Coast Guard Coordinates Rescue of 27 Mariners
The U.S. Coast Guard coordinated the rescue of 27 mariners on Saturday after their Venezuelan-flagged fishing vessel caught fire approximately 500 miles north-northwest of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.At 3:51 p.m. PST, Saturday, Rescue Coordination Center Alameda received a notification from the Garmin Search and Rescue Command Center of an SOS distress alert from the 240-foot fishing vessel La Pena.Using a crewmember’s satellite messaging device…
Northern Lights Expands CO2 Fleet
Northern Lights JV has awarded a charter agreement to a consortium of “K” Line and MISC Berhad initially for one new liquid CO₂ transport vessel. A second vessel will be awarded to the same consortium in April 2026. Further, two charter agreements have been awarded to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines for two new CO₂ transport vessels.The three first vessels awarded will each have a 12,000 m3 cargo capacity.The…
Trump declares that India will purchase oil from Venezuela and not Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said India will buy Venezuelan oil, helping to replace some of the Russian oil that the world's third-biggest oil importer buys. "We've already made that deal, the concept of the deal," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to his vacation home in Florida from Washington.Reuters reported on Friday that the United States has told Delhi it could soon resume purchases of Venezuelan oil to help replace imports of Russian oil…
Malaysia Seizes Crude Oil from Suspect Tankers
Two tankers suspected of illegal ship-to-ship oil transfers were detained and more than 512 million ringgit ($129.9 million) worth of crude oil seized 24 nautical miles west of Muka Head, Penang last week, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said on Saturday.The agency did not specify the origin of the oil being transferred.The waters off Malaysia are known as a regular site for illegal ship-to-ship transfers, where oil is shifted between tankers at sea to obscure its origin.
Pilot Vessel gets Full Furuno Suite
A comprehensive suite of Furuno navigation and communication systems have been installed aboard Federal Hill, a new Baltimore Class high-speed pilot boat recently delivered to the Association of Maryland Pilots by Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding.Designed for demanding harbor pilotage in all seasons, Federal Hill relies on Furuno’s NavNet TZtouchXL Multi Function Displays (MFDs) to support safe, efficient operations in congested waterways and challenging conditions.
USCG Commandant Outlines Investments at Senate Hearing
The U.S. Coast Guard is accelerating long-term investments in cutters, aviation assets and autonomous systems following what service leaders described as a historic infusion of funding from Congress in 2025, according to testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee.During the hearing, Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) pressed Admiral Kevin Lunday, Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, on how the service is translating recent budget increases into operational capability…
Coastal Virginia Offshore Project Costs Increases to $11.5b
Dominion Energy said on Friday the total project costs for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind have increased to roughly $11.5 billion from $11.2 billion.The changes in estimated costs reflect the impact of temporary suspension of work issued by the U.S. government in December as well costs associated with tariffs.Earlier this month, a federal judge allowed Dominion to resume work at the Virginia offshore wind project…
Panama Court Quashes CK Hutchison Port Contracts
Panama's Supreme Court has annulled key port contracts held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, leaving the future ownership of some Panama Canal operations unclear and possibly upsetting its plans to sell some terminals.Panama Ports Company (PPC), a CK Hutchison subsidiary, has held contracts since the 1990s to operate container terminals at the canal's Pacific and Atlantic entrances…
BOEM Publishes Final Notice of Sale for Cook Inlet Lease Sale
As part of a broader effort to unleash American energy by encouraging oil and gas exploration and production on federal lands and waters, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced the Final Notice of Sale for the Cook Inlet Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease Sale 1. Officially authorized under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” and commonly known as BBC1, this marks the first of six…
IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction Holds 12th Session
The International Maritime Organization's Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC) held its 12th session at IMO Headquarters in London, January 19-23, and was chaired by Mr. Erik Tvedt (Denmark). Outcomes are summarized below:KEY OUTCOMESDraft workplan agreed to develop a safety framework for selected GHG-reducing technologiesActions to reduce underwater radiated noise from shipsDraft guidelines…
NYK Holds 2026 Dry Bulk Safety Conference in Greece
NYK convened its third annual Dry Bulk Safety Conference in Athens, Greece, on January 21. The event brought together 150 participants representing 70 Greek shipowners and other companies active in the dry bulk sector. Originally established in 2010 in Japan for domestic shipowners and ship-management companies, the conference first expanded to Greece in 2024.At the conference, we shared with Greek shipowners and related companies case studies of past accidents and incidents…
Fatina Brave Named Vice President of Infrastructure and Sustainability at Ingalls Shipbuilding
HII announced that Fatina Brave has been appointed vice president of infrastructure and sustainability at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division. Brave succeeds Eric Crooker, who has transitioned into the role of vice president of program management at Ingalls, succeeding George Nungesser who is retiring at the beginning of February after 37 years of service to the company.Brave will oversee all environmental, health, safety, security, facilities and maintenance operations at Ingalls.
