It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, July 21, 2023
ZEME Prepares to Build 10,000-Ton Green E-Methanol Plant in Dalian
Zhejiang Energy Group, together with its subsidiary Zhejiang Energy Marine Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. (ZEME), is preparing to initiate the construction of a 10,000-ton Green E-Methanol Production Project in August 2023. Once operational, it will become the world's first facility capable of annually producing 10,000 tons of green E-methanol. This joint undertaking between Zhejiang Energy Group and Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. (DSIC) will be situated on Changxing Island in Dalian, China. The project, which carries an investment of $60 million, is scheduled to be completed by June 2024.
As a leading state-owned energy enterprise in China, Zhejiang Energy Group has consistently placed emphasis on environmentally friendly and low-carbon development. The Green Methanol Production Project signifies a groundbreaking endeavor undertaken by the company, with a prime focus on manufacturing environmentally sustainable methanol using the advanced "wind power to hydrogen synthesis" method.
Additionally, alongside this venture, the group is finalizing a feasibility study for a larger-scale green methanol production base with an annual output of 500,000 tons. Construction for this expanded facility is expected to commence in the second half of the 2024, with the aim of supplying cost-effective and competitive green methanol to the global shipping market by the latter half of 2025.
Before the project commencement, ZEME has already obtained a letter of purchase intention from well-established shipping companies from liners, oil tankers and bulk carriers. Furthermore, ongoing negotiations with multiple other shipping companies are underway to secure pre-purchase agreements for green methanol. Considering the global focus on energy conservation and emission reduction, green methanol is anticipated to emerge as the preferred fuel choice for ship owners in the future.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.
WSJ: Texas Lightering Firms Too Scared of Iran to Touch Seized Cargo
Iran has repeatedly seized foreign-flag tankers for retaliation or leverage, like the tanker Niovi, seen with Iranian attack boats in the Strait of Hormuz, above (U.S. 5th Fleet file image)
In April, the U.S. government seized the tanker Suez Rajan after it was caught transferring sanctioned Iranian oil off Singapore. The ship and its cargo were dispatched on a 13,000-nautical-mile voyage to Houston, where the oil would be offloaded, sold, and the profits distributed to victims of terrorism. This sequence has played out scccessfully before - but this time, there is a hitch. All of the tanker lightering operators in the state of Texas are too scared to touch the cargo, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The problem starts with water depth. Suez Rajan's laden draft is too deep to reach any shore-based Gulf Coast import terminal without offloading part of the cargo. To get the oil to the refinery, cargo owner Houston Refining needs to lighter it off in smaller parcels using a shuttle tanker. That is proving nearly impossible, because all lightering operators have refused - for two reasons, according to the Wall Street Journal and S&P Global.
The first reason is the fear that the shuttle tanker's reputation will be tainted by its brief contact with Iranian cargo, even if that cargo is fully approved and authorized by the U.S. government. "The stigma of having touched a sanctioned entity's crude will be carried forever in the eyes of the rest of the world," one shipowner told S&P Global.
The second is that any shipowner who lighters the cargo off will have to watch over their shoulder for Iranian reprisals. Iran has developed a reputation for aggressively harassing, boarding and seizing foreign-flag tankers in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, despite the extensive maritime security measures taken by the U.S. and its allies. The leading Gulf Coast lightering operators are global tanker companies, and they own ships that pass by Iran regularly. “Companies with any exposure whatsoever in the Persian Gulf are literally afraid to do it,” one energy executive told the Wall Street Journal.
As a result, the Suez Rajan and her cargo have been anchored off the coast of Texas since May 30, awaiting an owner brave enough to carry out the lightering operation. As of Wednesday, the vessel was still holding position.
The activist group United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI), which first brought the Suez Rajan to the attention of American authorities, said that the case highlights the need for a more substantial U.S. naval presence in the Persian Gulf. With more destroyers and drones patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, the group argues, the Iranian threat would be reduced. "The U.S. cannot enforce oil smuggling sanctions if the shipping and related industry businesses live in fear of Iranian retaliation. Without real American deterrence, Iran can act with impunity to defeat even the best crafted sanctions laws," UANI CEO Amb. Mark D. Wallace told the Wall Street Journal.
Russia Sends Oil Through the Arctic Again to Speed Up Delivery to China
Russia is sending a rare cargo of crude oil through the Arctic Sea to China, a move that will fan environmental concerns even if it means cheaper delivery costs for the nation’s petroleum.
