Harris Pye IMarEST Wales Branch Award

The importance of encouraging young marine engineers in their career development is fully recognised by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) and the Harris Pye Group. That is why the annual Harris Pye Sponsorship Award will be run in association with the Wales Branch of the IMarEST.

Singapore Strait Attempted Boarding

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre issued an Incident Alert reporting that at 1845 hours local on 30 August, five men (two armed with machine guns) attempted to board a bulk carrier anchored just west of Pulau Nipa in the Singapore Strait. The men aborted the boarding when the ship’s master raised the alarm.

Conditions of Entry, Arriving from Congo

The US Coast Guard issued a notice stating that, effective September 15, it will impose conditions of entry on vessels arriving to the United States from the Republic of the Congo, with the exception of vessels arriving from the Djeno Oil Terminal, a single buoy mooring off-shore, during their last five port calls.

Sea Level Anomaly Along U.S. Atlantic Coast

Persistent winds and a weakened current in the Mid-Atlantic contributed to higher than normal sea levels along the Eastern Seaboard in June and July, according to a new NOAA technical report. After observing water levels six inches to two feet higher than originally predicted, NOAA scientists

M. H. Simonsen ApS Chooses KVH TracPhone V7

Faced with a growing need for reliable connections to shore and increased control over variable and increasingly expensive communications costs, M. H. Simonsen ApS, of Denmark, recently adopted the TracPhone V7 and mini-VSAT Broadband(SM) service from KVH Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KVHI) as its primary

Norway Targets $2t Int’l Oil & Gas Spend

Analysis of 19 target countries and 26 key onshore and offshore market sectors, ranging from land drilling equipment to offshore operations, has revealed that overall expenditure levels are expected to total $2t over the 2009-2013 period. These are amongst the key findings of a new report commissioned

Concordia Sells Shareholding General Maritime

Concordia Maritime has sold its holding of 1.5 million shares in the US shipping company General Maritime. As the shares had already been written down to their market value, the sale only marginally affects the company’s equity and total comprehensive income. However, in accordance with IFRS’ accounting rules,

Alaska Gov Touts Offshore Oil Lease Ruling

According to an August 28 report from The Wall Street Journal, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell on August 28 praised a federal appeals court decision that he said will allow Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) to continue exploring for oil and gas in the Beaufort Sea.(Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Updated Best Management Practices Re Piracy

An updated version (Version 2 dated August 2009) of the Industry Best Management Practices (BMP) re piracy in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia has been released to the shipping industry. The updated BMP are of particular importance and urgency to reach ship owners/operators/masters/crew before the expected end of the monsoons later this month,

More Layoffs Possible at Bay Shipbuilding

According to an August 25 report from www.wbay.com, Bay Shipbuilding notified the Wisconsin Workforce Development Tuesday it may cut a total of 405 positions. The company laid off 133 employees in the last three months, and those could become more permanent than expected with the company announcing

JO Tankers to Lay off Officers and Reflag

According to an August 26 report from Lloyd’s List, JO Tankers, the world number three chemtanker operator, is to make around 50 Dutch officers redundant and is likely to reflag four of its vessels from the Dutch register to Singapore. (Source: Lloyd’s List)

This Day in Naval History – August 28

1867 - Captain William Reynolds of Lackawanna raises U.S. flag over Midway Island and took formal possession of these islands for the U.S.1942 - 120 women, commissioned directly as ENS or LTJG, reported to "USS Northampton," Smith College for training.1952 - Units on

Hyundai Heavy May See Dry Spell End

According to an August 26 report from Bloomberg, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and its rivals may end an eight-month dry spell with a slew of new orders after Australia approved the $42b Gorgon liquefied natural gas project.(Source: Bloomberg)

Half-Year Results on Budget, Aberdeen Harbour

Aberdeen Harbour has reported a healthy start to 2009, remaining on budget for the first half of the year. Passenger figures have seen an increase, with more than 63,000 using the ferry service between Aberdeen, Shetland and Orkney, against 57,000 the previous year. Ten cruise vessels also called in to Aberdeen through to the end of June.