Wilson Sons Launches Tugboat to Join New Series
Wilson Sons held a launch ceremony for the tugboat WS Halcyon Thursday, January 29, in Rio de Janeiro. It is the first of a new series of three high-powered tugs.Built at the company’s shipyard in Guarujá (São Paulo), WS Halcyon is a class 2312 tug (23 meters long and 12 meters wide) with azimuth propulsion and 70 tons of bollard pull, which is capable of supporting the world’s biggest ships on docking and undocking maneuvers in Brazil's main ports.
ONE Posts $88M Loss - Newbuild Deliveries Pressure Rates; Fleet Continues to Grow
Ocean Network Express (ONE) reported a net loss of $88 million for the third quarter of FY2025, as persistent fleet growth and slower cargo movement weighed on short-term freight rates, particularly in the Asia–North America tradeThe result marked a sharp year-on-year deterioration from the same period in FY2024, reflecting a softer supply-demand balance driven by continued newbuilding deliveries across the global container fleet.For the quarter ended December 31…
DHT Nets $34.2M from Vessel Sale
DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT) entered into an agreement to sell the DHT Bauhinia, built in 2007, for a price of $51.5 million. The vessel is expected to be delivered…
Insights: Captain Steve Jones, Gateway Clipper Fleet, President of PVA (2025)
Captain Steve Jones is President of the Passenger Vessel Association for 2025. As his term comes to a close in February at the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2026 in Covington, KY, Captain Jones has achieved several long-sought-after successes during his term and set in motion other important association undertakings intended to deliver noteworthy benefits to PVA members in the coming year and beyond. Captain Jones has been with the Gateway Clipper Fleet since 1987.
The US Navy Contracting Approach Fails the Stability Test
In the 1990’s, my father was asked to attend a side shell damage on a US Navy vessel. The damage was caused by assist tug hard contact. He surveyed the damage and came back to the office to write it up. His partner Harry Ottaway saw my Dad’s commercial damage repair estimate, and said: “Henk it is a Navy ship. Double it, and double it again”. He did and came pretty close to the Navy’s claimed repair cost.This was not a complex damage…
Subsea7 Gets Shell’s Contract for Deepwater Development off US
Subsea7 has secured a sizeable contract by Shell for the Kaikias Waterflood project, a deepwater development in the Mars-Ursa Basin, off the Louisiana coast in the United States.The scope of work includes the transportation and installation of a subsea umbilical, riser, and a rigid flowline in water depths of up to 1,650 meters.Project management and engineering activities will begin immediately from Subsea7's Houston…
Livestock Carrier Towed to Safety after Engine Failure
The 116-meter livestock carrier Blue Ocean A was towed to safety after suffering engine failure in adverse conditions on January 28.The Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged vessel was sailing off the island of Saint Peter, Italy, on its way to Spain with 33 crew on board when a request for help was sent. Winds of over 50 knots and waves as high as five meters pushed the ship towards shore making operations particularly complex…
Teamwork Required to Thwart Illegal Wildlife Trade
Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California had disrupted several major wildlife trafficking operations, including seizing hundreds of illegal products made from ivory, rhino horn, walrus tusks, suspected bear gall bladders, saiga antelope, and turtle shells.“The international illegal market for these products encourages poaching and threatens global biodiversity — California wants no part of it.
