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Maritime, in motion

Container terminal gantry crane loading a ship
Port activity

Shanghai moves more than 200,000 teu in a single day

Shanghai has pushed its daily container throughput above 200,000 teu for the first time, handling 203,881 teu on 1 August, around 9% above the previous record of 187,312 teu set on 9 June.

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United States Navy vessel under way at sea
Industry

US Navy awards $76.6bn for fourteen submarines after three-year delay

The United States Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat and HII $76.6bn in contracts for its next batch of attack and ballistic missile submarines, ending a delay of nearly three years.

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Detail of a ferry vehicle deck ramp
Incident

Five dead and dozens missing after fire aboard Indonesian ferry

At least five people have died and 41 remain missing after a fire broke out aboard a crowded ferry off Java.

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Aerial view of a crude oil tanker under way
Sanctions

Russian crude discounts to India collapse as Hormuz disruption bites

Discounts on Russian Urals crude delivered to India have fallen to between $1 and $2 a barrel against dated Brent this week, according to three trade sources.

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Contract documents signed at a meeting table
Industry

War risk cover becomes the Gulf's decisive constraint

Rising war risk premiums and tightening insurance cover may now pose a greater obstacle to Gulf shipping than missiles or blockades.

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LNG terminal with gas carrier alongside
Incident

LNG carrier disabled off Oman as Hormuz threats multiply

Merchant shipping remains exposed at both ends of the Strait of Hormuz, with fresh threats and explosions reported even as Washington claims another round of negotiations with Iran is getting underway.

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Naval corvette with helicopter at sea
Dark fleet

Italian navy boards falsely flagged shadow fleet tanker off Sicily

An Italian-led European Union naval mission has boarded a sanctioned tanker linked to Russia's shadow fleet in international waters west of Sicily, the second such operation in less than two weeks.

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Container ship at sea seen from above
Incident

Ukraine sinks Russian-flagged boxship in Black Sea

Ukraine has widened its campaign against Russia-linked commercial shipping, sinking a Russian-flagged containership in the Black Sea, striking a Greek-owned tanker and hitting three refineries deep inside Russia.

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Container terminal and stacked boxes seen from above
Industry

Washington imposes tariffs on goods from sixty economies

Duties of 10 to 12.5% now apply to goods from 60 economies, reviving measures the US Supreme Court struck down earlier this year.

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Bulk carrier loading alongside a quay with cranes
Port activity

Van Oord dredging gives Kamarajar an 18-metre draft

Kamarajar becomes only the second Indian major port able to accept fully laden capesize vessels of up to 170,000 dwt.

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Controls on the bridge of an offshore support vessel
Industry

Allseas to install subsea link of Canadian gas pipeline

Allseas will lay 50 km of subsea pipeline in British Columbia in 2029 using Solitaire and Sandpiper, completing the feed to Ksi Lisims LNG.

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Weathered tanker lying at anchor
Other

Idle fleet in the Gulf raises invasive species risk

More than 1,500 ships lying idle in the Persian Gulf could spread invasive marine species worldwide once traffic through Hormuz resumes.

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Heavy-lift vessel carrying a large steel structure
Industry

China installs world's largest offshore wind converter station

A 25,000-tonne platform was floated over its foundation 100 km off Guangdong with 150 mm of clearance a side, in a seven-hour operation.

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Large vessel alongside at a shipyard
Industry

HD Hyundai Samho delivers first very large ammonia carrier

The 93,000 cu m Jane Maersk is the first of five VLACs for Maersk, from a builder now holding 22 on order worth about $2.55bn.

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Bow section of a grey naval vessel alongside
Industry

Washington funds Philippine coast guard pier expansion near South China Sea

The United States will fund a $9m pier expansion in Palawan and raise military financing for Manila to $100m by the end of fiscal year 2026.

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LNG carrier alongside a terminal with tugs in attendance
Industry

QatarEnergy extends force majeure on LNG cargoes to Italian utility

QatarEnergy cannot deliver three more cargoes to Edison, taking the total under force majeure to 24 and roughly 3 billion cubic metres of gas.

