Shipping News

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) have launched a joint research grant call to develop solutions to support the decarbonization of international shipping.The joint grant call brings together the research, technology and industry capabilities of Singapore’s and Norway’s maritime innovation ecosystems to address shared technological and operational challenges and develop solutions applicable across international shipping.

AskChief Specialised Al for maritime Technical and HSQE teams announced that it is opening its platform to the wider market after surpassing 100 vessels in under a year of live use with shipowners and ship managers. Shipping companies have the knowledge they need, but it is fragmented across manuals, SMS, vessel records, past cases and experienced people. Teams waste time rebuilding context, while lessons from one vessel may never reach the next.AskChief makes that knowledge usable in the task.

Yangzijiang Maritime Development has placed orders for 11 new vessels at Chinese shipyards, expanding its newbuilding portfolio to 111 vessels, including options and previously delivered ships.The latest orders comprise four bulk carriers of approximately 82,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT) each and seven Long-Range 2 (LR2) tankers of approximately 114,000 DWT each, with deliveries scheduled for 2029 and 2030.The bulk carrier orders also include options for two additional vessels of similar specifications.Following the new orders…

After seven strikes on cargo ships near NATO members Romania and Bulgaria last month, the US-led military alliance said it would deploy maritime patrol aircraft, radars and drones to bolster its eastern flank in the Black Sea.Three days later, on October 23, another ship was struck just outside Romanian waters. And last week a Greek container ship was sunk by naval drones in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.Unabating attacks show how the escalating maritime war between Russia…

Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) has named nine new gas carriers at three South Korean shipyards, marking progress in its fleet expansion programs aimed at increasing LNG transportation capacity and diversifying into LPG/ammonia shipping.The naming ceremonies, announced on November 2, took place at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Samho, covering seven LNG carriers and two LPG/ammonia carriers.Five of the LNG carriers form part of Nakilat's 25-vessel…

Singapore-based Asia Break Bulk (ABB), part of Hamburg-based COLI Group, has signed long-term agreements with Schoeller Holdings for four new multipurpose heavy-lift vessels, with the first scheduled for delivery in October 2028.The four 12,600-DWT Octopus-type vessels, designed by CSSC-SDARI, will each feature two 250-tonne cranes capable of tandem lifts of up to 500 tonnes, expanding ABB's project cargo transportation capabilities.Each vessel will have a single box-shaped cargo hold measuring more than 89 meters in length…

Boluda Shipping and Samskip have signed an agreement under which Boluda Shipping will acquire Samskip. The acquisition will pave the way for Europe’s most comprehensive short-sea shipping network, connecting Northern Europe with the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands and West Africa.Boluda brings maritime heritage, a strong position in towage, an established container shipping business and expertise in port logistics, while Samskip contributes its established position in Northern Europe…

Global commodity prices are set to surge 23% in 2026, the World Bank said on Wednesday, citing rising energy prices and disruptions to cargo shipping during the Middle East war, grain shipment problems in the Black Sea and high demand for safe-haven assets such as gold.Oil, natural gas, food and metals prices all rose sharply this year as global shocks mounted, the World Bank said in its latest Commodity Markets Outlook. It said the situation could worsen if the conflict in the…

India has approved a $1.05 billion (100 billion rupee) scheme aimed at increasing domestic shipping container manufacturing capacity around tenfold to 750,000 TEUs annually, as the country seeks to reduce import dependence and strengthen its maritime supply chains.The Container Manufacturing Promotion Scheme (CMPS), approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 28, will support the establishment of new manufacturing facilities and expansion of existing production units.The initiative…

The Swedish industrial Group Stena AB, owner of ferry operator Stena Line, has entered into an agreement to acquire the Norwegian shipping company Color Line, subject to regulatory approval. The transaction will bring together two companies with complementary operations in European passenger and freight transport, creating added value and benefits for both companies’ customers.Following completion, Stena intends for Color Line to continue as a separate, independent business and brand, with local management in Norway and Norwegian-registered ships.

