Vessel Hunter News
Maritime, in motion
Archer secures North Sea plug-and-abandonment role
Archer has landed platform drilling and well services on a UK North Sea decommissioning programme led by Well-Safe Solutions across the Beryl and Forties fields.
Vow’s Scanship firms €6.4m order for sixth cruise newbuild
Vow’s Scanship has firmed a €6.4m order to supply an advanced wastewater treatment system for the sixth cruise ship in a series at a European yard.
Two vessels burn and sink in Marseille’s Vieux-Port
Two boats caught fire and sank in Marseille’s Vieux-Port on Sunday, with 150 marine firefighters mobilised and six people treated for minor burns.
Xiamen ITG Marine orders eco multipurpose ships at Qinshi Jiamei
Xiamen ITG Marine has firmed a 2+2+2 order for 15,200 dwt eco multipurpose vessels at Qinshi Jiamei Shipyard for German owner Von Nordic Marine.
Five killed as fuel barge explodes on the Paraguay River
Five maintenance workers were killed when an empty fuel tanker barge exploded on the Paraguay River near Asuncion, with a degassing operation the suspected trigger.
Cosco and OOCL pull ships from CMA CGM’s India-Europe loop
Cosco and OOCL have withdrawn three boxships from CMA CGM’s Epic India-Europe service, moving to a slot charter as CMA CGM resumes full Suez rotations.
ADNOC centralises LNG trading in Abu Dhabi, targets 47m tpa by 2035
ADNOC is centralising its LNG marketing and trading in Abu Dhabi and targeting 47m tonnes a year of marketable LNG by 2035.
Saab wins SEK 47bn Polish order for three A26 submarines
Saab has signed a roughly SEK 47bn contract to build three A26 submarines for Poland, with weapons and training packages and final deliveries in 2038.
Boskalis christens Windpiper, world’s largest subsea rock installer
Boskalis has christened Windpiper, which it calls the world’s largest subsea rock installation vessel, doubling its rock placement capacity for offshore wind and cable protection work.
Panama returns to Paris MoU White List for world’s biggest registry
Panama, the world’s largest ship registry, has returned to the Paris MoU White List after a multi-year compliance drive, improving its port state control standing.
Ulstein delivers final Windea CSOV for Bernhard Schulte Offshore
Ulstein Verft has delivered Windea Clarke, the fourth CSOV for Bernhard Schulte Offshore, which heads straight into a UK offshore wind charter.
Alternative-fuel ship orders ease to 137 in first half, DNV says
Global alternative-fuel vessel orders slipped to 137 in the first half of 2026, with LNG dominant and LPG/ethane fuelling surging, according to DNV data.
Projectile strike on tanker tests fragile Hormuz recovery
A tanker was hit by a projectile east of the Strait of Hormuz, testing the shipping recovery there as the UK and France prepare a larger naval role off Oman.
Taiwan prosecutors raid Evergreen in insider trading probe
Taiwanese prosecutors have raided Evergreen Marine in an insider trading investigation, summoning nine people; the carrier says the case has no material impact.
Netanyahu and Katz push to scrap ZIM sale to Hapag-Lloyd
Israel’s Netanyahu and Katz have come out against the $4.2bn sale of ZIM to Hapag-Lloyd and FIMI, citing national security concerns over the carrier’s strategic role.
IMO names coordinators for its seven regional offices
The IMO has appointed regional coordinators for its seven presence offices, bringing technical support closer to member states, including small island and least developed nations.
Polaris Autoliners buys two car carriers from MSC’s Global Car Carriers
Polaris Autoliners has bought two 2,000 ceu car carriers from MSC’s Global Car Carriers for about $44m, lifting its controlled fleet to 10 vessels.
Shanghai Minsheng adds second feeder pair at New Dayang
Shanghai Minsheng has declared options for two more 1,100 teu feeder containerships at New Dayang, building a four-ship series with deliveries to 2029.
Hong Kong’s EGPN moves into boxships with feeder order
Hong Kong owner EGPN has ordered two 1,900 teu feeder containerships at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong for 2029 delivery, its first move into container shipping.
Equinor buys out BP to take all of $10bn Bay du Nord
Equinor is buying BP’s stake in the $10bn Bay du Nord project offshore Canada, taking 100% ownership ahead of a final investment decision planned for early 2027.
Equinor awards $612m subsea deals to kick off Norwegian development wave
Equinor has awarded about $612m in subsea contracts for four Norwegian shelf projects, the first of several coordinated development “waves” aimed at cutting cost and time.
Ocean Installer extends Solstad CSV charter to 2028
Ocean Installer has extended its charter of Solstad Maritime’s construction support vessel Normand Vision to end-2028, with options that could run to 2031.
TechnipFMC lands Eni subsea deal off Ivory Coast
TechnipFMC has won an Eni contract for Baleine Phase 3 off the Ivory Coast, supplying flexible flowlines and risers to a new floating production unit.
Wärtsilä to power nine Grimaldi Group ferry newbuilds
Wärtsilä will supply engines, propulsion, scrubbers and hybrid systems for nine ferry newbuildings for Grimaldi Group brands, built at China’s Weihai shipyard.
