Topicfire Boating News

Full Costa Concordia Investigation Report Released

2013-05-24T22:10:22+00:00

We’ll dig through it and get back to you with our feedback shortly, but in the meantime, here it is folks… and it’s pretty lengthy. �

Bulk Trade-Off: Blood for Money in Indonesia

2013-05-24T01:24:26+00:00

Nickel ore from Indonesia is loaded in remote ports like Obi Island (in yellow), far from the prying eyes of regulators. The trade is profitable, but is coming at an enormous human cost. On February 17th of this year, the Harita Bauxite sank off Cape Balinao in the South China Sea....

Australia Releases Final Report on M/V Tycoon Grounding

2013-05-23T20:30:41+00:00

The M/V Tycoon prior to breaking free from its mooring at Christmas Island. Photo credit: ATSB A broken shackle on the port’s cantilever mooring line lead to the January 2012 grounding and eventual catastrophic hull failure of the M/V Tycoon at Australia’s Christmas Island, an investitagation by Australian Transport Safety Authority...

Senators Support Oil and Gas Exploration Offshore Virginia

2013-05-23T18:40:35+00:00

“Virginia is well positioned to be a national leader in offshore energy exploration,” noted Virginia Senator Tim Kaine in a press statement yesterday. Well no kidding. It seems completely ridiculous that U.S. regulators would even consider allowing energy companies drill in the Arctic Ocean when relatively easy-to-reach hydrocarbon resources exist right off...

Judge: Costa Concordia Captain to Stand Trial in July

2013-05-22T19:26:10+00:00

Image of the capsized Costa Concordia on 14 January 2012. ROME, May 22 (Reuters) – The captain of the cruise ship Costa Concordia, which capsized off Italy’s west coast last year killing 32 people, will face trial for manslaughter as well as other charges, an Italian judge ruled on Wednesday. The giant...

Fathom Unveils New Technology in 2nd Edition of Ship Efficiency: The Guide

2013-05-22T17:52:09+00:00

Business is ever-cyclic and one man’s misery is another man’s opportunity. Whilst ship operators and owners have been feeling the pinch from over-tonnage, a global downturn, ever-increasing bunker prices, tightening environmental regulations, drops in freight rates and more, another sector of the industry has the opportunity to capitalise on this. Fathom,...

WATCH: Building The World’s Largest Ship in 50,000 Pics, PART TWO

2013-05-22T16:34:36+00:00

Maersk Line has just released this time-lapse video of the Maersk Triple-E as a sequel to their first video of the vessel of the under construction at DSME in Okpo, South. So we don’t know exactly how many pictures this time-lapse to stitch together, but the first one was 50,000 so we’re...

INTERTANKO: Tanker Owners Face Crew Retention and Ship Maintenance Issues

2013-05-22T15:49:30+00:00

Front Shanghai, Image (c) Frontline Tankers (Bloomberg) — Oil-tanker owners will struggle to retain crews and maintain ships after losing the most money in four decades, according to the industry’s biggest trade group. The problems won’t ease any time soon because some vessel rates may take as long as four years to...

Maersk CEO: United States to Surpass China as Biggest Driver of Growth

2013-05-22T14:00:23+00:00

Nils S. Andersen, CEO A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S May 22 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. will overtake Asia as the biggest driver of global growth this year while Europe’s turmoil is hurting trade flows, said Nils Smedegaard Andersen, chief executive officer of A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S. The owner of the world’s biggest container line can...

Shipowners and Crew Alike Find the Regulatory “Tsunami” a Big Problem

2013-05-21T20:32:36+00:00

Image (c) Shutterstock/Cardens Design “Have we placed the mariner in a no-win situation?” asked Captain Anuj Chopra at yesterday’s Mare Forum conference in Washington, DC. Chopra, the President of Anglo-Eastern LLC describes a frustrating situation unfolding offshore as mariners are drowning in a sea of paperwork. Some call it a Regulatory Tsunami. He...

Jones Act Essential to Maintaining U.S-Flag Fleet

2013-05-21T19:00:26+00:00

By American Maritime Partnership On behalf of the American Maritime Partnership, Joseph H. Pyne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Kirby Corporation, testified before the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and said that preserving the Jones Act is essential to the...

WATCH: Costa Concordia Wreck Site Like You’ve Never Seen Before

2013-05-21T01:20:26+00:00

Two quadcopters hover over the Costa Concordia wreck site in this screengrab taken from the video below. Consider this our lucky day… because the Costa Concordia wreck site sets the backdrop in this amazing quadcopter promotional video just posted to Youtube from a company called Team Black Sheep. The video opens with...

China Rules (… the Waves)

2013-05-20T14:26:03+00:00

Image (c) Shutterstock/Aleksandar Mijatovic By Nicholas-Andrew Iliopoulos, Special to Piracy Daily The release earlier this month of an official Chinese government report showing that the threats that country faces come mostly from the sea serves to underscore the importance of safeguarding national security through effective maritime security—including state-of-the-art counter-piracy efforts. As Xinhua noted,...

