President News

The Philippines on Saturday denied a Chinese claim that the two countries had reached an agreement over an escalating maritime dispute in the South China Sea, calling the claim propaganda.A spokesperson at China's embassy in Manila said on April 18 that the two had agreed early this year to a "new model" in managing tensions at the Second Thomas Shoal, without elaborating.Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Saturday his department was "not aware of, nor is it a party to, any internal agreement with China" since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office in 2022.

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…

The Austal USA Board of Directors has elected Michelle Kruger as Austal USA President. She has been serving as interim president since August 2023.Kruger joined Austal USA in 2022 as the vice president of global services and support. In that role she led Austal USA’s ship repair and warranty efforts including the development of business strategy and strategic alliances. She also oversaw the stand up of Austal USA’s San Diego repair yard including the delivery of a purpose-built 9000-tonne capacity dry dock.

As Russia's war in the Ukraine drags on now into its third year, NATO today launched one of its biggest naval deployments since February 2022, with French aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle under the command of the alliance for the first time.The French nuclear-powered carrier began its mission in the Mediterranean Sea, close to its home port of Toulon. Placing the Charles de Gaulle under NATO operational control for the first time is highly symbolic, not least because the…

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…

Mitsui O.S.K. Line (MOL) has taken delivery of the newly built dual-fuel LGP and ammonia very large gas carrier (VLGC) Aquamarine Progress II, which will sail under charter with a Japanese LPG importer and distributor.Ordered by MOL’s company Aramo Shipping (Singapore), the Aquamarine Progress II has been delivered by Namura Shipbuilding.The Aquamarine Progress II will sail under a time charter contract with GYXIS Corporation, a Japanese LPG importer and distributor.The vessel is 230 meters long, with the breadth of 36.6 meters.

U.S. troops have begun construction of a maritime pier off the coast of Gaza that aims to speed the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave when it becomes operational in May, the Pentagon said on Thursday.President Joe Biden announced the pier in March as aid officials implored Israel to ease access for relief supplies into Gaza over land routes. Whether the pier will ultimately succeed in boosting humanitarian aid is unclear, as international officials warn of the risk of…

U.S. shipbuilder Philly Shipyard announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the world's largest shipbuilding group, South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), to explore a potential business relationship relating to future U.S. government shipbuilding projects as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) projects.The MOU was signed during a visit from HHI to Philly Shipyard on April 12, 2024 and was attended by officials from both companies, including Dr. Won ho Joo, Chief Executive of Naval and Special Ship Business Unit of HHI, and Mr.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released its latest report in the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff series, describing how the U.S. offshore wind sector is adapting to challenges and poised for continued progress, with a path to deploying over 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2050.The Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Offshore Wind report finds that the sector today is poised for liftoff, enabled by continued efforts to adapt to recent market challenges. The projects that move forward in the next several years will lay the foundation for consistent long-term deployment…

ABS Wavesight has appointed software and digital technology leader Staci Satterwhite to serve as Chief Operating Officer (COO), a new role for the maritime software as a service (SaaS) affiliate of ABS.Most recently serving as the COO of Khoros, a Vista private equity portfolio company, Satterwhite has extensive and diverse global experience helping develop and transform software and digital solutions.As COO, Satterwhite is responsible for leading product development and further enhancing customer interactions and experiences.

Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power ships will rise this year on attractive prices, while more dual-fuel vessels join the global fleet. Prices of LNG delivered as marine fuel at the world's largest bunker hub Singapore are at steep discounts of nearly $100 per metric ton compared with conventional 0.5% very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), industry sources report.That is a far cry from record premiums of more than $1,000 a ton seen in September 2023, based on data from S&P Global Platts published on industry coalition SEA-LNG's website…

President Joe Biden's administration unveiled plans on Wednesday to hold up to a dozen auctions of offshore wind development rights through 2028, including four before the end of this year.The schedule will help companies, states and others plan for projects that require massive amounts of investment and infrastructure, the Interior Department said in a statement."Our offshore wind leasing schedule will provide predictability to help developers and communities plan ahead and will…

On April 19th, 2024, Muddy Water Dredging, LP, held the christening ceremony of its Marlin Class dredge at the Port of New Orleans. The event was attended by many esteemed business leaders, media personnel, and distinguished dignitaries. "We are happy to unveil the Vaneta Marie dredge. After many hours of collaboration between Muddy Water and DSC what we have before us is a dredge that was crafted with precision and ingenuity," said Michael Kerns, President, and CEO of Muddy Water.

