Barge Master is nearing the completion of the construction of the first BM-T40 system. On October 14th, the Barge Master motion compensated knuckle boom crane pedestal was installed on the new Wagenborg Walk-to-Work vessel, designed and built by Royal Niestern Sander. The vessel and Barge Master system will be delivered in the first quarter of 2015. NAM will use the motion compensated crane for service and maintenance of gas production platforms in the Southern North Sea.

Offshore platforms have become smaller and more flexible during the last forty years. They no longer have a resident crew or helicopter pads which means frequent journeys to and from the platform by vessel in order to perform maintenance work. With the new Walk-to Work Vessel these operations can be executed in a safer, more efficient and effective manner.

The Vessel is unique because multiple functions are combined for the first time in one design. The vessel can accommodate 20 crewmembers and 40 service technicians, chemicals can be stored and transferred safely, and thanks to the T40 Barge Master system materials can be transferred during wave heights of up to 3 meters. Through utilizing new technology, NAM is able to safely continue harvesting gas on the North Sea with an extended weather window and less down time.

Barge Master develops and produces motion compensation platforms for the marine and offshore industry. The Barge Master T40 is capable of compensating an offshore knuckle boom/telescopic boom crane with a capacity of 15mT.The servicing of wind turbines or unmanned oil (rigs) platforms are typical applications of the Barge Master T40. The system is based on the same principle as the Barge Master T700: roll, pitch and heave are compensated, while surge, sway and yaw are fixated. The T40 is developed together with Bosch Rexroth.

Gulf Marine Services (LSE:GMS), the leading provider of advanced self-propelled self-elevating support vessels (SESV) serving the offshore oil, gas and renewable energy sectors, is pleased to announce the first contract award for its new enhanced Small Class vessel (the Pepper).

The vessel, which is currently being built by a third party, is expected to be delivered to GMS in Q1 2015 on a finance lease and will then proceed directly to its first charter for a national oil company in the MENA region. The contract is for five years (three years firm with a two-year option), with the day rate in line with that previously indicated for this enhanced class vessel in the region.

Duncan Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of GMS, said:

"It is particularly pleasing to have secured this first long-term contract for Pepper in the MENA region where demand for our SESVs is excellent. All seven of our existing Small Class vessels are chartered to clients who are very familiar with the cost-effective advantages our assets bring to brownfield maintenance, well intervention and enhanced oil recovery operations. We are looking forward to taking delivery of the new enhanced Small Class vessel with its additional deck load and area, which will add further value to the Group's offering to the client."

Danish product tanker carrier TORM A/S and UAE-based Albwardy Marine Engineering (AME) an Albwardy-Damen JV, have signed a Service Level Agreement for diving services in the UAE region. The purpose is to further strengthen their relations and respective commercial reliability. The diving services will be handled from AME's facilities in Fujairah and include full hull cleanings and propeller polishing.

Marcel van de Kreke, AME's Head of Sales & Marketing comments: "This agreement is a sign that reputed companies like TORM - a leading global player within the tanker segment- find confidence in our professional services."

Allan Rasmussen, Head of TORM's Energy Efficiency & Innovation team comments: "This agreement signifies TORM's continued commitment to operating our vessels in the most efficient and safe manner. In line with our business principles, we believe that efficiency and quality assurance is key to maintaining our strong market position."

TORM is one of the world's leading carriers of refined oil products as well as a player in the dry bulk market. The Company operates a large and modern fleet with a strong commitment to Safety, Environmental Responsibility and Customer Service.

Albwardy Marine Engineering (joint venture partner of Damen Shipyards group) provides a complete package of professional ship repairs, shipbuilding, diving services in addition to offshore rig repairs & conversions from their bases in Dubai, Fujairah and Sharjah.

Vard Marine, formerly STX Marine, has been awarded a US Patent for their design and engineering of a Dual Fuel Vessel. The company is pleased to announce that later this year; the first of six 5100DWT vessels to be built under this patent, designed by Vard Marine and built by Gulf Coast Shipyard Group for Harvey Gulf International Marine will be delivered. These innovative vessels represent the first US flag vessels capable of operating exclusively on natural gas or diesel fuel oil.

