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Vehicle Carrier News

27 Feb 2024

Japan Continues to Lead Shipowner Rankings

© Carabay / Adobe Stock

VesselsValue has unveils this year’s top 10 shipowning nations, reviewing the total asset values for vessels by beneficial owner country. From Japan's resolute leadership in the top position with a USD 206.3 billion fleet to the emergence of Hong Kong at USD 44.7 billion, asset values and ownership strategies have changed considerably over the last 12 months, says Rebecca Galanopoulos-Jones, Senior Content Analyst, Veson Nautical.The data provided by VesselsValue and analysed by Veson is valid as of February 2024.

18 Feb 2024

Shipping Industry Calls for Release of Galaxy Leader Crew

(Photo: Screenshot from video shared by Yemeni Armed Forces)

The international maritime industry, led by the International Chamber of Shipping, has joined together to express their concern for the seafarers from the Galaxy Leader who have been held hostage and call on the Houthis to release them.Monday February 19, 2024 marks the three-month anniversary since the Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader and its 25 seafarers in the Red Sea.The roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier was seized on November 19.“The 25 seafarers who make up the crew of the Galaxy Leader are innocent victims of the ongoing aggression against world shipping…

07 Feb 2024

Smyril Line Orders Methanol-ready RoRo Ships at CIMC Raffles

(Image: Knud E. Hansen)

Smyril Line announced it has signed a contract with the CIMC Raffles shipyard in China for the construction of two new vehicle carrier vessels.The ro-ro ships will each be 190 meters in length with 3,300 lane meters for trailers. They have been designed in close cooperation with naval architects Knud E. Hansen for year-round seaworthiness in the North Atlantic. Smyril Line plans to place the vessels into service on its current network, operating a route between Europe, the Faroe Islands and Iceland from 2026.Compared to the company's existing fleet…

22 Jan 2024

BYD's First Chartered Vessel Sets Sail with 5,000 EVs for Europe

(Photo: BYD)

BYD's first chartered vehicle carrier has set sail from China's southern city of Shenzhen, carrying more than 5,000 electric vehicles to Europe, state media Xinhua reported on Tuesday.Chinese automakers including BYD, Chery Automobile and SAIC Motor, have been placing orders for vessels to counter rising shipping costs as they boost exports.The new roll-on, roll-off vehicle carrier named "BYD Explorer No.1" departed on Monday for Flushing Port in the Netherlands and the German port of Bremerhaven…

10 Jan 2024

UN Security Council Demands Houthis Stop Red Sea Attacks

File photo: The U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) defeats a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea, October 19, 2023. (Photo: Aaron Lau / U.S. Navy)

The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday demanded Yemen's Houthis immediately end attacks on ships in the Red Sea and cautioned against escalating tensions while implicitly endorsing a U.S.-led task force that has been defending vessels.The demand came in a Security Council resolution that also called on the Houthis to release the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated vehicle carrier linked to an Israeli businessman that the group commandeered on Nov. 19, and its 25-person crew.Eleven members voted for the measure demanding the Houthis "immediately cease all attacks…

06 Dec 2023

AIP for SDARI Ship Designs

The AiP handover ceremony: L to R: Hiroaki Sakashita, President & CEO, ClassNK and Lyu Zhiyong, President, SDARI. Photo courtesy ClassNK

ClassNK awards AiPs for SDARI’s green fuels powered vehicle carriers for ammonia ready LNG dual fueled 7,000CEU, and both methanol/ammonia dual fueled 10,000CEUClassNK has issued Approvals in Principle (AiPs) for three vehicle carrier designs developed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI). The first AiP acknowledges an ammonia ready LNG dual fueled vehicle carrier with a capacity of 7,000 CEU, a significant first in China’s independently developed design.

06 Sep 2023

Car Carrier Rescues Sailors from Shark-bit Russian Yacht

(Photo: Australian Maritime Safety Authority)

A Panamanian-flagged vehicle carrier vessel rescued three sailors from a Russian yacht that was mauled by sharks in the Coral Sea. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it coordinated the rescue after the Russian-registered Tion activated its emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) at 1:30 a.m. (AEST) on Wednesday.The distressed vessel, a 9-meter inflatable catamaran with three people on board, including two Russian and one French citizen, was sailing…

07 Jul 2023

Fire on Italian-Flagged Ship at Port of Newark Leaves Two Firefighters Dead

©Artem/AdobeStock

Two firefighters died in a tragic incident at the Port of Newark, New Jersey, in an attempt to extinguish a fire that broke out 9:30 pm, (EST) on the ro/ro vessel Grande Costa d’Avorio, operated by Grimaldi Deep Sea, a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group. The Italian-flagged ship was engaged in the loading operations of various rolling units, such as vans, cars, and trucks, when the fire started on deck number 10, which was attended by local stevedores and crew members.According to Grimaldi…

