Shipping News

Shipowners have already ordered more than twice as many supertankers this year as in all of 2025, a buying spree worth over $20 billion that is the biggest for at least 25 years, as the US-Iran war redraws trade routes and boosts demand for long-haul crude shipments.Data from Signal Group, a shipping analytics platform, show 217 Very Large Crude Carriers ordered so far in 2026, against 93 last year. Allied Shipbroking recorded 164 VLCC orders, up from 83. A VLCC carries about…

SGMF has published its latest Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on methanol as a marine fuel, highlighting the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential of renewable and synthetic methanol production pathways.The study evaluates 15 methanol production pathways and finds that methanol produced using renewable energy sources can deliver substantial emissions reductions.The publication follows SGMF's third edition LNG Life Cycle Assessment, released earlier this year, and its inaugural ammonia LCA, published in 2024.

Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz remained in the single digits at four on Tuesday, down from seven a day earlier, preliminary shipping data showed on Wednesday, falling well short of the 10-day average of 18.The drop in traffic through the waterway that handled one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply before the Iran war comes after attacks in the region intensified.Of the total on Tuesday, two ships were exiting and two were entering, according…

Shipping group Maersk said on Monday that four more of its joint container services with Germany's Hapag-Lloyd will resume sailings through the Suez Canal, as they gradually return to using the shortcut between Asia and Europe.The Asia-Europe trade corridor through the Suez Canal was abandoned by most shippers earlier this decade after attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthis, forcing ships to take the much longer trip around Africa."The Suez Canal is a vital maritime corridor between East and West and a key driver of efficient global supply chains," Denmark's Maersk said in a statement."By t

Starting in February and continuing into September 2026, the Antwerp office of COLI Group completed four project cargo shipments for their clients, end-clients, suppliers and partners in eight countries, including a used mobile crane, an industrial compressor, a metro railcar and a set of 90-tonne generators.The projects were as follows:COLI Antwerp moved a used Liebherr mobile crane from the Dutch village of Geertruidenberg, the Netherlands, to the port of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire…

XRG, ADNOC and SEFE have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore wider cooperation across the natural gas and LNG value chain, including supply, infrastructure and shipping opportunities aimed at Germany and the wider European market.The agreement covers potential cooperation in four areas: security of supply, market development and growth, supply chain resilience, and portfolio and shipping optimization.The companies will explore combining ADNOC's UAE-based supply and XRG's international supply sources with SEFE's market presence…

Saudi Arabia has shut down its East-West pipeline, after the vital oil conduit came under aerial attack in the widening Middle East war, threatening to send energy prices even higher.The world’s largest crude oil exporter said it temporarily closed the pipeline as a precaution after a drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate. Iraq dismissed a military commander on Saturday in response to the attack.The 1,200-km…

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Friday reached the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, four Yemeni government sources told Reuters, potentially tightening their grip on one of the world's vital shipping routes and further increasing the threat to energy markets in the widening Middle East war.Earlier, two sources from the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government said its forces had withdrawn from Perim and that the Houthis had also taken the mainland Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab…

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants have seized control of the historic port city of Mocha, four government military sources said, ina strategic shift that could threaten the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world's most important shipping routes.Fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces has intensified in recent days, with the militant group shifting its focus to control over Yemen's long coastline instead of just the north, putting them in a stronger position to disrupt maritime trade.The group has launched attacks on the strategic Red Sea islands of Hanish…

Iran has suspended a 10% charge on freight fees for foreign vessels carrying imported or exported oil, gas and liquid petroleum products to and from Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday.A U.S. naval blockade has sharply disrupted the country's seaborne oil exports.(Reuters - Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Hapag-Lloyd is working with the Israeli government on improvements to its proposed $4.2 billion cash purchase of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, the German shipping group said on Monday.The proposed deal has faced heavy opposition in Israel, including ZIM's workers, Defence Minister Israel Katz and other government officials, who argue that it undermines national security by transferring Israel's shipping to a foreign company."We are now developing an improved proposal designed to further strengthen Israel's maritime security and independence…

Iran threatened the United States with "economic warfare" on Tuesday and said it had fired an advanced missile at U.S. warships, underscoring the risks of further escalation in the war only days after both sides traded blows again.The six-month-old war has been marked by a cycle of pauses followed by periodic flare-ups, with the U.S. last reporting attacks on Iranian targets on Saturday, when U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers. Iranian state media on Sunday reported that Iran fired the Qassem Basir missile.Despite U.S.