As per US Patent No. US 8,690,622 B2, filed September 13, 2011, the patent is applicable to: a small size, self-propelled floating vessel having a dual fuel system, monohull or catamaran hull shape with an overall length ranging from sixty meters to one hundred and seventy meters, azimuthing thrusters, and with LNG tank capacities between 100cbm and 1200cbm. For further information, please contact the Vice President of Business Development, Wade Carson, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Vard Marine specializes in the development of advanced technology and its application to offshore and specialized vessel designs. Its portfolio ranges from offshore support vessels, offshore subsea construction vessels, semi-submersibles, and icebreakers to research, naval and patrol vessels, and will complement VARD's existing product portfolio of vessel designs and equipment.

Vard Marine is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with branch offices in Ottawa and Houston, Texas. Vard Marine is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vard Group AS, a Fincantieri company, with a workforce of over 20,000 worldwide supporting 21 shipyards.

To meet the rapidly growing demand for a wide variety of LNG related services, DNV GL has established a group of LNG experts in North America. In addition to deep LNG expertise, the Houston-based "LNG Solutions Group - Americas" is also experienced in all business, risk and regulatory matters specific to the North American market.

With the increasingly strict regulation of sulphur emissions in force next year and the already tightened Emission Control Area regulation for the US, ship owners are likely to feel more pain by the rising fuel prices. For instance, due to the new regulations, Marine Gas Oil (MGO), will likely see a price jump in three months, possibly as high as 30% in the short term, and a minimum of 20% in the long term. This has impact well beyond the maritime industry.

"Judging from our list of recently completed projects, you can clearly see the market is about to reach a tipping point, from market, feasibility and risk studies to actual new-buildings, export and bunkering facilities," says Bjørn-Harald Bangstein, Director of Operations Maritime Advisory, Americas (photo).

As of July 2014 there are 116 LNG fuelled vessels in total (50 vessels in service and 66 on order). Of these, 75 are classed by DNV GL (46 in in service, 29 newbuildings), which gives DNV GL a market share of 65%. "We are now doing what we can to meet pent-up demand for LNG services also beyond the maritime industry by drawing on our expertise from Oil and Gas. This allows us to offer an unrivalled set of capabilities, from major export or liquefaction projects to small scale bunkering and everything in between," says Bjørn-Harald Bangstein.

"More than any other company, DNV GL has championed LNG as a solution for some of the main challenges facing the maritime industry: fuel cost and emission reductions. Combined with the abundance of cheaper natural gas in North America this contributes to a surge in LNG activities. We are happy to now see shipowners, yards, ports, bunkering operators and LNG proponents in general acting to be well positioned for LNG," says Bjørn-Harald Bangstein.

Regulatory certainty underway
"Through our interfaces with the US Coast Guard, both formal and informal, we know that they are now finalizing the remaining regulatory requirements on a detailed level. They are doing so in an open and consultative manner that involves the industry and prevents surprises and misunderstandings. Naturally there could be additional state, county and municipal regulations. But with a national regulatory framework designed to prevent major hazards using a risk based approach, particular local variations can be addressed through risk assessments, allowing for a consistent and predictable national regulatory framework," he says.

Drawing on experiences also from previous LNG projects around the world, the Houston-based group can offer class and advisory services throughout the value chain of LNG. The group has the following sets of competencies:

LNG as fuel, Class and Statutory Requirements
Regulatory advisory
Operations and Bunkering:

• DNV GL's Recommended Practice for bunkering
Crew training standard
Feasibility studies ship and shore facilities:
• Technical
• Financial
• Risk assessments
• Gas dispersion analyses
• Technology qualification

Verification
Waterway suitability assessments
Navigational risk assessments

A selection of DNV GL's recently completed LNG projects in North America show a trend towards a tipping point:
• For IMO, DNV GL carried out a Feasibility Study on the use of LNG as fuel in North America.
• Waterway Suitability Assessments for several planned North American LNG export terminals
• A comprehensive risk assessment study on LNG bunkering for MARAD, the US Government's Maritime Administration.
• Security and Risk assessment study for Washington State Ferries
• Market feasibility study for LNG America
• Classification of two LNG ready container ships for Matson
• Classification of two LNG fueled RoRo Container ships for Crowley
• Hosted visits from USCG and Transport Canada for familiarization with LNG as a fuel in Norway
• Technology qualification for flashing liquid expanders
• Quantitative risk assessment studies for North American export terminals
• Termpol 3.15 risk assessements for all planned LNG export terminals in Canada
• Industry-wide LNG Fuel Advisory Council headed by DNV GL's Tony Teo in 2011.