20 Sep 2022

TotalEnergies Bunkers CMA CGM Containership with Sustainable Marine Biofuel in Singapore

Credit: TotalEnergies Marine Fuels

TotalEnergies Marine Fuels recently completed the refueling of a CMA CGM containership in Singapore with sustainable marine biofuel. "This operation marks another milestone in TotalEnergies Marine Fuels’ ambition to become a key biofuel bunker supplier across strategic bunker hubs by 2030," the company said.On July, 29, 2022, the 4,294 TEU CMA CGM MONTOIR container vessel was bunkered via ship-to-ship transfer with TotalEnergies-supplied biofuel. The biofuel is made of VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil) blended with 24% second-generation…

01 Mar 2022

Burnt Car Carrier Felicity Ace Sinks

(Photo: Portuguese Navy)

The fire-ravaged car carrier Felicity Ace has sunk off the Portuguese Azores archipelago nearly two weeks after it caught fire, the vessel's manager said on Tuesday."Initial reports from the local salvage team state that the vessel had sunk at around 9 a.m. local time having suffered a list to starboard," said MOL Ship Management (Singapore), a subsidiary of Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL). "The last vessel position was around 220 nautical miles off the Azores."All…

18 Feb 2022

Felicity Ace Still Ablaze, Towing Vessels En Route

(Photo: Portuguese Navy)

A ship carrying around 4,000 vehicles, including Porsches, Audis and Bentleys, that caught fire near the coast of the Azores will be towed to another European country or the Bahamas, the captain of the nearest port told Reuters on Friday.Lithium-ion batteries in the electric cars on board the vehicle carrier Felicity Ace have caught fire and the blaze requires specialist equipment to extinguish, captain Joao Mendes Cabecas of the port of Hortas said.It was not clear whether the batteries first sparked the fire.“The ship is burning from one end to the other...

17 Feb 2022

Fire-stricken Car Carrier Abandoned and Adrift in the North Atlantic

(Photo: Portuguese Navy)

A Panamanian-flagged car carrier is crewless and adrift in the North Atlantic Ocean after a fire broke out in a cargo hold on Wednesday.The Portuguese Navy said it coordinated the rescue of 22 crew members from the Felicity Ace about 90 nautical miles southwest of the island of Faial, in the Azores. The Portuguese Navy's ocean patrol vessel NRP Setúbal and four nearby merchant ships participated in the rescue.The mariners were transported by a Portuguese Air Force aircraft to Horta airport, and then to a nearby hotel.

23 Dec 2021

Over $241 Million in MARAD Grants Awarded for US Ports

© Matt Gush / Adobe Stock

More than $241 million in discretionary grant funding has been awarded for projects to improve U.S. port facilities, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced on Thursday.The grants, which will go to 25 projects in 19 states and one territory through the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), are intended to help strengthen America's supply chains to meet heightened demand and help address inflationary pressures, the DOT said.“U.S. maritime ports play a critical role in our supply chains,” said U.S.

17 Dec 2021

Car Battery Triggered Fire on Board Höegh Xiamen -NTSB

A fire burns on board the Hoegh Xiamen, a 600-foot vehicle carrier, at Blount Island in Jacksonville, Fla. (Photo: Jessica Maldonado / U.S. Coast Guard)

An electrical fault from an improperly disconnected battery in a used vehicle led to the fire aboard vehicle carrier Höegh Xiamen that resulted in $40 million worth of damages, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Thursday.As a result of the investigation, NTSB issued eight safety recommendations to federal regulators and the companies involved in the accident.On June 4, 2020, while the Höegh Xiamen was in Jacksonville, Fla., the ship's crew noticed smoke coming from the ventilation housing while preparing to depart port for Baltimore, Md.

24 Nov 2021

Top 10 Ship Owning Nations

(Image: VesselsValue)

VesselsValue's head cargo analyst, Olivia Watkins, has compiled a list of the world's top ship owning nations ranked by total fleet value.ChinaChina has moved up from second in January to firs place this time, owning a total of $191 billion in assets.China owns the largest number of containerships and, consequently, the recent surge in rates and values has moved them up the ranks to top spot in terms of fleet value. The increase in rates has also prompted an ordering spree across the container sector, as owners’ confidence in the market exploded.

27 Oct 2021

Final Section of Golden Ray Shipwreck Removed

The VB-10000 hoists the final section of the Golden Ray wreck out of St. Simons Sound. (Photo: St. Simons Sound Incident Response).

The largest shipwreck removal project in American history is drawing to a close.On Monday, salvage personnel removed the final section of the overturned car carrier Golden Ray, which capsized in the St. Simons Sound near Georgia's Port of Brunswick in September 2019.The ensuing salvage project—considered to be the largest and most complex in U.S. waters—required more than 3 million collective manhours as crews cut the 656-foot ship into eight sections for lifting and barge transport to a local facility for partial dismantling.

