Asia News

Hong Kong's CK Hutchison will not sign a deal next week to sell its two port operations near the Panama Canal to a BlackRock-led group, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, amid growing pressure from Beijing.China's market regulator said it will carry out an antitrust review on the Panama port deal in accordance with law to protect fair competition and safeguard public interests, its official WeChat account showed late on Friday.The telecoms-to-retail conglomerate owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing this month agreed to sell most of the global $22.8 billion ports business…

Taiwan's defence minister dismissed on Friday China's complaints about a collision between a Taiwan navy ship and a Chinese trawler in the sensitive Taiwan Strait, vowing that Taipei would carry on military exercises undeterred.China's Taiwan Affairs Office condemned the actions of the Taiwanese landing ship as "wicked" following Thursday's collision off Taiwan's central city of Taichung. Taiwan, however, said it did not take place in "restricted" waters."The Taiwan Affairs Office always says things like this…

India is considering a proposal to scrap import tax on U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) to boost purchases and help cut the trade surplus with Washington, a key irritant for President Donald Trump, four government and industry sources said.The United States is India's second biggest supplier but the two sides are looking to ramp up volumes for India's energy-hungry economy, one of the fastest growing in the world.During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's U.S. visit last month, India pledged to increase U.S.

Knutsen NYK Carbon Carriers  (KNCC), a subsidiary of NYK and Knutsen Group, has obtained Approval in Principle (AiP) from ClassNK for the design of liquified CO2 carriers (LCO2-EP carrier) that use the elevated pressure (EP) method to store and transport liquefied CO2 at ambient temperature.ClassNK has carried out a design review of this ship in accordance with the Rules for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships, and has issued an AiP after confirming that the ship meets…

Sea1 Offshore, formerly Siem Offshore, has ordered two more offshore energy support vessels from Cosco Shipping.The vessels are based on a similar design as the first two vessels Sea1 Offshore ordered from the same shipyard in November 2024.The four vessels will have capabilities to serve both oil and gas and renewable markets.The scheduled delivery for the vessels is from third quarter 2027 to fourth quarter 2027.Based on ST-245 design, the vessels will be methanol ready with…

Japan-based classification society ClassNK has named Hayato Suga as its new president and CEO, and Fumihiko Higashi as its executive vice president.Effective March 21, 2025, Suga will move from his current senior vice president role, while Higashi will advance from the current corporate officer post.Former president and CEO Hiroaki Sakashita has been appointed as chairman of the board of directors, while the former chairman of Koichi Fujiwara has assumed the position of advisor to the society.“The business environment is changing rapidly…

CK Hutchison on Thursday reported an 11% drop in underlying profit for 2024, as one of Hong Kong's most powerful conglomerates becomes increasingly embroiled in a political row over the sale of its ports business to a BlackRock-led consortium.The telecoms-to-retail conglomerate, owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing, said this month it had agreed to sell most of its global ports business, including assets near the strategically important Panama Canal, in a deal that would garner the firm more than $19 billion in cash.Its shares initially rallied after the deal…

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) has launched Japan’s first Arctic research vessel, named Mirai II.The construction of the Mirai II vessel began in 2021, at Japan Marine United Corporation’s shipyard.The vessel is 128 meters long, with the with of 23 meters, and draft spanning 8 meters.The vessel’s tonnage stands at 13,000 tons, and is said to be capable of continuously breaking 1.2m of flat one-year ice at a ship speed of 3.0kt.Mirai II will be capable of accommodating 97 people on board…

MOL Energia, a subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), has signed long-term charter contracts with SCG Chemicals, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Siam Cement Group (SCG), for two very large ethane carriers (VLECs), to be built in South Korea.The charter for two more VLECs comes in addition to three vessels already contracted by SCG Chemicals in January 2025.Of the approximately 90 dedicated liquefied ethane carriers currently in service or on order worldwide, this deal will…

DNV has awarded a detailed Approval in Principle (AiP) to Shell International Trading and Shipping Company and Brevik Engineering for their design of a 74,000 cubic meters (cbm) liquid carbon dioxide (LCO2) carrier.The vessel is specifically designed for the Asia Pacific market to enable cost competitive transport of CO2.This AiP from DNV covers a comprehensive scope across a wide range of disciplines, including the assessment of specific technical challenges for LCO2 carriers.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and its partners Namura Shipbuilding and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding have secured an approval in principle (AiP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) for a large-size ammonia-powered ammonia carrier.The AiP was awarded for the ship’s ammonia fuel compatible design.The companies are developing the vessel in anticipation of wide use of ammonia as a zero-carbon fuel and hydrogen carrier, and in response to further demand for ammonia fuel transitions in power plants.The carrier…

Hanwha Ocean has delivered the overhauled U.S. Navy Vessel Wally Schirra, setting a new milestone in Korea’s shipbuilding industry for the first ever maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) project for the U.S. Navy, completed in just six months.The MRO project, carried out at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje Shipyard over approximately six months, involved comprehensive maintenance, including hull and engine repairs, major equipment inspections and replacements, and system upgrades.During the maintenance process…

Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) has held a steel cutting ceremony for eight of its new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers at Hanwha Ocean shipyard in the Republic of Korea.These vessels are part of Qatar’s historic LNG fleet expansion project, aimed at meeting the maritime transport needs of the LNG sector.In February 2024, Nakilat signed agreements with QatarEnergy to charter and operate 25 conventional-size LNG carriers, making Nakilat both the owner and operator of the vessels…

TMC Compressors (TMC) has secured a contract to deliver a large capacity marine compressed air system to the large floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit that Wison New Energies is building for Malaysia-based Genting.TMC will deliver its scope as a subcontractor to Jereh Offshore, which is a China-based engineering technology and service company to the offshore industries.As part of its scope of supply, TMC will deliver a marine compressed air system consisting of six compressors in total, for control air, instrument air, N2 feed air and utility purposes.

Consortium partners Semco Maritime and PTSC M&C have completed the load-out and sail-away of the second and last offshore substation for the Hai Long Offshore wind project in Taiwan.The load-out and sail-away of the second substation for Hai Long 3 offshore wind farm, which took place on March 8, 2025, comes almost a year after the first substation for Hai Long 2 was delivered to the project site.The project exceeds 1 GW and consists of Hai Long 2 and Hai Long 3 wind farms in the Taiwan Strait 45-70 kilometers off the coast and is jointly developed by Mitsui & Co…

J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO), a middle-market private equity, has through its investment affiliates sold Global Marine Group (GMG) to Keppel Infrastructure Fund (KIF).With a legacy dating to 1850, GMG is one of the leading providers of subsea telecom maintenance and installation services, supporting mission-critical global communications infrastructure.Headquartered in the United Kingdom, the company serves a diverse base of customers with high-reliability solutions that ensure…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced that green hydrogen produced from offshore wind using the demonstration yacht Winz Maru was supplied onshore in the central breakwater area of Tokyo, as part of the Wind Hunter Project.This marks the first time in the world that a ship has supplied green hydrogen, produced on its own while underway, for use on shore, according to MOL.Between FY 2021 and FY2 023, MOL conducted a demonstration test in Omura Bay in Sasebo City with the Winz Maru…

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has been awarded a contract to deliver a 100T AHC crane for a dive support vessel owned by Jana Marine Service Company.The crane delivery to the Guangzhou Salvage shipyard is scheduled in the second quarter 2026, with vessel delivery later that year..MacGregor's local sales team will work in close cooperation with Guangzhou Salvage throughout the project to ensure the crane's seamless integration into the vessel and optimise its performance."Our 100T AHC crane is a proven solution that offers superior performance and reliability.

North Star and its shipbuilding partner Cochin Shipyard have cut first steel on EnBW’s new hybrid-electric service operations vessel (SOV), which is on decade-long minimum charter to service the He Dreiht wind farm off the coast of Germany from the end of 2026.The steel cutting milestone was marked February 25, 2025 at Cochin Shipyard in India, where the planning, engineering design and construction work are being carried out.The newbuild will provide accommodation in field for up to 34 wind technicians as they maintain the development’s 64 wind turbines…

MODEC has entered into a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) contract with Samsung E&A for the installation of carbon capture technology on a floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.The offshore carbon capture project envisages the installation of a carbon capture module on a MODEC FPSO vessel as a pilot, and it will be a first-of-a-kind deployment of Carbon Clean’s CycloneCC technology in an onboard carbon capture setting.Carbon Clean will provide FEED support to Samsung E&A…

Dutch offshore contractor Marine Masters has secured work on an offshore installation project for the greenfield Bhasker A & B platforms, designed and constructed by Indian energy company SunPetro.The project, managed by main installation contractor ACE Pipeline and directly overseen by Consolidated Support Services PTE LTD (CSS), involves the development of two wellhead platforms featuring jackets with integrated boat landings and topsides.The Marine Masters work encompasses detailed preparation for lifting and mooring activities…

Asia's crude oil imports are off to a weak start in 2025, as top importer China continues to buy less and new sanctions put the brakes on cargoes from the continent's top supplier Russia.Asia's imports for the first two months of the year are on track to be 26.17 million barrels per day (bpd), down 780,000 bpd from the 26.96 million bpd for the same period last year, according to data compiled by LSEG Oil Research.The drop of about 3% in crude imports by Asia in the first two…

Kongsberg Maritime has secured a contract for the design and integrated equipment package for a new walk-to-work offshore service vessel (OSV), to be built by ST Engineering Marine in Singapore for an oil and gas company.The 97-metre vessel of Kongsberg Maritime UT 5520 design will accommodate 106 people and features a motion-compensated gangway to enable safe transfer of personnel between to and from offshore installations.The new design is a further development of Kongsberg Maritime’s extensive range of vessel types for the offshore energy market.It builds on recent experience with the succe