Belgian offshore contractor Jan De Nul said that its jackup installation newbuild Voltaire had suffered minor damage after being hit by typhoon Muifa at COSCO Shipping Shipyard in Nantong, China.

The eye of the typhoon passed over the shipyard during the night of September 14 to 15, causing the vessel to come loose from its moorings.

The company said that the incident caused no injuries, while the first sight assessments have shown limited damage to certain parts of the crane and the helideck.

The vessel has been safely moored back in the shipyard and further assessments are ongoing.

The Voltaire is said to be as large as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The vessel, due for delivery in the second half of 2022, will be the second and largest jackup in Jan De Nul’s fleet built to transport, lift and install next-generation offshore wind turbines, transition pieces and foundations.

Source: https://splash247.com/jan-de-nuls-jackup-installation-newbuild-hit-by-typhoon-in-china/

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022


U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel says that he hopes to win the approval from maritime stakeholders for new data transparency standards organized under the proposed Maritime Transportation Data Initiative (MTDI).

He hopes MTDI will mitigate any future supply chain congestion crisis such as the one the nation experienced between 2020 and 2022.

Bentzel made a presentation of his findings at the Intermodal Association of North America’s (IANA) Intermodal Safety Committee on September 12th during the IANA Intermodal Expo at Long Beach, California.

Bentzel was nominated by President Trump on June 12, 2019 to a term expiring on June 30, 2024. Prior to his appointment at the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), Commissioner Bentzel created and established a consulting services company where he represented clients on regulatory and legislative issues within the areas of transportation, energy, and other areas of federal regulatory oversight.

U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel

In an interview with AJOT, Bentzel said: “I think the proposed Maritime Transportation Data Initiative (MTDI) will mitigate this from happening again because you will have the information earlier in the process. Right now, no steps can be taken to mitigate because the information usually comes after the event. This will provide a network of information that will give the possibility of trying to adjust … including repositioning the equipment. So yes, I think this will mitigate the impacts of severe alterations … However, that said, supply and demand or natural events can overcome even information. So, I think it will help because we’ll be getting real time information about equipment incidents.”

He said the genesis for the MTDI came as congestion problems mounted in 2020: “We were in contact with port authorities during the early part of the congestion. In July of 2020, we started to assess what was happening at the ports. We started to hear that there were backups of cargo at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. At that time, I was in contact with the port authorities about the causes of the congestion. It was clear that the information flow was at least contributing to the challenges. Shippers were getting ETAs from the carriers that were being revised continually.”

The feedback from maritime stakeholders has been mostly positive: “The feedback that we have been receiving from maritime stakeholders is that they have information, and it would perhaps require some adjustment to how they provide the information. But they can do this… We are not getting cargo information per se. And we’re allowing that to be closed. And that’s what they tell us is proprietary. What I’m requiring to be open … (is what) … you can see with your eyes. That’s something we might request further harmonization and further specificity. But these are not issues that are proprietary, they are common knowledge. Open information is public information that the public should have access to related to the transportation and real time operations related to the status of operations and for the ancillary facilities that service the ports. So, this would include a terminal when they are open and (when) they are closing it to empty returns and policies that govern access to that facility. Closed is information with parties that are legally entitled to receive the information with appropriate encryption … We’re not changing that at all.”

Railroads

He said railroads will have to provide some information, but they are not directly under the jurisdiction of the Federal Maritime Commission: “We don’t have direct jurisdiction over the railroads. We have jurisdiction over the practices of ocean carriers and marine terminals under a through bill of lading. The only way that I can enforce it is to go after a regulated entity and say you can’t, in your intermodal practices, have a carrier that’s not compliant with these same standards.”

China’s Container & Chassis Dominance

Finally, Bentzel recently published a report warning about China’s dominance of container and chassis manufacturing markets entitled: “Assessment of P.R.C. Control of Container and Intermodal Chassis Manufacturing.”

Bentzel noted that the three largest Chinese manufacturers control over 86% of the world’s supply of intermodal chassis and those same companies manufacture over 95% of the world’s market in containers, including “U.S. domestic train and truck intermodal containers.”