DNV GL has published several widely referenced industry documents such as Rules for Classification: Gas Fuelled Ship Installations (last update Jan 2014), Recommended Practice for Development and operation of liquefied natural gas bunkering facilities (Jan 2-014) and Competence Related to the On Board Use of LNG as Fuel (April 2003).

The "Rules for Classification: Gas Fuelled Ship Installation" was developed in 2000 and later introduced to the IMO which was adopted as the "IMO Interim Guidelines on Safety for Natural Gas-Fuelled Engine Installations in Ships", Resolution MSC.285(86) on June 1, 2009.

Crowley Maritime Corporation's solutions group announced that it has received the first two of potentially four, new heavy-lift, ballastable deck barges (HDBs) for use by clients in the Asia-Pacific region. These new barges, which will be contracted and managed from the company's recently opened Singapore office, allow Crowley to better support regional customers in the oil and gas mining; Engineering, Construction and Procurement Management (ECPM); and Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Commissioning (EPIC) industries who are increasingly embarking on large-scale onshore and offshore projects.

These new 400-foot-long, 120-foot-wide (122 meter x 36.5 meter) HDBs, named HDB 01 and HDB 02 are moored in Batam, Indonesia. They have 25-foot (7.6-meter) side shells, which provide both the capacity and deck strength (up to 4,200 pounds per square foot or 25 tons per square meter) needed to accommodate larger drilling and production units used for deepwater offshore energy exploration and development. They are designed with more robust ballast systems to deal with high tidal ranges found in the region's load and discharge ports and have higher internal strength which allows tolerance when ballasting to the seabed, fully loaded – where tidal movement can be problematic.

"Customers in this region require locally available and tailored assets for their project needs," explained William Hill, director, business development in Singapore. "The industry has expressed the need for available equipment to support larger construction and topside moves along with complex deck loads. These HDBs were designed to do just that."

The barges are ABS classed, with an approximate deadweight capacity of 20,000 metric tons. Both were designed by Crowley's Seattle-based, naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary Jensen Maritime and were constructed in China by Seabridge Marine Contractors Ltd/Jiangsu Yangzijang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

The company announced the opening of its Singapore-based project management and logistics solutions office in July. The office is located at 77 Robinson Road on the 34th floor of the Robinson Building and can be contacted at +65 6809 2160. Additionally, Crowley's wreck removal, marine salvage and emergency response subsidiary TITAN Salvage, based in Houston, also maintains a local presence with a 45,000 square-foot site west of the city, allowing for more rapid emergency response in the region.

Damen Shipyards and SeaZip Offshore Service have strengthened their working relationship by signing another contract for two Damen Fast Crew Suppliers (FCS) 2610 at Wind Energy in Hamburg. The two new vessels, to be named SeaZip 3 and SeaZip 4, will be mobilized in transporting personnel and small quantities of freight to North Sea offshore wind farms.

The new orders follow the delivery last year of two FCS 2610 – named SeaZip 1 and SeaZip 2 – that have been performing successfully at the Nordsee Ost and DanTysk offshore wind farms in the German Bight. "The vessels are great performers ideal for operations and maintenance work," says SeaZip Offshore Services Managing Director Jan Reier Arends. "They are both under contract until mid-2015 showing how happy our customers are with them." The two new vessels will display certain changes to the design: "By listening to feedback from our customers, we have come up with a few innovations," explains Mr. Arends.

