https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RMS_Wedau_Shipyard_Leer.JPG

Study: Antifouling May be a Major Source of Microplastic Pollution

Four Rarely-Heard Ocean Terms

By NOAA National Ocean Service 02-25-2021 06:18:00

1. Gravity Wave Gravity waves, not to be confused with gravitational waves, form when air is pushed up and gravity pulls the air back down. On its way down, air displaces ocean water, forming waves that look like vertical channels. There are different types of gravity waves. Gravity waves that form on the surface of the water are called surface gravity waves. Waves that occur inside of a body of water are called internal waves. Waves created by wind on the...

MAIB: Faulty Engine Overhaul Caused Catastrophic Fire

By The Maritime Executive 02-25-2021 05:54:00

The MAIB has released its report on the catastrophic engine fire aboard the freight ro/ro Finlandia Seaways, which seriously injured one crewmember and destroyed the vessel's engine room. At 2000 hours on April 16, 2018, on a regular crossing from Zeebrugge to Rosyth, the crew aboard Finlandia Seaways noticed powerful vibrations all the way up on the bridge. The third engineer went from the engine control room out into the engine room to investigate, and as the noise and vibration...

Wavier Proposed to Permit Large Ships to Sail to Alaska in 2021

By The Maritime Executive 02-25-2021 05:10:56

Responding to the outcry from Alaska and the cruise industry, efforts are now underway in the U.S. House of Representatives to find a compromise to permit the 2021 Alaska cruise season to proceed despite Canada’s ban on large cruise ships. An Alaska member of the U.S. House introduced an act that would provide a waiver to the U.S. cabotage rules while a committee proposed permitting technical calls in Canada. With a short window for action, the cruise industry however has...

Europe's largest drug bust in Hamburg and Antwerp

Europe’s Largest Drug Bust: 25 Tons Seized in Hamburg and Antwerp

By The Maritime Executive 02-25-2021 03:23:16

German, Belgian, and Dutch authorities working in concert completed what they are calling Europe’s largest cocaine seizure and one of the largest individual seizures in the world. In total, 25 tons of the narcotics were seized at the ports in Hamburg and Antwerp with the Dutch authorities reporting a value of more than $700 million while the German authorities estimated the ultimate street value could have been as high as $4 billion. Authorities have recently reported that the pandemic is...

Shipping

Record High Container Contract Rates Here to Stay Predicts Xeneta

With the demand for container shipping continuing to rise, long-term contract rates are climbing to unprecedented highs according to new data from ocean freight market intelligence firm Xeneta. They report that all key shipping corridors registered steep increases since the beginning of the year, driven by continuing surging demand, lack of equipment supply, and spot rates that remain at peak levels. According to the latest XSI Public Indices report from Xeneta, rates soared by 9.6 percent month-on-month following January’s increase...

Tugs & Salvage

Photos: Dredger Pulls Up 12" Cannon Projectile From WWII

On Monday, the Royal Navy and the RNLI came to the assistance of a hopper dredger that had dug up some wartime ordnance in the English Channel, just off Selsey Bill. At about 1230 hours on Monday, the UK Coastguard called the Selsey RNLI station and asked them to attend the Dutch dredger Mellina. The vessel had ordnance of an unknown nature on board, and a Royal Navy EOD team was getting ready to launch a RHIB to meet the...

Government

New Law Expands Chinese Coast Guard's Jurisdiction

[By Eli Huang] China’s new law giving the China Coast Guard more freedom to use force has increased the concerns of China’s neighbors. The Philippines filed a formal rejection of it on January 27, emphasizing that, given the large area involved and China’s ongoing disputes in the South China Sea, the law is a verbal threat of war to any country that defies it. On February 8, a week after the law came into effect, China’s largest maritime patrol vessel, Haixun 06 (??06), was launched from...

Piracy

Indonesian Navy Catches Five Pirates in the Act of Raiding a Barge

[Brief] The Indonesian Navy successfully intercepted five pirates in the middle of a theft aboard a barge in the Singapore Strait. The suspects allegedly boarded the barge Linau 133 as it was under tow by the Malaysian tugboat Danum 50 off the Riau Islands. At about 1220 hours, the Indonesian Navy vessel KRI Siwar-646 was under way on a routine patrol near Karang Banteng (Buffalo Rock), her crew spotted suspicious activity aboard the barge. Three people appeared to be transferring wire rope...

Cruise Ships

Wavier Proposed to Permit Large Ships to Sail to Alaska in 2021

Ports

Rotterdam Expansion Will Increase Container Capacity by a Quarter

The Port of Rotterdam Authority awarded contracts for the expansion of its harbor facilities with the potential to increase by more than a quarter the annual container throughput as well as provide additional space for inland shipping and future expansion. The first sections of the new dock wall are expected to be completed in late 2022 as the port works to increase capacity to deal with the expected continuing growth in container volumes. “Particularly because of e-commerce, container volumes are...

Shipping

Record High Container Contract Rates Here to Stay Predicts Xeneta

Tugs & Salvage

Photos: Dredger Pulls Up 12" Cannon Projectile From WWII

Government

New Law Expands Chinese Coast Guard's Jurisdiction

Piracy

Indonesian Navy Catches Five Pirates in the Act of Raiding a Barge

Cruise Ships

Wavier Proposed to Permit Large Ships to Sail to Alaska in 2021

Ports

Rotterdam Expansion Will Increase Container Capacity by a Quarter

Offshore

BOEM Approves W. Coast's First Wave Energy Test Site in Federal Waters

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has approved the first wave energy test site in federal waters on the U.S. West Coast, the agency announced Tuesday. “This is the first time a lease has been issued to support the testing of wave energy equipment in federal waters off the U.S. West Coast,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “Ocean waves contain a tremendous amount of energy, and this opportunity offers exciting potential to demonstrate the viability of wave energy technology...

Shipbuilding

COVID outbreak at shipyards in Finland and Japan

Rauma Shipyard in Finland Starts to Resume Work After COVID Lockdown

Recent outbreaks of the coronavirus are once impacting the operations at shipyards in Finland and Japan. Early in the pandemic, the industry had experienced significant delays in its work but with new measures and safety protocols shipbuilding has been proceeding. Last week, however, Finnish health authorities ordered one yard into lockdown while in Japan employees have been quarantined and operations are continuing under close supervision. Rauma Marine Constructions in Finland is planning to resume limited on February 25 and 26...

Training

New York Launches Largest Public Investment in Wind Workforce Training

The state of New York announced a new training initiative to develop a workforce for the renewable energy industry which it says is part of the largest public investment in offshore wind workforce development by any state in the U.S. In its first phase, New York’s Offshore Wind Training Institute (OWTI) will train 2,500 workers designed to support the state’s goal of developing 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. Through a partnership between the State University of New York’s...

Business

Leidos Acquires Famed Naval Architecture Firm Gibbs & Cox

Engineering, IT and defense conglomerate Leidos has reached an agreement to buy the storied naval architecture firm Gibbs & Cox, boosting its capabilities as it competes for U.S. Navy unmanned systems contracts. In an earnings call Tuesday, Leidos CEO Roger Krone confirmed that his company plans to pay $380 million for Gibbs & Cox, with the transaction expected to close in the first quarter. "The acquisition of Gibbs & Cox will extend our existing maritime business and add specific capabilities...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

Select any month to view events: February March April May June July August September October November December January

Join the conversation.

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events