Headlines Friday 19th July 2019
Noble Corp. lands extensions for jack-ups working in UK and Saudi Arabia
Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation has been awarded contract extensions for two jack-up rigs in the UK and Saudi Arabia.
In its latest fleet status report released on Thursday, Noble Corp. said that Total had awarded a contract extension to the Noble Sam Hartley jack-up. The extension is from mid-July to mid-April 2020. The 2014-built rig has been working for Total in the UK since October 2018.
Furthermore, Saudi Aramco has awarded an extension to the Noble Joe Beall jack-up. This will keep the rig working in Saudi Arabia until late December 2019 with a dayrate of $65,000. The Noble Joe Beall has been working for Saudi Aramco since January 2016. The rig was built in 1981 and rebuilt in 2004.
In other news, the 2013-built drillship Noble Don Taylor is preparing at a shipyard in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico for mobilization to Guyana where it will operate for ExxonMobil.
The 2014-built jack-up Noble Houston Colbert is at a shipyard in the UK preparing for a contract with an unnamed client, which is scheduled to start in early November 2019.
British Ports Association to continue championing coastal shipping
The British Ports Association (BPA) is holding its annual Coastal Shipping Seminar later this summer to continue promoting opportunities for UK ports, shipping operators and cargo owners. In comparison with other transport modes, shipping is an efficient and environmentally sustainable option but often cargo owners are not always fully aware of coastal shipping transport options.
However by utilising the UK’s diverse network of ports, coastal shipping has the potential to ease congestion, overcome environmental pressures and haulage driver shortages and also improve connectivity between regions. Last year the BPA hosted its inaugural coastal shipping event which attracted a range of representatives from the bulk and container shipping sectors and a repeat one day event is now planned for Thursday 12 September in London.
Commenting on the importance of coastal shipping and moving freight within the UK by sea, as well as what will be discussed at the seminar, Sara Walsh, the BPA’s Corporate Services Manager said:
“We are aware of the importance of existing coastal shipping routes and possible new markets which would help to sustain trade between regions around the UK. As mentioned in the Department for Transport’s Port Connectivity Study, coastal shipping is a potentially underused domestic freight mode. Waterborne freight transport can also provide environmental benefits and can reduce road congestion as well, which could play a major role in helping the UK reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, which is particularly pertinent in the current policy climate.
We held our first coastal shipping event in November last year and look forward to continuing to provide a platform for individual ports to outline what they have been doing to develop their offer, and for shipping companies and freight operators to discuss their business needs and aims. There is growing interest in the sector, both from freight operators but also from policy makers, and what emerged last year is how vibrant the short sea dry bulks and container sectors are in and around the UK.”
90% of the UK population lives within 30 miles of the coast, and no part of the UK is more than 70 miles from it. One of the recommendations of the Department for Transport’s 2017 Port Connectivity Study was for the DfT Maritime Modal Connectivity Team to work with industry to better understand the barriers, challenges and market opportunities of coastal shipping and inland waterways within the current freight landscape. Aside from liquid bulks, hinterland coastal shipping and container markets are on the rise.
Public sector workers 'to get £2bn pay rise'
Two million public sector workers are reportedly set to get a £2bn pay rise. The Treasury will unveil the biggest public sector pay rise in six years as one of Theresa May's final acts as prime minister, the Times reported.
Soldiers are set to get a 2.9% rise while teachers and other school staff will get 2.75%, police officers, dentists and consultants 2.5% and senior civil servants 2%. The Treasury is expected to confirm the increases in an announcement on Monday. The government is expected to say the money will come from existing budgets, according to the paper.
The workers - mostly in England only - will receive salary raises above the level of inflation as a departure from the public sector pay restrictions brought in by the coalition government.
Public sector pay was frozen for two years in 2010, except for those earning less than £21,000 a year, and after that rises were capped at 1% - below the rate of inflation. Theresa May continued the cap until last year when she announced austerity was coming to an end.
The rises do not apply to other public sector staff, such as more junior civil servants and nurses, the Times added. Their pay is dealt with separately.
Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, said the proposals were similar to pay rises implemented last year. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that many of the pay increases were "only just" above inflation - which is currently at 2% - and were still slower than average pay rises in the private sector.
Both public and private sector workers have seen their average pay rising more slowly than prices since 2010.
Mr Johnson said it would be "difficult" to make the argument that funding would come from existing budgets - and therefore it would mean cuts elsewhere. He said budgets for next year had not yet been set and he "would be surprised" if they do not increase.
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said if the money were to come from existing budgets, cuts would have to be made elsewhere to fund the above inflation aspect of the pay increases.
"That is a big challenge for Theresa May's successor," he said. "Will they say the age of austerity is finished and fully fund them? Or will they say cuts will be have to be made virtually as soon as they take office?"
Headlines Thursday 18th July 2019
ShipChain, GTX Corp Partner Up on NFC Blockchain Shipment Tracking Solution
Blockchain-based solution provider ShipChain and GTX Corp, a tech firm offering GPS and NFC tracking location-based services, have announced a partnership for a new global NFC blockchain shipment tracking solution. Under the agreement, ShipChain will use GTX’s temperature enabled NFC smart tags to track temperature-sensitive shipments.
As explained, the tag requires no scanners, or wires, and records temperatures based on customer-defined intervals and durations. In addition, GTX offers other NFC products that ShipChain will utilize to optimize its Track and Trace Platform.
“ShipChain’s new partnership with GTX is another step toward reaching our goal: a transparent, unified, end-to-end logistics platform,” John Monarch, ShipChain CEO, commented.
“While developing our … NFC products…, we realized we needed to incorporate blockchain security in order to be an influencer in the shipment tracking and monitoring business. By collaborating and integrating our technologies with ShipChain, we will enhance our speed to market while providing a much needed comprehensive solution for the industry,” Patrick Bertagna, GTX Corp CEO, said.
The NFC tags provide real-time temperature sensing and data logging across the supply chain necessary with transportation of perishables; food, drinks, pharmaceuticals and other temperature sensitive products that can be negatively affected by conditions in transit. These built-in security measures can prevent the distribution of contaminated supplies in the marketplace and unauthorized modification of data logs, allowing brands, retailers, distributors, and freight forwarders to verify shipment quality.
The encrypted data collected from the tags will be uploaded to the ShipChain blockchain backend providing authentication and chain of custody. This new service will enable temperature-sensitive shipments to be efficiently monitored while in transit, with the potential to manage a range of new government regulatory requirements for perishable shipments.
Integration between ShipChain and GTX has already begun and a joint client will be announced once all details have been finalized, according to the duo. Additionally, ShipChain will begin offering GTX enabled services to all customers as part of the expanding partnership.
“We are seeing more and more demand for efficient, secure, and cost-effective supply chain management solutions and this partnership will deliver all of that plus the tools for data analysis to help reduce shipping costs, comply with regulatory requirements and provide brands the peace of mind that they are not delivering tainted products prior to retail consumption,” Theresa Gordon, GTX Corp NFC business leader, noted.
Offshore Wind Needs Long-Term Risk Management Strategy – Gcube
Offshore wind industry must quickly respond to a changing global risk profile in order to avoid large-scale financial losses, GCube Insurance said.
As the offshore wind sector expands globally, prices fall, and technology evolves, asset owners and investors are becoming increasingly exposed to technical and supply chain risks, alongside natural catastrophe and extreme weather, the renewable energy insurance services provider said. More sustainable approaches to risk management and insurance are required to ensure that this changing risk profile does not impact project delivery and successful long-term operations.
GCube’s analysis of claims data gathered over the past twelve months from construction projects and operational offshore wind farms highlights several key trends that must be carefully managed in order to ensure project success. This includes a number of costly inter-array cable faults caused by malfunction of fibre optics designed to monitor cable performance. Cabling losses account for 55% of total claims handled by GCube in the past 12 months.
The analysis has also revealed a rise in the frequency and severity of claims relating to foundations – particularly monopiles installed at deepwater sites. Foundation-related losses now account for 35% of total claims. When it comes to the floating wind, significant mechanical breakdown losses incurred at all but one of the floating wind installations currently in operation worldwide, GCube Insurance said.
Looking beyond Europe, increased exposure to natural catastrophe in the Taiwanese and US offshore wind markets as well as losses involving extreme weather events that cause significant project damage but do not fall under conventional definitions of natural catastrophe. And lastly, ongoing issues related to contractor error as the industry drives to reduce the levelized cost of energy in established markets, putting pressure on the supply chain, and begins to work with inexperienced local teams in emerging markets. Human error is involved in 70% of total claims over the past 12 months.
“Many of these claims trends could be marked down as ‘growing pains’ linked to global expansion and a drive for cost parity with conventional energy. However, if they are not properly managed, they will put these goals at risk,” said Jatin Sharma, President, GCube Insurance Services.
