Build News

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has announced the establishment of the Marine Accident Investigation Unit (MAIU) within the Department of Transport. From January 1, 2026, the MAIU replaces the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) as the permanent body responsible for marine accident investigations. The MAIU will take over ongoing MCIB investigations.The MAIU is led by Chief Investigator David O’Driscoll. It will carry out marine safety investigations into accidents involving vessels in Irish waters, and Irish-flagged vessels anywhere in the world.

Oil prices dipped on their first trading day of 2026 after registering their biggest annual loss since 2020 as investors weighed oversupply concerns against geopolitical risks, including the war in Ukraine and Venezuela exports.Brent crude futures lost 55 cents to $60.29 a barrel by 11:16 a.m. ET (1616 GMT) on Friday while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 53 cents at $56.89.Russia and Ukraine traded allegations of attacks on civilians on New Year's Day despite talks overseen by U.S.

Japan will conduct test mining of rare-earth-rich mud from the deep seabed off Minamitori Island, some 1,900 kilometres (1,180 miles) southeast of Tokyo, from January 11 to February 14, the head of the government-backed project said.The operation will mark the world's first attempt to continuously lift rare-earth mud from a depth of around 6,000 meters on to a vessel.Tokyo, like its Western allies, is seeking to secure stable supplies of critical minerals as China, the dominant supplier of rare earths…

Oil prices steadied on the first day of trade in 2026 after registering their biggest annual loss since 2020 as investors weighed oversupply concerns against geopolitical risks including the war in Ukraine and Venezuela exports.Brent crude futures LCOc1 dropped 4 cents on Friday to $60.81 a barrel by 1029 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 3 cents at $57.39.Russia and Ukraine traded allegations of attacks on civilians on New Year's Day despite talks overseen by U.S.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced the award of two contracts to build up to six Arctic Security Cutter (ASC) icebreakers between the United States and Finland..Contracts were awarded to Rauma Marine Constructions Oy of Rauma, Finland, and Bollinger Shipyards Lockport, L.L.C. of Lockport, Louisiana, and are the result of President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s international agreements with Finland and the historic investments authorized in the President’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.The Arctic Security Cutters will defend U.S.

Product tankers shipowner d’Amico International Shipping S.A. said its operating subsidiary d’Amico Tankers D.A.C. (Ireland) signed a shipbuilding contract with Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited (China) for two new Medium Range 1 (MR1 – 40,000 DWT) product tanker vessels at a contract price of $43.2 million each. The ships are expected to be delivered to d'Amico Tankers in April and July 2029, respectively. In addition, d’Amico Tankers has an option, exercisable within three months of signing the shipbuilding contract…

On Yonges Island, South Carolina, just up the Wadmalaw River from Charleston, the fourth-generation maritime company Stevens Towing Company continues to rewrite its own history. Long known for its towing and barge work, its ship repair business is growing at light speed, transforming what began decades ago as an internal maintenance yard into a dynamic commercial shipyard serving tugs, barges, OSVs, and dredge vessels from Florida to Virginia. At the center of this evolution is Kurt Olsen…

Venezuela's ruling-party controlled National Assembly unanimously approved a law on Tuesday that allows prison sentences of up to 20 years for anyone who promotes or finances what it describes as piracy or blockades.The law, which includes "other international crimes", comes after recent U.S. actions against Venezuelan oil shipments.The U.S. Coast Guard seized a sanctioned supertanker carrying Venezuelan crude earlier this month and attempted to intercept two other vessels linked to Venezuela over the weekend, U.S.

U.S. President Trump on Monday announced plans for a new "Trump class" of battleships, marking the start of an expanded naval buildup and signaling increased scrutiny of defense contractors over production delays and cost overruns.Trump said the new battleships would be larger, faster and "100 times more powerful" than any previously built, forming the centerpiece of what he called an expanded "Golden Fleet" aimed at cementing U.S. naval dominance.The program will begin with two vessels and is expected to grow to between 20 and 25 ships, Trump said.

Dominion Energy released the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Interior’s Director’s Order for a 90-day suspension of work issued earlier today for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project:"The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project (CVOW) is essential for American national security and meeting Virginia’s dramatically growing energy needs, the fastest growth in America. This growth is driven by the need to provide reliable power to many of America’s most important war fighting installations…

The Trump administration suspended leases on Monday for five large offshore wind projects that are under construction off the U.S. East Coast over what it called national security concerns, sending shares of offshore wind companies plunging.The suspension was the latest blow for offshore wind developers that have faced repeated disruptions to their multi-billion-dollar projects under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he finds wind turbines ugly, costly and inefficient. State officials, offshore wind companies, and industry trade groups slammed the move as unjustified.The U.S.

