Arm News

China is providing moorage for a U.S.-sanctioned Russian cargo ship implicated in North Korean arms transfers to Russia, according to satellite images obtained by Reuters, as U.S. concerns grow over Beijing's support for Moscow's war in Ukraine.Britain's Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank said the Russian vessel Angara, which since August 2023 has moved to Russian ports thousands of containers believed to contain North Korean munitions, has been anchored at a Chinese…

Malaysia’s MISC Group has entered into time charter party (TCP) and shipbuilding contracts for the development of world’s first two ammonia dual-fuel Aframax oil tankers.The TCP contract has been signed with Petronas' PETCO Trading Labuan Company (PTLCL), through MISC Group's petroleum arm AET.Using these vessels, PTLCL will be able to transport its products to customers around the world while contributing to the industry decarbonization by utilizing ammonia as the cleaner alternative…

U.S. sanctions are limiting tanker activity for Russia's top shipping group, Sovcomflot, the company's head said on Tuesday, as Washington tightens the screws on Moscow.The U.S. imposed sanctions on Sovcomflot on Feb. 23 as Washington seeks to reduce Russia's revenues from oil sales that it can use to support its military actions in Ukraine.Sanctions have impacted the company's operations, "limiting our geography and commercial prospects", Sovcomflot CEO Igor Tonkovidov told reporters.He added that as sanctions are a relatively new instrument to the shipping market…

Salvage crews worked to lift the first piece of Baltimore's collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge from the water on Saturday to allow barges and tugboats to access the disaster site, Maryland and U.S. officials said, the first step in a complex effort to reopen the city's blocked port.The steel truss bridge collapsed early on Tuesday morning, killing six road workers, when a massive container ship lost power and crashed into a support pylon. Much of the span crashed into the Patapsco River…

As a speed boat carrying more than a dozen Somali pirates bore down on their position in the western Indian Ocean, the crew of a Bangladeshi-owned bulk carrier sent out a distress signal and called an emergency hotline.No one reached them in time. The pirates clambered aboard the Abdullah, firing warning shots and taking the captain and second officer hostage, Chief Officer Atiq Ullah Khan said in an audio message to the ship's owners."By the grace of Allah no one has been harmed so far," Khan said in the message, recorded before the pirates took the crew's phones.

Rising oil tanker chartering rates due to global shipping disruption are forcing oil shippers to take on longer-term shipping charters, executives said this week at an energy conference in Houston.The global oil tanker fleet must now travel further to get crude to refineries and fuel to consumers. European sanctions have forced Russian exporters to send oil to Asia that would have otherwise gone to Europe. Attacks on vessels in the Red Sea have forced some shippers to sail around…

The Dutch government on Friday said it had picked French defense company Naval Group to build four new submarines in coming decades in a long-brewing deal seen by politicians as a potential lifeline for the national shipbuilding industry.The government said the first two submarines would be operational within the next 10 years. It did not specify the exact value of the multi-billion euro contract.The submarines will be of a size to both operate in shallow waters and take part in missions far from base.The agreement still has to be approved by the Dutch parliament…

ScoutDI has added an ultrasonic thickness measurements (UTM) payload, complete with in-flight A-scan, to the capabilities of its end-to-end inspection data solution for the Scout 137 drone.The product is suitable for offshore applications where drones are becoming common for visual inspection and steel plate thickness sampling must be done regularly to monitor e.g. the effects of corrosion over time.Adding the UTM payload enables the Scout 137 drone to collect location-tagged…

Dozens of oil tankers used by Russia have stopped sailing under the Liberian and Marshall Islands flags in recent weeks after the United States ramped up sanctions enforcement on ships linked to those registries, according to shipping data and interviews with industry and government officials.The shift reflects the close relationship between the U.S. and the flag administration companies of Liberia and the Marshall Islands, which are headquartered not in their home countries, but in Virginia, just miles from Washington D.C. and within the jurisdiction of U.S.

The Dutch government on Friday said it would replace nearly its entire navy fleet in the coming 15 years, in a project worth several billion euros that it said would mainly benefit Dutch industry.A large part of the project would consist of the replacement of four air defense frigates, the government said, confirming an earlier report by RTL Nieuws.The government said it would work closely with Dutch industry in building the ships, with large roles for shipbuilder Damen and the Dutch arm of French defense company Thales, which would likely supply radar and missile guidance systems."This will s

Yara and GHC SAOC, a wholly owned subsidiary of India’s Acme Cleantech, have signed a binding agreement for the supply of ammonia with reduced CO2 emissions from Acme to Yara on a long-term basis.Both companies had previously signed a non-binding offtake Term Sheet and the current agreement concludes 18 months of negotiations during which the regulatory framework and certification regime have evolved significantly, creating a suitable environment for such long-term contracts.The long-term offtake agreement covers the supply of 100…

