Sunday, January 12, 2025

YEMEN

Israel Targets Houthi Ports of Hodeidah and Ras Isa With More Airstrikes

Israel's defense minister said that the strikes left Hodeidah - Yemen's primary gateway for food imports - in a "paralyzed" state.

An IAF F-16 fighter assigned to Friday's mission (Courtesy IAF)

On Friday, the Israeli Air Force carried out another round of retaliatory strikes against Houthi targets in western Yemen, including sites at the dual-use ports of Hodeidah and Ras Isa. An IDF source confirmed to the Jerusalem Post that U.S. and British forces were involved in the strikes, but that allied planes were assigned different targets than Israeli aircraft.

Houthi forces have repeatedly launched missiles and drones against Israel in protest of the ongoing Israeli operation in Gaza. In return, the IAF has made several bombing runs over Hodeidah and the western Yemeni coastline, where Houthi forces stage their missile assets. The U.S. military has also repeatedly struck Houthi missile, drone and command post sites within Yemen, including a large-scale operation earlier this week.

The targets of Friday's raid included the Hizaz power station, also known as Hezyaz Central Generating Station - a fuel oil-run powerplant located at the south end of the Houthi capital of Sana'a. In a statement, the IAF described it as "a central source of energy for the Houthi terrorist regime in its military activities."

Israeli F-16 fighters also hit the ports of Hodeidah and Ras Isa at locations "containing Houthi military infrastructure." Yemeni outlet Al-Masirah said that Hodeidah was hit six times and that areas of Ras Isa were on fire. Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, said that the strikes left Hodeidah - Yemen's primary gateway for food imports - in a "paralyzed" state.

The IDF said that it would continue to carry out strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi regime, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that more punitive actions could follow. "As we promised, the Houthis are paying, and they will continue to pay, a heavy price for their aggression against us," Netanyahu said. "The Houthis are a proxy of Iran and they serve the terrorist objectives of the Iranian axis in the Middle East."

2024's Extreme Ocean Heat Broke Records Again, Leaving Two Mysteries

Coral bleaching has become more common in warming seas (file image via iStock / Rainer von Brandis)

[By Prof. Annalisa Bracco]

The oceans are heating up as the planet warms. This past year, 2024, was the warmest ever measured for the global ocean, following a record-breaking 2023. In fact, every decade since 1984, when satellite recordkeeping of ocean temperatures started, has been warmer than the previous one.

A warmer ocean means increased evaporation, which in turn results in heavier rains in some areas and droughts in others. It can power hurricanes and downpours. It can also harm the health of coastal marine areas and sea life – coral reefs suffered their most extensive bleaching event on record in 2024, with damage in many parts of the world.

Warming ocean water also affects temperatures on land by changing weather patterns. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service announced on Jan. 10 that data showed 2024 had also broken the record for the warmest year globally, with global temperatures about 2.9 degrees Fahrenheit (1.6 Celsius) above pre-industrial times. That would mark the first full calendar year with average warming above 1.5 C, a level countries had agreed to try to avoid passing long-term.

Many regions of the world were much warmer than the 1991-2020 average in 2024, including large areas of ocean. C3S / ECMWF, CC BY

Climate change, by and large, takes the blame. Greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere trap heat, and about 90% of the excess heat caused by emissions from burning fossil fuels and other human activities is absorbed by the ocean.

But while it’s clear that the ocean has been warming for quite some time, its temperatures over the past two years have been far above the previous decades. That leaves two mysteries for scientists.

It’s not just El Niño

The cyclic climate pattern of the El Niño Southern Oscillation can explain part of the warmth over the past two years.

During El Niño periods, warm waters that usually accumulate in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean move eastward toward the coastlines of Peru and Chile, leaving the Earth slightly warmer overall. The latest El Niño began in 2023 and caused global average temperatures to rise well into early 2024.

Sea surface temperatures have been running well above average when compared with all years on record, starting in 1981. The orange line is 2024, dark grey is 2023, and red is 2025. The middle dashed line is the 1982-2011 average. ClimateReanalyzer.org/NOAA OISST v2.1, CC BY

But the oceans have been even warmer than scientists expected. For example, global temperatures in 2023-2024 followed a similar growth and decline pattern across the seasons as the previous El Niño event, in 2015-2016, but they were about 0.36 degrees Fahrenheit (0.2 Celsius) higher at all times in 2023-2024.

