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Maldives News

22 Jan 2024

India Keeps Close Watch on Chinese Research Vessel

© zelwanka / Adobe Stock

A Chinese research vessel is on its way to the Maldives, according to an Indian military official and an independent researcher, as new Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu deepens ties with Beijing, distancing from New Delhi.It is likely to raise concern in New Delhi, which has previously viewed the presence of such vessels close to its shores, including in Sri Lanka in 2022, as problematic.These vessels are not military ships, officially, but India and others worry about the military use of their research.Relations between traditional friends New Delhi and Male have soured since President Muiz

12 Jan 2024

China Media Warns Against Taking China's Indian Ocean Research as Threats

© Rawpixel / Adobe Stock

Chinese state media warned on Friday that a report by a prominent U.S. think tank on the military uses of Chinese scientific research across the Indian Ocean gave "ammunition" to countries bent on concocting threats from China.The report this week by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) "comes at a time when some countries need to manufacture a 'China threat' narrative in the Indian Ocean region and provides them with ammunition", the state-controlled tabloid Global Times said in an editorial."The timing of this report is delicate…

09 Nov 2023

DEME Secures Several Dredging Contracts in Asia

(Photo: DEME)

DEME announced it has won several capital and maintenance dredging contracts in India, the Maldives and Malaysia, worth €150 million-300 million combined.At Kakinada port in India, where DEME has frequently been performing dredging works, the newly awarded scope includes deepening of the existing berths, turning circle and the inner- and access channel to a depth of 18 m at the deepest point. Works will kick off in Q1 2024 with hopper dredgers and run until the second half of 2024.On behalf of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai…

18 Oct 2023

RCP Finance Secures Funding for Fuel Distributer in Maldives

Source: RCP Finance

Independent finance and capital structuring partner RCP Finance has successfully secured a $15 million credit facility from a leading Asian lender for The Hawks Pvt Ltd., a distributor of high-quality fuel in the Maldives.The Hawks caters to a range of local businesses including resort hotels, super yachts and navy vessels, with a total portfolio of more than 452 clients.Part of the credit facility has been used to facilitate the acquisition of the Bro Developer, a 2007 oil and chemical tanker with a carrying capacity of 15,000dwt.

22 May 2023

Seven Bodies Recovered from Capsized Chinese Fishing Vessel

Lupeng Yuanyu 028 (File image) - Image Credit: North Pacific Fisheries Commission

Seven bodies were recovered from a Chinese fishing vessel that capsized in the central Indian Ocean, according to state media on Monday, days after China President Xi Jinping ordered an all-out search to rescue and recover missing crew members.Several countries, including Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Maldives, and the Philippines, joined in rescue efforts for 39 missing crew members after the Chinese distant-water fishing vessel "Lupeng Yuanyu 028" capsized early last Tuesday…

18 May 2023

China Urges Australia to Help find Crew of Capsized Fishing Boat

Illustration only - ©komi$ar/AdobeStock

China's ambassador to Australia urged Canberra on Thursday to step up its rescue efforts to help locate the 39 missing crew members on board a Chinese shipping boat that capsized in the Indian Ocean early this week.President Xi Jinping has ordered that all efforts be made to search for the missing crew, which includes 17 Chinese nationals, 17 Indonesians and five from the Philippines, state media reported on Wednesday."This is within Australia's search and rescue area ... we wish…

17 May 2023

Chinese Fishing Vessel Capsizes, 39 Missing

© trahko / Adobe Stock

A Chinese fishing vessel with 39 crew members on board has capsized in the Indian ocean and President Xi Jinping has ordered that all efforts be made to search for survivors, state media reported on Wednesday.The distant-water fishing vessel Lupeng Yuanyu 028, owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co Ltd based in Shandong province, capsized early on Tuesday, state-run CCTV reported.The 39 people on board - 17 Chinese crew members, 17 Indonesians and five from the Philippines - were missing, CCTV said.Xi said all efforts should be made for the rescue and early warning alerts of safety risks would be

13 Mar 2023

Dredge Firms Focus on Sustainability as ESG Issues Climb Agenda

Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger - Vox Apolonia. Image courtesy Van Oord

Climate change, rising sea levels, land reclamation and offshore energy are all factors underpinning business models at Europe’s dredge and marine engineering majors. They are adopting strong sustainability credentials as their operations come under closer environmental, social, governance (ESG) scrutiny and new opportunities open up in the US offshore wind sectorThe relatively small number of global marine engineering and dredge firms face more observation of their business models than ever before.