Ballard ABS Asst. Chief Surveyor, Naval Programs

ABS veteran surveyor Robert (Bob) Ballard has been named to the position of Assistant Chief Surveyor (ACS) for Naval Programs, a position created last year by the class society to better coordinate the provisions of the specialty survey services demanded by increased naval activity.&nbsp;&nbsp; <br

Bristol Designs Two 14k BBL Tank Barges

Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI), has been contracted by Metal Trades, Inc. of Hollywood, South Carolina to design two 14,000 BBL Double Hull Oil Tank Barges to carry &lsquo;D&rsquo; and &lsquo;E&rsquo; grade fuels for the U.S. Navy. Metal Trades is building the new barges as a sub-contractor to Maybank Industries, LLC based in Charleston, SC.

German Wind Power Further Out to Sea

According to an August 25 report from Reuters, a German wind power plant's new high-tech equipment is moving further offshore to capture higher winds for longer periods. The Alpha Ventus wind park started this month and operates 45 km off the German-Dutch coast. Existing European wind parks operate only 20 km offshore at the most.

CG Final Report, Lady D Accident

On August 24, the U.S. Coast Guard released the final report of investigation into the March 2004 capsizing of the passenger vessel Lady D in the northwest harbor of the Patapsco River, Baltimore.Five passengers aboard the Lady D died in the accident.The report states the accident

Business Booms at Chesapeake Shipbuilding

According to a report from WTOP.com, Salisbury, Md. based Chesapeake Shipbuilding is planning to build its third new prefabrication facility on its property on the Wicomico River. Company spokesman Charlie Robertson said an old building on the property was torn down August 19 and construction will begin on the new building in a month or two.

UK, Offshore Industry Decline

According to an August 24 report from Morning Star UK, the offshore industry's second-quarter results saw gloomy forecasts for jackups and midwater rigs. Negative customer expectations surrounding commodity prices and difficult well economics mean lower demand for offshore drilling. Still, Morning Star reported,

Mission Effectiveness Project & Aging Cutters

The U.S. Coast Guard reported that Mission the Effectiveness Project (MEP) is significantly improving the mission capability and lowering the operating costs of in-service medium endurance cutters and patrol boats, thus bridging the gap between the aging fleet and the delivery of new assets. Since MEP began in 2005,

Leaked Report Criticizes UK Defense Programs

According to an August 24 report from The Guardian, the UK government was urged to publish an official 296-page report by Bernard Gray, a former senior Ministry of Defence adviser, warning of &ldquo;lethal&quot; weakness in government programs. The report complained that it takes 20 years to buy a ship,

Pirate Skiff Disarmed

In the morning of 22 august, a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft detected and reported a suspect skiff in the Gulf of Aden, some 80 nm east of Aden. The aircraft observed seven persons on board, a ladder and large amounts of fuel. The skiff was approximately five nm away from passing merchant vessels.

Operation to Liberate the MV Arctic Sea

According to Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, eight people of Estonian, Latvian and Russian nationality were arrested during the operation to liberate the Arctic Sea. Investigations revealed that on July 24, 2009, these people boarded the Arctic Sea and using the threat of arms, demanded that the crew change course.

Mini-Cruise Ships Sold

Marcon International, Inc. of Coupeville, Wa. reported that the sales of the two U.S. flag mini-cruise ships Wilderness Discoverer (ex- Mayan Prince) and Wilderness Adventurer (ex- Spirit of Adventure, Caribbean Prince) have concluded. Both vessels were sold by creditors JPMorgan Chase to private Pacific

USARC Calls for Arctic Oil Spill Research

The U.S. Arctic Research Commission believes that the U.S. needs a robust research program to address spill response in broken ice, as shipping moves into the Arctic Ocean and offshore oil drilling - in several Arctic nations - moves forward.Mead Treadwell, chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission,

NZ Navy ROV IDs Sunken Princess Ashika

On August 18 the Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV) operating from the Royal New Zealand Navy Diving Tender, HMNZS Manawanui, has allowed formal identification to be made of the sunken vessel resting on the seabed as the Princess Ashika. The ROV identified the vessel by allowing the Royal New