Scientists are puzzled and left with two problems to solve. They must figure out whether something else contributed to the unexpected warming and whether the past two years have been a sign of a sudden acceleration in global warming.

The role of aerosols

An intriguing idea, tested using climate models, is that a swift reduction in aerosols over the past decade may be one of the culprits.

Aerosols are solid and liquid particles emitted by human and natural sources into the atmosphere. Some of them have been shown to partially counteract the impact of greenhouse gases by reflecting solar radiation back into space. However, they also are responsible for poor air quality and air pollution.

Many of these particles with cooling properties are generated in the process of burning fossil fuels. For example, sulfur aerosols are emitted by ship engines and power plants. In 2020, the shipping industry implemented a nearly 80% cut in sulfur emissions, and many companies shifted to low-sulfur fuels. But the larger impact has come from power plants reducing their emissions, including a big shift in this direction in China. So, while technologies have cut these harmful emissions, that means a brake slowing the pace of warming is weakened.

Is this a warming surge?

The second puzzle is whether the planet is seeing a warming surge or not.

Temperatures are clearly rising, but the past two years have not been warm enough to support the notion that we may be seeing an acceleration in the rate of global warming.

Analysis of four temperature datasets covering the 1850-2023 period has shown that the rate of warming has not shown a significant change since around the 1970s. The same authors, however, noted that only a rate increase of at least 55% – about half a degree Celsius and nearly a full degree Fahrenheit over one year – would make the warming acceleration detectable in a statistical sense.

From a statistical standpoint, then, scientists cannot exclude the possibility that the 2023-2024 record ocean warming resulted simply from the “usual” warming trend that humans have set the planet on for the past 50 years. A very strong El Niño contributed some natural variability.

From a practical standpoint, however, the extraordinary impacts the planet has witnessed – including extreme weather, heat waves, wildfires, coral bleaching and ecosystem destruction – point to a need to swiftly reduce carbon dioxide emissions to limit ocean warming, regardless of whether this is a continuation of an ongoing trend or an acceleration.

Annalisa Bracco is a Professor in Ocean and Climate Dynamics in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech. Her group’s research revolves around climate modes of variability, multiscale dynamics of geophysical flows and their interactions with biological and chemical tracers.

This article appears courtesy of The Conversation and may be found in its original form here.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

HD Hyundai Targets $18B in Orders as Korea Raises Industry Support

HD Hyundai shipbuilding Korea — HD Hyundai is targeting $18.12 billion in orders while it expects to deliver 139 newbuilds in 2025 (HD Hyundai file photo)

HD Hyundai, South Korea’s largest shipbuilder, announced its order target for 2025 increasing it over last year but forecasting slowed industry growth. Recognizing the strong competition, Korea’s Export-Import Bank also said it would be increasing its financing capacity in 2025 for the shipbuilding industry.

The South Korean industry continues to face fierce competition said the president of the Korea Export-Import Bank Yoon-Hee-seong. The bank he reported will be increasing its financing capacity in 2025 by approximately 10 percent to support the shipbuilding industry. According to the reports, the bank will make approximately $8.2 billion in financing available for the export of ships, an increase of $683 million versus 2024.

The bank cited data from Clarkson and others reporting that overall shipbuilding orders are expected to fall by nearly 30 percent in 2025. They projected orders of 42 million compensated gross tons down from 59 million CGT in 2024.

Hyundai said its focus will remain on higher-value vessels and environmental applications such as ammonia dual-fuel as well as new technologies. The company reported in a stock exchange filing that its target for 2025 is $18.12 billion in orders. They are raising the target by 34 percent compared to its target for 2024. However, the company exceeded its 2024 target booking orders valued at $20.56 billion. As such, the target for 2025 is 12 percent lower than the actual results in 2024.

The shipyard highlights that its near-term building slots are committed with years’ worth of backlog. The order targets are divided with $9.75 billion at the largest yard HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, $4.5 billion at the Samho yard, and $3.8 billion at the Mipo yard.

