Inspection Repair Maintenance News

The United States and French energy major TotalEnergies said on Monday they would redirect nearly $1 billion from offshore wind leases to U.S. oil and natural gas production.The agreement marks a new strategy in the Trump administration's wide-ranging effort to stymie development of U.S. offshore wind projects, which President Donald Trump has said he finds ugly, costly and inefficient.His administration has moved to increase domestic fossil fuel production and scrap policies…

PPG announced the completion of its 200th vessel dry docking using electrostatic application of marine fouling control coatings, nearly three years after introducing the technique to the global shipping market.The project was completed on the Stena Britannica, a passenger and roll-on/roll-off cargo vessel operated by Stena Line, one of the world’s largest ferry companies, at the EDR Antwerp shipyard in Belgium. The team applied PPG SIGMAGLIDE 2390 fouling release coating, a silicone-based…

Seadrill has announced that Sonadrill Holding, its 50:50 joint venture with an affiliate of Sonangol E.P., has been awarded a contract extension.A seven-well priced option for the ultra-deepwater drillship Sonangol Quenguela has been exercised, extending operations in Angola by approximately 480 days and committing the rig into June 2028.Seadrill earns a management fee for providing management, operational and technical support to Sonadrill.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has authorized an immediate 13% increase in exports at Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG Terminal in Louisiana.The authorization allows additional exports of up to 0.45 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of U.S. natural gas as LNG to non-free trade agreement (FTA) countries from the Plaquemines LNG Terminal.Plaquemines LNG is now authorized to immediately export a total of 3.85 Bcf/d to both FTA and non-FTA countries.“At a time when Iran and its terrorist proxies attempt to disrupt the global energy supply…

Bernhard Schulte Offshore (BSO) has taken delivery of a new commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV). The Windea Carnot, which was built at Ulstein Verft in Norway on behalf of an institutional investor, was handed over to its new owner, BSO, following completion.The Windea Carnot is the third of three sister ships built at Ulstein that BSO has integrated into its modern offshore fleet since the middle of last year. BSO now operates six specialized vessels serving the global offshore energy industry.“The offshore market offers promising prospects.

Major industry announcements and new product launches continued to drive significant visitor numbers and plentiful business activity as Oceanology International 2026 (Oi26) surpassed expectations on the second day at Excel London.Among the companies taking center stage, expanding platform OceanSight used Oi to unveil its new collection of ocean technology brands built to advance marine sensing and subsea intelligence, celebrating an exciting new chapter focused on accelerating innovation and strategic growth.OceanSight…

Jan De Nul has selected Ulstein Design & Solutions to provide the vessel design for a new subsea trenching vessel that will be added to the company’s offshore fleet.The vessel, scheduled for delivery in 2028, will be based on a proven subsea vessel platform adapted to support large-scale trenching operations.Subsea trenching involves creating protective channels on the seabed to bury pipelines, power cables and telecommunications lines.The vessel design will feature a modular configuration allowing it to support activities across several offshore sectors…

2025 was a year of recalibration, continuing the softness experienced since the fourth quarter of 2024. Rather than a slowdown, this period can be better described as a collective deep breath as the industry prepares for the next upcycle in the Asian Pacific region.Compared to 2024, the composite dayrates, calculated as a weighted average across size categories, declined by approximately 16% for PSVs and 14% for AHTS vessels. In tandem, utilization also softened, with the number of working vessels down 19% and 8% respectively…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has agreed to jointly own two commissioning service operation vessels (CSOVs) with Cyprus-based shipping company Schoeller Holdings, marking the Japanese company’s first entry into the European offshore wind support vessel market.The vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2027. MOL has also decided to invest in Germany-based offshore vessel developer and operator Deutsche Offshore Schifffahrt (DOS), which will operate the ships.The move expands MOL’s offshore wind vessel business beyond Asia…

Deutsche Offshore Schifffahrt (DO) has started construction of a new fleet of construction commissioning service operation vessels (C-CSOVs), with the first steel cut for the lead vessel DO Joule at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou, China.The vessel is the first in a series of four ships ordered by Schoeller Holdings, with all vessels to be built to identical specifications.Columbia Shipmanagement will provide technical management of the vessels, while DO will act as developer…

Seadrill Limited, an offshore drilling contractor, Kongsberg Maritime AS, a global technology leader, and Hanwha Drilling, a provider of offshore drilling services, announced a strategic alliance to develop the next generation of remote Dynamic Positioning (DP) technology in offshore drilling.This collaboration represents a shared commitment to defining a global operating model for the future of DP operations for the industry. The initiative will develop the technical and regulatory…

