Van Oord’s trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Maxima allided with a stationary Singapore-flagged bunker vessel, the Marine Honour, on 14 June. Damage to the bunker vessel has resulted in an oil spill. The Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) states the Vox Maxima suffered a sudden loss in engine and steering control before its allision. At the time of the incident, the Marine Honour was alongside a container vessel berthed at the Pasir Panjang Terminal. The allision took place at about 2:20 pm local time. The allision caused a rupture of one of the Marine Honour’s oil cargo tanks ..read more

Shipping routes, wind farms, and oil rigs are all competing for space in the North Sea. The increasing number of fixed objects poses risks for shipping. However, those risks are not properly understood. That’s the Dutch Safety Board’s conclusion in its report “Compromise on room to manoeuvre – Managing the safety of shipping in an increasingly crowded North Sea”. In the North Sea, wind-sensitive vessels such as ultra large container ships can already encounter problems in a wind force of just 6 Beaufort. There is not enough room for those vessels to make a complete turn in case of an emergency ..read more

Heesen Yachts and christened and delivered YN 20350, MY ALP at Hellevoetsluis, the Netherlands. This is where ALP has been berthed following completion of rigorous tests in the North Sea and while preparing for its maiden voyage. ALP belongs to Heesen’s successful 50-metre semi-displacement series. The exterior lines were penned by Frank Laupman of Omega Architects. With a top speed of 23 knots, ALP combines fast cruising, comfort, and luxury with technology. Focus when building the yacht was on intelligent engineering, precise aluminium construction and meticulous weight calculation. Heesen i ..read more

As much as 71 per cent of the planet is made up of water, which accounts for 33 per cent of all CO2 emissions. Moreover, 1 litre of water contains 150 times more CO2 than 1 litre of air. Therefore, Dutch startup SeaO₂ has developed an innovative way to extract carbon dioxide (CO2) from seawater, which in turn helps to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The technology was developed at TU Delft and at the Wetsus laboratories in Leeuwarden. An electrochemical process strips CO2 from the water and leads the carbon-free water back to the sea where it will again absorb CO2 from the air. SeaO2 aims to r ..read more

Construction of the new Mine Countermeasure vessel IJmuiden has begun. The ship’s keel was laid on 11 June in Romania. Once the hull is ready, the ship will be finished in France. The IJmuiden is scheduled to be completed by 2030 at the latest. When the keel was laid, a coin was welded into the hull of the vessel. This tradition from Roman times is supposed to bring good luck to the ship and her crew. The IJmuiden is one of twelve new Mine Countermeasure vessels that the navy has purchased jointly with Belgium. Both countries will get six. This is the third Dutch ship now under construction. T ..read more

Jan De Nul Group together with its consortium partners LS Cable & System and Denys, has signed the contracts for two 525 HVDC cable systems for the two grid connection systems BalWin4 and LanWin1. These mark the first two contracts signed under the long-term framework agreement that TenneT and Jan De Nul have signed earlier this year. The projects comprise the design, manufacturing, transport, installation, protection and testing of three 525 kV cable systems for connecting offshore wind farms to the onshore grid via the BalWin4 and LanWin1 grid connections. The projects are part of TenneT ..read more

In a new Shipping number of the week, BIMCO reveals that ship newbuilding proces have reached their highest level since 2008. Right now, tanker and LNG segments are the main drivers of the order book. ‘Since the start of the year, newbuilding prices have risen three per cent to their highest level since 2008,’ says Niels Rasmussen, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO. ‘Compared to their most recent low in late 2020, they are up 53 per cent. During the same period, the order book has grown by 72 per cent, reaching its highest level since early 2012 and is up two per cent year-to-date.’ Picture supp ..read more

Holland Shipyards has converted an inland vessel into a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) now named Taruma. Starting with a standard inland vessel, the shipyard engineered and installed advanced dredging equipment, such as a complete drag arm system, jet monitors, and a complete jet pump and dredge pump system. The complete conversion of the vessel included significant structural modifications. Holland Shipyards ensured that the TSHD Taruma met all operational requirements and exceeded expectations during its trials. The Taruma is equipped with bottom doors (photo Holland Shipyards). Also ..read more

Acta Jifmar wants to pay extra attention to the new organisation, after the merger of Acta Marine Workboats with France’s Jifmar Offshore Services. SWZ|Maritime spoke to the company’s commercial manager about the merger, but also about the company’s presence at the maritime trade fair Seawork. Hans Heynen. This article was written by Hans Heynen, maritime journalist, hans.heynen@casema.nl and will also appear in SWZ|Maritime’s June 2024 issue. ‘With the merger of the workboats of Acta and Jifmar, we now have a fleet of more than seventy workboats,’ says commercial manager Bert de Ruiter of Act ..read more

The Royal Netherlands Navy will be present in the Baltic Sea with seven ships in the coming weeks. Together with nineteen NATO partners, the Netherlands is taking part in Baltic Operations (BALTOPS). It is the largest annual NATO exercise in the area. The Netherlands is in charge of several international (fleet) units this year. The exercise started on Friday, 7 June, and will last until 20 June. In total, the countries are represented with around 9000 military personnel, more than fifty naval vessels and some 85 flying units. The purpose of the exercise is to contribute to maritime security a ..read more