He further noted that the U.S. Department of Commerce has determined that “Chinese container and chassis manufacturers are state-owned and controlled and are recipients of large government subsidies.”

Bentzel’s report concluded: “… the global supply chain is too interdependent not to have broad access and manufacturing capabilities for intermodal operational equipment. The United States should assess whether given (China’s) market dominance that further trade action be contemplated and whether to invest more aggressively in next generation container manufacturing technology.”

Source: https://ajot.com/insights/full/ai-fmcs-bentzel-explains-proposed-maritime-transportation-data-initiative

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


vessel with turnkey dredge package

The multipurpose vessel ENDAM combines oil spill recovery activities with maintenance dredging tasks

Built for the Korean Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM), the multipurpose vessel Endam combines emergency oil spill recovery activities with maintenance dredging tasks and features a turnkey dredge package supplied by Damen.

Designed by KmsEmec, the vessel features a 4,100 cubic meter hopper hold and was built by HJ Shipbuilding & Construction at its Busan shipyard. The mission equipment package provided by the Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC) team included a 15 meter rigid oil sweep arm with a dedicated pump and handling crane for the emergency oil spill recovery functionality, and the complete turnkey dredging system, which was designed specifically for the vessel.

TURNKEY DREDGE PACKAGE

The turnkey dredge package consisted of both loading and discharging equipment, a hydraulic system, dredging control system and various drives. A 900 mm trailing suction pipe, designed to dredge at a maximum depth of 30 meters, is hoisted by three dedicated gantries and their hydraulically operated winches. All the trailing suction pipe components are located starboard aft.

part of turnkey dredge package
The turnkey dredging package included a 900 mm trailing suction pipe designed for the vessel

A Damen dredge pump, type BP9075HD, completed the dredge pipe arrangements. The highly efficient slurry pump is designed for both suction dredging, as well as discharging over the bow using the bow coupling unit or rainbow nozzle. This hopper discharging equipment, including 12 bottom dump valves which Damen designed, was all part of the dredge package. Addtionally, dredge valves in various pressure stages were delivered for the suction and discharge piping. Dedicated dredging instrumentation completed the dredge package and is crucial to monitoring and visualizing the dredging process and optimizing dredging operations.

Turnkey dredge package components
The dredging components were effortlessly integrated in the locally designed and built multipurpose vessel

Thanks to the DTC team’s extensive experience in component integration at non-Damen yards, the large system parts were delivered from the Netherlands and integrated effortlessly. As well as the mission equipment, the delivery scope included a hydraulic system. This was a logical choice as the dredging equipment is its main user. Additionally, a 3,500-kW electric dredge pump drive and a 1,000-kW electric jet water pump drive were shipped to Korea. The delivery was completed with a full set of spares and Damen also carried out the commissioning and training on board.

The vessel’s name, Endam, means “the fence that protects you” in the Korean Jeju dialect. A festive handover ceremony took place in the summer and Endam has now successfully started operating along the Korean coast.

Source: https://www.marinelog.com/news/damen-delivers-turnkey-dredge-package-for-versatile-korean-newbuild/

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


Offshore accommodation company CBED has won a contract extension for its Wind Innovation service operations vessel Wind Innovation.

Back in May, the company secured a contract for the vessel at the DanTysk and Sandbank offshore wind farms in the German North Sea.

Now, the extension has been secured with the wind farm owner, a joint venture between Vattenfall Europe Windkraft GmbH and Stadtwerke München GmbH Vattenfall, securing full activity for the SOV, Wind Innovation, from Q1 to Q4 2023. Financial details were not disclosed.

Daniel Alon, General Manager, CBED said: “Following a positive project opening, we are excited to extend our collaboration and offer comfortable living onboard Wind Innovation for the service teams for a prolonged period. In fact, this new contract marks CBED’s 30th offshore wind assignment, and also, on this occasion, we expect our joint operations to contribute to CBED’s collective and unparalleled offshore experience.”