The Aframax-class tanker Primorsky Prospect is heading north up the coast of Norway, showing its destination as Rizhao in China, where it’s due to arrive on Aug. 12. It is one of a handful of tracked cargoes on the route.
European Union sanctions have forced Russia to seek new markets for its crude. Those are mostly in China and India, adding thousands of miles to delivery times and making freight more costly.
While that might make the shorter Arctic route appealing, there has long been opposition to using the sea for merchant shipping. Organizations including the UN’s intergovernmental body for climate change have said doing so could have negative consequences for the region, including higher emissions and threats to marine ecosystems.
Using the so-called Northern Sea Route, or NSR, through the Arctic waters off Russia’s northern coast, could shave as much as two weeks, or about 30%, off the voyage compared with the southern route through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal.
The vessel, built in 2010 and owned by Russia’s Sovcomflot, loaded about 730,000 barrels of Urals crude at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga on July 11-12, according to ship tracking data monitored by Bloomberg.
Eastbound navigation along Russia’s Northern Sea Route halted for winter on Nov. 30.
A previous cargo was sent last year, shortly before the route became impassable. At least two tankers went through in 2019.
Rosatom, which operates the NSR, and Russia’s oil producers are studying a possible redirection of crude shipments from Baltic ports through the Arctic.
Meanwhile Novatek, which operates LNG projects on Russia’s Arctic coast, plans to begin year-round eastbound navigation via the Northern Sea Route at the start of 2024.
On June 25, in the wake of the Russian oil price cap and the failed Wagner Group revolt, the EU announced its new “11th sanctions package." As the war rages on, it is clear that the EU has decided to intensify reactionary efforts, specifically focusing on shipping and transport as key areas of interest.
However, context is important in understanding these recent EU decisions. For decades, the EU had no ‘biting’ sanctions policy, trailing behind the leadership of the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). OFAC’s sanctions peaked under President Donald Trump, tied to fears of a decoupled, bi-polar world of trade – Russia, China, and Iran on one side, and the West on the other. In efforts to keep up, the UK created the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), but European efforts still lagged behind.
Now in 2023, the EU is stepping up in the world of sanctions. 90 percent of the world’s trade is transported via ocean shipping, a crucial artery of trade – and unfortunately, still one of the least governed supply chains. In 2020, both OFAC and OFSI adopted the UN Security Council definition of Deceptive Shipping Practices (DSPs), establishing clear regulations to tackle maritime shipping of sanctioned goods.
But bad actors always innovate faster than regulators, and a new DSP has emerged – AIS spoofing. Historically, the focus has been on “dark activities” – when vessels turn off their location transponders – and “identity manipulation” – adopting a fake identity. Now, the industry must confront AIS spoofing, a DSP encompassing multiple new deceptive shipping practices - most notably location (GNSS) manipulation, during which vessels transmit a fake location.
Both OFAC and OFSI have yet to update the requirements, opening a loophole whereby bad actors – led by Russia – can trade sanctioned goods above price caps. Now, the EU is stepping up, and for good reason. Data showed a 12% increase in location (GNSS) manipulation during H1 2023 compared to last year and an 82% increase over H1 2021, highlighting that the technique has become common practice. Data also shows a 50% uptick in the size of dark fleets between January and June 2023 and a 15% increase in gray fleet size in the last quarter.
Now, for the first time, regulators can directly connect entry of a port or a channel with deceptive shipping practices, and specifically spoofing. This gives authorities the power to block entries – a powerful, fast, and public sanction on players in the dark fleet, the gray fleet, or those trading above G7 price caps.
It’s clear that this regulation gives authorities more teeth, but what does it mean in practice?
By July 24th, port authorities, traders, shipping companies, pilotage service providers and even bunker suppliers, are expected to go beyond mere sanctions-list screening. This requires automated alerts for deceptive practices, with full visibility and detection capabilities for every milestone of a vessel’s journey. Failure to keep up could lead to sanctions breaches, reputational harm, and other penalties.
More specifically, there will now be a port and locks access ban for vessels turning off, manipulating, or spoofing their location and for vessels conducting ship-to-ship transfers when suspected of violating Russian oil restrictions. Tankers engaging in ship-to-ship oil transfers will need to provide 48-hour notice within the EEZ of any EU country.
