On October 1, 2015, the 40-year-old American cargo ship El Faro went missing after sailing into the path of Hurricane Joaquin as it sailed from Florida to Puerto Rico. After days of searching, it was determined that the ship sank with the loss of all 33 crew members. The vessel was eventually found in about 15,000 feet of water off the Bahamas with the navigation bridge torn off and no sign of the VDR. The National Transportation Safety Board is set to release some new material from its investigation into the accident in early January.
The tragedy is considered the worst maritime disaster in the U.S. in over 30 years.
We saw some big stories in the maritime and offshore industries in 2015. Here at gCaptain, we set a new annual record for visitor traffic as we racked up more than 12 million visits, 33 million page views, and welcoming visitors from just about every country in the world. Of course our job is easy when things are happening as quickly as they are around our industry. So without further ado, here are our picks for the stories that stole the headlines in 2015. Happy New Year everyone! -Mike
Worth Reading:
- American Cargo Ship ‘El Faro’ Missing in Hurricane Joaquin Near the Bahamas
- NTSB Provides New Details from El Faro Investigation
- We Won’t Learn Anything: What Sank El Faro and What Didn’t
- El Faro Found – Wreckage Confirmed to Be Missing American Cargo Ship
- NTSB: El Faro Wreck Missing Bridge and Voyage Data Recorder
- Archives: El Faro
Panama Canal Cracks
In August, gCaptain was first to report that cracks had formed in the concrete of one of the new lock chambers of the expanded Panama Canal. After several months of back and forth, it became apparent that the cracks would in fact delay the delivery (yet again!) of the $5.25 billion expansion project past April 2016.
And that’s not the only problem facing the Panama Canal Authority.
Worth Reading:
- A Big Crack Threatens the Panama Canal Expansion
- Concrete Sample Pulled from the New Panama Canal Locks and It Does Not Look Good
- Finally! Panama Canal Authority Admits Crack Will Delay Opening
- Ships Waiting Up to 11 Days to Pass Through Panama Canal
- Archives: Panama Canal Crack
Bulk Jupiter Sinking
It was January 2nd when the Gearbulk-owned MV Bulk Jupiter sank suddenly off the coast of Vietnam with the loss of all but one of its 19 crew. In the investigations that followed, it was determined that liquefaction of the ship’s bauxite cargo, a clay-like substance not typically prone to liquefying under most conditions, was to blame for bringing down the vessel. The incident sparked new warnings over the carriage of the bauxite cargoes and cargo liquefactionin general.
Worth Reading:
- Gearbulk-owned Bulk Carrier Sinks Off Vietnam
- Bulk Jupiter Sinking Prompts IMO to Issue Bauxite Liquefaction Warning
- Archives: Bulk Jupiter Sinking
Höegh Osaka Grounding
On January 3rd, the roll-on/roll-off car carrier Hoegh Osaka was intentionally grounded in the Solent after the vessel developed a severe list shortly after departing Southampton with some 1,400 vehicles. All crew were evacuated safely, but the vessel spent about a week slumped over on a sand bank before it refloated during a high tide and strong winds. It took about two more weeks for salvors to stabilize the vessel and tow it back to Southampton. The ship has since returned to service.
Worth Reading:
- Höegh Car Carrier Listing Heavily After Running Aground in the Solent
- Hoegh Osaka Self-floats at High Tide
- 3D Recreation of Höegh Osaka’s Intentional Grounding in the Solent
- Archives: Hoegh Osaka Grounding
MV Cemfjord Sinking
In early January, passengers aboard a ferry came across a horrific site off northern Scotland: the upturned hull of the MV Cemfjord just bobbing in the waves. As it turns out, the ship was carrying a cargo of cement from Denmark to Cheshire in western England when it mysteriously capsized and sank on January 2nd with the loss of all 8 crew members. What’s eerie is that there was no mayday call or any indication that the ship may have been in trouble, and we still don’t know exactly what happened.
The wreck of the ship was found in February, but to date not a single body has been located or recovered.
Worth Reading:
- Ferry Passengers Find Horrifying Scene Off Scotland
- New Sonar Image Shows Sunken ‘Cemfjord’ Resting On Seabed
- MAIB Completes Examination of MV Cemfjord Wreck With No Sign of Missing Crew
Pioneering Spirit Arrives in Rotterdam
One of the most talked-about ships of the last decade arrived in Rotterdam in early January after sailing from South Korea where it has been under construction for several years. And boy is it living up to the hype.
The vessel, named Peter Schelte Pioneering Spirit, is one of the largest and most unique ships ever constructed, measuring 382 meters long by 124 meters wide and based on a concept that connects the two large tankers side-by-side. Once completed in 2016, the ship will be used for the installation and removal of large offshore oil and gas platforms in a single-lift (and business is supposed to be very good).
Worth Reading
- Amazing Aerial Photos: ‘Pieter Schelte’ Arrives in Rotterdam
- Allseas Agrees to ‘Pieter Schelte’ Name Change
- Delivery Delayed for World’s Biggest Catamaran, Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit
Houston Ship Channel Collision
On the morning of March 9, 2015, the chemical tanker Carla Maersk collided with the bulk carrier Conti Peridot in thick fog while in the Houston Ship Channel. The collision resulted in damage to the both vessels and the release of an unknown quantity of the fuel additive MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) from the Carla Maersk. The Houston Ship Channel was shut for three days due to the accident.