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Product tanker under way on calm water
Incident

Explosion and fire aboard chemical tanker off Fredrikstad

An explosion tore through an empty tank aboard the sulphuric acid carrier Bergstraum off Fredrikstad; all fifteen crew were unharmed.

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LNG carrier alongside a jetty seen from above
Sanctions

EU exempts Russian LNG transhipment, easing pressure on Total and Yamal

Brussels has reversed its ban on transhipping Russian LNG to third countries, allowing TotalEnergies to keep selling Yamal gas into Asia.

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Merchant ship transiting a narrow strait past a city
Industry

Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb transits collapse as Gulf energy flows dry up

Transits through Hormuz are down 90% and crude leaving the Gulf has fallen from 15m to about 1m barrels a day, lifting tanker earnings sharply.

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International flags flying in front of city buildings
Industry

US and UK convene London meeting on protecting Hormuz shipping

The United States and United Kingdom are preparing a London meeting next week on forming a coalition to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

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Bulk carrier loading alongside at a port
Industry

COSCO approves fifteen newcastlemax bulkers

COSCO Shipping Development has approved orders for 15 newcastlemax bulk carriers worth about $1.1bn, all leased within the group for 20 years.

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Ro-ro vessel under way at sea
Vessel sales

Wagenborg leaves roro sector with sale of two ice-class ships

Royal Wagenborg is leaving the pure roro sector with the sale of two ice-class sister vessels and a long-term contract to Wallenius SOL.

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Offshore drilling rigs at anchor
Industry

BP puts North Sea business up for sale

BP has launched a process to sell its North Sea business, ending an association with the basin that has run for six decades.

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LNG carrier alongside an import terminal
Industry

GTT expects 550 more LNG carriers to be ordered by 2035

GTT expects around 550 LNG carriers to be ordered by 2035, on top of an orderbook already equal to almost two fifths of the trading fleet.

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Loaded barges seen from above
Incident

Oil barge breaks loose in Hong Kong typhoon shelter

An oil barge broke free during severe typhoon Noul, struck a breakwater and drifted in among moored craft at a Hong Kong typhoon shelter.

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Quayside crane at a river port
Incident

Dutch sheerlegs joins salvage of collapsed crane at Port of Tyne

The floating sheerlegs Matador 3 has arrived at the Port of Tyne to lift a collapsed quay crane off a container ship.

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Rescue helicopter winching a crewman to a ship at sea
Incident

Rescuers pull 48 from sunken Vietnamese cargo ship

Chinese, Vietnamese and Philippine units have recovered 48 of the 62 people aboard a Vietnamese cargo ship that sank near Fiery Cross Reef.

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Engine room of a large vessel
Incident

US icebreaker Healy suffers engine casualty on sea trials

The United States Coast Guard icebreaker Healy was towed back to Seattle after a significant engineering casualty during post-refit sea trials.

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Floating dry dock at a shipyard
Industry

TKMS drops Kiel yard bid, leaving Rheinmetall alone in race

TKMS has withdrawn from the bidding for German Naval Yards Kiel over price, leaving Rheinmetall as the only remaining bidder.

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Naval corvette at sea with a helicopter overhead
Industry

Belgium seeks alternatives as joint frigate programme slips

Belgium is seeking alternatives to its joint anti-submarine frigate programme with the Netherlands after cost growth and repeated delays.

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Ship's deck in an Arctic fjord in winter
Industry

Canada picks TKMS for up to twelve submarines

Canada has named TKMS preferred supplier for up to twelve Type 212CD submarines in its largest ever defence procurement.

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Scales of justice and a gavel on a desk
Dark fleet

UK court refuses bail to captain of detained shadow fleet tanker

A British court has refused bail to the master of the first shadow fleet tanker detained by the United Kingdom, with trial set for December.