13 Jun 2022

Suez Canal Says LNG, LPG Carrier Rebates Extended to End of 2022

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Egypt's Suez Canal has extended rebates on canal tolls for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from July until the end of the year, the canal authority said in circulars published on its website.LPG tankers operating between the American Gulf and ports west of India, on the Maldives islands and at Kochi will receive a rebate of 20% on the canal's normal tolls, according to a circular published on its website on Monday.Those operating from ports east of Kochi to Singapore will receive a rebate of 55%, and from Singapore ports east will have a rebate of 75%.LNG

25 Mar 2022

Marshall Islands Mulls 'Expelling' Russian Ships From Its Registry

© annems / Adobe Stock

The Marshall Islands is considering "expelling" from their ship registry any Russian yachts or boats that have been targeted by Western-led sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, its foreign minister said on Friday.The minister, Casten Nemra, whose country along with Panama and Liberia is popular for registering ships, told reporters on a trip to Taiwan that his Pacific island nation strongly condemned the Russian invasion."We also are one of the largest ship registry programmes for flagged ships throughout the global shipping industry…

22 Mar 2022

Russian Billionaire's Yacht Detained in Gibraltar

A luxurious super-yacht linked to the owner of Russia's largest steel pipe maker, who is currently under British and European Union sanctions, docked in Gibraltar on Monday and was then detained by the authorities.Western sanctions on Russian oligarchs over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine have triggered an exodus of luxury yachts from Europe in recent weeks, with several heading towards the Maldives, which has no extradition treaty with the United States.Reuters TV footage showed the "Axioma", believed to be owned by Dmitrievich Pumpyansky, owner of steel group TMK, moored at Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula…

08 Mar 2022

Yacht Linked to Russian Oligarch Leaves Barcelona

A superyacht linked to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich left Barcelona on Tuesday where it had been undergoing repairs in a local shipyard, ship-tracking data showed.The 140-meter (460-foot) My Solaris, which sails under a Bermuda flag according to monitoring site Marine Traffic, left Spanish company MB92's Barcelona shipyard just after 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, according to the same site. MB92 declined to comment.The superyacht, which was built in a German shipyard and first took to the sea early last year, is one of a string of yachts owned by Abramovich, according to reports in luxury goods publications SuperYachtFan, SuperYacht Times and Forbes.Abramovich…

03 Mar 2022

Russian Billionaire's Yacht Stuck in Hamburg Shipyard

© Olaf Gedanitz / Adobe Stock

A luxury yacht linked to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who faces EU sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is sitting in a shipyard in the German port of Hamburg and local authorities said there were no plans to deliver it to its owner.Hamburg authorities denied that they had seized the more-than-500-foot (150 meter) Dilbar superyacht, which boasts a 25-meter swimming pool and is worth nearly $600 million. Forbes had reported on Wednesday that it had been undergoing…

03 Mar 2022

Russian Troops Enter Strategic Ukrainian Port of Kherson

Kherson / Image Credit: ronedya/AdobeStock

Russian troops were in the center of the Ukrainian port of Kherson on Thursday after a day of conflicting claims over whether Moscow had captured a major urban center for the first time in its eight-day invasion.Russia's defense ministry said it had captured Kherson on Wednesday but an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded that Ukrainian forces continued to defend the Black Sea port of about 250,000 people."We are a people who broke the enemy's plans in a week," Zelenskiy said in a video address.

21 Jul 2021

Solstad Offshore Nets Medium-term Deals for Offshore Construction Vessel Duo

Credit: Solstad Offshore

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore said Tuesday it had secured two contracts for its large construction vessels.The medium-term contracts are for the vessels Normand Navigator and Normand Frontier.The Normand Navigator, a 142,6 meters long vessel built in 2015, has been awarded a contract with an undisclosed client in South East Asia. The work is scheduled to start in September 2021 and will keep the vessel utilized until the end of the year, Solstad said. The vessel is currently in India…

24 Jun 2020

Cox Powertrain Leverages the Power of Digitalization

(Photo: Cox Powertrain)

It is not something that pops to mind often: the massive, market-changing advantages of a high-powered, fuel-efficient, cleaner V8 diesel outboard engine. Then, you aren’t a salmon farmer with aquaculture farms in the Norwegian fjords or an islander in the Maldives who drives a Zodiac to work. But, if you are Joel Reid, these are just some of the many things on your mind.Joel Reid is the Global Sales Director of Cox Powertrain a British start-up based in Shoreham-by-Sea, close to Brighton, UK.