Worth Reading:
- Maersk Chemical Tanker Leaks Product Into Houston Ship Channel After Collision
- Incident Photos: Damage to Carla Maersk After Collision in Houston Ship Channel
- Listen: Houston Ship Channel Collision Full Radio Transmission
- Houston Ship Channel Collision: NTSB’s Preliminary Marine Accident Report
Maersk Tigris
On April 28th, Iranian patrol boats randomly seized the Marshall Islands-flagged containershipMaersk Tigris as it sailed through the Strait of Hormuz. The seizure, which was said to be over a 10-year-old debt owed to Iran by Maersk Line, sparked fears of freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, home to some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. The vessel and its 24 crew were eventually released about two weeks later after Maersk Line, who actually had no involvement in operating Maersk Tigris, struck a deal for the ship’s release.
Worth Reading:
- Maersk Ship Seized by Iranian Forces in Strait of Hormuz
- Rickmers to Iran – Your Beef is Not With Us
- Maersk Tigris Held Over 10-Year Old Missing Cargo
- U.S. Navy Begins Accompanying American Ships Through Strait of Hormuz
- Maersk Tigris Released from Iranian Control
- Archives: Maersk Tigris
Baltic Dry Index at All-time Low
On February 18, 2015, the Baltic Dry Index fell to its (now former) all-time low of 509 points, setting the tone for a turbulent year for the dry bulk shipping market. After recovering above 1,000 briefly during the summer months, the BDI plunged to its new all-time low of 471 points on December 16, 2015. What’s worse is that the turmoil is expected to continue well into 2016.
Worth Reading:
- Baltic Dry Index Death Spirals to Near 30-Year Low
- Not Even Blowtorches Can Ignite the Worst-Ever Dry Bulk Shipping Market
- Baltic Dry Index Plummets to New All-time Low – 471 Points!
- Dry Bulk Shipping Turmoil Set to Extend Well Into 2016
Jones Act Under Attack
The U.S. maritime industry’s most loathed politician, Senator John McCain launched a new attack on the “antiquated” Jones Act by attempting to sneak an amendment into a Keystone XL pipeline bill that would repeal the U.S. build requirement of the Jones Act. The attack gave industry stakeholders a chance to show just how much support the Jones Act really has, especially in Congress, and the Keystone bill was ultimately passed sans McCain’s amendment. The rhetoric again reemerged with the sinking of the El Faro in October (but it wasn’t from McCain that time around).
Worth Reading:
- John McCain Launches New Attack on Jones Act
- House Members Rally Against Senator McCain’s Jones Act Amendment
- Keystone Bill Passes Without Senator McCain’s Jones Act Amendment
- U.S. Maritime Industry Stakeholders Rally Behind ‘Strong’ Jones Act
- U.S. Shipbuilders Slam Claims Linking Jones Act to El Faro Tragedy
Offshore Lay-Ups
The meteoric collapse in oil prices over the past year sent shock waves through the offshore industry and beyond in 2015. Particularly hard hit has been the offshore supply vessel sector, which has experienced an unprecedented number lay-ups and lay-offs from the North Sea to the Gulf of Mexico.
Worth Reading:
- North Sea Lay-Ups Closing in on 100 Vessels
- Norway’s Stacked Offshore Fleet Swells to 100 Vessels
- Hornbeck Offshore to Have 30 OSVs Stacked by End of Year
- Offshore Supply Vessel Owners Face Bankruptcy with Drop in Drilling Rigs
South Korean Shipyards Lose Big
The world’s largest shipyards were among some of the biggest losers from the collapse in the offshore industry, with South Korea’s ‘Big Three’ shipyards- Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and DSME – all posting record losses in 2015. The losses can almost all be contributed to the shipyards’ bet on more complex offshore oil rigs, a strategy that now comes back to haunt them as oil prices remain low, costs rise, and new orders dry up.
Worth Reading:
- South Korean Shipyards Struggling As Offshore Strategy Fails
- South Korea’s ‘Big Three’ Shipbuilders Post Record Loss
- Korean Shipyards Afloat, But Taking on Water
- STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Fighting for Survival
- DSME Gets $3.7 Billion Bailout
Containerships, Containerships, Containerships
Whether it was the giant “megaships” hitting Asia-Europe trade routes, the always-volatile freight rates, mergers and acquisitions, or the swelling idled fleet, containerships were making news in 2015 – as they almost always do.