The group started 2025 strong delivering its first vessel, a 174,000 cbm LNG to an Asian shipping company. They highlighted the vessel was ordered in 2022 when the company set a record with 44 orders for LNG carriers. Today, January 6, the group also celebrated the naming of two ammonia dual-fuel vessels at its Mipo yard in Ulsan. The vessels were ordered by Exmar. They also reported that the Mipo yard is scheduled to deliver a 16,000 TEU containership and a 2,800 TEU vessel tomorrow, January 7.

The outlook for 2025 includes deliveries across the major categories of ships. Scheduled completions include 26 LNG carriers, 14 LPG carriers, two ethane carriers, and one liquid CO2 carrier. They expect to complete a total of 40 containerships and 50 crude oil and product tankers.

South Korea’s strategy for combating the increasing competition from Chinese shipbuilders has been to focus on high-value and more complex ships. While China continues to make inroads into the LNG carrier segment, South Korea is pursuing eco-friendly technologies and vessel automation to maintain its position in the shipbuilding market.

ECOCIDE

Ultra-Deepwater Gas Project Off Senegal Makes Big Step Forward

GTA — Greater Tortue Ahmeyim's FLNG mooring and transfer hub (Eiffage Genie Civil Marine)

Senegal and Mauritania are set to become major producers of natural gas after oil major BP announced the first gas flow from the offshore Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project.

In a development that is bound to put the two West Africa nations on the map of major hydrocarbon-producing nations, first gas started to flow from wells to the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel ahead of delivery to the floating LNG vessel for liquefaction.

BP is the operator of GTA, a project that is being developed at a cost of $4.8 billion and which it jointly owns with U.S operator Kosmos Energy, Mauritanian hydrocarbons company SMH and Senegal’s state-owned Petrosen.

The project is one of the deepest offshore developments in Africa, with gas resources in water depths of up to 2,850 meters. When fully commissioned, GTA Phase 1 is expected to produce around 2.3 million tonnes of LNG annually for more than 20 years. It is the first gas development in the new basin offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

The first gas from the project is being introduced to the FPSO, where water, condensate and impurities are removed. The FPSO, constructed by China’s Cosco Qidong Shipyard and which arrived at site in June last year, is expected to process over 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. It will have up to 140 people on board during normal operation.

The gas will then be transferred via pipeline to the Gimi FLNG vessel, which is moored at a terminal about 10 kilometers offshore. Aboard the FLNG, the gas will be cryogenically cooled, liquefied and stored before being transferred to LNG carriers for export. Some of the gas will be allocated to help meet growing demand in the two countries.

Owned and operated by Golar LNG, the Gimi can store up to 125,000 cubic meters of LNG. The vessel arrived at the GTA project in February having undergone conversion at Singapore’s Seatrium shipyard. The vessel was converted from a 1975-built Moss-type LNG carrier and is designed for 20 years of operations on-site without dry docking. It boasts a liquefaction capacity of 2.7 million tonnes per annum and capabilities to operate near shore in 30 meters of water depth.

The flow of first gas from the GTA project is a key milestone for Mauritania and Senegal in their quest to become major gas production hubs. Already the first LNG cargo for export markets is projected in the first quarter of this year.

“This is a fantastic landmark for this important megaproject.?First gas flow is a material example of supporting the global energy demands of today and reiterates our commitment to help Mauritania and Senegal develop their natural resources,” said Gordon Birrell, BP EVP production & operations.

The operator added that the project’s construction activities have generated more than 3,000 local jobs and engaged with around 300 local companies across the two countries.

Samskip and Value Maritime Win Funding for Compact Carbon-Capture System

Value Maritime has secured funding from the Dutch government to install a new version of its carbon-capture technology aboard another vessel owned by repeat customer Samskip.

Samskip has experience with Value Maritime's scrubber/carbon capture systems. It has installed units aboard the boxships Samskip Innovator and Samskip Endeavor, two biofuel-driven feeders that operate between the UK and the Netherlands.

