People Company News

Maritime labour unions in Argentina announced on Thursday they would cease all activities in ports for 48 hours.The United Maritime Workers Union in a post on Facebook said that the Tugboat Owners Chamber (C.A.R.) has refused to negotiate an expired bargaining agreement, prompting the union to halt work.However, in light of concerns over potential energy supply shortages, the union confirmed that tugboats, which guide vessels supplying thermoelectric power plants and LNG gas tankers, will continue operations.The exception was made to prevent additional pressure on the energy sector.(Reuters -

Smart maintenance and remote access technologies provider Telemar is opening an office in Algeciras to better support digital solutions for Telemar and Marlink customers.The Algeciras office will enable Telemar to directly serve customers in the region for the first time, increasing the scope and range of services available with a dedicated team in place to handle client requests in the fifth busiest port in Europe by annual TEU volume. The new facility will also provide solutions such as Smart Maintenance and Smart Data, Telemar's maritime Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution.

CIMAC welcomes Charlotte Røjgaard, Bureau Veritas, as a new Board member. She will act as Vice President Working Groups. Røjgaard succeeds Marko Dekena who recently decided to leave the CIMAC Board after many years in various roles.Røjgaard is the Global Marine Fuels Director at Bureau Veritas. She holds a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark and an executive MBA in Shipping and Logistics from Copenhagen Business School. She has already been an active member in CIMAC Working Groups for most of her career.

One chapter of Norsepower’s remarkable growth story ends and another begins as Tuomas Riski passes his CEO position onto Heikki Pöntynen, who has been a member of Norsepower’s board. Pöntynen has vast experience in maritime growth companies, and has held several maritime management positions in Finland, China, Hong Kong, and the USA.  Before starting at Norsepower, Mr Pöntynen served as a senior executive with Plannneri, R&M Group, Rauma Marine Constructions – Rauma Shipyard, Elomatic and MacGregor Group. He also holds an M.Sc. degree and EMBA from Kellogg, Northwestern University-WHU.

Auramarine, a provider of fuel supply systems for the marine, power and process industries, signed a representative agreement with Specs Corporation Ltd., a Korean marine equipment and services provider to expand and strengthen the company’s presence in the South Korean maritime market.Specs will serve as an official Auramarine sales representative for its fuel supply units, including its conventional systems, as well as its specialist solutions for methanol and ammonia, and will be applicable for newbuildings, retrofits, commissioning and maintenance services.

Lucas Vos is stepping down as President, Stolt Tankers effective July 1, 2024. He will be replaced by Maren Schroeder as President and Chief Operating Officer, while Bjarke Nissen will assume the role of Chief Commercial Officer at Stolt Tankers.Ms. Schroeder has held the position of Managing Director, Shipowning, at Stolt Tankers since 2022, and prior to joining as Fleet Director in 2019, was Head of Technical at Vroon B.V. She has also held fleet management positions with Exmar, Euronav and Germanischer Lloyd.

Marlink is expanding its global service support network in strategic maritime locations in Houston, Bratislava, Athens, Dubai, Singapore and Tokyo, covering strategic business locations and supporting customers in close proximity. Instead of a centralized model, Marlink provides a local approach for customer support.Marlink is also strengthening its 2nd Level Maritime Network Operations (MNOC) by expanding its operations coverage in Bratislava to 24x7, bringing it into line with the 24x7 service provided by the MNOC at Eik teleport…

The London P&I Club said that Ian Gooch will be stepping down during the year from the role of CEO after 15 years as CEO and 21 years as a Director of A.Bilbrough & Co., the company that manages The London P&I Club.Subject to regulatory approval, Ian Gooch will be succeeded by James Bean, from NorthStandard P&I Club.A qualified Solicitor, Bean has worked within the marine insurance industry since 2005 and was appointed to the NorthStandard’s senior leadership team in February 2023. Prior to that he was the Group Managing Director at the Standard Club.

The Austal USA Board of Directors has elected Michelle Kruger as Austal USA President. She has been serving as interim president since August 2023.Kruger joined Austal USA in 2022 as the vice president of global services and support. In that role she led Austal USA’s ship repair and warranty efforts including the development of business strategy and strategic alliances. She also oversaw the stand up of Austal USA’s San Diego repair yard including the delivery of a purpose-built 9000-tonne capacity dry dock.

d’Amico International Shipping S.A. subsidiary d’Amico Tankers D.A.C. signed a shipbuilding contract with Jiangsu New Yangzi ShipbuildingCo., China, for the purchase of two (2) new Long Range (LR1 – 75,000 DWT) product tanker vessels at a contract price of $ 55.4 million each. The ships are expected to be delivered in September and November 2027, respectively.Today the DIS’ fleet comprises 34 double-hulled product tankers (MR, Handysize and LR1, of which 26 owned, 5 chartered-in and 3 bareboat chartered-in) with an average age of about 8.8 years for its owned and bareboat chartered-in vessels.“This deal is aligned with our strategic objective of controlling a very modern fleet," said Paolo d’Amico, Chairman and CEO of d’Amico International Shipping.

