Newbuild Program News

You just might get it.In the waning days of the Biden administration, the executive orders and such that get announced seemingly on a daily basis signal countless victories for that side of the equation. And, no matter which side of that great divide that you reside on, it is likely that some of those edicts will be quickly reversed by the incoming President. Of course, much of this is likely irreversible. No where is that more apparent than Biden's order to withdraw 625 million acres of ocean from new offshore oil and gas development.U.S.

There’s plenty to go around for everyone, no matter it comes from.I will admit that attending the 2024 Workboat Show in the Big Easy just ten days after settling into the MarineNews Editor’s chair (for this, the second time around) had my full attention. The event typically evokes the specter of drinking from the proverbial fire hose in routine times, but attending and digesting all it has to offer, right out of the gate, makes the task just little bit edgier. Ultimately, last week’s trade show exuded terrific energy, from exhibitors to attendees alike.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has announced a net income for the second quarter of 2024 of $373 million (compared to a net loss of $213 million in the second quarter of 2023).The company’s adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $766 million, a year-over-year increase of 179%. Total revenue for the second quarter was $1,933 million, a year-over-year increase of 48%.Carried volume in the second quarter was 952,000 TEUs, a year-over-year increase of 11%, and its average freight rate per TEU in the second quarter was $1…

European short-sea shipping company Wilson ASA announced it has ordered eight 6,300 dwt general cargo vessels, extending its newbuild program to 14. The ships will be built by Indian shipbuilder Cochin Shipyard.The 14 new ships, including the six 3,800 dwt vessels ordered in June 2023, will be delivered from the first half of 2025 until 2028.The new, modern vessels will contribute to both growth and fleet renewal of the existing Wilson fleet, the company said.

Golden Gate Ferry will build a fleet of eight new hybrid vessels to improve operational efficiency and reduce emissions from its San Francisco Bay Area commuter ferry service.Electrical contracting company McKay on Monday announced it has been appointed by naval architecture firm Aurora Marine Design to serve as the electrical systems integrator for the Liwa Class newbuild program, which will commence in early 2025 to retire and replace Golden Gate Ferry’s existing fleet of with a series of eight new 50.5-meter-long…

Belships announced has expanded its newbuild program with two new 64,000 dwt Ultramax bulk carriers scheduled for delivery in 2028.The Norwegian-based company now has a total of 10 newbuilds under construction at Japanese shipyards with delivery between 2024 and 2028. All vessels are leased on time charter for a period of 7 to 10 years from delivery, with purchase options around current market levels. There is no obligation to purchase any of the vessels. Cash breakeven for the vessels upon delivery is about $14…

German shipbuilder Meyer Werft reports it has secured an order from U.S.-based Carnival Corporation for the construction of a new cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Line. The newbuild order is the first placed by Carnival Corporation in five years.Slated for delivery in 2027, the Excel-class ship will be a sister vessel to the 183,200 GT Carnival Jubilee, which was handed over at the end of 2023."Our Excel-class ships have been a tremendous addition to the Carnival fleet and proven very popular with our guests," said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

Edda Wind announced it has entered into a green term loan facility agreement for the pre- and postdelivery financing of four new commissioning service operation vessels (CSOV) under construction at Vard.The agreement is a €161 million green loan facility with Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Danske Bank A/S, DNB Bank ASA and SpareBank 1 SR-Bank ASA, with expiry in 2029 and a profile of 12 years. The facility corresponds to a leverage ratio of 60% of the total ready…

Erik Thun Group selected Berg Propulsion’s Dynamic Drive technology to optimize efficiency on board all 10 of its latest newbuildings. The Swedish owner confirmed its decision after pilot installations exceeded energy efficiency gain expectations, with the integrated drive solution helping to save 10% of fuel, rising to 20% in some operational conditions.As part of Erik Thun’s rolling fleet renewal strategy, the owner recently expanded its newbuild program with Dutch yard Shipsveerf Ferus Smit B.V to include four 5…

The next newbuilds for Washington State Ferries (WSF) could be built by a shipyard outside of Washington as the state seeks to accelerate its ferry electrification program.The Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) WSF earlier this week issued a request for information to the shipbuilding industry across the country as part of its effort to contract for five new hybrid-electric Olympic-class ferries. Responses are due in January and will provide critical information for the Invitation for Bid in spring 2024…

Containerships owner/operator Seaspan Corporation signaled its entry into the car carrier segment in confirming a deal to order a series of new pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) in partnership with Hyundai Glovis (Glovis).The 10,800 CEU are the largest PCTCs under development to date. They will be dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as ammonia-and methanol-ready.Seaspan said it negotiated the purchase from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, a China State Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard.