Although fundamentally of the same design, Damen has implemented the modifications to the already successful FCS 2610 formula. "We have made a number of improvements to these two vessels," informs Damen Sales Manager Roel van Eijle. "Mainly in the superstructure and a better accommodation for the passengers." Both vessels will be built at Damen Shipyards Singapore and delivered to SeaZip Offshore Service, a sister company of the JR Shipping Group, by March 2015.

With the FCS 2610 - with its Twin Axe Bow design - Damen has created a new standard in the market for offshore service vessels. The vessel offers reduced peak accelerations of up to 75%, reduced added resistance in waves of up to 60% and has already transferred maintenance crew to turbines in wave heights of 1.9 meters.

Final touches have been made to the Damen Walk 2 Work vessel , a completely new and innovative design for the offshore support vessel market. Damen also decided to start building the vessel on speculation, This is marked with the start of the basic and consequently detailed engineering of the vessel. The vessel will support and accommodate turbine maintenance crews at sea. Not only provides the vessel on-site work facilities and accommodation for voyages of up to one month, the vessel also comes with a helicopter platform, daughter crafts and has an 80% weather operability in the Central North Sea Area.

Since the 'E3' are becoming more and more important these days, Damen started about a year ago with the search for a way to create and design a vessel which is Environmentally-friendly, Economic viable, and Efficient in operation (E3). The key design criteria for the vessel were the result of extensive discussions Damen held with the industry. Staff retention was a growing issue in the offshore market. Therefore a fourth requirement was given: comfort for crew and its passengers.

Features
The vessel is a monohull with bridge located amidships. It has a length of 90m and a beam of 20m. The Damen WSV will feature 500m2 of deck space, approximately 400 m2 internal storage space, a helicopter platform and a motion and heave compensating crane and gangway. Its shallow draft optimizes comfort, while also conferring significant power savings.

North Sea sea state
The Walk-to-work WSV is especially designed for the North Sea area of operation. The vessel is is capable of gaining access up to 80% of the time in the worst case scenario in the Central North Sea area. This result can also be achieved when the worst single failure is occurring, a main switchboard failure, on board the vessel. This performance results in an accessibility of more than 95% in many areas were offshore wind farms are being built.

The effects of this new and innovative design are: greater turbine availability, less lost production and less direct O&M costs against a higher profitability of the wind farm. This vessel is contributing to about 25% reduction of O&M cost of an average large size wind farm.

Optimal comfort for crew and passengers
The optimal comfort for crew and passengers is determined by designing the right hull form and the right positioning of the accommodation. Damen has been able to reduce vertical and horizontal accelerations significantly. A significant reduction of accelerations has been achieved throughout the vessel up to 30% in the , accommodation. This achievement highly improves the level of comfort, safety and workability on board.

The vessel, as a result of this design effort, performs well within the motion criteria as set by the industry.

When considering noise and vibrations, bow thrusters noise emission can be mitigated, but it is relatively expensive to do so. Many of these considerations has been input for the design-phase of the vessel, resulting as well into easily complying within the industry set criteria at limited cost.

Adding up to the level of comfort is the extensive ergonomic studies carried out resulting in crew and turbine technician cabin dimensions of well above the minimum set requirements by law.

Of course the vessel has a fitness center and internet/movie services.

Optimal efficiency and economics
By extensively analyzing the flow of personnel with all their different tasks on board the vessel and the flow of spare parts and other equipment, Damen was able to map the public spaces for efficient workflows and storage.

Having an optimized design based on the right Ocean conditions results in the fact that expensive compensation systems are not needed.
The hull-form resulted in an average of 25% less installed power to reach the same speed. When considering DP operations and power output, significant less thrusters output (20%) is required because of the positioning of the accommodation. .

Damen also developed a fuel consumption tool in which total fuel consumption of the vessel in various operational conditions in a specific area can be calculated. This tool gives a good indication of what can be expected on a yearly basis given a certain operational profile.

So altogether, every effort has been made to reduce the vessels total cost of ownership.

