Vessel Hunter News
Maritime, in motion

Long Beach lined up as a US testbed for nuclear-powered shipping
A US federal maritime agency will explore small modular reactors for ships and ports with the Port of Long Beach.

Low water on Europe's great rivers disrupts shipping
Exceptionally low water on the Rhine and Danube is disrupting shipping and pushing up freight costs.

Collision brings down a gantry crane at an English port
A collision at a port in north-east England brought a gantry crane down onto a container ship, injuring one.

Bin Sulayem takes interim charge at Malaysia's MMC Ports
The former chairman of a major Gulf ports group has taken interim charge of Malaysia's largest port operator.

Panama Canal trims daily booking slots over water worries
The Panama Canal is reducing daily booking slots amid concern that a dry spell could squeeze water supplies.

Oil majors pull crews from Gulf of Mexico platforms ahead of a storm
Major oil companies evacuated nonessential staff from Gulf of Mexico platforms as a tropical storm approached.

SLB OneSubsea wins subsea work on two Norwegian fields
A subsea technology venture has won two contracts covering gas export and new wells on two North Sea fields.

Oceaneering lands a five-year asset-integrity deal in Qatar
An offshore services company has won a five-year inspection and asset-integrity contract from a Qatar-based oil company.

Fugro wins an offshore survey campaign off Timor-Leste
A Dutch geodata specialist has won an offshore survey campaign off Timor-Leste supporting gas pipeline routing.

Scotland approves Ocean Winds' 2GW Caledonia offshore wind farm
The Scottish government has granted offshore consent for a 2GW wind farm in the Moray Firth.

Eni books a Saipem drillship for a $260m Ivory Coast campaign
An Italian energy company has awarded a $260m drillship contract for a development off Ivory Coast.

Seamec buys a diving support vessel from its parent for $70m
An Indian offshore operator has agreed to buy a 2023-built diving support vessel from its parent for $70m.

Paragon buys into Indonesian coal shipping in a $50m deal
A Jakarta-listed miner has completed a $50m takeover of an Indonesian coal-shipping platform.

COSCO orders eight heavy-lift newbuildings at Chengxi
A Chinese shipping group has ordered eight multipurpose heavy-lift ships worth up to about $388m.

China Merchants lines up a $728m order for six giant ore carriers
A major Chinese owner has lined up six very large ore carriers in a deal worth up to about $728m.

ADNOC sanctions a $6.2bn offshore gas expansion
A Gulf national oil company has taken a $6.2bn final decision to develop an offshore gas field with international partners.

Var Energi to absorb BlueNord in a $1.3bn combination
Var Energi has agreed to combine with a North Sea peer in a deal worth around $1.3bn.

Yang Ming orders up to $1.2bn of dual-fuel boxships at Hanwha Ocean
Yang Ming has selected a South Korean shipbuilder for six LNG dual-fuel container ships worth up to about $1.2bn.

Port of Antwerp-Bruges posts a softer first half
One of Europe's largest ports handled less cargo in the first half as container volumes fell and disruptions took a toll.

Singapore rejects comparisons between Malacca transits and Hormuz toll plans
Singapore's maritime authority says no fees are charged for transit passage through the Malacca and Singapore straits.

Svitzer turns to simulators to train masters for its new-generation tugs
A major tug operator is using simulators to prepare masters for a new tug design that handles very differently from conventional boats.

Vietnamese-built containers win orders from global shipping lines
Containers built in Vietnam are increasingly winning orders from global shipping lines and leasing companies.

US awards a $418m contract to dismantle the ex-Enterprise
The US has awarded a contract worth more than 418 million dollars to dismantle and recycle a decommissioned aircraft carrier.

Odfjell Drilling extends a North Sea rig contract with Aker BP into 2028
Odfjell Drilling has won a one-year extension for a harsh-environment semi-submersible working for Aker BP, into 2028.

