact has been signed by the governments of Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa in an effort to reinforce maritime security in the Indian Ocean and battle piracy.
The agreement was signed by each country’s respective Defense ministers and was witnessed by President Jakaya Kikwete. The President has also promised to assist the Defense Forces by taking part in the joint effort course. The measures taken to secure sea safety are important in this region, as about 90 percent of their trade uses the ocean route. Many believe that maritime piracy is only restricted to the Horn of Africa, but it has become an occurring problem to the Indian Ocean’s southern areas. The problem has begun to affect many of the African countries’ economies.
Defense and National Service Minister, Dr. Hussein Mwinyi, stated the goal for this cooperation is to strengthen the armed forces of the...
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A Russian dry cargo ship has sunk off Japan’s coast after colliding with another ship earlier in the week, according to the Russian Transportation Ministry.
The Tanya Karpinskaya sank just 30 minutes after its collision with a Singapore-flagged cargo ship near the port of Niigata. All 17 members of the Russian crew onboard the vessel have been rescued, even one member who was initially considered missing has found his way to shore.
The Russian vessel, built in 1975, sent out a distress signal before sinking into the Sea of Japan. An investigation into the accident has by launched by Japanese authorities.
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Shipping and oil company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, has suspended new oil tanker deals with Iran because of the European Union sanctions which will embargo imports of oil from the Islamic Republic into the bloc, according to Maersk representatives.
Other international shipping companies are becoming cautious of the growing sanctions and complications now involved in trading with Iran. Maersk has suspended all new fixtures involving Iran and products with Iranian origin as well. This came into effect as of January 24, 2012.
As previously reported, the EU banned imports of oil from Iran; European oil companies are forced to end all Iran crude dealings by July of this year. The EU also agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank and ban trade in gold and other precious...
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Amphibious Construction Battalion 2 (PHIBCB 2) deployed Jan. 31 to support Exercise Bold Alligator units with vital water and fuel transfers.
Exercise Bold Alligator 2012, the largest naval amphibious exercise in the past 10 years, represents the Navy and Marine Corps' revitalization of the full range of amphibious operations. The exercise focuses on today's fight with today's forces, while showcasing the advantages of seabasing. It runs through Feb. 12, afloat and ashore, in and around Virginia and North Carolina.
During the exercise, PHIBCB 2 will demonstrate the Amphibious Bulk Liquid Transfer System (ABLTS), a floating hose system used to pump water and fuel from the ships to forces on the beach, and the in-stream offload capability to deliver equipment and containers from USNS Obregon (T-AK-3006), a Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) ship, to the beach.
"We're really...
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The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced they are partnering to enhance the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) for the Arctic region by summer 2012. ERMA® is the same interactive online mapping tool used by federal responders during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This effort will help address numerous challenges in the Arctic where increasing ship traffic and proposed energy development are increasing the risk of oil spills and chemical releases.
“This emergency response tool was invaluable when managing the Deepwater Horizon response,” said BSEE Director James A. Watson, who served as the federal on-scene coordinator for the U.S. Coast Guard during the disaster. “Adding this tool to the Arctic region would provide a tremendous boost to the current oil spill response capabilities...
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GE Marine reports successful performance of its LM500 aeroderivative gas turbines during sea trials on the eighth and ninth PK(X) patrol boats in the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy’s fleet.
Each of the PK(X) patrol boats use LM500 gas turbines, rated at approximately 5,600 shaft horsepower, in a combined diesel and gas turbine arrangement, with diesel engines. The first PK(X) Yoon Young-ha was launched at Hanjin Heavy Industries’ Busan, ROK shipyard. Ships one through nine have been delivered to the ROK Navy.
For this ongoing program, Samsung Techwin locally manufactures select parts of the LM500s, and assembles and tests the completed engines at its Changwon, Korea factory. In addition, GE provides ongoing support to Samsung Techwin, the shipyard, and the ROK Navy throughout installation, sea trials, and...
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Norwegian shipowner World Wide Supply (WWS) has ordered another two PSV 3300 CD’s with Damen Shipyards. The two platform suppliers are added to the four that WWS announced to be built in December 2011. The extra vessels will be delivered end of 2013 and operated by Remøy Management AS.
Mr. Ståle Remøy, Managing Director of Remøy, says: “We are glad we have been able to achieve another two ships from Damen of this modern design. With the special wave piercing bow and the extremely slim waterlines, these ships will have an increased operational window, higher transit speed, reduced fuel consumption and increased crew comfort. The living quarters are developed according to strict demands for noise reduction, which also improves comfort and safety for the crew. We have a lot of faith in these new vessels and are looking forward to...
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Joint project will yield breakthroughs in offshore Arctic drilling
Keppel Offshore & Marine Technology Centre (KOMtech), a design and engineering arm of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M), and ConocoPhillips are jointly designing a first-of-its-kind ice-worthy jackup rig to operate in one of the harshest marine frontiers, the Arctic Seas.
This jackup rig will have dual cantilevers to optimise drilling operations within a limited time window. The rig is capable of operating in a self-sustained manner for 14 days and is equipped with a hull that is designed for towing in ice. It is also able to resist the impacts from multi-year ice floes and ridges as well as withstand certain level of ice thickness.This joint design project is expected to be completed by end...
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Global Business and Transportation Department’s Cutting Edge Issues in Shipping Conference
It was a good day for New York City’s most famous groundhog, Staten Island Chuck. Groundhog Day, 2012 proved to be an even better day for the more than 150 men and women from the international shipping community, along with hundreds of SUNY Maritime College students, who attended the 2012 SUNY Maritime College Cutting-Edge Issues in Shipping held on the SUNY Maritime College campus in Throggs Neck, the Bronx, New York City.
“There was an Intellectual smorgasbord of shipping industry information,” said Dr. Larry Howard, Chairman of the SUNY Maritime College Global Business and Transportation Department (GBAT), in discussing this year’s 7th annual Conference on Cutting-Edge Issues in...
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Markey Machinery is pleased to announce that it has prevailed in a dispute over its’ longtime trademark, Render/Recover®, which was initiated by another winch manufacturer. On February 6, 2012 the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board did “dismiss with prejudice (the) Petition for Cancellation of the trademark Render/Recover, Serial Number 3,545,593.”
“The court decision recognized our origination of the term in 1994,” said Markey President Blaine Dempke. “It’s unfortunate that we had to defend something that was so clearly identified with our company, but defend it we did. We really had no other choice.”
Founded in 1907, Markey Machinery is the leader in the design and manufacturing of high quality custom deck machinery for workboat, scientific, and dockside...
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Simplex-Turbulo, agents for Märkisches Werk (MWH), are now able to actively promote a very interesting new product which extends the life of cylinder head valves.
High combustion temperatures in engines operating on HFO combined with fuel impurities are well known to limit the service life of cylinder head valves. Even valves made of expensive nickel-based super-alloys suffer from hot-gas corrosion especially in highly loaded engines.
Since 2004 MWH has been pioneering the development of a solution to these problems. Higher-resistant materials are not easily available, so the approach has been to develop special coatings which protect the valve. Now there are several different grades for the new CrystalCoat, and CrystalCoat HT products. The different specifications allow MWH to tailor the coating to the individual...
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