Swedish and U.S. Marines gathered in Sweden’s rocky coastal archipelago to improve their littoral warfighting skills and enhance interoperability during Exercise Archipelago Endeavor 2024 (AE 24).

“This is an annual exercise between Sweden and U.S., and it is the seventh time we conducted  it, but it’s the first time that we conducting the exercise as an ally. Before that, we have conducted the exercise as a partner,” said Lt. Col. Patrik Berge of the Stockholm Marine Regiment, representing the host nation.

The Stockholm Marine Regiment operates “where the sea meets the land,” and serves as a vital link between naval and army forces. Using small units, fast boats, mines, missiles, and mortars, the regiment is the Swedish Armed Forces’ foremost resource in defending the country’s many coastal archipelago areas.

The exercise took place over a several week period in August and September 2024 at the Birga Naval Base south of Stockholm, in and around the Stockholm Archipelago.  

Berge said approximately 500 Swedish and U.S. Marines and Sailors took part in the exercise, including approximately 225 U.S. personnel from the Marine Rotational Force-Europe (MRF-E), which operated alongside Sweden’s (SWE) 1st and 4th Amphibious Regiments.4

Two…

AAL Shipping (AAL) has held a formal naming ceremony for the AAL Antwerp, the fourth vessel in its eight-strong, third-generation Super B-Class fleet.

With the new vessel, AAL has reached the halfway mark in its latest fleet expansion program, aimed at meeting demand demands of the multipurpose (MPP) project heavy lift shipping sector.

The 32,000 dwt AAL Antwerp – a methanol-ready, multipurpose heavy lift vessel – was officially named on November 15 at the CSSC Huangpu-Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou, China in the presence of invited dignitaries from across the local MPP supply chain.

Capable of transporting over 90,000 freight tons of cargo and boasting a combined lifting capacity of 700 tonnes, the vessel is engineered to accommodate an extensive range of cargo types, from heavy lift project equipment to breakbulk and dry bulk all at the same time.

Following her formal debut, AAL Antwerp will immediately embark on her maiden voyage, joining sisterships AAL Limassol, AAL Hamburg, and AAL Houston in servicing project cargo customers between Asia, Europe, Middle East and the Americas.

“The building and employment of one of the project sector’s largest and youngest fleets does not represent the full extent of our investment in developing our…

Norwegian shipbuilder Vard has delivered a newbuild Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV) to Norwind Offshore, which has been named Norwind Helm.

The vessel naming ceremony was held in Ålesund on November 15, 2024, marking the fifth vessel delivery from Vard to Norwind Offshore, a company that offers specialized vessels designed for advanced maritime operations in the development and service of the offshore wind sector..

The CSOVs designed and built for Norwind Offshore are tailor-made for world-wide services, support, and maintenance operations at offshore wind farms.

Norwind Helm is of VARD 4 19 design. The vessel has a length of 85 meters, a beam of 19.5 meters, and is equipped with a height-adjustable and 3D motion-compensated gangway with elevator system, a stand-alone 3D crane, and a height-adjustable boat landing system.

The CSOV is able to accommodate 87 persons on board, and features a battery solutions installed for hybrid operations.

Norwind Helm is third vessel Vard delivered to Norwind Offshore in 2024.

“Norwind Offshore is very pleased to take delivery of newbuild 952 – Norwind Helm from VARD, also delivered ahead of schedule.

“This marks the completion of the construction program we started three years ago, and we have now…

Cadeler’s newbuild offshore wind installation vessel (WTIV) Wind Peak, designed to be able to transport and install up to seven complete 15 MW offshore wind turbine sets per load, has arrived to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, ahead of its first deployment.

The P-class vessel arrived to Rotterdam after 73-day long journey from Cosco Shipyard in Qidong, China.

The vessel has sailed more than 14,000 nautical miles with stops in Singapore, Cape Town, Las Palmas and now, Rotterdam.

Wind Peak WTIV is engineered to operate at some of the most challenging offshore installations worldwide.

With an unrivalled loading and installation capacity, and boasting the most advanced technology, Wind Peak is designed to handle some of the largest wind turbine components in the industry.

It can transport and install seven complete 15 MW turbine sets or five sets of 20+ MW turbines per load.

This means that fewer trips are needed for each project, accelerating installation speed, and minimizing carbon footprint.

In 2025, Cadeler is set to receive the second P-Class vessel named Wind Pace.

The cyber-secure vessels have a deck space of 5,600 m2, a payload of over 17,600 tons and main crane capacity of above 2,500 tons at 53 meters. They are able accommodate 130 people.

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Lloyd’s Register (LR) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) for the joint development of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) system for green ammonia. 

The FPSO process has been widely used in the oil and gas industries, but its application for ammonia is relatively new.  