DanTysk Sandbank Offshore Wind required a Walk-to-Work vessel that was equipped with DP2, and gangway capabilities and which, at the same time, met all technical and HS requirements.

“For this specific project, the offshore operations will benefit from the adjustable pedestal gangway, allowing the flexibility of connecting Wind Innovation to transition pieces of different heights across the two involved wind farms. Wind Innovation can operate as low as 11,95 m (LAT) from the lowest operation level up to 26,45 m (HAT) from the highest operating level,” CBED said.

CBED will use the Port of Esbjerg, Denmark, as the base port for crew change and loading of fresh supplies throughout the project period.

DanTysk offshore wind farm is located 70 km west of the island Sylt and has been in operation since 2014. Sandbank offshore wind farm is located 90 km west of Sylt and has been in operation since 2017. With their 152 turbines combined, the offshore wind farms have a total capacity of 576 MW, enough to provide electricity to more than half a million households.

Source: https://www.marinelink.com/news/cbeds-wind-innovation-sov-extends-stay-499506

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


NAVTOR has secured an agreement with Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., one of Japan’s largest shipowners and managers, to deliver the NavFleet application across their fleet of managed vessels. The digital platform will allow the firm to securely share real-time vessel data with onshore teams, ensuring “next level” monitoring of assets, supporting optimal safety, efficiency, compliance, and operational decision making.

Integrated approach

Shoei Kisen, a part of Imabari Shipbuilding (Japan’s largest shipbuilder), will now introduce NavFleet to the existing NAVTOR digital ecosystem onboard its bulk carriers and container ships. This integrated system includes the NavStation digital chart table software (with automated Passage Planning), NavBox, a certified cyber secure gateway for seamless data transfer, and NavCloud cloud computing services.

Masaru Matsumoto, Deputy General Manager Ship Department, Shoei Kisen, comments: “After several product comparisons, NavFleet’s integrated service stood out. It allows us to check the fleet passage plans in a timely manner from shore on the same screen as the vessel, and to continuously monitor deviations from routes. It’s a very innovative solution.”

Hiroaki Kitano, NAVTOR Japan Managing Director

Realising ambitions

From NAVTOR’s perspective, it is, according to Hiroaki Kitano, NAVTOR Japan Managing Director, “a landmark contract” – for both his business and the client.

“NavFleet was launched last year as a key enabler in our mission to make maritime operations simpler, safer, more efficient and increasingly sustainable for our customers,” he states. “As a single, secure, scalable and fully integrated digital platform it works to bridge the gap between vessels and land-based management teams, seamlessly sharing real-time data for complete situational awareness and improved decision making.

“For a forward-leaning company like Shoei Kisen, it is an ideal application to help them reach ambitious business goals. We’re delighted a company of their industry standing has recognised the unique benefits of NavFleet, and look forward to assisting them in their sustainable growth and success.”

Shoei Kisen Kaisha – one of Japan’s largest shipowners and managers

Continual development

NAVTOR is a Norwegian-headquartered maritime technology company with a specialism in e-Navigation and performance monitoring and optimisation. Launched in 2011, it is now established as the world’s largest ENC distributor, with products and services on more than 8,000 vessels. Since opening the doors of its Japan office in 2015, it has captured a significant domestic market share.

“Japan is an important market for NAVTOR, and NavFleet a key development, so Hiroaki is right to refer to this as a landmark agreement,” comments Børge Hetland, CCO, NAVTOR.

NavFleet – paving the way for sustainable shipping

“Shoei Kisen is at the vanguard of the industry here, and we believe where they lead others will follow. Their office-based teams will now be able to see simultaneous displays of real-time vessel data and positioning, while monitoring routes and passage plans, and, in the event of route deviations, weather issues, speed reductions or schedule delays, receive timely alerts. This gives shore-based staff the insights and control they need to take swift action for safe, efficient and predictable operations and navigation. The benefits of that – in terms of addressing challenges and seizing opportunity – are immense.”