The uniquely painted Norwegian Aqua was launched at the Fincantieri  Marghera (Venice) shipyard, the first vessel in the Prima Plus class for Norwegian Cruise Line's (NCL).With external work now complete, the yard and its partners will forcus on completing the ship for its scheduled April 2025 delivery.“We are thrilled to celebrate another milestone together with our partners at Fincantieri, who are an integral part of the Prima class ships' journey and support us in evolving the extraordinary experience we design and deliver to our guests…

Greek shipping company Carras (Hellas) has received the ABS Biofuel-1 notation for its Aquataurus ultramax bulk carrier, the first vessel in the world to qualify.The notation is assigned to vessels that use a biofuel blend of up to and including 30% biofuel in compliance with IMO and ABS requirements.Biofuels are liquid hydrocarbon fuels with similar composition and properties to fuel oil, but they are produced from renewable sources such as crops, agricultural and forestry waste…

The MSC Foundation, the MSC Group and Mercy Ships International have joined forces to build a new hospital ship.On 8 April, the chairman of MSC Group and MSC Foundation, Capt. Gianluigi Aponte, MSC Group President and Member of the MSC Foundation Board, Diego Aponte, and Mercy Ships Founder, Don Stephens, finalized an agreement to kickstart the new project with a generous anchor donation from MSC Foundation.The new purpose-built hospital ship will expand the impact of Mercy Ships’ life-changing surgeries…

As U.S. shale oil boomed last decade, an oil pipeline company pitched an ambitious multi-billion-dollar export port off the Texas coast to ship domestic crude to buyers in Europe and Asia.In April, Enterprise Products Partners' SPOT became the first project to receive a license from the U.S. maritime regulator for a deepwater port that could load two supertankers, each of which can carry up to 2 million barrels of oil at a time.But multi-year regulatory delays, a loss of commercial backers and slowing U.S.

Greek shipowner Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN), Ltd. announced it another vessel sale as part of its ongoing fleet renewal program.Sold was the aframax tanker Izumo Princess, the first in a series of eight pioneered-designed vessels the company built between 2007 and 2010.The sale will add approximately $37 million to the company’s cash balances, TEN said.“Following the sale of nine tankers over the last 12 months with an average age of 18.5 years, this subsequent 10th transaction…

Russia remained China's top oil supplier in March, data showed on Saturday, as refiners snapped up stranded Sokol shipments.China's imports from Russia, including supplies via pipelines and sea-borne shipments, jumped 12.5% on the year to 10.81 million metric tons, or 2.55 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.That was quite close to the previous monthly record of 2.56 million bpd in June 2023.Seven Russian tankers under sanctions offloaded Sokol cargoes in Chinese ports in March…

Australia's BHP Group is planning to receive its first ammonia-fueled bulk carrier in 2026 as part of the company's plans to cut shipping emissions, a senior executive said.The global mining giant has shortlisted eight companies for the building, operation and fuel supply for at least one such vessel, Rashpal Singh Bhatti, vice president of maritime and supply chain excellence at BHP told Reuters late last week.However, it has not yet decided on the total number of vessels that it will order and is also assessing costs…

Classification society ABS has published what it says is the industry's first advisory on methanol bunkering as the cleaner-burning fuel continues to gain interest among shipowners seeking to reduce their environmental footprint.A key component of the methanol value chain and the overall scalability of the fuel will be the ability to bunker methanol, either by truck-to-ship, ship-to-ship or land storage tank/terminal-to-ship, ABS said.The new ABS Methanol Bunkering: Technical…

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) has appointed and approved the 2024-2025 term of the NOIA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Jon Landes, President, Subsea of TechnipFMC has been elected as the NOIA Chair and Joe Leimkuhler, Chief Operating Officer of Beacon Offshore Energy, as the incoming NOIA Vice Chair.NOIA President Erik Milito said, “We are at a critical juncture where it's imperative to ensure that energy policy from Washington, D.C. does not hinder American energy production.

Ukraine's military said on Sunday it had struck and damaged a long-serving Russian rescue vessel in Sevastopol, the headquarters in occupied Crimea of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet.Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said the vessel, the Kommuna, had been hit in Sevastopol Bay on Sunday morning and it was "clear that the ship is no longer in a state to carry out assignments."A post on the Ukrainian Armed Forces Telegram channel said the ship was one of the oldest operated by the Russian…