Kerala reviews MSC's $1.4bn Vizhinjam port stake deal
Kerala has put MSC Group's planned $1.397bn entry into Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL) under scrutiny, saying Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) did not seek state approval before agreeing to sel…
Baltic Dry Index extends losing run to sixth session
The Baltic Exchange's main dry bulk freight index fell for a sixth straight session on Monday, down about 1.4% to 2,490 points, its lowest since 15 April. The capesize index, which typically carries 150,000-tonne cargoe…
GTT wins Samsung Heavy order for LNG carrier tank design
GTT has secured an order from Samsung Heavy Industries to design the tanks for one 174,000-cbm LNG carrier being built for a Bermudian shipowner. The French LNG containment specialist received the order in the second qu…
Royal Bodewes launches Flettner-rotor MPP CLI Pride II
Royal Bodewes has christened and launched the CLI Pride II at its shipyard in Hoogezand, the Netherlands. The state-of-the-art RB 8500 dwt multipurpose vessel is equipped with two 80-tonne cargo cranes and a 31-metre Fl…
PT PAL launches third Tarlac-class LPD for Philippine Navy
Indonesia's state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL has launched the third Tarlac-class Landing Platform Dock it is building for the Philippine Navy. Launched at PT PAL's Surabaya yard on 30 June, the ship, pennant LD-603, is th…
Wagenborg orders 10 ice-class vessels at China's Dajin
Dutch shipping company Royal Wagenborg has ordered ten new multipurpose cargo vessels at China's Dajin Heavy Industry, as part of a fleet expansion in partnership with UK-based Carisbrooke Shipping. Each ship will have…
Container spot rates hit four-year highs
Container spot freight rates jumped again this week, pushing global benchmarks to their highest since the pandemic-era peak of 2022, as tariff-driven cargo frontloading combined with lingering disruption around the Stra…
Boskalis and Van Oord win $570m Arctic port dredging in Sweden
Sweden has awarded a contract worth around EUR 500m ($570m) to Dutch dredging majors Boskalis and Van Oord to deepen the shipping fairway and harbour basin at the Port of Lulea, a gateway to the Scandinavian Arctic on t…
Royal Navy launches strike drone from a ship for the first time
The Royal Navy has launched a strike-capable one-way effector drone from a ship at sea for the first time, firing the British-built Nyan from the experimentation vessel XV Patrick Blackett off the south coast of England…
Iran rejects international mine-clearance mission in Hormuz
Iran has rejected French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal for an international mission to help clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz, warning against foreign involvement in the strategic waterway. Deputy Foreign Minis…
Iran explores oil sales to Japan as buyers seek longer waiver
Iran has begun talks with Japanese companies under a US sanctions waiver allowing it to resume oil sales, though prospective buyers are seeking a longer waiver and reassurances about ship safety, sources told Reuters. T…
Korea's mid-sized shipbuilders pivot to gas and eco ships
South Korea's mid-sized shipbuilders are accelerating into higher-value ships as construction slots at the big yards tighten. Daehan Shipbuilding, long focused on suezmax crude tankers, is preparing to enter the very la…
EU eyes Bangladesh as green shipbuilding and recycling hub
The European Union and two of its member states, the Netherlands and Spain, say Bangladesh holds strong potential to become a regional hub for green shipbuilding, recycling and circular-economy industries as the country…
Tata Steel seeks Dutch deal as emissions rules squeeze IJmuiden
Tata Steel is in talks with the Dutch government and other stakeholders over a long-term pathway for its Netherlands business, where tougher environmental rules are pressuring older steelmaking at IJmuiden, one of Europ…
Barcelona Maersk delivery completes methanol-capable B-class
The 17,480-teu dual-fuel Barcelona Maersk has been delivered, completing Maersk's six-ship methanol-capable B-class built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. The post-Suezmax vessel, 350 m long and 56 m in be…
Groningen Seaports names Jan Hein Meissner as harbour master
Groningen Seaports has appointed Jan Hein Meissner (53) as its new harbour master, choosing an internal successor to Pieter van der Wal, who has moved to a port-security advisory role. Meissner has worked at Groningen S…
Dutch tribunal suspends Thamesborg officer after Arctic grounding
The Dutch Shipping Disciplinary Court has suspended the first officer of Royal Wagenborg's cargo ship Thamesborg for three weeks, two of them conditional, after the vessel grounded on an uncharted shoal in Canada's Nort…
LNG-capable fleet could nearly double in five years, Shell says
More than 850 LNG-capable vessels are already in operation globally, and the fleet could nearly double over the next five years if current orderbook deliveries proceed as planned, according to Shell. LNG bunker demand i…
US LNG exports to Latin America hit three-year high
US LNG exports to Latin America and the Caribbean hit a 37-month high in June, up around 55% on the previous month, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data. The US shipped about 48.84 billion cubic feet to the r…
Transocean lands seven-year, $1bn Equinor rig deal
Transocean has secured a drilling agreement with Equinor worth more than $1bn in contract backlog, covering three harsh-environment semisubmersible rigs on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The deal, which remains subjec…
CMA CGM's missile-hit boxship San Antonio may be scrapped
A CMA CGM containership struck by a missile in the Strait of Hormuz in early May is so badly damaged that the French group may send it for scrapping, chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saade said. The attack on the CMA CGM San A…
WHO declares cruise-ship hantavirus outbreak over
The World Health Organization has officially declared the 2026 hantavirus outbreak over, two months after the first cases emerged aboard a cruise ship. The final person exposed through contact with a passenger from the…
Priya Blue oil spill at Alang reignites beaching-yard scrutiny
A heavy fuel oil spill from the beached LNG carrier Sohar at Priya Blue's V1/V2 shipbreaking yard in Alang-Sosiya has reignited questions over the safety and environmental standards behind Indian beaching-yard certifica…
Gulf crude and LNG loadings continue despite Strait of Hormuz attacks
Middle East producers pressed ahead with crude and LNG shipments despite fresh attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and renewed air strikes, Reuters reports. Ship-tracking data showed a fourth VLCC loading at Saud…
Never miss a move
Maritime, in motion. In your inbox.
The vessel sales, incidents, and market moves worth knowing, sent as they happen.