An average of 10 commodity ships transited the Strait of Hormuz per day over the past 10 days, the lowest since May, according to shipping data on Monday, after U.S. and Iranian strikes on tankers.The 10-day moving average was 10 on Sunday, down from more than 15 on Friday and nearly 13 on Saturday, data from analytics firm Kpler found.Only two vessels passed through the strait on Saturday while six went through on Sunday, mostly using the Iranian route.U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, U.S.

German shipowners and operators representing 146 vessels from 41 companies were recognized at the ABS-supported AMVER Awards for their role in maintaining maritime safety and their commitment to assisting in search and rescue activities anywhere in the world.Held in conjunction with the SMM maritime conference, the ceremony recognized vessels that contribute to the unique AMVER reporting system, which supports search and rescue efforts for distress calls at sea. Germany ranked 10th in the world in AMVER awards…

Kongsberg Maritime and a consortium of leading Norwegian maritime companies and research institutions have launched WINTEGRATE, a project aimed at accelerating the adoption of wind propulsion in commercial shipping.The project has been awarded up to USD$7.3 million (NOK 68 million) through Norway's Green Platform program.WINTEGRATE will develop technologies and methodologies that integrate Wind Assisted Propulsion Systems (WAPS), such as rotor sails and suction wings, with ship propulsion, power management, routing and control systems.

Earlier this summer, PIRIOU delivered the Atlantis to NEWTOWT, a new French shipping company formed after the takeover of TOWT. As the third sailing cargo vessel in the fleet and the first vessel delivered to the new shipowner, the Atlantis joins the Anémos and Artémis, both of which were delivered by PIRIOU in 2024.After leaving the PIRIOU shipyard in Vietnam in early August, the Atlantis is currently making a stopover at Le Port in Reunion Island to take on supplies at Quay 8, opposite the new TITAN dock at the Grand Port Maritime de La Réunion (GPMDLR).

Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat company, has launched a new Maritime Safety Data Hub, providing the maritime industry with unique insights as well as direct access to the comprehensive analysis of risks shaping global shipping.Drawing on a dataset combining three years of Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) data with an industry-first analysis of 106,975 maritime safety broadcasts transmitted in 2025, the new platform offers visibility into the conditions influencing maritime risk.

The following article is an op-ed piece from Andrei Barotov and Kristiina Peterson, Chief Specialists of Maritime Competitiveness at the Estonian Transport AdministrationLeveraging its ‘e-Estonia’ digital society initiative, the government of Estonia is preparing to extend the digital reach of EST Flag ship registration services, while also expanding its tonnage eligibility. Andrei Barotov and Kristiina Peterson, Chief Specialists of Maritime Competitiveness at the Estonian Transport Administration…

Four shipowners from Sweden, Norway and Canada have ordered four new VINGA product tankers for delivery in 2028 and 2029, expanding the Furetank-developed vessel series to 26 ships.Two of the vessels will be owned by FureBear, a joint venture between Sweden's Furetank and Canada's Algoma Central Corporation, while Norway's O.H. Meling and Sweden's Älvtank will each take one.The order marks O.H. Meling's first investment in the VINGA series, while Älvtank already owns three of the vessels.The four 17,999-dwt product tankers will be built at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou, China.

The Iran war's redrawing of the global trade map is forcing Gulf nations to retool their investment play book, ploughing capital into infrastructure, from energy pipelines to ports, to weather the fallout from the conflict.The war has highlighted the Gulf's overreliance on the Strait of Hormuz, previously a chokepoint for 20% of global oil flows but also subject for decades to Iranian threats of disruption.With the strait virtually blocked for much of the past six months, a burst…

Iran is preparing a list of conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz after mediators asked Tehran to set them out, said Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, adding that ending the regional war was among them.Rezaei said Iran had agreed with Oman on a shipping corridor through the strait, with parts of the route in Omani waters and parts in Iranian waters. Ships would use a designated central channel if the U.S. met Iran's conditions, he said through an interpreter in an Al Manar TV interview.On Wednesday…

Shipping traffic at the Strait of Hormuz rose slightly even as a standoff persisted between the United States and Iran, data showed on Thursday, while the market monitored Iran-Oman talks about the waterway.Visible commodity vessel transits at Hormuz totalled 10 on Wednesday, up slightly from eight on Tuesday, data from Kpler showed.

SHIPPINGInsight confirmed that Captain Stephen Carmel, U.S. Maritime Administrator, will deliver the opening keynote address at SHIPPINGInsight’s PROJECT 2027: Catalyzing the U.S. Maritime Industry into Action, powered by AMIC (American Maritime Industrial Coalition), to be held October 13, 2026, in Houston, Texas. His remarks, entitled “State of Play for U.S. Maritime,” will assess the current condition of the nation’s maritime capabilities and outline priorities for the industry going forward.The address comes as federal agencies…