Maritime Industry Top News
Houthis Say They Will Introduce Military 'Surprises' in Red Sea
Yemen's Houthis will introduce military "surprises" in their Red Sea operations, the Iran-aligned group's leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Thursday."Our military operations will continue and advance and we have surprises that our enemies will not expect at all," al-Houthi said.Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's
KOTUG Takes Full Ownership of Its Bahamas Towage JV with SEACOR
KOTUG International, a marine services and towage provider based in the Netherlands, announced on Thursday it has concluded its acquisition of Kotug Seabulk Maritime (KSM), taking full ownership of the Caribbean marine towage business.KOTUG said it has acquired the interest of its joint venture partner, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based SEACOR Holdings via its Seabulk subsidiary KS Maritime Holdings, owner of the 50% share in KSM.Founded in 2017…
CMA CGM Caps Logistics Push with $5 Billion Bollore Deal
France's CMA CGM has completed a $5 billion takeover of Bollore Logistics, its biggest-ever acquisition, and said it had funds for more deals as it seeks to counter volatility in container shipping.The acquisition of the logistics division of French conglomerate Bollore, announced last year, closed on Thursday at a final price of 4.85 billion euros ($5.25 billion) after debt and cash adjustments.The deal will extend the reach of CMA CGM's CEVA Logistics unit into areas such as freight management
Barge Fuel Exports Help Russia Negotiate Tanker Shortage
Russia exported more than 700,000 metric tons of oil products from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in 2023 using small river barges because of a lack of bigger tankers owing to EU sanctions and price cap limitations, market sources said and LSEG data showed.Some ship owners have avoided Russian ports since the EU embargo and price cap on Russian refined oil products went into effect in February last year…
Jozwiak Joins GLO Marine as Green Transition Lead
Maciej Jozwiak joined the GLO Marine team, with his experience expected to enhance the company's technical capacity to deliver high-end services to the retrofit and vessel upgrade market, with a focus on green technologies and decarbonization measures.Jozwiak brings more than six years of engineering project management at DAMEN and more than nine years as senior approval engineer at DNV’s Oslo Headquarters.
Germany Opens Remote-Controlled Center for Inland Shipping
SEAFAR, a Belgian technology and service provider for remote-controlled inland waterway shipping operations, has set up the first Remote Operations Center in Germany; a project completed in conjunction with HGK Shipping and Reederei Deymann.The Remote Operations Center, opened on February 28, 2024, enables captains to navigate vessels on inland waterways from dry land, a development seen as central to stemming problems from the shortage of specialist workers.
Swedbank Adopts Poseidon Principles
Swedbank has signed the Poseidon Principles, a global framework for integrating climate considerations into lending decisions within ship financeThe Poseidon Principles provide a standardised methodology for data collection and reporting of emissions from banks’ shipping portfolios, with the overall ambition of supporting and facilitating the decarbonization of the shipping industry.The Poseidon Principles are consistent with the policies and ambitions of the IMO…
Qatar's Bigger LNG Expansion to Squeeze US, Other Rivals
Qatar's planned expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production could see it control nearly 25% share of the global market by 2030 and squeeze out rival projects including in the United States where President Biden paused new export approvals, market experts say.Qatar, one of the world's top LNG exporters, plans an 85% expansion in LNG output from its North Field's current 77 million metric tons per year (mtpa) to 142 mtpa by 2030…
The Mission to Seafarers Names Rouch Secretary General
Maritime welfare charity The Mission to Seafarers announced Dr. Peter Rouch has been named as its next secretary general, succeeding Revd. Canon Andrew Wright, who will retire from the role in September this year, after almost 12 years of leading the organization. Rouch has been appointed to the role by the board of The Mission to Seafarers. He will join the Mission on July 1, enabling a period of handover between himself and Wright.Tom Boardley…
Tanker Backlog Grows in Venezuela as PDVSA Struggles to Deliver Oil
A bottleneck of vessels waiting to load crude and fuel in Venezuela has increased in recent weeks as state-run oil firm PDVSA struggles to deliver cargoes on time, according to people familiar with the matter, documents and shipping data.PDVSA has sought to ramp up shipments this month, the documents and data showed, following setbacks in January as outages at Venezuela's main port hit its exports.
