HOUSTON (March 18, 2010) – T&T BISSO, an industry leader in vessel emergency response, salvage and marine firefighting services, refloated a tugboat that sank in the Houston Ship Channel. T&T BISSO used the C/B CURTIS T to prepare the sunken tug for lifting after its dive team recovered the body of a missing crewmember onboard the vessel. The vessel then was lifted to the surface by a derrick barge and dewatered. The 56-foot tug sank with five people aboard near the Sims Bayou turning basin. The other four crewmembers were rescued by nearby refinery workers. Before the tug was...

STX France has recently experienced cost overruns mainly related to one of its cruise vessels under construction at its St Nazaire shipyard. The cost overrun could represent a negative deviation up to EUR 15 – 20 million, but every possible effort is being made to limit such cost overrun. The physical construction of the vessel is however in good progress, and the vessel is expected to be delivered on-time and to the client’s full satisfaction. STX France has a solid working capital position, and the funding of such cost overrun will be managed from the existing working capital in...

W?rtsil?, the marine industry’s leading ship power systems integrator, has signed a new agreement with Raytheon Ansch?tz, a division of Raytheon Co., USA. Raytheon Ansch?tz is based in Kiel, Germany. The agreement extends the scope of W?rtsil?’s offering of integrated system solutions to include navigation systems, which can now be offered by W?rtsil? on a global basis. ‘The co-operation between W?rtsil? and Raytheon is in line with our strategy of staying at the forefront of systems integration within the marine sector,’ commented Mr Jaakko Eskola, Group Vice Presiden...

Aberdeen Harbour has awarded Macduff Shipyards the contract to build a new workboat. ?The ?1million vessel, inclusive of its high-tech survey suite is due for delivery in 2011, and will replace the port’s existing workboat. It will be fitted with twin 350hp engines, a deck crane and at 14 metres in length, will be used for general harbour activities including surveying, plough dredging and debris recovery. ?Ray Shaw, operations director & harbour master at Aberdeen Harbour, said: “Following a competitive tender process we are pleased to award this contract to local supplier M...

W?rtsil? Corporation, Trade & Technical Press release, 18 March 2010 W?rtsil?, the marine industry’s leading ship power system integrator, has received an award for supplier excellence from CNOOC, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. After rigorous internal evaluation by project management teams, 28 Chinese and international vendors participating in nine of CNOOC’s major projects were honoured. W?rtsil? is involved in four of these projects. This was the first time that CNOOC had arranged such an event to recognise its best suppliers, and the awards were presented at...

Hamburg / Germany, 17 March 2010 – GL Maritime Software’s ‘Port Clearance Assistant’ is now available at no cost to ship owners and managers. The module of the ship management software simplifies port clearance procedures and ensures that the crew onboard has the right information available. As the software module incorporates contributions and experience of its user community, ‘Port Clearance Assistant’ will be available at free of charge in 2010. Regulations differ considerably according to each country and even between ports. Preparing the necessary por...

Europe’s leading shipbuilders, coordinated by Fincantieri, started September 1st, 2009 the EU funded research project BESST – “Breakthrough in European Ship and Shipbuilding Technologies”. The contractual Grant Agreement was signed yesterday in Brussels between the European Commission and Fincantieri, on behalf of the consortium, as the coordinator of BESST. The project will last three and a half years. Initiated by EUROYARDS, the European Economic Interest Group (EEIG), BESST aims to achieve a breakthrough in competitiveness, environmental friendliness and safety in E...

Davie Yards Inc. (Lauzon, Quebec) recently sought protection under the Canadian Companies’ Credit Arrangement Act (CCAA) from creditors.? Cecon ASA, Davie’s largest customer, has initiated a rapid and detailed assessment of the performance on Cecon’s three vessels under construction at the Davie yard.? The assessment will commence immediately on approval by Davie’s Board of Directors. Cecon has engaged companies with specialized capability in the marine industry and shipbuilding to support this external assessment process.? These companies include, Upper Lakes Marine ...

MAN Diesel Spain has been very active within the tug segment recently, having played a key role in three orders that contract the company to supply 18 of MAN Diesel L27/38 engines to Boluda Corporaci?n Mar?tima, Spain, the international marine group and leading shipbuilder. The engines are destined for nine newbuilding tugs; ten engines were already delivered in 2009 with the remainder due in 2010/2011. The three orders encompass two engines for the “V.B. Bravo”, owned by Boluda Corporaci?n Mar?tima through its subsidiary AUXMASA; twelve engines for six tug boats owned outright ...

