Foremost Electronics, the engineering-led Essex based importer and specialist distributor of electromechanical components, announces the availability of a wide range of enclosures providing rugged protection of electronic systems for shipboard naval systems and maritime electronic equipment.
Applications include shipboard targeting radar, anti-submarine systems, communications equipment and control and monitoring equipment.
Continued maritime threats including territorial disputes, smuggling, and piracy are driving countries to make greater investments in their naval capabilities. This includes adoption of the latest satellite communication technology as well as focusing on smaller vessels with enhanced weapon systems. Commercial marine operators are also enhancing their electronic security and communication systems.
Foremost specialise in manufacturing components that can stand up to harsh environments, rugged applications, and extreme conditions as well as meeting shock and vibration requirements. Foremost’s products combine the know-how of specialists in the integration of mechanics, electronics, and thermal control together with many years of experience and diverse application requirements to maximize customer’s size, weight, and power requirements.
NVent Schroff products from Foremost offer robust 19″ cabinets that meet the specifications of MIL-S-901D. Their characteristics allow systems builders to meet stringent shock and vibration resistance requirements on the high seas.
The Schroff VARISTAR platform offers simple system development and integration capability and includes the following advanced features:
Elastomer or wire cable shock absorbers for COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) equipment.
Wide range of dimensions.
Wide range of accessories.
HF shielding
Reduced development and manufacturing costs.
19″ standard, in accordance with RoHS.
A cabinet for individual requirements can be quickly and easily developed and validated by numerical simulation, saving lengthy and expensive tests in a laboratory. The elastic suspension is specially adapted to the mechanical environment and the resilience of the components. At the same time, the dimensions and weight of the cabinet are tailored to specific integration requirements. The final design is further validated using a model that has been calibrated in real tests using a finite element calculation.
The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) has released its Half Yearly Report 2022 for the period of January to June. The key highlights of the report are as follows:
Overall situation
·No incident of piracy (occurred on high seas) was reported.
·A total of 42 incidents (comprising 40 actual and 2 attempted) of armed robbery against ships (occurred in internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial seas) were reported in Asia during January to June 2022.
·This represents an 11% increase compared to 38 incidents reported during the same period in 2021.
·The severity level of the actual incidents are as follows:
One Category 2 incident (same as in 2021)
10 Category 3 incidents (same as in 2021)
29 Category 4 incidents (25 incidents during same period in 2021)
Increase of incidents
·Singapore Strait (SS) and Bangladesh Anchorages
27 incidents were reported in SS (20 incidents were reported during the period of January to June 2021). The SS remains an area of concern.
Three incidents were reported at Chattogram Anchorages, Bangladesh (no incident was reported during the same period in 2021).
Areas of improvement
·Anchorages in Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
No incidents were reported in Malaysia (one incident was reported during the same period in 2021).
Three incidents were reported in the Philippines (six incidents were reported for the same period in 2021).
No incidents were reported in Vietnam (two incidents were reported for the same period in 2021).
Situation in Sulu-Celebes Seas and Waters Off Eastern Sabah
·There was no incident of abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah since the last incident reported on 17 Jan 20. However, the threat of abduction of crew for ransom remains potentially high, particularly in the area of Sulu and nearby waters off Tawi-Tawi as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) commanders responsible for past incidents of abduction in Sulu are still at large and the presence of remnants of the group in the sea.
Today, ReCAAP ISC also conducted a Dialogue Session with representatives from the shipping industry to share with them the key highlights of the Half Yearly Report 2022. Amongst the issues discussed were sharing of concern regarding the increase of incidents in the SS, and views on how to address these incidents including the conduct by crew when transiting the areas of concern. The participants also agreed on the need for the shipping industry to continually review the Risk Assessment Plan, implement the Ship Security Plan among other time-tested best management measures required to suppress the acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships.
The organisations represented at the dialogue included the Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA), the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), the Federation of ASEAN Shipowners’ Association (FASA) as well as various shipping companies.
