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Royal Caribbean's Freedom-Class Ship Royal Caribbean International's newest Freedom-class ship, Independence of the Seas, made her US debut on Nov 19 at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Sharing the title of world's largest cruise ship with her sister-ships, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, Independence will be the line's... Blackwater Gunboats To Protect Ships According to a Nov. 19 report from The Independent World, the American security company Blackwater is planning to launche a flotilla of gunboats for hire by the shipping companies.The firm, which received international attention when its staff killed civilians in Iraq, has already equipped... Royal Navy Hands Over Suspected Pirates Eight suspected pirates apprehended by crew members from Royal Navy frigate HMS Cumberland off Africa's east coast last week have been handed over to the custody of the Kenyan Police today, Tuesday 18 November 2008.The suspected pirates were caught on Tuesday 11 November 2008 when HMS Cumberland,... Singapore –Bunkers Convention The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) issued a circular reminding the maritime community that the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001 (Bunker Convention) comes into force on 21 November 2008.  As of that date, ships having a gross tonnage greater... Indian Navy Encounters Pirate Mother Ship The Indian Naval Ship Tabar, which is currently in the Gulf of Aden for Anti-Piracy Surveillance and Patrol Operations, encountered a pirate vessel, 285 NM South West of Salalah (Oman) on the evening of 18 Nov 08, with two speed boats in tow. This vessel was similar in description to the 'Mother Vessel' mentioned in various Piracy bulletins... IMO – BWM Convention The IMO issued a circular noting that Liberia and France have acceded to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004.  This brings to 16 the number of Contracting States.  The Convention comes into force twelve months after the... General Dynamics $286m Contract The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $286m contract for planning yard work, engineering and technical support for nuclear submarines. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD). The contract has a total potential value of $1.8b over five years if all options are exercised and funded... NOL Group - Cost Reduction Initiatives Neptune Orient Lines Limited (NOL), the parent company of container shipping line APL and of APL Logistics, announced a package of measures to place the company on a more sustainable footing through an expected severe and prolonged downturn in global container shipping. The actions to... Korean Shipbuilders Face Bankruptcy According to a report from The Korea Times, following troubled construction firms and savings banks, the Korean government and creditor banks are now moving to put small-and medium-sized shipbuilders under the microscope for drastic restructuring.The preemptive restructuring is to minimize... NSRP Approves Ship Production Projects On 12 November 2008, the Executive Control Board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program Advanced Shipbuilding Enterprise announced the selection of 9 new Ship Production Panel projects, totaling approximately $777,000, specifically designed to reduce the costs associated with Navy shipbuilding and ship repair...