News

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, which has announced its plans to operate some of the first ammonia-powered vessels, is joining with ITOCHU Corporation to advance plans for pioneering ammonia bunkering demonstrations.

The Port of Baltimore reported mid-afternoon on Tuesday that the U.S. Coast Guard reopened the shipping channel into Baltimore following the explosion and fire aboard the bulker W-Sapphire last night.

Brodosplit Shipyard has landed in hot water with local residents over plans for restoring an aging cruise ship, the Moby Drea. The vessel has asbestos partition panels inside, and the shipyard's work plan called for removing them - but local citizens were not interested in the perceived risks, and pressed successfully for a government order for the ship's removal. 

Seaspan became the latest to jump into containership newbuilding, placing another big order with China State Shipbuilding. In addition to the size of the order, estimated by analysts at more than $1.2 billion, it is drawing attention as it is Chinese-financed and will be denominated in the Chinese currency, renminbi, extending China’s efforts to break free from linking newbuilds to the U.S. financial markets.

A fire started early on Saturday, August 16, spreading from one ship to another in the anchorage off Yeosu, South Korea. The local fire department in the city in southeastern Korea worked with the Coast Guard due to the risk of explosion as the two ships burned.

Australian expeditioners and scientists are set to return to the uninhabited and remote territories of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) after more than two decades. The voyages that will take place aboard the RSV Nuyina are being described as critical for understanding the current state of the islands and ensuring protection from the threats of climate change.

As the Northern Sea Route (NSR) becomes busy for this year’s summer navigation, the first Chinese boxship has arrived in the Russian Arctic port of Arkhangelsk.

The U.S. Coast Guard is still keeping an eye on five Chinese research vessels that are operating in the Arctic, in and near U.S. waters off Alaska. 

Everllence, the rebranded MAN Energy Solutions engine business  and MEYER RE, the service business launched from Meyer Werft, are advancing their efforts for methanol retrofit solutions in the maritime industry, and especially for cruise ships.

One of Maersk’s largest containerships, Marie Maersk (19,076 TEU), has reported a container fire as it was sailing southward along the African coast. The company is reporting that the crew is safe and the vessel is in a “stable condition,” as they were receiving landside support.

The container shipping industry’s fifth-largest carrier, Hapag-Lloyd, called its first half of the year results “in line with expectations,” but with declines in profits and a forecast of volatility, it took some of the “wind out of the sails” of the industry following Maersk’s positive earnings report a week ago.

The hydrogen-powered Pioneer, a remotely operated and unmanned vessel (ROUV), has received the UK’s first certification under Workboat Code 3 ahead of its upcoming trials. Lloyd’s Register (LR), which issued the certification under authorization from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, reports it represents a significant development in the evolution of regulatory pathways for uncrewed and autonomous vessels operating in UK waters.

The legal woes for MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company continue in India with the Kerala High Court briefly detaining yet another one of the company’s vessels as the claims continue to mount related to the loss of the MSC Elsa 3 in May.

The Canadian Coast Guard issued a warning that a large bulker had grounded early on August 12, north of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River. While the authorities were quick to say they did not believe it was due to falling water levels, many have questioned the impact of a growing drought on shipping in the vital seaway.

After years of planning and preparation, efforts are now underway to resume shipbuilding at the former Hanjin shipyard in the Philippines, operated by HD Hyundai. The move comes as South Korea’s largest shipbuilder looks to expand its lower-cost operations and increase capacity to realize opportunities it sees in the market.

A contractor working for the U.S. Coast Guard has finished removing the oil-soaked hull of a wooden minesweeper from Little Potato Slough, completing the last large vessel removal of the cleanup for the wreck-ridden waterway near Stockton, California. 

China has remained silent on yesterday’s collision in the South China Sea near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, while it has received international condemnation and raised concerns in the Philippines.

Disney Cruise Line is kicking off a new phase of growth that will see a dramatic expansion of the operation over the next few years. The cruise line is set to introduce two new ships at the end of this year, and work has already begun on the next ship for the line, with Disney having three more on order and one from an affiliate.

The Deputy Prosecutor General of Finland confirmed on August 11 that charges have been brought against the captain and the first and second officers of the tanker Eagle S related to the damage to five undersea cables on December 25, 2024.

The U.S. Coast Guard has formally recommissioned the icebreaking offshore tug Aiviq as the USCGC Storis, adding an "interim icebreaker" to supplement USCGC Polar Star and USCGC Healy. It is the first oceangoing icebreaker that the Coast Guard has acquired in more than 25 years.