Maritime Briefing of 8 September 2026
The day in shipping: Rosneft opens its Arctic export terminal, fire hits the icebreaker Admiral Makarov, Panama defers a draft cut, and a sanctioned roro is struck off Crete.
Ventura Takes On Deep Value Driller and Lands $58m Petronas Job
Ventura Offshore will manage the drillship Deep Value Driller for Eldorado Drilling and has secured a one-well contract with Petronas in Indonesia worth around $58m.
Fujian Highton Seeks $295m Placement to Fund a 16-Ship Buying Programme
Fujian Highton Development is raising up to RMB2bn to fund 16 bulkers and multipurpose heavylift ships over three years, with the whole placement earmarked for vessel purchases.
Wallenius Marine Puts Two Oceanbird Wing Sails on Car Carrier Way Forward
Wallenius Marine will retrofit two Oceanbird wing sails to the 2024-built car carrier Way Forward in 2027, the first commercial multi-wing installation of the technology.
Rosneft Ships First Vostok Oil Cargo Through New Sever Bay Arctic Port
Rosneft has begun exporting crude from the Vostok Oil development through the newly built Sever Bay terminal on the Taimyr Peninsula, loading its first shuttle tanker on 5 September.
Maritime Briefing, 7 September 2026: Hormuz, Congestion, Yard Money
Two seafarers dead aboard the VLCC Sidr, Jebel Ali falling out of the top ten container ports, and US East Coast box rates breaking $10,000 per FEU for the first time since 2022.
SeaDream Orders Its First New Yacht in 25 Years at a Chinese Cruise Yard
SeaDream Yacht Club will build a 151.2-metre newbuild at China Merchants Cruise Shipbuilding, its first new ship since the two vessels it has operated since the 1980s.
Up to 800 North Sea Workers Still Exceed the November Helicopter Weight Limit
New offshore travel rules taking effect in November cap clothed passenger weight at 124kg so that anyone can be winched to safety, and hundreds of workers are still above it.
Bipartisan Bill Would Extend the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to US Mariners
Four House members have introduced legislation giving US merchant mariners in international trade the same tax treatment as other Americans working overseas.
North Sea PSV Spot Rates Pass £30,000 as Six Vessels Go on Project Work
Rates for North Sea platform supply vessels have risen sharply on a supply shortage, with spot fixtures above £30,000 in the UK sector and NKr300,000 in Norway.
NORDEN Issues the First Verified Maritime Emissions Reductions Under Book and Claim
NORDEN has delivered verified emissions reductions through the RSB Book and Claim registry, letting a cargo owner buy the benefit of sustainable fuel burned on someone else's voyage.
IMO Ends Another Net-Zero Session Divided, With Three Meetings Left in 2026
The IMO's latest working group closed after four days without a finalised text, deferring the lifecycle framework and pushing key decisions to a run of sessions in late November and early December.
Core Power Signs a Seven-Year MARAD Deal for 50 Nuclear-Powered Merchant Ships
A British nuclear energy company has agreed a seven-year programme with the US Maritime Administration to build a fleet of 50 nuclear-powered LNG tankers and container ships.
USS Abraham Lincoln Reaches Thailand After 286 Consecutive Days at Sea
The nuclear-powered carrier arrived in Thailand on 2 September after an extended deployment that included combat operations, with a crew that had gone more than 260 days without a full shore stop.
USS Delaware Surfaces at Tromso as Four Russian Submarines Go to Sea
The US Navy publicised the arrival of a Virginia class attack submarine in northern Norway during a summer in which one Russian boat after another has left the White Sea yards for trials.
Japan's 2027 Budget Request Points to Submarine-Launched Hypersonic Missiles
A preliminary defence budget request presented to the Diet refers to an underwater-launched, high-survivability missile that can be fired at an early stage and at long range.
Den Breejen Shipyard Changes Hands After Almost Eighty Family Years
The Hardinxveld-Giessendam shipyard has been sold by the Den Breejen family to CCD, an investment vehicle formed by Ceylan Duzdusen together with Concordia and Damen.
Cochin Shipyard Cuts Steel on Four Battery-Electric Tugs for Svitzer
India's Cochin Shipyard has begun building four fully electric TRAnsverse 2600e harbour tugs for Svitzer, under an agreement signed in December 2025 covering a minimum of four vessels.
Yang Ming Signs for Six 13,650 TEU Dual-Fuel Boxships at Hanwha Ocean
Yang Ming has contracted six LNG dual-fuel container ships for delivery between 2028 and 2029, taking its next-generation fleet renewal programme towards 24 ships by 2030.
CSSC Takes a $1bn Car Carrier Order and Two More PCTCs for SFL at SMM
Guangzhou Shipyard International signed for 10 LNG dual-fuel pure car and truck carriers worth more than $1bn, with market sources naming Ray Car Carriers as the owner.
CSSC Net Profit Rises 163% as Its Order Backlog Reaches 729 Ships
China State Shipbuilding Corporation recorded first-half revenue of RMB91.53bn and net profit of RMB9.95bn, on higher deliveries of high-end vessels and rising average prices.
Japan Puts $3.8bn Behind Imabari, JMU and Namura in Its First Yard Tranche
Japan's transport minister has unveiled the first investments under a plan to double national shipbuilding volume by 2035, with a total programme of about $6.4bn in public and private money.
Indian Recyclers Are Bidding Into Losses as End-of-Life Tonnage Dries Up
High-standard Indian recycling facilities are bidding aggressively for the limited tonnage available even when the economics suggest a substantial loss at current steel prices.
Six Shipping Bodies Back Two Indian Yards for the EU Recycling List
BIMCO, ECSA, ICS, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO and the World Shipping Council have welcomed a European Commission proposal to add two Gujarat yards to the European List of Ship Recycling Facilities.
