Container Fire Continues to Burn at Port of Iskenderun

GPA petchem storage site on a satellite image

Vopak Buys Tank Terminal in Port of Antwerp to Supply Renewable Energy

Published Feb 7, 2023 6:22 PM by The Maritime Executive

Tank farm operator Vopak has reached a deal with energy trading firm Gunvor to take over a storage facility at the Port of Antwerp and turn it into a renewable-energy hub, the two companies announced Monday. The decision marks a substantial step forward on Port of Antwerp's decarbonization journey. Vopak is buying the Gunvor subsidiary Gunvor Petroleum Antwerp, which holds the lease to a large site at the north end of the port. The 260-acre terminal includes a small refinery,...

U.S. Imports in February Expected to be Lowest in Nearly Three Years

Published Feb 7, 2023 6:11 PM by The Maritime Executive

Import cargo volume at the U.S.’s major container ports is expected to drop to its lowest level in nearly three years during February, according to a new forecast from the National Retail Federation. The trade group for the nation’s retailers is once again lowering its forecast for imports seeing a decline from its already lowered expectations and a significant decline over the surge levels experienced a year ago. Reporting the expectations from retailers the NRF has once again lowered the...

FMC Orders MSC to Justify Fees as Reform Act Enforcement Increases

Published Feb 7, 2023 5:06 PM by The Maritime Executive

The U.S.’s Federal Maritime Commission continues to put bite into the Shipping Reform Act passed in 2022 which sought to crack down on the fees and unreasonable business practices of the major ocean carriers. A small complaint by a shipper is spotlighting the enforcement efforts under the act with the FMC issuing a “show cause” order against Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) for congestion fees that were charged to the shipper in July 2022. New provisions in the reform act require...

Helgoland hydrogen bunkering infrastructure

Germany Explores Hydrogen Bunkering from its North Sea Island

Published Feb 7, 2023 4:10 PM by The Maritime Executive

Germany is exploring a unique situation to develop a potential hydrogen bunkering operation serving the shipping industry from islands in the North Sea. A conceptual study is underway exploring linking the supply of green hydrogen to a bunkering operation that would be located on the deep-sea island of Helgoland, which lies 30 miles off the German mainland. The municipality of Helgoland has commissioned Hamburg Port Consulting (HPC), an independent consulting firm within HHLA (Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG) focusing on...

Shipping

First Inline Shaft Generator Retrofit Done by Wärtsilä and Berge Bulk

Ship operators are increasingly looking for new means of improving the operating efficiency for in-service vessels as new regulations such as the IMO’s EEXI and CII going into effect and the EU’s carbon emission fees loom over the industry. In a first for the maritime industry, Wartsila reports it has been able to successfully retrofit an energy-saving inline generator system to a six-year-old bulk carrier in an effort that is expected to will improve the vessel’s Energy Efficiency Existing Ship...

Tugs & Salvage

U.S. Navy Releases First Photos of Chinese Spy Balloon's Debris

The U.S. Navy has released the first photos of debris from the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina over the weekend. A team from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovered the fabric of the balloon itself on February 5, according to images provided by U.S. Fleet Forces Command. The rest of the remains of the balloon's one-tonne payload are scattered over a wide area of the seabed, and dive teams are working to find...

Government

Opinion: A Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Isn't Inevitable

[By Daniel R. Depetris] On 1 February, the People’s Liberation Army sent 20 aircraft across the median line dividing Taiwan from the Chinese mainland. Taiwan’s Defence Ministry responded to the incursion by putting its own forces on a heightened state of alert, scrambling its own fighter jets and activating air defence systems. This breach of Taiwan’s so-called air defence identification zone (ADIZ), a large area encompassing the entire Taiwan Strait and a part of Chinese territory, is only the latest in what has become...

Piracy

IMB Calls for Vigilance While Highlighting Drop in Piracy in 2022

The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) is once again highlighting the continuing decline in global piracy incidents against vessels while also calling for sustained efforts to maintain the progress seen in 2022. They are reporting that overall, the volume of incidents declined as well as a reduction of severity with fewer armed incidents, kidnappings, or hijackings. They are however highlighting that five areas, and in particular the waters around Singapore, are accounting for two-thirds of all the incidents reported last...

Cruise Ships

File image of viking cruise ship in antarctica

US Coast Guard Heads to Ushuaia to Investigate Fatal Cruise Accidents

The United States Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board have joined an inquiry into a series of fatal accidents involving Antarctic cruise operations. The two agencies' marine safety investigators rarely operate so far from home, but after four serious incidents involving Americans aboard Antarctic cruise ships or cruise ship excursion boats, they have deployed to Argentina to ask questions and gather information. The four accidents in question all occurred in the two-week period from November 15 through December...