Piracy and armed robbery in Asia fall to their lowest first half since 2019
Reported piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia fell to its lowest first-half level since 2019.

EU signals openness to alternatives to the IMO net-zero framework
The EU says it is ready to consider alternatives to a proposed global shipping-emissions framework, if the 2050 target holds.

Gioia Tauro completes its first shore-power connection to a mega boxship
A major southern Italian container port has completed its first cold-ironing operation, connecting a mega boxship to shore power.

Rolls-Royce supplies 40 engines for ten hybrid support vessels serving Petrobras
An engine maker has delivered 40 units to power ten new hybrid offshore support vessels being built for a Brazilian operator.

Global terminal operators lift their share of world container throughput to 49.9%
The biggest container terminal operators lifted their combined share of global throughput to just under half in 2025.

Ukraine's Black Sea campaign forces Russia to tow burned-out Kerch ferries
Ukraine's strikes on the Kerch Strait ferry service have left Russia towing burned-out hulls across the strait as barges.

India's Vizhinjam port to open for domestic cargo in August
India's newest deep-water container port will launch full import and export operations in mid-August.

China building what may be the world's largest naval supply ship
China appears to be building what may be the world's largest naval supply ship, satellite images suggest.

Sanctioned heavy-lift ships deliver modules to Russia's stalled Arctic LNG project
Two sanctioned heavy-lift vessels have delivered key modules to a stalled Russian Arctic LNG project, hinting at a restart.

Southampton welcomes its largest-ever car carrier
The port of Southampton has welcomed the largest vehicle carrier ever to call there by capacity on its maiden European voyage.

Greece blocks new EU sanctions to shield a gas-shipping owner
Greece has blocked a new round of EU sanctions on Russian gas to protect a Greek-owned gas-shipping company.

DEME lands foundation contract for a Dutch offshore wind farm
A Belgian marine contractor has won a contract to transport and install foundations for the first phase of a Dutch offshore wind farm.

Ferry with 133 aboard sinks off the coast of Guyana
A ferry carrying 133 people has sunk off the coast of Guyana, triggering a large search-and-rescue operation.

India orders its seafarers off ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz
India has directed shipowners not to deploy its seafarers on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened risks.

White House weighs another Jones Act waiver as Gulf tensions bite
The White House is weighing another extension of waivers letting foreign ships carry goods between US ports amid Gulf tensions.

Mitsubishi launches a two-helicopter patrol ship for Japan's coast guard
A Japanese shipbuilder has launched a large patrol vessel for the coast guard, built to operate around remote islands and distant waters.

Royal Navy retires two frigates and a minehunter to save money
The Royal Navy is retiring two ageing frigates and a minehunter, arguing that keeping the older ships running has become too costly.

Navigator Gas sells eight carriers and exits a joint venture
Navigator Gas has agreed to sell eight gas carriers and its stake in a shipping pool for about 183 million dollars.

Salvors' revenue halves as wreck-removal work dries up
The marine salvage industry saw gross revenue fall by more than half last year as wreck-removal activity collapsed, a survey shows.

Suspected Somali pirates hijack tanker off Yemen
A tanker has been hijacked by suspected Somali pirates off Yemen and steered toward Somalia, security sources say.

Sweden clears two offshore wind farms but rejects eleven on defence grounds
Sweden has approved two offshore wind farms while rejecting eleven applications, citing concerns they would interfere with defence.

Asia's largest hopper dredger enters service in China
A new Chinese dredger described as the largest of its type in Asia has entered service, built for offshore projects and port construction.

Harbour Energy opens tender for Mexican deep-water production vessel
An oil operator has invited contractors to develop a floating production unit for a large offshore field in Mexico as it moves toward a final decision.

JPMorgan puts $24m into rebuilding US shipbuilding
A major US bank is investing 24 million dollars to strengthen domestic shipbuilding, including submarine manufacturing and maritime suppliers.
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