The Maritime Executive's Annual Offshore Edition is Out Now

The annual offshore edition of The Maritime Executive Magazine is out now and available online! Read on for a summary of what you'll find inside.

After nine painful years of layoffs, consolidations and bankruptcies, offshore oil and gas is back on its feet, driven largely by the war in Ukraine, the boycott of Russian energy and growing uncertainty over offshore wind. As News Editor Paul Benecki points out in this edition’s Offshore Energy Report, the industry “can look forward to $100 billion a year in capex commitments through 2024” – twice the investment in offshore renewables and 50 percent more than onshore oil projects.

The offshore revival benefits the tanker business as well, as Senior Editor Jack O’Connell makes clear in “Having It Both Ways.” Tanker companies enjoyed a record year in 2022 and anticipate more of the same this year, especially with China’s recent reopening, so take advantage while you can.

Which brings us to this edition’s cover story on Kathi Stanzel and INTERTANKO, the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners. Since taking the helm 12 years ago, the marine biologist-turned-Managing Director has transformed INTERTANKO into a leading voice for environmental management and sustainability in shipping – especially the shipping of hazardous products. It’s an incredible interview, and Kathi’s an incredible woman, so don’t miss it!

In “Petchem Boom,” ports columnist Tom Peters says petrochemical ports are another beneficiary of the offshore revival, particularly along the Texas and Louisiana coasts where companies like Chevron and LyondellBasell are constructing new facilities at a near-record pace. The demand for plastics and other petrochemical derivatives keeps growing as they go into more and more products.

Meanwhile, regular columnists Allen Brooks and Erik Kravets make their usual stellar contributions. In “Inflation Alert!,” Allen warns of the dangers of continued inflation and notes that higher energy and transportation costs are partly responsible. Erik picks up the beat in “Digging Deeper,” bemoaning how shipping subsidies in E.U. countries have put their economies in deeper and deeper holes.

On the technology front, the search for future fuels goes on and, as Professor Mia Bennett explains in “No Silver Bullet,” it’ll take more than one solution to get to net zero. In the witty and clever “Clean Hulls, Happy Hulls,” master mariner Sean Hogue says that advanced coating systems can not only eliminate biofouling but reduce harmful emissions as well.

Paul Benecki’s second article, “Trifecta of Challenges,” argues that today’s advanced lubes and additives further reduce emissions and prevent money from “escaping up the hatch” while Tom Peters, in his second article, “Better Parts,” explores the high-tech materials and innovative design processes that go into today’s reliable and long-lasting pipes, pumps and valves.

Want more? Check out Jack O’Connell’s Executive Achievement interview with Paul Sells, President & CEO of ABS Wavesight. Sells is on the cutting edge of maritime digitalization and “maritime intelligence the way it should be,” and ABS Wavesight is helping lead the way as a “software as a service” provider. It’s an exciting read.  

So that about does it for now. Relax and enjoy. And remember, to get the most updated news and commentary, go to www.maritime-executive.com. We’ll catch up again soon.