Alongside NAVTOR Japan, NAVTOR has a network of eight other office locations, more than 20 international distributors and customers from over 60 different countries.
Source: NAVTOR

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


 

It’s amazing to consider that a commercial vessel in the Pacific Ocean, approaching the mouth of the Columbia River, can continue its eastward journey to finally tie up at the Port of Lewiston, in Lewiston, Idaho, America’s most inland West Coast port, 465 miles from the Pacific Ocean.

The Columbia and Snake Rivers form that critical east-west waterway, an economic powerhouse regionally, nationally and internationally. According to the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA), the Columbia-Snake River System (CSRS) is the nation’s single largest wheat export gateway, second largest for soy and corn exports and in the top ranks for wood products, autos, bulk minerals and a growing market for inland river cruises. Eight dams – four on the Snake River – create and maintain waterway performance – importantly, not just for commercial navigation but for energy, flood control and recreation. Petroleum is a top commodity moved upriver.

Now, this national asset is under critical scrutiny; it could be scrapped. There are a number of concerns but topmost, particularly along the Snake River, is the survival, the sustainability, of northwest salmon and the impact of dams on their storied lifecycle of river to ocean and their return upriver to spawn. There are suggestions now to breach the four Snake River dams. Otherwise, supporters charge, Snake River salmon face extinction.

Obviously, such a drastic move does not proceed casually. Columbia-Snake River waterways operators are right in the middle of these swirling currents, trying to keep one eye on immediate business demands and one eye on a hazy future. If the dams are breached, the Snake River is no longer commercially navigable.

National-Federal issues and initiatives
Briefly, there are three very high-profile Snake River initiatives:

From the White House: On July 12 Administration officials released two studies, one focusing on salmon recovery, the other on electric power replacement if hydro generation were lost. “Business as usual will not restore the health and abundance of Pacific Northwest salmon. We need a durable, inclusive, and regionally-crafted long-term strategy for the management of the Columbia River Basin,” said Brenda Mallory, who chairs the WH Council on Environmental Quality.

In June, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee released a draft report to inform upcoming recommendations from their Joint Federal-State Process regarding the Lower Snake dams and salmon recovery.

In February 2021, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson unveiled the “Columbia River Basin Initiative,” a $33 billion plan to at least start on compensatory costs if the dams were breached and the costs to build alternatives for lost assets, including power and transportation, i.e., new highways and rails.

In August, ACE’s Inland Waterways Users Board met in Walla Walla. Northwest issues were on the agenda – deliberately so, commented Chairman W. Spencer Murphy, with Canal Barge Company. Murphy introduced Robert Rich, VP Marine Services, with Shaver Transportation, based in Portland, Ore. Rich is a member of the Users Board.

Rich provided the balance of comments, presenting regional concerns about the increasing political intensity on dam breaching but without a full presentation of impacts – to waterways operators, farmers and agricultural businesses, regional energy operations and markets, multi-modal shippers and, really, food security for millions, worldwide, who depend on a very dependable system.

Rich posed a rhetorical question to Board members: If we were starting with a clean slate in 2022 what would be prioritized? His answers: green transportation – waterways. Clean, low-carbon energy – hydro. Irrigation and flood control. Multimodal – barges, trains and trucks each contributing best value across the supply chain. Accessible recreation. All at a scale that expands from singular farms to eventually encompass national and international markets and consumers.

It’s the dams that make this possible, Rich reminded the Board. “This is working now – in 2022,” he emphasized.

(Photo: Shaver Transportation)

Business perspectives
Heather Stebbings is Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association. The PNWA, established in 1934, with 150 members, is a collaboration of ports, businesses and public agencies.

Stebbings and her team are closely watching the dam issues. Major concerns include:

That White House documents are tilted in favor of established interests, including the Nez Perce and State of Oregon, who have long supported dam removal.

Giving too much weight to the notion that salmon mortality in the ocean results from hydro system impacts. “This is unproven,” Stebbings says, citing research showing that salmon returns are similar in dammed and undammed rivers. She notes research that the Pacific itself is the largest driver of salmonid mortality, not the dams. She said that the four Lower Snake River dams “provide greater than 97% successful fish passage for juvenile salmon making their way to the ocean and have had improved salmon runs over the last three years.”