Founded as the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and renamed Military Sealift Command in 1970, MSC today not only support the Navy, but we are the Department of Defense's provider of all sealift. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently interviewed Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, U.S. Navy, for insights on the service today and it’s needs to grow in the future.What makes MSC so vital to the Navy’s fleet and our military forces around the world?When we  look at the history of contested logistics in World War II…

On April 19th, 2024, Muddy Water Dredging, LP, held the christening ceremony of its Marlin Class dredge at the Port of New Orleans. The event was attended by many esteemed business leaders, media personnel, and distinguished dignitaries. "We are happy to unveil the Vaneta Marie dredge. After many hours of collaboration between Muddy Water and DSC what we have before us is a dredge that was crafted with precision and ingenuity," said Michael Kerns, President, and CEO of Muddy Water.

ClassNK has carried out a regular reshuffle of its full-time executives, underlining its commitment to charting the maritime industry’s shift through a period of significant transformation. President & CEO Hiroaki Sakashita and Senior Executive Vice President (SEVP) Junichiro Iida continue in their current roles, while Executive Vice President (EVP) Hayato Suga is promoted to SEVP. Additionally, Dr. Toshiro Arima, Masaki Matsunaga, and Dr. Yoshiya Yamaguchi have been appointed as new EVPs.In his remarks…

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management (Arcline), has acquired AMMCON Corp., a Jacksonville- based fittings and assembled components manufacturer. The defense contractor’s acquisition continues its expansion and commitment to providing critical components to the U.S. Navy and other marine defense customers.“Fairbanks Morse Defense is working to build fully integrated products and services that will meet every need of maritime defense…

Stena Bulk completed the sale of two of its LNG carriers – Stena Crystal Sky and Stena Clear Sky – to BW LNG.As part of the sale, BW LNG will assume the existing charters for both vessels.Both vessels were originally delivered in 2011 from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea. Stena Crystal Sky and Stena Clear Sky each have an LNG carrying capacity of 174,000 cbm.“As part of our strategy to continuously look for new opportunities, Stena Bulk took the decision some time ago to sell Stena Crystal Sky and Stena Clear Sky," said Erik Hånell, President & CEO of Stena Bulk.

Accelleron’s Japanese joint venture company Turbo Systems United signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Furuno to cooperate in digital activities. The agreement, the first of its kind for the Accelleron group in Japan, is aimed at improving access to optimization solutions and digitally enabled services.

QatarEnergy signed time-charter party (TCP) agreements with Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) for the operation of 25, 174,000 cubic meter LNG vessels as part of the second ship-owner tender under QatarEnergy’s historic LNG Fleet Expansion Program.The agreements were signed by His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy and Mr. Abdullah Al Sulaiti, the CEO of Nakilat, in a special ceremony held at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha…

Espen Andersen, a pilot boat driver for DanPilot, the independent public enterprise owned by the Danish state, takes his love of maritime and LEGOs to new heights, creating a LEGO model of the pilot boat he sails for Svendborg, Denmark-based company. Andersen has registered the pilot boat for LEGO Ideas, a forum where fans can submit suggestions for upcoming LEGO sets. If the idea is to become a reality and be considered for a new production at LEGO, the pilot boat needs to receive 10,000 votes.“At DanPilot, many passionate seafarers work on dedicated hobby projects.

StormGeo, part of Alfa Laval, completed the acquisition of Brazil based meteorological service, Climatempo.StormGeo first took an initial 51% stake in the Climatempo Group in 2019. In 2023, a further 38.66% was secured, marking an 89.66% ownership. This takeover sees StormGeo increasing its footprint in the South American market and providing advanced services to the Brazilian customer base.

Iridium Communications has entered into an agreement to acquire Satelles, Inc., a leader in secure satellite-based time and location services that complement and protect GPS and other GNSS-reliant systems. The service, named Satellite Time and Location (STL), is designed as an easy-to-adopt, secure solution that increases the efficiency and reliability of timing systems for digital infrastructure like 5G base stations, data centers, and other critical infrastructure and protects…

Maciej Jozwiak joined the GLO Marine team, with his experience expected to enhance the company's technical capacity to deliver high-end services to the retrofit and vessel upgrade market, with a focus on green technologies and decarbonization measures.Jozwiak brings more than six years of engineering project management at DAMEN and more than nine years as senior approval engineer at DNV’s Oslo Headquarters. His knowledge in structural engineering, adept project management, and…

NAPA introduced NAPA Studios, an initiative designed to foster cross-industry partnerships to deliver new data-driven solutions and insights on some of the most imminent ship design, safety and operational challenges faced by the maritime industry.NAPA Studios will harness NAPA's own digital tools and experience, while working directly with individual shipyards, shipowners, charterers, and other supply chain stakeholders in tailored projects. This offering will, for example, enable shipyards to make a greater use of ships’ operational data to improve future designs, while other projects will support shipowners and charterers in assessing…

Swire Shipping commemorated the opening of its new Japan branch office in Tokyo on February 21,2024 with an event at The Palace Hotel in Tokyo, marking Swire Shipping’s official return to Japan with a physical presence.A highlight of the evening was the Kagami-biraki ceremony – the customary breaking open of a sake barrel – a tradition steeped in respect and appreciation. Esteemed long-serving former employees of Swire, who had served the company with dedication in the past, shared a toast of sake alongside the current Japan team onstage.