Michael News

President Donald Trump's administration said on Monday that it had reached a deal to end two more U.S. offshore wind leases in exchange for $885 million in pledged investments in domestic fossil fuels.The projects, one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific, are managed by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between France's ENGIE and Portugal's EDP Renewables.The announcement comes a month after French energy giant TotalEnergies reached a similar agreement with the Interior Department to redirect $1 billion from offshore wind leases to U.S. oil and gas production.

Partners representing both labor and management have launched the USA Shipbuilding Coalition to urge Congress to take action to revitalize the critical American shipbuilding industry, including by passing the bipartisan SHIPS for America Act.This labor-management partnership will work to advance concrete actions to spur investment in and revitalization of America’s shipbuilding capacity, enhance the strength and utilization of domestic supply chains and ensure that the US can build, repair, maintain and man the vessels needed to restore U.S.

Gotland Horizon X is a 130-meter, 18,300-gt, 1,500-passenger, 400-car, 30-knot catamaran now under construction at Austal for delivery in summer 2028. Positioned as hydrogen-ready from day one, the vessel is not a technology demonstrator. It is a frontline Ro-Pax ferry designed to maintain timetable integrity while opening a credible pathway toward hydrogen. For ports and fuel suppliers, that distinction matters. Horizon X is less about a single vessel and more about what it signals: future-fuel ships are coming that will demand corresponding evolution ashore.Jonas Moberg…

Wall Street stock indexes edged up, oil prices tumbled and the dollar's safe haven appeal waned on Tuesday as investors looked past a U.S. blockade on Iran's ports to the prospect of an eventual resolution to the conflict.Negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran could return to Islamabad this week, four sources said, days after talks - held at the highest level between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic Revolution - ended in the Pakistani capital without a breakthrough.U.S.

Oil prices surged on Monday as the U.S. moved to impose a blockade on Iranian shipping after the collapse of weekend peace talks, while the dollar rose and stocks and bonds fell.The U.S. move, aimed at putting pressure on Tehran, leaves a fragile ceasefire hanging in the balance and no end in sight to the choke on Middle East energy exports - though the mood on trading floors leaned toward hoping for a resolution.Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 7% at $102 a barrel - a gain of more than 40% since the war shut navigation of the Strait of Hormuz.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that whatever the pressure, Britain would not be dragged into the Iran war nor be involved in a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz."We're not supporting the blockade," he told BBC Radio 5 Live, adding that it was vital to get the Strait reopened."It is, in my view, vital that we get the Strait open and fully open, and that's where we've put all of our efforts in the last few and we'll continue to do so," Starmer said.Britain had minesweepers in the region…

Gander Robotics, a defense and dual-use robotics company developing autonomous rescue systems for maritime operations, has closed a $1.1 million pre-seed funding round.The round was co-led by Impellent Ventures and Underscore VC, marking Gander's official launch.The company traces its origins to MIT Sloan, where Founder Michael Autery's deep domain expertise and 15 years of Naval experience and Co-Founder Lael Ayala's robotics expertise quickly attracted the attention of his investors, advisors, and defense stakeholders.In the U.S.

Tehran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Tuesday, despite a threat by President Donald Trump that the U.S. will obliterate Iran's energy plants if it does not agree to a peace deal and open the Strait of Hormuz.Authorities in Dubai said the fire on the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi had been brought under control following a drone attack, with no oil leak and no injuries to the crew. Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship's owner, said the vessel's hull was damaged.The attack was the latest on merchant vessels in the strait…

Iran attacked a fully-loaded crude oil tanker at Dubai Port's anchorage on Monday, setting it ablaze and damaging its hull, Kuwait's state news agency reported, citing Kuwait Petroleum Corp, which warned of a possible oil spill.The apparent strike is just the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air and sea drones in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.U.S. crude futures CLc1 rose more than…

The United Arab Emirates has told the U.S. and other Western allies it would participate in a multinational maritime taskforce to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.The UAE is trying to push dozens of countries to create a “Hormuz Security Force” to defend the strait from Iranian attacks and escort shipping, the report added.The UAE has faced more Iranian attacks than any other country in the region, including Israel.Several U.S.

Supply disruptions linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran could delay construction of liquefied natural gas projects slated for development in the U.S., Freeport LNG CEO Michael Smith said on Wednesday at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.The U.S. is the world’s largest LNG exporter and has more new capacity under construction than any other country.Smith said the conflict’s impact could extend beyond oil and gas supply chains, affecting key materials such as steel and…

The Dredging Contractors of America (DCA) is pleased to report another strong year for the U.S. dredging industry in Fiscal Year 2025, with $1.8 billion in federal dredging awards executed entirely by the American-owned, American-crewed, American-built Jones Act dredging fleet.According to Michael Gerhardt’s U.S. Dredging Report, FY2025 marked a transition year. While the prior year featured major deepening and widening projects in ports such as Norfolk, Brazos Island, Sabine, and Mobile, FY2025 saw fewer large-scale channel expansions.

Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime security and risk firms.The latest attacks on ships linked to the U.S. and Europe mark an escalation in the conflict between Iran and U.S.-Israeli forces, raising the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began to at least 16.Shipping in the Gulf and along the narrow Strait of Hormuz…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to escalate the war with Iran if it blocked oil shipments from the Middle East, even as he predicted a quick end to the conflict.Trump's warning came at the end of a day that saw global financial markets seesawing on concerns that Iran's security establishment was rallying behind new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and was not prepared to back down any time soon.Trump said the United States had inflicted serious damage on Iran's air force and navy and predicted the conflict would end well before the initial four-week time frame he had laid out…

German ferry operator TT-Line has revealed that its ro-ro passenger vessels, Nils Holgersson and Peter Pan, successfully operated on bio-LNG during 2025, enjoying a significant emissions reduction.The 230-metre vessels were commissioned in 2022 and 2023 respectively and are powered by 2 × 8L51/60DF + 2 × 6L51/60DF engines each. They trade in the Baltic Sea between Germany, Sweden, Poland and Lithuania.TT-Line and Everllence collaborated on continuous emission-measurements on board…

The dollar surged on Monday as soaring oil prices sent investors scrambling for cash on worries that a protracted Middle East war could severely disrupt energy supplies and hurt global growth.Against the surging greenback, the euro EUR= and sterling GBP= were down roughly 1% in Asia, while the Aussie AUD= and even the safe-haven Swiss franc CHF= similarly tumbled, as the dollar proved king."The U.S. dollar's finding no shortage of support from traditional haven considerations and obviously…

Japanese lawmakers reeling from attacks on Iran by the United States and Israel gathered on Monday at the ruling party's offices in Tokyo to question bureaucrats about evacuation plans, energy stocks and the legal basis for U.S. action.But one query posed at the closed-door meeting, described to Reuters by a politician who attended, reflected a deeper fear haunting Asia's corridors of power since Trump's weekend attacks unleashed chaos in the Middle East.How would the region respond…

NorthStandard has published a new white paper focusing on the accelerating adoption of biofuels in commercial shipping. ‘Biofuels – Driving the green transition’ brings together insights from NorthStandard, supplier World Fuel and leading testing agency Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS), in a unique discussion document outlining biofuel uptake, potential issues and loss prevention measures. Many owner-operators who seek a drop-in solution to drive maritime decarbonization choose biofuel blends.

US Hoists Corp has announced the appointment of Michael Cetta as Chief Operating Officer.A Center Moriches native, Cetta earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Farmingdale State College and brings an educational foundation and a proven record of leadership to his new role.With experience spanning business ownership, sales leadership, and project management, Cetta has demonstrated versatility across both small and large organizations. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer at A1 Roofing…

The captain of a Venezuela-linked crude oil tanker seized by the U.S. this month has been taken from British territorial waters and is now aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, a lawyer for the captain's wife said on Tuesday.The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. military special forces, bearing a judicial seizure warrant, apprehended the Russian-flagged Marinera in the Atlantic near Iceland on January 7 after pursuing it for more than two weeks as part of Washington's efforts to block Venezuelan oil exports.After its capture…

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has successfully completed builder’s sea trials for USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000).The Ingalls and Navy team conducted a comprehensive series of at-sea tests following an extensive modernization availability as the Navy’s first Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) platform.USS Zumwalt, the lead ship of the Zumwalt-class destroyers, arrived at the Pascagoula shipyard in August 2023 for modernization. Shortly after arrival, the ship was moved onto land where the Ingalls team completed major technology upgrades.

ABS and Fleetzero have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the technical requirements for containerized marine battery systems.The MoU establishes a framework for both organizations to consider designs and arrangements as well as develop testing mechanisms and quality control procedures to help ensure safety with new commercial approaches.“ABS provides industry‑leading guidance to support the adoption of marine battery systems. The next step is overcoming key barriers to deployment…

ABS and Siemens Energy have signed a joint development project (JDP) to advance the understanding of thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries through modeling and simulation, supporting safer and more reliable energy storage systems for the marine and offshore industries.The JDP brings together ABS’s technical expertise in classification, verification, and standards development with leadership from Siemens Energy in digital simulation and industrial technology innovation. The collaboration aims to create new insights into how lithium-ion battery systems behave under extreme conditions…