Dam breaching poses significant, and negative, energy-environmental impacts. PNWA calculates it would take 162,153 semis or 42,160 rail cars to move the 4.2 million tons of cargo currently barged on the SR. “That means an increase in CO2 and other harmful emissions by over 1,251,000 tons per year – the same as opening a new coal plant every six years,” Stebbings writes.

Finally, there’s energy: hydropower provides the baseload function necessary to integrate intermittent solar and wind into regional transmission and distribution systems. If lost, there’s no system, no grid.

Peter Schrappen, CAE, is VP for The American Waterways Operators Pacific Region, based in Seattle. AWO is zeroed-in on these various proposals. In response to the Murray/Inslee report Schrappen wrote the following:

The loss of the Snake River dams would “devastate regional and national food security, the supply chain, and clean energy generation.”

Schrappen challenged the report’s claim that dams’ significant benefits could be replaced or mitigated.

Northwest rail and truck capacity are challenged to meet current demands. “It is unrealistic to believe that these two modes can absorb the additional 4 million tons of cargo moved through the Snake River locks each year.”

Regional and day-to-day challenges
In addition to these looming mega-issues, Columbia-Snake River operators face the “regular” array of day-to-day challenges.

“The labor shortage is an ongoing concern and top priority for our members,” Peter Schrappen commented, citing both recruitment and retention. Demand for river transport is increasing. New people are needed – not just replacements.

Supply chain issues continue. Schrappen said engine components and maritime paints are hard to get, as are buoys and navigational aids. These west coast challenges could drive traffic to east coast ports.

Regarding infrastructure, Schrappen highlighted the following:

Planned dredging for the Columbia and Snake main and side channels and turning basins. “This is welcome news,” Schrappen commented.

The Columbia River bridge project is key and deck height for vessel clearance is a critical decision. Schrappen is pleased that the CG seeks a height of 178 feet.

Also positive is $146 million in system maintenance funding from the recent Infrastructure act.

PNWA’s Heather Stebbings cited regulatory challenges, particularly with timely permitting, as a top issue. She said that despite statutory, 135-day deadlines for inter-agency consultations, Northwest port projects “routinely wait one to three years for permits and some even longer.”

Stebbings said that recent NOAA programmatic changes with maintenance projects has led to a backlog – over 100 projects – in the Puget Sound region. NOAA expects it will take two years to work through that backlog, Stebbings said, calling it a very problematic delay for ports whose permits have been “on hold for up to four years.”

Stebbings predicts these Puget Sound tie-ups present national implications because, she explains, the Army Corps has adopted NOAA’s mitigation cost and maintenance policies which the Corps will apply nationwide. Right now, she says it is “unclear how the agencies will develop tools to apply this policy and if they will implement moratoriums in other regions during the development process.”

In an interview separate from his Board comments, Rob Rich, with Shaver, said high fuel prices are impacting northwest operators. He said fuel prices have nearly tripled since 2020. And the focus on decarbonizing transportation is particularly challenging, Tugs are an investment that can have a 50-year lifespan; running out of fuel is not an option. There are parallel concerns. Rich cited a Portland City Council policy to limit, and eventually shutter, petroleum storage facilities (Council will vote in August, but prior to deadline for this report).

Importantly, Rich noted that business “is good on our system right now.” The grain crop is big, and so is demand, particularly from Pacific Rim countries while world-wide supply has been constricted by the Ukraine-Russian war. Shippers are moving a lot of wood and wood products, concrete and petroleum.

(Photo: Tidewater Transportation and Terminals)

Looking ahead
Schrappen expects new opportunities from offshore wind. He said AWO members “are investing and preparing to play an important role in this new market.” He added, though, that safe fairways for vessel traffic have to remain a top priority. And, on the west coast, new aquaculture areas are under development, presenting additional territorial constrictions for commercial traffic and operations.

Alt-energy business possibilities go beyond wind. Tidewater Transportation and Terminals, based in Vancouver, Wash., for example, has its eye on a new low carbon fuel standard adopted in Washington, effective in 2023.