“ReCAAP ISC will continue to provide the shipping community with timely and accurate information. Through the Phase-I of data analytics generated over a 15-year period of 2007-2021 that focused on the number of perpetrators, weapons carried, treatment of crew, stolen items, type of ships boarded and time of the incidents. The Phase-II of data analytics is underway and we hope to be able to provide more analytical information that will enable the ship crew to be better prepared for any potential piracy and armed robbery incidents by adopting the relevant safety measures especially when navigating through the areas of concerns.
Through dialogue sessions with the shipping community such as the one held today, the Centre aims to better understand the challenges faced by the shipping industry. It is only when we remain in close partnership with our key stakeholders that we can ensure that the sea lanes are kept safe and secure for the smooth traverse of maritime trade and commerce for the economic growth of all in the region” said Mr Krishnaswamy Natarajan, Executive Director of ReCAAP ISC.
Looking ahead, ReCAAP ISC will work towards enhancing regional cooperation with the relevant authorities in the region through information sharing and capacity building initiatives. The Centre will also continue to urge its Focal Points to increase surveillance and patrols to deter perpetrators. Additionally, it is only when there are arrests and prosecution of perpetrators that the threat from these maritime crimes can be further reduced.
As part of efforts to encourage the ship crew to report incidents to the appropriate local coastal state authority for timely response by the enforcement agencies, ReCAAP ISC has published a Poster containing the contact details of Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres (MRCCs) and ReCAAP Focal Points. The Centre will also be producing a catalogue on fishing boats operating in Asian waters for easy identification of boats by the ship’s crew. This will enable the ship’s crew to describe the boat to the authorities when attacked by the perpetrators.
In April 2020, as the pandemic was raging worldwide, Jim Tompkins, arguably the dean of supply chain management consultants, spoke to FreightWaves about the outlook for his industry. Tompkins warned that COVID-19 was a before-and-after event for supply chains and that it would cement a profound shift from models based on cost, speed and efficiency to those based on what he referred to as “volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity,” or “VUCA.”
Jim Tompkins (Photo: Tompkins International)
More than two years later, events have borne out Tompkins’ forecasts — and have gone beyond what he could have expected. With that in mind, FreightWaves sat down again with Tompkins, who founded Tompkins International in 1975 and Tompkins Ventures in 2020 — the latter where he is chairman — to get his views on where supply chains have been, where they are and where they’re headed. His remarks have been mildly edited for brevity.
FREIGHTWAVES:In the spring of 2020, you forecasted a difficult adjustment for supply chains from the traditional cost-and-efficiency model to one based on resilience. Events have largely confirmed your projections. What is your read of the current situation?
TOMPKINS: Supply chain managers and leaders in all sectors still do not have a solid awareness that disruption is the new normal. Many still hope for the “good old days” or a new, stable normal. As we move forward, we need optionality, not optimality. The ability to optimize a perfect supply chain no longer exists. Supply chain networks need agility, speed and resilience.
FREIGHTWAVES: Are you surprised or did you underestimate the magnitude of the disruptions that have occurred, especially over the past 18 months?
TOMPKINS: In June 2019, I did a YouTube video explaining that the rate and magnitude of change would continually increase. In other words, VUCA would not diminish, and leaders needed to increase agility, speed and resilience.
Did I anticipate the whole world being turned upside down via COVID? Absolutely not. In fact, I kept being surprised by the impacts into the fall of 2020. Then I saw that three great shifts — working from home, the explosion of e-commerce and broken supply chains — were buffeting society at the same time. This is like nothing in the history of mankind.
At the risk of simplifying a complex situation, how did we get into this mess and why does it persist more than two years on? Were supply chains so compromised that it could not tolerate an event like this? Or were we dealing with an event like nothing we’ve had before?
We were dealing with an event like nothing before. Instead of freezing or reversing history, COVID-19 accelerated it. Pre-pandemic supply chains were not compromised — as long as nothing changed, they provided optimal service. But the business climate has changed more in the last 2 years than in the previous 50.
While consumer demand changes quickly via clicks on a keyboard, scaling up physical supply chain assets — transportation, DCs/FCs/, infrastructure, port facilities — all takes time. There has also been a lack of urgency in embracing digital supply networks, which is the only way to deal with perpetual disruption. End-to-end digital supply networks use artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to bring visibility and actionability to every enterprise in a supply chain from raw material to finished product. This offers true optionality.