To add carbon capture to another ship, Samskip and Value Maritime partnered to apply for funding from the Netherlands' Maritime Masterplan program, and they were selected. Their demonstration project will develop, build and install a first-of-its-kind, extra-compact carbon capture system for the Samskip Kvitbjorn, an LNG-fueled ro/ro freight ferry that operates between Rotterdam and Hammerfest.

The new variant draws on experience gained from Value Maritime's first-generation CO2 capture/SOx scrubber system, first installed on the boxship Nordica and now used by a growing number of small cargo vessels and tankers. The system can remove and capture up to 40% of CO2 from the ship's exhaust gas, which is then stored onboard.

The model for Samskip Kvitbjorn will have its height and footprint reduced by one third, making it the smallest of its kind in the world, Value Maritime said. It will be combined with an exhaust gas heat recovery system to generate electricity from flue gas, thereby boosting fuel efficiency.

Value Group has also secured a $2 million investment from Energietransitiefonds Rotterdam to develop a hub for CO? offloading and processing in Rotterdam. The Filtree system captures CO2 in liquid amine and stores the resulting mixture in a tank onboard; on arrival, it is offloaded and replaced with fresh amine, and the stored CO2 is extracted onshore. The new hub will manage the CO? offloading and handle the amine processing.

Affordable and Available LNG Dominated Dual-Fuel Vessel Orders in 2024

The shipping industry is looking for CO2-reducing alternatives to bunker fuel, and LNG has become the preferred alternative fuel of choice, according to data collected by DNV.

DNV’s annual review shows that the shipping industry is forging ahead. Last year, a total of 515 alternative-fuel ships were ordered, representing a 38 percent year-on-year increase compared to 2023.

The boom in container and car carrier newbuilds in recent years has been instrumental in the growth of alternative-fueled vessel orders, a trend that was maintained last year. In 2024, the container and car carrier segments made up 62 percent of all alternative fuel orders, an indication that cargo owners were responding to consumer demands for more sustainable practices and a push by liner companies to replace older tonnage.

In 2024, LNG gained prominence as the fuel of choice as market dynamics drove a shift away from methanol, which had a standout year in 2023. Ocean carriers placed an order of 264 LNG vessels in 2024, more than double the number of vessels ordered in 2023.

Considering the industry also witnessed a record number of LNG dual-fuel deliveries - totaling 169 vessels in 2024 - the number of LNG-fueled ships in operation is on the rise. By the end of last year, 641 LNG-powered ships were in operation with the number expected to double by the end of the decade.

A key factor that is propelling the increase in LNG-fueled ship orders is the fact that LNG bunkering is maturing. Last year saw the number of LNG bunker vessels in operation increase to 64 from 52, with the growth expected to continue this year. However, there are concerns that an existing gap between LNG bunkering supply and demand could widen over the next five years based on dual-fuel ship order volume.

DNV noted that building more bunkering infrastructure helps the existing fleet and stimulates future demand at the same time. The European Union is already implementing requirements for a large network of ports to have LNG bunkering infrastructure, which will increase fuel availability.

“As we work towards decarbonizing the industry, we are encouraged by the growth in alternative fuel vessels over the past few years,” said Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen, CEO of DNV Maritime. “While recent figures are promising, we must keep pushing forward. The technological transition is underway, but supply of alternative fuel is still low. As an industry we need to work with fuel suppliers and other stakeholders to ensure that shipping has access to its share of alternative fuels in the future.”

Though orders for LNG vessels dominated in 2024, it was not the only fuel on shipowners’ minds. A total of 166 methanol vessels were ordered during the year, up from 138 in 2023. Most of the methanol orders, totaling 85, were in the container segment. The increase in methanol orders indicates that while liners are facing a challenge due to the slow development of green methanol production, they still believe in a diverse fuel pool.

The same sentiment drove promising momentum recorded in ammonia-fueled vessels. In 2024, there were 27 orders compared to just eight in 2023. The first non-gas carrier ammonia-fueled vessels orders were placed in 2024, totaling 10 in number, half of which were in the bulk carrier segment.