Worth Reading:
- Maersk Lays-Up Triple-E as Idled Fleet Closes On One Million Teu
- Containership Owners Rapidly Idling Vessels
- MSC ZOE Joins Ranks as World’s Largest Containership
- First Ultra-Large Containership Arrives in the United States
- CMA CGM Cements Shipping Status with $2.4 Billion NOL Deal
- It’s Official: China Confirms COSCO, China Shipping Merger
Red Hot Tanker Market
As they say, one man’s pain is another man’s gain… this is especially the case for the oil tanker market. Amid the worst crude market downturn in decades spreads, tanker owners are reaping billion dollar windfalls as the demand for tankers continues to flourish. In October, rates for VLCCs, the largest tankers, soared past $100,000 a day for the first time since 2008. Even better, the rate boom is expected to persist into 2016 as the price for crude oil remains low.
Worth Reading:
- Oil Tanker Rates Soar Past $100,000 Per Day
- Oil Tanker Rates Jump to Seven-Year High as Ships Forced to Wait
- China’s Supertanker Traffic Jam Propels Global Shipping Rates
- Tanker Rate Spike Dents Floating Storage Effort
- In World With Too Much Crude Oil, Tanker Owners Reap Billion-Dollar Windfall
- Archives: Tanker Rates
More LNG Firsts
Liquified natural gas continued to solidify its position as a viable alternative fuel within the maritime industry, with several planned projects finally coming to fruition over the course of the year. Notable headlines, to name just a few, included the Kvitbjørn, which in April completed the longest-ever voyage running solely on LNG; the launch (and delivery) of the world’s first LNG-powered containerships at NASSCO; the Harvey Energy, the first LNG-powered workboat in the United States; and the delivery of the MV Greenland, the world’s first LNG-powered dry cargo ship.
Worth Reading:
- Nor Lines Newbuild Completes Longest Ever LNG-Powered Voyage
- MV Greenland, World’s First LNG-Powered Dry Cargo Ship
- Harvey Energy Begins Work for Shell in Gulf of Mexico
- Introducing ‘Isla Bella’ – World’s First LNG-Powered Containership
- LNG-Powered Ships Gain as Rising Output Answers Oil-Price Volatility
Shell’s Arctic Drilling
This past summer, Royal Dutch Shell decided to return to arctic for the first time since 2012 as part of its controversial search for oil offshore northern Alaska. Unfortunately for Shell, its effort was met by additional complications in the form of Greenpeace activists, an unexpected grounding, and eventually a lack of recoverable oil. The company decided in September to abandon its Alaskan Arctic exploration plans altogether after spending about $7 billion.
Worth Reading
- U.S. Government Approves Shell’s Arctic Drilling Plans
- Greenpeace Activists Board Shell’s Arctic-bound Oil Rig
- Shell Icebreaker Suffers Hull Damage in Alaska
- Greenpeace Bridge Hangers Stand Off With Shell Icebreaker
- Shell Abandons Arctic Exploration After Spending $7 Billion
Costa Concordia (Yes, still)
The never-ending saga of the Costa Concordia continued in 2015. The ship spent the year being dismantled in Genoa, Italy, while its disgraced captain, Francesco Schettino, was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in prison over the 2012 disaster. He also released a 600-page book, which apparently provides his version of the disaster along with every little detail about his life. We’d really love to read it, but so far the book has only been released in Italian.
Worth Reading:
- Photos and Video from Costa Concordia Transfer to Genoa
- A Current Look At and Inside the Dismantled Costa Concordia
- Costa Concordia Captain Found Guilty, Gets 16 Years in Jail
- Costa Concordia Captain to Release Book About 2012 Disaster
- Archives: Costa Concordia
China’s Maritime Build-Up in South China Sea
Tensions were running at an all-time high in the South China Sea in 2015 as China accelerated its land reclamation in the resource-rich region, turning reefs into artificial islands to house airfields and other facilities in which China claims will help maritime search and rescue, navigational security and disaster relief. Unfortunately nobody else is buying it.
Worth Reading:
- Maritime Build-up Accelerates in South China Sea
- China Holds Weight in Numbers in South China Sea
- China’s Lighthouses in Spratlys Beckon Recognition from Passing Ships
- U.S. Navy Destroyer to Sail Within 12 Miles of China-Built Artificial Islands in South China Sea
- Archives: South China Sea
Cruise Industry’s Asia Push
The cruise industry has been talking about Asia’s potential for years now, but 2015 was the year that it really took off. Pretty much everyone who is anyone announced real plans this year to send more ships to China.
Worth Reading:
- Carnival Sending More Ships to China
- Nine Key Trends in Asia’s Booming Cruise Ship Industry
- Carnival Joint Venture to Launch China’s First Domestic Cruise Brand
Shipping Emissions
The debate over emissions from ships was reignited in 2015 in the lead up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) held in Paris in early December. While shipping was not explicitly referenced in the final text of the historic Paris Agreement, seeking to limit global manmade greenhouse gas emissions and minimize the impact of climate change, it did spark new calls for the UN’s International Maritime Organization to continue it’s work to further reduce CO2 emissions from ships.
Worth Reading:
- IMO the Only Place for Global Debate on Shipping Emissions
- IMO Branded a ‘Danger to the Planet’ After Refusal to Back Caps on Vessel Emissions
- With Landmark Climate Deal, World Marks Turn from Fossil Fuels
- With Historic Paris Climate Agreement Adopted, Ship Emissions Fall in IMO’S Court
- Archives: COP21
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