“If the industry continues to squeeze the supply chain, while at the same time commercialising new technologies in new global markets, it will become increasingly vulnerable to large-scale financial losses that dent investor confidence and put projects at risk. A long-term, responsible outlook is required – both from offshore wind asset developers and owners, and from insurance providers – to ensure that lessons are learnt quickly, and take into account the changing risk profile of construction and operation.”
EU is 'unimpressed' by threats of no-deal Brexit – BBC
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator said in an interview to be published on Thursday that he was unimpressed by threats of no-deal Brexit but that if the United Kingdom opted for such a course it would have to face the consequences. Asked by the BBC what would happen if London tore up its EU membership card, Michel Barnier said: “The UK will have to face the consequences.”
“I think that the UK side, which is well informed and competent and knows the way we work on the EU side, knew from the very beginning that we’ve never been impressed by such a threat,” Barnier said. “It’s not useful to use it”.
Barnier spoke to the BBC before Britain’s Conservative Party leadership contest. Boris Johnson, who is the frontrunner in the contest to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, has pledged to leave the EU with or without a deal on Oct. 31.
If Johnson wins, the three-year Brexit crisis could deepen as the EU has refused to countenance changing the Withdrawal Agreement and the British parliament could try to block a no-deal Brexit. Barnier said the Withdrawal Agreement “is the only way to leave the EU in an orderly manner”.
EU Commission’s first vice-president, Frans Timmermans, told the BBC that UK ministers were “running around like idiots” when they arrived to negotiate Brexit in 2017. Timmermans said he was shocked by the standard of the British negotiation after initially expecting a brilliant show.
“We thought they are so brilliant,” he said. “That in some vault somewhere in Westminster there will be a Harry Potter-like book with all the tricks and all the things in it to do.”
But then: “I thought, ‘Oh my God, they haven’t got a plan, they haven’t got a plan.' Time’s running out and you don’t have a plan. It’s like Lance Corporal Jones, you know, ‘Don’t panic, don’t panic!’ Running around like idiots.”
Headlines Wednesday 17th July 2019
Offshore wind auction could raise millions for Queen
The Queen’s property managers will this week set out terms for the world’s biggest offshore wind auction in a decade. Industry experts expect the complex bidding process to raise record sums, which could increase energy bills and hand a windfall to the crown – potentially generating more than £100m a year in royalties for the Queen.
The Crown Estate, which manages the monarch’s property portfolio, holds exclusive rights to lease the seabed around the British Isles for wind and wave power. Its profits go to the Treasury, which then sends 25% back to the royal household in the form of the sovereign grant. Criticised as a cash grab by some energy companies, the auction has already prompted calls for a review of whether the Queen should have the right to claim any revenues from offshore wind.
“If this source of value is going to increase fourfold, let’s make sure that value stays with the public rather than being spent on redoing the royal palace,” said Molly Scott Cato, the finance spokesperson for the Green party.
The sovereign grant was increased two years ago, from its previous level of 15%, in order to pay for extensive renovations at Buckingham Palace. It is to stay at 25% for a 10-year period, meaning the royal household should benefit directly from the money raised from the new leases.
Forecasts predict that offshore wind will be the UK’s fastest growing source of electricity in the decades to come. The Queen’s seabeds generate 8% of the country’s electricity generation, but that could increase to a third by 2030 under government targets. A more ambitious target of almost 80% from offshore wind by 2050 has been proposed by the Committee on Climate Change.
The cost of building turbines has plummeted, and pension funds, oil and infrastructure multinationals are now jostling for a share of the market.
The Crown Estate charges royalties equal to 2% of revenues for use of its seabeds, and collected £41m from existing leases last year. With many more plots already leased and under construction, these amounts will balloon. The Crown Estate does not make its forecasts public. However, if the government’s 2030 target is met, the Queen could be collecting more than £100m a year within a decade.
Hornsea One, the largest planned offshore facility in the world, will be a large contributor to crown coffers. When it comes fully onstream in 2021, at a cost of £500m a year to electricity bill payers, the crown will receive £10m a year. Offshore wind is paid for as a percentage of household bills. At present, 3p in every pound of a dual-fuel energy bill goes to turbine operators, on top of the money they earn from the wholesale electricity market. The crown then takes 2% of operator’s total revenues in royalties.
This year’s sale, the fourth held by the crown, marks a step change in how the royal seabeds are monetised. For the first time, renewable energy companies will be asked to submit an upfront payment to win a licence.
Five UK concessions are being auctioned: Dogger Bank, Southern North Sea, East Anglia, North Wales and Irish Sea. Between them, they represent 7 gigawatts of capacity. Each lease will run for 60 years. After a selection process to identify the best proposals, shortlisted projects will be invited to make bids. The winners will be those offering the highest upfront payment.
Wrangles with bidders over the terms have already delayed the tender, which was originally due to take place this spring. Final details will be revealed in a presentation to industry on Thursday. The draft format, which is likely to be tweaked, is for an “option fee” that only reduces once the wind farms are up and running. This would be on top of the annual royalty. Winning bids would also have to make a payment equal to 10% of the option fee every year in “rent” while the facility is being built.
Renewable energy developers have warned that the lack of transparency could lead to a “runaway” auction, which would ultimately raise costs of energy bills.
One industry source said the new option payments would be factored into the overall costs of the project. This would be passed on to bill payers via the annual payment the developers of renewables receive for supplying the grid. These payments are determined by a separate subsidy auction, organised by the government. Because the option fee would inflate the subsidy, it would also lead to more money being collected under the crown’s 2% royalty charge.
McDermott Bags FEED Contract for Sohar LNG Bunkering Project
US-based McDermott International has received a contract to provide front-end engineering design (FEED) services for the Sohar LNG Bunkering Project in Oman. The project has an aim of establishing Oman as a regional LNG bunkering hub capable of supplying LNG as a fuel to marine vessels.
Under the deal, awarded by Total Oman E&P Development B.V. in partnership with Oman Oil Company S.O.A.C., the scope of work during the FEED phase includes fully defining the onshore mid-scale LNG facilities and preparing a competitive tender for the engineering, procurement, supply, construction and commissioning phase.
The global LNG bunkering market is entering a rapid growth period driven largely by the International Maritime Organization’s legislation to significantly limit sulphur emissions.
Work on the project will begin immediately and the contract award will be reflected in McDermott’s second quarter 2019 backlog.
More than 60 British lords criticise Corbyn over anti-Semitism
More than 60 opposition Labour members of Britain’s upper house of parliament signed a statement in a newspaper on Wednesday accusing leader Jeremy Corbyn of failing “the test of leadership” over anti-Semitism in the party. Corbyn, a veteran campaigner for Palestinian rights and critic of the Israeli government, has long been dogged by charges he has allowed a culture of anti-Semitism to thrive in Britain’s main opposition party - something he denies.
Eight lawmakers left the party earlier this year over anti-Semitism and Corbyn’s position on Brexit, which has also angered many members who want Labour to adopt an unequivocal pro-European Union position.
The statement in the Guardian newspaper, signed by several former ministers when Labour was in power from 1997 to 2010, has a stark message: “The Labour Party welcomes everyone* irrespective of race, creed, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation. (*except, it seems, Jews).”
“You have failed to defend our party’s anti-racist values. You have therefore failed the test of leadership.”
The statement, signed by about a third of Labour members in the House of Lords including former ministers such as Peter Mandelson, challenged whether the party could ever win a national election “if we can’t get our own house in order”.
Last week, a BBC programme reported that Corbyn’s office had interfered in the independent party discipline processes aimed at rooting out anti-Semitism, a charge rejected by the party.
A Labour spokesman said the party stood “in solidarity with Jewish people and are fully committed to the support, defence and celebration of the Jewish community” and speeding up its procedures to deal with anti-Semitism cases.
“Regardless of false and misleading claims about the party by those hostile to Jeremy Corbyn’s politics, Labour is taking decisive action against anti-Semitism,” he said.
Corbyn has made clear through the media that anti-Semitism had no place in the party, it said.
Headlines Tuesday 16th July 2019
Bureau Veritas Joins International Windship Association
Classification society Bureau Veritas has joined the International Windship Association (IWSA) to help further the development of primary renewable solutions.
“A key focus area for BV is supporting safety and new technology including wind powered or wind assisted shipping. We are looking forward to working with the BV team in supporting the development of the growing technology segment,” IWSA said.
BV’s membership comes amid the shipping industry’s search for low carbon and zero emissions technologies that would deliver on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) initial strategy of reducing emissions by at least 50% by 2050.
The classification society would bring “a wealth of experience” to IWSA and fits well with the association’s longer term development approach, with the establishment of regional wind propulsion ‘centers of excellence’ or ‘hubs’ around the world. IWSA, the not-for-profit organization, has for the last 5 years been bringing together wind propulsion projects, research organisations and projects and promoting the wind as a credible, viable and increasingly economic option for commercial vessels.
