Matson to Start U.S. Flag Marshall Islands Route

Matson has announced that it will introduce a new direct U.S. flag service between Honolulu and the Republic of the Marshall Islands ("RMI") that will shorten cargo transit times to the RMI from the U.S. mainland by as many as eight days. The new biweekly service will call at three ports in the RMI — Kwajalein, Ebeye and Majuro — starting in the first quarter of 2018. Matson has entered into an agreement to purchase a 707-TEU…
Kirby Announces 2Q Results

Kirby Corporation (NYSE: KEX) has announced net earnings attributable to Kirby for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017 of $25.8 million, or $0.48 per share, compared with $38.9 million, or $0.72 per share, for the 2016 second quarter. Second quarter net earnings includes pre-tax expenses of $0.7 million, or approximately $0.01 per share, related to the pending acquisition of Stewart & Stevenson LLC (“S&S”).
Italy Mulls Deployments in Libyan Waters
Tripoli government invited Italy into its waters; some 600,000 boat migrants have come to Italy since 2014. Italy intends to deploy several ships in Libyan waters…
Baltic Index Down Again on Broad Weakness

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Thursday for a second straight day, on weaker rates across all vessel segments. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was down 26 points, or 2.69 percent, at 942 points. The capesize index lost 68 points, or 5.64 percent, at 1,138 points.
Diana Shipping's Vessel Melite Grounds off Indonesia

Greek dry bulk owner Diana Shipping's Panamax bulk carrier, Melite, has been temporarily disrupted due to a grounding incident at Pulau Laut, Indonesia. "The employment of one of its Panamax bulk carriers, the m/v Melite, has been temporarily disrupted due to a grounding incident at Pulau Laut, Indonesia," said a statement from the company. Although the Company is still assessing the situation, the crew is in no danger as a result of this incident and there has been no pollution.
Hyundai Merchant Marine Seeks USD 8.9 bln from KDB

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) requested the Korea Development Bank (KDB) to support with a total of 9.9 trillion won (US$8.9 billion) in funds until 2022 to grow into the 8th largest global shipping company in the future, Business Korea reported. HMM had asked consulting firm AT Kearney to estimate how much support funds for HMM would be needed. AT Kearney calculated that a total of 9.9 trillion won will be needed…
Harren & Partner to Acquire SAL Heavy Lift

Bremen-based shipping company Harren & Partner and "K" Line, Tokyo, have reached an agreement for Harren & Partner to acquire German carrier SAL Heavy Lift today (27 July 2017). SAL will become the new dominant player in the super heavy lift segment (900 t to 2,000 t crane capacity). SAL Heavy Lift, founded in 1980 in the "Altes Land" area near Hamburg, is one of the world's leading carriers specialised in the sea transport of heavy lift and project cargo.
North Sea Terminal Bremerhaven Upgrades to Navis N4

North Sea Terminal Bremerhaven (NTB) has upgraded its terminal operating system from Navis Express to the N4 terminal system. NTB is one of Europe's busiest and most important container terminals, handling about 3.2 million TEUs annually via continuous 24/7 operations. The terminal is located in Bremerhaven, Germany, offering complete intermodal connections to 130 ports worldwide. "N4 is the most advanced and widely-used terminal system on the market…
EMP Aquarius MRE Prepares for Sea Trials

Eco Marine Power (EMP) has begun preparing for sea trials of its Aquarius Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) solution in co-operation with strategic partners and ship owner Hisafuku Kisen K.K. of Onomichi, Japan. This preparatory work will lead to the world’s first installation of an integrated rigid sail and solar power system for ships using EMP’s patented technologies including the EnergySail. This is…
Japan Bank Finances Danish Shipper

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will provide a total of $28.3 million in syndicated loans with French bank BNP Paribas to help a major Danish shipping operator’s unit buy cargo vessels to be built by leading Japanese shipbuilder Imabari Shipbuilding, Jiji Press reported. The state-owned JBIC aims to revive the domestic regional economies relying on the shipbuilding industry by…
Navios Group Rolls Out Containers Division

Navios Group has launched Navios Containers, a vehicle dedicated to the container sector. Navios Containers has the right to acquire all containerships offered to the Group, said Angeliki Frangou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Navios Containers used the proceeds of the private placement, which was closed on June 8, 2017, to acquire five 4,250 TEU vessels from Navios Partners for a total purchase price of $64.0 million.
Safe Bulkers Reports 2Q Loss, Buys Newbuild

Safe Bulkers has reported a loss of $1.6 million in its second quarter ended June 30, 2017 as compared to $9.0 million, during the same period in 2016. Net loss for the six months of 2017 was $4.9 million as compared to $26.8 million, during the same period in 2016. The remaining order book consisted of one newbuild vessel; its wholly-owned subsidiary Pinewood Shipping Corporation has contracted to acquire Hull No.
ESG Completes First OPC Milestone On Schedule, Within Budget

Panama City, FL, Eastern Shipbuilding has successfully completed its Initial Critical Design Review (ICDR) milestone with the United States Coast Guard on 21 July, 2017 for the Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) Program. ESG’s accomplishment is noteworthy as it occurred on schedule and within the budget constraints set forth by USCG acquisition, and cleared the way to proceed to the next critical milestone known as Final Critical Design Review (FCDR).
U.S. Sanctions Vens as Pressure Builds on Maduro
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on 13 senior Venezuelan officials as the country's opposition launched a two-day strike on Wednesday, heaping pressure…
Simrad, Patti Marine Partner on Vessel Bridge Suite

Simrad Commercial, in partnership with Patti Marine Enterprises, has announced the latest vessel commissioned for the Truex clamming fleet is outfitted with a complete suite of Simrad Commercial marine electronics. Seawatcher II, a 152-foot clamming vessel, features two Simrad NSO evo2 processors driving five 18.5-inch monitors, an AP70 Autopilot, Halo-4 and Halo-6 Pulse Compression Radar systems and two SonarHub sonar processing systems.
ABS, Industry Partners to Advance Autonomous Shipping

ABS joined the Unmanned Cargo Ship Development Alliance to work with industry partners, including class organizations, shipyards, equipment manufacturers and designers to advance autonomous shipping. The design will integrate features of independent decision-making, autonomous navigation, environmental perception and remote control. “Increased digitization, advanced technologies and new levels of connectivity are changing the way the maritime industry operates…
Shaver Transportation Selects Rapp Marine Winch Package

Shaver Transportation of Portland, OR, operating vessels within the Columbia River region of the Pacific Northwest for over a hundred years, has selected Rapp Marine as the supplier of the two heavy-duty load handling winches on their latest tugboat. Rapp Marine has almost two decades of experience of designing and delivering rugged winches for workboat market, and has been around as a company for over a hundred years as well.
Baydelta Chooses Rapp Marine Electric Tow Winch

For several decades, Rapp Marine has designed and delivered towing winches for workboat market. Combining the best ideas from Rapp’s past work in the other commercial industries and recommendations from the tugboat operators, Rapp Marine has developed long lasting and dependable towing winches. These past towing winches have mainly been powered using hydraulic systems in the North American market.
Baltic Index Falls as Capesize Rates Sag

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, fell on Wednesday as rates for larger vessels dropped. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, was down 12 points, or 1.22 percent, at 968 points. The capesize index lost 15 points, or 1.23 percent, at 1,206 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes…
Shanghai to Spend $740 million on Cruise Ship Park
A Shanghai district government plans to spend about 5 billion yuan ($739.97 million) to develop a cruise ship industrial park to house foreign firms that it hopes…