Shipping through Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta was stable and grain exports had increased by end-September, the port authority said, despite a spike in marine insurance premiums driven by increased attacks on cargo vessels.In September, London's marine insurance market widened the area in the Black Sea it lists as high risk, as Russia's war in Ukraine escalated, with only the territorial waters of Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey exempted.The Black Sea is a vital route for grain…

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said on Thursday that four vessels involved in illegal oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf were simultaneously hit and caught fire after being tracked by its forces on Wednesday.The IRGC added that three more vessels collided with mines west of the Strait of Hormuz, and warned the US military that continued provocations could lead to a wider response against its regional bases.(Reuters - Reporting by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Norwegian energy company Equinor and Sharjah National Oil Corporation (SNOC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore cooperation in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas liquids (NGL) shipping, storage, trading and logistics in the United Arab Emirates.The agreement, announced on October 20, establishes a framework for assessing potential business opportunities across the downstream oil and gas sector.The companies will evaluate cooperation in infrastructure…

Shippers' appetite for lower-carbon marine fuels weakened this year as the fate of a regulatory emissions framework from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) remained cloudy while some are using carbon credits, industry executives said.IMO member nations are set to meet by early November on the formal adoption of a net-zero framework to guide the industry towards zero carbon emissions by 2050, after last year's vote to delay the move.Demand for marine biofuel, a more readily available alternative fuel on which shippers have focused more…

Gulf markets ended lower on Thursday as the Houthis threatened more attacks on Saudi Arabia, putting the country's benchmark index on track for a sixth weekly loss.The Saudi index dropped 0.3%, pulled down by a 3.1% slide in ACWA Power Company and 0.4% fall in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco.On Wednesday, Yemen's Houthis pledged to keep attacking airports and oil facilities in the kingdom. The threat came a day after a Houthi strike caused extensive damage to Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran…

JPMorganChase has added two senior leaders to support shipbuilding and maritime efforts within its Security and Resiliency Initiative (SRI), the firm's $1.5 trillion, 10-year effort focused on strengthening industries critical to economic and national security. Chryssa Rask has joined the firm to lead SRI's shipbuilding efforts and support its broader work across supply chain and advanced manufacturing. Most recently, she was an investor with Cerberus Capital Management's Supply Chain Fund, where she focused on companies and technologies that strengthen supply-chain resilience and U.S.

After investigating reports of restrictive port practices by the Government of Spain, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has determined that Spain has created unfavorable shipping conditions against U.S.-flagged vessels. As a result, the FMC is proposing remedies to counteract those unfavorable conditions, including charging fees for all Spanish-flagged vessels and restricting the import of certain Spanish goods.The FMC initiated an investigation in December 2024 to determine whether Spain is creating general or special conditions unfavorable to shipping in U.S.

Iran is deploying new tactics to target ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz as it seeks to keep oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections, two senior Iranian officials told Reuters.Tehran has tried to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28. It has restricted passage through the waterway, which carried about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade before the war, in an effort to gain leverage over Washington.Its threats and attacks have severely curtailed traffic through the strait…

Iran is still reviewing a US response to its proposal regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and will reply to Washington via intermediaries when the review is over, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.Baghaei also told a press conference that Iran continues to exchange messages via intermediaries, without elaborating. Qatar and Pakistan, among others, have acted as mediators in efforts to end the war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.After a June interim ceasefire crumbled and on-off strikes resumed…

Windward publishes quarterly intelligence reports tracking developments across global shipping.From the Q3 report:Four navies struck merchant ships, including Iran, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.Iranian attacks in the Middle East Gulf doubled to 45. Black Sea attacks quadrupled to about 86.The Houthis declared a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping, and Bab el-Mandeb traffic fell by a quarter.The Gulf recorded at least 12 conflict-related oil spillsFalsely flagged ships are up 39% since January.

Transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz deemed illegal by Iran will soon be closed, an adviser to the Revolutionary Guards' Commander told the semi-official Fars News Agency on Wednesday, referring to the southern pathway hugging Oman's coast.Mohammadreza Naqdi said these "few routes" had been created by blasting and damaging some of the rocky passages in the strategic waterway and were used by "small boats smuggling oil and transferring it to tankers", challenging the narrative that Gulf oil exports are regaining pre-war levels."The Strait of Hormuz is closed…

Twelve crew members were injured after an unknown projectile struck Panama-flagged oil tanker On Peace while it was passing through the Strait of Hormuz, India's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.A tanker was attacked on Monday causing a fire in its engine room, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported without naming the vessel."With the assistance of Omani authorities, the injured crew have since been evacuated and are receiving medical treatment in Khasab, Oman," the foreign ministry said in a statement.Eleven of the 12 injured crew members are Indian nationals, it said, a

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday as the market weighed supply constraints from a storm heading for US oil-producing regions and attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabia against increased supplies of Middle East crude.Brent futures LCOc1 rose 81 cents, or 0.8%, to $101.39 a barrel by 0635 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 gained 61 cents, or 0.7%, to $90.05 a barrel.US forecasters said on Tuesday a storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico would become…