(MarineLog) Tampa, Fla., based Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (NYSE: OSG) has been awarded $3,000,000 by the U.S. Department of Energy for the engineering and design of an articulated tug and barge unit (ATB). OSG first announced its ambitions to get into the captured carbon storage and transportation business back in December last year and the LCO2 ATB’s role in those plans will be to transport CO2 captured by emitters in the Greater Tampa Bay region and from across the State of Florida to sequestration sites in the Gulf of Mexico.

The LCO2 ATB design grant provides further resources for the development of a complete CO2 storage and transport solution for industrial emitters in Florida. It follows OSG’s receipt of a DOE grant for the development of OSG’s proposed Tampa Regional Intermodal Carbon Hub (T-RICH). The T-RICH grant funds a study led by OSG to develop an intermediate storage hub at Port Tampa Bay for captured CO2. T-RICH would initially receive, store, and process two million metric tons of CO2 per year and could be scaled

(MarineLog) Recently delivered to the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company by Anacortes, Wash., shipbuilder Dakota Creek Industries, the 13,600 barrel oil spill response barge Allison Creek is specifically designed to meet the rigorous requirements in Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

Designed by Seattle headquartered Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG), the Allison Creek has a capacity of 13,600 barrels, an overall length of 200 feet, beam of 42 feet, depth of 16 feet and is outfitted with a deck crane and on-deck houses to store emergency response equipment.

The spill response barge is certified by the United States Coast Guard for the recovery and disposal transport of petroleum products, ensuring compliance with applicable requirements outlined in USCG 46 CFR Subchapter D. Additionally, it is classed by ABS for Oil Spill Recovery.

EBDG developed the complete contract and functional design drawing and document package as well as managing the submittal and engineering liaison process with the USCG and ABS. Lofting and systems modeling were provided by EBDG in partnership with Adaptive Marine Solutions, Inc. During construction, EBDG and Dakota

Earlier this month, the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) gathered at the International Seafarers’ Center in Newark, N.J., for its first meeting of 2024. Among the agenda items was a formal transition in board leadership.

Bruce Paulsen, Esq., partner at New York law firm Seward & Kissel, who had chaired SCI’s board for the past six years, stepped down, and Mark Knoy, trustee since 2008 and formerly vice chair of the board, assumed the position as chair.

Paulsen successfully steered the Institute through challenging times, including the long period of restrictions imposed by the pandemic, which limited SCI’s ability to easily engage with mariners and seafarers, conduct training sessions at its facilities in Paducah, Ky., and Houston, Texas, and host its maritime events. Additionally, he guided the transition in directorship for SCI and SCI’s Center for Mariner Advocacy.

The Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, president and executive director of SCI, expressed appreciation for Paulsen’s exceptional leadership: “I am incredibly grateful for the stewardship he provided. His vision and unwavering commitment to our mission have positioned SCI for continued

(MarineLog) Signet Maritime’s Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard has recently completed the Signet Sirius. The first of two ART 92-32W Rotortugs, it and is the first ART (advanced Rotortug) that Signet has built for its fleet.

Designed by Robert Allan Ltd. in collaboration with RotorTug BV, the vessels incorporate the patented triple Z-drive Rotortug propulsion layout, featuring omni-directional maneuverability, and the benefits of a fully redundant and precise propulsion machinery configuration. The Rotortug concept offers increased redundancy for ship-handling, terminal support, and escort towing, as well as enhanced crew safety.

Designed to escort deep-draft VLCCs in and out of the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, Signet Sirius is the most powerful 32-meter ART to date, with a bollard pull of more than 90 tonnes.

Extensive analyses and simulations were performed to confirm the suitability of the ART 92-32W for the proposed Corpus Christi operations. These included simulations at the Seamen’s Church Institute and TDT-Sim analysis by Robert Allan Ltd., in conjunction with Markey Machinery, to ensure proper winch selection for the tug to meet the environmental criteria

(MarineLog) OpenTug, the digital shipping startup built to connect freight with barges and terminals nationwide, reports that it has raised an oversubscribed $3.1 million seed round investment.

