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Noble lands $136m drillship contract offshore Brunei
Noble Corporation has won a drillship contract in Brunei worth around $136m, deploying the Noble Viking for a six-well programme from early 2028.

Saipem wins around $2bn FPSO contract off Indonesia
Saipem has won an EPCI contract worth around $2bn for an FPSO at Eni's Kutei North Hub development off East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

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…

Panama Canal tightens neopanamax draught limits again
ño over the watershed in the months ahead. It said lake levels and projections would be monitored, with more adjustments if needed. This is not yet a repeat of the severe 2023-24 drought restrictions that slashed bookin…

China's electric cargo ship fleet scales up fast
China is scaling battery-powered shipping faster than anywhere else, moving from pilots into commercial cargo operation, according to new International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) data. China had more than 44…

Bureau Veritas to sell oil and coal testing arm for €470m
Bureau Veritas is in exclusive talks to sell its oil, coal and petrochemicals testing business to Triton Partners for €470m as part of its LEAP 28 portfolio overhaul.

US targets Mexican cartel fuel smuggling
The US Treasury has sanctioned individuals and entities tied to a cartel-linked fuel smuggling network that uses shadow-fleet vessels and falsified customs documents to move illicit fuel between the US and Mexico.

UK carbon market extends to shipping from today
The UK has extended its emissions trading scheme to domestic shipping, bringing cargo and passenger vessels of 5,000 gt and above into the carbon market and adding to operators' compliance burden.

Maersk goes from red to black
A.P. Moller-Maersk has sharply upgraded its guidance, now expecting an underlying operating profit of $2bn to $4bn this year, the clearest sign yet that 2026 is shaping up as another profitable year for container shipping.

MSC pays $1.4bn for 49% stake in Adani's Vizhinjam port
MSC's terminal arm TiL is acquiring a 49% stake in Adani Ports' Vizhinjam transhipment terminal for $1.4bn, in what the partners call the largest foreign private investment in Indian port infrastructure.

Troubled shadow VLCC closes in on endgame
The 2002-built VLCC Era — formerly Marinera and Bella 1 — has reappeared under the Comoros flag with a demolition-linked manager, suggesting the much-renamed shadow-fleet tanker may be nearing its final voyage.

Volkswagen sells majority stake in Everllence to Bain Capital
Volkswagen has agreed to sell a 75% stake in engine maker Everllence (formerly MAN Energy Solutions) to Bain Capital in a deal valuing the business at EUR7.4bn ($8.4bn).

US Navy Declines To Raise Sunken Fishing Vessel Lily Jean
The United States Navy has declined a request to salvage a fishing vessel that sank off Gloucester in January and to recover the remains of six crew believed still aboard.

Four Competition Regulators Examine The Saipem And Subsea7 Merger
The proposed merger of Saipem and Subsea7 is being examined by four competition authorities across three continents, with the European Commission running an in-depth investigation.

Offshore Wind Lease Buybacks In The US Approach Four Billion Dollars
A German utility has agreed to relinquish American offshore wind leases for 1.22 billion dollars, bringing total spending on such buybacks to close to four billion.

Jan De Nul Cable Layer To Wire Four Two-Gigawatt Grid Connections
A newly built cable installation vessel will install export cables on four two-gigawatt offshore grid connections, laying more than 2,800 kilometres of cable along a 700-kilometre route.

Romania Sinks Barges In The Danube To Keep A Nuclear Reactor Running
Romania has been sinking four barges loaded with rock into the Danube to redirect water towards a nuclear power station whose second reactor is at risk of shutting down.

Iran And Oman Reach Preliminary Understanding On Hormuz Route
Iran and Oman have reached a preliminary understanding on the coordinates of a proposed shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran seeks a formal role in managing traffic.

Frontline Sells VLCC Pair For 270 Million Dollars
Frontline has agreed to sell two 2017-built very large crude carriers for 270 million dollars, and will return all net proceeds to shareholders through a one-off dividend.

Noble Wins 670-Day Jackup Contract For North Sea Abandonment Work
Noble Corporation has won a 670-day contract from ConocoPhillips for an ultra-harsh environment jackup, covering plug and abandonment work in the Greater Ekofisk Area.

Offshore Field Development Spending Forecast To Reach 137 Billion Dollars
Global offshore field development investment is forecast to reach 137 billion dollars this year, with project sanctioning close to double the level of the preceding period.

Dynacom's VLCC Order Book At Hengli Reaches Twenty Ships
George Procopiou's Dynacom Tankers has ordered four more very large crude carriers at Hengli Heavy Industry, taking the Greek owner's programme at the Chinese yard to twenty vessels.

United States Sends Seized Shadow Fleet Tankers For Demolition
The United States has begun sending ageing tankers seized in its sanctions enforcement campaign to demolition rather than allowing them back into circulation.

Chinese Operator To Launch First Scheduled Arctic Container Service
A Chinese operator is preparing to launch the first regular scheduled liner service through the Northern Sea Route, with a twenty-day passage from China to Felixstowe.

Trump Extends Jones Act Waiver For Another Ninety Days
President Trump has extended for a further ninety days the waiver allowing foreign-flagged ships to carry oil between American ports, making it the longest such suspension on record.