This may be beating a dead horse, but are we seeing a concerted effort to reshore manufacturing and distribution to the U.S.? And is Latin America overrated as a nearshore point?
While some reshoring is happening, the idea that the U.S. can be the center of all manufacturing/distribution is impossible. Reshoring implies coming back, and there is no “back” to come to. Many of the physical facilities for manufacturing have been turned into condos, and no one wants to work in those environments. The only reshoring possible involves operations that include a significant amount of automation. Nearshoring to Latin America and Africa are viable options.
It took years to build the intricate global supply chains to the Far East, and it will take time to build such infrastructure throughout Latin America and Africa.
FREIGHTWAVES:Have BCOs (beneficial cargo owners) done a good enough job of adjusting to the situation?
TOMPKINS: Like the rest of us, BCOs have had nonstop surprises. Like many, they want to return to the good old days. But with disruption as the new normal, there is no finish line, only continual adjustment.
FREIGHTWAVES:We are a little more than halfway through the year. What is your sense as to how the upcoming peak season will evolve?
TOMPKINS: Demand will be unpredictable due to the Russia-Ukraine war, inflation, semiconductor shortages and labor issues. Supply and lead times also will remain unpredictable. It will be a difficult peak season with inventory shortages and inventory overages, poor customer service and poor supply chain performance. Both online and in-store performance will be disrupted.
FREIGHTWAVES:We continue to see difficulties with chassis availability, warehouse capacity and intermodal reliability on inland moves. Is there any chance, even in the intermediate term, for these dislocations to resolve themselves?
TOMPKINS: Difficulties with chassis availability, warehousing and overall congestion are expected to continue on the U.S. East Coast. Major importers have decided to divert cargo to East Coast ports ahead of a potential (West Coast) port strike, which also reduced the amount of cargo in LA/LGB. Intermodal unreliability will be constant through year’s end as well.
FREIGHTWAVES: There has been a change in presidential administrations since we last spoke. The Biden administration appears to be taking a proactive stance toward the issue of supply chain disruptions, and it has painted steamship lines as greedy villains. Is this a misguided approach, and should the free market be free to clean up the mess that exists today?
TOMPKINS: A proactive stance is good. But it’s like planning without execution — there is little value. For example, the U.S. government has theoretically taken a proactive stance on funding semiconductor production in the United States. Yet the bill remains stuck in Congress. Telling gas stations they should just lower prices is not proactive; it is misguided. And it is still charging ahead to destroy the energy independence that we built two years ago.
You can see this on subject after subject. The government takes a stance, but talk yields no action and no result. It is very disappointing.
The solution lies in technology. We need to let the free market come to the rescue by deploying AI, agility, optionality and speed.
FREIGHTWAVES:We have seen spot market rates decline significantly on the eastbound Asian box trade as well as in truckload services in the U.S. If we operate under the assumption that these pricing changes reflect a cooling of demand, will this help bring supply chains into some type of balance?
TOMPKINS: With the past capacity issues and long lead times, retailers have ordered products early so they will not miss their seasonal demand. In doing so, orders are now arriving four to six weeks earlier than their forecast, which is creating inventory and warehouse capacity issues. This may shift the problem but could also continue to create congestion at the ports.
FREIGHTWAVES:As we spoke in mid-July, there was no contract between West Coast dockworkers and waterfront management. It would seem logical to say that a lockout, a strike or even a work to the rule on the part of the International Warehouse and Longshoremen Union (ILWU) would further damage an already-brittle supply chain. Is that a logical assumption, or are importers ahead of the game in their planning?
TOMPKINS: The dockworkers have great leverage at this time with the continued congestion. When volumes are high, a work stoppage of one day can create weeks of backlog. The math I have seen is that every day of a strike translates into one week of recovery. Importers did heed the warnings of a possible work stoppage or slowdown. They have begun strategically diverting cargo away from LA/LGB, which also could have softened the ILWU’s leverage.
FREIGHTWAVES:More than two years on, what report card would you give the U.S. supply chain and why? Are there sustainable improvements you can point to?