OCEAN WIND POWER

Future Development of Flettner Rotor Propulsion

Wind energy historically provided the basis for vessel propulsion, using sails and sometimes kites. During the 1920s, engineer Anton Flettner developed large cylinders spinning on a vertical axis to redirect a wind stream to produce vessel propulsion. There is scope to combine recent developments in multiple technologies with Flettner cylinders to enhance the performance of wind-assisted and wind-propelled commercial vessels.

Introduction

Flettner rotors are large cylinders that spin on a vertical axis, redirecting the flow of wind energy to produce a reaction in the form of propulsion on large vessels sailing through windswept regions of ocean, reducing fuel consumption.

Flettner Rotor operation might be compared to that of an aerosol can where a small amount of pressure applied to the control button releases a large amount of pressure from storage. A small amount of energy from an electric motor is required to spin the Flettner cylinder, which redirects the flow of wind energy to produce a massive amount of propulsive thrust. There are alternate methods by which to sustain cylinder rotation.

Geographic locations

Several regions of the world experience reliable and steady winds. Coastal winds occur in many regions after sunrise, with wind blowing inland from sea to land and in the opposite direction after sunset. Both wind directions provide the basis for wind-based vessel propulsion, with predominant wind direction determining the choice of wind-driven propulsion technology. While some wind-powered vessels would need to sail directly into headwinds, other vessels would sail parallel to the wind, while even other vessels could redirect kinetic energy from side-winds to achieve propulsion. Already proven technology can convert energy from tail winds and side winds.

Some ship captains had recorded fuel consumption on their vessels on certain voyages, prior to and after installation of Flettner rotors. They reported up to 25% reduction in fuel consumption along sections of the voyage with rotors in operation. Whereas sails of clipper ships delivered up to 3,500-horsepower, groups of deck-mounted rotor sails are estimated to deliver up to and over 10,000-horsepower on voyages that pass through windswept regions of the ocean.

Related technologies

The concept of “convergence of technologies” combines features of existing and proven technologies with large cylinders that rotate on a vertical axis above the deck of a ship. Cylinder rotation requires a small input of power to redirect a large amount of wind energy that would result in propulsion. The cylinders need to rotate either clockwise or counter clockwise depending on wind direction. Bi-directional mechanical gearboxes are available in the railway industry, with bi-directional electric motors also being readily available. Flywheels along with variable ratio transmissions and multi-speed gearboxes are also readily available.

Maritime vessels can carry the weight and accommodate the volume of multiple container size grid-scale batteries that could sustain several days of cylinder rotation aboard commercial vessels. Certain configurations of deck-mounted wind turbines could through gear mechanisms, initiate and sustain cylinder rotation. Waterwheels could likely sustain deck-mounted cylinder rotation after a vessel has reached a suitable sailing speed. During daylight hours, electric energy from solar photo-voltaic panels could energize electric motors that sustain several hours of cylinder rotation.

Wind turbines driving cylinders

Tilting a self-starting, vertical-axis bladed wind turbine by 90-degrees lets it rotate on a transverse horizontal axis. Installed at low elevation above the deck, it would drive a vertical-axis Flettner rotor through a bi-directional gearbox. A deflector would guide wind energy only to the working section of transverse-axis bladed turbine. Above certain wind speed, bladed small wind turbines of sufficient size and spinning on a horizontal axis would be able to sustain rotation of large non-bladed deck-mounted cylinders, allowing them to redirect a massive amount of wind energy to produce vessel propulsion.

An alternative approach could involve low-cost, long-life grid-scale batteries housed inside shipping containers and carried far below deck. Battery-driven electric motors could sustain propeller driven propulsion for short distances, departing from port and sailing into a port. Batteries driving the cylinders via electric motors could sustain vessel propulsion between ports of origin and destination, both located in windswept regions. Future wind-powered vessels could combine batteries, flywheels, water wheels, Flettner rotors, suction sail propulsion along with kite technology on the same vessel, so as to use trade winds and side winds for propulsion.