This pace of development in wind propulsion is slated to continue, with an EU commissioned report on the wind propulsion market in 2017 predicting up to over 10,000 wind propulsion installations by 2030.
Will ships without sailors be the future of trade?
On 7 May, customs officers in Ostend, Belgium, received a box of oysters from the UK. The molluscs had been caught in Essex and transported to Belgium on a 12m (39ft) aluminium-hulled vessel, which traversed the English Channel with no humans on board. It was the world's first unmanned commercial shipping operation.
The crewless boat was carefully watched by four people in a control centre in Tollersbury, Essex, headquarters of Hushcraft, the company behind the design and development of the craft. UK and Belgian coastguards also monitored the oysters' progress.
"You could actually listen to the waves hitting the boat," says Ben Simpson, Hushcraft's managing director.
It boasts a hybrid diesel engine, electrical generators, satellite links, CCTV and thermal cameras, an automatic identification system to warn approaching vessels of its position and more.
The boat was made by SeaKIT, and the same vessel helped an international team of hydrographers, funded by the Japanese non-profit Nippon Foundation, win the $4m (£3.2m) Shell Ocean Discovery Xprize for advances in autonomously mapping the oceans. Now Hushcraft wants SeaKIT to be used for transporting cargo, hence mounting the 5kg box of oysters - a local delicacy - on to the vessel and sending it to Ostend. But is there a market for it?
"The benefits are many," says Mr Simpson. "You can send them around the world to do different jobs at a significantly reduced cost. Then, you don't have to have a galley, you don't have to have toilets. You can utilise space."
They are better for the environment as they can be electrically propelled, and since they can use smaller ports they can replace road transport and cut even more fumes, he says.
For Lawrence Brennan, a retired US navy captain and adjunct professor of admiralty and maritime law at Fordham University School of Law, all these virtues of uncrewed cargo ships come with certain caveats.
Ships with no sailors mean no risk to human life from fires or other hazards at sea. No-one needs to recruit staff, pay them, keep them trained or guard against unlicensed crew. The boats can go anywhere. But, in Prof Brennan's view, the first Achilles heel of unmanned shipping might be the very technology that created it.
A failure in communications between vessel and base will render it a ghost ship, hopelessly drifting without a soul on board, a hazard to its owners, the owners of its cargo, and the environment, he argues.
"Unmanned ships may be stopped by pirates by disabling shots or damaging the ship's propeller and rudder," Prof Brennan continues.
Karolina Zwolak, head of the Navigation Section at the Institute of Navigation and Marine Hydrography of the Polish Naval Academy, contributed to the success of the oysters' voyage. Part of her job was collision avoidance. Dr Zwolak is already working on the SeaKIT international team's next ambitious endeavour, which will be to sail across the Atlantic next year, but is aware of the technology's limitations.
"When unexpected situations occur on board, human creativity, experience, and non-schematic thinking can solve the problem," she says. So she does not see a revolution in the shipping industry in the near future.
"I just believe more and more tasks will be delegated on shore, using communication technology," she says.
For his part, Mr Simpson, who believes crewless short-sea transportation might not be a rarity in five years from now, says that problems such as the risk of piracy plague both manned and unmanned vessels. He also thinks it is not economically sound to lay people off.
"Unmanned ships need to be built, maintained, and controlled. The people that would have been on the bridge of a manned vessel are now in the office," he maintains, adding that a lot of training will be involved in the transition.
The other obstacle is the law. "The legal regime is decades, if not a century-and-a-half out of date," says Prof Brennan. "As unmanned ships were never contemplated until recently, legislation says manning is essential for having a ship that is seaworthy, classified, and authorised to operate in national waters and on the high seas," he explains.
For self-navigating ships to crisscross the oceans free from legal constraints, an entirely new maritime legislation will have to be drawn up and embedded in national laws and international regimes, otherwise financiers will be frightened off.
Still, the international maritime community is going through such a frenzy of technological creativity, that for Dr Zwolak there will be a solution soon. "Technology has always preceded law," she says.
Ryanair cuts 2020 passenger forecast, fearing Boeing MAX delays
Europe’s largest budget airline Ryanair (RYA.I) has cut its forecast for passenger numbers next summer, blaming possible further delays in deliveries of Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX planes. The Irish company said on Monday the move would also impact jobs as it would close or make cuts at the some of its bases for the winter 2019 and summer 2020 schedules.
The airline now expects to carry 3% more passengers next summer, down from its previous forecast of 7%. That reduces its traffic estimate for the year to March 2021 to around 157 million from 162 million.
Boeing’s top-selling jet was grounded in March after crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed a total of 346 people. The planemaker is working on a software fix that people close to the matter have said it hopes to present to regulators in September.
Ryanair expects the 737 MAX to return to service before the end of the year, with the first of new planes it has ordered to be delivered in January and February 2020. But the exact date is uncertain and Ryanair has revised its summer 2020 schedule based on 30 additional aircraft, rather than 58.
“Boeing is hoping that a certification package will be submitted to regulators by September with a return to service shortly thereafter,” Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said in a statement.
“We believe it would be prudent to plan for that date to slip by some months, possibly as late as December,” he said.
“As Ryanair have ordered the Boeing MAX200s, which are a variant of the MAX aircraft, these need to be separately certified by the FAA and EASA,” he added, referring to U.S. and European aviation regulators respectively.
“Ryanair expects that the MAX200 will be approved for flight services within 2 months of the MAX return to service.”
Ryanair said it would start discussions with airports to determine which of its underperforming or loss-making bases would be cut or closed from November 2019. The airline said it would also consult unions.
Ryanair shares were up 1.2% in early trading. The stock has fallen about 4% so far this year, hit by over-capacity and intense competition in Europe’s short-haul aviation market.
Headlines Monday 15th July 2019
Siemens Goes Local on Moray East
Siemens has placed multi-million pound contracts with companies across the UK for the construction of the transmission infrastructure for the Moray East offshore wind farm. As the lead contractor for onshore transmission infrastructure construction works for the 950MW wind farm, Siemens has placed several subcontracts since work began in September 2018.
BAM Nuttall has been appointed as the main subcontractor to complete the civils work for the onshore substation that is being constructed to connect the project to the grid. The contract will see BAM Nuttall’s Glasgow office complete civil and building works, including foundations for the transformers, shunt reactors and switchgear equipment as well as constructing the internal road, fence and internal drainage works at the new onshore substation being built at New Deer.
Firms from the area local to the onshore construction sites have been working on site enabling works ahead of major civil construction works including preparation of the substation site and onshore cable route as well as provision of building materials and plant, Siemens said.
Perth civil engineering company, I & H Brown are undertaking enabling work on the onshore substation site, while JGC Engineering and Technical Services of Thurso will fabricate and fit out the high voltage equipment containers which will be shipped later this summer for integration into the project’s offshore substation platforms. In addition, Barrier Architectural has been appointed to fabricate a set of containers from its Stockton-on-Tees facility.
VolkerInfra, based in Preston, will provide and install the high voltage onshore export cables for the project which stretch the 35km underground cable route from near Whitehills on the Aberdeenshire coast to the new substation site south of New Deer. VolkerInfra has appointed Scottish companies to deliver road improvements and complete horizontal directional drilling works required for the cable installation.
Siemens is responsible for the complete construction of the onshore substation, including three SVC Plus advanced STATCOMs, as well as supplying three offshore substation platform topsides for the project.
Anwer Amara-Korba, Project Director at Moray East for Siemens Transmission and Distribution, said: “This is one of the largest construction projects in Scotland and it is vital that companies based in the local area get to share in its success. It will be a key part of providing clean, sustainable energy for Scotland to meet its low carbon aims, providing enough power for one million homes. We’re very proud to be working on the Moray East project and with a team who are so firmly committed to leaving a positive legacy in Aberdeenshire.”
Moray East will comprise 100 MHI Vestas 9.5MW wind turbines mounted on jacket foundations at the site some 22 kilometres off the Aberdeenshire coast in Scotland. The wind farm is scheduled to be fully operational in 2022.
“Moray East has been in development for the last nine years and we are now progressing with construction across various elements of the project,'' Sarah Graham, Transmission Infrastructure Package Manager for Moray East said.
''The experience and capability of the local supply chain is crucial in delivering the transmission infrastructure required to grid connect the wind farm. We welcome Siemens’ appointment of its key subcontractors and look forward to working with them to deliver the project safely and successfully.”
Scottish wind power output at record high
Wind power output in Scotland hit a record high during the first six months of 2019, according to figures from Weather Energy. It has calculated the energy produced by turbines could power every home in Scotland and part of the north of England.