Strategic Marine has delivered the first two Supa Swath crew transfer vessels (CTVs) to Mainprize Offshore, marking the initial handover under a multi-vessel contract signed at in June 2024.The deliveries represent the first two vessels in a program covering six Supa Swath vessels, with options for a further six units. The contract supports Mainprize Offshore’s fleet expansion for offshore renewables operations across Europe.The program follows an earlier collaboration in 2024…

Japanese shipping major NYK Line has completed the basic design of a new long-distance subsea cable-laying vessel intended to support the development of Japan’s future high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission network, marking a key milestone in a national effort to strengthen offshore renewable energy infrastructure.The vessel’s design recently received General Design Approval (GDA) from classification society ClassNK, confirming that the concept meets relevant international…

Palumbo Group’s Naples facility has successfully completed the refit of the LPG/C Rhourd El Fares.The 174‑meter LPG/C, 23,059 GT, arrived with an extensive scope of work, ranging from mechanical systems to coatings.Engineers coordinated multiple technical teams engaged in dry‑docking operations, mechanical works and, in particular, main‑engine maintenance and generator tuning. Specialist crews carried out the removal and dismantling of the 13‑ton propeller and the complete treatment of the vessel’s steel surfaces.For this project…

DRIFT Energy, a leader in ocean-based renewable energy, has signed a collaboration agreement with Enapter to adapt the design of their Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) electrolyzer technology for deployment at sea. The agreement was formalized during a visit by DRIFT’s CEO, Ben Medland, to Enapter’s production facility in Pisa, Italy, this week.The partnership will accelerate development of the energy storage element of DRIFT’s technology ecosystem, paving the way for the production of over 30 energy ships currently on the company’s order book.

Last month, Hydrex carried out an underwater bow thruster operation on a ferry in Stockholm, in the middle of winter. The operation was scheduled to take place during a planned break in the ferry’s timetable, allowing Hydrex to work without disrupting the vessel’s service and without the need for a drydock visit.Hydrex worked closely with the crew to make sure everything aligned with their operational planning. To prepare for the job, they mobilized a truck loaded with equipment from their office in Antwerp, while the rest of the team flew in separately.

After a softer 2025, floater backlog is strengthening for 2026 and beyond, driven by early contracting, strong South American demand, and a growing pipeline of 2027+ programs.By the close of 2025, total floating rig backlog days had fallen 25% compared with 2024. This was in large part due to few contract awards coming out of Brazil, the world’s biggest user of floating rigs. As of the end of January 2026 however, the number of rig days already booked for this year is up 4% from…

The diplomatic route in Iran is now exhausted, as last night the United States and Israel attacked Iran, sharply escalating security risks for commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters, prompting immediate operational and insurance repercussions across the global maritime sector.According to Jakob Larsen, Chief Safety & Security Officer at BIMCO, the attacks “dramatically increase the security risk to ships operating in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters,” particularly for vessels with business ties to U.S.

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has announced it has launched IMCA Skills, their leading, digital, learning hub, which will now be the go-to place for the marine industry’s competence and development needs.The first product on the new platform is the migration of the Dynamic Positioning continuing professional development learning program which is designed to be the first step in bringing all their CPD content together in the secure and easy-to-use platform which will offer improved learning and user experience.It is designed to make professional development simpler…

Altech Corporation has introduced a line of pluggable terminal blocks that enable simple and fast installations, field wiring and equipment test setups.These compact, pluggable terminal blocks combine accurate, secure wire connections with simplicity and time savings.Pluggable terminal blocks are a truly hybrid technology, combining the security of a spring clamp connection with a plug connection to make disconnection and reconnection fast and easy without the connection errors often caused by vibrations, configuration issues or poor manual assembly.

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 13,000 tonnes and total displacement of 18,800 tonnes.It is…

Malaysia-based offshore support vessel (OSV) builder Nam Cheong has secured shipbuilding contracts worth $64.5 million from a UAE-based global energy maritime logistics company for the construction of four offshore support vessels, marking its first newbuild contract win in over a decade.The order comprises two dive support vessels (DSVs) and two 60-meter remote operated landing crafts (ROLC), with deliveries scheduled between the second half of 2027 and early 2028. All four vessels will be constructed at Nam Cheong’s Miri Yard in Sarawak…

DOF Group has entered into an agreement to purchase the very high-end AHTS vessels Aurora Saltfjord and Aurora Sandefjord.The vessels are 2011-built and feature a bollard pull of almost 400 metric tonnes, making them among the most powerful AHTS vessels globally.The vessels are among the most recently built in their segment (AHTS >300mt bollard pull), a segment which sees no newbuilding activity due to prohibitive newbuilding costs. DOF sees a very strong market outlook for projects that require high-end AHTS vessels in the years to come…