TOMPKINS: The grade for the U.S. is an F-plus. An “F” because the U.S. supply chain is broken. The “plus” is because most executives are aware of the problem and are trying to manage it. The failure of the U.S. and global supply chains reflects the failure of meeting the basic objective of supply chains: To synchronize supply to demand while exceeding customer expectations at a minimal cost. For the last two years, supply chains have not synchronized supply to demand. Supply chains have had both huge inventory shortages and rampant overages. We also have not met customer expectations nor have we minimized costs. Thus, the F.
The future does not look much better because so many supply chain professionals are trying to do the impossible. They are trying to fix their supply chains by working on their enterprise. I view this as being in my home office after a storm, with no power and no internet, and trying to fix the Bluetooth connection between my laptop and my printer.
The supply chain task at hand is not an enterprise problem; it is an end-to-end network problem involving multiple enterprises. The solution does not lie with fixing one link in the chain but in devising an ecosystem where all the links of the chain work together with a real-time single version of the truth, using artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to beget an autonomous digital supply network.
The HDP-2200 was developed with two versions: a baseline and variant design. The baseline design ship has a displacement of 2,400 tonnes, is 94.4 meters long and 14.3 meters wide, has a maximum speed of 22 knots, a cruising speed of 15 knots, and a range of 5,500 nautical miles. The variant design ensures enhanced ship’s survivability by separating the propulsion engine.
The AiP is the result of the second stage of HDP followed by the 1500 NEO 1,500-ton OPV last year and confirms the maturity of the ship’s design. It is based on the DNV Rules for Classification of Naval Vessels RU-NAV / RU-NAVAL with reference class notation + 1A N, Patrol (L), E0, R0.
DNV rules for naval surface ships offer various measures and class notations to achieve improved survivability. The requirements of the naval administration essentially shape the extent to which measures are included in a project.
“The AiP award proves HHI’s world-class ship technology yet again,” said Mr Sang Hoon Nam, Deputy President of HHI’s special ships division. “We will continue to focus on developing future ship technologies such as applying eco-friendly fuel propulsion and unmanned technologies to respond to the needs of navy ships.”
Christian von Oldershausen, DNV Maritime’s Naval Business Director, added: “We believe HHI’s ship design addresses both the needs of emerging and mature markets, and we look forward to the opportunity to add our expertise in building this innovative ship.”
“HHI has laid down impressive groundwork in developing a very efficient design for the HDP-2200. We sincerely hope HHI can spearhead into the market with this state-of-the-art vessel concept, and DNV will continue to help HHI to be even more competitive by working closely together,” said Vidar Dolonen, DNV Maritime Regional Manager for Korea and Japan.
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director-general Admiral Maritime (Rtd) Datuk Seri Ahmad Puzi Ab Kahar(pix) contributed immensely to strengthening countermeasures against piracy and armed robbery in the Straits of Malacca, a route which is essential for Japanese maritime shipping.
As a result, the number of maritime crimes decreased from 45 cases in 2005 to only four cases in 2017 when he retired, Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia, Takahashi Katsuhiko said.
He said this in his congratulatory speech during a ceremony on the conferment of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan on Ahmad Puzi for his work on maritime safety and security.
In representing the Emperor of Japan in conferring the award here yesterday, Katsuhiko said the former DG worked hard to get two patrol vessels from Japan for MMEA, set up a maritime academy for regional training for Asia and enhanced coast guard cooperation between Malaysia and Japan.
His sense of duty for Malaysia led MMEA to conduct joint exercises with the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) as well as consolidate the agency’s relationship with relevant bodies in other countries to tackle piracy and armed robbery.
Elaborating on the Malaysian’s achievements, the Japanese envoy said in a statement today that the admiral also proactively engaged in the provision of two patrol vessels “Arau” and “Pekan” from Japan to Malaysia.
In March 2016, more than 100 Chinese ships and boats were found to have trespassed into Malaysian waters and in response, the former Malaysian maritime head promptly requested Japan to provide ships and personnel capacity building assistance.
“Thanks to his energetic appeals to realise this assistance, it was decided that Japan would transfer two decommissioned patrol vessels to Malaysia,“ he said.