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LNG carrier under way with vessels at anchor beyond
Sanctions

EU adds more than 40 shadow fleet vessels to sanctions list

The European Union has added more than 40 shadow fleet vessels to its sanctions list, several of them regular visitors to Arctic waters.

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Gas carrier entering harbour with tug assistance
Incident

India confirms attack on LPG tanker in Iranian waters

India has confirmed an attack on an LPG tanker carrying 28 Indian crew in Iranian waters, hours after a seafarer was killed in the Black Sea.

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Bow of a laden crude oil tanker at sea
Incident

Tanker reported destroyed by mine in Strait of Hormuz

An oil tanker is reported to have exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after striking a naval mine outside the corridor designated by Iran.

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Port cranes on the Black Sea coast at night
Incident

Turkish cargo ship badly damaged as Black Sea attacks multiply

A Turkish-owned general cargo ship has been seriously damaged by drone fire in the Black Sea as attacks on merchant vessels multiply.

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Map showing the Persian Gulf, the UAE and Oman
Industry

Iran rejects Omani plan to share management of Hormuz

Iran has rejected an Omani proposal to share management of the Strait of Hormuz and is demanding control of the entire inbound lane.

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The United States Capitol building in Washington
Sanctions

Washington sanctions Iranian insurance scheme for Hormuz transits

Washington has sanctioned two Iranian companies selling mandatory insurance to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, along with eight tankers.

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Tankers lying at anchor off a terminal at dusk
Industry

Houthis weigh toll system for Bab el-Mandeb transits

Yemen's Houthis are studying a scheme to charge commercial ships for passage through Bab el-Mandeb.

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Offshore platform silhouette at sea
Industry

New Zealand awards first offshore exploration permit since lifting drilling ban

EnZed Energy secured a 12-year permit in the Taranaki Basin, the country's main oil and gas-producing region.

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Survey vessel at sea
Industry

Shearwater Geoservices wins Australian carbon storage survey

The Norwegian seismic specialist's SW Bly will begin a 3D survey of the Bonaparte Basin's carbon storage potential in the third quarter.

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Offshore support vessel at sea
Industry

Golden Energy Offshore secures new UK North Sea PSV contract

The Norwegian owner's 2015-built Energy Pace will operate on the UK Continental Shelf for what the company calls a first-class international charterer.

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Offshore drilling platform at sea
Vessel sales

Borr Drilling completes $287 million rig deal with Paratus unit

The acquisition of five premium jack-up rigs was carried out through a joint venture with Borr's well construction partner in Mexico.

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Bulk carrier loading at a port with cranes
Industry

Nickel ore trade surges, reviving safety concerns

Seaborne volumes climbed more than 22% year on year in the second quarter, boosting demand for supramax and ultramax bulkers.

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Shipyard cranes silhouetted at sunset
Industry

HD Hyundai launches first vessel from revived Subic yard

The 250-metre Orion Jade marks the start of full-scale shipbuilding operations at the Philippine facility after a steel-cutting ceremony last September.

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Shipyard cranes at a busy harbor
Industry

COSCO advances $1.1 billion Tianjin shipbuilding base

The greenfield yard, featuring two VLCC-scale drydocks, will occupy nearly 146 hectares in the city's Lingang Economic Area.

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Container ship loaded at port
Vessel sales

Zodiac Maritime lines up eight boxships at China's Hengli yard

The order for 6,400 TEU containerships extends Eyal Ofer's newbuilding programme to more than $1.6 billion, with deliveries running into 2029.

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Aerial view of a bulk carrier at port
Industry

Diana Shipping threatens to cut Genco takeover price

The Athens-based owner cites a $50 million drop in its US rival's fleet value since early June to justify a potentially lower offer.

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Vessel Hunter News is written with AI, working from maritime news reporting and the primary documents behind it, to fixed editorial rules. Every article passes an automated quality check before it is published, and Vessel Hunter is responsible for what it says. How our news is made. We correct what we get wrong. Mail contact@vesselhunter.io and tell us what to look at.