Iranian Navy’s 30th flotilla has returned from a one-hundred day mission in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari has reported that the Iranian warships rescued five trade vessels attacked by pirates during the operation. “The 30th flotilla had five
Piracy has become a lucrative business and an ever more dangerous for those being targeted by it. Once at sea, seafarers expose themselves to various dangers, especially from those lurking from the shadows. As hijackings become more frequent and more intense, we wanted to find out more about piracy
World’s largest LNG exporter Qatar has acquired 51.3 pct stake in the United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), thus becoming the company’s majority stake owner. Before the acquisition, the governments of Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq each had a 19.3% stake in the shipp
International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu has backed call for enhanced action at all levels to mitigate the threats to the global oceans described in the recently-published report of the Global Ocean Commission (GOC), From Decline to Recovery: A Rescue Package for the
Chemicals firm LyondellBasell has been revealed by Reuters as the mystery American buyer of Kurdish crude oil this year. “We have canceled further purchases and will not accept delivery of any of the affected crude until the matter is appropriately resolved,” the company told Reuters. The company co
Impacts of climate change—including more intense droughts and floods, heat waves, thawing permafrost, and sea-level rise—could damage transport infrastructure such as roads, railways, and ports, requiring extensive adaptation and changes to route planning in some regions, according to the findings o
SOHAR Freezone has seen a considerable growth over the recent period and there are just weeks before the much-anticipated relocation of all commercial traffic from Muscat to SOHAR takes place. “In just six months we have expanded almost every aspect of our operations, including the US$130 million
Saipem has been awarded new drilling contracts in Indonesia, Nigeria, the Arabian Gulf and Latin America worth approximately USD 850 million of which USD 540 million are related to offshore activity and refer to four different units of Saipem’s fleet. Saipem has signed with Eni Muara Bakau B.V. a
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has ceased search operations for a 41 year-old seafarer who fell overboard from the vessel MT Sigma Integrity in the early hours of the morning on Sunday 27 July 2014. On Sunday 27 July, AMSA was alerted to a man overboard from the Liberian registered oi
High risk jobs need to be faced with the correct levels of protective clothing. In the case of maritime personnel, body armor is one form of protection that should not be overlooked. The fact that there’s an increased level of difficulty in determining just when a threat may be faced, prepared marit
USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4), a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship, rescued nine crew members from a Yemeni-flagged cargo vessel that had lost power, was taking on water and was adrift in the Gulf of Oman, on July 28, at approximately 9:00 a.m. local time. The crew from Asaed requested assista
SOHAR Port and Freezone, a deep-sea port and the adjacent free zone, located in Sohar, Oman, is undergoing a major expansion and has set very ambitious goals on a global scale, all with the goal of attracting major shipping players to the port. The Port has invested USD 15 billion in building up its
Extra tonnage seems to be in demand pulling containerships from their idleness and bringing the idle fleet levels to a record low this week. According to the latest figures from Lloyd’s List Intelligence, the capacity of the inactive box fleet decreased to 216,396 teu this week, compared with 238,
Gulf Drilling International Limited (GDI), a subsidiary of Gulf International Services (GIS), has awarded two contracts worth USD 110 million to Nakilat-Keppel Offshore & Marine (N- KOM), a joint venture shipyard between Nakilat and Singapore’s Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M). The first cont