Samsung Seeks $186m From CMA CGM Over Store Door Delivery Failures
Samsung Electronics America has filed one of the largest post-pandemic regulatory claims against a container carrier, alleging unjust practices in inland transport and detention billing between 2020 and 2023.
The Container Fleet Is About to Pass 34m TEU After Adding 10m in Five Years
Global containership capacity stood 8,000 TEU short of 34m at the start of September, having taken five and a half years to add the 10m TEU that previously took more than a decade.
US East Coast Box Rates Break $10,000 as Panama Cuts Daily Transits Again
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index reached a 25-month high of 3,509.53 points, with Shanghai to US East Coast rates breaching $10,000 per FEU for the first time since 2022.
COSCO Rejects Claims That Its Ships Carry Hidden Intelligence Equipment
COSCO Shipping has issued a statement firmly opposing allegations that its vessels carry concealed platforms to intercept military communications near coastlines.
IMO Secretary General Rules Out Hardening Merchant Ships Against Missiles
Asked at SMM whether shipping ought to reinforce vessels against missile and drone attack, the IMO Secretary General answered no, and repeated the call for ships to stay out of the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan Rejects a $27 LNG Cargo and Faces Longer Rolling Blackouts
Pakistan turned down the single cargo offered in its latest emergency LNG tender at $26.969 per mmBtu, and has issued a fresh tender while blackouts in Karachi run up to 24 hours.
QatarEnergy Extends LNG Force Majeure Into November as Hormuz Stays Shut
QatarEnergy has told European and Asian buyers that cargo cancellations now run into early November, with one Italian utility alone losing 29 cargoes since April.
Maritime Briefing, 4 September 2026: Hormuz, Anchorages, Yard Capacity
Iranian tankers stacking up off Galle and Johore, a tug lost with six missing off Busan, and Panama paying $191.7m for full control of its oil pipeline corridor.
South Korea Takes Offshore Wind Site Selection Into State Hands With 25 GW Target
Seoul has approved a planned-siting regime that shifts offshore wind site selection from developers to the government, targeting 25 GW of preliminary development zones by 2031.
Singapore Warns Owners and Agents Over False Vessel Data Filed for Port Calls
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has warned that false or unverifiable information on identity, ownership, cargo or trading history could bring enforcement action.
Brussels Stops the Clock on the Saipem and Subsea7 Phase II Merger Review
The European Commission has suspended its in-depth investigation into the Saipem and Subsea7 merger while it waits for further information, pushing the timetable towards 2027.
Yangzijiang Maritime Signs for Up to 12 More Newbuildings Across Two Chinese Yards
The Singapore-listed owner has extended an ordering run spanning dry bulk, product and chemical tankers with up to 12 more ships at Jingjiang Nanyang and Qidong Qianyao.
Diana Shipping Cuts Its Genco Holding Below 10% After Selling 275,000 More Shares
Diana Shipping has sold another 275,000 Genco shares for about $7.26m, taking its holding to roughly 9.5% and ending its status as a 10% beneficial owner.
Germany Rewrites Its Offshore Wind Law With Contracts for Difference and 35-Year Lives
Berlin has approved an amendment to the Wind Energy at Sea Act introducing two-sided contracts for difference and extending standard project operating life from 25 to 35 years.
US Customs Weighs Demanding Foreign Export Filings From Importers Before Cargo Sails
Customs and Border Protection has opened consultation on rules that could require importers to supply foreign export declarations and trace products further back through their supply chains.
The Architect of STX Returns to Shipbuilding Through a Stake in SK Oceanplant
Kang Duk-soo, who built and then lost the STX empire, is returning to shipbuilding through the consortium taking control of SK Oceanplant for about $298m.
Felixstowe and Charleston Join a Pink Corridor Study for Nuclear Powered Box Ships
A UK to US pink corridor project will study what would be required to run a nuclear-powered container ship between Felixstowe and Charleston, from safeguards to insurance.
Georgia Moves to Let Ships With Ten or More Crew Sail a Month Without a Qualified Cook
A legislative package before the Georgian parliament would let the Maritime Transport Agency waive the qualified cook requirement in cases of exceptional necessity.
ABB Takes the Power and Propulsion Package for New Zealand's Cook Strait Ferries
Two 200-metre rail-enabled ferries being built at Guangzhou Shipyard International for 2029 delivery will use ABB power, propulsion and automation across the Cook Strait crossing.
US Attack Submarines Have Spent 41 Ship-Years Idle Waiting for Shipyard Capacity
A watchdog report puts a decade of US attack submarine maintenance delays at 41 ship-years and warns that boats waiting to be decommissioned could cost $3.1bn over the next five years.
Turkish, Chinese and Vietnamese Yards Deliver a Wave of Tugs Into Latin America
SAAM Towage, Svitzer, Boluda and Wilson Sons have all taken delivery of new harbour and escort tugs for Central and South America and the Caribbean in recent months.
Ten Weeks Left on the China-US Port Fee Truce as the 9 November Deadline Nears
The suspension of US Section 301 port fees and China's matching special port dues expires on 9 November 2026, putting ownership and build country back at the centre of trans-Pacific deployment.
China, Russia and Kazakhstan Weigh an Ob-Irtysh River Route to the Russian Arctic
A revived Ob-Irtysh corridor would let Chinese goods reach Russian Arctic ports at the base of the Yamal Peninsula, but ice, drought and hydropower locks stand between the plan and the cargo.
Peter Dohle Adds Two More 14,000 teu Ships at Hudong-Zhonghua, Taking the Series to Six
The Hamburg owner has extended its container ship newbuilding programme with two more 14,000 teu vessels at the CSSC yard, bringing its total order there to six ships.
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