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)
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
MOL to Consolidate Dry Bulk Position by Taking Control of Gearbulk
Gearbulk has the world's largest fleet of open hatch gantry crane and jib crane vessels (Gearbulk)
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines will increase its ownership position in Norway’s Gearbulk Holdings as part of the Japanese company’s strategy to consolidate and expand its position in dry bulk shipping. MOL, which reports it is one of the world’s largest shipping companies with a fleet of over 870 vessels, says the transaction is part of its commitment to accelerate revenue growth.
Kristian Jebsen and his family through their holding company Halberton will sell an additional 23 percent stake in Gearbulk to MOL with the deal expected to be completed by January 2025. Gearbulk first has to complete some internal reorganizations consolidating its open-hatch business and a carve-out of other businesses. MOL will increase its position to a 72 percent stake and consolidate Gearbulk as a subsidiary while Jebsen will retain a 28 percent shareholding in Gearbulk.
“By adding Gearbulk's open-hatch segment business to MOL business, we will be able to offer a diverse range of transport services by a broad range of vessel types,” MOL writes explaining the transaction. The company has been an investor in Gearbulk since 1991.
Gearbulk started in 1968 and was one of the pioneers in open hatch gantry crane vessels. The group has built a leadership position in the segment reporting it has the world’s largest fleet of open hatch gantry crane and jib crane vessels. The group has about 65 open hatch and other specialized vessels with the fleet commercially operated by G2 Ocean, a joint venture 65 percent owned by Gearbulk and 35 percent by Grieg Maritime. G2 will continue to operate as before after MOL increases its position in Gearbulk.
Open hatch is a specialized segment of the dry bulk sector. The vessels are designed to transport unitized cargoes such as forest products, bale pulp, non-ferrous metals, aluminum ingots, and steel products. G2 Ocean also transports conventional bulk and project cargoes. The vessels are also designed so that the cargo can be loaded on top of the hatch or deck, allowing the transport of heavyweight and oversized cargo such as windmill components.
MOL reports that the consolidation of Gearbulk creates synergies such as enhancing the expansion of the group's business base by adding Gearbulk's worldwide network, creating new business opportunities, and boosting the efficiency of vessel allocation. The company also expects these synergies to significantly differentiate it from its competitors and strengthen its cost competitiveness and customer network.
Vineyard Wind Reaches Milestone as Largest Operating US Offshore Wind Farm
Vineyard Wind reports progress as it reaches the milestone becoming the largest operating offshore wind farm in the U.S. (Avangrid)
The Vineyard Wind 1 project passed a key milestone today becoming the largest operating offshore wind farm in the United States. Being developed off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, project developers Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners celebrated reaching 136 MW on their way to a total capacity of 806 MW.
With 10 of the planned 62 wind turbines now in operation, Vineyard Wind 1 is now delivering more than 136 MW to the electric grid in Massachusetts. It surpasses Ørsted’s South Fork which was completed earlier this year and has a capacity for 132 MW from 12 turbines. These two projects were the first large-scale offshore wind farms to begin construction in the United States, although they will ultimately be surpassed by others including Dominion Energy’s project off the coast of Virginia which started construction in April 2024.
The companies are highlighting that Vineyard Wind 1 currently has installed 47 foundations and transition pieces and 21 turbines, with the installation of the 22nd turbine underway. Unconfirmed reports in the local media asserted that the project has encountered unanticipated challenges and weather in the installation process slowing its progress.
Located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Vineyard Wind began offshore construction in late 2022, achieved steel-in-the-water in June 2023, and completed the nation’s first offshore substation in July 2023. Construction flows through the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal.
The project marked its first power delivered to the grid on January 2, when Vineyard Wind delivered approximately five megawatts of power from one turbine to the grid. Following that milestone, the project provided power from each of the first five turbines intermittently, as it ramped up to initial operations, which it achieved in February when the project began delivering approximately 68 MW from five turbines to the grid. At the time, they said that nine turbines had been installed and the process of installing the 10th was underway.
