Maritime Vessels Directory

Orcas behavior of battering sailboats off Spain and Portugal baffles expertsThere are many mysteries in the maritime environment. For Sailors along Spain and Portugal’s Atlantic coastline, there has been a recent series of puzzling incidents involving apparently aggressive orcas.While orcas are not known to attack humans, they can cause damage to boats. In a series of incidents along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts between Gibraltar and Galicia, groups of orcas have been recorded swimming near sailboats and other vessels, and in some cases acting together in such a way as the people on those boats thought themselves to be in grave danger.

'Oil Spot' Reported Near Decaying Tanker off Yemen

2 hours ago

Saudi Arabia warned the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that an "oil spot" had been seen in a shipping transit area 31 miles (50 km) west of a decaying tanker that is threatening to spill 1.1 million barrels of crude oil off the coast of Yemen.The Safer tanker has been stranded off Yemen's Red Sea oil terminal of Ras Issa for more than five years. The United Nations has warned that the Safer could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska.In a letter to the 15-member body, reviewed by Reuters, Saudi Arabia's U.N.

Owner of Fire-hit Tanker to Pay $1.8 Mln for Sri Lanka's Help

4 hours ago

The owners the New Diamond supertanker which caught fire with a cargo of two million barrels of oil aboard has agreed to pay 340 million rupees ($1.84 million) to Sri Lanka for its help in extinguishing the blaze and averting disaster.The interim claim is for services provided by the Sri Lankan navy, air force, ports authority and Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) after the fire on Sept. 3 until Sept 15, said Nishara Jayaratne, coordination officer of Sri Lanka's Attorney General.Insurers of the vessel West of England will settle the bill, MEPA Chairperson Dharshani Lahandapura said.

Powering the World's First Fleet of Robot Ships

4 hours ago

The maritime and scientific community have set themselves the ambitious target to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. Volvo Penta and Danfoss Editron will play a role by powering a novel fleet of unmanned surface robots for subsea exploration.The companies have been commissioned for the unique venture by Grovfjord Mek. Verksted (GMV) shipyard, to power the world’s first fleet of autonomous robot exploration vessels for commercial use. The seafloor analysis and oceanography company Ocean Infinity has invested in the ‘Armada’ fleet of super-advanced unmanned vessels. The fleet will be made up of two sizes of vessels both of which will be 100% diesel-electric.

Helsinki Shipyard Lays Keel for Swan Hellenic's New Cruise Ship

an hour ago

The keel laying ceremony for the first of Swan Hellenic’s two new ice-class expedition cruise ships took place in Helsinki today. This saw the first 347-ton block of the ship – newly arrived from Klaipeda, where it had been outfitted and painted – being set on the keel over coins to bring good luck in accordance with ancient maritime custom.Swan Hellenic announced during the ceremony that the ship would be christened SH Minerva in honor of the company’s first purpose-built vessel, named after the Roman goddess of creativity and wisdom.

Maritime Reporter and Engineering News (September 2020)

Marine Design Annual