15 mar 2019 Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) this month introduced the “Open America’s Water Act of 2019” to repeal the Jones Act, the latest in a series of broadsides over the years aimed at destroying America’s maritime independence. The bill would allow all qualified (foreign) vessels to engage in U.S. …
Read More »BUNKER SPILL ESTIMATE RISES FOR SOLOMON TRADER GROUNDING
14 mar 2019 Salvors have stopped the discharge of fuel oil from the wrecked bulker Solomon Trader on Rennell Island, the southernmost island in the Solomons, and they have removed 230 tonnes of bunkers out of an estimated 600 tonnes on board. However, the existing spill is worse than previously estimated, according to …
Read More »WILHELMSEN AND AIRBUS LAUNCH DRONE DELIVERY TRIAL
13 mar 2019 Airbus and Wilhelmsen have completed what they believe is the world’s first commercial shore-to-ship delivery for ship’s agency services. The team has tested its “Skyways” system in Singapore before, but this event marked the start of its commercial trial operations. The Airbus-built drone took off from the Marina …
Read More »FRENCH AUTHORITIES TRY TO STEM SLICK FROM SUNKEN SHIP
The MV Grande America on fire in the Bay of Biscay, March 12, 2019. 12 MAR 2019 French authorities battled on Thursday to contain an oil slick after the Italian Grande America ship capsized in the Atlantic this week. The Grimaldi Lines container ship capsized and sank on Tuesday, after …
Read More »FIVE CREW KIDNAPPED FROM OSV IN LATEST VIOLENT ATTACK OFF NIGERIA
11 MAR 2019 Pirates kidnapped five crew members from an offshore supply vessel last week off the coast of Brass, Nigeria, marking yet another violent attack highlighting the risks to seafarers and ships in the region, the IMB Piracy Reporting Center has confirmed. One Nigerian Navy guard was reportedly killed …
Read More »OVER 80 INJURED AS HIGH-SPEED HYDROFOIL FERRY HITS WHALE IN JAPAN
10 MAR 2019 More than 80 passengers were reported injured, several seriously, after a hydrofoil ferry apparently struck a whale while underway in the Sea of Japan on Saturday (09th Mar). The high-speed hydrofoil, named Ginga, was underway from Niigata, Japan to Sado Island when the vessel struck what the …
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