LR’s Nick Brown: Climate Emergency is “same magnitude, different time domain" to COVID-19
As the maritime industry settles in on a COVID-19 induced ‘new norm,’ and long-range planning is dramatically shortened,, Nick Brown, Marine and Offshore Director, Lloyd’s Register, said that while much deserved focus must be paid to the current crisis, the industry cannot lose sight of another one looming just as large: climate change. “We strongly maintain that the climate emergency is an event of the same magnitude, just with a different time domain to COVID-19," Brown told Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently.
LNG REPORT: LNG Bunkering Vessels Rise to Nine, 30 More to Come
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering infrastructure is expanding globally and there are increasing numbers of LNG-bunker vessels which are encouraging other operators to adopt LNG.According to SEA\LNG, the multi-sector industry coalition aiming to accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, from limited availability at select ports, LNG bunkering has grown to encompass 24 out of the world’s…
DNV GL Performs Offshore Drone Survey
Classification society DNV GL said its surveyors have carried the group’s first offshore drone survey on the semisubmersible vessel Safe Scandinavia in the North Sea. The 25,383 GT tender support vessel (TSV) Safe Scandinavia is owned and operated by Prosafe, supporting Statoil’s drilling operations off the coast of Norway. Using camera-equipped drones, DNV GL’s drone pilots checked the TSV’s fairleads and their connection with the vessel’s two columns as part of the intermediate survey.
Trafigura Backs Out of Tanker Foray
Trafigura has sold five oil vessels to a unit of China's Bank of Communications , ending the trading house's move into owning tankers, the company said on Friday. Under the deal, the five medium-range tankers, ordered by Trafigura in 2013 from a shipyard in China, were sold to Bank of Communications Financial Leasing Company Ltd and subsequently leased back to the Swiss trading house. Financial terms were not disclosed. "The ships were bought at low entry levels and we saw an opportunity to sell now.
Hellenic Petroleum to Issue 5-year Notes to Refinance Debt
Greece's biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum plans to issue five-year senior unsecured notes to refinance outstanding debt, the company said on Thursday. The proceeds will be used to buy back for cash part of 500 million euros of 8 percent notes due May 2017 and repay other outstanding debt, Hellenic said in a statement. Credit Suisse and HSBC Bank will act as global coordinators for the issue, while Greece's Eurobank, Alpha Bank , NBG Securities S.A. and Piraeus Bank will act as joint bookrunners for the issue.
PPC and CMEC to Build Coal-fired Plant
China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday with Greece's leading utility Public Power Corp. (PPC) to build a coal-fired plant in northern Greece. Under its "one belt, one road" strategy, China has been investing heavily in Greece in recent years, aiming to turn the country into a transhipment hub for its products into Europe. Last month, China's shipping conglomerate COSCO wrapped up the purchase of a 51 percent stake in Greece's largest port Piraeus…
Fuel Consumption, Emissions Monitoring Software Updated
As part of the ongoing Blue Star Delos Renewable Energy Innovation Project, Eco Marine Power (EMP) stated that the Aquarius Management & Automation System (MAS) installed on Blue Star Delos has been updated with new fuel oil consumption (FOC) and emissions monitoring software. This updated software combined with the Aquarius MAS hardware allows for fuel consumption data from all flow meters on the ship to be displayed and logged in real-time. In addition CO2, NOx and SOx emissions are calculated based on the fuel type being used.
Greek Coast Guard Seizes Weapons Ship Bound for Libya
Greek authorities have seized a freighter carrying an undeclared shipment of weapons en route from Turkey to Libya, coast guard officials said on Wednesday. A coast guard patrol boat raided the vessel on Tuesday, 20 nautical miles northeast of Crete. The freighter, with a crew of seven and which had sailed from the Turkish port of Iskenderun, was escorted to Heraklion port on the island. The United Nations has imposed an embargo on weapons shipments to Libya, which is plagued by factional conflict.
Triad, EMP Join Forces
As part of its product rollout strategy Eco Marine Power (EMP) announced today that it has signed a support agreement with Theodosiou Bros Ltd (TRIAD Ltd) of Piraeus, Greece. This agreement between EMP and TRIAD Ltd will lead to the establishment of a technical support hub in Greece from which the companies will be able to provide jointly, a variety of technical services related to EMP's products and solutions. In particular EMP and…
UniMarine Opens Office in Pireaus
UniMarine announced the opening of its new office UniMarine South Europe & Mediterranean. Located in Piraeus (Greece), the office will be servicing the Southern European and Mediterranean region. The office will be headed up by Mr Spiros Stamou who has been active in the marine lubricants market for many years and brings with him a wealth of experience in this key area of the world for the marine industry . With offices in Singapore…
Dorian LPG Announces Delivery of the "Corsair"
Dorian LPG Ltd., a leading owner and operator of modern Very Large Gas Carriers ("VLGCs"), today reported that it has taken delivery of the ECO VLGC "Corsair" from Hyundai Heavy Industries. The "Corsair" will initially trade in the spot market and is the second newbuilding to be delivered to the Company this year. Dorian LPG is a liquefied petroleum gas shipping company and a leading owner and operator of modern VLGCs. Dorian LPG currently owns and operates five modern VLGCs and one pressurized LPG vessel.
Inchcape Shipping Celebrates 25th Anniversary of ISS Greece
Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS), the world’s leading maritime services provider, has this month celebrated the 25th anniversary of its operations in Greece by hosting its annual senior management conference in Athens, close to the company’s Greek head office in the Port of Piraeus. Over 170 ISS employees, including the entire senior management team, congregated to enjoy three days of strategic development activity, events, networking and customer engagement.
Greek Warship Evacuates Libya Personnel
Greece safely evacuated embassy staff and more than one hundred Chinese and European nationals from Libya early on Friday with a navy frigate sailing back to the Greek port of Piraeus, its defence ministry said. Athens had sent a frigate and two other vessels to Libya to evacuate workers at its embassy in Tripoli on Thursday. The past two weeks of fighting between rival militias in Libya have been the worst since the civil war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi in 2011…
Kurdish Crude Lightered, Destination Unknown
Part of a Kurdish oil cargo has been offloaded from a Greek-managed tanker into another tanker in the South China Sea, but mystery surrounds the identity of the buyer and where the two tankers are headed. The United Emblem, which is carrying more than 1 million barrels of oil, is one of three tankers loaded with oil from the autonomous Kurdish region, which is trying to sell oil independently. Iraqi Kurdistan is locked in a bitter legal and diplomatic struggle with Baghdad over international oil sales. A U.S.
China to Invest in Greek Transport Infrastructure
China wants to invest in Greek airports and railways as well as the busiest port, officials said on Friday, as the country where the euro debt crisis began seeks a role as China's gateway into Europe. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is on a three-day trip to Greece to boost economic ties between the nations, who have drawn closer since China's Cosco Paficic won a 35-year concession in 2009 to upgrade and run two cargo piers at the Piraeus port.
SNAME Meeting on Financials of LNG
SNAME announced its seventh technical meeting for the 2013-2014 season, during which Dr. Panagiotis Zacharioudakis, Senior Researcher at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), will speak on the subject of “The Financials of LNG.” The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 20 at 7 p.m. in The auditorium of Maran and Alpha Tankers, Kallithea, Athens. The use of LNG as marine fuel is a very promising alternative for compliance with environmental regulations, compared to other solutions such as scrubbers and MGO.