U.S.-based offshore vessel operator Hornbeck Offshore Services confirmed Monday it had reached a final settlement agreement with the surety (the “Surety”) for two Multi-Purpose Support Vessels (MPSVs) that had been under construction at Gulf Island Shipyards.Gulf Island Shipyards (GIS) sued Hornbeck Offshore in 2018 over what it said was the wrongful termination of two shipyard construction contracts for the final two vessels in the company's fifth offshore support vessel (OSV)…

Gulf Island Fabrication said Thursday that its subsidiary, Gulf Island Shipyards, had resolved its lawsuit with the U.S. offshore vessel operator Hornbeck Offshore Services relating to the construction of two multi-purpose supply vessels (“MPSV”).Gulf Island Shipyards (GIS) sued Hornbeck Offshore in 2018over what it said was the wrongful termination of two shipyard construction contracts for the final two vessels in the company's fifth offshore support vessel (OSV) newbuild program.Hornbeck…

A.P. Moller-Maersk's towage arm Svitzer announced it has expanded its presence in Brazil to provide operations and services at the Port of Salvador, including Aratu Port Complexes.Svitzer said it will deploy two "modern and high-powered" tugs, the Svitzer Jamil Darian and Svitzer Zoe, in the Port of Salvador. To service the port, Svitzer has hired a total of 12 crew members.Daniel Reedtz Cohen, Managing Director of Svitzer Brazil, said, “Brazil continues to grow in its role as a key player in the global trade ecosystem, with resulting increased port activity. Svitzer is dedicated to its role in the supply chain and to servicing customers in the region.”Svitzer has been operating in Brazil since 2015 and now has a presence across eight ports in the country.

The U.K. has awarded Babcock International’s Rosyth shipyard a £45 million (approx. US$56.6 million) contract to maintain its fleet of three scientific research vessels.The initial three-year contract, announced by U.K. Industry and Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani earlier this month, will see the large oceanographic and polar research vessels RRS Sir David Attenborough, RRS Discovery and RRS James Cook dock at Babcock’s state-of-the-art facilities in Rosyth, Scotland, for programmed maintenance and upgrade work.

Two load-bearing pillars of Norway’s leading maritime industry cluster in Sunmøre on the country’s west coast – offshore energy and the expedition cruise sector – took severe knocks from plunging energy prices in the 2010s followed by COVID-19. However, a recent tour of the region found the cluster in recovery mode.At the time, the cluster’s diversification strategy was to dive into the emerging expedition cruise sector: small, highly sophisticated ships designed to operate in some of the world’s most sensitive environments incorporated features including the highest ice-class…

Edda Wind’s new Service Operation Vessel Edda Goelo (C416) was launched at Astilleros Balenciaga shipyard in Spain on Friday.Edda Goelo will serve as a mother vessel for wind turbine technicians as they perform maintenance work on offshore wind turbines. When completed, the new SOV will start operations for wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa at Iberdrola’s offshore wind farm in the Saint-Brieuc Bay off France in the third quarter of 2023. The vessel has a five-year contract with Siemens Gamesa…

Norwegian offshore wind services firm Edda Wind has taken delivery of its first CSOV, the Edda Breeze. The vessel was built by Astilleros Gondán shipyard in Spain.The hydrogen-ready vessel is the first to be delivered as part of a nine-vessel newbuilding program. The new Commissioning Operation Vessel (CSOV) will in August go on a ten-year contract with Ocean Breeze at the Bard Offshore 1 wind farm in Germany. “The delivery of Edda Breeze marks the start of deliveries for our newbuilding program of nine vessels.

Norwind Offshore, a Norwegian offshore wind-focused vessel owner has taken delivery of its first vessel - the Norwind Breeze - from Vard.The delivery took place Monday at 1 p.m. local time from Vard, Brattvåg, in Norway. Before the conversion, the service operation vessel used to be a platform supply vessel, previously known as MMA Responder.The vessel arrived in Norway in November 2021 where the rebuilding and outfitting process started.The vessel has been equipped with, among other, a larger and modernized accommodation (60 pax), and a large battery power system to reduce emissions.

Offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource announced Thursday that they have chosen two regional vessel operators that will partner with Rhode Island shipyards to build crew transfer vessels (CTV) to service their wind farm projects in the U.S. Northeast. The joint venture partners revealed plans to charter five new Jones-Act-compliant CTVs, including three from New York-based WindServe Marine and two from Massachusetts-based American Offshore Services (AOS).The purpose-built aluminum catamarans are designed to handle the unique offshore conditions at the wind farms…

Containership giant Seaspan Corporation announced on Wednesday that it now has financing lined up for its entire 70-vessel newbuild program.With the completion of the latest $1.4 billion deal in December, Seaspan said its financing proceeds are approximately $6.9 billion.Seaspan, a subsidiary of Atlas Corp, said the $1.4 billion will be used to finance ten 15,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel newbuilds, the last of its recent $7.6 billion containership ordering spree, including three ships that have already been delivered.

Construction has started for North Star Renewables' two vessels bound for work at what will be the world's largest offshore wind farm - the Dogger Bank in the UK.To mark the construction of the two vessels - a Service Operation Vessel and a daughter craft - two steel cutting ceremonies have taken place in Vietnam and the UK respectively.The whole newbuild program comprises three service operation vessels (SOVs) and three associated daughter crafts, with all six vessels bound for the first two phases of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, located off the East coast of Yorkshire (UK).

Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB) said it has delivered the final vessel in a series of four new tugs for Foss Maritime.The ASD-90 tractor tugs Jamie Ann, Sarah Avrick, Leisa Florence and Rachael Allen were completed and delivered between April 2020 and June 2021. Foss, a division of the Saltchuk company, will station two of the vessels in Los Angeles/Long Beach, while the other two vessels will be in the San Francisco Bay providing escort and assist services to large tankers and containerships calling on the California ports.The series' fourth vessel…