MV Artic Sea, August 18 Update

The Maritime Security Committee, with the assistance of the Maltese liaison team stationed in Helsinki since early August, have continued to closely monitor developments of the incident involving the MV Arctic Sea. The Committee would like to clarify that the movements of the MV Arctic Sea were always known for several days,

China Shipbuilding Shows Signs of Recovery

According to an August 18 report from China Knowledge, China's shipbuilding enterprises received new shipbuilding orders totaling 4.1 million dead weight tons in July, accounting for nearly 70% of the world's total, according to statistics released by the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry.

Arctic Shipbuilding Program Not Iced

According to an August 18 report from the Ottawa Citizen, the Candian Defence Department will run some tests at the end of the month on a model of a proposed new Arctic patrol vessel but there is still no indication of when it will approach the shipbuilding industry to move ahead with the $3b program.(Source: Ottawa Citizen)&nbsp;

China's Demand Slows, BDI Index Unlikely to Jump

According to a London report issued Aug. 14, dry bulk freight rate index climbed by 2.5% on Friday at Baltic Mercantile and Shipping Exchange, a moderate rise for two consecutive days.Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) indicated in its report that China's bulk commodity import will slow down,

NOAA Buoys Deployed in the Arctic

Now traversing the Northwest Passage, the Ocean Watch crew - four professional sailors, a scientist and an educator - recently completed the deployment of three NOAA Global Drifter Program buoys. Dr. Ignatius Rigor, research scientist at the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory (UW-APL)

Tanker Grounding, Wilmington, Delaware

The Coast Guard and members of the Wilmington Fire and Rescue responded to a 749-ft tanker aground near Wilmington, Del., August 16.The Coast Guard received a call at 10:15 p.m. reporting that the tanker Jill Jacob ran aground approximately one half-mile south of the Delaware Memorial Bridge with 4,

Pirates Abort Robbing Tanker

According to a report from Bernama.com, three pirates aborted their attempt to rob a Singapore-registered tanker anchored off Tanjong Ramunia, Johor early August 15 after they saw the ship's crew was ready for them. The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships

Vizada, CLS Form Partnership for LRIT Tracking

Vizada, an independent satellite communications provider, and CLS, specializing in sustainable management of marine resources, environmental monitoring and maritime security, have signed a partnership to jointly provide long range identification and tracking (LRIT) to the European Maritime Safety Agency

Study Assesses Hurricane Impacts Coral Reefs

The Department of the Interior&rsquo;s Minerals Management Service (MMS) recently concluded a study that gives new insight into the effects Hurricane Rita had on the Gulf of Mexico&rsquo;s important coral reefs and banks in and around the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.The $357,

Arctic Sea Mystery Continues

According to an August 16 report from www.presstv.ir, Finnish officials have rejected claims that the MV Arctic Sea, a missing Russian-manned freighter, was carrying a secret nuclear cargo. Russia and NATO joined forces on August 16, the report stated, in an international hunt for the ship that vanished

Naval Forces Prevented Pirate Attack

The incident occurred in the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden. Six pirates in a skiff were reported to approach the Turkish cargo ship MV Elgiznur Cebi. The pirates were forced to break off their attack by a helicopter from the EU NAVFOR frigate Bremen after warning shots were fired.

PVA Calls to Preserve Navigation Routes

Traditional navigational routes for ferries and other passenger vessels must be recognized and protected. That was the Passenger Vessel Association&rsquo;s message delivered this summer to President Obama&rsquo;s Interagency Task Force on Ocean Policy.&nbsp;PVA told the Interagency Task Force,

Port of Hamburg Cargo Remains Below Last Year

In the first half of 2009, the Port of Hamburg handled a total of 54.2 million metric tons of seagoing cargo. This represents a drop of 23.7 percent in comparison to the same period in the previous year. Port of Hamburg Marketing, the marketing organization for the Port of Hamburg, reported a volume of 30 million tons of imported cargo, 26.