Israel to Privatise New Seaport, Unions Prepare for Battle

2013-05-20T14:02:35+00:00

JERUSALEM, May 19 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would issue a tender to build a privately run seaport in the coming months, a move that would break up the monopoly controlling the country’s main trade artery. Nearly all of Israel’s exports and imports are transported by ship,...

Maritime Monday for May 20th, 2013: Ice Ice Baby Part 1

2013-05-20T13:23:25+00:00

USCGC Northland; Greenland, circa 1944 “Oh the sea, Oh the sea, the wide bounding sea! Long may it roll between England and me!” Irish Folk Song EASTWIND (WAGB-279); Antarctic Operation Deep Freeze (1955-56); PENGUIN DRILL TEAM Player’s Cigarettes “Polar Exploration”; A series of 25 cards issued in 1914 #7 Ross & Parry’s Arctic Expedition, 1818 (1098 x...

Safe Bulkers: A Success Story in an Otherwise Uninspiring Dry Bulk Shipping Market

2013-05-19T20:31:54+00:00

Safe Bulkers Inc. (SB) is a rare gem among the doom and gloom surrounding high-profile dry-cargo shipping companies. SB owns a fleet of 26 dry-cargo vessels, plus eight vessels under construction. It is mainly a panamax owner, since 31 of its 34 vessels are panamax, kamsarmax or post-panamax type. Yet...

IMO Takes a Step Back from NOx Emissions Controls

2013-05-17T16:34:21+00:00

Image (c) IMO The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has taken the controversial decision to consider delaying the implementation of tighter limits for nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from ships operating in emission control areas (ECA). The 65th meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) this week was told by a correspondence group...

Nigeria Declares Force Majeure on LNG Exports After Leak

2013-05-17T16:32:22+00:00

A ship berths near the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas company (NLNG) near Finima village, during an aerial tour by the Royal Dutch Shell company, in Bonny March 22, 2013. Image (c) REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye ABUJA, May 17 (Reuters) – Nigeria LNG has declared force majeure on liquefied natural gas exports from its...

Maersk Line Seeks to Double Freight Rates Amid Weak Container Market

2013-05-17T13:00:54+00:00

Image: AP Moller-Maersk By Mette Fraende COPENHAGEN, May 17 (Reuters) – A.P. Moller-Maersk , owner of the world’s biggest container shipping company, is “100 percent certain” it can more than double freight rates in July despite market weakness that has seen prices fall by a third since March. Shipping has taken a hammering...

Dredge Contract Awarded for Miami Port Deepening

2013-05-17T06:36:30+00:00

PortMiami file photo. By Zachary Fagenson MIAMI, May 16 (Reuters) – The United States Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $180 million contract to dredge Miami’s harbor to an Illinois-based company on Thursday, part of a plan to deepen the port channel to handle larger ships coming through the expanded Panama Canal...

Cameron LNG Export Facility Now Backed by Major Joint Venture

2013-05-16T23:26:33+00:00

Cameron LNG, image (c) Cameron LNG Sempra Energy, GDF SUEZ S.A., Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsui & Co., Ltd., have announced today the signing of 20-year tolling capacity and joint-venture agreements to support the development, financing and construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility at the site of the Cameron...

Subsea 7 Sees Offshore Sector Hampered By Delays, Costs

2013-05-16T19:34:08+00:00

OSLO, May 16 (Reuters) – Offshore oil services firm Subsea 7 provided more evidence on Thursday of difficulties this industry faces from project delays, cost pressures and skill shortages even though oil exploration is booming. The subsea business has been the strongest performer in the global oil services industry but strains...

Ship Photos of The Day – Ready to Ride it Out | Cyclone Mahasen Hits Bangladesh

2013-05-16T17:47:55+00:00

Ships are seen anchored in Karnafuli river before cyclone Mahasen approaches Chittagong May 16, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj Cyclone Mahasen started crossing Bangladesh’s low-lying coast on Thursday, bearing down on the ports of Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, as tens of thousands of people huddled in shelters from a storm which the United...

Day Rates for LNG Carriers Approach 2-Year Low

2013-05-16T15:43:00+00:00

LNG Libra, image: Höegh LNG (Bloomberg) — Rates to ship liquefied natural gas fell to the lowest in almost two years as the opportunity to profit from shifting cargoes to Asia closed, curbing trading distances, according to Fearnley Securities AS. Daily earnings for modern turbine vessels slid 6.3 percent this week to...

Unmanned X-47B Completes First Carrier-Based Launch

2013-05-16T11:31:02+00:00

An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). (U.S. Navy photo by Michael Smevog/Released) While not many of us were noticing, the U.S. Navy was off the coast of Virginia on Tuesday, changing the game of...