Jennifer Riddle is Tidewater’s corporate communications and marketing manager. She said this will establish a green corridor from California through British Columbia. “We see this as an opportunity to increase movements of various alternative and renewable fuels as the program gains traction,” Riddle said. She explained further that Tidewater owns and operates a biodiesel blending facility at its Umatilla Terminal in Oregon. Now, the company is contemplating additional investments at terminals in Pasco and Vancouver, Washington, sites which already provide transportation, storage, pipeline, and multi-modal transfer services.

For Tidewater, though, and all other operators, the mega-decisions hanging over the whole northwest system weigh heavily. Riddle cited the “reliability” of the C-SR locks and dams, a critical aspect allowing Tidewater to work 24/7, 365. “This robust and vital river highway,” Riddle emphasized, “is one of the most efficient networks for moving commodities in the nation.”

If the four Snake River dams are breached, the world may not end, but it will be a far different world – for everybody.


Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) District: Walla Walla, Wash.

Established: 1948. Boundaries generally match the watershed boundary of the Snake River drainage and include approximately 107,000 square miles in six states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and small parts of Nevada and Utah.
Dams: Dworshak – North Fork Clearwater River, Ahsahka, Idaho
Mill Creek – part of a flood management project, Walla Walla, Wash.
McNary – Columbia River, Plymouth, Wash.
Ice Harbor – Snake River, Franklin and Walla Walla Counties, Wash.
Lower Monumental – Snake River, Franklin and Walla Walla Counties, Wash.
Little Goose – Snake River, Columbia and Whitman Counties, Wash.
Lower Granite – Snake River, Garfield and Whitman Counties, Wash.
Lucky Peak – Boise River, Boise, Idaho
Energy: The District is the second largest hydropower producer among ACE districts (Portland District is first), providing a total generating capacity of 4,413 megawatts to the Federal Columbia River Power System. McNary Lock and Dam can produce 980 megawatts from 14-hydropower turbines. One hydropower turbine at McNary produces as much electricity as 211 Walla Walla FPL 660 KW wind turbines.
Salmon: A juvenile fish transportation program, begun in 1968, uses specially equipped barges and tank trucks to carry migrating salmon and steelhead fingerlings around Snake and Columbia River dams. Construction on fish hatcheries started in 1976.
Navigation: The Columbia-Snake Rivers system allows commercial maritime transport from Portland, Ore. to Lewiston, Idaho – four-hundred miles inland. US agriculture (particularly wheat) is the critical export at international scale. Petroleum products are the most important upstream cargo.

Source: https://www.marinelink.com/news/inland-waterways-report-columbiasnake-499495

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022


Offshore installation specialist Jan De Nul Group said Thursday that the shipyard in China where its flagship jack-up installation vessel Voltaire is being built, was hit by typhoon Muifa in China during the night of 14 to 15 September 2022.

“The eye of the typhoon passed over the shipyard, causing the vessel to come loose from its moorings. Fortunately, no one was injured. Voltaire is now safely moored back in the shipyard and first sight assessments show limited damage to certain parts of the crane and the helideck. Further assessments are ongoing,” Jan De Nul said.

The vessel, being built for offshore wind and decommissioning work, was recently launched at the COSCO Shipping Shipyard in Nantong, China.

Jan De Nul said in March that the Voltaire had been fitted with what it said was the world’s largest leg encircling crane.

The Voltaire has been designed to install the offshore wind turbines of the future, with turbines over 270 meters high and blades 120 meters long.

The vessel will transport, hoist and install offshore wind turbines, transition pieces, and foundations.

For these lifting works, the vessel was equipped with a main crane of more than 3,000 tonnes.

Upon delivery, the jack-up will mobilize to the United Kingdom for the construction of the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, transporting and installing in total 277 GE Haliade-X turbines up to 14MW.

The delivery had been scheduled for the “second half of 2022.” Offshore Engineer has reached out to Jan De Nul to see if the typhoon incident would delay the delivery date.

A Jan De Nul spokesperson confirmed the incident had happened but said that “more info can’t be given at this stage.”