Furthermore, the regulations also prohibit transit of goods and technology via Russian territory and waters, which might contribute to Russia’s defense and security sector. Accordingly, cargo owners, BCOs, importers, exporters and forwarders operating on their behalf will now be dealing with a world of trade compliance which they haven’t been a part of. When these entities book shipments through a liner, they aren’t in control of the container route, but the onus will now be on them to effectively monitor and control their supply chain.
To implement these provisions, the European Commission, with the assistance of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), must support the competent authorities through, inter alia, the monitoring of suspicious ship-to-ship transfers, incidents of illegal interference with vessels’ AIS, and the exchange of information based on the Union Maritime Information and Exchange System (SafeSeaNet).
The issue is that SafeSeaNet wasn't built for this purpose. It’s a safety system, which the EU now expects to enable sanctions enforcement. Those trading above the price cap have become significantly more sophisticated so it is unlikely that SafeSeaNet can provide effective monitoring and enforcement of these regulations.
On the brighter side, not everyone has to abide by the regulations for them to be effective. Enforcement in key areas may be enough. Hamburg, Antwerp, and Brussels are all hubs for fueling and replenishment, and if enforcement is focused there, sanctions will have a deeper bite and a wider impact on every vessel - regardless of whether its own flag country or local regime is interested in enforcing this.
If indeed the EU can walk the walk, trade flows will change once again, and a new chapter of global trade will unfold before our eyes.
Ami Daniel is the co-founder and CEO of Windward, a global leader in maritime risk analytics.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.
Russia to Treat Ukraine-Bound Ships and Their Flag States as Combatants
The product tanker Millennial Spirit burns in the northwestern Black Sea after a Russian strike, March 2022 (file image)
The Russian government has doubled down on its threat to create "temporarily dangerous" zones for shipping in the northwestern Black Sea. In a new announcement Wednesday, the Kremlin warned that it would effectively treat Ukraine-bound ships as arms carriers - and their flag states as parties to the war.
"As of 00.00 Moscow time on 20 July, all ships proceeding in the waters of the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be considered as potential carriers of military cargoes," the Russian Ministry of Defense warned. "Countries of the flag of such ships will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of Kyiv regime."
The threat also specifies that areas of the southeastern Black Sea - where neutral shipping regularly transits to and from Ukraine's riverine ports - are also "temporarily dangerous." The effects on Ukrainian Danube River shipping are as yet unclear.
Wednesday's threat is more specific than Moscow's previous warnings, and it aligns with Russian actions in the early weeks of the war. Shortly after the invasion, Russian forces struck more than half a dozen foreign merchant ships, killing one Bangladeshi seafarer and destroying one product tanker. Overnight Tuesday, Russia re-emphasized its willingness to use force against civilian shipping interests by striking grain terminals in Odesa, damaging the infrastructure required for Ukrainian food exports.
Moscow withdrew from a negotiated ceasefire for grain shipping on Monday, drawing condemnation from the United Nations and the West. Ukraine held out hopes for continued cooperation with foreign-flag shipowners, even in the absence of a security arrangement; however, the Russian attack on the Port of Odesa and the direct threat against shipping would appear to reduce the odds of shipowner, insurer and flag state interest in the route.
Russia's exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative drew a measured response from the IMO, which refrained from blaming any parties for the outcome. "I deeply regret to learn of the disruption to the Black Sea Initiative. The unimpeded flow of shipping around the globe is of critical importance and central to the work of the IMO," said outgoing Secretary-General Kitack Lim in a statement Wednesday. "The movement of ships through the Black Sea Initiative and its impact in getting food to those who need it most, as well as stabilizing world food prices, is proof that shipping must always continue to move."
Ukraine Threatens to Strike Russia-Bound Black Sea Shipping
Harpoon anti-ship missile launchers in operation. Ukraine is in possession of the Harpoon weapons system, as well as its own locally-produced drone attack boats (Armed Forces of Ukraine)
After Russia's threat to treat all Ukraine-bound ships as possible carriers of military cargo, the government of Ukraine has responded by declaring that the Black Sea is a "danger zone" for ships heading to Russian-controlled ports. With both sides of the war now threatening to target civilian shipping, the outlook for foreign shipowners operating in the region are even more difficult than ever.