Led by Entrada Ventures, the funds will be used to further develop the company’s industry-leading technology and grow OpenTug’s network of shippers and service providers to help America move marine freight at unprecedented levels.

The OpenTug digital maritime marketplace gives shippers access to thousands of barges, tugs, and terminals across over 25,000 miles of marine highways, while its SaaS platform enables operators to automate their pricing, routing, tracking, booking, and marketing.

An increasing number of shippers are joining the OpenTug network to leverage the Mississippi River, Ohio River, intracoastal waterways, coastal regions, and oceans to find more efficient ways to move freight.

OpenTug says that it has already onboarded over 30% of US barge capacity and 200 terminals. In 2023, the platform helped three million tons of cargo find its way to the waterways. Its SaaS services now help marine transportation providers such as TOTE Maritime, SEA.O.G, McDonough

(Marine Log) 

Representing what Rolls-Royce Power Systems says is “a low double-digit million dollar investment,” the company has opened a new remanufacturing and overhaul center at its MTU Aiken site in South Carolina.

The new 69,000 square foot (6,400 square meter) facility is connected to the existing manufacturing operations at MTU Aiken. It brings formerly outsourced workshop and warehouse operations in-house and expands them to provide remanufacturing and overhaul of MTU Series 2000 and Series 4000 engines and Detroit Diesel two-stroke engines and components, plus internal and external rework services.

Initially focused on parts remanufacturing for after sales support, the facility is targeted to remanufacture 20,000 parts per year once fully operational, greatly improving spare part availability and customer support in the region.

“We have more than 150,000 engines in the field and our service business is growing,” said Dr Jörg Stratmann, CEO, Rolls-Royce Power Systems. “Service is not just maintenance and repair, but also upgrades, remanufacturing and digital services for predictive maintenance. Our customers trust us, and we want to fulfil this trust throughout

(Marine Log) 

Houston-headquartered SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SMHI) is to acquire four state-of-the-art energy storage systems from Kongsberg Maritime AS. They will be installed on four of SEACOR Marine’s platform supply vessels (PSVs), equipping them for battery hybrid operation.

The four vessels included in the contract are the SEACOR Ohio, SEACOR Alps, SEACOR Andes and SEACOR Atlas. Installation is expected to begin in December 2024 and to be completed by the second quarter of 2025. Once installed, more than 50% of SEACOR Marine’s PSV fleet will be hybrid powered.

The four PSVs, all of Kongsberg Maritime UT771 CDL design, will be equipped for battery hybrid operation by the installation of a Kongsberg containerized deckhouse energy storage system (DESS) and associated switchboards and thruster control systems. The upgrade will also see a new Kongsberg Maritime K-Pos dynamic positioning (DP) system installed to replace the current DP system on all four vessels.

Beginning in February 2024 in Ulsteinvik, Norway, Kongsberg Maritime will also upgrade the UT771 CDL SEACOR Yangtze with the deckhouse energy storage system.

“Our

(Marine Log) 

Privately held, Seattle-headquartered Saltchuk Resources Inc. has made a new offer to acquire NYSE-listed tanker and ATB operator Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG). Saltchuk, which is OSG’s largest shareholder, made an earlier offer to acquire the rest of OSG in June 2021 but suspended those discussions that September, citing pandemic-related market uncertainties.

Today, OSG confirmed that its board of directors had received an unsolicited non-binding indication of interest from Saltchuk for the acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of the company that Saltchuk does not already own for $6.25 per share in cash.

“Consistent with its fiduciary duties, OSG’s board of directors will be carefully considering and evaluating, in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, this indication of interest in due course,” said OSG, noting that it “does not intend to comment further on the unsolicited indication of interest or any related matters until its board of directors has determined that disclosure is necessary or appropriate.”

In its letter to the OSG board, signed by Saltchuk Holdings chairman Mark Tabbutt , Saltchuk