TX, Houston

15. дек, 9:02 Collision shuts Houston Ship Channel indefinitely The Houston Ship Channel, the...

seagull 15. дек, 9:02
Collision shuts Houston Ship Channel indefinitely
The Houston Ship Channel, the busiest U.S. petrochemical port, was shut indefinitely on Tuesday after two vessels collided in heavy fog, a Coast Guard spokesman said, Reuters reports. There were no injuries or fires after a tanker and a cargo vessel collided at about 8 a.m. CST near the Texas City Dike, which is in the lower end of the channel between Galveston and Texas City.

There were no oil or chemicals spilled during the collision on the 53-mile (85-km) waterway that routes vessels from the Gulf of Mexico to the huge complex of refineries in Houston and Texas City, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

The tanker was believed to be carrying the chemical acetone, a cleaning solvent, the spokesman said. It was not known what the cargo vessel was carrying.

The vessels involved were the tanker Charleston and the cargo vessel Harvest Sun, both about 50,000 tons dead weight and about 600 feet long, the Coast Guard said.

The Charleston was northbound, headed to Houston. The Harvest Sun was southbound, headed from Houston to Texas City, the Coast guard said.

Both vessels anchored safely outside the channel, awaiting investigators, the spokesman said.

Houston Pilots had stopped boarding vessels due to the fog prior to the accident, the spokesman said, and it was unclear when the fog would lift or boarding would resume.

Houston refineries along the ship channel are Lyondell Basell's 268,000 barrel-per-day refinery, Pasadena Refining's 100,000-bpd refinery, Valero Energy Corp's (VLO.N) 83,000-bpd refinery and Royal Dutch Shell's (RDSa.L) joint-venture 327,000 bpd refinery in Deer Park.

Exxon Mobil Corp's 560,640-bpd refinery in Baytown, the country's largest, also receives crude via the waterway.

The refineries in Texas City supplied by the ship channel are BP Plc.'s 437,080-bpd refinery, Valero's 214,000-bpd refinery and Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s 76,000-bpd refinery.

en.portnews.ru

9. ноя, 14:09 Port of Houston OKs agreements with BOSTCO At a special meeting on November 7th...

seagull 9. ноя, 14:09
Port of Houston OKs agreements with BOSTCO
At a special meeting on November 7th, the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority approved a 25-year lease agreement with Battleground Oil Specialty Terminal Company LLC (BOSTCO) for approximately 55 acres of Port Authority-owned property adjacent to Peggy Lake and on Barnes Island.

The Port Commission also approved issuing a marine construction permit to BOSTCO, as well as a dredged material agreement with BOSTCO for the placement of about 2.2 million cubic yards of dredged material, the Port Authority said Monday.


Consideration of these items was continued from the last Port Commission Meeting on Oct. 25, to allow BOSTCO and Enterprise Refined Products Company, which has operations adjoining the site, to further discuss matters voiced by Enterprise at that meeting.


Representatives from the companies gave brief presentations today.


"We appreciate the extra effort to provide us an opportunity to look at the design and safety aspects of the project," said Lynn Bourdon, Senior Vice President at Enterprise. "We remain committed to operational safety and feel very positive about the outcome."

The liquid terminal will be the first "greenfield" terminal built at the Port of Houston in more than 25 years and when completed, will result in 75 full-time jobs, Jeffrey R. Armstrong, President of Terminals for Kinder Morgan, told the Port Commission. BOSTCO is a joint venture between Kinder Morgan and TransMontaigne Partners L.P.

BOSTCO is planning the large-scale liquid bulk terminal on and adjacent to Barnes Island and requested the proposed lease to allow portions of BOSTCO's docks to be constructed on Port Authority-owned submerged lands adjacent to the Port Authority's Peggy Lake Dredged Material Placement Area, and storage tanks to be placed on filled submerged lands on Barnes Island.


The BOSTCO and Enterprise facilities will share use of a barge channel, which is also located over Port Authority submerged lands. As a part of its permitting process, the Port Authority helped bring the companies together to forge a joint agreement on use of the channel. Representatives of the Houston Pilots, U.S. Coast Guard, barge and tug operators, and the Seaman's Church Institute Center for Maritime Education, which provided bridge simulator facilities, all contributed to this outcome.


About the Port of Houston Authority

The Port of Houston Authority facilitates commerce, navigation and safe waterways promoting sustainable trade and generating economic development for the Houston region, Texas and the nation, while being a model environmental and security steward, and a community-focused and fiscally responsible organization.


Source: shippingazette.com

27. авг, 8:05 Port of Houston to get three new fireboats The Port Commission of the Port of H...

seagull 27. авг, 8:05
Port of Houston to get three new fireboats
The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority has approved a contract with MetalCraft Marine, Inc. or its affiliate, through the federal General Services Administration, for the purchase of three high-tech fireboats, at a total price of $14,970,000, using $11.23 million in Port Security Grant Program funds awarded by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and 25 percent Port Authority matching funds of $3.7 million, MarineLog reports.


The Port Authority's Marine Fire Department provides critical, waterborne fire protection services to vessel and landside facilities in the upper Houston Ship Channel. These new high-tech fireboats will replace a fleet of three boats whose average age now exceeds 30 years. MetalCraft Marine's fireboats operate at speeds almost 2.5 times faster than the Port Authority's current fireboats, and their water cannons discharge up to 15,000 gallons per minute (nearly four times the current boats' output). Their engines are also certified low-emission.