The period to June, it claimed, saw the equivalent of 4.47 million homes' consumption supplied by wind power. WWF Scotland has described the trend as a "wind energy revolution".
Its climate and energy policy manager Robin Parker, said: "These are amazing figures; Scotland's wind energy revolution is clearly continuing to power ahead.
"Up and down the country, we are all benefiting from cleaner energy and so is the climate. These figures show harnessing Scotland's plentiful onshore wind potential can provide clean, green electricity for millions of homes across not only Scotland, but England as well.
Alex Wilcox Brooke, of Severn Wye Energy Agency, added: "These figures really highlight the consistency of wind energy in Scotland and why it now plays a major part in the UK energy market."
Eyeing post-Brexit trade deals, Britain looks to train school-leavers as future negotiators
As Britain prepares to carry out its own trade negotiations for the first time in decades, the government has launched a scheme to recruit and train school-leavers as future commerce experts. The Department of International Trade, which was created after the 2016 vote to leave the European Union, said its two-year scheme would include placements with teams working on future trade deals and supporting British companies exporting.
“As we leave the European Union and take up trade in our own right as a policy, we have had to develop all the skills to be able to do that,” trade minister Liam Fox said at the launch of the scheme, as school children taking part in a mock trade negotiation noisily bartered over products in the background.
“I wanted young people in particular to look at the world of trade and say ‘that is a profession I would like to go into, that is something I would like to do as a career.’”
Britain cannot formally sign trade deals with other countries until it has left the European Union but has been working to amass expertise, replicate agreements it is part of as a member of the EU and lay the groundwork for new deals.
Those applying for the scheme, which will pay around 30,000 pounds a year, do not need to have any qualifications. The department expects most candidates will either be 18-year-old school-leavers or people wanting to switch careers. It will also include a six-month posting in one of Britain’s trade offices around the world.
“If you want to sell Britain properly you have to know what Britain has to sell but you have to also understand the markets that we are selling into,” Fox told Reuters.
Britain’s Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser Crawford Falconer, who previously worked as New Zealand’s Chief Negotiator, said the scheme was not about filling a gap in trade negotiating talent in Britain.
“We have got plenty of trade negotiating talent but what we need to have is greater diversity and greater choice and for people to enter at a younger age,” he said.
Headlines Friday 12th July 2019
DSME Smart Ship Solution Gets LR’s Approval in Principle
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has received approval in principle (AiP) from Lloyd’s Register for its Smart Ship Solution (DS4®).
The fleet monitoring smart ECDIS and surveillance system has been granted the descriptive note ‘Digital AL3 SAFE SECURITY’, confirming compliance with LR’s digital ships requirements.
The SECURITY descriptive note means that systems with digitally enabled functions have adequate resilience measures in place to protect against cyber-attacks or other unauthorised access.
LR has defined five accessibility levels for digitally enabled technology onboard ships, AL3 means the systems have digital access for autonomous/remote monitoring and control, but onboard permission is required, and onboard override is possible.
“We are pleased to receive AiP from LR for our fleet monitoring smart ECDIS and surveillance system. We look forward to installing the system onboard several ultra large container ships that are currently under construction. We will keep enhancing our Smart Ship Solution to reflect market demands,” Odin Kwon, DSME Senior Executive Vice President, said.
Danske Commodities Signs Sheringham Shoal PPA
Danske Commodities has signed a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the Sheringham Shoal offshore wind farm in the UK.
Danske Commodities will take over the balancing and trading of 126MW out of the project's total 316.8MW capacity, which is equivalent to 40% of the wind farm’s production.
“The Sheringham Shoal PPA is a great addition to our long-term portfolio and it shows our commitment to British renewables," said Danske Commodities CEO Helle Østergaard Kristiansen.
"Danske Commodities has traded power in the UK for the past ten years and we continue to be a part of the exciting development of British offshore wind."
The Sheringham Shoal project consists of 88 turbines, each with a capacity of 3.6MW, which were put into operation in 2012 some 17km off the coast of North Norfolk.
The 316.8MW offshore wind farm is owned by Equinor (40%), Equitix (40%) and Green Investment Group (20%)
Total hires Deepsea Stavanger rig for drilling ops off South Africa
Offshore driller Odfjell Drilling has signed a firm contract with French oil major Total for drilling offshore South Africa. Odfjell said on Thursday that the contract was awarded to the 6th generation semi-submersible Deepsea Stavanger. The contract value, including compensation for mobilization and demobilization periods, is estimated at being between $145-$190 million plus incentives.
According to the company, the drilling program is expected to last between 180-280 days. Mobilization to South Africa is expected to start in the first quarter of 2020.
Simen Lieungh, CEO of Odfjell Drilling, said: “Following Total’s recent successful campaign with Deepsea Stavanger in South Africa on the Brulpadda well, which ended in February 2019, we are very pleased to continue the collaboration with Total for the next phase of the project on Block 11B/12B.
“[…] it is of great benefit to Odfjell Drilling and Total to be able to utilize the same drilling unit for the next wells in order to build on the experience from the previous exploration drilling campaign in this operationally challenging harsh environment high-current area.”
It is worth reminding that the Brulpadda well on Block 11B/12B was spud in late December 2018. Total encountered a total of 57 meters of net gas condensate pay over two Lower Cretaceous high-quality reservoirs and described the discovery as a ‘world-class play.’
Block 11B/12B is located in the Outeniqua Basin 175 kilometers off the southern coast of South Africa. The block covers an area of 19,000 square kilometers with water depths ranging from 200 to 1,800 meters.
Seafood industry seeks answers on post-Brexit trade
Leaders of Scotland's seafood industry have told UK environment and food secretary Michael Gove more has to be done to safeguard exports after Brexit.
At a meeting in London, representatives of salmon producers, fishing boat skippers and seafood processors set out the concerns. In particular, they worry about delays of fresh fish being delivered by truck to European customers. Defra described the meeting as "very productive". The seafood industry representatives also sought reassurances about compensation for any new tariffs. Another concern was increased paperwork to certify the seafood's origin.
'No extra barriers'
Hamish Macdonell of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation said: "Scottish seafood rightly enjoys an enviable reputation for quality and availability in European markets. "As representatives of all seafood sectors, farmed and caught, we made it clear to the UK government that we are determined to ensure this continues, even if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. "We held a constructive meeting with Mr Gove and his senior officials and while we appreciate the preparatory work that has been already been undertaken, we believe more has to be done to protect seafood exports to the continent if no Brexit deal is agreed."
The Scottish Seafood Association's Jimmy Buchan added he was "hopeful" about Mr Gove's response. "Seafood is perishable so it is imperative that no extra barriers are placed in the way of its access to market," he said. "We are now hopeful Mr Gove will work with his colleagues across the UK government to make sure access remains as swift and as easy in the future as it is now."
A Defra spokeswoman said: "We all want a sustainable, profitable fishing industry and to have the greatest possible tariff-free and barrier-free trade with our European neighbours and negotiate our own trade agreements. "We look forward to continuing our engagement with the sector to achieve the common goal that exports of this top-quality product can continue in all scenarios."
Headlines Thursday 11th July 2019
Samsung Heavy Bags Order for Two Eco-Friendly Suezmax Tankers
South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has clinched a deal to build two Suezmax tankers for an undisclosed Panamanian shipowner.
Under the KRW 147 billion (USD 125.4 million) contract, the shipbuilder is scheduled to deliver the units by March 2021.
The newly ordered tankers are designed to meet environmental regulations with the ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) equipped in preparation for the IMO’s regulations. In addition, a number of fuel-saving technologies would be applied to the tankers to enhance operational efficiency.
Additionally, the SVESSEL, the first next-generation smart ship system in the domestic shipbuilding industry developed by SHI, would be embedded in the two tankers to ensure cost-effective and safe operation with functions that help crew plan fuel-saving optimal routes, monitor equipment performance in real time, diagnose equipment failures and remotely control the tankers from an onshore location.
“The stricter environmental regulations will increase the demand for smart ships designed with high fuel efficiency all around the world,” said an official of SHI.
With the latest order, SHI has won deals valued at USD 3.3 billion so far this year to build 16 vessels including 10 LNG carriers, 4 oil tankers, one special-purpose ship and one FPSO, reaching 42% of its annual order target of USD 7.8 billion.
Scottish Offshore Wind Supply Chain Goes Online
Xodus Group is working with Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International (SDI) to create a directory of Scotland-based suppliers for the offshore wind market.
The new Scottish Industries Directories platform will include a directory and gap analysis which are expected to help local suppliers capture a greater share of the offshore wind market by advertising their experience and capabilities, Xodus said.
According to the company, it is anticipated that the website will become a one-stop shop for developers and contractors looking to procure products and services for future offshore wind projects.
“This is a great piece of supply chain enabling and will form a directory for developers to use going forward to identify procurement and partnership opportunities in Scotland," said Scott Hamilton, Principal Consultant at Xodus.
