LNG terminal planned for Mexico to serve ships
With the number of ships using LNG continuing to grow and spurring demand, two U.S.-based companies partnered to launch a new small-scale LNG terminal in Salina Cruz, Mexico. According to the partners, GFI LNG and Pilot LNG, the project is designed with a focus on speed to market and will be strategically located to serve a key shipping market.
The Salina Cruz LNG JV will develop, construct, and operate the LNG bunkering and transshipment terminal which they anticipate will start operations in mid-to-late 2027. GFI and Pilot plan to commence front-end engineering and design development for the project this quarter. The partners anticipate a 12-to-18-month development and permitting timeline and anticipate announcing a Final Investment Decision (FID) in the second half of 2025. The team anticipates an approximate 36-month permitting and construction timeline.
The project design has been optimized to include modular, land-based liquefaction trains and straight-forward mooring and topsides modifications on the newly expanded breakwater in the Port of Salina Cruz. At full build-out, the facility is anticipated to produce 600,000 gallons of liquified natural gas(LNG) per day, or roughly 0.34 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA).
French authorities detain two vessels
French authorities are detaining two vessels and investigating the circumstances of what amounted to a “fender bender” that left a tanker dented and a bulker holed above the waterline. Both ships remained buoyant with only minor pollution and five minor injuries that did not require hospitalization.
The incident took place according to the French authorities in the Loire-Atlantique estuary leading into the port of Saint-Nazaire. Approximately seven ships were in the anchorage which is used for ships waiting to enter the port or preparing to depart.
The Liberia-registered bulker Olga (18,319 dwt) had raised anchor and was moving out of the anchorage. Around 9:30 p.m. local time on Friday, August 9, the bulker hit the bitumen tanker Iver Blessing (6,188 dwt) which was also in the anchorage. The tanker is registered in Gibraltar and operates from Vroom, while the bulker operates for Germany’s Bluships and its AIS shows a destination of Arkhangelsk, Russia.
Ukraine starts bidding seeking manager for seized Russian bulker
With grain shipments continuing to grow and a shortage of storage space after the Russian attacks on port facilities, the Ukrainian Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) plans to turn the tables on Russia. The agency announced that its appointed surveyor has completed the survey of a seized Russian-owned bulker and they are now seeking a manager to run the ship for grain storage.
The bulker Emmakris III (73,000 dwt) has been detained at the port of Chornomorsk in the Odesa region since the Russian invasion of the country in February 2022. Built in 2000 and registered in Panama, Ukraine was successful in seizing the vessel. ARMA presented evidence in court that although the vessel’s registered owners are reported to be the UAE, the beneficial owners are a Russian company, Linter, registered in the city of Rostov-on-Don.
The Pechersk District Court of Kyiv gave control of the vessel to ARMA at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office as part of the investigation into its Russian owner. The Russian-owned ship was one of the more than 100 foreign vessels that were unable to leave Ukrainian ports in the wake of the invasion.
Latest study gives crews insight into underwater noise in real time
German propulsion company Schottel has completed a research project for Transport Canada and BC Ferries to investigate solutions for underwater noise. Ship noise is a major issue in the Salish Sea because of its effects on the region’s endangered orca population. The project developed a real-time onboard reporting system for underwater noise levels that the operator can use to monitor their impact on the environment.
The Strait of Georgia has environmental protection zones that require ships to reduce speed or navigate around on a longer route. However, Schottel found that reducing speed does not always reduce noise level. To find out what causes noise with precision, Schottel – through the government-funded Quiet Vessel Initiative – developed a noise monitoring system using hydrophone recording, hull vibration measurement and machine learning.
Environmentalist groups call for return of “toxic cargo” on 2 boxships
A group of NGOs focusing on the environment issued a call for two underway boxships to be intercepted and forced to return containers loaded with toxic materials to their shipper. The groups allege that the containers currently aboard two vessels chartered to Maersk have more than 800 metric tons of hazardous waste. Maersk responds that while the claims are based on false information, it will share the concerns about the cargo with the authorities.
The issue is being raised by the U.S.-based Basel Action Network along with groundWork (Friends of the Earth South Africa) and Ecological Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH) and alleges that 160 suspect containers were loaded between the two ships. They contend the containers are loaded with toxic steel furnace dust collected from pollution control filters.
The groups highlight that the transportation of hazardous wastes is highly regulated under the UN’s Basel Convention. The international treaty requires approval of the exporting country, in this case Albania, as well as notification to in-transit countries, and the scheduled importing country. The groups contend that proper paperwork was not filed in Albania or the destination which they contend is Thailand as well as South Africa where the two containerships they said will stop for bunkering and supplies.