News

his week, the gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia reopened successfully, just seven months after it was severed by "mechanical impact or mechanical destruction." A consortium of subsea construction companies pulled together to bring the repairs to completion, and first gas flowed through the line again on Monday. 

Ukraine continues to highlight steps for the restoration of shipping operations with reports that the first dedicated containership arrived in the Black Sea after an absence since the invasion in February 2022.  Earlier in April, the first container service was restored using a feeder vessel in the Black Sea.

Japan’s IHI Power Systems Company, a leading manufacturer of engines used in marine and land applications including trains, issued an apology and official “Notice of Misconduct” after a whistleblower revealed the company has been altering fuel consumption data for decades.

Last week, Chile completed the first round of sea trials for its new polar icebreaker, Almirante Viel. The Chilean government of  President Gabriel Boric lauded the milestone, especially the fact that the icebreaker was built entirely in the country.

An unknown share of a shipload of New Zealand kiwifruit will have to be destroyed because of a mice invasion in the holds of a reefer vessel, according to the cargo owner, Zespri International. Zespri said that its first shipment of the 2024 season to Europe has been set back by the discovery of mice.

Canada’s Federal Minister of Labour, Seamus O’Regan Jr., announced the appointment of an Industrial Inquiry Commission to study the devastating labor strike that paralyzed West Coast ports for nearly two weeks and had ramifications across Canada for weeks.

Shipbreaking remains dirty and dangerous work, particularly in South Asia, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform reminded the industry in its latest update. While South Asian beaching yards pay far more per tonne for end-of-life tonnage, they have a certain ESH reputation from years of fatalities and injuries, which continued in recent months. 

Chinese officials report a massive search is underway for four missing crewmembers after a vessel hit a bridge crossing the Xijian river and sunk. Seven of the 11 crew aboard the vessel were rescued overnight in a situation that was very similar to another accident on the river in 2007 that killed at least nine people.

The car carrier market is currently thriving and demand for new tonnage is at an all-time high. Most of these newbuildings are with dual-fuel engines – on account of new emission regulations – with LNG leading the way as most popular alternative fuel.

Singapore took top ranking in three categories - attractiveness, ports and shipping centers - and scored in the top five for technology and finance. In measures of "green" technology, it also ranked first. Taken together, these factors were enough to put it over the top for pole position.

After a year of preparation, Denmark today officially opened its largest ever offshore wind tender which when completed would ensure Denmark achieves its green goals and sets up the country to become an exporter of green power.

Badhoevedorp, 22 april 2024 – EST-Floattech is proud to announce that KOTUG International B.V. (“KOTUG”)

Recovery efforts in Baltimore continue to make good progress Maryland Governor Wes Moore highlighted in a briefing on Friday afternoon, April 19, reporting that more than 1,300 tons of steel have now been removed from the waterway.

Container volumes at Port Houston have skyrocketed in the first quarter of 2024. Port executives reported that last month was Houston’s biggest March ever, and they are continuing to take steps to grow the port’s capabilities.

A Japanese consortium made up of coastal shipping company Imoto Lines and marine software company Marindows is launching a government-backed effort to develop a next-generation containership.

Swedish investigators now believe that an engineer working aboard a Stena ropax in Scandinavia likely died of electrocution and not natural causes as was initially assumed at the time of the death.

The Iranian spy ship Behshad has departed the Gulf of Aden and headed for home, ending the vessel's alleged role in the Red Sea maritime security crisis. Behshad deployed to the Red Sea in 2021, and analysts believe that the ship has served as a staging point and command post for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' operations in Yemen.

The designs have been finalized and the shipyard was chosen for an ambitious project to build two of the world’s largest hydrogen-fueled passenger and car ferries. The project has been in development for several years with the designs initially approved in 2022 and now with the shipyard selected, Norway expects the vessels will be delivered in 2026.

South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is entering the European offshore wind energy market as it looking for opportunities to leverage its expertise and expand its presence in offshore energy.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to demonstrate the potential of collective efforts to drive the decarbonization of shipping, a group of leading consumer and manufacturing companies banded together to contract for shipper services from Singapore to Rotterdam.