News

Clarion Shipping West Africa is starting what it calls “Nigeria’s first fully indigenous container liner,” as it looks to build regional trade and improve service versus the transshipment options of the major carriers.

Japan is planning further assistance to the armed forces of the Philippines through a transfer of up to six Abukuma-class destroyer escorts, which will be available after their replacement by new Mogami-class frigates beginning in 2027.

The Philippines authorities worked with local crewing agencies and others to resolve a pay dispute and release a crew that had been stranded on a small cargo ship anchored in the Iloilo Strait.

The first LNG gas carrier, GasLog Glasgow (112,764 dwt) departed the LNG terminal at Kitimat, Canada, on June 30, officially marking Canada’s entry into the export market. The LNG Canada project had been gearing up in recent weeks and began the first loading over the weekend, which opens a critical market for Asia to obtain LNG from Canada.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) launched its next round of sanctions targeting Iran through six entities involved in an extensive smuggling network, as well as four tankers that the U.S.

For the fourth time in a year, power purchase agreements that were due to be signed for offshore wind farms to serve Massachusetts and Rhode Island have been postponed. While the states remain anxious to pursue clean energy, the developers cite the continuing uncertainties in U.S. policy and, for the first time, raised the possibility of canceling agreements in their most recent filing.

T. Parker Host, already a leading U.S. maritime agency and terminal services provider, acquired Transmarine Navigation Corporation, a West Coast ship agency. Combined, they report the operations will be the largest tramp ship agency in the United States.

A milestone has been achieved in plans to modernize and restore service for Washington State Ferries (WSF) with Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding being awarded a contract to build three passenger RoRo ferries.

The efforts to identify and crack down on shadow fleet vessels breaking maritime regulations are increasing with Germany announcing that along with Sweden it will begin asking passing vessels about insurance coverage.

The Government Accountability Office has completed a review of MARAD's promotional programs for shipbuilding, and has found room for improvement - primarily in goal-setting and tracking.

Norway continues to support the advancement of a broad range of new technologies that it points out will both contribute to maritime decarbonization while also creating new industries and jobs for Norway.

While the overall trend continues to show improvement in the number of containers going overboard, the World Shipping Council reports that in 2024, rerouting of vessels to avoid the hostilities in the Red Sea directly contributed to an increase in boxes lost at sea.

When President Donald Trump revealed that he is in negotiations with Finland's president to buy an "old" icebreaker, many observers assumed that he was considering the powerful and capable Polaris.

Weather concerns and the inability to stop the smoldering fire prompted the Indian authorities working with the private salvage team to move the Wan Hai 503 containership further away from the coastline.

Rotterdam, June 26, 2025 – Econowind has successfully installed four 16-metre VentoFoils on board the chemical tanker M/T JUTLANDIA SWAN, owned and operated by Danish shipping company Uni-Tankers. The ATEX-proof Wind-Assisted Ship Propulsion units were installed in just four days in the port of Rotterdam.

The long-awaited Hong Kong International Convention setting standards for the industry to dismantle end-of-life vessels has gone into force. It comes, however, amidst criticism that the agreement fails to address many key issues in safety and sustainability, and the concerns of beaching in ship recycling.

Denmark’s Cleanship project is moving into its operational stage as it begins to test the real effect of wind sails on an in-service product tanker. The goal of the project is to provide insights into the actual performance using a 12,500 dwt tanker, Jutlandia Swan operated by Uni-Tankers.

Transits of Russia’s Northern Sea Route through the Arctic are resuming with the first container and cargo shipment, followed by the loading of the first LNG gas carrier of the season. It comes as Rosatom, which oversees the operations, is calling for more coordination to accelerate growth along the sea lane.

Polish officials were on hand to witness a Russian-registered product tanker towed from the Port of Gdynia after languishing for eight years and becoming a political liability. After months of efforts, the tanker Khatanga was towed away on Thursday, June 19, with Poland’s Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Arkadiusz Marchewka on hand to highlight the occasion announcing the vessel would be “cut into razor blades.”

The industry tries to promote gas power as a clean alternative to coal and a helpful partner to renewable energy. However, gas has struggled to find a solid footing in these roles due to high costs and supply uncertainties.