Main Contractor News

Bunker barge United LNG I was christened in the port of Antwerp, an important moment for shipping company Somtrans, main shipbuilding contractor RensenDriessen and outfitting partners TeamCo Shipyard and Gas & Heat.The vessel will enter service in early 2026, reinforcing the growing role of LNG bunkering in the Belgian and Dutch seaports.It is an estuary-class LNG bunker barge designed for both inland waterways and coastal service up to Zeebrugge. Measuring 135 x21.46 m, the barge carries eight cylindrical Type C cargo tanks of 1…

JERA Nex bp, a global offshore wind company, has seen the full commissioning into an operational state of a new hydrogen bunkering facility in the Port of Ostend.The Ostend Hydrogen Refueling Station seeks to fill a critical gap in the flow of green hydrogen from production to maritime users, acting as a proof of concept of what is possible in decarbonizing offshore wind at sea. During its demonstration phase in 2025, the station in Ostend will initially serve one hydrogen-powered Crew Transfer Vessel…

The Australian Government is accelerating the delivery of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet with the selection of the upgraded Japanese Mogami-class frigate as the preferred platform for the Royal Australian Navy’s future fleet of general purpose frigates.Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Mogami-class frigate was assessed as best able to quickly meet the capability requirements and strategic needs of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).The upgraded Mogami-class frigate boasts a range of up to 10…

Konecranes has completed an order for BAE System’s new Govan shipbuilding hall that includes two 20t x 56m electric overhead travelling (EOT) cranes and two 100t x 70m Goliath cranes. The hall will be able to build two Type 26 naval frigates at the same time, accelerating efficiency and removing any impact of the Scottish weather on production. The order was completed in June 2025.Measuring 170m long and 80m wide, the hall consists of more than 6,000 tonnes of steel and 20,000m3 of concrete, and accommodate up to 500 workers per shift.

An agreement between Höegh Autoliners and green industry pioneer Nordic Circles launches a national project that will change the handling of decommissioned ships. Using Norwegian technology, labor, and industry, old ships will be upcycled in Norway into certified building materials—without melting, without export, and with up to 97% lower emissions.Nordic Circles and Höegh Autoliners are announcing the agreement on the Blue Talks stage at Nor-Shipping, in front of maritime leaders from around the world…

Seatrium has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Japan-based Penta-Ocean Construction (POC) to carry out early engineering work for a 5,000t fully-revolving heavy lift vessel project for the Japan wind market.Subject to the final investment decision by POC, the full EPC contract award is expected in 1Q 2025.POC owns a range of self-propelling trailing suction hopper and cutter suction dredgers for marine construction works as well as two turbine installation vessels equipped with a 800t and a 1,600t lifting capacity crane respectively.

Kongsberg Maritime announced it has won a contract to provide the design and equipment for two powerful salvage tugs being built by Alexandria Shipyard as main contractor on behalf of the Suez Canal Authority. The tugs will be based on Kongsberg Maritime’s UT 722 CDT Design.The UT 722 tugboat design has a length of 71.6 meters, bollard pull of approximately 200 tonnes, and it can operate independently for up to 35 days.Egypt’s Alexandria Shipyard successfully bid on this contract with the Suez Canal Authority in cooperation with Kongsberg Maritime…

Within the maritime sector not enough attention is paid to maritime subcontracting. And yet, it is as important as the main contracts that maritime main contractors conclude with their clients, such as shipping companies and buyers of superyachts. The same applies to the oil & gas and renewable energy industry. Thomas van Tol, co-founder of The Synergy Partner, writes: "As many maritime main contractors do not conclude contracts with their subcontractors in the right way, they take major risks for themselves as well as for their clients. Most of the time they are not aware of it.

Rolls-Royce's Power Systems business unit, headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany, will deliver the automation solutions (in German FüSAS – Führungssystem Automation Schiffstechnik) for the four new F126 frigates for the German Navy.Damen Naval is building the four F126 class frigates together with its partners Blohm+Voss and Thales, after the partners were selected as successful bidders in 2020 following a European tender process spanning several years. The first ship is expected to be delivered to the German Navy in Hamburg in 2028.

Following a £1million conservation, the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, Fife, is set to welcome visitors back onboard the iconic ‘Fifie’ Reaper, the last of the great First Class Scottish Herring Luggers and a rare survivor from the golden age of sail.One of the few vessels in the UK’s National Historic Fleet kept in seagoing condition, the two-masted, 70-ft., 50-tonne Reaper will open to the public on August 4 at her pontoon on Anstruther Harbour, once Scotland’s busiest fishing port.The refurbishmen project…

Norwegian group Crown LNG has signed a deal with Aker Solutions as the main contractor to deliver a concrete gravity-based structure (GBS) for Crown’s offshore LNG terminal at Kakinada, India.Under the agreement, Aker Solutions and key subcontractors will first conduct the front-end engineering and design for the LNG terminal. Aker Solutions’ scope includes technical development of the concrete foundation and topsides, as well as the pipeline between the offshore regasification terminal and the onshore gas grid.

Danish offshore cable supplier NKT has secured the high-voltage turnkey order for the Dogger Bank C, the third phase of what will be the world's largest offshore wind farm, in the UK.NKT had previously entered into a Preferred Supplier Agreement (PSA) as the main contractor for delivery and installation of high-voltage DC on- and offshore export cable systems for the Dogger Bank C.Now, the company has secured the contract award with the project owners Equinor (50%) and SSE Renewables (50%). The contract award is subject to Dogger Bank C reaching financial close in late 2021.