"The Kremlin has turned the Black Sea into a danger zone," warned the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, noting that Ukraine possesses the means to conduct strikes at sea. Ukraine's navy has repeatedly used anti-ship missiles and drone attack boats to strike Russian warships, driving the Russian Navy out of the northwestern quadrant of the Black Sea - but it has never threatened to use these assets to attack civilian vessels before, not even arms-transport ships.
Beginning Friday, Ukraine plans to treat all Russia-bound ships in the Black Sea as potential carriers of military cargo, "with all the relevant risks." In addition, it has declared a ban on all navigation in the northeastern Black Sea and the Kerch Strait, an area firmly under Russian control. The busy oil export terminals at Novorossyisk, Russia are located just 50 nm southeast of the Strait.
Meanwhile, Russia appears to be acting on its own threat to make the waters off Ukraine "dangerous" for shipping, according to the U.S. National Security Council.
"Our information indicates that Russia laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports," NSC spokesman Adam Hodge told media in a statement. "We believe that this is a coordinated effort to justify any attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea and lay blame on Ukraine for these attacks."
Russia's Black Sea Fleet has several options for laying mines, including covert deployment by Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines. The attribution for a mine strike would be complicated by both sides' use of the same Soviet YaM-type moored mines.
The Russian Navy's surface vessels will have a harder time joining the effort to harass Ukraine-bound shipping, according to UK intelligence. "[Black Sea Fleet] blockade operations will be at risk from Ukrainian uncrewed surface vehicles and coastal defense cruise missiles," UK Defence Intelligence assessed.
On Monday, Moscow withdrew from a negotiated ceasefire for grain shipping on Monday, drawing condemnation from the United Nations and the West. Ukraine held out hopes for continued cooperation with foreign-flag shipowners, even in the absence of a security arrangement; however, Russian attack on the Port of Odesa and Russia's direct threat against shipping have reduced the odds of securing private sector interest.
American Seafoods Settles Jones Act Enforcement Case for $9.5 Million
The Bayside Canadian Railroad in operation in the years before the lawsuit (CBP / social media)
Two logistics firms affiliated with American Seafoods have reached a $9.5 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, closing out two years of litigation tied to the "Bayside Canadian Railroad." This 100-foot track was created to legalize the use of foreign-flag reefer ships on a cargo route from Alaska to Maine - a route that should have belonged to the Jones Act shipping industry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
For more than a decade, American Seafoods delivered its Alaskan fish to customers on the U.S. East Coast using chartered foreign-flag vessels, acting through its Alaska Reefer Management affiliate. These ships were loaded in Dutch Harbor and would transit through the Panama Canal and up to the port of Bayside, Canada. At Bayside, the cargo was offloaded into truck trailers for delivery to the Eastern United States, completing a 7,500 nautical mile journey between two U.S. points.
The foreign-flag shipment would violate the Jones Act if the trucks went directly to Maine, but the route took advantage of an obscure clause - the "Third Proviso" - which permits foreign-flag vessels to be used if a "through route over" a Canadian rail line is involved in the delivery. To comply with this little-known loophole, each truckload of fish at the Bayside terminal was driven up a ramp and onto the "Bayside Canadian Railway" - a 100-foot stretch of track with two rail cars and no destination. After a short back and forth trip on this Canadian rail line, the trucks would head onwards to the Maine border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection disagreed with this interpretation of the Jones Act, and concluded that it was a "calculated and secret scheme" to circumvent legal protections for American shipping. In August 2021, CBP sent notices of violation to American Seafoods, Alaska Reefer Management, terminal operator Kloosterboer and several reefer shipowners, seeking retroactive fines totaling about $400 million - making it the largest Jones Act enforcement action on record.
Alaska Reefer Management and Kloosterboer filed suit and obtained a federal court injunction to prevent CBP from enforcing the fines. While the injunction held, they finished delivering the remaining fish that had been stuck in transit on the Bayside Route. The rail line was then shuttered and dismantled, and ASC's leadership changed hands, but litigation over fines for past activity continued.
On Wednesday, Alaska Reefer Management, Kloosterboer and CBP filed a notice of settlement, confirming that they plan to end the lawsuit. The reported amount of payment to CBP comes to $9.5 million, or about two percent of CBP's proposed fines against all of the enforcement targets.
