Damen and Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) have signed a contract for 14 Damen ASD Tugs. An extensive process of yard prequalification and tender evaluation finally resulted in an award to Damen this summer. The series consist of two types, with 9 tugs of Damen’s recently launched 3212 model and 5 units of the well-known…
The Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) had two successful navigational trials to test the port access and turning basins for 15,500 TEU vessels last week. The first trial was on the Eleonora Maersk arriving from the Suez Canal’s North Bound Convoy, with a draft of 14.9 meters she berthed alongside before safely re-joining the…
Dutch warship HNLMS Rotterdam, on the morning of 11 Oct, put an end to the activities of a group of suspected pirates from Somalia. The suspected pirates and their boat were taken on board the Rotterdam pending further decision. The search for the pirate action group began the previous afternoon when the Spanish fishing…
Update: Recent reports claim that the ransom amount was $2.3 million. The pirate group initially wanted $9 million, but negotiations resulted in a lower amount. The ship’s owners, Free Bulkers SA, did not comment about the ransom payment claims. After being held for over eight (8) months, Somali pirates have finally released the Greek-owned…