Asia News

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has signed an agreement with Singapore LNG Corporation, Singapore's state-owned LNG terminal operator, on a long-term time charter contract for one newbuilding floating storage regasification unit (FSRU).The FSRU will be built at Hanwha Ocean in South Korea. After delivery, planned for 2027, MOL will own, manage, and operate the FSRU.The 200,000 m3 FSRU will be moored at the Jurong Port in Singapore, and will play a central role in receiving, storing and regasifying LNG…

South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group on Monday raised its offer for the remaining stake it does not already own in Singapore's Dyna-Mac, valuing the offshore oil and gas contractor at S$790.6 million ($605.41 million).The improved offer of S$0.67 per share represents a 35.4% premium to Dyna-Mac's last traded price on Sept. 10, before Hanwha's earlier offer of S$0.60 per share was disclosed.Shares of Dyna-Mac last closed at S$0.65, having climbed 94% year-to-date, LSEG data showed.Hanwha…

New standards for bunkering methanol and ammonia will be developed by 2024 and 2025 respectively, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Wednesday.The world's largest vessel refueling hub is preparing for higher uptake of alternative bunker fuels, which shippers are considering using to help lower carbon emissions."The standards will cover custody transfer requirements, safety procedures and crew competencies, to ensure safe bunkering operations and handling of these fuels," MPA said in a statement issued during SIBCON 2024.There are currently no detailed standards or estab

Singapore-based shipbuilder Strategic Marine has delivered the Amarco S1 fast crew boat to Amarco which will be put to long-term operation for Brunei’s oil and gas sector.The 42-meter Amarco S1 vessel is powered by triple Baudouin 12M26.3 engines coupled with ZF3050 gearboxes, capable of achieving speeds of over 28.5 knots.Additionally, it is designed to be future-ready, enabling the integration of gyro stabilizer and offering the option to install a motion-compensated gangway as future capabilities.The vessel is equipped with a plug-and-play hybrid system…

Spot premiums for 380-cst high-sulphur marine fuel at Singapore, the world's largest bunker hub, have surged due to the tight supply available for prompt deliveries, market sources said.The price strength for the fuel, which is used to power ships, has been keeping refuelling costs high for vessels calling at Singapore and other ports in the region.Delivery dates in the first half of October could command premiums of over $60 a metric ton to Singapore cargo quotes this week, the highest in 2024 so far for a delivered pricing basis…

Korean maritime service company MARCON has secured an approval in principle (AiP) from Korean Register (KR) for its crew transfer vessel (CTV), a passenger and cargo transport vessel dedicated to offshore wind farms.The CTV that received the AiP adopts an eco-friendly hybrid electric propulsion system using batteries.This addresses environmental regulatory issues while also offering fuel cost savings and supporting safer offshore wind farm operations.The key components of the CTV include a hybrid system and energy storage system (ESS) provided by Hanwha Aerospace…

Danish offshore wind installation firm Cadeler has secured a vessel reservation agreement for one of its newbuild wind turbine installation vessels for a pipeline of offshore wind projects in the Asia-Pacific region.The vessel reservation agreement secures the availability of one of Cadeler’s two newbuild M-Class vessels.The aggregate potential value to Cadeler of development pipeline, to be negotiated during the pendency of the agreement is expected to be approximately $223 million (€200 million).The pipeline of projects will meet the energy needs of approximately 1…

Centus Marine, a Malaysian operator of fast crew boats, has selected Singaporean shipbuilder Strategic Marine to build the next generation of high-speed personnel transfer vessels, developed by AIRCAT.The new vessel, developed in partnership with AIRCAT Vessels and based on the AIRCAT 35 Crewliner surface effect ship (SES) platform, will be designed to achieve speeds exceeding 50 knots while ensuring the safety and comfort of passengers during transit to and from offshore oil and gas platforms.An advanced lift system will allow the vessel to achieve minimum draft on water…

Malaysian shipowner Coastal Contracts Bhd on Thursday placed an order with Chinese shipbuilder Fujian Funing Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, a subsidiary of Fujian Shipbuilding Industry Group, for a pair of 85-meter subsea support/maintenance vessels.The vessels, each with 22-meter beam, 8-meter depth and 6.2-meter structural draft, will primarily support subsea maintenance, pipeline installation, marine cable laying and submarine resources exploration.The ships will be classed by ABS and meet the requirements of DPS-2, FFV1 classification notation,

Russia's seaborne oil product exports in August fell to 9.074 million metric tons, down 2.3% month on month, data from industry sources and Reuters calculations showed.Russia's offline primary oil refining capacity for August at 2.95 million tons was up from July's level by some 3%, according to Reuters calculations based on data from industry sources.Total oil product exports via the Baltic ports of Primorsk, Vysotsk, St.

Japan-based Toray Industries has secured type approval from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for the vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VaRTM) process for in-situ ship repairs, developed jointly with MODEC.The technique entails applying carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) to corroded areas with reduced thicknesses of floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) and floating storage and offloading (FSO) systems.ABS is one of the world’s leading classification societies, accounting for around half of FPSO and FSO certifications.