Cruise ships moored in the Maltese port of Valletta will soon be able to plug into the island's energy grid, drawing the power they require to be fully operative without having to keep their diesel engines running. Nidec ASI, head of the Nidec Industrial Solutions platform belonging to the Nidec Group, said it has secured a  €12 million contract with the Maltese company Excel Sis for the creation of a “shore-to-ship” project at the port. Nidec ASI was awarded the supply of power and high-tech systems and all related engineering…

French Navy's ballistic nuclear submarine Le Terrible has arrived in dock 8 of the Brest naval base in France to continue its Full Cycle Docking (FCD), otherwise known as a major refit. This will be the first FCD for Le Terrible and will involve 14 months of industrial activities to modernize the submarine and restore its operational potential for the coming 10 years.The submarine’s FCD work began on the operational base of l’Ile Longue with two major preparatory operations: the removal of weapons and the fuel elements from the nuclear reactor.

Damen Shipyards Group has completed the rebuild of research vessel OceanXplorer at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam. As OceanX’s new flagship, she is equipped with a series of submersibles, sonar arrays, manned submarines, an ROV and AUV, giving full capability to explore and map the depths of the oceans.OceanXplorer’s research facilities are paired with Hollywood quality filming and media studios – developed in partnership with renowned filmmaker James Cameron. With this, the vessel’s…

ProZero International says it has signed a contract for a new ProZero 15m FR Workboat set up for inspection and workboat operations in Norwegian waters.The Danish boat builder will deliver the Prospero 15m FR Workboat though the Norwegian subsidiary ProZero Norway AS. The client is a main contractor to the aquaculture business in Norway, offering services within environmental surveys, impact assessments, current measurements, fjord monitoring, mapping of bottom topography and…

Damen Shipyards Group and the German Bundesamt fur Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr on Friday signed the contract for the construction of four MKS-180 frigates for the German Navy. Damen is the main contractor for this complex project which it is undertaking, together with partners Blohm+Voss and Thales, in Germany.The combination of companies was previously declared the winner of a European tender; the largest in the history of the German Navy. On June 17, the necessary financial resources were released by the German Bundestag budget committee.

Work on Energean's Energean Power FPSO in Singapore has begun as Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard, Singapore, reopened on June 2, after the COVID-19 lockdown.The FPSO hull arrived from China in April for topside integration works in Singapore, however, on arrival, the yard operations were shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Energean on Monday said that on 2 June 2020, the Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard, Singapore, reopened, and that preparation works for the lifting of the topside modules of the Energean Power FPSO had started.

Italian shipbuilding company has been awarded an order worth almost 100 million euros (about 111 million U.S. dollars) to provide high-profile equipment as part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project to build a nuclear fusion reactor.The ITER Project is a multinational collaboration aimed at building an experimental hydrogen fusion reactor, first of its kind, and acknowledged as one of the most ambitious initiatives in the world in the field of sustainable energy.A temporary consortium has been established for the execution of these activities. It includes Fincantieri itself as the main contractor, its subsidiary Fincantieri SI…

Estonian ferry company TS Laevad has signed an agreement with the Estonian shipbuilding company Baltic Workboats AS to rebuild the ferry Tõll, which operates the on the Virtsu-Kuivastu line, into environmentally friendly hybrid ship.The subsidiary of Tallinna Sadam said in a press release that during the reconstruction, a battery bank will be installed on the vessel to reduce the consumption of diesel fuel and reduce the resulting exhaust gas by replacing fossil fuel with electricity stored in battery banks.According to Jaak Kaabel, Chairman of the Board of TS Laevad, the project expects TS Laevad to replace about a fifth of the diesel fuel consumption with electricity.“We believe that on shorter ferry routes the environmentally friendly power ships are the future of ferry traffic…

The 700MW COBRAcable interconnector linking the Dutch and the Danish grid will be available for the electricity market as of delivery day, 7 September, Dutch high-voltage grid operator TenneT said."After three years of construction, including the laying of the submarine cables as well as the construction of two onshore converter stations, and a successful test phase earlier this year, COBRAcable will be available for the electricity market as of the delivery day of 7 September, which is exactly on schedule," it said.The first direct connection between the electricity markets of Denmark and the Netherlands was jointly realised and is operated by the two TSCNET shareholders Energinet…

NKT, which produces cables and supplies the energy sector, has entered a Preferred Supplier Agreement (PSA) as the main contractor for delivery and installation of high-voltage DC on- and offshore export cable systems to the Doggerbank Creyke Beck A and B offshore wind farms.The project is being developed as a joint venture by Equinor (50%) and SSE (50%).Dogger Bank Wind Farms Creyke Beck A/B was notified today that it was successful in the UK allocation of Contracts for Difference (CfD), which is a key step towards a final order.Such confirmed order is now conditional upon final contract negotiations and that the project owners provide NKT a notice to proceed.

Wärtsilä will supply its Aquarius UV Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) for four bunkering ocean tanker vessels operated by South Korea’s Doorae Shipping. This is the first ever BWMS retrofit contract signed by Wärtsilä in Korea. The order was placed in July by PanStar TechSolution, the main contractor for the project. PanStar TechSolution is a leading Korean engineering and technical company specializing in BWMS and exhaust gas cleaning system (EGCS) retrofit projects.The equipment is scheduled for delivery commencing in August 2020.