News

Shell has brought its Whale offshore production facility in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico online, the supermajor announced Thursday. The floating platform is located about 200 miles off Houston in about 8,600 feet of water, and will addan estimated 100,000 bpd of peak production to Shell's portfolio.  

Algeria’s shipbuilding industry is poised for a revamp with the government hoping to tap domestic shipyards for upcoming procurement deals. The Algerian Defense Ministry has previously revealed plans to build Chinese Type 056 corvettes at local shipyards.

The NGO United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which is at the forefront of tracking Iran’s dark tanker fleet and oil exports, is out with its year-end review citing continued dramatic growth in the dark tanker fleet supporting Iran’s oil exports.

A project financing package was completed at the end of December to continue the momentum for the development of another of the early, large offshore wind farms off the Northern U.S. Coast. Equinor reports it secured more than $3 billion in project financing for Empire Wind 1 on competitive terms due to strong interest from lenders.

Vietnamese officials were on hand for the handover of the largest dry bulk carrier ever built in a domestic shipyard. The 65,000 dwt Truong Minh Dream was hailed as a key advancement and in keeping with the government’s plans to expand shipbuilding and shipping to support the growth of the country.

The U.S.’s annual supply mission to Antarctica known as Operation Deep Freeze is moving into its next phase as the Polar Star, the U.S. Coast Guard’s only heavy icebreaker, started the final leg of its deployment.

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).