Strategic Marine, in collaboration with Centus Marine, has unveiled Malaysia’s first hybrid Fast Crew Boat (FCB).The vessel is equipped with the latest hybrid technology and gyro-stabilization, marking a significant advancement in the region’s maritime industry.It has been specifically designed to improve efficiency and sustainability in offshore operations, offering significant advantages in crew transfer to oil platforms.The vessel’s hybrid propulsion system reduces fuel consumption and lowers emissions…

Russia will increase oil exports via its western ports to 1.98 million barrels per day (bpd) in September, up by just 30,000 bpd from August, despite expected start of seasonal maintenance on Russian refineries, two trade sources said on Friday.Russia needs to supply its own market with enough crude oil to produce motor fuels essential to meet demand, but normally local refineries start large seasonal maintenance and cut runs, which leads to higher availability of crude oil for exports.Russia's August oil shipments from Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Novorossiisk will rise just 1.5% on a daily basis f

Wärtsilä has secured a contract from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) to develop the prototype for a cutting-edge vessel traffic management system. This initiative, known as the Next Generation Vessel Traffic Management System (NGVTMS), aims to revolutionize maritime safety and efficiency at one of the world's most bustling ports. The order was finalized by Wärtsilä in the third quarter of 2024.As Singapore advances its position as a leading global maritime hub…

China's COSCO Shipping Corporation has signed a preliminary agreement with Australia's Fortescue to jointly build a green fuel supply chain to help reduce pollution from the shipping industry, the Chinese company said on Monday.The memorandum of understanding includes exploring construction and deployment of green ammonia-fuelled vessels owned either by COSCO or jointly owned by both companies to transport iron ore and other minerals to reduce carbon emissions in the China-Australia…

Taiwanese shipping firm Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp said one of its cargo ships caught fire on Friday at China's Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, one of the world's busiest.Earlier, Chinese state media said an explosion was reported at the port and shockwaves were felt a kilometer away.Yang Ming Marine Transport said a fire occurred on board the YM Mobility while it was operating in the port. No casualties or injuries were reported after the blast at around 1:40 p.m. (0540 GMT), China's official Xinhua news agency said."At present…

Nearly 20,000 workers across major Indian ports, who had threatened to go on an indefinite strike from Wednesday, called off their walkout late on Tuesday, after agreeing to a new five-year deal.The agreement averted further issues in an already-strained global supply chain, which is struggling with higher freight costs and congestion at major Asian and European ports.The workers' unions agreed to an 8.5% pay increase over a period of five years, according to a document signed by union leaders…

Shanghai Electric earlier this month celebrated the combined naming and delivery of two service operation vessels (SOV) at ZPMC, Qidong base, China. The vessels are based on two different ship designs from Ulstein Design & Solutions AS and are the first purpose-designed vessels for the offshore wind industry in China.The Zhi Cheng 60 is an ULSTEIN SX197 design measuring 72.6m in length and 17.5m in beam. It can accommodate 60 people and has a deck area of 400 sqm.The Zhi Zhen 100 is based on the larger ULSTEIN SX195 design.

A new study from the International Council on Clean Transportation has investigated the feasibility of establishing green shipping corridors for China’s coastal shipping.The researchers assessed whether the ships could be powered by renewable hydrogen, methanol, ammonia or batteries without the need to refuel en route. They concluded that the technological feasibility of applying renewable marine fuels on China’s coastal shipping routes is high, and three routes were identified as potential first mover candidates for green shipping corridors.These routes were two interregional routes…

DOF Subsea (DOF) on Friday announced a contract extension and a contract award securing further backlog for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.A contract extension has been secured for dive support vessel Skandi Singapore with the vessel fully committed through Q4 2024 with further options available into Q1 2025.In addition, the latest contract secured for the region will utilise Skandi Singapore and see the vessel deployed off the Australian coast during Q1 2024. The contracted scope includes project management and engineering…

Fishing has been a lifeline for Alejandro Alcones for the past four decades, but he now fears his small boat may be replaced by a floating solar farm on the Philippines' largest lake.Alcones is part of a group of fishermen opposed to the government's plan to place solar panels atop Laguna de Bay, one of the country's biggest sources of freshwater fish, as it looks for renewable energy sources to meet growing demand for power."Laguna Lake gives life and income to fishermen like us who didn't finish school.

A backlog of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers is waiting to load at Malaysia's Bintulu terminal this week after outages and maintenance work disrupted production, according to industry sources and shiptracking data.The Bintulu facility in Sarawak, controlled by state-owned Petronas, consists of nine LNG production trains run by four different operators with total capacity of nearly 30 million metric tons per year, making it the largest LNG-exporting complex in Asia.Petronas' MLNG joint venture completed planned maintenance on its train 7 in August…

Malaysia-based Icon Offshore Berhad has confirmed that two seafarers were killed and another badly wounded during an incident on board one of its platform supply vessels (PSV).The fatal incident involving Icon Offshore's Icon Amara occurred on August 2, 2024 at approximately 10:30 p.m. at the Sapar Alpha platform near Bintulu, Sarawak, the company said. According to local media reports, a violent explosion in the vessel's engine room left two mariners dead and another seriously injured.Authorities said the PSV's assistant engineer and an oiler were killed…