Fairmount Expedition delivers Castor topside in Spain

Fairmount Marine’s powerful tug Fairmount Expedition has safely delivered a 18,000 ton (16,329 tonnes) topside for process, utilities and living quarters for the Castor project offshore Spain. The topside was loaded onto Heerema’s H-541 barge and towed from Corpus Christi to Spain.

http://imc.to/svwavk

Statoil Awards NOK900M Contract For Tugboat Charters

Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil ASA (STO) said Friday it has awarded a NOK900 million contract to Bukser og Berging for two escort tugboats to service the Karsto processing plant on behalf of operator Gassco.

http://imc.to/ulUzue

Cargo ship sinks off French coast after collision

A cargo ship sank on Friday morning off France's Atlantic coast after colliding with an oil tanker but there were no casualties, French maritime authorities said. The 88-metre (260-foot), Dominica-registered Florece was carrying a load of clay when it went down 450 kilometres (280 miles) southwest of the western city of Lorient, the port prefecture in Brest, western France, said in a statement. A cargo ship sank on Friday morning off France's Atlantic coast after colliding with an oil tanker but there were no casualties, French maritime authorities said.

http://imc.to/rtlEMj

ConocoPhillips finds gas in North Sea, size unknown
Energy company ConocoPhillips has discovered gas in a southern North Sea wildcat well some 19 kilometres south of BP's Ula field, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Monday.

http://imc.to/s9JJtd

RenewableUK highlights flaws in anti-wind energy report

RenewableUK, the trade association representing the wind, wave and tidal energy industries, has strongly criticised the report "Renewable Energy: Vision or Mirage", to be published on 12th December by the Adam Smith Institute and Scientific Alliance. The report fails to recognise the hugely significant role that wind energy already plays in generating clean electricity in the UK.

http://imc.to/tfx7zX

Rolls-Royce wins contract from Gulf Offshore North Sea

Power systems company Rolls-Royce has secured a £10m contract to design and equip two offshore supply vessels for ship owner Gulf Offshore North Sea. The two UT755 XL designs will be built at the Rosetti Marino SpA shipyard in Ravenna, Italy, with expected delivery in 2013 and 2014.

http://imc.to/sONB2z

Oil Rises a Fourth Day on Concern Iran Tension May Curb Supply

Oil rose for a fourth day in New York on concern global supplies of crude will shrink after the European Union signaled it may ban imports from Iran and U.S. stockpiles declined.Futures climbed as much as 0.6 percent after settling at the highest in three weeks. The EU may have reached an agreement to limit shipments from Iran, OPEC’s second-largest producer, EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said yesterday.

http://imc.to/voKcmv

China Dredging Withdraws IPO Plans Due To Market Condiditions

China Dredging Group Co. withdrew its plans for an initial public offering, citing unfavorable market conditions. The dredging contracting service company filed last December to offer up to $50 million in American depositary shares to help finance the purchase of ships and other equipment.

China Dredging mostly focuses on reclamation dredging, which involves transferring material removed from sea or river beds to another location to raise the surface above the water level, and thus increasing land availability.

http://imc.to/uV8Pxe

Giant Container Shipping Lines Agree To Freight Sharing Partnership

In a joint press release the world’s second and third-largest container shipping companies have announced the signature of a major agreement. The two family-owned freight companies, the Swiss-Italian MSC and France’s CMA CGM, have agreed to form a broad-based operating partnership spanning several trades, including Asia-Northern Europe, Asia-Southern Africa and all of the South American markets.
http://imc.to/skqVGU

Port of Hamburg opens office in Mumbai to strengthen ties

Project cargo and heavy lift traffic between one of the BRIC quartet of expanding economies and Europe’s main manufacturing countries have been boosted by the opening of a new representative office by the port of Hamburg in Mumbai At the same time, new direct heavy lift liner services involving the sub-continent have been started to expand project cargo shipments to and from India.

http://imc.to/sIGe37

BP accuses Halliburton over Gulf of Mexico oil spill

BP has accused Halliburton of destroying damaging evidence relating to last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill. In a court filing, BP has alleged that the US oil services firm of intentionally destroying evidence about possible problems with its cement slurry poured into the deep-sea Macondo well about  100 miles (160 km) off the Louisiana coast. An oil well must be cemented properly to avoid blowouts. http://imc.to/ss5yDU

Offshore city idea floated to help Silicon Valley

The heart of capitalism is genius. Unfortunately, it’s sometimes evil genius. Take Blueseed, a new startup in California that’s floating the idea of an offshore city that can house 1,000 skilled, non-U.S. tech workers in international waters. According to a USA Today article, the ship would be close enough to Silicon Valley for ocean dwellers (who would pay $1,200 a month) to hop a quick ferry over to meet with potential Silicon Valley employers. http://imc.to/uDXt3C

World War II munitions litter Baltic and North Sea
More than 1.6 million tonnes of old war munitions remain at the bottom of the Baltic and North Seas in German waters, creating an ever-present danger for fishermen or workers laying pipeline in the region. http://imc.to/t4fPl3

Huge Vale ore carrier disabled at Brazil port

The world's largest iron-ore vessel is disabled and could sink in a port where Brazil's Vale, the world top producer, loads about 10 percent of global supplies of the commodity, shipping agents and the ship's operator said. http://imc.to/vtReTE

Malaysia Unveils Plan to Boost Shipbuilding, Create 55,000 Jobs

Malaysia plans to boost its shipbuilding and repair industry through regulatory intervention and incentive packages for investment and human capital development, Prime Minister Najib Razak said. http://imc.to/uT09uK