23 Dec 2019

Asia Boosts IMO Technical Cooperation

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), Thailand’s Ministry of Transport and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia (UNESCAP) have recently organized the second regional Knowledge Partnership Workshop in Asia in Bangkok,The workshop was designed to support maritime technical cooperation activities in the region.The workshop brought together officials from transport ministries, responsible for maritime affairs, and finance ministries, responsible for official development assistance. Participants shared knowledge, skills, and experience and meet maritime and development cooperation counterparts from around the…

24 Oct 2019

Boskalis Bags Dredging Contract in Maldives

Dutch dredging company Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. has won a contract by the Ministry of National Planning and Infrastructure, Republic of Maldives, in relation to the development of Gulhifalhu.The value of the contract is estimated at approximately EUR 45 million (US$50 million).The dredging activities are due to commence in the fourth quarter of 2019 and are expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020.The development of Gulhifalhu, located about four kilometers from the country’s capital Malé, forms part of the Ministry of National Planning and Infrastructure’s strategic plan to improve and develop the port infrastructure and will serve as a climate adaptive solution…

17 Oct 2019

Maldives Hosts Maritime Security Workshop

The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) is mandatory instrument addressing the safety and security of ships, ports, cargo and crew, says International Maritime Organization (IMO).According to the UN body, it contains detailed security-related requirements for Governments, port authorities and shipping companies to ensure preventive measures can be taken if a security threat is determined.Maldives has become the latest country to receive maritime security training from IMO on the ISPS Code, specifically for its Designated Authority (DA) and Port Facility Security Officers (PFSOs).A three-day workshop in Male, Maldives…

26 Jul 2019

India, Maldives Sign MoU for Ferry Services

India and Maldives signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Passenger and Cargo Services in Male, Mansukh Mandaviya, the Minister of State for Shipping said in the Parliament.The objective of the MoU is to improve people to people contact between the two countries by providing an alternate, direct and less expensive means for transport for passengers and goods. It also aims to advance economic, social and cultural ties between the two countries.Mandaviya informed  that the MoU envisaged a regular passenger and cargo ferry service between Kochi in India  and Male/Kulhudhuffushi in Maldives, or any other ports mutually agreed upon.Sea connectivity between the two countries would help to promote inbound tourism…

12 Jul 2019

South Asia Fights Marine Pollution

The benefits and implications of acceding to the 1996 London Protocol on the prevention of marine pollution by dumping of wastes and other matter in the South Asian Seas Region were discussed at a regional workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh (10-11 July).According to a note from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the main objectives of the workshops were to inform relevant authorities of the benefits and implications of ratifying, implementing and enforcing the London Protocol.The purpose of the London Convention is to control all sources of marine pollution and prevent pollution of the sea through the regulation of dumping into the sea of waste materials.

11 Jul 2019

Course on Enhancing Maritime Security

How do you deal with maritime crimes at sea - and how do you train others to do so? These are the skills being taught on the latest in a series of regional training of trainers courses on combating insecurity in the maritime domain.Participants from 18 countries have attended the course, at the Mohammed Bin Naif Academy for Maritime Science and Security Studies, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (30 June - 11 July).Bahrain, Bangladesh, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen were the participants.Participants learned teaching skills.

03 Jul 2019

India - Maldives Ferry Services Soon

The Indian Cabinet gave its approval ex post facto to the pact signed between India and the Maldives to start passenger and cargo services through the sea route.The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between India and Maldives on June 8, during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the island country.The MoU will pave the way for ferry services between the Maldives and India, said a statement from the ministry of shipping, India. The proposed ferry service would contribute in a big way to promote people to people contact and to boost bilateral trade.Male, the capital of the Maldives and most populous city and Kulhudhuffushi…