The agreement for the grant aid assistance was signed at the Japan-Malaysia leaders’ meeting in November 2016 and the two patrol vessels arrived in Malaysia the following year after they were refurbished.
The Japanese envoy said that since then, the patrol vessels “Arau” and “Pekan” have been playing a vital role in MMEA activities and they were symbols of the strong bilateral cooperation between Japan and Malaysia as well as Japan’s will to help Malaysia in ensuring the safety of its waters.
Ahmad Puzi also played a key role in enhancing and diversifying the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Technical Cooperation Programme for MMEA.
He contributed to the establishment of the Maritime Academy Sultan Ahmad Shah, or AMSAS, with the aim to make it a coast guard regional training centre in Asia and invited other Asian countries to join in training programmes there.
He also encouraged other countries to participate in the JICA Technical Cooperation Programme at AMSAS and his initiative has successfully led to the commencement of the JICA Third Country Training Programme on capacity enhancement for coast guard officers from this year.
“By enhancing Training for Third Countries in Malaysia, various techniques and experiences have been transferred to other countries and I’m convinced that this cooperation contributes to realising peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,“ said Katsuhiko.
Japan has dispatched experts to MMEA through the JICA to ensure maritime security and safety in this region since the agency was established in 2005.
He paid tribute to Ahmad Puzi for his invaluable contribution to deepen the coast guard cooperation between Japan and Malaysia.
Katsuhiko said Japan and Malaysia should continue to work closely together in maritime safety and security more so since both countries were this year celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Look East Policy.
“Ahmad Puzi’s contribution could be counted as an important element of bilateral relations enhanced by the policy,“ he said.-Bernama
Boskalis is to repair two Azipod engines on a Carnival Cruise Line ship using floating dry dock, a process requiring one of its vessels to be half-submerged.
Having won a contract to restore the main propulsion system on the Carnival Vista ship, the Dutch firm will dispatch Boka Vanguard to a Bahamian shipyard, where its transport vessel will go partially underwater in order to dock the 133,500t vessel.
Manufactured by ABB and Finnish shipyard Masa-Yards, Azipods engines provide maximum manoeuvrability, as the engines are directly attached to the propellers.
Why granular data is essential for climate risk insightsWhat should market participants prioritise when aiming to develop a clear view of ESG risks and opportunities? Andrea Blackman, global head of Moody’s ESG Solutions, discusses how attitudes and expectations are changing, and the role ‘comprehensive coverage’ must play in greening the global economy.
As urgency around the climate crisis heightens, the world is seeing a greater call for accountability and transparency. Market and investor pressure is mounting on the private sector to transition to a low-carbon economy, making corporate ESG disclosures a critical piece of the puzzle.
Vague claims around sustainability will not pass muster with investors and regulators. Rather, they are calling for precise data around companies’ ESG impacts, be that in the form of understanding nature-related risk, biodiversity loss, human rights considerations or other ESG factors
The procedure will include loading Carnival Vista onto a semi-submersible flatbed tow truck that is suitable for the sea, before then docking the vessel for repairs at the Grand Bahama shipyard.
Boskalis said that Boka Vanguard has a lifting capacity of 117,000t and is claimed to be the world’s largest heavy lift vessel.
Carnival Cruise Line marine operations executive vice-president Lars Ljoen said: “This groundbreaking procedure made possible by Boskalis is a revolutionary way to ensure Carnival Vista’s repairs are completed in a safe, timely and efficient manner, so the ship can resume her popular seven-day schedule from Galveston later this month.”
Boka Vanguard is scheduled to arrive in the Bahamas tomorrow, allowing it time to prepare for Carnival Vista’s arrival a week later. It will take around two weeks to load, transport and repair the ship.
It is expected that Carnival Vista will return to Galveston, Texas, US, in time for her 27 July voyage.
Strategic Marine (S) Pte Ltd (“SMS”) has successfully delivered a 42m Fast Crew Boat (FCB) to repeat client Centus Marine Sdn Bhd. The FCB is a bespoke design and is the fourth vessel delivered to the offshore marine service provider in the last two years.
The 42m FCB has been designed to meet the specific requirements of oil majors, its station-keeping and maneuvering capability have been enhanced with a tunnel thruster installed at the bow.