Source: shippingonline.cn

29. июн, 12:57 Lloyd's Register moves its regional HQ to Houston Lloyd’s Register Americas, In...

seagull 29. июн, 12:57
Lloyd's Register moves its regional HQ to Houston
Lloyd’s Register Americas, Inc. has moved its Houston-area operations to a new regional headquarters to capitalise on the growing opportunities arising from the new regulatory regime in the Gulf, a thriving merchant marine business and concerns about global warming, MarineLink reported.

The move, which has consolidated five separate businesses under one roof, responded to greater market demand for integrated technical solutions in the increasingly interdependent and complex marine and energy sectors.

"Ensuring the operational efficiency of your assets and the safety of a modern workforce requires a deep understanding of the critical interactions between people, technology and process. As a leading technical-assurance provider, we are increasingly being asked to provide integrated solutions," said Paul Huber, President Lloyd's Register Americas, Inc. "Bringing all of the diverse skill-sets of our people under one roof ensures that we can consistently deliver what industry needs."

Huber said new regulations arising from the Macondo well disaster 14 months ago and increased calls for independent technical oversight had reshaped the opportunity landscape for organisations such as Lloyd's Register.

The move to the new regional headquarters brings together Lloyd's Register Energy Americas, Inc. (formed last year by the merger of Lloyd's Register Celerity3, Inc. and Lloyd's Register Capstone, Inc.), Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance, Inc., Lloyd's Register North America, Inc., ModuSpec USA, Inc. and Scandpower, Inc.

In all, almost 300 employees will be brought together, including technical experts from the marine, offshore, power, chemicals and management-systems sectors, and from safety-critical disciplines such as asset-integrity, process or risk management and human factors.

"Our clients are increasingly asking for integrated technical solutions, whether they are a merchant ship-owner looking to validate their carbon footprint, or rig and refinery operators looking to better understand the safety culture of their workforce," Huber said. "By bringing our people together, we are responding to that."

Members of the Lloyd's Register Group have been operating in the United States for 136 years, with the organisation having opened its first offices in New Jersey and San Francisco in 1875.

Source: shippingonline.cn

27. июн, 21:12 Port of Houston Authority, ACP renew strategic alliance The Panama Canal Author...

seagull 27. июн, 21:12
Port of Houston Authority, ACP renew strategic alliance
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the Port of Houston Authority renewed their strategic alliance yesterday during an official ceremony in Panama City, Panama. The partnership, which was originally formed in 2003, is now extended for five years until 2016. It aims to boost trade along the “All-Water Route” between Asia and the U.S. Gulf Coast via the Panama Canal and the Port of Houston Authority, the Maritime Executive reported.

Port Commission Chairman James T. Edmonds and ACP Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta signed the memorandum of understanding, inking the renewed partnership.

As a result of the Panama Canal expansion project, the anticipated increase in containerized cargo going to Houston could grow by 15 percent in the next few years, with a projected 150 percent increase to a total of 4.5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) by 2030.


The $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, which broke ground in 2007, includes the construction of a new set of locks that will allow the transit of longer and wider ships.


The Port of Houston Authority and the ACP will both celebrate their centennial in 2014 – the same year that work on the waterway’s expansion is expected to be completed.


“The renewal of this agreement signals an even stronger relationship between Houston’s port and Panama,” said Port Commission Chairman James T. Edmonds. “We look forward to the increased trade expected from the Canal’s expansion, jobs creation and enhanced economic development in the region as we move toward another century of progress.”


”As we forge ahead with the expansion of the Panama Canal, we are committed to strengthening our partnerships with ports in the United States. The expansion will benefit ports along the East and Gulf Coasts of the U.S., and we look forward to continuing our relationship with the Port of Houston Authority,” said ACP Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta.


With this renewed agreement, the two entities’ objective is to foster significant growth in trade and to increase traffic through the Canal with such activities as:


• Joint Marketing to generate new shipping business via promotions, advertising and public relations activities;
• Data Sharing to forecast future trade flows and market trends;
• Market Studies Exchange that may benefit either party in future product development or business venture;
• Sharing of Information Related to Modernization and Improvement projects that serve as a benefit to business and spur increased demand; and,
• Technological Interchange of advanced technology capabilities and programs to spur cutting-edge initiatives in the shipping and maritime community.
Leading business and government officials, shipping dignitaries and distinguished guests, including a delegation from the Greater Houston Partnership, attended the ceremony in Panama City. Delegates from Houston also included Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan and city of Houston Controller Ronald Green.

seanews.ru

8. июн, 13:32 STX Marine to design Eastern Shipbuilding newbuilds STX Marine reports that it ...

seagull 8. июн, 13:32
STX Marine to design Eastern Shipbuilding newbuilds
STX Marine reports that it will be providing the designs for two new contracts recently secured by Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Fla., Marine Log reports. The first contract is for a 310 ft multi-purpose light construction vessel for Harvey Gulf International LLC. The new LCV300, to be named Harvey Deep-Sea, will be an enhanced version of the STX Marine's SV300 currently being constructed for Harvey Gulf Marine at Eastern Shipbuilding and will include accommodations for 71 persons; a 165 tonne AHC deck crane; moonpool; stern roller; helideck; fifi ll and ROV hangar.
The second contract is for the design of five platform supply vessels for Boldini S.A in Brazil, that are being built with the support of a $241 million Title XI shipbuilding loan guarantee from MARAD. The SV290 will have a deadweight of approximately 4500 tonnes and has been specifically tailored to meet the current Petrobras requirements.
STX Marine, with offices located in Vancouver, British Columbia and Houston, Texas, is a consulting naval architecture and marine engineering company established in 1983 and is a leading designer of offshore support vessels for the North American and International markets.

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