Transfer Positioning System (TPS)
The transfer of maintenance personnel and equipment is one of performance determining functions of the entire ship. Being able to continue the work flow in the prevailing wind conditions and waves, forms the biggest challenge. The design questions are based on the selections of the components like the access systems and, the choice of the DP system, the positioning of these systems on board and a smart integration. Characteristic for these systems for crew and cargo transfer on offshore vessels is that they operate independently of the control systems for the dynamic positioning of the vessel. This innovation, the TPS, aims to increase employability by design integration and share system integration at the heart of the design.

First delivery of Damen ASD Tug 2810, ARC Towage signed four contracts total in Barcelona, Spain

On 31 July 2013, ARC Towage singed four contracts at the Netherlands shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group. The new building contracts with ARC Towage are the result of a special joint venture set-up for the terminal berthing services for a significant energy industry player in Trinidad and Tobago.

The first DAMEN ASD 2810 left for Trinidad, while the second vessel will leave in two weeks. The last two tugs will arrive mid-December this year. The tugs are being built at Damen Shipyards Galati, Romania, and will be delivered by Damen Services in Trinidad and Tobago before 1 January 2015. The vessels will provide towage services for escorting, berthing and un-berthing LNG-vessels.

Exterior explosion-proof lighting
The ASD Tugs 2810 have a minimal bollard pull of 60 tons and a maximum speed of 12.9 knots. For operation in and around the LNG terminal, the vessels are equipped with rig savers on all engines which are remote shut off valves, remote-closing air intakes, gas detection systems and exterior explosion-proof lighting.

Fugro Pioneer second of three vessels to be delivered to Fugro in 2014

Fugro has taken delivery of the second of the three Fugro Offshore Coastal Survey Vessels (FOCSV) being built by Damen. The Fugro Pioneer is a compact, survey ship capable of undertaking a wide range of survey, monitoring and inspection operations.

The vessel is designed for a variety of survey and inspections duties including light geotechnical work, environmental baseline surveys, monitoring and inspection, and moon pool deployments. Diesel electric propulsion delivers excellent economy at all speeds.

Versatile and adaptable
Fugro Pioneer is the second of three survey vessels ordered by Fugro for delivery in 2014. Each will be operating in a different part of the world and so they have been adapted for the individual environments in which they will work. The operating company is a specialist in the acquisition of the full spectrum of survey data and so the vessels have been tailored to be adaptable for a wide range of tasks.

Fugro Pioneer is the second vessel to be built directly by Damen for Fugro. However, the two groups have worked together on a number of refits in recent years and in the process have built a relationship based on trust and mutual understanding.

Three tugs of Fairmount Marine have towed the brand new FPSO Petrojarl Knarr from South Korea to Norway in just 61 days. Petrojarl Knarr, one of world's largest floating production and storage units (FPSO) for harsh environments, was delivered in the port of Haugesund, Norway, September 16 2014.

The entire voyage was under command of lead tug master Kees de Graaff on board of the leading tug Fairmount Sherpa.

The newly delivered FPSO Petrojarl Knarr is 256.4 meters long and 48 meters wide with a dwt of 135,000 tons. The vessel is owned by Teekay Corporation and is build by Samsung Heavy Industries in Geoje, South Korea. Petrojarl Knarr will be deployed later in the Knarr oil and gas field offshore Norway.

On her way to Norway the convoy has made stops in Singapore, PortLouis (Mauritius) and Las Palmas (Canary Islands) to take bunkers and for replenishments. For the last leg of the voyage the convoy sailed west of Ireland via Fair Isle (just south of the Shetland Isles) towards Norway. Offshore the port of Haugesund the Petrojarl Knarr was delivered ahead of schedule.

iSURVEY, a leading provider of survey and positioning services to the global oil and gas, offshore renewables and telecommunications markets has been awarded a two year contract with offshore vessel owner, Island Offshore Management.

The two year contract will see iSURVEY AS provide positioning services to Island Offshore as part of a call off arrangement. Operations have already commenced on the first vessel, Island's DP2 Light construction vessel, the Island Valiant.

Following current well head cutting work in the Danish sector, iSURVEY will be supporting Island Offshore for further subsea work in the North Sea.

Øivind Røegh, managing director at iSURVEY AS, said: "We are extremely pleased to have been selected as a key service partner by Island Offshore.

