Shipping News

A new European partnership is set to help shipping companies navigate one of the industry's biggest climate challenges: how to decarbonize the existing fleet quickly, safely, and cost-effectively.The new FIT-HORIZONS project is bringing together 19 leading maritime companies, researchers, universities, software developers, and technology providers from across Europe to develop an intelligent and flexible retrofit design environment for low- and zero-emission shipping.Coordinated by SINTEF Ocean and funded by the European Union with nearly USD$4.61 million (€4 million)…

BIMCO has adopted a Biofuel Clause for Time Charter Parties to address legal and operational challenges as the use of low-carbon fuels in shipping increases.As the shipping industry decarbonizes, regulatory frameworks reshape companies’ fuel strategies. The integration of biofuels into charter party agreements is complex, however, and often raises questions around fuel quality, engine compatibility and liability. The clause provides clear definitions, agreed fuel specifications aligned with ISO standards and a structured process for sampling, testing, storage, and handling of biofuels.

The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (ASRY), a leading industrial maritime hub, took part in the "Posidonia 2026" exhibition held in Athens, Greece, June 1-5. The exhibition provided ASRY with a platform to showcase its integrated services and specialized maritime solutions across different sectors of the industry, while also strengthening engagement with key clients, strategic partners, decision-makers, and representatives of global shipping and maritime operators. It also helped expand opportunities for cooperation…

Three more liquefied natural gas tankers have exited the Strait of Hormuz with their transponders off and are bound for destinations in Asia, although the exact timing of their transit is unclear, ship-tracking data from LSEG and Kpler showed.This comes as the United States and Iran traded air attacks for a second straight day on Thursday, with U.S. President Donald Trump vowing further strikes unless Tehran agrees to a peace deal and Washington saying it fired on a vessel carrying…

The cost of shipping a container of goods from Asia to the United States has doubled since the start of the Iran war, driven by spiking fuel prices and an uptick in demand from importers who are worried costs will only rise further as the conflict wears on."If you want to know how seriously to take the threat of an energy crisis, look at container shipping rather than oil markets because the risk is priced into the spiraling freight rates far more clearly," said Peter Sand, chief…

As weather extremes, aging infrastructure and growing freight demands place increasing pressure on the U.S. inland waterway system, industry and government leaders say one factor is indispensable to maintaining reliable navigation: collaboration.That was the central message from a panel discussion during FreightWeekSTL 2026, where representatives from American Commercial Barge Line (ACBL) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discussed how coordinated planning, shared data and targeted infrastructure investments are helping keep commerce moving on the Mississippi River.The session…

Exmar has taken delivery of MGC ANTWERPEN, deemed by the Belgian shipping company as the world's first oceangoing vessel powered by a dual-fuel ammonia engine.The newbuild mid-size gas carrier is capable of carrying up to 46,000 cubic meters of ammonia or liquefied petroleum gas and can operate with close to zero emissions when fueled by low-carbon ammonia.Exmar said the vessel was developed in collaboration with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, WinGD, Nord Gas Solutions and Lloyd's Register.According to the company…

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday that they would ban Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea, adding to challenges for global shipping through the Middle East during the Iran war.The group said in a statement it had launched an attack on Israel and enacted a total ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, warning of further escalation.Any Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping would worry energy markets more than three months into Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz…

According to the latest figures from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform, 36 new orders for alternative-fuelled vessels were placed in May 2026.Activity was primarily driven by LPG/ethane carriers, which accounted for 26 of the orders. A further eight LNG-fuelled vessels were ordered, including six container vessels and two car carriers, alongside two ethanol-fuelled bulk carriers.So far in 2026, a total of 119 orders have been placed for alternative-fuelled vessels.

Even if the U.S.

Two tankers carrying oil products exited the Strait of Hormuz over the past week, while a liquefied natural gas carrier loaded cargo in the United Arab Emirates, shipping data showed - rare movements as traffic through the chokepoint remains limited.Several tankers have managed to leave the Gulf in the past month, but oil and LNG flows are still severely constrained by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which began on February 28. About a fifth of global oil and LNG supply normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz.Aframax tanker Cy Victorious…

Only a month into the Iran war, Qatar-based distributor Salam Studio & Stores had already gone weeks without its regular Red Bull shipments, prompting it to test a little-used route.The conflict and effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, now in their fourth month, had scattered its products across ports in India and Sri Lanka, while Gulf hubs it typically relies on faced Iranian fire and capacity constraints.Wary of losing market share, Salam opted for an untested solution: shipping cargo to Doha via Saudi Arabia's Port of NEOM…