Building on the 136 NW currently being delivered, they report additional power will be delivered to the grid sequentially, with each turbine starting production once it completes the commissioning process.
Vineyard Offshore, the JV operator for the project in March 2024 reported it had submitted a proposal for a 1,200 MW offshore wind project to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island in response to the New England states’ solicitation for up to 6,800 MW of offshore wind capacity. The project, which would be located 29 miles south of Nantucket would be Vineyard Wind 2 with a project operational date of 2031.
The zone south on Martha’s Vineyard and stretching west toward Rhode Island and Connecticut and south to the eastern tip of Long Island is the U.S.’s first cluster for offshore wind. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has moved forward with the approvals for additional projects in the zone and ultimately it will host approximately 10 large commercial wind farms.
Germany Proceeds with RWE, TotalEnergies, and EnBW for More Offshore Wind
EnBW started construction last month on a 2 GW wind farm while Germany approved more projects in the North Sea (EnBW)
Germany Proceeds with RWE, TotalEnergies, and EnBW for More Offshore Wind
Germany approved another offshore wind project and awarded two more leases as it moves forward on its next tranche for renewable energy from offshore wind with a focus emerging on large clusters. RWE reports it was given the green light for the first phase of a large project in the North Sea while both TotalEnergies and EnBW won leases for offshore sites in the latest auction.
The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) announced the decision as it works to move forward with a broad range of renewable energy projects. With over 8.5 GW installed, Germany has the second-largest offshore wind energy capacity in Europe, nearly double that of the Netherlands. The UK, however, remains the leader in Europe at 14.7 GW of capacity, and second only to China.
BSH President Helge Heegewaldt said they are pleased about the completion of the approval process and the progress they are making. "According to the legally defined targets, a total of 30 GW of installed capacity from offshore wind turbines should be connected to the grid by 2030. At the moment we have an installed capacity of around 8.6 GW. With the current planning approval decisions, we have another building block for achieving the goals of the Offshore Wind Energy Act for an efficient expansion of offshore wind energy."
RWE, which already has six wind farms off the German coast in its portfolio, plans to start construction on the first phase of the Nordseecluster A. BSH approved NC 1 and NC 2 which the company reports will permit to implement the first phase of its 1.6 GW cluster. The company has already taken the investment decision and reports it expects to start offshore construction next year. Production of some components has already started.
The Nordseecluster is being built approximately 30 miles north of the German islands of Borkum and Juist. The first phase, which has now been approved, has a total capacity of 660 MW. The 44 wind turbines of Nordseecluster A, each with a capacity of 15 MW, are expected to be fully connected to the grid in early 2027. The second phase, Nordseecluster B, will add another 900 MW of capacity, with commercial operation expected to begin in early 2029. Together, the wind farms in the Nordseecluster will generate around 6.5 terawatt hours of electricity annually.
BSH also concluded its next auction awarding TotalEnergies’s company Offshore Wind One a concession for a location about 75 miles northwest of the German island of Heligoland. It covers approximately 60 square miles. TotalEnergies says this will permit it to build a 3.5 GW offshore wind hub in the North Sea. The new concession adds 1.6 GW of capacity to the 2 GW area the company won last year. It received a 25-year lease which could be extended to 35 years.
EnBW was awarded a lease for an area also approximately 75 miles from Heligoland. Its plans call for a 1 GW wind farm in the North Sea set to enter operations in 2031. The company already operates four offshore wind farms along the German coast and in May 2024 started construction on He Dreiht, which will be the largest offshore wind farm to be built without state funding. Due to enter operations at the end of 2025, it will add 960 MW to the portfolio which consists of approximately 1 GW from the sites in the North Sea and Baltic. EnBW highlights it has been planning, building, and operating offshore wind farms in Germany and Europe for around 15 years. As a company, it wants to expand renewable energy capacity to between 10 and 11.5 GW by 2030 and be climate-neutral by 2035.
Crowley Formally Christens eWolf, its First Electric Tug
Crowley Maritime has formally christened its long-awaited electric harbor tug, the eWolf, in a ceremony in San Diego. The vessel will begin providing commercial services at the Port of San Diego this week.