"This contract award underlines iSURVEY's capabilities and highlights our expertise in the subsea sector. We look forward to continuing the relationships with Island Offshore and growing our presence in subsea projects internationally."

Seagull Maritime AS has launched Seagull Training Administrator 4.0, an updated version of the shipping industry's most widely used training administrator, in a move the company says makes computer-based packages even easier to use.

Norway-based Seagull Maritime has built on customer feedback gathered over a number of years to extend and improve STA 4.0's user workflow and functionality, and to add new functions, with the entire overhaul neatly presented via a new user interface. As with previous versions, STA 4.0 is available to seafarers onboard ship and over the Worldwide Web.

"STA 4.0 is certainly a logical advance from the technical point of view in line with market expectations, but its availability also brings immediate benefits for our end-users," says Roger Ringstad, Managing Director, Seagull Maritime AS. (photo)

"Web-based solutions take e-learning, assessments, experience tracking and administration of each seafarers records to a new level. Ensuring that individual knowledge gaps are identified and closed in a systematic way is vital for the industry. The performance evaluations, ability- and knowledge tests, available through the system give the industry certainty that they develop the 'right' seafarers for the tasks ahead.

"With training records and profiles for every position and crew member onboard available at the point of need, the training manager can simply log in to access training results from any location."

STA 4.0 benefits from an updated, more intuitive graphical user interface, designed to improve workflow. Individual customers can set up their networks within their own infrastructure by simply installing STA 4.0 on a network server, so that crew can access their train¬ing and records through a web browser on any computer con¬nected to the network.

"Our popular Crew Evaluation System (CES) is also now available onboard ship, to be used as a part of the promotion pro¬cess," adds Ringstad. "Performance Profiling is now fully integrated with STA 4.0, enabling sign-on and sign-off interviews to be completed in an easy way on board."

Other progressive features include a new Document Manager, allowing authorized personnel to export scanned documents such as course diplomas, certificates etc. to vessels. Specific vessels and ranks can also be 'tagged' by levels of competence, while individual records can be searched for crew members who have identified themselves as "ready to be assessed".

In addition, the STA 4.0 Electronic Bulletin Board enables owners to communicate messages of specific importance to seafarers and receive confirmation that messages have been received, read and understood.

"The new Training Administrator is also prepared to run all 3rd party e-learning content both online and offline (typical onboard vessels). This is a strong benefit as we can then support our clients, which are using training material from several sources including in-house developed e-learning content", says Ringstad.

Seagull Maritime is also developing the next generation cloud-based interface standard that will allow its customers to integrate their HR systems with Seagull's own. "This will be a much more flexible solution than the existing interface standard used by many customers today," says Ringstad.

Modeled After Innovative Gulf of Mexico Terminal Hub, C-Port

Officials representing the Edison Chouest Offshore family of companies are announcing that construction has begun on a massive logistics support base and naval repair shipyard for its own vessels at the Port of Açu, located in São João da Barra in northern Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil.

Ten Covered Slips

Nine 25.2 m wide regular slips, each with two 25-ton overhead cranes; one 38.4 m wide heavy lift slip with two 100-ton overhead cranes

574,200 m2 Total Area

In addition to the covered slips, the straight docks provide more than 525 linear meters, which can easily accommodate five large platform supply vessels (PSVs)

Repair Area

Located in the south breakwater of Açu Port's Terminal 2, B-Port will feature a floating dry dock with a lifting capacity of 13,700 MT

Strategic Location

B-Port is located near the growing Campos Basin

Vessel Support

Inside and out, B-Port can fully support 15 vessels simultaneously

Chouest Signs Agreement with Prumo Logistica!

In April 2014, the two companies signed the initial lease for the port property, recently amending the agreement to include a total area of 574,200 square meters, if all future contract options are exercised. "We are already investing to meet the current demand of our international customers and new bids in the industry, and our unit at the Port of Açu is essential for such," said Chouest Brazilian Director Ricardo Chagas. Construction work has been underway for several months, and the expected start of
operations will take place during the first half of 2015.