Video: Containership Evacuated After Listing and Losing Boxes
Angel, a small containership registered in Palau, is listing off Taiwan (Youtube)
A smaller container ship anchored off Taiwan’s Kaohsiung port is listed and was evacuated today. The port authority temporarily closed the port as salvage teams were working to stabilize the vessel and retrieve containers that have fallen into the ocean.
The Angel is a 21-year-old containership that arrived in Taiwan on July 4 from Dalian, China. Registered in Palau, the vessel is 20,000 dwt and has a capacity of 1,262 TEU. The ship is anchored 2.8 nautical miles outside Kaohsiung harbor with reports that it was loaded with empties and awaiting orders.
This morning, July 20, the master of the containership issued a distress message to the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau reporting that the vessel had assumed an 8- to 9-degree list to port. At least six containers had gone overboard with the master reporting ingress of water into the hull. Some reports are suggesting that there is a crack in the hull.
The master reported that he had decided to abandon the ship ordering the 19 crew into lifeboats. The Coast Guard sent two patrol boats to assist and transfer the crew to shore. Later tugs were dispatched. Authorities ordered the port entrance near the vessel closed while they were working on a salvage plan.
The ship, which is 564 feet in length, is reported to be loaded with nearly 500 tons of low sulfur fuel and light diesel. The authorities ordered two containment booms strung around the ship fearing that it might begin leaking oil. Reports said that the authorities had blocked a plan to tow the ship to Cijin Shoal fearing it would leak oil or further lose stability.
Salvage crew are working to restore stability to the vessel while local news reports are saying that the vessel had begun listing at the beginning of the week. Residents told reporters they had been watching the ship as the list increased day by day.
The ownership of the vessel is reported in the Equasis database as Navramar Shipping which acquired the ship in May 2023. Management is listed as being located in Azerbaijan. Equasis shows the vessel’s class as unknown and reports it was removed from the Indian registry and by DNV as of the beginning of June. Further, the database does not list a Port State inspection since 2018.
Video: Malaysia Searches for Crew After Cargo Ship Capsizes
Cargo ship was located overturned near the southern end of the Malacca Strait (MMEA)
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) is searching for nine missing crewmembers from a small cargo ship operating inter-island while also requesting assistance from neighboring countries. The vessel was located on Thursday overturned and floating near the southern end of the busy Malacca Strait.
According to the report, the Malaysian authorities were contacted when the ship’s operator was unable to contact the ship and reported that it could not be traced. The MMEA dispatched a patrol boat to the area to begin the search retracting the route of the vessel, the Tung Sung.
The Tung Sung, registered in Malaysia, is reported to be approximately 184 feet in length. It was sailing with a crew of nine including four from Malaysia, four from Myanmar, and one from Indonesia, ranging in age between 20 and 52.
The last AIS signal showed the vessel departing the island of Borneo near the Malaysian city of Kuching. The vessel was heading north into the Malacca Strait to Tanjung on the west side of Malaysia north of Kuala Lumpur.
At midday, they were informed that the vessel had capsized and the MMEA sent its fast response boat as well as air assets from the Royal Malaysian Police Aire Movement Team. They located the Tung Sung approximately four nautical miles Northwest of Burung Island near the southern tip of Malaysia and west of Singapore.
As of nightfall on Thursday no sign had been found of any of the crewmembers. The search was suspended overnight and resuming on Friday morning. The search area has been expanded to encompass over 210 square nautical miles.
U.S. Air Force, Good Samaritan Ship Save Missing Fishermen in Micronesia
The U.S. Coast Guard is the primary provider of long-range search and rescue for a vast swath of the Pacific Ocean, and it routinely helps Pacific Island nations to save lost fishermen and citizens at sea - with a little help from other armed forces and from merchant shipping.
On July 12, the Coast Guard station on Guam received a forwarded request for help from the American embassy in Pohnpei, one of the states of Micronesia. Two fisherman had gone missing near Nukuoro Atoll, and they were two days overdue.
The vast expanse of the Pacific makes SAR operations particularly demanding, and a combination of aviation and surface assets are required to carry the mission out. Nukuoro is a case in point: the remote atoll is 300 nm away from Pohnpei and 900 nm from Guam. It is isolated enough that the small population has developed its own language, and its only connection to the outside world is a monthly passenger vessel service.
