Ships News

Stena Line strengthened its position in the Baltic Sea by acquiring NLC Ferry Ab Oy/Wasaline and taking over operations of the ferry route between Umeå in Sweden and Vaasa in Finland.“It is with great joy and enthusiasm that we at Stena Line take on the responsibility for Wasaline and the route between two important regions and cities, Umeå and Vaasa,” says Niclas Mårtensson, CEO of Stena Line.The only existing ferry connection between Umeå and Vaasa is jointly owned by the two cities through the 50/50-owned company Kvarken Link…

Engine developer WinGD has joined the Methane Abatement in Maritime Innovation Initiative (MAMII), becoming the first engine developer to become a partner in the growing cross-sector push to better understand and address methane from LNG-fueled ships.LNG, primarily methane, can play a role in reducing shipping emissions. But its climate benefits depend on methane being effectively managed. Proven technologies for onboard methane abatement are emerging, and organizations like WinGD…

dship Carriers from Hamburg has selected Liebherr’s LS 250 heavy-duty cranes to equip at least four of the ships in its fleet.The LS 250 cranes are designed to comply with the requirements of the St. Lawrence Regulations. These regulations apply to ships navigating the St. Lawrence Seaway and connecting the Great Lakes in Canada with the Atlantic Ocean.Manufactured at Liebherr’s Rostock site at the German Baltic coast, the eight cranes will be delivered to a Chinese shipyard in 2026.

Marine fuel sales in Singapore recovered to hit 16-month highs in May, official data showed on Monday.Volumes at the world's largest bunker hub for ships totalled 4.88 million metric tons, up 10.8% month-on-month and 1.1% higher year-on-year, according to data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).The uptick emerged as more vessels arrived in Singapore for container movements and bunkering."Container throughput is at the highest in the year to date, likely due to front-loading shipments after the tariff pause on May 12…

Innovation Norway has awarded a hull-cleaning pioneer ECOsubsea a $6.2 million Green Growth Loan, which will be used to partially fund the construction of next-generation hull-cleaning robots.In addition to expanding its fleet of next-generation hull-cleaning robots, ECOsubsea will also use the funding to expand its operations in Singapore.The Austevoll-based company performed the first commercial cleaning job in Singapore in the autumn, using its next-gen robot dubbed the 'Pink…

Saab has signed a contract with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration for the modernization of Sweden’s coastal anti-ship missile capability.The contract includes Saab’s RBS15 Mk3 anti-ship missile integrated on a launcher module installed on a truck.Sweden currently uses the predecessor RBS15 Mk2. The coastal anti-ship missile capability was reintroduced in the Swedish Armed Forces in 2016 and will now be complemented with RBS15 Mk3 on new launcher platforms.The total order value is $72.4 million (SEK 800 million)…

Opsealog, a provider of data integration and analysis services for the maritime and offshore industry, has confirmed the renewal and expansion of its service contract with Orange Marine, a French company specializing in cable laying and repair operations.This extension signifies a deepening of the collaboration between the two companies, which began in May 2023, and highlights their commitment to advancing fleet digitalization and operational efficiency across Orange Marine’s fleet.The partnership commenced with a three-month trial on one of Orange Marine's cable laying vessels (CLV)…

ClassNK has signed a joint R&D agreement with Nihon Shipyard and IMC to ensure the safety and performance evaluation of anti-roll tanks (ART) installed on large containerships.Under the R&D agreement, Nihon Shipyard, IMC, and ClassNK will work together to expand the application of ART to large containerships.Utilizing the obtained data and knowledge, each party will collaborate to ensure the safer application of ART on an actual ship and performance evaluation.AS part of the partnership…

NYK and Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) have joined forces to develop a method for estimating a ship’s performance in actual seas before construction is completed.The aim of the two companies is predict a vessel's performance in actual seas before the conclusion of a shipbuilding contract and aid in the reduction of GHG emissions by procuring highly fuel-efficient vessels.In conventional shipbuilding contracts, the guaranteed speed is set and agreed based on the relationship between the ship's speed and horsepower in calm waters…

Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) has signed a contract for its first ever wind-assisted propulsion system, partnering with bound4blue to install three 22-metre eSAILs onboard the Pacific Sentinel.The turnkey ‘suction sail’ technology, which drags air across an aerodynamic surface to generate propulsive efficiency, will be fitted in fourth quarter of 2024.The wind-assisted propulsion technology is expected to help the 183-metre, 50,000 DWT oil and chemical tanker reduce overall energy consumption by approximately 10%…

