Ocean Viking to Disembark Migrants After "State of Emergency"

Search Underway for Missing Towboat Crewmember on Ohio River

By The Maritime Executive 07-05-2020 04:57:27

[Brief] The U.S. Coast Guard has launched a man-overboard search on the Ohio River near Alton, Indiana. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley received a report at about 1200 hours that a deckhand from a towing vessel had gone overboard without a life jacket. The position of the MOB incident was believed to be between river mile marker 675 and mile marker 700. The male deckhand was described to be in his 50s, about 280 pounds and 5 feet...

How Does Plastic Pollution Affect the Ocean?

By China Dialogue Ocean 07-05-2020 03:28:24

[By Emma Bryce and Mary Flora Hart] Every day, eight million tons of plastic enter the ocean. That’s equivalent to one truckload dumped into the sea every minute of the day. From there, it goes on a long and destructive journey. “The plastic that enters the ocean can be carried vast distances by currents to all parts of the world, including remote Antarctica and the Mariana trench, the deepest place on Earth,” says Winnie Lau, senior officer for The Pew Charitable...

How China Has Overtaken Japan in Naval Power and Why it Matters

By CIMSEC 07-05-2020 01:31:30

[By Toshi Yoshihara] A major reversal of fortunes at sea has gone largely unnoticed. Over the past decade, the Chinese Navy sped past the Japanese maritime service across key measures of material prowess. The trendlines suggest that China will soon permanently displace Japan as the leading regional naval power in Asia. This historic power transition will have repercussions across the Indo-Pacific in the years to come. It behooves policymakers to pay attention to this overlooked but consequential shift in the...

Pirates kidnapped 5 crew members from a Singapore-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Guinea

Pirates Attack Second Vessel in Gulf of Guinea Kidnapping Five Crew

By The Maritime Executive 07-03-2020 07:37:33

A cargo vessel was the latest target of pirates in the waters off Benin. This attack came just one day after reports of an even more brazen attack on a vessel in the oil fields in the Gulf of Guinea. In the latest incident, security firm Dryad is reporting that heavily armed individuals boarded Pacific International Lines’ 27,379 DWT general cargo vessel the Kota Budi. Five Chinese nationals working as crew members, including possibly the master, were reportedly kidnapped from the Singapore-flagged...

Shipping

Crew MSC container ship tests positive for COVID-19 in China

Chinese Officials Investigate COVID-19 During Crew Change on MSC Ship

Officials in Hong Kong and Mainland China are investing a cluster of COVID-19 cases aboard the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) container ship MSC Flavia. The situation is especially problematic as it involves a crew change that was conducted in Hong Kong under the new more lenient rules for seafarers and possible community exposure. According to Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP) the cases were identified when the MSC Flavia arrived in Ningbo, China on June 26. Eleven of the 24...

Tugs & Salvage

The USCG's First Superstorm: The Great Galveston Hurricane

In early September of 1900, a hurricane of massive force struck the Gulf Coast west of Galveston, Texas. The Great Galveston Hurricane would prove far deadlier than any man-made, environmental or weather-related disaster in U.S. history, with approximately 8,000 killed in Galveston and roughly 2,000 more lost in other parts of the Gulf Coast. This death toll is greater than the combined casualty figure for the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, Hurricane Katrina, the 9/11 terrorist attacks as well as Hurricane...

Government

Greenpeace Fined $100,000 Over Oil Rig Protests

Scotland's highest court has fined Greenpeace UK $100,000 for interfering with the operations of the Transocean floater Paul B. Loyd Jr. in the UK North Sea in June 2019. The sentence for the contempt of court charge could have been heavier, as the available penalties could have included a jail term for Greenpeace UK's leaders. On June 9, 2019, Greenpeace UK activists boarded the Paul B. Loyd Jr. in Cromarty Firth, Scotland and occupied it for several days. During the occupation, Transocean...

Piracy

Pirates Attack Second Vessel in Gulf of Guinea Kidnapping Five Crew

Cruise Ships

Birka Cruises ges out of business while Silja layoff employees

Swedish Cruise Operator Birka Goes Out of Business

The Scandinavia passenger shipping industry became the latest segment to respond to the financial pressures created by the coronavirus pandemic. Birka Cruises, part of the Finish Eckero Group, announced that it will go out of business laying off as many as 500 people. Founded in 1971 and operating as Sweden’s only cruise line, Birka in March had announced that operations would be suspending till May, but was later forced to extend the suspension based on travel restrictions. Citing the financial...

Ports

Employing the USMCA to Build Trade Between Florida and Mexico's Ports

As the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) goes into effect, organizations are exploring how it can contribute to growth in maritime trade. Agreed to in October 2018, the USMCA builds on the previous NAFTA agreements focusing on auto exports, steel and aluminum tariffs, and commodities including dairy, eggs, and poultry. The new agreement went into effect on July 1, 2020. The World Trade Center Miami recently participated in the first meeting of new the Florida/Mexico Working Group, which was formed in...

Shipping

Chinese Officials Investigate COVID-19 During Crew Change on MSC Ship

Tugs & Salvage

The USCG's First Superstorm: The Great Galveston Hurricane

Government

Greenpeace Fined $100,000 Over Oil Rig Protests

Piracy

Pirates Attack Second Vessel in Gulf of Guinea Kidnapping Five Crew

Cruise Ships

Swedish Cruise Operator Birka Goes Out of Business

Ports

Employing the USMCA to Build Trade Between Florida and Mexico's Ports

Offshore

Study: Gas Hydrate Plug May Have Led to Deepwater Horizon Blowout

[By Nancy Bazilchuk] Ten years ago, the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico killed eleven men and resulted in the largest accidental oil spill in history. Years of investigations concluded that the drilling crew missed critical warning signals that would have stopped the problem. A new analysis suggests that wasn’t the case. The magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon accident is almost impossible to fathom. On April 20, 2010, eleven men died when the drilling rig exploded. An estimated...

Shipbuilding

Bath Iron Works Adds More Non-Union Labor as Strike Continues

Maine shipyard Bath Iron Works is bringing in additional non-union subcontractors in order to keep up work on its longstanding U.S. Navy destroyer contract, which is running months behind schedule. The move comes as the 4,300 members of shipbuilders' union IAM Local S6 - the majority of BIW's workforce - are out on strike over a contract disagreement. "We are outraged that this company would further expand its use of low-wage subcontracting,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. in...

Training

New President of The Nautical Institute to Focus on Three Challenges

The newly elected President of The Nautical Institute, Jillian Carson-Jackson has vowed to help the Institute and wider maritime community meet three important challenges – those of diversity and inclusion, branch engagement and managing the impact of technology. Speaking at today’s Nautical Institute Annual General Meeting she announced a pledge from the Institute on diversity and inclusion saying: “There has been a concerted effort over the past years to raise visibility of not just women, but the overall role of...

Business

BBC Shipping Forecast Times to be Phased Back to Normal

From Monday, July 6. the BBC’s broadcasts of the UK Maritime Weather Service, including the Shipping Forecast, will begin to be phased back to normal broadcast times and radio frequencies. All broadcasts apart from the one currently being put out at 0533 will revert to previous times and previously dropped broadcasts reinstated. From Monday, July 6, the Shipping Forecast will be broadcast at 0048 on FM and LW, 0533 on FM and LW, midday...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

Select any month to view events: July August September October November December January February March April May June

Join the conversation.

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events