Reuters reported Wednesday that the Typhoon Muifa landed around 8:30 p.m. local time as a strong typhoon, the second-highest in China’s tropical cyclone classification system, with the maximum wind speed near its center reaching 151 km per hour (94 miles per hour), powerful enough to damage homes, topple trees and down power lines.”

The news agency said Thursday that the typhoon had been downgraded to a strong tropical storm but that it would bring heavy rains and flash flooding across several provinces as it moved north across populated coastal provinces.

Source: https://www.marinelink.com/news/jan-de-nuls-newbuild-jackup-voltaire-499521

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


APM Terminals participated in the Port of New York and New Jersey’s 20th annual Port Industry Day at Liberty State Park, New Jersey, on September 12, 2022, which brought together stakeholders of the port along with distinguished speakers including FMC Chairman Dan Maffei and FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye, White House Supply Chain Task Force Port Envoy General Stephen Lyons (USA-Ret.) and Administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration Rear Admiral Ann Phillips (US Navy Ret.). Topics addressed policy issues affecting ports, cargo growth and improving cargo handling efficiency.

Bethann Rooney, Director of the Port Department at The Port Authority of New York/New Jersey participated in a panel exploring “Accommodating Cargo Growth,” which was moderated by John Nardi, President of The Shipping Association of New York and New Jersey. Director Rooney began by recognizing all the terminal operators for doing an excellent job in setting the stage for the port’s success. She also noted the under-utilized gate capacity in the port’s terminals as an opportunity for improvement in the port community. Evening and weekend extra gates are expensive and terminal operators spent $30 million in the past 20 months. She also cited the 60 acres of on and off-dock container storage capacity added on by terminal operators and the Port Authority to adapt to record pandemic volume storage demands.

“Our port is unique in that time and time again our port stakeholders always step up and truly work together through collaboration, coordination and communication for the good of the whole,” said Bethann Rooney, director of the Port Department at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “Throughout the overlay of the COVID-19 pandemic, we gathered remotely yet regularly to discuss our collective challenges and to provide visibility into the regional supply chain as a whole, but those relationships do not end when the crisis is over. We are extremely grateful that we were able to bring together several hundred partners and stakeholders of the port in person to once again talk through the national and global logistics challenges now facing our port as well as what we are all doing to address those issues.”

Courtney Robinson, APM Terminals Elizabeth’s Chief Operating Officer opening comments praised Bethann Rooney for galvanizing the terminal operators to work together for the good of the port which has been a success since the start of the February 2022 weekly calls the Port Authority initiated. He highlighted the extraordinary cargo growth driven by the pandemic. “We were constantly adjusting and expanding our operations to serve this growth – with increased cargo volumes at our berth and at our truck gates. Our Labor partners in the ILA deserve special praise for handling the record cargo volumes. They were cooperative and available at all times.”

At APM Terminals Elizabeth, cargo volumes were flat 2019-2020 due to COVID-19, but cargo volume soared by 27% over the last two years and yard utilization grew 25%. Notably, container dwell time (the amount of time a full container sits at the terminal awaiting pickup) increased by 61% since the start of the pandemic. In the first half of 2022, import loads sat more than six days on average. Extended gates were offered throughout the year. Despite strong demand for Saturday gates the actual usage during the pandemic was only 10% of weekly transactions from the shipper and trucking communities. Equally important, Maersk added an offdock drayage program in Q2 2022 which reduced the dwell time on the container terminal, freeing up capacity, increasing fluidity and reducing customers’ storage charges (which are more expensive on waterfront property).

To address this record demand, APM Terminals Elizabeth implemented multiple efforts including investing in more equipment, more infrastructure and keeping extended gates open longer hours at night and on weekends. In the container storage yard, $18.9m in upgrades were undertaken to expand storage capacity, adding space for 250,000 TEUs by the end of 2022. Equipment and facility investments were made including six, new ship-to-shore cranes (two in 2023, four in 2024), six toploaders and the expedited conversion of the diesel container handling fleet to electric equipment in 2023. A terminal appointment system was implemented two years ago in response to the call for more appointments and to aid empty container evacuation. At present, 17,000 weekly appointments for empty equipment are being offered. Queue time for truckers was reduced by 63% and truck gate processing time went from three minutes to 40 seconds.

