Capital News

As Big Oil returns this week to the industry's annual showcase for offshore energy projects and equipment in Houston, deepwater discoveries off Guyana, Namibia and the U.S. Gulf Coast will take the spotlight.Offshore exploration had dimmed after the U.S. shale boom ushered in new and cheaper-to-tap supplies of oil, and as past offshore cost overruns pushed deepwater projects onto the industry's backburner.Newer deepwater projects have the attributes oil and gas companies are looking for: longer-term production…

In 2018, convicted cocaine trafficker Slobodan Kostovski fled a Brazilian prison and made his way back to Europe with a fake passport.The Serbian senior quickly fell into old habits, police allege. Last August, Kostovski was arrested in Belgrade, accused of shipping 2.7 metric tonnes of cocaine from Brazil aboard a 22-meter vessel apprehended near Spain’s Canary Islands.Nicknamed “the General” by his associates, he had been trafficking “large amounts” of powder to “Europe for a long period of time,” Serbian police wrote in a 2022 intelligence report obtained exclusively by Reuters.

Shares of Viking Holdings rose 9% in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, giving the travel and cruising company a valuation of $11 billion.Viking opened at $26.15 compared with its initial public offering (IPO) price of $24 in a stellar debut, amid a rebound in stock market listings and at a time when cruise stocks have delivered outsized returns.Founded in 1997, Viking provides destination-focused itineraries including a shore excursion at every port and an onboard and onshore program through performances of music and art, cooking demonstrations, port talks and guest lect

Enterprise Products Partners on Tuesday said it expects to have two contracts for its proposed deepwater oil export terminal by May 31 and reach a final investment decision before year-end.Enterprise's ambitious Sea Port Oil Terminal (SPOT), proposed off for a site off the coast of Texas, would be able to load two supertankers at a single time. It received a key government license this month, but is yet to sign any commercial customers.The cost of the project has soared to about $3 billion…

Esgian reports that new drilling contracts have been announced in the North Sea and West Africa in its Week 17 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsShelf Drilling (North Sea) has secured a letter of award with an unnamed operator, believed to be TotalEnergies, for the 400-ft jackup Shelf Drilling Fortress for a campaign in the North Sea.Noble 12,000-ft 7th generation drillship Noble Venturer has secured new contracts in West Africa with Trident Energy and Rhino Resources…

Nigeria secured a $600 million investment in seaport infrastructure from Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, the presidency said in a statement on Sunday.The investment was secured during a meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Moller-Maersk Chairman Robert Maersk Uggla on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting in Saudi Arabia."We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships," the Nigerian presidency quoted Uggla as saying during the meeting.Nigeria has promised to revamp its ports…

Paris 2024 Olympics organizers on Friday, April 26, received the Games' flame in a handover ceremony in Athens ahead of a 68-day torch relay that will end with the opening ceremony on July 26.The flame arrived at the central Athens' Panathenaic stadium, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896, after an 11-day relay across Greece and following the lighting in ancient Olympia last week.Several thousand fans and tourists sat in the stands of the horse-shaped marble stadium on a sun-drenched afternoon as the head of the Paris Games…

Norway's Equinor is confident of finding an investor for its planned Empire Wind 1 offshore wind farm in New York after a new power off-take agreement improved the project's economics, the company said on Thursday.New York State authorities in February awarded the project a new conditional power purchase contract, replacing a previous deal that was no longer competitive due to rising construction costs, higher interest rates and supply chain snags.Equinor was glad to have received the new contract, which significantly changed the economics of the project, CFO Torgrim Reitan told analysts durin

Norwegian shipowner MPC Container Ships (MPCC) has signed a $55 million pre and post-delivery ECA covered financing agreement with Deutsche Bank and SINOSURE for its two dual-fuel methanol newbuildings.The vessels are scheduled for delivery towards the end of 2024 and are secured by 15-year time charter agreements with North Sea Container Line (NCL). The loan matures in 2036, according to MPCC.Chinese-based shipyard Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering is in charge of the construction…

Belships announced has expanded its newbuild program with two new 64,000 dwt Ultramax bulk carriers scheduled for delivery in 2028.The Norwegian-based company now has a total of 10 newbuilds under construction at Japanese shipyards with delivery between 2024 and 2028. All vessels are leased on time charter for a period of 7 to 10 years from delivery, with purchase options around current market levels. There is no obligation to purchase any of the vessels. Cash breakeven for the vessels upon delivery is about $14…

If nothing else, building vessels in the U.S. is a complicated business.In a session on the domestic shipbuilding marketplace, at Marine Money’s late-November 2023 conference held in New Orleans, Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards (with more than a dozen facilities, in Mississippi and Louisiana), described his company’s architecture as a “three-legged stool approach: commercial newbuilds, government newbuilds and repair/conversion capabilities”.On the same panel…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on Wednesday announced the availability of $316 million to support and modernize passenger ferry service in communities across the country.Ferry transit is a critical mode of transportation in many regions throughout the United States. Across the country, there are approximately 3 million ferry riders each month.“I have seen firsthand how, for many Americans in many different parts of the country, ferries are the best and sometimes only way to get where they need to go,” said U.S.