Conclusions

Wind energy is presently assisting some piston engine vessels with propulsion. There is also growing interest in developing commercial vessels that sail almost exclusively on wind energy, potentially sailing the routes of clipper ships and schooners of an earlier era in both short-sea and trans-ocean shipping. While a small number of wind-powered passenger cruise ships use deck mounted aeronautical wing type sails and kite-sails for propulsion, future wind-powered cruise ships could feature the combination of Flettner rotors, suction sails, and stacked kite technology to provide propulsion.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

Boskalis to Add World's Largest Rock Installation Vessel to Double Capacity

Royal Boskalis, already a leader in marine services with dredging and maritime infrastructure, is taking a unique approach to quickly double its capacity for subsea rock installation. The company announced plans to convert an existing new vessel to become the largest subsea rock installation in the industry.

A shortage of installation vessels is one of the challenges cited by offshore wind power developers. Companies are looking for unique ways to fill these voids and support the anticipated growth in offshore installations.

“With the introduction of the Windpiper, Boskalis will effectively double its capacity and thereby become the largest player in the industry. Scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2026, the Windpiper is set to play an important role in facilitating the energy transition working on offshore wind projects,” reports Boskalis.

The company currently has three SRI vessels. The new vessel, Windpiper is expected to be deployed for its first projects in Northwest Europe.

The vessel will measure approximately 745 feet (227 meters) with over 100 single-occupancy cabins. It will be a powerful vessel with a total installed capability exceeding 31,000 kW. To address challenging offshore conditions, it will also be outfitted with seven thrusters and a DP2 certification.

Its cargo capacity with be 45,500 metric tons and installation will include both a moonpool for the fall pipe installation and an inclined fall pipe, crucial Boskalis says for the protection of offshore structures such as foundations of offshore wind turbines.

The vessel’s substantial capacity, divided over two holds, makes it well-suited says Boskalis for projects with a long transit distance between the rock loading facilities and the project site, such as those along the North American East Coast, the Baltic Sea, and the Southern North Sea.

The size and large capacity aboard Windpiper, Boskalis reports will minimize the number of round trips required. It will ultimately lead to less emissions and lower costs per installed volume of rock.

LA Issues Ocean Water Quality Warning Due to Firefighting Runoff

The initial stages of the fire in Pacific Palisades, January 7 (City of Santa Monica)

The fierce wildfires that have ripped through Los Angeles County over the past two days have destroyed more than 5,000 homes and claimed at least five lives, and the disaster is far from over. While the response is focused on containing the fires and minimizing the cost to lives and property, Los Angeles County has warned that the event will have consequences for the local marine environment as well. Firefighters are drenching affected areas with water from local reservoirs and from fire mains, and the runoff - including an array of unknown toxic compounds - is washing into the sea.

Effective Thursday, the LA County health department has issued an ocean water advisory because of the unusually large volume of runoff from ongoing fire-fighting efforts. The department advised beachgoers to avoid all contact with the surf for now, especially near fire-damaged properties and the outlets of storm drains, creeks, and rivers. The contaminants and debris from firefighting water could create a health hazard for the public, the agency warned. The precautionary notice includes any runoff that is found in pools on the beach sand.

Rows of burned luxury beachfront properties on the shores of Malibu, January 9

The advisory covers the area from Malibu's famous Surfrider Beach all the way to Dockweiler Beach in El Segundo, a distance of about 20 miles of shoreline.

"Individuals who enter the water in these areas could become ill. This advisory will remain in effect until three days after fire-fighting efforts end," the agency warned.

To Save the Sounion, Ambrey Combined Salvage With Security and Politics

In a movie pitch made real, the group had to tow a burning tanker under pressure from terrorists, military forces and governments

Sounion under tow, September 2024 (EUNAVFOR Aspides)

Maritime security firm Ambrey has released the first detailed recounting of the operation to save the tanker Sounion, which was attacked and burned by Houthi forces last fall. In Ambrey's recounting, it may rank among the most challenging salvage operations since the Costa Concordia or the Deepwater Horizon, with the unique risk of operating next to a hostile armed militia.

The Greek-owned tanker Sounion was attacked by Houthi forces three times on August 21, disabling the engine and leaving the ship adrift. After withstanding small arms fire, a possible shoulder-launched grenade, multiple projectiles, and a (thwarted) suicide drone boat attack, the crew of the Sounion asked for help abandoning ship. On August 22, a French frigate carried them to safety.