“The aim is to create a comprehensive list which can be utilised in both the domestic and overseas markets. We would encourage every company working in the offshore wind space to get involved."
Xodus is inviting companies with existing experience in offshore wind or capabilities that could be applied to the sector to sign up to the directory. It is due to be launched later this year.
Sif secures HKZ foundations deal
Dutch fabricator to supply monopiles to Vattenfall for three of four zones at 1.4GW offshore wind farm
Dutch fabricator Sif is to manufacture foundations for Vattenfall’s 1.4GW Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind zone off the Netherlands.
The company will deliver 114 monopiles for three of the four array areas with manufacturing at the MV2 facility in Rotterdam to begin in 2020-21.
Two of the projects were already in Sif’s order book under exclusive negotiations. The manufacturer said the subsidy-free project is due online in 2022.
Chief executive Fred van Beers said: “Our manufacturing facilities in Rotterdam are ideally situated for North Sea offshore wind projects. For the Hollandse Kust Zuid project Vattenfall has valued this in their bid evaluations.
He added: “We are grateful for the confidence our client has expressed in their project award to Sif and together with their representatives we will put every effort on the timely delivery of time-critical project- parts.
“Our orderbook for the period 2020- 2021 is now filling up to approximately 300 Kton of which 80 Kton in exclusive negotiations.”
Vattenfall was on Wednesday selected as the winner of the auction to develop the 760MW HKZ 3&4 project. It secured the rights for the 1&2 site in an earlier round.
Labour anti-Semitism claims prompt dismay in party
Senior Labour figures have expressed anger and alarm over claims some of Jeremy Corbyn's closest allies tried to interfere in disciplinary processes involving allegations of anti-Semitism.
Deputy leader Tom Watson and London Mayor Sadiq Khan were among those who spoke out following accusations made in Wednesday's BBC Panorama documentary. Mr Watson said he was "shocked" and "appalled" by the claims.
Labour has insisted the programme was inaccurate and denied any interference.
'Harrowing' testimony
Labour's disputes team is supposed to operate independently from the party's political structures, including the leader's office. The leader's office was "angry and obstructive" when it came to the issue officials brought in by the party's general secretary, Jennie Formby, "overruled" some of their disciplinary decisions and "downgraded" punishments to a "slap on the wrist"
Seumas Milne, one of Mr Corbyn's closest aides, laughed when advised by a long-serving party official about what Mr Corbyn should do to tackle anti-Semitism in the party. On one occasion, Mr Corbyn's office ordered batches of anti-Semitism complaints to be brought to his Commons office for processing by his aides. Labour has rejected claims of interference and described the programme as "seriously inaccurate" and "politically one-sided". It has insisted the former staff making the claims were "disaffected".
But Mr Watson said those who had come forward to the BBC had been "incredibly brave".
"Hearing the testimony of party members and former staff was harrowing," he tweeted. "They are not 'disaffected' - they have been incredibly brave. Very serious questions now have to be answered."
BBC Panorama spoke to former party officials, who alleged they had to deal with a huge increase in anti-Semitism complaints since Mr Corbyn became Labour leader in 2015. Eight former officials who worked in the team and dealt with anti-Semitism cases claimed to the BBC that:
Mr Khan tweeted: "It breaks my heart that Jewish Labour members will have watched #Panorama and felt that there is no place in the Labour Party for them. It is more imperative than ever that Labour continues to cooperate fully with the @EHRC investigation."
In May, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) launched a formal investigation to look into whether Labour has "unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish". Other MPs and peers in the party also offered their support to the former staff in the documentary, adding that it showed Labour was failing to effectively tackle anti-Semitism in its ranks. Labour peer Lord Falconer said the leadership had to "change gear" over the issue.
Fellow Labour peer Lord Levy, a former party fundraiser under ex-PM Tony Blair and a leading voice in the British Jewish community, said the party should feel ashamed of what was going on. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that if the party's leadership could not deal with such a sensitive issue then the leadership must look at themselves and see if they needed to be changed. He said he considered leaving the party every day because it was so difficult to stay. However, he said, friends had told him that walking away would "allow them to take over our party". The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the programme added weight to the group's suspicion that the issue of anti-Semitism had been "treated with disdain".
Labour has been engulfed in a long-running dispute over anti-Semitism within its ranks, which has led nine MPs and three peers to leave the party. The leadership has been accused of failing to get to grips with the problem, with allegations of hundreds of complaints against members remaining unresolved.
But Labour said it "completely" rejected any claims it was anti-Semitic. It accused the Panorama programme of being a "seriously inaccurate, politically one-sided polemic, which breached basic journalistic standards, invented quotes and edited emails to change their meaning".
The party said that "no proper and serious attempt was made to understand our current procedures for dealing with anti-Semitism, which is clearly essential to reach a fair and balanced judgement".
"Since Jennie Formby became general secretary the rate at which anti-Semitism cases have been dealt with has increased more than four-fold," it added.
"We will build on the improvements to our procedures made under Jennie Formby, and continue to act against this repugnant form of racism."
Headlines Wednesday 10th July 2019
JMU to Build Next-Generation Energy-Saving Bulker for NYK
Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) has concluded a contract with compatriot shipbuilder Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) for the construction of a next-generation energy-saving bulk carrier.
To feature a length of 299.9 meters and a breadth of about 50 meters, the newbuild is scheduled for delivery in 2021.
As informed, the 211,000 dwt ship is expected to transport raw materials for JFE Steel Corporation under a long-term charter contract between NYK and JFE Steel. The vessel, which will fly the flag of Panama, will be a Capesize bulker for trading iron ore and coking coal in and around the Pacific. The new energy-efficient scrubber-equipped vessel will not only be compliant with NOx emission regulations (Tier III) and the IMO SOx emission cap but will also have a larger cargo space than a conventional ship, leading to improved fuel economy, according to the company.
The ship’s carbon dioxide emissions also meet the stricter Phase 2 Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) requirements entering into force in 2020.
In addition, cargo hold corrosion resistant steel developed by JFE Steel will be used for the parts of the ship to improve corrosion resistance.
With a total gross tonnage of 108,900 tons, the new eco ship will be able to reach a navigational speed of 14.5 knots.
Ørsted Backs EU Energy Master’s Students
Ørsted is giving out scholarships for UK and EU students which are starting an energy master's program at the Durham University this October.
The scholarships are available up to GBP 6,000 and are valid for the MSc Energy and Society and MSc New and Renewable Energy programs at the UK university.
Ørsted emphasized it is already a key strategic partner for Durham University and collaborates with Durham Energy Institute Researchers on a number of research projects and activities.
“The UK is the global leader in offshore wind and, if we are to maintain that position, we must attract the most talented minds to the industry. With the Ørsted scholarships we intend to do just that by providing the opportunity for those bright people who may otherwise been unable to progress to the next stage of their studies," said Benj Sykes, UK Country Manager at Ørsted.
"Our partnership with Durham University to date is already producing cutting-edge research that is helping to drive innovation and we look forward to this continuing.”
The deadline for submitting applications for the scholarship is 17 August.
Subsea 7 in ‘sizeable’ North Sea award with Equinor
Offshore installation company Subsea 7 has said it has been awarded a sizeable contract by Equinor for operations in the Danish and the Norwegian sectors of the North Sea.
Under the contract, Subsea 7 will be performing for installation and diving operations on the Europipe II, Heimdal and Statfjord (EHS) fields over the next three years. Subsea 7 defines a sizeable contract as being between USD 50 million and USD 150 million.
The contract comprises engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of pipeline end manifolds (PLEM), bypass and tie-in spools for the Europipe II gas pipeline, Oseberg Gas Transport, and Statpipe pipelines, operated by Gassco AS.
Equinor is a technical service provider for and on behalf of Gassco AS for Europipe II and Heimdal Subsea Bypass. Project management and engineering, including front end engineering (FEED), will begin immediately at Subsea 7’s office in Stavanger, Norway.
Offshore installation campaigns are scheduled for 2020, 2021, and 2022 using one of Subsea 7’s diving vessels as well as heavy construction and light construction vessels.
Major: I will seek a judicial review to stop Parliament shutdown
Former prime minister Sir John Major has told the BBC he would seek a judicial review in the courts if the new prime minister tried to suspend Parliament to deliver a no-deal Brexit.
Sir John said such a move would be "utterly and totally unacceptable". Using a judicial review, anyone can apply to challenge the lawfulness of decisions made by the government.
Boris Johnson - the frontrunner in the Tory leadership race - has refused to rule out proroguing Parliament. A source close to Boris Johnson told the BBC's assistant political editor Norman Smith that Sir John "has gone completely bonkers" and had "clearly been driven completely mad by Brexit". They said the threat of court action was "absurd" and risked dragging the Queen into politics.