"The all-electric tugboat is the most technologically advanced vessel of its kind, and eWolf will help our customers and communities reach their decarbonization goals," said Tom Crowley, Chairman and CEO. “We congratulate the people whose tireless dedication brought the eWolf to fruition with our partners at the federal, state and local government, setting a new standard not just in America, but globally."
The small tug packs a considerable punch. Its battery-electric drive can produce 70 tons of bollard pull - more than the conventional tug it replaces. Its six-megawatt-hour battery array has enough power to run the workboat for a full day. For backup and transits, it has two generators on board. In normal operation, it produces zero onboard emissions - a highly-valued attribute for meeting California's stringent air quality standards - and it is expected to reduce NOx emissions by 178 tons and CO2 emissions by 3,100 metric tons during its first 10 years of service.
"Portside communities, like Barrio Logan and National City, breathe more diesel pollution than 90 percent of California communities," said CARB board member Diane Takvorian. "The eWolf will contribute significantly to creating a healthy environment for all."
The eWolf's name is a tribute to the first Crowley tug in California, the Sea Wolf. It was constructed by Master Boat Builders of Alabama, and it was outfitted with an integrated propulsion, electrical and energy storage package from ABB. It was ordered in July 2021, went out on sea trials in December 2023 and was delivered to the operator in late January 2024. Crowley has constructed a microgrid recharging station to keep its batteries topped up.
To get the projet across the finish line, Crowley had support from the port, the local air quality district, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the EPA and the Maritime Administration.
AI Image Tools May Help Autonomous Ships Drive Safely in the Arctic
Researchers collect ice samples, while colleagues on board the research ship Kronprins Haakon keep watch for polar bears. Photo: Daniel Albert, SINTEF
Imagine an autonomous ship sailing through one of the world’s most extreme ocean areas. Sea ice is everywhere. Fog, snow or rain make visibility extremely poor. Just like ship captains see through their eyes, autonomous navigation algorithms perceive the world through sensors, and bad weather is just as impenetrable for sensors as it is for sea captains.
Getting rid of poor visibility
With the rise of Arctic shipping, something that can remove the bad weather from the images so the algorithms can see the surroundings as if it were a clear, sunny day could be extremely useful. Now, PhD candidate Nabil Panchi at NTNU’s Department of Marine Technology has developed an algorithm that can do just that.
“We have put in place a new piece of the big puzzle for better modeling of sea ice,” Panchi said.
Current AI algorithms work well on clear images, but they struggle when images become blurry or degraded due to bad weather.
Panchi, who is also a naval architect, has used thousands of images from the Arctic to train the new algorithm so it filters out visual impediments such as rain, snow, and fog, as well as water droplets on the lenses of the cameras that many vessels are equipped with.
Panchi is affiliated with the DigitalSeaIce project, which is focused on multi-scale integration and digitalization of Arctic sea ice observations and prediction models. The main objective is to build a digital infrastructure that integrates regional sea ice forecasting models and local ice-related models with shipboard and satellite-based Arctic sea ice and environmental observations.
Understanding the environment via images
“Our work is about understanding the Arctic environment through the use of images. We are creating algorithms that work in all weather conditions” says Panchi.
His research is based on thousands of images taken on a voyage with the research ship Kronprins Haakon in the Arctic during the summer of 2023.
In collaboration with his academic supervisor, Associate Professor Ekaterina Kim, he recently published the article ‘Deep Learning Strategies for Analysis of Weather-Degraded Optical Sea Ice Images’ in the IEEE Sensors Journal.
Panchi and Kim are introducing two ways of helping ships travel more safely in bad weather in the Arctic, by “removing” the weather from images. One uses artificial intelligence to clean up the images, so that existing algorithms work as they should. A slightly more efficient way is to develop new algorithms that work during bad weather.
“Both strategies allow us to understand the Arctic in all weather conditions,” Nabil says.
Cleaned images already in use in cities
Algorithms that can remove weather from images have been in use for a long time, but primarily in urban areas. They are used to develop autonomous cars, and in security and camera surveillance.
