In my last column I criticised the manning of a tug – not because the crew were female, but because there were only two of them. My friend Ron Burchett kindly responded and pointed out that the tugs involved in the job I was describing always travel in pairs for mutual support. This no doubt […]
The...
“Fix the balance sheet before you fix the business.” This was the sage advice we gave two weeks ago when we compared Tidewater to its moribund and indebted competitors. We noted that Hornbeck, Bourbon, and Edison Chouest still have some way to go in resolving their balance sheet problems. But if...
The Yemeni Houthi rebels’ continued attacks on shipping in the Red Sea serve as a reminder that global supply chains remain highly vulnerable to disruption. Moreover, it highlights how food insecurity can simultaneously be an effect and cause of conflict. To address this, the international...
Two Asia-Pacific flashpoints – the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait – stand at a critical juncture, but their connection is not always well understood. In the South China Sea, China has ramped up its military assertiveness against the Philippines while at the same time holding out the prospect of...
Whilst the first big consolidator of this offshore upcycle was Tidewater, rapidly followed by ADNOC and AD Ports of Abu Dhabi, Europe is also experiencing a quiet wave of consolidation. Driving this is the biggest of the “Big Four” lowlands dredging and offshore companies, Boskalis. But whereas the gains in Tidewater have been open to […]
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Canadian towage company HaiSea Marine, a joint venture business formed by the Haisla Nation of British Columbia and local shipping line Seaspan, has taken delivery of the first in a new series of two LNG-fuelled ASD tugs that will be used primarily to escort gas carriers between the Pacific Ocean...
Among the grim news emanating from every quarter, which filled the morning newspapers recently, was the frightful threat of a shortage of tea. This was on account of the supply chain being suddenly lengthened by some 3,000 miles with the Houthi pirate campaign in the Red Sea, and their attacks on...
The Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (Nederlands Instituut voor Zeeonderzoek; NIOZ) recently welcomed a new coastal research vessel into service. The vessel has been named Wim Wolff after a Dutch ecologist who specialised in mudflat research. Aarnoud van de Burgt, the head of NIOZ’s National Marine Facilities Department, said the vessel is capable of […]
The post VESSEL REVIEW | Wim Wolff – Coastal and mudflat research boat designed for Netherlands’ Wadden Sea appeared first on Baird...
Norwegian aquaculture services company AQS has taken delivery of a new hybrid catamaran workboat optimised for supporting fish farm operations. AQS Trym was designed and built by Norway’s Skagen Ship Consulting in cooperation with UK naval architecture firm Macduff Ship Design and Turkish shipbuilder TRX Marine, though construction took place entirely at TRX Marine’s Yalova […]
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Both the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the current attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are graphically illustrating the efficacy of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) in the maritime domain. UAVs offer economical, high-endurance search, surveillance, and attack capabilities. Therefore, their use by naval...