News – Page 28 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

Shipping Industry Removing Indian Ocean High-Risk Area Designation

After more than a decade of counter-piracy operations, the shipping industry is removing the designated High-Risk Area (HRA) in the Indian Ocean. Notification of the removal, which would go into effect Jan. 1, 2023 was forwarded in an Aug. 22 submission the International Maritime Organization for the next meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee, which is scheduled to start Oct. 31. “The removal of the HRA reflects a significantly improved piracy situation in the region, largely due to concerted counter-piracy efforts by many regional and international stakeholders,” the International Maritime Organization explained in a statement. No piracy attacks against merchant…

BASF, Samsung Collaborating on Carbon Capture, Storage for Maritime Vessels

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has reached an agreement with German multinational chemical company BASF for a collaborative feasibility assessment of capturing CO2 onboard maritime vessels using BASF technology for flue gas applications. The companies announced the agreement on Sept. 9. The scope of the collaboration includes a marinization study as well as engineering design and construction of the carbon capture unit. BASF will support with its expertise on floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) and with its own technology, contributing to sustainability by substantial energy savings compared with conventional technologies. SHI is to evaluate the feasibility of installing…

Western Baltic Engineering Reveals Plans for 1st Electric Pusher

Lithuanian ship designer Western Baltic Engineering (WBE) is unveiling new designs for what it believes is the first ever electric pusher vessel for use on Europe’s inland waterways called the Electric Eel. In an announcement, WBE said the first electric pusher is due to be built next year for the Lithuanian Inland Waterways Authority, a public body operating under Lithuanian Government Ministry of Transport and Communications. “We are so excited to unveil this electric pusher design,” WBE’s Head of Sales & Marketing, Eglė Mikalauskienė, said. “The Electric Eel has huge potential to help cut carbon emissions on inland waterways across…

Newsmakers

Austal USA Appoints New VP of Global Services and Support Austal USA in mid-August welcomed Michelle Kruger as the company’s vice president of global services and support. Kruger, who will work out of Austal’s San Diego waterfront services facility, is responsible for the company’s global post-delivery repair and warranty efforts, including the development of business strategy and strategic alliances. As the primary customer interface for ship repair and maintenance services, she now leads Austal’s pursuit of future government and commercial business opportunities and post-delivery initiatives. Kruger is a marine engineer with decades of maritime industry experience in new construction, repair…

Alaska Marine Lines Puts New Reefers into Service

Alaska Marine Lines was able to move 852 containers of Bristol Bay sockeye harvest this year, thanks to new refrigerated containers that were sent in May to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The containers, which were revealed by the company on Sept. 8, are the latest in AML’s refrigerated operations. They feature temperature-controlled software that can vary the fan speed and control the compressors to match the conditions and current cooling demand. That translates into a power draw one-fifth that of older containers. Less power required to run the reefers means fewer generators running, less fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions. “In…

Port of Los Angeles Nets $20M Federal Infrastructure Grant

The Port of Los Angeles and a range of elected officials and industry leaders joined U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sept. 7 to celebrate the award of a $20 million federal infrastructure grant for a critical road-railway grade separation project at the port. “We’re proud to be here marking such important progress being made, but also recognizing that there is so much more to do to fix the supply chains that were torn up by the pandemic and to make them more resilient for years to come – and right here we have a great example of that,” U.S.…

Austal USA to Build Saildrone Surveyor USV

Northern California-based ocean drone operator Saildrone has reached a partnership with Austal USA for designed to meet the growing demand for Saildrone’s uncrewed surface vehicles, known as Saildrones. The 65-foot Saildrone Surveyor is designed for deep ocean mapping and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications, above and below the surface. The Surveyor, which was developed and designed by Saildrone, will be manufactured exclusively by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. The new partnership, which was revealed by the companies at the end of August, provides the U.S. Navy and other government customers a solution for maritime domain awareness, hydrographic survey and other…

Oil Pipeline Operator to Pay Almost $13 Million Over Huntington Beach Spill

Amplify Energy Corp., operator of the underwater pipeline that broke and released thousands of gallons of oil into Huntington Beach, Calif. waters in 2021, has agreed to pay close to $13 million as part of a plea agreement with the U.S. government, the company announced Aug. 26. To settle all federal criminal issues associated with the spill, the Houston-based oil and natural gas company agreed to pay a $7.1 million fine over three years and pay back $5.8 million to government agencies for responding to the spill. The company also agreed to plead guilty to one count of misdemeanor negligent…

Agreement on Tilbury LNG Projects Signed

Under a newly inked agreement announced earlier this month, FortisBC Holdings Inc. and the Musqueam Indian Band will work together to ensure that Tilbury natural gas projects will be beneficial to both parties. Tilbury LNG projects include the Tilbury LNG Expansion Project and the Tilbury Marine Jetty Project, which would allow ship-to-ship LNG fueling at Canada’s Port of Vancouver and bulk export for LNG. Phase 1A of the expansion calls for adding a 46,000-cubic-meter storage tank and LNG liquefaction capacity of 0.25 million tons annually. “Musqueam is looking forward to being an equity partner with FortisBC at Tilbury, on the…

USCG Shuts Down Illegal Southern California Charter Vessels

The U.S. Coast Guard shut down three illegal charter vessels operating in Southern California over Labor Day weekend, the Guard announced. Sector San Diego halted two illegal charter vessels and their voyages while they carried passengers for hire. Meanwhile, the USCG teamed up with the Marina Del Rey Sheriff’s law enforcement to stop Beirut, a 58-foot pleasure boat operating an illegal charter vessel with 15 passengers. The vessel is in violation of not having a valid certificate of inspection, not having a Coast Guard-licensed captain, running in coastwise trade without the appropriate certificate of documentation endorsement and for failing to…