Current algorithms that analyze sea ice are largely based on images taken from ships in good weather conditions. The problem is that images from the Arctic are often unclear due to the fog, rain, and snow that are common weather conditions in these waters. These types of images are poor material for the existing algorithms that are designed to understand the Arctic environment.
The algorithms also need to be trained to analyze the type of ice surrounding the ship, so they can indicate where it is safe to break through the ice, and which areas the ship should avoid.
The first open-access dataset of sea ice images
In order to remove fog and raindrops, algorithms must be trained to clean up weather-affected sea ice images. “This area of research had largely been ignored so far. The problem has been limited access to clear images from the Arctic – until now. We hope that our new open-access dataset helps in future development of weather resilient technology,” Panchi says.
Panchi’s supervisor Ekaterina Kim has worked extensively in the Arctic, and in recent years she has been exploring how AI can be adopted to solve some of the challenges that exist in polar regions.
The two NTNU researchers have now made the SeaIceWeather dataset publicly available online. It contains thousands of images and is the first open-access data set for sea ice.
Facilitating safer voyages
“There are very few open-access datasets of this type. A huge amount of work goes into making them. We hope they are used as much as possible,” says Panchi.
Rain on one, clear weather on the other. When fed with a weather image, the AI model removes the raindrops and produces a much clearer image of the ship’s surroundings.
Each picture comes in two versions: a ‘clean’ version with a clear view, and an unclear one due to weather conditions. NTNU researchers hope that the SeaIceWeather dataset will be used by more people and that it inspires them to collect these types of images.
Many of the users are researchers who are working on sea ice and navigation models, or dynamic positioning. These systems must work in all weather conditions, and the more images the algorithms are given to learn from, the more accurate the monitoring, ice warnings, and navigation will become – something which is very much in demand.
An AI-based system for sea ice analysis helps the crew understand the ship’s surroundings. “We can use this information to develop advanced systems to avoid collisions, for safer navigation and the best sailing routes possible. The latter will also help reduce emissions,” says PhD candidate Nabil Panchi (Illustration: Nabil Panchi)
More ships – and inexperienced captains
Global warming is causing sea ice to melt, increasing the amount of Arctic shipping. More and more shipping companies are choosing these new routes that have now become ice-free. Between 2013 and 2019, ship traffic in the Arctic increased by 25 percent.
“It takes a lot of experience to navigate safely through sea ice. There are probably more ships in polar waters now than there are experienced sea ice captains. The system we have built can provide better assistance for people maneuvering the ships,” says Panchi.
Arctic sea ice has become thinner, cracks more easily, and can make massive ice ridges or hummocks. From the bridge of a ship, only one meter of ice might be visible sticking up above the surface, but not the 4-5 meters hidden below. The likelihood of dents and hull damage is high, and not all ships are built to break through ice.
An AI-based system for sea ice analysis helps the crew understand the ship’s surroundings. “We can use this information to develop advanced systems to avoid collisions, for safer navigation and the best sailing routes possible. The latter will also help reduce emissions,” says PhD candidate Nabil Panchi
At the same time, autonomous shipping holds the potential to revolutionize the shipping industry – making it more efficient and safer. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global autonomous ships market size is projected to grow from $6.11 billion in 2024 to $12.25 billion by 2032.
“We expect more autonomous technology on ships navigating through ice, and current systems need to be trustworthy in the extreme Arctic environment,” says Kim.
30 days of data capture
Panchi has trained the algorithms on two image datasets: one collected during the GoNorth voyage on Kronprins Haakon, the other obtained from online image databases.
He mounted two cameras on one side of the ship, with one camera directly under the other one. The upper camera had a clear view, while they had mounted a transparent screen in front of the lower camera, which was sprayed with water to simulate raindrops on the lens.
In the observation room on the ninth deck, Panchi’s computer continuously downloaded the images of sea ice. For 30 days, he collected thousands of pairs of images, each of which consisted of one clear image and one covered with artificial rain.