Ships carrying crude oil and petroleum products are limited by size restrictions imposed by several of the main thoroughfares of maritime navigation: the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Malacca. These size restrictions provide another way to classify the large tankers that carry most of global crude oil and petroleum product trade.

The Panama Canal, an important route connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, currently has a limited role in global crude and petroleum product transport. The canal's current size restrictions means smaller vessels, with capacities of approximately 400,000-550,000 barrels of light sweet crude oil, are the only ships that can safely pass through the canal. These ships are referred to as Panamax tankers, and their smaller cargos lead to a higher per-barrel cost.

However, the Panama Canal is undergoing an expansion that will allow for the passage of larger vessels with capacities of approximately 400,000-680,000 barrels of crude oil. These larger tankers have the potential to increase crude and petroleum product transport through the canal. Larger vessels or vessels that are slightly over the draft limit can use the Trans Panama Pipeline, which runs parallel to the canal and has both the loading and unloading points for a complete transfer, but doing so adds to shipment costs. In addition to oil transit, the expansion of the Panama Canal, now slated for late 2015, will be able to provide passage for up to 80% of global shipping of liquefied natural gas (LNG). It currently allows passage of only a small percentage of LNG shipping and only shipping by the smallest of LNG tankers.

The Suez Canal in Egypt is a major transit route from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean and beyond that to North America. The Suez Canal saves an estimated 6,000 miles of travel around the Cape of Good Hope at the southernmost point of Africa. As the sizes of vessels in the global fleet have increased, the canal was deepened and widened. The current Suezmax limitation on vessels passing through the Suez is a draft of 66 feet and a width of 164 feet. A ship of this size has a deadweight tonnage of approximately 900,000 barrels to 1.3 million barrels. However, most vessels do not transit the canal fully laden; vessels instead unload into the Suez-Mediterranean (Sumed) Pipeline, which runs parallel to the canal, prior to transit and reload once having passed through the canal.

The Strait of Malacca, located between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, links the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean. The Strait of Malacca is the shortest sea route between Persian Gulf suppliers and the markets of Asia. However, the size of vessels that can safely navigate the strait (Malaccamax) is limited to a draft of 82 feet, along with length and width restrictions. This is approximately equal to a vessel classified as a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), with a capacity of 1.9-2.2 million barrels of crude oil. Larger vessels, such as Ultra-Large Crude Carriers (ULCC), must use alternative navigation routes with deeper channels, adding time and cost to the voyage.
Principal contributor: T. Mason Hamilton

Source: EIA

ABS, a leading provider of classification services to the maritime and offshore industries, has been chosen to class the world's first contracted series of very large ethane carriers (VLECs).

The class contract for the ships, which will be built in Korea by Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) for an Asian shipowner, represents another gas ship milestone for ABS.

"We are delighted to have received the class contract for the world's first large ethane carriers," says ABS Vice President of Global Gas Solutions Patrick Janssens. "As a result of the shale gas boom in the US, ethane is developing as an exciting new market with great potential, requiring the development of new ship types. This award is an industry testament to the diversity of ABS' technical knowledge and our commitment to remain at the forefront of classification for gas carriers."

The contract is for six 87,000 m3 VLECs and available options. The ships will be built at SHI's main shipyard in Geoje, Korea. ABS, which currently has the largest share of the global orderbook for LNG vessels being built to its class, has built a large team of qualified gas surveyors at shipyards across Korea.

ABS is a pioneer in the safe transport and handling of gas, classing the world's first LNG carrier and responding to the evolving technology demands of the largest and most modern units currently in service. ABS has extensive technical experience with the full scope of gas-related assets, ranging from LNG bunker barges to FLNG units and was recently awarded the classification of the first compressed natural gas (CNG) carriers. In May, ABS announced its first classification contract for a floating LNG facility from PETRONAS, Malaysia's national oil company.

The VLEC award marks one year since ABS unveiled its Global Gas Solutions team, a multidisciplinary group of gas specialists formed to respond to the rapidly escalating number of gas-related projects, including LNG and LPG transportation, and the growing use of LNG and LPG as fuel for the commercial fleet.