Omega Navigation Enterprises, Inc., (NASDAQ:ONAV, SGX: ONAV50),a leading provider of Marine Transportation services specializing in product tankers, announced today the delivery on February 25, 2010 from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in S. Korea of the Megacore Honami, a 37,000 dwt. product/chemical carrier. The vessel is owned by a company fully owned by Megacore Shipping Ltd., an equal partnership joint venture between Omega and a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore International, A. G. The Megacore Honami represents the first in a series of nine newbuildings (2 MR1s and 7 LR1s) for Megaco...

The 57,000DWT bulk carrier series, N228, being built for Greek company DYNACOM, is now taking shape. This is the ninth of the 57,000DWT bulk carrier series being built in COSCO Guangdong Shipyard.? Erection of the main hull blocks was completed on 28th January, only 43 days after the keel had been laid on 16th December. The time taken broke the yard history record again. N227, the eighth vessel in the series, required 74 days. ? Source: COSCO ...

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been selected to supply integrated bridge systems (IBS) for two new fleet tankers being built in Italy for the Indian Navy. The IBS orders were placed with Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine unit by the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri, which is under contract to build the two tankers at its shipyards in Liguria and Palermo. Terms of the contract for the IBS were not disclosed. Each of the ships will be fitted with a complete Sperry Marine VisionMaster FT™ IBS, including radars, electronic chart display and information system...

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been selected to supply integrated bridge systems (IBS) for two new fleet tankers being built in Italy for the Indian Navy. The IBS orders were placed with Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine unit by the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri, which is under contract to build the two tankers at its shipyards in Liguria and Palermo. Terms of the contract for the IBS were not disclosed. Each of the ships will be fitted with a complete Sperry Marine VisionMaster FT™ IBS, including radars, electronic chart display and information system...

OceanFreight Inc., a global provider of marine transportation services, announced today that the Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) will be held at the Company’s offices located at 80 Kifissias Avenue, GR 151 25, Marousi, Athens, Greece on June 10, 2010 at 10:00 a.m., Athens time. Among other items, the Company intends to propose a 3:1 reverse stock split, which the Company believes will bring the Company well in compliance with the Nasdaq $1 minimum bid requirement. The Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on Monday, April 12, 2010 as the re...

TOP Ships Inc. today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009. For the fourth quarter of 2009, the Company reported: - A net loss of $35.9 million or $1.20 per share. The results of the fourth quarter of 2009 include an impairment charge of $36.6 million relating to the write-down of the older two of the Company’s tanker vessels to their fair market values. Excluding the impairment charge, the net loss would have amounted to net income of $0.7 million, or $0.02 per share. - An operating loss of $31.7 million. Excluding the impair...

During a mission in the United States, Fincantieri has announced that the company has gained a new order. In fact Marinette Marine Corporation, Fincantieri’s American subsidiary, will build an oceanographic research vessel capable of working in icy arctic waters (Alaska Region Research Vessel – ARRV) for the University of Fairbanks, Alaska. The vessel, which will be built at Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin, is worth over 120 million dollars. The piece of news has been released today by Fincantieri on occasion of the presentation of the company’s activities in the Unit...

Austal’s next generation 102-metre trimaran has impressed during sea trials, achieving a speed of 39 knots at 90% MCR with 340 tonnes deadweight. The high speed vehicle ferry utilises Austal’s patented trimaran technology to deliver improved sea keeping, fuel efficiency, passenger comfort and payload capacity. Source: Austal ...

Andatee China Marine Fuel Services Corporation, the leading independent operator engaged in the production, storage, distribution, wholesale purchase and sale of blended marine fuel oil for cargo and fishing vessels in Northern China, today announced that it has successfully achieved breakthrough in research on the Company’s proprietary pour point depressant LDY-103 (’PPD’), which will be used as a marine fuel additive to improve the fuel’s performance in winter. The R&D Department of the Company commenced its research and development efforts on LDY-103 in October...

Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, has secured an approximately S$130 million contract to carry out pre-conversion works on the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), the MT SUVA, to be renamed FPSO P62 for Petrobras Netherlands B.V. ? Source: SembCorp ...

Maritime research project ‘BESST’ signed the contractual grant agreement with the European Commission earlier this week. ‘BESST – Breakthrough in European Ship and Shipbuilding Technologies’ is formed of Europe’s leading shipbuilders, including STX Finland, STX France, Fincantieri, Meyer Werft, Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems and Damen Group. In addition, Germanischer Lloyd (GL) along with 20 research institutes and universities, further four classification societies and 31 industrial companies is part of the research network. Initiated by European Economic In...