Training algorithms
In total, the datasets consist of over 4600 clear images, most of them from the research voyage. Using algorithms, they created seven weather variants for each clear image: small, medium and large snowflakes, rainy weather, fog, and real and simulated raindrops on the camera lens.
Based on these variants, they then created the two datasets. One of them presents images that indicate what kind of ice is located around the ship. The other dataset divides the ice into different categories, such as ice floes, pancake ice, ice slush, drift ice, etc.
Three different image-cleaning algorithms were trained on the datasets, and when the researchers compared the results with the clear images, they could easily tell which algorithms were most accurate in relation to the different types of weather.
Only daylight and three types of weather
The method is limited in that all the images are taken in broad daylight and involve only three types of weather conditions. Panchi points out that since the Arctic is in darkness from September to March, similar images should ideally be collected during the winter. However, it is also fully possible to use Augmented Reality (AR) and create an artificial winter or night-time version of the existing images.
“So far, it’s mainly researchers who can use what we have done, but we hope that more people will use it in the future. There are many factors affecting when this will actually happen; it may take up to 5 years before the models can be used commercially. They must then be of a quality that make them a fully reliable assistant for ship management,” Nabil said.
Reduced emissions
The largest ships use enormous amounts of fuel. They sometimes have to sail back and forth into the ice in order to break through, which requires a lot of energy.
“If you fully understand the conditions surrounding the boat, you or AI can plan the route and save time, effort and therefore emissions. It will also make shipping safer. There are a growing number of tankers carrying liquefied natural gas and other cargo sailing through the Arctic. So far, there haven’t been any oil spill incidents, but if one were to occur, it would have serious consequences,” says Panchi.
A lot of unused image data
Monitoring polar waters is also important with regard to climate change. Many ships have cameras and sensors that monitor their course. There are lots of ships producing images, but hardly any of these images are available online. According to Panchi, most of the images end up in maritime data archives, and – apart from a few insurance cases – are never used.
“We see great opportunities in extracting useful data from these images. One of our goals is to develop algorithms that can be improved in real time, on site. Improving how we monitor Arctic waters will benefit society. It will provide a better basis for forming policies, and for sustainable and safe use of Arctic waters,” Panchi said.
This article appears courtesy of Gemini Research News, and it may be found in its original form here.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.
Russia’s shadow fleet is moving oil into four different areas in the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, according to a recent report in the U.S Naval Institute’s Proceedings. The oil is moved through a complicated net of ship-to-ship (STS) transfers. The so-called shadow fleet is a collection of aging and weathered tankers with unknown or shady insurers, and it is helping Russia evade Western-imposed sanctions on shipping.
The Russian Federation’s main source of income comes from fuel and energy exports. Following the invasion of Ukraine and the ban of Russian oil sold above a price cap, the Kremlin had to find a way to keep the oil flowing out. Russian interests created a parallel, sanction-proof fleet able to move millions of barrels per day.
The shadow fleet relies on ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in order to mask the source of Russian oil. The locations identified as STS transshipment areas include the Laconian Gulf, Hurd’s Bank near Malta, an area off Ceuta, and a suspicious spot off the coast of Romania. In these locations, tankers carrying Russian crude and oil products usually meet up and engage in STS transfers. With this sanctions-evasion behavior, Western-insured tankers can carry oil or products priced above the G7 price cap on Russian oil, and therefore earn from the shipments. At the same time, the Russian Federation can keep its exports flowing to pay for their war in Ukraine.
Fig. 1: Countries Involved in STS operations. Sources: Lloyd’s List Intelligence, Windward, European Space Agency, Authors.
Technically, moving Russian oil is not entirely illegal. If the oil is purchased below a certain threshold, which is $60 per barriel for crude (and $45 and $100 for discount and premium oil products, respectively), Western-insured tankers can ship this cargo. The measure has been taken in order to prevent global energy prices from skyrocketing, at the same time, to limit the Kremlin’s revenues. However, Urals oil has been trading significantly above the threshold since July 2023, and so has the ESPO blend, which never went under the price cap. With these oil prices, there is a heightened need for sanctions compliance monitoring and due diligence.