The unit will use renewable energy to provide power for electrolysis of seawater to produce green hydrogen, which will be combined with nitrogen and synthesized to produce green ammonia, ready for offloading to ammonia carriers.

It is planned to be linked with offshore wind farms in Europe. 

Under the agreement, which was signed at Offshore Korea 2024, SHI will carry out the design for the FPSO and LR will undertake the review of SHI deliverables and provide technical advice for further design development.  

“The green ammonia market is poised to grow rapidly in the coming decades, particularly as a clean fuel alternative for the global shipping industry. LR is looking forward to collaborating with SHI to help meet this demand,” said Sean van der Post, Lloyd’s Register’s Offshore Business Director.

“We are delighted to be working with Lloyd’s Register on this project as a part of our…

Finnish engineering firm Cargotec said on Thursday it would sell its cargo handler business MacGregor to European private equity firm Triton in a deal valued at 480 million euros ($506 million), including debt.

The deal would be pursued to help its on-road load handling business, Hiab, operate as a standalone business, Cargotec said, adding that its CEO Casimir Lindholm would step down and be replaced by Hiab President Scott Phillips as a part of the arrangement.

Hiab would subsequently be the only business remaining under Cargotec as a result of the deal, which would also see Cargotec recording a 200 million euro tax-exempt loss in the fourth quarter. Cargotec estimates Hiab’s comparable operating profit margin in 2024 to be above 14.0%.

“The agreement to sell MacGregor represents the last major milestone in our project to unlock shareholder value by separating Cargotec’s businesses into standalone companies,” Cargotec CEO Casimir Lindholm said.

Cargotec also intends to change its name to Hiab following the transaction’s close, which is expected by July 1.

MacGregor employs about 1,800 people across 30 countries and provides cargo and load handling solutions and services designed to perform at sea for the maritime transportation and offshore…

BIMCO has launched a Ship Recycling Alliance to help accelerate safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships. The alliance will co-ordinate the voices of the ship recycling industry and the shipping industry and help facilitate the global implementation of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC).

The HKC will enter into force in June 2025. This comes at a time when more than 15,000 ships are estimated to be recycled over the next 10 years and the need for compliant yards from main recycling states such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan is critical.

Today, only a minority of shipowners choose voluntary HKC compliant recycling.

“Part of the ship recycling industry is already trying to live up to the HKC standards ahead of its entry into force. To succeed in having our ships recycled responsibly and safely for people and the environment, we need all stakeholders to engage and step up pace. The Ship Recycling Alliance will connect stakeholders, advise regulators and create awareness among the public,” says BIMCO’s Secretary General & CEO, David Loosley.

An important task will therefore be to liaise with the IMO, the Secretariat of the Basel Convention (BC) and the states that are…

Bourbon Logistics has secured a new fully integrated logistics contract by an unnamed oil and gas major to support its exploration campaign and the drilling of its first well in the waters of southern Namibia.

The campaign, estimated to last about six months, marks a significant step forward in the client’s strategy, particularly in terms logistics strategy with the first integrated logistics contract.

For Bourbon Logistics, it is the continuation of the successes already achieved in Namibia with the previous contracts signed with other oil and gas majors.

Bourbon will be in charge of the entire logistics operations’ planning and conduct.

The operations will be supported by its data management system, Bourbon Logistics Suite software, which enables all logistics operations to be planned, executed and controlled from end to end.

Also, Bourbon will provide its three Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs), the Bourbon Diamond, Ruby and Topaz, for the project.

“Bourbon Logistics is mobilized to bring exemplary management of the client’s supply chain, with strict adherence to deadlines and constant attention to the highest safety standards. This new contract confirms Bourbon Logistics’ expertise and recognition by major oil and gas operators to bring…

Ocean services provider DeepOcean and well management and reservoir specialist EXCEED have entered into a collaboration agreement to supply vessel-based well plug and abandonment (P&A) services to the global decommissioning market.

The two companies combine DeepOcean’s subsea engineering competence and extensive fleet of WROVs and supporting subsea vessels with EXCEEDS’s specialist well decommissioning expertise to offer operator a single contract, turnkey P&A service for decommissioning projects.

The offering includes equipment, planning, execution and close-out, leaving a full audit trail to ensure optimum repurpose and re-use of retrieved assets.

The partnership has recently-completed a multi-well, vessel-based P&A campaign on behalf of Serica Energy. This campaign resulted in significant time and cost-savings, partners said, as well as reduced CO2 emissions compared with rig-based P&A activity.

“Our joint competence, technology and assets allow this partnership to deliver safe and efficient offshore operations to clients both here in the North Sea and further afield.  We look forward to cooperating with our clients to develop multi-well campaigns that will deliver significant cost and time savings,” says Robin Mawhinney, managing…