© Corey Horn, AMC G3 APS Operations via The Army’s Soldiers Media Center

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© Jan Tik

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The StatoilHydro demonstration project Hywind is based on wind turbines with a height of around 80 metres above sea-level and a blade diameter of around 90 metres.

Some advantages would be: reduced visual impact, mobility (not stationary), increased power production, ability to work in deeper waters

Hywind in brief

• Turbine capacity: 2.3 MW
• Weight of turbine: 138 tonnes
• Turbine height: 65 m
• Rotor diameter: 82.4 m
• Floatation element’s draught below sea surface: 100 m
• Total weight: 5300 tonnes
• Diameter at sea surface: 6 m
• Diameter of floatation element: 8.3 m
• Sea depth range: 120 – 700 metres
• No. of anchor moorings: 3

• Eitzen Maritime Services to acquire Dubai-based Seven Seas for $115 million.

Eitzen Maritime Services said it has agreed to acquire Dubai-based ship supply firm Seven Seas for $115 million.

• Australia Gets 2.5 Million Square Kilometers of New Offshore Rights.

Anyone still wondering what all the fuss is surrounding Canada’s bid to gain new seabed territory in the Arctic Ocean should look to Australia, where the country’s government is predicting a possible oil and gas “bonanza” after being granted a 2.5-million-square-kilometre expansion of its offshore jurisdiction.

• Salvage Operations Commence after Barge Accident in Kentucky.

The Coast Guard says salvage operations are to start after two barges carrying iron ore sank in the Ohio River near downtown Louisville, Ky.

• StatoilHydro to build first full scale offshore floating wind turbine.

StatoilHydro has decided to build the world’s first full scale floating wind turbine, Hywind, and test it over a two-year period offshore Karmøy. The The company is investing approximately 400 million NOK. Planned startup is autumn 2009.

• Huge boost for offshore wind power.

The Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) has announced plans for a huge increase in offshore wind power. Up to 7,000 new turbines could be built by 2020, producing up to 25 gigawatts of electricity.

© Chad Teer

© Bob Jagendorf - Bob’s website

• Hellenic National Advisory Committee considers key shipping industry issues.

Lloyd’s Register’s Hellenic National Advisory Committee considers key industry issues for shipping’s future and welcomes Lloyd’s Register’s strategy to establish a new marine headquarters in Southampton to develop a centre of maritime excellence for world shipping.

• Offshore wind costs set to soar.

The construction of offshore wind farms is becoming more costly, creating further problems for the European Union in meeting its renewable energy target, reports the Financial Times.

• Saipem scores Angola, Egypt deals.

Saipem has been awarded two new offshore contracts in Egypt and Angola worth a total value of about US$600 million.

• Van Oord awarded Yamal dredging and trenching contract.

Van Oord has been awarded a dredging and trenching project on the Yamal Peninsula in Northern Russia.

• GulfMark Offshore to acquire Rigdon Marine.

GulfMark Offshore, Inc. reports that it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Rigdon Marine Corporation (RMC), in a deal that values Rigdon at upwards of $550 million, based on yesterday’s $63.56 per share closing price for GulfMark stock.

In this video we travel to Minneapolis to witness the 37th annual Kemps Milk Carton Boat Races. Started as a publicity stunt by a local dairy, every year teams build and race boats made almost entirely out of empty milk cartons as part of Minneapolis’ annual summer Aquatennial. With pirate galleons, floating tea parties and cow-themed entries all barely afloat on Lake Calhoun, the event is the epitome of Midwestern summer fun.

via: Cool Hunting

• Revision of TOWCON.

The Sub-committee held its third meeting on the revision of BIMCO’s International Ocean Towage Agreements TOWCON and TOWHIRE on 15 May at the offices of ITC (International Transport Contractors Management BV) in Heemstede, The Netherlands.

• Trailing suction hopper dredger CRESTWAY: a boost for the Boskalis fleet.

The CRESTWAY is the second of two medium-sized 5,600m³ hoppers that Boskalis is having built. Her sister ship, the SHOREWAY, is currently under construction at IHC Beaver Dredgers in Sliedrecht, where she was launched on 17 April of this year.

• Med Marine plans fourth shipyard.

MED Marine Group is not daunted by increased competition in the Turkish shipbuilding and repair market and is planning its fourth yard. The R. Hakan Sen-led group specialises in towage, pilotage, salvage/wreck removal, escort, chartering as well as shipbuilding.

• Landfall and Neptune join forces to form new outfit.

LANDFALL Transport & Towage BV and Neptune Marine Services BV recently announced that they have joined forces to form a new company to undertake international deepsea towage and offshore services. The new Dutch International Towage Co BV will operate initially with the existing tug Soliman Reys as well as the Neptun 9 and Neptune Mariner.

• Boskalis CEO says bid for entire Smit group out of the question.

Royal Boskalis Westminster NV chief executive officer Peter Berdowski said Thursday a bid for the entire Smit Internationale NV company is currently out of the question.