There are many cases where Western-insured oil tankers loaded crude or products in Russian ports at times when oil prices were – and are – above the limit, making it difficult to assess if the shipping were legal. Moreover, since transaction prices are available only to brokers and traders, to assess if a delivery is compliant is more difficult than it may appear. However, the fluctuation of oil prices may be helpful to give a general indication.
If this is combined with Identification Deception Tactics, such as spoofing or AIS blackouts, the shady nature of the transshipments appears evident. Indeed, there are many tactics employed by Russian-related tankers, ranging from AIS disappearance to spoofing, but especially the blending of oil in floating oil hubs or storage; shady tankers loitering in known transfer areas; and receiving cargo from different countries. After the blending procedure, the oil is then transferred to other ships that, as a result, don’t have to prove any attestation of compliance – since the oil is no longer labeled as Russian.
In all of this, the often under-maintained tankers are dangerous environmental time bombs ready to explode, as the case of thePabloor the more recent case of Andromeda Starremind us. New upcoming sanctions of the European Union and the United States are expected to fix some of the loopholes exploited by the so-called Shadow fleet and the STS transfers, but the numbers are so high that constant monitoring is needed.
More detailed insights into the operation of the Russian shadow fleet may be found in the author's recent USNI Proceedings article, available here.
Alessio Armenzoni is a geospatial intelligence analyst working on projects related to maritime security. He studied at the Centre for Higher Defense Studies from the Italian MoD.
Giangiuseppe Pili (Ph. D.) is an Assistant Professor in the Intelligence Analysis Program at James Madison University. He is an Associate Fellow at Open Source Intelligence and Analysis at the Royal United Services Institute.
Gary C. Kessler, Ph.D, CISSP is co-author of "Maritime Cybersecurity," 2/e and a maritime cybersecurity researcher and consultant. He is on the advisory board of Cydome and a principal consultant at Fathom5.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.
Boater Fined $34,000 for Going the Wrong Way Up Dover Strait Traffic Lane
A recreational fisherman has been fined $34,000 for multiple breaches of the rules of the Dover Strait Traffic Separation Scheme, which caused considerable disruption in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
On September 14, 2022, HM Coastguard's Rescue Coordination Center in Dover spotted a small fishing boat headed the wrong way up the southwest Traffic Separation Scheme - not just once, but multiple times in the same day. The boat was the Reel Fun 2, owned and operated by UK resident Simon Hughes, 64.
HM Coastguard tried to reach the Reel Fun 2 several times by radio, but received no response. In order to alert shipping to the risk, the rescue coordination center broadcast a "rogue vessel warning" to all merchant vessels in the TSS. Meanwhile, a Royal Navy vessel intervened and intercepted the fishing boat to establish contact.
The Rules of the Road require vessels to travel in the correct lane and the correct direction in a traffic separation scheme. Vessels under 20 meters in length "shall not impede the safe passage of a power-driven vessel following a traffic lane," and a breach of this requirement is a COLREGS violation.
"Failing to comply with the rules may cause confusion on the bridge of large ships, resulting in alteration of speed and course. This can have a knock-on effect for other large ships, creating an unnecessary hazard to shipping," said MCA Investigator Mark Flavell.
Hughes was convicted and sentenced on June 12. He was ordered to pay fines, victim surcharges and prosecution costs totaling $34,000.
AIS data shows that Reel Fun 2 continued to ply the waters of the English Channel as recently as April 2024.
Wison Becomes First Chinese Yard to Quit Russian Market
Chinese LNG specialist Wison New Energies has become the first Chinese shipyard to leave the Russian market, abandoning its lucrative role in Novatek's giant Arctic LNG 2 project. The firm announced its decision in a LinkedIn post last week.
"Wison New Energies' Board of Directors has decided to discontinue all ongoing Russian projects and will immediately and indefinitely stop taking any new Russian business," the firm said in a statement. "We appreciate the good relationship we have established with our Russian partners in the past and value the work we have done together. However, considering the company's strategic prospects, we have to make this difficult decision"
Wison is one of the world's leading builders of LNG process modules, including complete floating LNG liquefaction plants for offshore production. It was one of several Chinese offshore contractors who won bids to supply process modules for Novatek's Arctic LNG 2 expansion plant on the Gulf of Ob. The core components of the terminal - the liquefaction trains - are being built atop three giant gravity-based structures (GBSs) made of concrete, which will be floated to the site and partially sunk onto permanent resting places alongside the shore.
