We noticed some huge tales within the maritime and offshore industries in 2015. Here at gCaptain, we set a brand new annual document for customer site visitors as we racked up greater than 12 million visits, 33 million web page views, and welcoming guests from nearly each nation on the planet. Of course our job is simple when issues are occurring as shortly as they’re round our business. So with out additional ado, listed here are our picks for the tales that stole the headlines in 2015. Happy New Year everybody! -Mike

El Faro Tragedy

On October 1, 2015, the 40-year-old American cargo ship El Faro went lacking after crusing into the trail of Hurricane Joaquin because it sailed from Florida to Puerto Rico. After days of looking, it was decided that the ship sank with the lack of all 33 crew members. The vessel was finally present in about 15,000 toes of water off the Bahamas with the navigation bridge torn off and no signal of the VDR. The National Transportation Safety Board is about to launch some new materials from its investigation into the accident in early January. 

The tragedy is taken into account the worst maritime catastrophe within the U.S. in over 30 years. 

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 fashioned within the concrete of one of many new lock chambers of the expanded Panama Canal. After a number of months of forwards and backwards, it grew to become obvious that the cracks would in reality delay the supply (but once more!) of the $5.25 billion growth undertaking previous April 2016. 

And that’s not the one downside dealing with 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 immediately off the coast of Vietnam with the lack of all however one in all its 19 crew. In the investigations that adopted, it was decided that liquefaction of the ship’s bauxite cargo, a clay-like substance not usually vulnerable to liquefying below most situations, was in charge for bringing down the vessel. The incident sparked new warnings over the carriage of the bauxite cargoes and cargo liquefaction typically. 

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 third, the roll-on/roll-off automotive provider Hoegh Osaka was deliberately grounded within the Solent after the vessel developed a extreme record shortly after departing Southampton with some 1,400 autos. All crew have been evacuated safely, however the vessel spent a couple of week slumped over on a sand financial institution earlier than it refloated throughout a excessive tide and robust winds. It took about two extra weeks for salvors to stabilize the vessel and tow it again to Southampton. The ship has since returned to service. 

Worth Reading:

• Höegh Car Carrier Listing Heavily After Running Aground within the Solent
• Hoegh Osaka Self-floats at High Tide
• 3D Recreation of Höegh Osaka’s Intentional Grounding within the Solent
• Archives: Hoegh Osaka Grounding

MV Cemfjord Sinking

In early January, passengers aboard a ferry got here throughout a horrific website off northern Scotland: the upturned hull of the MV Cemfjord simply bobbing within the waves. As it seems, 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 lack of all 8 crew members. What’s eerie is that there was no mayday name or any indication that the ship could have been in hassle, and we nonetheless don’t know precisely what occurred. 

The wreck of the ship was present in February, however so far not a single physique has been positioned 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 essentially the most talked-about ships of the final decade arrived in Rotterdam in early January after crusing from South Korea the place it has been below building for a number of years. And boy is it residing as much as the hype.  

The vessel, named Peter Schelte Pioneering Spirit, is among the largest and most original ships ever constructed, measuring 382 meters lengthy by 124 meters extensive and primarily based on an idea connecting the 2 giant tankers side-by-side. Once accomplished in 2016, the ship shall be used for the set up and removing of huge offshore oil and fuel platforms in a single-lift (and enterprise is meant to be excellent).

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 majority provider Conti Peridot in thick fog whereas within the Houston Ship Channel. The collision resulted in injury to the each vessels and the discharge of an unknown amount of the gasoline additive MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) from the Carla Maersk. The Houston Ship Channel was shut for 3 days because of 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 twenty eighth, Iranian patrol boats randomly seized the Marshall Islands-flagged containership Maersk Tigris because it sailed via the Strait of Hormuz. The seizure, which was mentioned to be over a 10-year-old debt owed to Iran by Maersk Line, sparked fears of freedom of navigation within the Persian Gulf, dwelling to a few of the world’s busiest transport lanes. The vessel and its 24 crew have been finally launched about two weeks later after Maersk Line, who really had no involvement in working Maersk Tigris, struck a deal for the ship’s launch. 

