Drewry’s latest Container Forecaster analysis predicts casualties and continued unsustainable freight rates unless the industry market share mind-set is discarded. The bad news for the container shippers is that there is no good news. The green shoots some industry leaders have talked about are wish
Nico International Hydrospace has recently signed a contract with Vopak Horizon Fujairah for providing underwater services for pre-berthing inspection and back to back berthing of vessels at Vopak. The contract has been signed for a period of one year until April 2010. Over the period of the contrac
The Managing Director of French ferry operator LD Lines said that the company was considering building a second high-speed passenger ferry, following the introduction of the ‘Norman Arrow’ to the Dover-Boulogne service. Chris Santoni told the International Freighting Weekly (IFW) that LD Lines would
The Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard (ASRY) in Bahrain has entered into a technical service agreement with Wärtsilä. With more and more shipowners taking delivery of modern tonnage, the maintenance requirements for many of ASRY’s customers today is very much linked to propulsion and machinery service
The UK’s subsea industry is feeling the brunt of the economic downturn in the North Sea by being hit with a triple whammy of price pressure, cost-cutting and and fall in work backlogs. And the short-term outlook remains a tough one for many businesses, says the organisation’s chief executive Alistai
Oceanic Retirement Communities of America (ORCA) has started taking reservations for a programme that will allow seniors to own a condo on a private residential cruise ship that also provides both independent and assisted living accommodations typically found in land-based facilities. The ORCA Lifes
Greek shipping tycoons are snapping up secondhand vessels as cash-strapped ship owners around the world put their vessels up for sale. According to ship researcher Clarksons, Greek owners forked out some US$500 million to purchase 46 used vessels in the first five months of 2009.
Iridium Satellite LLC (Iridium) and Stratos Global Corp. (Stratos) have teamed to provide satellite communication equipment and services for the “Around the Americas” sailing expedition, which got underway from Seattle on May 31, 2009. Stratos installed an Iridium OpenPort® high-bandwidth marine sat
The Sealink Slipways, located at Miri in the Sarawak Province of East Malaysia, has recently delivered a 53.8 by 13.8-metre offshore and service vessel to Rederij Groen of the Netherlands. Built to the same Conan Wu & Associates design as the 2008 ‘Venture G’, ‘Maria G’s’ key distinction lies in its
Integrated logistics support company CHAND has selected Australia’s Absolute Data Group’s (ADG) integrated software suite to provide an advanced e-learning, planned maintenance and electronic technical manual capability for the new fleet of US Coast Guard (USCG) Sentinel-class cutters. Measuring 47
GC Rieber Shipping, Norway, has cancelled a newbuild order with Indonesian yard PT Batamec Shipyard following delays in the delivery. The vessel was ordered by Polar Marine I, a joint venture between GC Rieber and Otto Marine in which the former had a 51 percent share.
The Organisation for the Promotion of Responsible Tuna Fisheries (OPRT) held its ordinary general meeting meeting in Tokyo in June to approve its 2009 business plan. During the meeting, OPRT members adopted the Resolution to promote Control of Fishing Capacity for Bigeye Tuna. “I recall that at the
The Norwegian yard Havyard Leirvik has been forced to lay off 40 of 210 permanent employees due to the recession. The yard has already reduced the number of hired personnel, reports Bergens Tidende. In 2005, around 700 persons worked in the yard area and Havyard Leirvik’s management estimates that a
Royal Bank of Scotland has granted Dutch offshore developer Cirrus Energy more cash to continue with its projects in the North Sea. After originally agreeing to lend Cirrus €30 million for the M1A and M7A developments in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, RBS has agreed to amend the financing terms