Powered by three Cummins KTA50 engines, the FCB completed its sea trials last month achieving impressive results, cruising at 30 knots and reaching top speeds of more than 31 knots. The FCB has also been designed with rigorous weight control measures to boost performance and incorporates robust hull engineering for the tough commercial environments and demanding offshore conditions where it will be operational.
Crew comfort is a priority, and this is reflected in the interior arrangement of the vessel. It can carry up to 100 personnel in spacious business class recliner seats with dedicated luggage racks and an accommodation area that offers 12 berths in seven cabins. The new vessel also offers bow boarding, an enlarged wheelhouse and incorporated a large deck storage area with wide walkways to ensure safe and efficient crew transfer in challenging offshore conditions.
Centus Marine said: “This new vessel boosts our fleet, significantly enhancing our capacity and capabilities. As before, working with Strategic Marine we have been able to incorporate our latest refined design and ensure that this vessel is as tailored to our specific operating conditions as possible.”
Strategic Marine’s General Manager Commercial, Mr Wayne Poh said: “This is the latest vessel successfully delivered on schedule to Centus Marine. We pride ourselves on close communication between both parties at all stages of the build and our commitment to continuous improvement means that we are always ready to respond to customer feedback. Centus Marine is a highly valued customer and we appreciate their confidence in our high quality vessels, and look forward to working with them in the future.”
Strategic Marine Group has now built and delivered more than 600 vessels made of both aluminium and steel for a variety of clients in the maritime, offshore and naval defence sectors. The company’s solid reputation continues to grow, based on its high-performance vessels built on time and to budget.
Against the backdrop of a former Massachusetts coal-fired power plant that is to host a cable manufacturing facility to support offshore wind, President Biden today announced a number of executive actions on climate aimed at addressing extreme heat and boosting offshore wind.
According to a White House fact sheet, the offshore wind actions include kickstarting the potential for offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico and promoting offshore wind opportunities in the Southeast.
TWO GULF WIND ENERGY AREAS
In response to the President’s actions, the Department of the Interior today announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is now seeking public input on the identification of two potential offshore wind energy areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
The first draft WEA is located approximately 24 nautical miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas. The area for review totals 546,645 acres and according to BOEM has the potential to power 2.3 million homes with wind energy. The second draft WEA is located approximately 56 nautical miles off the coast of Lake Charles, La. The area for review totals 188,023 acres and has the potential to power 799,000 homes.
The first draft WEA is located approximately 24 nautical miles off the coast of Galveston, the second is 56 nautical miles off the coast of Lake Charles, La.
The two draft WEAs represent a subset of the original 30-million acre Gulf of Mexico Call Area that the Department of the Interior announced for public comment in October 2021. The draft WEAs were reduced to avoid potential impacts on other ocean uses and resources, such as commercial and recreational fishing, maritime navigation, military activities, marine protected species, avian species, and existing infrastructure.
Public comments on the draft WEAs will be accepted for 30 days beginning July 20, 2022.
In addition to the draft WEAs, BOEM has prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) covering the entire call area to consider the potential impacts from site characterization (e.g., marine mammal surveys) and site assessment (e.g., installation of meteorological buoys) activities expected to take place following lease issuance. The EA analysis will inform potential lease stipulations necessary to address identified environmental impacts associated with offshore wind leasing activities. Public comments on the draft EA will also be accepted for 30 days beginning July 20, 2022.
SOUTHEAST
The White House fact sheet says that the prior Administration cast uncertainty over the future of offshore wind and other clean energy development off the coasts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
“Today, President Biden is directing the Secretary of the Interior to advance clean energy development in these federal waters—ensuring that these southeast states will be able to benefit from good-paying jobs in the burgeoning offshore wind industry,” said the statement.
Expect an announcement from BOEM in the not too distant future.
NOIA REITERATES CALL FOR RENEWED OIL AND GAS LEASING
National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito issued the following statement following President Biden’s announcement:
“Our country is in dire need of a cohesive national energy policy. The opportunity is before us to produce reliable, affordable, lower carbon, and secure domestic energy. We can only get there through an all-of-the-above approach, which must include the resumption of domestic offshore oil and gas leasing.” said. On a positive note, the Administration continues to promote investment in the offshore wind sector, and the full supply chain of the offshore energy industry is well-positioned for the build-out of the U.S. wind sector. We look forward to advancing projects in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast.