Ports

U.S. Imports in February Expected to be Lowest in Nearly Three Years

Shipping

First Inline Shaft Generator Retrofit Done by Wärtsilä and Berge Bulk

Tugs & Salvage

U.S. Navy Releases First Photos of Chinese Spy Balloon's Debris

Government

Opinion: A Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Isn't Inevitable

Piracy

IMB Calls for Vigilance While Highlighting Drop in Piracy in 2022

Cruise Ships

US Coast Guard Heads to Ushuaia to Investigate Fatal Cruise Accidents

Ports

U.S. Imports in February Expected to be Lowest in Nearly Three Years

Offshore

Denmark Upends Offshore Wind Planning With Permitting Suspension

Denmark is one of the friendliest jurisdictions in the world for offshore wind. It is home to top developers Orsted, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Vattenfall, as well as turbine builder Vestas. Its energy agency is considered a model for European development permitting, and offers a "one-stop-shop" service for all government reviews of future wind sites. However, the department has had to shut down one of its most popular offshore wind application programs because of potential conflicts with EU law, it...

Shipbuilding

Keppel Sells Singapore Ship Repair Business to ST Engineering

The realignment of the ship repair business in Singapore is continuing with the news that ST Engineering plans to acquire the yard currently operated by Keppel FELS. Keppel had previously announced its plans to refocus its operations away from the offshore sector to execute its strategy to be an integrated business focusing on sustainable urbanization, while ST Engineering will use the site to relocate and modernize its ship repair operations. ST Engineering’s Marine business has acquired the site and assets...

Environment

Denmark Awards First CO2 Storage Licenses Seeking to Build Industry

Denmark selected projects from Total Energies, INEOS E&P, and Wintershall DEA to receive the country’s first full-scale CO2 storage permits for projects in the North Sea. The recommendation from the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities marked the conclusion of the first of an annual tender for licenses for the exploration of full-scale CO2 storage on the Danish continental shelf as the country looks to the development of a new industry that will contribute to meetings its goals to reduce...

Business

Euronav Loses First Arbitration as Frontline and CMB Reject Compromise

The struggle over the future of tanker operator Euronav continues to play out between the boardroom and the courts. The company continues to find itself caught between its two large shareholders, CMB and Frontline, each of which controls approximately a quarter of the shares outstanding and shows no signs of a compromise. Frontline has won the first step in its fight against Euronav after announcing early in January 2023 that it had decided not to proceed with the share exchange...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Container Fire Continues to Burn at Port of Iskenderun

Vopak Buys Tank Terminal in Port of Antwerp to Supply Renewable Energy

U.S. Imports in February Expected to be Lowest in Nearly Three Years

FMC Orders MSC to Justify Fees as Reform Act Enforcement Increases

Germany Explores Hydrogen Bunkering from its North Sea Island

First Inline Shaft Generator Retrofit Done by Wärtsilä and Berge Bulk

U.S. Navy Releases First Photos of Chinese Spy Balloon's Debris

Opinion: A Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Isn't Inevitable

IMB Calls for Vigilance While Highlighting Drop in Piracy in 2022

US Coast Guard Heads to Ushuaia to Investigate Fatal Cruise Accidents

U.S. Imports in February Expected to be Lowest in Nearly Three Years

CBS's Blue Board Leadership Programme Equips Boards for New Challenges

Michigan Start-Up Revolutionizing Recreational Boating

DESMI Offers Free Engineering to Avoid Consequences of Older BWMS

First Inline Shaft Generator Retrofit Done by Wärtsilä and Berge Bulk

U.S. Navy Releases First Photos of Chinese Spy Balloon's Debris

Opinion: A Chinese Invasion of Taiwan Isn't Inevitable

IMB Calls for Vigilance While Highlighting Drop in Piracy in 2022

US Coast Guard Heads to Ushuaia to Investigate Fatal Cruise Accidents

U.S. Imports in February Expected to be Lowest in Nearly Three Years

Denmark Upends Offshore Wind Planning With Permitting Suspension

Keppel Sells Singapore Ship Repair Business to ST Engineering

Denmark Awards First CO2 Storage Licenses Seeking to Build Industry

Euronav Loses First Arbitration as Frontline and CMB Reject Compromise

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events