The first GBS has already been completed and installed, but work on the second and third trains has been delayed by the withdrawal of Novatek's Western suppliers. Blue-chip companies like Mammoet, Baker Hughes, Saipem, Boskalis, Technip and Linde have all quit, and Novatek has had to attempt to replace these engineering and maritime specialists with less well-known alternatives - and often, to redesign the plant around substituted components.
The U.S. Treasury has begun sanctioning Novatek's remaining suppliers, starting with JSC Energies, Nova Energies, Singaporean module carrier specialist Red Box, and Abu Dhabi-based Green Energy Solutions. Last week the Treasury also blacklisted Chinese shipbuilder Penglai Jutal Offshore Engineering Heavy Industries (PJOE), one of Wison's peers and a major supplier of process modules for the Arctic LNG 2 project.
Wison has so far escaped the U.S. government's attention, though it was a major contributor to the plant. As recently as January, four gigantic modules for the Novatek plant's Train 3 were visible in satellite imaging of the Wison yard in China, according to High North News.
Wison's announcement that it is quitting Russia does not necessarily mean that Novatek will lose a supplier. It is still possible that Wison's contract with Novatek could be fulfilled, under new ownership. In its statement Friday, Wison's board said that it is selling its entire stake in its Zhoushan facility, where the modules for Arctic LNG 2 were being assembled. Wison will no longer have any business connections with the Zhoushan yard.
Cleared of the risk of a possible U.S. sanctions designation over its activities in Russia, Wison will be free to pursue export contracts with other clients. On the same day as its announcement that it was departing Russia, Wison announced that it had won a $1.2 billion order for an FLNG from Malaysian conglomerate Genting Bhd.
GREECE
Prosecutors Seek Arrest of Yacht's Passengers for Sparking a Wildfire
Prosecutors in Piraeus are seeking the arrest of a luxurious superyacht and the detention of its 13 passengers and crewmembers, who are suspected of starting a wildfire on a popular resort island south of Athens.
Greece is currently in the midst of an intense heat wave, and temperatures passed the 110 Fahrenheit mark in some areas this month. An extreme fire risk warning was in effect last week because of the high heat and the potential for high winds, which can drive runaway forest fires. The warning came along with a ban on many activities that have the potential to start wildfires.
On Friday, a giant forest fire broke out on the island of Hydra. The blaze burned through 3,000 acres of the island's pine forest in 24 hours before responders managed to limit its spread. To get it under control, the authorities had to dispatch six aircraft and two firefighting teams, climate minister Vasilis Kikilias said.
According to prosecutors, the blaze on Hydra was sparked by a banned volley of fireworks launched from the deck of the 175-foot superyacht Persefoni I. The master of a nearby vessel reported that he witnessed fireworks or flares coming from the yacht before the forest fire, according to local media reports.
The vessel's crew were detained in Piraeus on Sunday and brought before a criminal court. The passengers are Kazakh nationals, according to local media.
"What was destroyed was absolutely beautiful pine forest and on the night in question, because of the winds, fireworks were banned. To use them was utterly irresponsible," said Hydra's mayor, Giorgos Koukoudakis.
If the fire on Hydra had been avoided, it would have freed up resources for use elsewhere, authorities noted. Greek firefighters were battling multiple serious blazes across the country last weekend, and the aircraft and fire teams could have been deployed to one of these other locations.
The case has captured public attention in Greece. If it goes to trial, and prosecutors secure a conviction, the punishment could be stringent. Greece has strengthened its anti-arson laws after a string of tough fire seasons, and the penalty for starting a fire can now reach up to 20 years in prison or a fine of $250,000.