From Congestion-as-Normal to Time-as-a-ServiceAt the Port of the Future Conference in Houston, Texas, I had the privilege of speaking on a subject that, at first hearing, may sound radical, perhaps even impractical: “Zero-Queue Ports – No Anchored Ships and No Truck Lines.” Yet the packed room, the close attention of the audience, and the thoughtful discussion that followed confirmed something important. The maritime world is ready to challenge its old assumptions. It is ready to ask whether congestion…

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has confirmed that its container vessel MSC Sariska V was struck by two projectiles while departing the port of Umm Qasr in Iraq on June 1, though no crew members were injured.According to the company, the first projectile hit the vessel while a pilot was onboard during departure from the port, while a second struck the crew accommodation area shortly afterwards.MSC said all crew members were safe and unharmed and that the vessel and its…

“Shipping has entered a period where complexity is building faster than it can be absorbed," said ABS Chairman and CEO John McDonald at the annual gathering of the ABS Hellenic National Committee. "Costs are rising and decision cycles are shortening. This combination is creating a widening gap between what is technically possible and what is operationally viable at sea. Closing that gap is now central to competitiveness.”McDonald expanded on the organization’s latest announcement…

U.S. oil and gas major Chevron will not consider paying a toll to move ships through the Strait of Hormuz, CEO Mike Wirth told Bloomberg TV on Friday.Wirth also said several vessels that transit through the Strait of Hormuz have been attacked in recent days.Perhaps not every day, but there have been "multiple incidents," he said.Chevron currently has six vessels under charter - belonging to a third party - in the waterway, Wirth said. It will be the ship owner who decides whether or not to move through the strait…

Two supertankers and one liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker exited the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week with their transponders switched off, and are heading for India and China, shipping data from LSEG and Kpler showed.The vessels joined a number of tankers leaving the Gulf this month, although oil and LNG traffic overall has still been limited.The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Eagle Veracruz, carrying 2 million barrels of crude loaded from Saudi Arabia in late February, is heading to Quanzhou port in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian.

CMA CGM delivered a resilient first quarter, but the numbers underscore the increasingly complex environment facing the global container shipping and logistics giant.The Marseille-based group reported first-quarter revenue of $13.23 billion, essentially flat year-over-year, while EBITDA fell 31.6% to $2.11 billion and net income dropped sharply to $250 million, down from $1.12 billion a year earlier.For the shipping division, the picture was mixed. Volumes rose 1.5% to 5.93 million TEU, but maritime revenue declined 8.5% to $8.02 billion as average revenue per container weakened nearly 10%.

French engineering firm GTT has an order from the shipyard Hanwha Ocean for the tank design of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, on behalf of a European ship-owner.GTT will design the cryogenic tanks of the vessel, offering a total capacity of 174,000 m3.The tanks will be fitted with the NO96 Super+ membrane containment system, a technology developed by GTT.Delivery of the vessel is scheduled for the second quarter 2029.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has signed its first annual contract for liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering for car carriers at the Port of Vancouver, expanding LNG fuel supply arrangements for its growing fleet of LNG-fueled vessels operating on North American trade routes.The agreement with Canada-based Seaspan Energy follows MOL’s first LNG bunkering operation on the west coast of North America in March 2025, which the company said marked the first such operation by a Japanese…

French engineering firm GTT has been selected by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), on behalf of the ship-owner BW LNG, for the tank design of the world’s first large-scale LNG carriers featuring a three-cargo-tank configuration.This new design will equip four new buildings - two vessels already ordered in November 2025 and two additional vessels ordered in May 2026.The four LNG carriers will be fitted with the GTT Mark III Flex membrane containment system…

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has helped establish a new industry consortium aimed at ending the fragmented way container stowage and lashing data is shared across the sector. The Lashing Exchange Format (LXF) Consortium brings together major classification societies and key software developers to create a common digital standard for transferring data used in container securing arrangements and lashing calculations. Stowage plans and lashing software are closely connected yet often treated as separate workflows because the industry has no standardised way to move information between systems.

INTERCARGO has published the first dedicated ship-to-ship (STS) transfer guidelines for dry bulk carriers, as such operations expand into new trading regions and offshore locations with limited port infrastructure.The ‘Ship to Ship Transfer Guidelines for Bulk Carriers’ establishes a framework for dry bulk STS operations, covering planning, risk assessment, maneuvering, fendering, cargo handling and emergency response procedures.STS transfers are increasingly used in dry bulk shipping where ports cannot accommodate vessel size…