Sonangol Looks to Secure $4.8b Loan From China for Sea Port Refinery
Angola's state oil company Sonangol is talking to Chinese financial institutions to secure a $4.8 billion loan to partly finance the construction of a new refinery in the Atlantic sea port of Lobito, it said on Wednesday.The financing, if completed, will mark the first borrowing by the Southern African oil producer from China since 2017, when it opted to reduce its exposure to resource-backed loans.The…
Hungary Accuses Ukraine of Plans to Disrupt National Energy System
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Ukraineon Wednesday of planning to disrupt the Hungarian energy system, and dispatched troops to safeguard infrastructure, escalating a dispute that has undermined Europe's pro-Ukraine consensus.Hungary and Slovakia, whose leaders are outliers in the EU for maintaining relations with Moscow, blame Kyiv for an outage on the Druzhba oil pipelinethat supplies…
Saudi Arabia Increases Oil Product, Exports In Case of US Attack on Iran
Saudi Arabia is increasing its oil production and exports as part of a contingency plan in case any U.S. strike on Iran disrupts supplies from the Middle East, two sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday.The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plan.U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is considering a strike on Iran to pressure its leaders to agree a deal to curb Tehran's nuclear programme.
US Expands Sanctions Over Iranian Oil Sales, Weapons
The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on more than 30 individuals, entities and "shadow fleet" vessels it said enabled Iran's illicit petroleum sales, ballistic missiles and weapons production.Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control also targeted multiple networks that enable Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics to secure…
Ireland to Strengthen NATO Ties as Maritime Threats Increase
Ireland plans to boost radar and subsea surveillance capabilities and increase cooperation with NATO members amid growing hybrid threats in the North Atlantic, the country said in its first maritime security strategy on Wednesday.Ireland, which is neutral and has the EU's lowest level of defence spending, has been criticised for its lack of capability to monitor and defend territorial waters that the…
ESAB Launches Ruffian EMP 270G Engine Drive
In collaboration with Linde Gas & Equipment, ESAB announced that its new Ruffian EMP 270G EDW engine‑driven welding generator will make its official debut at CONEXPO‑CON/AGG 2026 and attendees can place orders directly in Linde’s booth (S63335). ESAB and Linde have also teamed up to offer exclusive, show‑only pricing during CONEXPO, which runs March 3–7 in Las Vegas.The show special packages feature the Ruffian EMP 270G with an Sentinel A60 welding helmet…
GIT Coatings Launches XGIT-FORCE
GIT Coatings, a leader in sustainable high-performance marine coatings, announced the launch of its graphene-base hard foul-release coating, XGIT-FORCE. With first applications already underway across a global fleet, XGIT-FORCE is engineered to unlock up to 10% fuel savings and provide the highest return on investment of any antifouling coating on the market. XGIT-FORCE is the result of years of research and development…
Hartman Seatrade Adds Two Liebherr LS 250 Ship Cranes to its Fleet
Hartman Seatrade has selected the LS 250 heavy-duty ship crane to outfit its latest vessels. The cranes, supplied by Liebherr, are configured for tandem operations, allowing combined lifts of up to 500 tons for project cargo. Engineered for versatile cargo handling, the LS 250 delivers dependable lifting performance even in demanding maritime conditions. The cranes offer a lifting capacity of up to 250 tons with a maximum outreach of 36 meters.
