East Sea News

Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has signed a "Strategic Collaboration Agreement" with Equinor, Norway's largest energy company, to strengthen its competitiveness in the offshore EPC business.According to SHI, the two companies have recognized that a longer-term and closer collaboration on the future project portfolio could be mutually beneficial for Equinor's future projects requiring "Asian Solutions" over the next five years and will form a Collaboration Board to share opinions on mid-to long-term business strategies and expand cooperation.Based in Norway…

A next generation ultra large, liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carrier being developed in a groundbreaking project between ABS, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group (HHI), and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime Administrator is said to be the world’s largest in terms of LCO2 capacity.The 74,000cm3 design builds on the 40,000cm3 “super gap” technology developed in 2021 by HHI, which includes Hyundai Glovis, G-Marine service, and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co.…

The USS Abraham Lincoln strike group is operating in waters off the Korean peninsula, the U.S. Navy said on Tuesday, amid tensions over North Korea's missile launches and concerns that it could soon resume testing nuclear weapons."The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is conducting bilateral operations with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Sea of Japan," Commander Hayley Sims, a spokesperson for the Japan-based U.S. Seventh Fleet, said in a statement.This is the first time since 2017 that a carrier group has deployed to the waters between South Korea and Japan, and comes as U.S.

Vietnam protested on Friday against what it calls China's unilateral fishing ban in the disputed South China Sea from May 1 to Aug. 16, weeks after it said Vietnamese boat had been rammed by a Chinese maritime surveillance vessel.Vietnam and China have for years been embroiled in a dispute over the potentially energy-rich stretch of water, called the East Sea by Vietnam."Vietnam demands that China not further complicate the situation in the South China Sea," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement.(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Toby Chopra)

A Chinese ship embroiled in a standoff with Vietnamese vessels last year has returned to waters near Vietnam as the United States accused China of pushing its presence in the South China Sea while other claimants are pre-occupied with the coronavirus.Vietnamese vessels last year spent months shadowing the Chinese Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey vessel in resource-rich waters that are a potential global flashpoint as the United States challenges China's sweeping maritime claims.On Tuesday, the ship, which is used for offshore seismic surveys, appeared again 158 km (98 miles) off Vietnam's coast, within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), flanked by at least one China Coast Guard vessel…

Vietnam has lodged an official protest with China following the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat it said had been rammed by a Chinese maritime surveillance vessel near islands in the disputed South China Sea.The Vietnamese fishing vessel, with eight fishermen onboard, was fishing near the Paracel Islands on Thursday when it was rammed and sunk by the Chinese vessel, Vietnam's foreign ministry said in a statement posted on a government website on Saturday.All the fishermen were picked up by the Chinese vessel alive and were transferred to two other Vietnamese fishing vessels operating nearb

A Chinese survey vessel on Saturday extended its activities to an area closer to Vietnam's coastline, ship tracking data showed, after the United States and Australia expressed concern about China's actions in the disputed waterways.The Haiyang Dizhi 8 vessel first entered Vietnam's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) early last month where it began a weeks-long seismic survey, triggering a tense standoff between military and coastguard vessels from Vietnam and China.The Chinese vessel…

Vietnam on Friday accused a Chinese oil survey vessel and its escorts of violating its sovereignty and demanded that China remove the ships from Vietnamese waters.Vietnam and China have for years long been embroiled in a dispute over the potentially energy-rich stretch of waters in the South China Sea.On Wednesday, two U.S.-based think tanks reported that Chinese and Vietnamese vessels had engaged in a standoff lasting several weeks near an oil block in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone.

Vietnam's state oil firm PetroVietnam said on Friday that tension in the South China Sea will continue to weigh on its offshore operations this year.The company, formally known as Vietnam Oil and Gas Group targets to produce 12.37 million metric tonnes of crude oil this year, down 11.45 percent from last year's output, it said in a statement.Vietnam and China have been embroiled in maritime disputes in parts of the busy waterway, where China claims 90 percent of the potentially energy-rich maritime territory, which Vietnam calls the East Sea."The complicated developments in the East Sea have h

At this stage, the rescue operation is being taken care of by private fishing vessels, and our patrol boats have already arrived in the area. The damage to the Japanese fishing boat is minor and there has been no casualities.A South Korean trawler and a Japanese fishing boat collided in the Sea of Japan on Thursday (November 15) about 330 km (205 miles) northeast of an island claimed by both countries, officials said.Part of the 48-tonne South Korean trawler was submerged after the collision, which occurred at 9:38 a.m. local time (0038 GMT), a South Korean Coast Guard official said. All 13 sailors aboard the South Korean boat were rescued…

A ceremony raising the flag of the Russian Federation and naming a new multifunctional icebreaking platform supply vessel, Yevgeny Primakov, took place on February 3, 2018 in Saint Petersburg. The vessel was built by Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, a subsidiary of the United Shipbuilding Corporation; technical supervision was carried out by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS), which assigned the vessel a high ice class – Icebreaker6. Yevgeny Primakov’s design and construction…

Thirteen Chinese fishermen died after their boat collided with a Hong Kong oil tanker in international waters off Japan, state media Xinhua reported on Friday, citing sources at China's consulate in Osaka. Three people were found alive after Thursday's collision. It was not known if there was any damage to the tanker or what caused the accident. The two vessels collided 400 km (240 miles) north of the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, east of North Korea, state media reported. The identities of the victims have not yet been confirmed, Xinhua reported. The 290-tonne Chinese fishing vessel Lurong Yuanyu 378 had 16 people on board, according to the South China Morning Post.