The next day, Houthi fighters boarded the tanker to plant explosive charges on the main deck and in the wheelhouse. The blasts tore multiple holes in the tanks, igniting more than a dozen fires, which continued to burn while the owners and insurers looked for salvage options.

Ambrey - which had already been engaged to provide security during the voyage - accepted the high-risk job. The Sounion salvage presented unique factors perhaps never seen before in combination, including multiple active cargo fires on a laden supertanker; ongoing risk of attack or hijacking by a well-equipped terrorist force; a high level of political interest and multi-government involvement; and a severe risk of harm to regional food security and economic activity in the event of a spill.

Sounion was located just 60 miles off the coast of Yemen, well within range of Houthi drone and missile capabilities, and she was under continued surveillance by Houthi vessels. In addition to the serious security situation, the tanker and her 160,000-tonne cargo of oil were adrift and burning, threatening to leak, sink, or run aground - any of which could result in a spill up to four times the size of the Exxon Valdez. The clock was ticking.

Courtesy EUNAVFOR Aspides

Ambrey decided that it would not be advisable to carry out a major marine firefighting and salvage operation within reach of Houthi military capabilities, since the group had already attacked the tanker several times. To conduct the salvage, it would be necessary to tow the Sounion while she was still on fire - a task for which there were few precedents or guidelines.

The southern Red Sea has limited local salvage and heavy towage assets, so Ambrey moved to mobilize people and equipment to the area as fast as possible. The Greek-owned salvage tug Aigaion Pelagos would be the lead towing vessel, with a second tug to assist as needed. Government involvement at a high level helped smooth the way for transfer of equipment through customs on an expedited basis.

The operation began in earnest around September 2, but halted September 3 because the response group "concluded that the conditions were not met to conduct the towing operation," the EUNAVFOR security mission reported at the time. It would be mid-September before the team was assembled, all technical details ironed out, and a European naval escort group mobilized provide security. The tow began September 13, three weeks after the ship began burning.

In conversation with Lloyd's List, Ambrey's Joshua Hutchinson explained that the most significant issue with the tow was the political "port of refuge" dilemma. Reducing risk required a safe anchorage, but no coastal state wanted to take the risk of allowing the Sounion nearby. The salvage team needed to tow the vessel north, but Saudi forces did not want to allow the burning tanker near Saudi shores for fear of a spill. It took high-level diplomatic contacts to smooth the disagreement out and secure permission for the transit.

Marine firefighting operations at night aboard the Sounion (JMIC)

On October 9, after three weeks of firefighting, the blazes were out and the holes in the cargo tanks had temporary patches installed. Towing resumed, and at Suez, the process of a slow and careful STS transfer began to remove her oil. The lightering operation ended at last on December 2, and the project began to come to an end - unlike Houthi attacks, which continue over the Red Sea.

Grounded Self-Unloader in Delaware River Has Multiple Damaged Tanks

Salvors responding to the grounding of the self-unloader Algoma Verity have found that the vessel has damage to multiple tanks, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Friday.

The Algoma Verity was northbound from the Port of Philadelphia when it went aground outside the main shipping channel on Wednesday night. The pilot of the 50,000 dwt self-unloader notified the Coast Guard of the incident at 1830 hours Wednesday, prompting an emergency response.

The Algoma Verity is still aground outside the main shipping channel, and Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, salvors, and the vessel’s representatives are working on a plan to safely move the vessel.

One early challenge has emerged. Inspectors have found that four of the vessel’s ballast tanks and one empty fuel tank have been damaged by the incident. There have been no reports of pollution, and the Coast Guard said that it will continue to monitor the vessel for any potential changes.

“There are many different factors when it comes to moving a vessel as large as the Algoma Verity after a grounding and we want to ensure it is done safely,” said Cmdr. Lee Gorlin, the incident commander at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay. “It is too early to have a timeline, but our responders will continue to work closely with our partners to complete the mission.”

AIS data suggests that Algoma Verity exited the channel once before, earlier in the transit, and slowed quickly to one knot - potentially indicating an earlier instance of contact with the bottom in the run-up to the final grounding, according to shipping analyst Prof. Sal Mercogliano.

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