Retrofit specialist GLO Marine and expert in propulsion systems VMS Group have teamed up to expand their collaboration into comprehensive retrofits and vessel modifications, with a primary focus on decarbonization initiatives.In a strategic move towards advancing sustainable maritime practices, the GLO Marine-VMS Group partnership will prioritize retrofit projects and vessel modifications that align with the latest green technologies.The partnership stems from a series of ‘seamlessly executed’ retrofit project installations…

Nova Marine Carriers, the Lugano-based group, controlled by the Romeo and Gozzi/Bolfo families, has taken delivery of a new 38,593 dwt handymax vessel, built in 2019, in Shanghai, acquiring it from a Japanese group.This is the Iris Harmony, renamed Sider Harmony, a latest generation bulk carrier (180 meters long by 30 meters wide) which will be technically managed by the Greek company Pegasus Ocean Services Inc (of the Halkidon/Pegasus group).

Japanese shipping company NYK has unveiled plans to conduct full-scale trials of long-term use of biofules for its existing heavy oil-fired vessels starting from 2024.Considered to have net-zero CO2 emissions, biofuels are produced from biological sources (biomass), such as waste cooking oil. Usable in heavy oil-fired engines, biofuels are considered to be one of the critical solutions to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.In this trial, NYK will use biofuel continuously for three months on multiple vessel types.

Knud H. Hansen has designed, project managed and supervised the construction for a Live Fish Carrier for Bakkafrost in the Faroe Islands. This vessel is one of the biggest Live Fish Carriers in the world at 109.2 x 22.2m with a cargo capacity of 7,000 cu. m. With four cargo holds of 1,750 cu. m. each the vessel can transport about 1,000 tons of live salmon from cages offshore to shore-based processing facilities. The vessel can also take live salmon onboard for treatment for lice in fresh water in the cargo tanks and when discharging to cages…

About one third of the roughly 150 ships owned by companies controlled by Singapore tycoon Lim Oon Kuin and his family have been sold as part of efforts to repay billions of dollars of debt owed to creditors, two sources told Reuters.Accounting firm Grant Thornton, court-appointed supervisor of Xihe Holdings, put up several vessels for sale through shipbrokers in September last year. Xihe Holdings is owned by the Lim family and held the bulk of their fleet.The rest of the ships are majority-owned by Xihe Capital - currently under liquidation according to Singapore business registry records - and 10 single purpose companies.The ships…

German lender Norddeutsche Landesbank (Nord/LB) has completed the sale of a EUR 2.6 billion (USD2.9bln) shipping loan portfolio. The bank recently announced its withdrawal from shipping.A US hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management took over the portfolio, which comprises of the 263-vessel book - known as "Big Ben" -  with a non-performing loan (NPL) portion of some 90%.The transaction was closed on 9 April, in accordance with the signing of the purchase agreement dated February 2019, the German bank said. The bidding process was launched in autumn 2018 as part of the bank’s transformation program.The parties agreed to maintain confidentiality about the terms of the transaction…

The European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) welcomes the Council’s decision to extent the mandate of the EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia until 31 March 2019.Operation Sophia is part of the EU's comprehensive approach to migration and aims to disrupt the business model of human smuggling and trafficking networks in the Southern Central Mediterranean and prevent the further loss of life at sea.The Operation Sophia has also been tasked with strengthening the Libyan Coastguard and Navy by training its personnel and monitoring the long-term efficiency of the training.‘Operation Sophia’s contribution to maritime security in the Central Mediterranean is very positive. The shipping industry highly supports the EU’s efforts in this region.’ said ECSA’s Secretary General Martin Dorsman.

Liebherr Maritime Cranes already delivered two Liebherr mobile harbor cranes LHM 800 in container configuration to Montecon in Uruguay. End of November Liebherr received an order from Montecon for the third LHM 800 that will start operation in Montevideo, Uruguay next year.In 2015 Montecon ordered the first giant mobile harbor cranes, type LHM 800 in container operation. Due to their increasing demand for mobile container handling solutions, they subsequently ordered a second unit. Both cranes were delivered in 2016.