Fincantieri Delivers First ‘Intelligent’ Cruise Yacht
Fincantieri has delivered Four Seasons I, the first ultra-luxury cruise yacht built for Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, a joint owner-operator of Four Seasons Yachts, at its Ancona shipyard.The vessel is described by the Italian shipbuilder as the world’s first intelligent ultra-luxury ship and represents the first Navis Sapiens unit, based on an integrated digital architecture developed by Fincantieri Ingenium…
WinGD, HHI Complete Landmark Approval Tests on Ammonia Marine Engine
Swiss marine power company WinGD has completed both Type Approval Testing (TAT) and Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) of its ammonia-fueled two-stroke marine engine, marking a milestone in efforts to decarbonize shipping.The test programs were completed in January 2026 on the X52DF-A-1.0 engine at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Engine & Machinery (HHI-EMD) facility in South Korea. The tests were witnessed…
Vega Reederei Picks Inmarsat’s NexusWave for Newbuild Fleet
Inmarsat Maritime, part of Viasat, has secured a contract with Vega Reederei to equip 10 new diesel-electric coaster vessels with its NexusWave bonded connectivity service.The agreement covers installation of NexusWave on the 89-meter, 3,800-deadweight-tonne short-sea general cargo ships, scheduled for delivery by July 2026. The deal also includes Fleet Secure Unified Threat Management (UTM) and Fleet…
Kongsberg Maritime to Equip LS Marine’s Ultra-Large Cable Lay Vessel
Kongsberg Maritime has been selected to supply a fully integrated equipment package for a next-generation ultra-large cable laying (CLV) vessel being built for LS Marine Solution at Tersan Shipyard in Türkiye.The vessel, designed to support growing global demand for subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) and optical cable installation, will be 148.4 meters long and 31 meters wide, with a cable carrying capacity of 13…
Shell, METLEN Sign LNG Supply and Trading Deal
Shell and Greece’s METLEN have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a framework for cooperation in the supply and trading of liquefied natural gas (LNG).Under the agreement, the two companies plan to supply and trade approximately 0.5 to 1.0 billion cubic metres (bcm) of LNG per year over the five-year period from 2027 to 2031.Deliveries are expected to be made to the Greek LNG regasification…
ABS Opens U.S. Cruise Center of Excellence
ABS has opened the ABS Cruise Center of Excellence, its dedicated global hub for the cruise sector, located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The center expands ABS’ local presence and provides cruise operators with direct access to industry-leading classification, risk management, compliance and performance software and engineering services.The new center brings together local experts specializing in classification…
Opinion: Shipping Will Need More Self-Regulation
Shipping will have no choice but to boost self-regulation as well as choosing the right ‘safe haven’ partners if it is to deal with the huge pressures the fast-changing political, trade and regulatory landscapes will inflict on the industry, according to Mark O’Neil, President and CEO of the Columbia Group.There are many spheres of influence that will result from the breakdown of the international rule-based order…
Global Treaty on Fishing Vessel Safety Triggered
The 2012 Cape Town Agreement has met the requirements for entry into force and will enter into force in February 2027, closing a longstanding gap in the global maritime safety framework. The Agreement sets out mandatory safety standards for more than 45,000 fishing vessels of 24 meters in length and over, according to FAO data, helping to prevent casualties, improve working conditions for fishers, enhance competitiveness and protect the marine environment.Welcoming the milestone…
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority Elects Governor Tate Reeves as 2026 Chairman
The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority has elected Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi to serve as Chairman for 2026. Governor Reeves will lead the four-state interstate compact as it advances economic development, freight mobility, and recreation along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and the broader M-65 Marine Highway corridor.The M-65 Marine Highway is a federally designated inland waterway corridor extending from Paducah…
Brim Explorer Orders Two Battery-Powered Trimarans
Tourism and technology company Brim Explorer has signed contracts for the construction of two efficient, battery-powered passenger vessels. The high-speed trimarans are scheduled for delivery in spring 2027.The two new trimarans have been developed by Brim Tech, Brim Explorer's in-house technology division, following the principle of "electric by design." This means the vessels are engineered from the ground up for electric propulsion…
Jotun-Coated Vessels See 11.8m Tons of Avoided CO₂ Emissions
Jotun, a leading manufacturer of marine coatings, reported an estimated 11.8 million tons of avoided CO₂ emissions for vessels coated with its products in 2025, an increase from 11.1 million tons from the year before. The result is verified based on an independent technical evaluation conducted by DNV.The verified avoided emissions is based on the average speed loss of the vessels included in the evaluation, compared to an industry benchmark referenced in ISO 19030.
Shipbuilder CEO Calls for a Sector Transition Towards Data-Driven Operations
Geert Schouten, CEO & owner of Shipbuilder:Why does more than half of all maritime projects run into trouble sooner or later? Documents, folders, version numbers…in our sector we still struggle with them every day. At countless shipyards and design offices, teams stumble over folder structures, endless searches for the right version, and long email chains. Is that real organization? It is organized chaos. And it costs us time, quality, and energy every single day.