Brexit date. The UK had been due to leave the EU on 29 March, but this date was delayed after MPs repeatedly rejected Theresa May's deal. Currently, the date for exit is 31 October. If that date is reached without a deal being agreed on the separation process, then the UK will leave without one.
MPs have consistently voted against this option, but the prime minister could try to get around that by closing Parliament - proroguing - in the run-up to Brexit day, denying them an opportunity to block it.
The question of prorogation was raised during a lTV debate between Mr Johnson and his rival in the race to lead the Conservative Party Jeremy Hunt.
Mr Hunt categorically ruled it out but Mr Johnson said he would "not take anything off the table".
'Inconceivable'
Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, Sir John said: "In order to close down Parliament, the prime minister would have to go to Her Majesty the Queen and ask for her permission." He said it would be "inconceivable" the Queen would refuse his request and the she would be put "amidst a constitutional controversy".
"The Queen's decision cannot be challenged in law, but the prime minister's advice to the Queen can, I believe, be challenged in law - and I for one would be prepared to seek judicial review to prevent Parliament being bypassed," he said.
Sir John also criticised the "artificial" Brexit deadline of 31 October which he said "had a great deal more to do with the election of leader for the Conservative Party than the interests of the country".
"National leaders look first at the interests of the country - not first at the interests of themselves," he added.
Headlines Tuesday 9th July 2019
Enterprise Plans Further Expansion at Houston Ship Channel Terminal
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) has announced three additional expansion projects that will increase the partnership’s capacity to load liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), polymer grade propylene (PGP) and crude oil from its Enterprise Hydrocarbon Terminal (EHT) on the Houston Ship Channel.
Currently, Enterprise’s nameplate LPG loading capacity is approximately 660,000 barrels per day (BPD).
Previously, the US provider of midstream energy services unveiled a project to add 175,000 BPD of LPG loading capacity, which is currently under construction and expected to be completed late third quarter of 2019.
The additional, new projects are expected to increase incremental LPG loading capacity by another 260,000 BPD. They are planned to be in service in the third quarter of 2020. When completed, the projects will give EHT nameplate capacity to load up to almost 1.1 million BPD of LPG, or approximately 33 million barrels per month.
In response to record demand for PGP by international markets, the partnership is adding refrigeration facilities at its Houston Ship Channel terminal that will enable Enterprise to load up to an incremental 67,200 BPD, or approximately 2 million barrels per month, of fully refrigerated PGP. With this expansion project, Enterprise will enable co-loading fully refrigerated PGP and LPG onto the same vessel. This expansion is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2020. As part of the expansion, Enterprise is also building an eighth dock at its Houston Ship Channel terminal with the capability to load approximately 840,000 BPD of crude oil, increasing the partnership’s nameplate export capacity for crude oil at the Houston Ship Channel to 2.75 million BPD, or nearly 83 million barrels per month.
Expected to begin service in the fourth quarter of 2020, the new dock will be able to accommodate a Suezmax vessel, the largest ship class that can navigate the Houston Ship Channel.
“We are pleased to announce this additional investment in our Houston Ship Channel marine terminals. In total these expansions will enable us to load an incremental 1.3 million BPD of LPG, polymer grade propylene and crude oil,” A.J. “Jim” Teague, chief executive officer of Enterprise’s general partner, said.
Enterprise estimates that by 2025 exports of U.S. crude oil will increase from 3 million BPD to 8 million BPD and the domestic LPG export market will double from 1.4 million BPD to 2.8 BPD. Much of this growth is being driven by increasing production from the Permian Basin of Texas.
Over 60 Stolt Chemical Tankers to Get DESMI BWMS
Tanker operator Stolt Tankers has selected DESMI Ocean Guard’s CompactClean ballast water management system (BWMS) for installation on the company’s existing fleet.
Under the agreement, DESMI is to equip more than 60 chemical tankers with the CompactClean BMWSs by the end of 2023.
Most of the ships will be retrofitted with two CompactClean systems, one for each ballast pump.
As explained, this has the advantage that the ships will maintain full redundancy on their ability to ballast and de-ballast, which is a priority for Stolt Tankers. The ability to ballast/de-ballast is essential to the ship’s ability to load or discharge cargo, and hence to operate.
“While strict compliance with all environmental and safety regulations is a must, we always undertake great efforts to be compliant without jeopardising the smooth and efficient daily operation of our ships. After careful consideration, we found that the CompactClean BWMS was the ideal solution for us in order to meet the IMO and US Coast Guard regulations for ballast water treatment,” Herman Heyns, Senior Project Manager at Stolt Tankers, said.
“We will be able to retrofit two systems into the pump rooms or on the deck of most of our ships. For Stolt Tankers it is essential to keep our ballast operations as simple as possible, and we do not want to complicate this more than necessary.”
“The fleet of ships owned and operated by Stolt Tankers is top of the line sophisticated chemical tankers, which imposes extra challenges on the BWMS to be retrofitted. Obviously, the BWMS must be approved for installation in hazardous areas (EX-certified), but they also need to be capable of being incorporated in a smooth and seamless manner into the existing automation on the vessel,” Rasmus Folsø, CEO of DESMI Ocean Guard A/S, explained.
Stolt Tankers, part of Stolt-Nielsen Limited, operates a fleet of 71 deep-sea parcel tankers and 84 coastal and inland tankers.
Allseas in renewables push. Buys OTEC firm Bluerise
Offshore oil and gas installation, construction, and decommissioning specialist Allseas has ventured into renewables through the acquisition of Bluerise, a specialist developer of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology.
Based in Delft, the Netherlands, Bluerise has been researching and developing OTEC technology for 9 years, designing systems that utilize the natural temperature difference in the ocean between cold deep water (5°C) and warm surface water (25°C) to generate clean electricity.
Announcing the acquisition of Bluerise on Monday, Allseas said it would use its offshore expertise and record of deep-water technologies to advance Bluerise concepts and accelerate the implementation of OTEC technology for renewable energy projects.
OTEC generates renewable energy by harnessing the heat in ocean surface water to evaporate liquids with a low boiling point (such as ammonia). The vapor drives a turbine that generates electricity. After the vapor transfers its energy, a heat exchanger condenser cools the vapor, turns it back into liquid and a pump conveys it to the heat exchanger evaporator to repeat the cycle.
“Allseas is fostering the use of renewable energy sources. OTEC, with its vast offshore energy potential and scalability, matches well with the company’s capabilities. Allseas looks forward to continuing the work performed by Bluerise, founded by Berend Jan Kleute and Remi Blokker, and making OTEC a success,” Allseas said.
For Allseas, a specialist in the offshore oil and gas industry for over three decades, the Bluerise deal is a second important agreement outside of the oil and gas industry in the past month.
Allseas and DeepGreen on June 10 announced they had entered into a partnership with DeepGreen to harvest deep sea battery grade metals “to meet skyrocketing growth in electric vehicle demand.”
Brexit: MPs to try to block no deal through Northern Ireland Bill
MPs will try to block a no-deal Brexit by attempting to amend the Northern Ireland Bill on Tuesday.
The amendment requires the government to update MPs on the situation in Northern Ireland in the autumn, meaning, in theory, Parliament could not be suspended during this period.
There have been suggestions that a new PM could shut down Parliament to prevent MPs blocking a no-deal Brexit.
Tory MP Dominic Grieve said such a move would be "an end to democracy".
Speaker John Bercow will announce later if he has selected the amendment tabled by Mr Grieve, giving MPs the chance to vote on it.
The UK had been due to leave the EU on 29 March but this date was delayed after MPs repeatedly rejected Theresa May's deal. Currently, the date for exit is 31 October. If that date is reached without the UK and EU securing an agreement about the separation process, then the UK will leave the EU without a deal. MPs have consistently voted against this option.
The prime minister could try to get round this problem by closing Parliament in the run-up to Brexit day. This would deny MPs an opportunity to block no deal.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Grieve, the former attorney general, said: "The idea that it is constitutionally proper to prorogue Parliament as a device for bringing about a no-deal Brexit is outrageous - I have never come across a more extraordinary suggestion."
Unlike his rival Jeremy Hunt, Boris Johnson - the frontrunner in the Conservative leadership race - has not ruled out suspending Parliament.
He has said he could not "envisage the circumstances" in which he would do so. He has vowed to leave the EU on 31 October "come what may".
Lord Hague, a supporter of Jeremy Hunt, has opposed proroguing Parliament arguing: "It ought to be unthinkable that we could leave the EU by procedure, a procedural ruse."
Headlines Monday 8th July 2019
Samsung Heavy Delivers World’s Largest Containership to MSC
The world’s largest containership was delivered to the Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) from South Korea last week.
Samsung Heavy Industries said that the unit is the first from a batch of six 23,000 TEU-class vessels ordered by MSC in September 2017. The company has another five such ships on order at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME).