“Companies along the Gulf Coast are innovating durable climate and emissions solutions across the wide spectrum of energy sectors. Resuming Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leasing will enable continued innovation, including the build-out of American offshore wind, and will reduce the need to secure our energy from foreign, higher emitting sources.”
Major salvage cases continue to make the headlines lately and, according to many insurance sources the costs of these cases are rising. Indeed, according to Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, the near two-year salvage operation for the car carrier Golden Ray “cost in excess of $800 million.”
Given the sorts of numbers that start flying around whenever there’s a major casualty, it may come as a surprise that the International Salvage Union’s just-released statistics for 2021 show only a modest recovery in ISU member gross revenues. They reached $391 million, compared with $301 million in 2020.
ISU members provided 189 services in 2021, compared with 182 in the previous year.
Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF) cases continued to decline, down to just 29 cases compared to 40 in 2020. However LOF revenue was up, at $122 million, more than double the $60 million reported for 2020.
Wreck removal income reached $108 million from 56 services, compared with $98 million from 101 services in 2021.
CHALLENGING ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
ISU President Captain Nicholas Sloane
“Economic conditions are challenging and activity and income for our industry is volatile year-on-year. The general trend towards a smaller number of larger and more complex cases enhances that annual variability,” said ISU President, Resolve Marine Group’s Captain Nicholas Sloane. “The numbers in this survey reflect the period when the world was still fully contending with the COVID pandemic which made operations and logistics more challenging. Throughout those difficult times ISU members showed time and again their problem solving and willingness to overcome obstacles to provide services to their clients, the shipowners, and their insurers. And, taken alongside the ISU’s pollution prevention statistics, these numbers demonstrate a dynamic industry which most years performs some 200 salvage services.”
“Professional salvors protect the environment, reduce risk and mitigate loss. They also keep trade moving – which is demonstrated so clearly when there are large containership cases. We continue to work closely with key stakeholders to ensure that there is continued global provision of professional salvage services.”
The 2021 ISU statistics show a historic low level of LOF cases – 29 for ISU members – generating income of $ 122 million. It compares with 40 cases worth $ 60 million in 2019. Revenue from LOF cases amounted to 50 per cent of all emergency response revenue and LOF cases accounted for 15 per cent of emergency response cases in 2021. SCOPIC revenue at $41 million in 2021 was up from $24 million previously.
Revenue in 2021 from operations conducted under contracts other than LOF was $120 million, effectively the same as in 2020 ($119 million). The average revenue from each non-LOF contract was therefore $750,000.
Wreck removal is an important source of income for members of the ISU but 2021, with $ 108 million from 56 operations (28% of the total income), showed the same trend as 2020 ($98 million received from 52 services – 33 per cent of the total).
The ISU statistics are collected from all ISU members by a professional third party, which aggregates and analyzes them. The statistics do not include the revenues of non-ISU members but are the only formal measure of the state of the marine salvage industry. The statistics are for income received in the relevant year but that can include revenue relating to services provided in previous years and there can be an element of “time lag”. The statistics are for gross revenues from which all of the salvors’ costs must be met.
IMO has organised a port security workshop in San Pedro Sula, Honduras as part of its capacity building support for Member States. The workshop (18-22 July) primarily focuses on SOLAS Chapter XI-2 and ISPS Code for Designated Authorities (DA) and Port Facility Security Officers (PFSOs), thereby supporting officials to perform their duties in line with IMO maritime security measures.
A total of 31 participants* with roles relating to Honduras’ port security are attending the national workshop. They will receive the knowledge and skills to understand the requirements of key IMO maritime security instruments.
The event, which was requested and co-hosted by the Honduras National Commission for Port Security (Comisión Nacional de Protección Portuaria) included a visit to the Port of Puerto Cortes.
* Seventeen officers in charge of port security from ports across Honduras, six representatives of the National Commission for Port Security, two Navy officers, two merchant marine officers and four port management students.
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