The Coastal Sustainability Alliance (CSA), an industry collaborative effort led by Kuok Maritime Group (KMG), has announced the start of construction of its first fully electric PXO-series tug (e-tug) and supply boat (e-supply boat) by PaxOcean Group.The zero-emissions vessels are among the first and largest local electric harbour craft designed for operation in Singapore’s coastal waters. They are targeted for deployment in 2025, ahead of the nation’s goal for all new coastal…

Somali pirates released a hijacked ship, MV Abdullah, and its crew of 23 early on Sunday after a $5 million ransom was paid, according to two pirates."The money was brought to us two nights ago as usual... we checked whether the money was fake or not. Then we divided the money into groups and left, avoiding the government forces," Abdirashiid Yusuf, one of the pirates, told Reuters.He added the ship had been released with all its crew.Somalia government officials did not respond to a request for comment.The MV Abdullah…

The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard's navy said on Tuesday Israel's presence in the United Arab Emirates was viewed as a threat by Tehran and it could close the Strait of Hormuz if deemed necessary.Iran has threatened to retaliate for suspected Israeli airstrikes on its consulate in Syria's capital on April 1 that killed seven Revolutionary Guards officers including two senior commanders - stoking tensions between the arch enemies already heightened by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza."We do not get hit without striking back…

China's Cosco Shipping confirmed that investment in Peru's Chancay port continues and that it expects a quick resolution to a pending question over exclusivity rights to the facility, a local executive told reporters on Tuesday.Carlos Tejada, the company's general manager in Peru, made the announcement at an international trade event in the capital Lima.Last month, the Asian shipping firm said it was evaluating the impact of a move by Peru's government to annul the exclusivity it holds over operations at the under-construction megaport, seen as a key driver of growth for the South American cou

At SAAM’s annual general meeting last week, Chairman Óscar Hasbún outlined the objectives for the company's new phase, following the sale of the port terminals and inland logistics division."SAAM has robust solvency and liquidity indicators and a solid capital structure for this new cycle where our objective is clear: to become a leading global operator in the towage business and a regional leader in airport logistics. We are already a benchmark in both businesses and have developed a unique operating model…

With supply chain attacks on the rise, and nation-state attackers constantly looking for new ways to disrupt national security and economic stability, one of the most vulnerable areas is the security around our maritime operations. The Biden-Harris Administration's recent Executive Order to fortify the cybersecurity of U.S. ports underscores this concern, spotlighting the urgency of addressing vulnerabilities in a sector that drives over $5.4 trillion in economic activity annually.

Port of Aberdeen has stepped closer to becoming a strategic hub for floating offshore wind, with its proposed South Harbour upgrade project progressing to Stage 2 ‘priority’ status in the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council’s (SOWEC) strategic investment model.The significant upgrade involves a capital dredge project to deepen 750 meters of quayside to  -14.5 meters chart datum, providing suitable depth for the majority of ScotWind and INTOG project turbine designs.Combined with South Harbour’s expansive laydown area and ultra heavy-lift capacity…

Fresh on the heels of its first newbuild order in five years, the world's largest cruise company has placed an order for an additional vessel.U.S.-based Carnival Corporation on Tuesday announced it has signed an agreement with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft to build an Excel-class cruise ship for its Carnival Cruise Line brand for expected delivery in 2028.The ship will be the 11th Excel-class ship for the corporation's fleet across four of its brands, and the fifth to be sailed by Carnival Cruise Line.

LOTOS Petrobaltic, an ORLEN Group company, signed a contract for the construction of a Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) with Singapore-based Strategic Marine, set for service in the Polish offshore wind market.The StratCat 27 CTV is scheduled to be completed this summer, with delivery to Europe planned for early September 2024.This CTV will join the existing fleet managed by Miliana Shipmanagement Limited, a company belonging to the LOTOS Petrobaltic capital group, which owns five offshore…

For Cheryl “Cherrie” Felder, the path to the maritime industry was both untraditional and seemingly meant to be. After studying African art, she began her career working in a museum in New Orleans before landing a role directing professional rodeo in the Big Easy.“It was a lot of fun, and I learned a whole lot,” Felder said. “But as you may imagine, New Orleans is not a rodeo town. After the third year, the board of directors decided, okay, that's it. No more rodeo.”And that’s when Felder’s doorway to the maritime industry swung open…

Britannia, the insurer of container ship the Dali, is working with the vessel's owner and U.S. authorities on the investigation into the collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, the insurer said on Thursday.The bridge collapsed on Tuesday after the Dali suffered a power outage and struck a pylon, causing huge disruption in the port."We are working closely with the vessel's owner and manager and the relevant U.S. authorities as part of the investigation into the casualty…