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 factors, setting the tone for a turbulent yr for the dry bulk transport market. After recovering above 1,000 briefly throughout the summer season months, the BDI plunged to its new all-time low of 471 factors on December 16, 2015. What’s worse is that the turmoil is anticipated to proceed effectively 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 business’s most loathed politician, Senator John McCain launched a brand new assault on the “antiquated” Jones Act by making an attempt to sneak an modification right into a Keystone XL pipeline invoice that might repeal the U.S. construct requirement of the Jones Act. The assault gave business advocates a probability to indicate simply how a lot assist the Jones Act actually has, particularly in Congress, and the Keystone invoice was finally handed with out McCain’s modification. The rhetoric once more reemerged with the sinking of the El Faro in October (nevertheless it wasn’t from McCain that time round). 

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 costs over the previous yr despatched shock waves via the offshore business and past in 2015. Particularly onerous hit has been the offshore provide vessel sector, which has skilled an unprecedented quantity lay-ups and lay-offs from the North Sea to the Gulf of Mexico. The similar could be mentioned for drilling rigs. 

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 have been amongst a few of the largest losers from the collapse in the offshore business, with South Korea’s ‘Big Three’ shipyards- Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and DSME – all posting document losses in 2015. The losses can nearly all be contributed to the shipyards’ wager on extra advanced offshore oil rigs, a technique that now comes again to hang-out them as oil costs stay low, prices 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 enormous “megaships” hitting Asia-Europe commerce routes, the always-volatile freight charges, mergers and acquisitions, or the swelling idled fleet, containerships have been making information in 2015 – as they nearly at all times 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 within 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 are saying, one man’s ache is one other man’s achieve… that is particularly the case for the oil tanker market. Amid the worst crude market downturn in many years, tanker house owners are reaping billion greenback windfalls as demand for tankers continues to flourish. In October, charges for VLCCs soared previous $100,000 a day for the primary time since 2008. Even higher, the increase is anticipated to persist into 2016 as the value for crude oil stays 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 pure fuel continued to solidify its place as a viable different gasoline inside the maritime business, with a number of deliberate initiatives lastly coming to fruition over the course of the yr. Notable headlines, to call just some, included the Kvitbjørn, which in April accomplished the longest-ever voyage operating solely on LNG; the launch (and supply) of the world’s first LNG-powered containerships at NASSCO; the Harvey Energy, the first LNG-powered workboat within the United States; and the supply 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 previous summer season, Royal Dutch Shell determined to return to arctic for the primary time since 2012 as a part of its controversial seek for oil offshore northern Alaska. Unfortunately for Shell, its effort was met by further issues within the type of Greenpeace activists, an surprising incident involving the Fennica icebreaker, and finally a scarcity of recoverable oil. The firm determined in September to desert 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, nonetheless)

The endless saga of the Costa Concordia continued in 2015. The ship spent the yr being dismantled in Genoa, Italy, whereas its disgraced captain, Francesco Schettino, was discovered responsible and sentenced to 16 years in jail over the 2012 catastrophe. He additionally launched a 600-page e book, which apparently offers his model of the catastrophe together with each little element about his life. We’d actually like to learn it, however thus far the e book has solely been launched 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 have been operating at an all-time excessive within the South China Sea in 2015 as China accelerated its land reclamation within the resource-rich area, turning reefs into synthetic islands for airfields and different services during which China claims will assist maritime search and rescue, navigational safety and catastrophe aid. Unfortunately, no one else is shopping for 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 business has been speaking about Asia’s potential for years now, however 2015 was the yr that it actually took off. Pretty a lot everybody who’s anybody introduced actual plans this yr to ship extra 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 within the lead as much as the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) held in Paris in early December. While transport was not explicitly referenced within the last textual content of the historic Paris Agreement, looking for to restrict world artifical greenhouse fuel emissions and decrease the impression of local weather change, it did spark new requires the UN’s International Maritime Organization to proceed its work to additional scale back 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

Did we miss any tales? Let us know by sharing on social media and tagging @gCaptain.