Bahrain: ASRY and Noatum Maritime Form JV
ASRY has formed a joint venture (JV) with Noatum Maritime, part of AD Ports Group’s Maritime & Shipping Cluster, offering a diversified portfolio of maritime solutions for the provision of marine services in Bahrain.The collaboration aims to sharpen the current marine service offering at ASRY Shipyard on an exclusive basis by leveraging Noatum Maritime’s operational expertise and modern fleet. It will then target external clients within Bahrain.ASRY CEO…
Interim Guidelines Agreed for Training Seafarers on Green Ships
The IMO’s Sub-Committee on Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping (HTW) has agreed on draft interim generic guidelines for training seafarers working on ships powered by alternative fuels and new technologies. These draft guidelines will be submitted to the Maritime Safety Committee for approval in June 2025.Meeting in London from February 10 to 14, the Sub-Committee agreed that such guidance should…
IMO Working Group Fails to Finalize GHG Emissions Pricing Scheme
International efforts to curb GHG emissions from shipping took a step forward as the IMO's Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (ISWG-GHG 18) concluded its latest round of discussions on Friday.The IMO's 2023 GHG Reduction Strategy commits Member States to adopting mid-term measures to reduce GHG emissions from ships in late 2025, including:• a technical element, namely…
Chinese Drills Upset Australia and New Zealand
New Zealand said the Chinese navy conducted a live-fire exercise in international waters near the Pacific nation on Saturday, a day after it held a similar drill between Australia and New Zealand that forced airlines to divert flights."Reporting from the New Zealand Defence Force that the Chinese naval Task Group has advised of a second window for live firing activity, on Saturday afternoon," a spokesperson…
Russia Orders Divers to Inspect Ships After Tanker Blasts
Russia has ordered divers to inspect ships in its ports, a government letter seen by Reuters shows, after suspected attacks on four oil tankers that visited in recent weeks.At the same time the Russian navy will help protect from the threat of drones and unmanned vessels, it said.Three oil tankers around the Mediterranean, and another in the Russian Baltic, have been damaged by blasts in the last month.All four had recently called at Russian ports…
Bulk Carrier Sustains Damage to Ballast Tank
A Liberia-flagged cargo ship carrying corn from a Russian port to Turkey is trying to stop water leaking in after sustaining a crack in the Sea of Azov earlier this week, Russia's port agency said.The vessel, Pavel Grabovskiy, was loaded with 2,939 tons of corn.
Underwater Sabotage: A Baltic Sea Timeline
The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the NATO military alliance has boosted its presence with frigates, aircraft and naval drones.Several investigations are under way but no suspects have been brought to trial.FEBRUARY 2025: FINLAND-GERMANY TELECOM CABLESwedish and Finnish police said on…
Trump Hopes to Ship Alaskan Gas to Asia
When President Donald Trump sat down to lunch with his Japanese counterpart this month, talk turned quickly to how Tokyo could help realize a decades-old proposal to unlock gas in Alaska and ship it to U.S. allies in Asia.Trump and his energy tsar Doug Burgum framed the venture as a way for Japan to replace Middle East energy shipments and address its trade imbalance with the U.S., according to two…
Suez Canal Chairman Positive About Returning Business
Egypt's Suez Canal Authority chairman Osama Rabei said on Sunday that 47 ships have been rerouted from Cape of Good Hope to Suez Canal since the start of February.Earlier this month, Rabie said that the Red Sea crisis did not create a sustainable alternative route to the canal and that there were positive indicators for the return of stability in the region.Iran-backed Houthi militants have attacked vessels in the Red Sea area since November 2023, disrupting global shipping by forcing vessels to
Ailsa Shipbuilding Company Model Collection Debuts
An exhibition of ship models depicting vessels built by Ailsa Shipbuilding Company (Troon and Ayr) in the 19th and 20th centuries opens at the Scottish Maritime Museum on Irvine Harborside today (Friday, February 21).The collection of six detailed ‘builder’s models’, which are on long-term loan from South Ayrshire Council, were crafted by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company’s model-making department between…
Schmidt Ocean Institute Successfully Concludes Inaugural Antarctic Expedition