Tom Heimgartner, Chairman of the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers who was speaker at the event recognized all the terminal operators for their unprecedented effort to help the trucking community through the record volumes. He called for more flexibility on gates, appointment systems and increased evacuation of empty containers to free up terminal space.

Mr. Robinson finished his remarks by stating “The pandemic is still here and changing all the time. Supply chain disruption will continue to be a normal part of global supply chains this year and every year. Integrated supply chain models are still the best playbook for business agility. We want to thank all our customers – in particular the truckers for being patient, understanding and partnering with us to radically transform our customer experience.”
Source: APM Terminals

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


Previously Chief Operating Officer for APMT Tangier, Morocco Jackson will assume the new role effective September 2022.

With this appointment, Rex Jackson takes on the role previously held by Henrik Kristensen, who has since then assumed the position of Managing Director of APMT Port Elizabeth.

“With his first-hand experience in operations, Rex will build on our need and plan to standardise core operational processes and systems”, said Jack Craig, APMT Chief Operations Officer (ad interim).

“In his new role, Rex will focus on building a global team that will help implement APMT’s operational approach across our portfolio of terminals.

“This will allow us to further develop the operations performance management system and create value through our global footprint – all with a strong focus on serving our customers’ needs.”

Rex Jackson will continue to be based in Tangier, where APMT said it plans to accelerate research and development activities by establishing a centre of excellence for its global operations. The centre will, among other things, focus on continuous improvement, labour excellence, standardising IT processes and applications.

“I am very excited about this new opportunity and I look forward to building a strong and passionate team, focused on delivering a great customer experience rooted in safe, innovative and reliable operations”, said Rex Jackson.

In June, Kalmar received a repeat order for shuttle carriers to APMT Tangier.

APMT selected Kalmar to deliver 23 additional units – manually-driven, semi-automated hybrid shuttle carriers.

Source: https://www.porttechnology.org/news/apmt-appoints-new-head-of-global-operations/

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022

 


A dry cargo vessel was first boarded and then robbed by armed criminals on 14 September in Guinea’s Conakry anchorage. Per Ambrey, three robbers with AK rifles and blades boarded the “Martina,” while the remaining two stayed on a boat. When they saw the pirates, the crew mustered in the citadel, and the criminals robbed the vessel. There were no reports of any crew member being injured. The ship wasn’t under the protection of naval guards at that time.

Cautious gains in the Gulf of Guinea

Per the recent IMB piracy report, of 58 incidents, only 12 had been reported in the Gulf of Guinea, 10 of which were referred to as armed robberies and the remaining only two as cases of piracy.

In early April 2022, yet another Panamax bulk carrier was reportedly attacked. Some pirates later boarded it at about 260nm off the Ghana coast. This shows that despite a drop in reported incidents, the threat of Gulf of Guinea kidnappings and piracy continues.

Pirates Attack A Dry Bulk Carrier
Image for representation purpose only

IMB PRC commends the positive and prompt actions of the Italian Navy that resulted in the crew members and ship getting saved. It urges Coastal response agencies and independent international navies to continue efforts to ensure this crime is addressed in the waters that account for 74% of crew members taken hostage worldwide.

Recently, the Government of Nigeria and global shipping stakeholders introduced a brand new strategy to end piracy, armed robberies, and kidnappings in the Gulf of Guinea or the GoG.

The strategy launches a mechanism that will assess the effectiveness of country-piracy initiatives and their commitments to the GoG.

Targeted at stakeholders who operate in the region, it’ll identify the areas for enhancements and reinforcements to eliminate piracy.

Source: https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/pirates-attack-a-dry-bulk-carrier-off-the-coast-of-guinea/

 

 

CREWEXPRESS STCW REST HOURS SOFTWARE - Paris and Tokyo MoU have announced that they will jointly launch a new Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) from 1st September 2022 to 30th November 2022


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