Vietnam on Tuesday issued a strong condemnation of Chinese military live-fire exercises in the disputed South China Sea, amid rising tension between the two countries. The Maritime Safety Administration of China's southern province of Hainan, which oversees the South China Sea, said last month there would be live fire drills around the Paracel Islands, which Vietnam claims, until September 2. "Vietnam strongly objects this action by China and seriously requests China to respect Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagos," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement. "Vietnam once again asserts…

The problems that collapsed South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping could be just the tip of the iceberg. Its fleet is either stuck in ports or unable to dock, with port authorities fretting that the company will not be able to pay its bills. According to Business Korea,  the company’s 53 vessels – 48 container ships and 5 bulk carriers – were stranded indefinitely or blocked from ports at home and abroad. One vessel was seized by the ship owner. Hanjin Shipping’s 47 containers ships and three bulk carriers are denied access to ports in Sri Lanka and Vietnam, following the U.S., China, Japan and Spain, while two other bulk carriers are stranded on the East Sea and the Mediterranean.

Xiamen, People’s Republic of China, 24 May 2016 – Terex Port Solutions (TPS) notches up another success for its Terex Quaymate M50 mobile harbour crane. After the first machine in the world completely manufactured and assembled by the Chinese site of TPS in Xiamen was shipped to Australia in March this year, the leading South Korean logistics service provider CJ Korea Express (Korea Express) has now ordered two Quaymate M50 mobile harbour cranes for different terminals. In August 2016, the two 2-rope mobile harbour cranes with a maximum  lifting capacity of 50 t, a 20-t motor grab curve and an outreach of up to 36 m will be commissioned in the terminals of Korea Express located in Ulsan on the East Sea and Incheon on the Yellow Sea.

China has rejected a protest from Vietnam over a flight test it has conducted on a new airstrip on a man-made island in the South China Sea, saying it is part of China’s territory. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Saturday that the flight is to test whether the airfield facilities can meet civil aviation standards. “China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters. China will not accept the unfounded accusation from the Vietnamese side,” Hua said. Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said the test flight violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, breached mutual understanding and hurt the bilateral relations.

North Korea apparently failed to launch a ballistic missile from a submarine in a sign that Pyongyang has yet to master the technology, Yonhap news agency quoted a government official as saying. According to a source from the South Korean government, the failure took place in the Sea of Japan. North Korea is believed to have fired a KN-11 missile from a submarine in the East Sea roughly between 2:20 p.m. and 2:40 p.m., but the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) failed to soar from the waters, the official said. "The North appears to have failed in its launch," the official said, citing debris from the missile found on the ocean surface. The official asked not to be identified, citing the issue’s sensitivity.

All good things come in threes as Damen delivers the third vessel of the year, from the Damen Fast Ferry (DFFe) series to South Korean operators. Having already delivered the SeaStar 5 to existing customer Seaspovill earlier this year, two additional DFFe deliveries to new customers highlight the success of the series as well as Damen's broad portfolio directly available from stock. In May 2015, operator Daezer Shipping took delivery of a DFFe 4212 named ‘Sunrise’ from Damen Shipyards Singapore (DSSi). Delivered within three months of ordering, the vessel is powered by four MTU main engines (16V2000 M72) reaching a speed of over 40 knots. The Sunrise is currently operating a route of very popular tourist destinations on Koreas East-coast from the island of Ulleung to Dokdo.

China has again deployed the Haiyang Shiyou 981, a semi-submersible oil platform which caused a standoff between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels last year, to the disputed South China Sea region, reports local media. China has brought the deepwater oil rig  near Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands. The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration said on its website the oil rig is located at 17 degrees 03.75 minutes north latitude (17-03.75N) and 109 degrees 59.05 minutes east longitude (109-59.05E). According to Reuters the move comes soon after the country indicated it was close to setting up new outposts in the maritime heart of South-East Asia as it nears completion of land reclamation in the South China Sea. The announcement said the rig would explore for oil and gas until August 20.

North Korea has test-fired a new a new "ultra-precision" intelligent anti-ship cruise missile demonstrating the increased capability of its naval forces. The exercise was carried out by its East Sea fleet, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Images published by Pyongyang's newspaper today also showed leader Kim Jong-un observing the missile being fired from a small naval vessel. "The ultra-precision anti-ship rocket blasted off from a rocket boat. The intelligent rocket precisely sought, tracked and hit the 'enemy' ship after taking a safe flight," KCNA said, without giving a location or date. The rocket would soon be deployed across North Korea's navy, it said.

Will Malaysia’s chairmanship of Asean spur the establishment of a long-delayed maritime Code of Conduct (CoC), aimed at resolving territorial disputes between China and neighboring countries in the South China Sea? A report appeared in New Strait Times in Singapore says that the United States is hoping so as Malaysia this year takes over the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. ASEAN has long been criticized for being a predominantly state-led talk shop with little participation from the citizens of its members. Yet, recent developments in ASEAN suggest its approach may be shifting. As a founding member of Asean as well as a claimant in the South China Sea maritime dispute…

South Korean operator Seaspovill signed its second contract for a Fast Ferry with the Netherlands-based shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group. The Fast Ferry 4212 - to be named SEA STAR 5 - will operate between Mookho and Ulleung-Do at the East-coast of South Korea. The ferry is a high-speed catamaran passenger ferry. As Damen keeps this successful type of ferry on stock the vessel has a short delivery time. The Damen Fast Ferry 4212 catamaran is designed and built to comply with the international code of safety for High Speed Craft, 2000 HSC Code.

Yoon Sang-Jick, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) of Korea, held a meeting to check pending issues faced by Korean shipbuilding and offshore plant industry at Seoul Palace Hotel recently. The meeting was intended to examine current status of overseas and home industry and seek response proposals. Some 20 presidents from allied organizations attended, such as MOTIE, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MEL), shipbuilding and offshore plant industry…