Named MSC Gulsun, the 400-meter-long containership was delivered three weeks ahead of schedule, according to Samsung Heavy.
With a width of 61.5 meters and a height of 33.2 meters, the unit can carry 23,756 20ft containers and represents the largest vessel built for the container shipping industry to date.
It is equipped with a next-generation smart dispensing system and exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers).
Ørsted and EEW Plan Monopile Factory in New Jersey
Ørsted has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with EEW to work towards establishing a monopile fabrication facility in Paulsboro, New Jersey, for the Ocean Wind project.
According to the project documents, the foundation manufacture facility may longer term expand its scope of activities as the Atlantic coast offshore wind industry grows.
Ørsted also signed an MoU with the South Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council to only hire union labor for construction.
The company further plans to establish a Pro-NJ Grantor Trust with a USD 15 million initial investment to enable MBE/WBE or small business entry to the offshore wind industry.
In June, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) selected the Ocean Wind project proposed by Ørsted with support from Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) to negotiate a 20-year offshore wind renewable energy credit (OREC) for an offshore wind farm with a capacity of 1,100MW.
Located off the coast of Atlantic City, Ocean Wind will be New Jersey’s first large-scale offshore wind farm. Subject to Ørsted’s final investment decision, the wind farm is expected to be completed by 2024.
Altus scores 3-year wireline services deal with TIOS
TechnipFMC Island Offshore Subsea (TIOS), a TechnipFMC and Island Offshore joint venture, has hired Altus Intervention for the provision of wireline services across three of the JV’s vessels.
The contract, covering services aboard Island Constructor, Island Frontier and IslandWellserver vessels. has a duration of 3 years. TIOS will have options to further extend with two one-year extensions.
According to Altus, the scope includes the provision of all wireline and application services, tractor conveyance and logging services in the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the UK Continental Shelf, West Africa, and the Mediterranean.
Cathrine Bjaarstad, President, Norway & Denmark, Altus Intervention: “We have just completed a campaign with TIOS in Equatorial Guinea and will continue in NCS throughout this year with the Island Constructor. The Wellserver and Frontier are currently working for Equinor.”
Bjaarstad said that Altus has since 2003 Altus Intervention has provided wireline services together with TIOS for light well interventions in over 600 subsea wells across both the Norwegian and UK continental shelf and in West Africa in water depths of 70 to 850 meters.”
“Together we have set a new standard and have successfully reduced the average number of LWI operation days per well by 60% in the last 6 years. We see this award as a confirmation of our quality intervention services,” Bjaarstad added.
Altus did not provide the financial details of the contract with TIOS.
Former Brexit chief: We should all worry about no deal
Everyone should worry about no deal, the civil servant who was, until March, head of the Brexit department has said.
Philip Rycroft, who resigned after 18 months, told the BBC's Panorama no deal was "fraught with risk".
And NI police said no deal could help recruitment for paramilitary groups.
Both the candidates in the race to replace Theresa May as prime minister - Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson - have said they would be prepared to leave the EU without a deal.
Former Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said there was "no reason at all" why new negotiations with the EU could not be completed "the next three months".
But the EU has repeatedly refused to re-open negotiations.
'Unprecedented'
The UK had been due to leave the EU on 29 March but this date was delayed after MPs repeatedly rejected Mrs May's deal. Currently, Brexit is set to take place on 31 October. In a no-deal scenario, the UK would immediately leave the EU with no agreement about the "divorce" process, immediately coming out of the single market and customs union and institutions like law enforcement body Europol.
Those against say it would damage the economy, especially industries like farming, and cause widespread disruption, but some politicians insist problems could be quickly overcome. The government says it has been preparing for almost three years to minimise that disruption and to provide people and businesses with information they need to get ready.
In his first broadcast interview since stepping down as permanent secretary at the Brexit department, Mr Rycroft said the planning operation for exiting the EU was "an unprecedented situation" and "the biggest exercise across government over the last few decades".
He told Panorama: "This has been an extraordinary exercise to which the civil service is responding brilliantly well… The planning I think is in good shape, absolutely… but of course what that doesn't mean is that there won't be an impact from Brexit, and particularly a no-deal Brexit, because that is a very major change and it would be a very abrupt change to our major trading relationship."
"The rational outcome over the next few months is to get a deal because that is overwhelmingly in the economic interest of both the EU and the UK."
Mr Rycroft continued: "It's not in the UK's interest to have no deal, it's not in the EU's interest to have a no deal.
"I think everybody should be worried about what happens in a no-deal situation. We would be taking a step into the unknown."
But Sir Michael told BBC Radio 4's Today programme said no deal was the "ultimate fall back" and needed to be prepared for "so that our partners are convinced that this is a deadly serious negotiation".
"We have got three months to do this with a fresh approach," he said. "We need some alternative arrangements for Northern Ireland - some of that technology is already in place - we need the right to exit the backstop if the negotiations fail, we need some improvements to the political declaration.
"These aren't the biggest things, but what they do require is some optimism and ambition and above all some energy.
"We will have a fresh team, a fresh prime minister and there is no reason at all why this can't be done in the next three months."
'Frustrating process'
In the event of a no-deal Brexit, additional checks on goods being delivered across the UK-EU border could result in delays on the roads - especially around the Port of Dover in Kent, which handles 17% of the UK's goods trade.
Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said working with the government to prepare for no deal had been "a frustrating process". He said: "We have no clarity of the processes - what's actually going to happen on day one." Mr Burnett told Panorama that Transport Secretary Chris Grayling had left him a voicemail expressing his disappointment after the RHA issued a press release following a private briefing.
The Department for Transport said the RHA had been heavily involved in EU preparatory work and would continue to be involved at every stage of planning.
In a statement, it added: "It is extremely unfortunate when details of private conversations held in confidence are made public in a press release."
Paramilitary recruitment
The Police Service of Northern Ireland also told the BBC of its concern at the impact on security of a no-deal Brexit. There are fears that one could lead to the introduction of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland - a situation Sinn Fein has said would lead to further calls for a referendum on Irish unification. PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Tim Mairs told Panorama: "We know that the New IRA and other groups continue to recruit people and we believe that Brexit provides an opportunity for them to encourage people to recruit." But he added that, despite their worries, to date the PSNI had not seen "any upsurge" in violence or recruitment being driven by Brexit.
Mr Mairs also expressed fears price differences on the border could create "new opportunities" for criminal gangs, claiming: "We would see, traditionally, connections between some of those groups and more violent groups. "The potential impact of a no deal on the economy in Northern Ireland is significant, and that would, in our view, present potentially significant security concerns."
Will a no-deal Brexit happen?
The handling of Brexit has been the key issue in the Conservative leadership race. Frontrunner Mr Johnson has said the UK should prepare "confidently and seriously" for a no-deal Brexit, but believes the chances of it happening are "one million to one against". He has said he will try to get a new deal negotiated with the EU, but has promised to leave the EU with or without one on 31 October. His rival, Mr Hunt, also wants to change the withdrawal agreement negotiated by Mrs May and thinks this can be achieved by the end of October. He has said he is prepared to delay Brexit beyond that date, if there is a prospect of getting a deal. If not, he would be prepared to leave without one but with "a heavy heart".
Meanwhile MPs opposed to no deal are seeking ways to block such an outcome. Tory MP and ex-minister Sam Gyimah says there are "30 plus" Conservative MPs who would vote to block a no-deal Brexit.
EIB Provides Funding for New Sweden-Finland RoPax
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a EUR 70 million (USD 78.9 million) loan with the Finnish-Swedish consortium Kvarken Link Oy with the aim of improving the ferry connection between the two countries. With the funding, Kvarken Link Oy finance a new ferry to transport passengers and vehicles between the ports of Umeå in Sweden and Vaasa in Finland.
The new ice-class RoPax ferry, to transport up to 800 passengers, would be built by Rauma Marine Constructions in Finland to high environmentally friendly specifications with hybrid propulsion. With a length of 150 metres, the passenger/car ferry is scheduled for delivery in 2021, and will operate under the Finnish flag.
“Vaasa and Umeå have been connected by ferry since 1958. When the original service went bankrupt in 2011, the municipalities took it upon them to continue the service – and with success. The growing demand in both passengers and freight now warrants a modern ship to keep both cities connected,” Alexander Stubb, EIB Vice-President, said.
The vessel will be equipped with a hybrid propulsion system with a combination of a dual-fuel engine (LNG/LBG and diesel) and batteries, as well as an electrically driven azimuth propeller system.
The project also involves port upgrade works required for the reception of the new vessel at the ferry terminals in the cities of Vaasa and Umeå.
Oil Supertanker bound for Syria detained in Gibraltar
British Royal Marines and officials in Gibraltar have detained the supertanker Grace 1 suspected of carrying crude oil to Syria, in breach of European Union sanctions, the government of Gibraltar said.