Tanker Master Jailed Ten Months For Refusing US Coast Guard Order
A tanker master has been sentenced to ten months in prison and deportation for failing to stop when ordered by the United States Coast Guard during the interdiction of an Iranian crude cargo.

Hanwha Bids Up To 1.2 Billion Dollars For Austal USA
South Korea's Hanwha has made a preliminary offer of up to 1.2 billion dollars for Austal USA, one of the more strategically significant naval yards in the United States.

France Commits 260 Million Euros To Five Ports For Floating Wind
France has committed 260 million euros to five ports to prepare them for floating offshore wind construction, in an allocation expected to unlock around a billion euros of investment.

Chinese And Russian Warships Complete Circumnavigation Of Japan
A joint Chinese and Russian naval group has completed a circumnavigation of Japan and its outer islands, tracked throughout by Japanese destroyers and maritime patrol aircraft.

Remontowa Cuts Steel For Fifth Battery-Electric Ferry In Scottish Series
Poland's Remontowa has cut steel for the fifth of seven battery-electric ferries for Scotland's state ferry asset company, the largest passenger ferry series in the yard's history.

Iran's Main Oil Terminal Falls Silent While Gulf Crude Still Moves Through Hormuz
Satellite imagery shows every berth empty at Iran's main crude export terminal with no loading since 31 July, while four to five million barrels a day still pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Terminal Operator Weighs Bid For Cape Town Multipurpose Terminal
A Saudi terminal operator part-owned by the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund is weighing a bid for a multipurpose terminal at the Port of Cape Town, where bids close on 20 November.

Methamphetamine Found In Vehicle Transmission Shipped From Germany To Australia
Australian officers found thirteen kilograms of methamphetamine inside a vehicle transmission shipped from Germany, and made two arrests after a controlled delivery in western Sydney.

MSC Boxship Partially Sinks At Zhoushan Repair Berth
The MSC Silvana VIII has partially sunk alongside a repair yard at Zhoushan after a typhoon grounding and a failed refloating, with her engine room flooded and 3,000 tonnes of fuel removed.

China Names Two Dead A Year After South China Sea Collision With Its Own Navy
China has named two personnel killed in a 2025 collision between a coast guard cutter and one of its own destroyers near Scarborough Shoal, a year after saying nothing about casualties.

HD Hyundai Launches First Newbuild At Philippine Yard Since 2019
HD Hyundai has launched a 115,000 deadweight tonne product tanker at its Philippine subsidiary, the first newbuilding to leave the Subic yard since 2019.

IMO Completes First Global Audit Cycle Of Its Member States
The International Maritime Organization has completed its first full member state audit cycle, assessing 168 states on how effectively they implement its regulations.

Svitzer Orders Three Caribbean Escort Tugs After Delivering Region's Most Powerful Harbour Tug
Svitzer has ordered three escort tugs for the Caribbean after delivering the most powerful harbour tug operating in the Dominican Republic.

Shell Agrees To Sell European Onshore Renewables Portfolio To TotalEnergies
Shell has agreed to sell its European onshore renewables portfolio, around half a gigawatt across four countries, to TotalEnergies, with completion expected by the end of 2026.

Petrobras Confirms Deepwater Gas Discovery Off Colombia's Caribbean Coast
Petrobras has confirmed a deepwater gas discovery at the Sandia-1 well offshore Colombia, the third success within a few kilometres in the same Caribbean block.

US LNG Exports Stall In July Despite Higher Global Gas Prices
American LNG exports slipped to 10.48 million tonnes in July from 10.6 million, as summer maintenance kept volumes flat while Asian and European gas prices rallied.

Brookfield Inherits Nearly Twenty Percent Of Torm Through Oaktree Buyout
Brookfield has taken indirect control of a 19.86 percent stake in Danish product tanker owner Torm, not by buying shares but through its completed acquisition of Oaktree.

Cadeler Orders Two More Wind Installation Vessels In 930 Million Dollar Deal
Cadeler has ordered two more T-class offshore wind installation vessels from COSCO Shipping Offshore for around 805 million euros, with delivery in 2030 and 2031.

Container Lines Now Own The Majority Of Their Operated Capacity
The twelve largest container lines now own roughly 63 percent of their operated capacity, reversing the capital-light chartering model that defined the sector before the pandemic.

Shanghai Sets Single-Day Container Record Of 203,881 Boxes
The port of Shanghai handled 203,881 containers in a single day on 1 August, beating its previous record by close to nine percent as it cleared a typhoon backlog.

Norwegian Cancels Farewell Cruise Over Red Sea Security
Norwegian Cruise Line has cancelled the farewell voyage of the Norwegian Sky, a nineteen-night sailing due to transit the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, citing security concerns.

Record Danube Lows Expose Wartime Wrecks And Halve Barge Cargoes
Water levels on the Danube have hit record lows across ten countries, cutting barge loadings, threatening power generation and exposing scuttled wartime wrecks near Prahovo.

Steering Failure Grounds Container Ship At Chittagong Channel Entrance
A steering gear failure caused a Malta-flagged container ship to strike a channel buoy and ground at the entrance to Chittagong, before she was refloated the same day.
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