Sovcomflot Tanker Reports Crew Rescue from Sinking Vessel Off Yemen
Lavant was abandoned due to uncontrollable flooding (Sovcomflot)
The Russian state tanker operator Sovcomflot released information and photos of a crew that was forced to abandon its vessel south of Yemen over the weekend. Neither Sovcomflot nor the UK Maritime Trade Organizations mentioned an attack by the Houthi or the reasons the ship was in distress. Security analysts are saying they are uncertain if the vessel was the victim of a Houthi attack while the UKMTO classified it as a SOLAS incident.
The crude oil tanker NS Africa (111,682 dwt) was reported sailing from India back to Europe after delivering Russian oil when it received the distress call from a vessel Sovcomflot identified as the Lavant. The NS Africa is one of the tankers Sovcomflot transferred to Dubai-based management and from the Liberia flag to Gabon at the beginning of 2024.
The Lavant appears to be a mysterious vessel that is reported to be registered in Comoros without a valid IMO identification number. Russian media reports state the ship was sailing from the UAE to Somalia when the distress call was issued.
According to Sovcomflot, it took them just an hour to reach the position which was 96 nautical miles southeast of Nishtun, Yemen. They reported that the 19 crewmembers, who are from India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, had already left the tanker and were floating in a life raft.
Rescued crew aboard the Russian tanker (Sovcomflot)
The crew of the NS Africa retrieved the 19 individuals and provided food and water. The media stories are saying the Lavant sank off the east coast of Yemen on June 23.
Sovcomflot’s said that the NS Africa was proceeding to the Suez Canal. They report the rescued individuals will be disembarked at Suez on June 29.
The UK Maritime Trade Organizations on June 23 said it had received a report from an unnamed vessel in the same location reported by Sovcomflot. They confirmed uncontrolled flooding on the vessel and said the master had informed them that they were abandoning ship.
Fishing Community Settles Lawsuit Five Years After Golden Ray Wreck
Fishermen allege lasting pollution after the Golden Ray heeled over in Georgia with over 4,100 cars aboard (USCG photo)
Plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits stemming from the 2019 wreck of the car carrier Golden Ray have reached an out-of-court settlement nearly 20 months after they sued alleging continuing contamination and loss of livelihood. It is the latest in the legacy of the wreck that took two years to clear from St. Simons Sound.
Commercial fishermen and charter boat guides and operators filed suit in U.S. District Court in September 2022, three years after the vessel heeled over in the bay and a year after the completion of one of the largest salvage efforts. The wide-reaching suit named the owners of the vessel, Hyundai Glovis as the operator of the car carrier, the staffing agency, and the local port agent in Brunswick, Georgia.
Terms of the settlement are confidential, but it was revealed in a filing to the court. The Brunswick News reported that the U.S. District Court’s Southern District of Georgia accepted the deal and a stipulation to dismiss the suit. Attorneys for the fishermen confirmed to the newspaper that a confidential settlement had been reached.
The suit filed on behalf of at least 30 commercial fishermen, including shrimpers and crabbers, as well as other commercial charter boat operators, contended the area’s waters remained heavily polluted. The initial filings claimed that the oil and other residues that leached from the wreck continued to degrade the water quality. They cited the initial leaks from the vessel as well as subsequent discharges during the salvage operation. They also cite the fires and other problems during the removal and remediation efforts.
Shrimpers told the newspaper that their catches remained diminished years after the incident. They have contended in past reports that they were still finding debris from the vessel and 4,161, cars that were aboard. They cite reports of debris washing ashore as well as contending that there are still parts on the seafloor. In addition, the Golden Ray had 380,000 gallons of fuel aboard when it heeled over and despite pumping and a containment effort, there continued to be leaks at various times during the salvage operation.
The Georgia county where the wreck occurred also filed suit in March 2022 alleging lost revenues and lasting environmental damage. Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division also took action against Hyundai Glovis imposing in November 2021 its largest-ever fine against a company. Hyundai Glovis was ordered to pay $3 million for the discharge of oil and pollutants into the waterway.
Fig. 1: Countries Involved in STS operations. Sources: Lloyd’s List Intelligence, Windward, European Space Agency, Authors.