After a year of preparing the ship and crew, Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) has completed its first science expedition to Antarctica. The three-week expedition, which ended in early January, was ambitious in its science scope and required operational refinements to navigate safely in unfamiliar environmental conditions.“Operating our ship in the Southern Ocean marks a significant milestone in Schmidt Ocean Institute’s history…
'Militarizing' Civilian Vessels will Speed up Defence Output, says Kongsberg
Adapting civilian platforms for military use can speed up defence production while increasing standardization, the CEO of Norway's Kongsberg Gruppen said, as pressure to boost military spending in Europe grows under President Donald Trump."The processes need to be simplified so that we get the speed up," arms manufacturer Kongsberg's Geir Håøy told Reuters in an interview published on Friday."What we see is that…
Talking Marine Vessel Coatings with Christer Øpstad, Jotun
Sourcing and maintaining marine coatings systems are arguably a shipowner’s most critical means to ensure a long and productive lifecycle for ships, boats and offshore rigs. At the same time, coatings have become a central part of the ship efficiency, decarbonization discussion. Christer Øpstad, Global R&D Director Fouling Protection, Jotun, discusses how these macro trends are driving R&D within his laboratories today.To start us off…
Jan De Nul Starts Dredging Ops for New Deep-Water Port in Senegal
Belgium-based offshore installation contractor Jan De Nul has started working on the new deep-water port in Senegal, which will be able to accommodate two of the world's largest container ships simultaneously.Jan De Nul is responsible for dredging the five-kilometer access channel and will create an 89-hectare platform for maritime services and container storage.In total, the works are expected to take two and a half years to complete.The Port of Dakar is nearing its maximum capacity…
Asso.subsea Introduces Marine Technology Business Unit
Subsea cable services company Asso.subsea has introduced the Marine Technology Business Unit, a strategic initiative dedicated to shipbuilding, innovation and sustainability in offshore energy.The new unit marks a significant milestone in the company’s long-term shipbuilding and fleet expansion plans, reinforcing its commitment to delivering cutting-edge marine solutions tailored to the evolving needs…
Sweden Launches Investigation into Possible Baltic Sea Cable Breach
Sweden is investigating a possible breach of an undersea cable off the country's southwestern coast in the Baltic Sea, the coastguard said on Friday, in an area where multiple seabed cables have been damaged in recent months.The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Baldwin to Trump: Hold China Accountable for Cheating American Shipbuilders
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led a group of her colleagues in calling on President Donald Trump to hold China accountable for cheating trade laws to gain an unfair advantage in the shipbuilding industry.In the final days of the Biden Administration, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a report Baldwin pushed for that confirmed China has used unfair trade practices to undercut American shipbuilding.“To stand up for the hardworking Americans employed in the shipbuilding industry…
Ice Navigation: Every Voyage is Different
It’s late in the season so Captain Duke Snider, sailing on a resupply voyage from New Zealand to Antarctica, is expecting virtually no sea, just glacial ice.Snider has been an ice navigator for decades, and he has seen the ocean change, not just here in the polar south, but in Arctic waters as well.“Variability is much greater than in the past when we could expect an ice breakup to occur within a calendar week, year after year, whether it was the Arctic or the Antarctic,” he says.
Wasaline Optimistic about 2025 Despite 2024 Revenue Drop
Finnish shipping line Wasaline has expressed optimism about its financial results despite emission trading system (ETS) fees becoming a new expense for the company.Wasaline transports passengers and freight daily between Vaasa in Finland and Umeå in Sweden.It is the only passenger shipping company in Finland that does not have an exemption from ETS fees. The so-called Island Exemption, which grants relief from paying ETS…
Twelve Large Container Ships to Have GTT LNG Fuel Tanks
GTT has received an order from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to design the cryogenic fuel tanks for 12 new LNG-fuelled container vessels on behalf of a European shipowner.The Mark III Flex membrane tanks will have a capacity of 12,750 cubic metres and the “1 barg” design, which allows an effective operating pressure of up to 1 barg instead of the customary 0.7 barg.The Mark III membrane system is a containment and insulation system directly supported by the ship’s hull structure.