Since U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam does not have long-range aircraft of its own, it reached out to Sector Honolulu, which dispatched an HC-130J SAR aircraft on the 3,500 nautical mile flight from Air Station Barbers Point to Guam. The U.S. Air Force also pitched in with the services of four C-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft, which added a search pattern onto their departure flights from Guam.
The next morning, one of these aircrews spotted the missing fishermen at a position about 10 nm to the south of the atoll. The Coast Guard checked the AMVER system to see if there might be a participating merchant ship nearby, and it contacted the passing reefer Sea Pearl I. The vessel agreed to divert to rescue the two missing fishermen, and it confirmed later that day that it had picked them up safely.
"Operating in the expansive Pacific region with limited resources poses unique challenges. Recognizing the immense value of commercial mariners in supporting search and rescue efforts, particularly in the vast expanse of the Pacific, we extend our appreciation to these merchant mariners who are willing to divert and rescue others at sea," said Capt. Nick Simmons, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam.
It was the second U.S. Coast Guard-enabled rescue in the expanse of the Central Pacific in a week. On July 10, the service worked with the armed forces of Canada and France to find and rescue a missing fishing boat with 11 passengers in the Northern Mariana Islands, just north of Guam.
U.S. Air Force Pararescue Team Saves Fisherman 1,000 Miles off Costa Rica
Pararescue team prepares to jump into the Central Pacific, July 8 (USAF)
Last week, a team of Air National Guard pararescuemen saved an injured fisherman at a position about 1,000 nautical miles off the coast of Costa Rica.
On July 7, the Costa Rican fishing boat Victoria G sent a distress call and requested medical aid. A crewmember had sustained serious cuts to the head after being struck by a metal pole when a pulley snapped. He was suffering from loss of consciousness, blood loss, and vomiting from the head injuries.
The U.S. Coast Guard's 11th District took the call, but the remote location and the victim's serious condition required special response capabilities. The nearest good samaritan vessel was about 250 nautical miles away.
11th District passed the request over to the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Air National Guard Base, which accepted it and got under way. The next morning, an Air Force HC-130 Combat King II with a Guardian Angel pararescue team took off from Moffett, bound for Mexico City. After a refueling stop, they flew south to rendezvous with the Victoria G. There were several challenges - overcoming a language barrier, finding the fishing boat in the dark, and safely executing the jump.
Image courtesy USAF
"The seriousness of the young patient's injuries was in the back of our minds the whole time we were weighing the risks of jumping a team in at night into such a remote location," said the mission's jump master. "We had to assume his injuries were possibly life-threatening or could lead to permanent neurological damage if left untreated."
An aircrew member handled translation, and after communicating with another boat in the same area, the flight crew found the Victoria G. The pararescue team parachuted into the Pacific Ocean with their supplies, and they safely boarded the vessel. They stayed aboard to assess the patient's condition and provide treatment.
Several days later, they rendezvoused with a larger good samaritan ship, the Royal Midori, which took the Air Force team and the victim aboard. The Midori transferred them to Puntarenaas, Costa Rica.
Divers Find Lost Convoy of World War II LCTs off Cornwall
The wreck of a lost LCT off southwestern England (Royal Navy)
Recreational divers have discovered the wreckage of what may be a convoy of WWII landing craft that sank in a storm off Land's End, UK in 1944.
In the fall of 1944, with the D-Day landings over and the German army in retreat, Allied commanders in Europe began to pivot their amphibious forces to the Pacific theater. The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps were quickly retaking the Pacific, and attention turned to the likeliest end game for the war: an amphibious landing in the Japanese home islands. This would require a large force of landing ships, and in preparation, the 9th LCT Flotilla was dispatched from the UK to join a convoy bound for Asia.
LCTs in action during WWII (Royal Navy)
LCTs are medium-range, fair-weather assets, and the plan was to make part of the voyage under tow with the crews still on board. In mid-October, the flotilla set out from the British Isles to meet up with their convoy. On October 18-19, they ran into a severe storm off the coast of Cornwall, and they were subjected to Force 9 conditions. The tow plan called for limiting exposure to Force 6 at most, and the storm was too much for the small LCTs: six out of the nine towed vessels in the flotilla were overwhelmed by the wind and waves. 100 crewmembers were saved, despite the severe conditions, but 55 were lost at sea. The casualties included a crewmember from one of the ships that came to the aid of the vessels in distress. Two of the larger merchant ships in the convoy had also sustained so much damage that they had to return to port, and a nearby American convoy also sustained multiple casualties.
