News

The fight over shipping's carbon is far from over, even though IMO member states passed a framework agreement at MEPC 83. Many of the key details about qualifying fuels and well-to-wake measurement have yet to be worked out, and even the framework itself still has to be formally signed at MEPC 84.

Global trade volume and global economic growth will both be reduced if new U.S. tariff policies continue on their current course, according to the International Monetary Fund's latest World Economic Outlook forecast.

Antwerp-Bruges released its first quarter throughput performance highlighting the strength of its container business while reporting an overall decline largely driven by a sharp decrease in bulk volumes. Container throughput however was up 4.6 percent in tonnage and 4.5 percent in TEUs.

China's drills around Taiwan and its ambitions in the South China Sea get plenty of attention, but officials in South Korea warn that it is also encroaching on a contested space in the Yellow Sea - and may be attempting to move in with a durable presence. 

The surge in boardings and robberies is showing no signs of abating in the area around the straits of Singapore and Malacca. The monitoring operation ReCAAP has been raising the concern and now reports two additional vessels were boarded on Sunday and Monday after a two-week lull.

The Trump administration's steep tariffs on Chinese goods have prompted carriers to deeply slash sailings on Asia-U.S. routes, a sign of plummeting bookings. So far, freight rate indexes have not collapsed, suggesting that the carriers are pulling out ships quickly enough that slot supply is dropping as fast or faster than the drop in demand.

Grimaldi’s fire-damaged Conro Grande Brasile was towed from the Port of Antwerp, Belgium where it had laid for the past two months after a devastating fire in the English Channel. The hulk is being sent to scrapyards in Aliaga, Turkey for recycling, but before she left, she created one further incident in the port.

While recognizing the Trump administration softened the financial impact of its port fees on Chinese-built shipping for many carriers, the shipping industry was quick to respond raising serious concerns after the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office released the structure of the fees.

The Coast Guard has initiated the final of five planned phases of the service life extension program (SLEP) for Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, the service’s sole operational heavy icebreaker. Polar Star arrived at Mare Island Dry Dock in Vallejo, California, on March 30 to begin the remaining SLEP activities.

Former FESCO co-owner and Board Chairman Andrei Severilov has opened a new venture targeting the West African freight market.

Less than a year after becoming the first port in Europe to offer shore power for large containerships, Hamburg, Germany is on track to complete the installation of shore power capabilities at all its terminals for large containerships.

The first large vessel designed to transport liquified carbon dioxide (LCO2) was launched in South Korea as the industry for the transport and storage of captured carbon begins to take shape. The vessels are being built for Greece’s Capital Maritime Group which in 2023 announced plans to expand into the developing market.

In a stunning move late on Wednesday, April 16, the U.S. Department of Interior announced it has ordered a stop to the construction of Equinor’s Empire Wind offshore wind farm.

The Swedish Maritime Accident Investigation Board released the details of its observations aboard a Chinese bulker accused of damaging undersea cables saying it cannot determine sabotage.

Offshore wind service provider IWS has significantly improved productivity across its CSOV fleet thanks to the unparalleled performance of MacGregor’s Horizon walk-to-work gangway.

Chinese officials touted the new class of CMA CGM containerships as the “world’s largest dual-fuel powered” containerships as the naming and delivery took place of the new CMA CGM Seine (220,000 dwt).

The first test steps were undertaken at the Port of Rotterdam to test the port’s capabilities for future ammonia bunkering operations. Rotterdam is the world’s second-largest bunker port and expects that ammonia-fueled vessels requiring bunkering will begin in 2026 or 2027.

The expansion of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to include the maritime industry has introduced significant financial and operational hurdles for all shipowners who are voyaging to or through EU ports.

Australian mining giant Fortescue and the Saverys family’s CMB.TECH signed a charter agreement which the companies are calling a landmark in the efforts to accelerate the deployment of ammonia-fueled vessels and the decarbonization of large, long-distance vessels.

Pakistan has welcomed a $2 billion investment from the global shipping giant Maersk. On Tuesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Robert Maersk, Chairman of the A.P Moller- Maersk board, who was on a business tour in the country. Sharif hailed the investment as a significant boost to Pakistan’s maritime sector.