News

The Vineyard Wind 1 project passed a key milestone today becoming the largest operating offshore wind farm in the United States. Being developed off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, project developers Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners celebrated reaching 136 MW on their way to a total capacity of 806 MW.

The pace of uptake for methanol-fueled operations is even surpassing the expectations of the industry from just a few years ago. X-Press Feeders which is preparing for the launch of a methanol-fueled feeder network in northern Europe this year has decided to convert several of its vessels from methanol-ready to methanol operations immediately.

The long-running battle between Damen and the Romanian government over the operations of the Mangalia shipyard on the Black Sea took a new step as a court in Constanta initiated an insolvency procedure.

China's navy is conducting amphibious drills in the South China Sea as tensions rise over control of the Philippine exclusive economic zone,  over five hundred nautical miles away from the Chinese mainland.

South Korea’s Hanwha Group announced a deal to acquire Philly Shipyards, an operation focused on building Jones Act vessels, from the yard’s Norwegian owners Aker Capital. The negotiations had first been reported in October 2023 as the South Korean company looks to expand its foothold in the U.S. market and naval and government shipbuilding.

The world’s total offshore wind capacity has increased by 21 percent over the last 12 months, from 61.5 gigawatts (GW) a year ago to 75 GW, according to a new report by British energy trade group Renewable UK.

The leadership of the Houthis confirmed in a televised speech that its forces had hastened the sinking of the bulker Tutor earlier in the week while making a similar threat to the abandoned bulker Verbena still afloat and drifting in the Gulf of Aden.

Ukrainian media is reporting that the country will restart RoPax ferry service for passengers and cargo in early July to Georgia for the first time since the Russian invasion. It is the latest step to build back exports and foreign trade following the moves in April and May to restart container operations.

The tragic allision of the Dali container ship with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore highlights the often-overlooked humanitarian impact of maritime incidents and the mental pressures faced by seafarers.

During the World War II period, shipbuilding rose into one of the most critical sectors for most countries in continental Europe and the U.S. In these regions, shipyards represented the backbone of waterfront businesses, providing a lifeline for many coastal communities.

The domestic inland and coastal cruising market is following the same trends as the overall cruise business showing strong growth. American Cruise Lines, which is the largest small ship and river cruise operator in the U.S. is working to further expand its market share and grow domestic cruising reporting it will build three more cruise ships and bring its total to seven new ships due to enter service by 2026

The UK today announced its first specific sanctions against tankers in the shadow fleet moving Russian oil as part of a broader effort in connection with the G7 nations at the start of the summit in Italy.

Site survey work is set to kick off this month for RWE’s Canopy Offshore Wind project which will be located approximately 20 miles off the coast of Humboldt Country in Northern California. The project will mark several firsts, including a milestone in the development of RWE’s first commercial-scale floating offshore wind farm and the beginning of work on the Pacific and off California after the first U.S. auction in 2022.

In a surprise development, the Budget Committee of the Hamburg Parliament on Tuesday voted to delay its decision on the proposed deal to sell nearly half of Hamburg port operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) to MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company.

After years of downturn and a soft decade through most of the 2010s, the industry trade group BIMCO reports shipbuilding prices are reaching new highs. Overall order prices are up to the highest point since 2008 having increased a further three percent in 2024.

A Greek-owned bulker was hit by multiple attacks by the Houthi while sailing south in the Red Sea bound for India earlier today. The vessel is reporting that it is “not under command,” awaiting assistance from the collation forces in the region.

Investigators examining the 72-year-old Great Lakes bulker Michipicoten now suspect the vessel suffered steel fatigue or a form of hull stress that caused the flooding incident on Saturday, June 8. Initially, reports were that the vessel had hit an underwater object while underway on Lake Superior.

Chinese manufacturers are pushing forward with their efforts to upsize turbines for offshore wind farms. Two of the largest turbines ever built, Envision Energy’s 16.7 MW prototype and Dongfang Electric’s 18 MW prototype, have both begun testing while even larger turbines are in the offing.

The container shipping industry continues to make strong progress in reducing the number of boxes lost overboard. The World Shipping Council, an industry group made up of the major carriers, reports for the second year in a row that the number of containers lost at sea has fallen to record-low levels as they make progress on managing parametric rolling and other dangers from loading to properly securing boxes.

With strong consumer spending continuing, container import levels at the major U.S. ports are expected to reach their highest levels in two years. The National Retail Federation raised for the second consecutive month its forecast for container imports but the strength of the imports also contributed to a widening of the U.S. trade deficit.