ASA, Audiovox Specialized Applications

U.S. federal officials are calling for new safety rules following the fatal sinking of a Missouri amphibious passenger vessel in July 2018.Seventeen of the 31 people aboard the modified WWII DUKW amphibious passenger vessel, or "duck boat", Stretch Duck 7 died, when the vessel sank during a rapidly developing high-wind storm on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo.As part of its ongoing investigation into the July 19, 2018 accident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a marine safety recommendation report on Wednesday that calls upon the U.S.

Pirates attacked an Italy-flagged offshore supply vessel in the southern Gulf of Mexico, injuring two crew members, the Mexican Navy said on Tuesday, in the latest outbreak of robbery and piracy to hit oil platforms and infrastructure in the area.One of the crew members of the vessel, Remas, received a bullet wound, and the other suffered a concussion, and both were transferred to a nearby hospital, the Navy said in a statement.Owned by Italian offshore contractor Micoperi, Remas is a supply vessel for Mexico's oil industry.

Japanese companies have decided to proceed with the deepwater floating production, storage, and offloading system (FPSO) charter project for the Petrobras-operated Búzios pre-salt oil field located offshore Brazil.MODEC, Mitsui & Co., Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), and Marubeni Corporation have agreed that Mitsui, MOL, and Marubeni will invest in a long-term charter business currently promoted by MODEC for the purpose of providing  FPSO for use on the Búzios field off the coast of Brazil.Based on these agreements, Mitsui, MOL and Marubeni will invest in Buzios5 MV32 B.V. (MV32), a Dutch company established by MODEC, and the Companies will proceed with the Project jointly.

Product tanker freight rates softened in the third quarter of 2019 but rebounded strongly at the start of the fourth quarter following an increase in crude tanker rates that began after the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities and accelerated dramatically to multi-year high levels at the end of September when the US imposed sanctions on two subsidiaries of China's COSCO Shipping.Denmark-based TORM said that growth in global demand for oil products generally remained subdued in the first two months of the quarter but showed signs of increased momentum towards the end of the quarter.

In May 2014 National Geographic wrote an in-depth article on shipbreaking operations in Bangladesh where they listed shipbreaking as one of the deadliest professions in the world. The images from these shipyards are well circulated among professionals in the shipping industry. Individuals without personal protective equipment cutting and grinding into a ship that was haphazardly beached and torn asunder by unskilled laborers. Pollution swirl in the nearby tidal area and soot belches into the air. Large sections of ships come careening off endless rows of vessels that litter the beach.