In a statement the government said it had reasonable grounds to believe that the Grace 1 was carrying its shipment of crude oil to the Banyas Refinery in Syria.
“That refinery is the property of an entity that is subject to European Union sanctions against Syria,” Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said. EU sanctions against the government of Syria took effect in May 2011. With my consent, our port and law enforcement agencies sought the assistance of the Royal Marines in carrying out this operation.”
The government published regulations on Wednesday to enforce the sanctions against the tanker and its cargo.
Refinitiv Eikon mapping indicates the ship sailed from Iran, and if the cargo is confirmed to be Iranian crude, its attempted delivery to Syria could also be a violation of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports. The mapping data shows the ship has sailed a longer route around the southern tip of Africa instead of via Egypt’s Suez Canal.
The Grace 1 was documented as loading fuel oil in Iraq in December, although the Iraqi port did not list it as being in port and its tracking system was switched off. The tanker reappeared near Iran’s port of Bandar Assaluyeh fully loaded. Shipping data shows the ship is a 300,000-tonne Panamanian-flagged tanker managed by Singapore-based IShips Management Pte Ltd.
Conservative leadership: Theresa May says next PM 'must strengthen the union'
Theresa May is to tell the two men vying to replace her as prime minister that they must make strengthening the union one of their top priorities.
In a speech in Scotland on Thursday, Mrs May will urge her successor to "think creatively" about how to ensure the UK stays together. She will also give further details of a review into how devolution is working. The review is aimed at ensuring UK government departments are working in the best interests of devolution.
The government has stressed it will not include devolved areas that are the responsibility of the Scottish government.
Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, predicted ahead of the prime minister's speech that the review was "too little, too late" and would do nothing to prevent Scottish independence. Mrs May's speech is likely to be her last in Scotland before she steps down as prime minister on 24 July, when she will be succeeded by either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt - who are both due to appear at a hustings event in Scotland on Friday.
Mr Johnson said on Sunday that the next prime minister should be a "minister for the union" while Mr Hunt has pledged to to use "every drop of blood in my veins" to prevent the UK splitting up. But Ms Sturgeon, who wants another referendum within the next two years, has already predicted that more Scots will be encouraged to support independence regardless of who wins.
In her speech, Mrs May will insist that strengthening the union has been an "explicit priority" of her government over the past three years. And she will say she is confident that this will continue to be the case regardless of who replaces her in 10 Downing Street.
Mrs May will add: "The job of prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland brings with it privileges and responsibilities which you only really feel once the black door closes behind you.
"One of the first and greatest is the duty you owe to strengthen the union. To govern on behalf of the whole United Kingdom. To respect the identities of every citizen of the UK - English and Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish. And to ensure that we can go on facing the future together, overcoming obstacles together, and achieving more together than we ever could apart - a union of nations and people."
Mrs May will also formally unveil a UK government review of how devolution is working across the UK and what can be done to improve it. Scotland Office minister Lord Duncan told the BBC on Wednesday that it would be a "simple, straightforward way of making sure devolution is working as best as it can be".
Ahead of the prime minister's arrival in Scotland, Ms Sturgeon claimed that the country was "heading inexorably towards independence" and that the Conservatives were "running scared of the rising tide of support for independence".
She added: "The Tories' behaviour towards Scotland in the three years since the Brexit vote has been high-handed, arrogant and dismissive.
"They have demolished any notion of a respect agenda and have destroyed their own claims that the union is in any meaningful way a partnership of equals. People across Scotland can now see that more plainly than ever. Theresa May's so-called review of devolution is too little, too late".
The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Bureau of Energy Technology Policy have issued a Draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for up to 2,000MW of offshore wind energy.
The RFP comes as Connecticut's Governor Ned Lamont signed into law the House Bill 7156, An Act Concerning the Procurement of Energy Derived From Offshore Wind. The Draft RFP is now open for review and comments, with the submissions due by 15 July 4:00 p.m. local time. The final solicitation is due to be released on 15 August.
“We congratulate the state of Connecticut for moving so quickly in preparing their first major Draft RFP for offshore wind energy,” said Liz Burdock, CEO and President of the Business Network for Offshore Wind.
"I believe this solicitation will accelerate the region’s investments in ports like New London and Bridgeport, and allow Connecticut suppliers to be active participants in the regional offshore wind supply chain.”
The bid due date will be 30 September, while DEEP is expected to announce the solicitation decision in November. To remind, the Connecticut House of Representatives voted 134-10 in favor of the legislation in mid-May authorizing the development of the additional 2,000MW of offshore wind capacity in the state. A month later, the Connecticut State Senate unanimously approved the procurement of the capacity.
Boskalis to Dry Dock Carnival Vista for Azipod Repairs
The Netherlands-based Boskalis will deploy a transport vessel as a first of its kind “floating dry dock” facility to complete the repairs to Carnival Vista’s two azipods, the ship’s main propulsion system.
The procedure will see the company lift the Carnival Cruise Line ship out of the water and onto a semi-submersible heavy transport vessel, Boka Vanguard, off the coast of Freeport, Bahamas. The unit would then be transported to the Grand Bahama shipyard where the repairs will take place whilst the cruise ship is resting on the heavy transport vessel.
This is a world first operation that will take place in the coming weeks in Freeport, Bahamas, according to Boskalis. Animation BOKA Vanguard dry docking Carnival Vista from Boskalis|Dredging&Marine Experts on Vimeo.
“This groundbreaking procedure made possible by Boskalis is a revolutionary way to ensure Carnival Vista’s repairs are completed in a safe, timely and efficient manner, so the ship can resume its popular seven-day schedule from Galveston later this month,” Lars Ljoen, executive vice president of marine operations for Carnival Cruise Line, said.
Boka Vanguard is expected to arrive in Bahamian waters on July 5 to prepare for Carnival Vista’s arrival on July 12. The loading, transport and repairs are expected to take two weeks, allowing Carnival Vista to return to Galveston in time for its July 27 voyage and continue with year-round seven-day Caribbean itineraries.
Obesity rivals smoking as cause of cancer, UK charity warns
Obesity is rivalling smoking as a cause of cancer, responsible for more cases of bowel, kidney, ovarian and liver cancer than cigarettes, according to the UK’s leading cancer charity. Smoking is still the biggest cause of cancer, but Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has warned that government action to tackle obesity is vital, because it is a significant factor in 13 different types of cancer. Obes people now outnumber smokers by two to one.
Michelle Mitchell, the charity’s chief executive, said: “As smoking rates fall and obesity rates rise, we can clearly see the impact on a national health crisis when the government puts policies in place – and when it puts its head in the sand.
“Our children could be a smoke-free generation, but we’ve hit a devastating record high for childhood obesity, and now we need urgent government intervention to end the epidemic. They still have a chance to save lives.”
Excess weight causes about 1,900 more cases of bowel cancer than smoking in the UK each year, said CRUK. There are also 1,400 more cases of kidney cancer caused by excess weight than by smoking each year, 460 more ovarian cancers and 180 more cases of liver cancer.
The charity issued its warning as figures were released by Public Health England and the Office for National Statistics showing the decline in smoking in the UK. There has been a big reduction in the overall smoking rate to 14.7% last year, down five percentage points from 2011. Across the UK, 26% of the adult population were classified as obese in 2016, while 40% of men and 30% of women were overweight.
Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, said: “Although cancer survival is at a record high, this significant progress is in danger of being undone by the fast-growing epidemic of obesity, given excess weight is linked to 13 types of cancer.
“This study is further proof that obesity is the new smoking, and the NHS can’t win the ‘battle against the bulge’ on its own; families, food businesses and government all need to play their part if we’re to avoid copying America’s damaging and costly example.”
Caroline Cerny of the Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of more than 40 health organisations, said: “The causes of obesity are complex, but we know that the environment we live in plays a huge role, and currently this is heavily skewed towards unhealthy options. This is why we need the government to push on with plans to bring in a 9pm watershed on junk food adverts on TV and online, reduce the amount of unhealthy food promoted in supermarkets, and take sugar out of everyday food and drinks.”
CRUK agrees with that agenda. “There isn’t a silver bullet to reduce obesity, but the huge fall in smoking over the years – partly thanks to advertising and environmental bans – shows that government-led change works. It was needed to tackle sky-high smoking rates, and now the same is true for obesity,” said Prof Linda Bauld, the charity’s prevention expert.
The British Medical Association said the government was dragging its heels over bringing in measures to curb obesity. “The severity of this problem must not be underestimated. As well as the pressing need to raise public awareness of the worrying link between obesity and multiple types of cancer, we need to see a reversal of the cuts to public health funding so we can prevent children and adults reaching this critical stage. Failure to do so will continue to cost lives,” said the association’s board of science chair, Prof Parveen Kumar.