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has contacted seven maritime shipping companies as part of an inquiry into cartel-linked fuel smuggling between the United States and Mexico, asking the firms to explain their vetting procedures for ensuring their tankers aren't used to transport illicit hydrocarbons, according to copies of the letters seen by Reuters.The letters from Wyden, who is the most senior Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee, were dated Friday. They come as stolen crude and bootleg fuel have become the second-largest revenue source for Mexican cartels after drugs…

Maritime Operations Group (MOG) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) signed a memorandum of understanding MoU aimed at accelerating the development, construction and delivery of modern diesel-electric submarines and undersea technologies for U.S. government and allied missions.Under the agreement, the two companies will explore collaboration on the design and construction of diesel-electric submarines optimized for U.S. Navy training, research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E), and specialized mission support.

HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been selected by the U.S. Navy to design and build the future small surface combatant (SSC) ship, leveraging the proven design of the Ingalls-built Legend-class national security cutter (NSC). "We look forward to supporting the Navy on this critical program,” said Chris Kastner, HII president and CEO. “Speed matters, and the NSC ship design is stable and produceable and will lead to predictable schedules. I have great confidence in the Ingalls team to execute this program, and in our ongoing efforts with our partners to successfully expand the U.S.

Amon Maritime was awarded investment grants of NOK 298 million ($29m) from Enova to support the construction of three new ammonia-fueled bulk carriers.The vessels, each in the Kamsarmax segment with a capacity of approximately 80,000–85,000 DWT, are designed to combine high energy efficiency with carbon free fuel. Fully aligned with the requirements of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and the FuelEU Maritime regulation, they are designed for the future, delivering strong…

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered on Tuesday a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, in Washington's latest move to increase pressure on Nicolas Maduro's government, targeting its main source of income.It is unclear how Trump will impose the move against the sanctioned vessels, and whether he will turn to the Coast Guard to interdict vessels like he did last week. The administration has moved thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships - including an aircraft carrier - to the region."For the theft of our Assets…

Italy's government has asked parliament to approve a 2.4-billion-euro ($2.82 billion) investment over 15 years for the maintenance and modernisation of its frigate fleet, a parliamentary document seen by Reuters showed.The plan comes as Italy moves to gradually increase its defence spending to comply with higher NATO targets, after the alliance members agreed to a U.S. demand to boost their annual defence budgets to 5% of gross domestic product.The programme, to 2039, is aimed…

German Naval Yards (GNY), Swisship Yacht Projects headed by Andreas Iseli and Kristian Pascoli of Pascoli International have announced their collaboration on a new 93-meter superyacht concept “KOA” aimed at the next generation of large-superyacht owners. With a beam of 14.60 meters, a draft of 4 meters and an internal volume of approximately 3,500 GT, the project balances modern aesthetics, advanced hybrid propulsion and onboard spaces.The partnership draws on GNY’s experience in building technically ambitious yachts…

Anemoi Marine Technologies, the U.K.-based designer of Rotor Sails for wind-assisted ship propulsion, has signed a deal to install its Rotor Sails on two newbuild chemical tankers under construction for Union Maritime.The 18,500 DWT vessels, to be built by Wuhu Shipyard Co in China, will feature a combination of technologies and retrofit readiness to safeguard cost-effective decarbonization across their lifecycle.The Rotor Sails are set to be installed at Wuhu in early 2026 after…

Seadrill Limited has been awarded contracts for the West Neptune, Sevan Louisiana, and Sonangol Quenguela.In the U.S. Gulf, the West Neptune was awarded a contract with LLOG Exploration. The four-month program is expected to commence in direct continuation to the current contract, adding approximately $48 million to backlog.Also in the U.S. Gulf, the Sevan Louisiana received an award from an undisclosed operator for a two-month program which is expected to commence in direct continuation to the current contract with Walter Oil and Gas.

In 2010, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) began the process of replacing its research vessel, R/V Western Flyer. With Glosten at their side as vessel designer, MBARI considered three types of ships for their new project. The Western Flyer was a small waterplane area twin hull (SWATH), but the parties agreed on a monohull design for the new vessel. In 2021, Freire Shipyard won the bid to build the vessel, and R/V David Packard came to life.There is no “I” in TeamWill Moon…

Ocean Infinity has reached a significant milestone with the delivery of the final vessel in its 14-vessel Armada fleet, featuring advanced underwater robotic systems capable of a wide range of data collection tasks.Over the past five years, Ocean Infinity has built and deployed a fleet of cutting-edge lean crewed vessels unlike anything the industry has seen before.This latest delivery completes the 86-meter class of Armada ships, following the successful introduction of the 78-meter class in 2023.

HII executives toured Breaux Brothers Enterprises in Loreauville, Louisiana, and announced that construction of a prototype of ROMULUS, the company’s new unmanned surface vessel (USV) family, has reached 30% completion. The vessel remains on schedule for sea trials in the fourth quarter of 2026.During the visit, HII leaders toured the shipyard with build partners Breaux Brothers and Incat Crowther, and reviewed progress on hull construction, integration of the HII’s Odyssey Autonomous Control System (ACS)…