The Coast Guard has struggled for years to recruit and retain a sufficient workforce. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the non-partisan, fact-based arm of the Congress, has published multiple reports related to the Coast Guard’s workforce including recruitment and retention challenges. Three of these reports published in 2022 and 2023 have resulted in 17 GAO recommendations to address these issues, but as of today, 16 remain open and need to be addressed. Implementing…

Marine Towing of Tampa announced it is expanding its ship assist services to Florida's east coast following a deal with E.N. Bisso & Son to acquire towing assets formerly owned by SEACOR Holdings' Seabulk arm.In September 2023, SEACOR divested its U.S. harbor towing operations, selling to Bisso 12 tugs across ports in Florida and Alabama.Under a recently executed asset purchase agreement with Bisso, Marine Towing of Tampa acquired the Port Canaveral operations and assets from the SEACOR-Bisso deal and will operate them in Canaveral under a newly formed affiliate…

Windward Offshore has exercised its option for the design and construction for two additional hybrid commissioning service operation vessels (CSOV) from Vard.Windward Offshore, a consortium led by ASSC's offshore arm SeaRenergy Group in Germany, announced its initial order for two CSOVs from Vard in October 2023. Other founding partners behind the venture include Blue Star Group, Diana Shipping Inc. and SeraVerse."Windward Offshore is pleased to announce the execution of the options for two further VARD 4 19 CSOVs…

QatarEnergy, the world's second largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, has stopped sending tankers via the Red Sea although production continues, a senior source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday.Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group has since November been attacking vessels in the Red Sea, part of a route that accounts for about 12% of the world's shipping traffic, in what they say is an effort to support Palestinians in the war with Israel.At least four tankers used to carry Qatari LNG were held up over the weekend after U.S.

Italian shipowner Fratelli Cosulich and PETCO Trading Labuan Company Limited (PTLCL), a trading arm of Malaysian energy company Petronas, have signed a two-year charter agreement for Paolina Cosulich LNG bunker barge.Operating under PTLCL, a global energy solutions provider in key bunker hubs with network in Southeast Asia, Japan, Middle East and South Africa, Paolina Cosulich will cater to the increasing demand for LNG as bunker fuel in the Straits.Fratelli Cosulich’s latest LNG bunger barge features a cargo capacity of 8…

Italy would like a political decision made to create an EU maritime security mission for the Red Sea by next week so that it can become operational as soon as possible, its foreign minister said on Wednesday.European Union member states gave initial backing on Tuesday to the mission to protect ships from attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia in the Red Sea on concern that disruption in one of the world's top trading arteries could hit the global economy.A U.S.-led mission is already operating in the region.The objective of EU states was to establish their mission by Feb.

German utility RWE on Jan. 1 handed over floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure at Brunsbuettel on the North Sea to state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET) as agreed when first imports arrived 10 months ago, it said.DET is now the sole operational manager and markets the capacity of the Brunsbuettel Elbehafen LNG project.Germany's quest to increase LNG capacity for regasification on its shores has intensified as it seeks to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas…

Four tankers used for shipments of Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) have resumed course after pausing for several days amid maritime attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis in the Red Sea, LSEG shiptracking data showed on Tuesday.The Houthi attacks, in what they call a bid to support Palestinians in the war with Israel, have disrupted trade on the main East-West route that makes up about 12% of global shipping traffic.On Monday, the Houthi movement vowed to widen its targets in the Red Sea region to U.S. ships, following U.S.

A number of container ships are anchored in the Red Sea and others have turned off tracking systems as traders adjust routes and prices in response to maritime attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on the world's main East-West trade route.Attacks in recent days on ships in the major Red Sea shipping route have raised the spectre of another bout of disruption to international commerce following the upheaval of the COVID pandemic, and prompted a U.S.-led international force to patrol waters near Yemen.The Red Sea is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal…

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) will receive $73.77 million from the federal government to assist in building the Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) project, which will provide a gateway for cargo movement on U.S. inland waterways including the Mississippi River.The U.S. Department of Transportation has alerted Congress that it intends to award this funding through its MEGA Grant Program, which will support the first phase of the overall $1.8 billion project’s construction and is in addition to significant funding commitments from private industry partners and Port NOLA.

Senator Wesley Livsey Jones gave his name to the famous “Jones Act” governing U.S. domestic maritime trade. But what do really know about him? It turns out that he was much more than a leading merchant marine policy maker. (i)Jones had a long career in the U.S. House of Representatives before he was a Senator, was an effective legislator, an astute politician, one of the hardest working legislators of his era, and always viewed as honest and forthright. His many maritime legislative successes included the Merchant Marine Act…

Vitol says it successfully completed its first biofuel deliveries in Fujairah.Through its wholly-owned bunker arm, Vitol Bunkers, two vessels received B24 VLSFO on December 8 and 14. The fuel was sourced from its Fujairah-based refinery FRL and blended with regionally-sourced biofuel at VTTI storage facilities.