News

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.

American importers are beginning to delay or cancel orders in China due to the White House's new 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods - and some U.S. firms may even abandon import cargo on the dock because they can't afford to pay the extra duties, though the White House has promised an exemption for goods already in transit. 

The vessel was not identified, but would have been a small tanker, as it had a crew of six and was carrying 100,000 liters of fuel.  The ship was apprehended by patrol craft from the Nedsa’s Second Naval District, and was then taken to the district's home port of Bushehr.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order containing new measures to support U.S. shipbuilding, centered on a new "Maritime Action Plan."

After the abrupt suspension of the Trump administration's "reciprocal" tariffs, markets in the U.S. and Asia soared upwards, regaining much of the losses posted over the past week. Only China remains subject to the White House's steep nation-by-nation tariff schedule, and its exporters now face a crippling levy of 125 percent.

As China and South Korea celebrate continued dominance in global shipping, Turkey has recorded a decline for another consecutive year in a sector that was once lucrative for the country. Recent data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) indicate that shipyard exports in the first quarter decreased by 27.5 percent to $328 million.

This review examines the laden container volumes of these countries imported and exported by sea only, since waterborne container traffic in Ukraine is about 30% of the total. The total increase achieved by these three countries for the period was 12% compared to the same period last year and comprised 1,015,563 TEU.

For the first time, a small squadron of nine octocopter cargo drones will sail with HMS Prince of Wales and her carrier strike group, according to the Royal Navy. It is a money-saving technological milestone, and marks the first use of unmanned aircraft for replenishment and stores transfer between ships in the task force.

World markets are still trying to adjust to the reality of a U.S. market with steep tariffs, and U.S. consumers are weighing the impact of rising prices for foreign goods. Luckily for consumers, those price hikes will likely be tempered by two things: cheaper oil, thanks to an OPEC production hike and a weakening economic outlook; and falling costs for ocean freight, thanks to reduced demand for shipping.

The California-based Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is hoping to propel oceanographic research to the next level after taking delivery of its newest research vessel, a project that has taken over a decade to actualize.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ) has begun operations at its new Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT), located at Sri Lanka’s Port of Colombo. The terminal has been under construction since 2022, almost a year after the Adani Group signed the port deal.

The latest Chinese port operation to come under pressure is Australia’s Port of Darwin which is now a headline issue in the upcoming federal elections. Today, April 4, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared during a radio interview that Darwin “should be in Australian hands.” Concerns have been brewing over the now decade-old deal that ceded control of the port to a Chinese company.