14 Sep 2021

Inaccurate Stability Calculations Caused Golden Ray Capsizing -NTSB

The stern view of the Golden Ray six hours after the heeling event. Flame and smoke emanate from cargo decks on the starboard side of the vessel. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard)

Inaccurate stability calculations caused the capsizing of vehicle carrier Golden Ray that resulted in $200 million worth of damages, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday.The Marine Accident Report details the NTSB’s investigation of the September 8, 2019, capsizing of the roll-on/roll-off vehicle carrier Golden Ray as it transited outbound through St. Simons Sound near Brunswick, Ga. All 23 crewmembers and one pilot on board were rescued, including four engineering crew who were trapped in the vessel for nearly 40 hours. Two crewmembers sustained serious injuries.

08 Sep 2021

Car Carrier Prices Are Hot and Getting Hotter

Newbuild spend for vehicle carriers, including large car and truck carriers (LCTC), pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) and pure car carriers (PCC), smashed past $3.2 billion last week, following big volume orders from Eastern Pacific and Zodiac—an astonishing amount of money for a niche sector, exceeding the previous six years total combined. If we include options, a whopping $4.4 billion has been agreed year to date. Japanese shipyards have raised tariffs to $100 million for dual fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) 7,000 car equivalent units (CEU), up by a staggering $10 million compared to last year. Chinese yards have followed but maintain a healthy discount quoting $88 million for an equivalent spec.

13 Apr 2021

Israeli-owned Ship Attacked in Gulf of Oman -Reports

A commercial vessel owned by an Israeli firm was attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in Gulf waters, pro-Iran media and an Israeli television channel said on Tuesday.Israel’s top-rated Channel 12 TV quoted unnamed Israeli officials as blaming arch-foe Iran for the assault and said there were no casualties.Two maritime security sources told Reuters that an Israeli ship was hit near the UAE’s Fujairah port resulting in an explosion but that there were no casualties.An Israeli Transportation Ministry spokesman said he was aware of the media reports but that he could not confirm them. There was no immediate confirmation from the UAE.The incident comes a day after Tehran accused Israel of sabotaging a nuclear site…

06 Apr 2021

Iranian Cargo Ship Attacked in the Red Sea

An Iranian cargo ship has come under attack in the Red Sea, Al Arabiya TV reported on Tuesday, quoting unnamed sources, and semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim said the vessel was targeted by a limpet mine.Al Arabiya cited the sources as saying the vessel was attacked off the coast of Eritrea and was affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, but provided no evidence to support the assertion.Tasnim identified the ship as the Iran Saviz. “The vessel Iran Saviz has been stationed in the Red Sea for the past few years to support Iranian commandos sent on commercial vessel (antipiracy) escort missions,” it reported.Reuters could not independently verify the report.

25 Mar 2021

Israeli-owned Cargo Ship Hit by Missile in Arabian Sea

A cargo ship owned by an Israeli company was damaged by a missile in the Arabian Sea on Thursday in what was suspected to be an Iranian attack, an Israeli security official said.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ship was on its way from Tanzania to India and was able to continue its voyage after the attack.The official did not provide further details.According to Israel's Ynet news website, the ship sailing under a Liberian flag did not sustain serious damage and Channel 12 news reported the ship is owned by XT Management, based in the port city of Haifa.Reuters could not reach officials at the company for comment.

01 Mar 2021

Car Carrier Helios Ray in Dubai for Assessment After Explosion

An Israeli-owned ship hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman strategic waterway has arrived at a port in Dubai, where is it is due to be assessed in dry dock.The MV Helios Ray, a vehicle-carrier ship, was hit overnight between Thursday and Friday by a blast above the water line that a U.S. defence official said ripped holes in both sides of its hull.Israel’s defense minister on Saturday said that an initial assessment had found that Iran was responsible for the explosion. There was no immediate comment from Iranian officials.The blue and white ship is now berthed in Dubai’s Port Rashid, having sailed from its position off the coast of Omani capital Muscat…

01 Mar 2021

Iran Says It Was Not Behind Blast On Israeli-owned Ship

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran on Monday for an explosion aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week, an accusation rejected by Tehran.The vehicle-carrier Helios Ray was hit between Thursday night and Friday morning by a blast above the water line that a U.S official said ripped holes in both sides of its hull. An Israeli official said limpet mines were used.“This was indeed an operation by Iran. That is clear,” Netanyahu told Kan radio.Asked if Israel would retaliate, he said, “You know my policy. Iran is Israel’s biggest enemy. I am determined to fend it off. We are striking at it all over the region.”Iran denied involvement.