The six LCTs that went down – 480, 488, 491, 494, 7014 and 7015 - have been missing for nearly 80 years. This year, a team of divers believe they may have found one of the lost landing craft. The team went looking for a shipwreck off England's westernmost tip, and though they did not find it, they ran into a different sort of wreck. The smaller craft they found had sections of lightweight, angle-iron scantlings with riveted construction, typical of the LCT design. The unique shape of the stern tube and stern frame also matched an LCT.
Stern tube and stern frame from the last surviving WWII LCT (left) compared with components from the wreck site (right) (Royal Navy)
“As divers, we never take for granted that we might discover the final resting places of sailors who died fighting for our country,” said diver Steve Mortimer. “We are privileged to suggest that we may have found the remains of LCT 488 or, if not that ship, then a similar craft from World War 2.”
Additional dives are planned to confirm the wreck's identity.
"The tragic story of the lost convoy of LCTs which this wreck brings to the fore is a brutal reminder that in the midst of war our mariners still had to contend with the old foes of unrelenting storms and the cruel sea to sometimes deadly effect," said Dr. Harry Bennett, Associate Professor of History at Plymouth University, who advised on wreck identification.
Biden Uses Steel Cutting of Wind Vessel to Promote Offshore Energy Progress
Biden speaking at Philly Shipyard to mark construction of the first rock installation vessel for the U.S. wind industry (Business Network for Offshore Wind)
President Joe Biden visited the Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania to attend the steel-cutting ceremony for the first U.S. rock installation vessel being built for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. to support the burgeoning offshore wind power industry. Biden used the visit to the shipyard to also highlight the advancements in the U.S. offshore wind industry and announce the next lease auction, the first to be conducted for the Gulf of Mexico.
During his speech, the president highlighted that companies have announced 18 offshore wind shipbuilding projects as well as investments of nearly $3.5 billion across 12 manufacturing facilities and 13 ports to strengthen the American offshore wind supply chain. The vessels range from the first Jones Act-compliant installation vessels to a SOV, and crew transfer vessels. They are being built at shipyards ranging from Florida to Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
The visit was timed to coincide with the construction of Arcadia, a 461-foot long vessel that becomes the first offshore wind rock placement vessel and will be used by Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to enter the offshore wind sector. The vessel was designed by Ulstein and the construction contract, which is valued at $197 million, was awarded to Philly Shipyard in November 2021 along with an option for a second vessel.
The Subsea Rock Installation Vessel is designed to carry up to 20,000 metric tons of rock and will transport and strategically deposit the material to the ocean bottom, laying a foundation for the monopiles which serve as the prevailing support structure for offshore wind turbines. Delivery for the first vessel is expected in Q4 2024, and if awarded the second would be delivered in Q4 2025.
Biden was shown a model of the rock installation vessel being built at the yard (Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp.)
Biden toured the shipyard and used the visit to highlight new data that shows there are more than 4,100 companies in all 50 states that are looking to support the U.S. offshore wind industry. He said the industry already includes nearly 1,500 contracts for work.
Installation of the offshore foundations is now underway for the first two large, commercial-scale wind farms in the United States. Located off New York and Massachusetts both are targeted to complete construction by the end of this year while the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has moved forward with the review of the next two Construction and Operation plans. BOEM reports that it expects to review at least 16 Construction and Operation Plans for offshore wind farms by 2025, which would represent more than 27 GW of energy.
Biden and BOEM also today announced the next wind energy lease auction, which will be the first for the Gulf of Mexico. The areas will be auctioned on August 29 and will have the potential to generate approximately 3.7 GW and power almost 1.3 million homes. One area is over 102,000 acres offshore of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Two other areas are offshore Galveston, Texas comprising a total of approximately 200,000 acres.
In less than a year, BOEM has conducted lease auctions for the New York Bight, Carolina Long Bay, and northern and central California. BOEM has also completed another step in reviewing a potential offshore wind research lease in the Gulf of Maine and is moving forward with plans for a lease area off the coast of Oregon.
Biden has committed the United States to 30 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030.
LCTs in action during WWII (Royal Navy)
Stern tube and stern frame from the last surviving WWII LCT (left) compared with components from the wreck site (right) (Royal Navy)