Mauritius Allows Norwegian Dawn Cruise Ship to Dock After No Trace of Cholera Found
Mauritius will allow a ship belonging to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings to dock after no trace of cholera was found in samples taken from passengers on board, a senior health official said on Monday.Authorities on the island nation off the coast of east Africa prevented the Norwegian Dawn from docking over the weekend over what they said were "health risks," without elaborating.Samples were taken from around 15 passengers who were experiencing a mild stomach illness.Bhooshun Ori…
US Hits Iran with New Sanctions Targeting Commanders, Shipping
The United States targeted Iranian and Houthi commanders and a vessel that shipped more than $100 million in Iranian commodities to businesses in China in sanctions announced on Tuesday.Mohammad Reza Falahzadeh, deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), and Ibrahim al-Nashiri, a member of Yemen's Houthi militia, were designated under the sanctions, the Treasury…
Anglo American Takes Delivery of Final LNG Dual-fuel Bulk Carrier
Anglo American has taken delivery of its 10th and final dual-fueled bulk carrier powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the company said on Wednesday.The capesize-plus LNG dual-fueled bulk carriers have been built and delivered over the last three years from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co.
Saudi Arabian Company Abandons Crew Across Multiple Vessels
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said it has received many reports about withheld pay from individual seafarers working on eight Bahrain-registered vessels owned by Saudi Arabian company Hadi H Al Hamman Establishment. The company, which lists Saudi Aramco among its customers and was buying brand new ships as recently as 2018, has not paid seafarers for more than five months in some cases, the ITF said.
New Stern Trawler Delivered to DFFU
A new stern trawler has been delivered to Deutsche Fischfang-Union GMbB & Co KG (DFFU) from Vard Brattvaag.The vessel, named Berlin, was developed by VARD in close cooperation with DFFU, based on the VARD 8 03 trawler design developed by Vard Design in Ålesund.Baldvin Thorsteinsson and Samuel Rodriguez, Managing Directors at DFFU said, "The delivery of Berlin is pivotal for DFFU, and VARD has done an excellent job.
DHT Orders Four VLCCs
DHT Holdings announced it has entered into agreements to build four very large crude carriers (VLCC) in South Korea for delivery between April and December 2026.Two of the large tankers will be constructed at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and the other two at Hanwha Ocean (formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering), for an average price of $128.5 million. The contracts include options…
BIMCO: Tanker Supply/Demand Balance will Tighten
The BIMCO Tanker Shipping Market Overview & Outlook February 2024 by Niels Rasmussen, BIMCO’s Chief Shipping Analyst, forecasts that the supply/demand balance will tighten further during both 2024 and 2025.Low fleet growth, along with increasing sailing distances, create the foundation for the improvement despite a slowing of growth in oil demand. The product tanker supply/demand balance is also expected to tighten in 2024 but weaken in 2025.
Steve Nevey Tapped to Lead Washington State Ferries
Steve Nevey has been selected to serve as assistant secretary for the Washington State Ferries Division, the state's Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar announced on Thursday. Nevey will succeed Patty Rubstello, who is stepping down as head of WSF after more than 33 years of service with the Washington State Department of Transportation.A career mariner, Nevey progressed directly from high school to a maritime academy in the U.K.
New York Awards Equinor and Orsted New Offshore Wind Contracts
New York officials on Thursday awarded provisional contracts to two proposed offshore wind projects under a program meant to support the embattled industry and keep the state's clean energy goals on track.The state selected a planned 810-megawatt project, Empire Wind 1, (developed by Equinor) and Sunrise Wind, a planned 924-megawatt project (developed by Orsted and Eversource).The closely watched solicitation…
Norden Acquires Four Capesize Newbuilds
Danish shipowner Norden announced it has acquired four Capesize newbuilds expected to be delivered between 2025-2027.With the latest investments, adding to the five owned and seven chartered Capesize vessels, Norden is moving toward its ambition to operate between 20-25 Capesizes.The company said it has seen "strong demands from customers looking to unlock economies of scale by sizing up to improve efficiencies while lowering emissions"."The investments are furthermore a testament to the long-te
