News

Senegal and Mauritania are set to become major producers of natural gas after oil major BP marked a significant milestone with the first gas flow from the offshore Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project.

The Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company (UDP) is a key part of the nation's backup export route, which runs from inland ports to Constanta and to the Black Sea. But the Danube was a backwater for Ukrainian shipping before the war, and now that the deepwater grain terminals near Odesa have resumed operation, the river has once again become a second-tier option for agricultural exporters.

Demand for natural gas and production from the U.S. hit a new high at the end of 2024 according to a report from Reuters. It comes as Europe further looks to replace Russian supplies and the U.S. industry is expanding its exports to new customers including Ukraine.

Russian government officials, Rosatom, and the JSC Baltic Shipyard marked the completion of the fourth massive nuclear-powered icebreaker with a ceremony hoisting the national flag on the vessel.

Miami-based carrier Seaboard Marine is beginning the integration of a new class of innovative LNG-fueled containerships into its fleet servicing South America. The U.S. carrier highlights the advanced features and increased capacity as it placed the first two vessels of its new V-Class into the fleet with a total of six ships of the class due by the end of 2025.

A dry bulk carrier flagged in Cyprus is facing the prospect of being aground for a few days in Canada’s St. Lawrence River. There is no sign of pollution or water ingress, but the vessel is stuck outside the channel with a spokesperson for the Canadian Coast Guard telling the Montreal Gazette the plan to refloat the ship could be delayed by the Christmas holiday.

Chinese officials are reporting the successful sea trials of what they are calling the world’s largest heavy lift vessel. Commentators are comparing its lift capacity to that of China’s domestically built aircraft carrier.

The owner and operator of a Greek product tanker along with two engineers working on the vessel have each pleaded guilty in the latest U.S. Coast Guard MARPOL violation case. The fines totaled more than $4.5 million for offenses including discharging oily waste into the U.S. territorial waters and trying to conceal the crime including falsifying records.

The Greek authorities are confirming reports that a tanker laden with Russian oil collided with a cargo ship this morning, December 24, in the area of the Kafireas Strait, south of Karystos. The circumstances of the incident are unclear at this time, but the reports indicate the crews were not injured, and both ships sustained minor damage.

Vineyard Wind, an affiliate of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, confirmed in a brief statement that it is shelving the proposed Vineyard Wind 2 project in response to Connecticut’s decision not to proceed in awarding wind projects after the recent New England tri-state solicitation.

AIS data shows that a Spanish Navy warship, the Spanish response vessel Clara Campoamor and a good Samaritan vessel - the Sparta, another sanctioned Russian cargo ship - came to the aid of the crew. 14 seafarers were rescued and two remained missing as of late Monday. 

Chinese officials reported that the Shanghai Port complex reached 50 million TEU for the first time on December 22. They said the port would exceed the 50 million TEU mark as it continues its position as the world’s busiest seaport for the 15th consecutive year.

Norway’s Belships, a large operator of dry bulk and majority holder of Norwegian Bulk Carriers, agreed last week to the terms for a buyout offer from U.S.-based investment manager EnTrust Global.

On April 9, 2022, the bulker Hagen Oldendorff turned to port and ran aground in the narrow entrance channel at Port Hedland, Australia. The rudder angle indicator on the bridge had short-circuited, and the pilot had run the ship aground in response to a "rudder failure" that did not in fact exist, according to the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB).

The U.S. is seeking to continue the pressure both on the regime in Iran and its efforts at financing its proxies including the Houthis and Hamas. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and its Office of Foreign Asset Control each announced additional sanctions today, December 19, targeting Iran’s oil industry.

South Korea’s Hanwha Group completed the acquisition of Philly Shipyard on December 19 in a deal valued at approximately $100 million. The company emphasized its plans for the growth of the yard’s operations and has openly spoken of its goal to use the yard to expand into U.S. naval defense contracting.

The embattled German shipbuilding group FSG-Nobiskrug Holding along with its two shipyards and its design group have been provisionally declared insolvent by a German court due to a filing by an insurance company.

The famed UK shipbuilder Harland & Wolff is set to be saved for a second time from bankruptcy as reports indicate Spain’s Navantia and the UK Government have reached terms on a bailout for the shipbuilder’s parent group.

The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach each achieved strong results in November which in part is being attributed to a range of geopolitical issues on top of continued strong consumer spending in the U.S. In what is typically a slower final month of the calendar year and into the New Year, both ports are expecting a continued surge in volumes driving them to record years.

As a massive fuel spill from the lost tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 washes up in Russia's corner of the Black Sea, a third ship in the same fleet has reported an internal tank leak.