Government Update News

Defense group Leonardo and Immsi's naval unit Intermarine have signed a contract worth up to 2.6 billion euros ($2.82 billion) to supply Italy's navy with five coastal minehunter ships, the companies said on Friday.The contract, which also includes logistics support, is worth 1.6 billion euros for the vessels and 1 billion euros in various other options.Immsi's share price jumped more than 16% and Leonardo was up 2.3% after the deal was announced.Intermarine will produce the 63 meter vessels in its shipyards in Sarzana and will have a 73% share of the contract, with the remaining 27% for Leona

A marine tanker carrying industrial fuel sank in rough seas off the Philippines on Thursday, causing the death of a crew member and an oil spill that could spread to waters off the capital Manila, officials said.Sixteen of the 17 crew members of MT Terra Nova have been rescued, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said, after the ship capsized off the coastal town of Limay in Bataan province.The coastguard said they found the body of a previously missing crew member in the sea off Limay town in Bataan province…

Iran has released the oil cargo of a Greek-owned, Marshall-Islands-flagged tanker it seized in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year, a shipping source told Reuters on Thursday.The vessel, M/T St. Nikolas, is still being held by Iran, the source added. It was laden with 1 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil destined for Turkey when it was seized."The cargo was released earlier this week after negotiations," the source said.Turkish refiner Tupras said in a statement that the St. Nikolas…

The Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced the availability of up to $54 million across two funding opportunities to address marine debris throughout the coastal and Great Lakes states, territories and Freely Associated States.The opportunities are a part of NOAA’s Climate-Ready Coasts Initiative under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.The two funding opportunities include:• Marine Debris Removal…

A spokesperson for Ukraine's navy said on Wednesday that Russia had pulled all its vessels out of the Sea of Azov, a body of water connected to the Black Sea."There are no longer any Russian naval vessels in the Sea of Azov," the spokesperson, Dmytro Pletenchuk, wrote on Facebook.Ukrainian naval officials have said in recent months that successful attacks on targets in Russian-annexed Crimea and elsewhere in the Black Sea had forced the Russian navy to rebase its ships elsewhere.(Reuters - Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksander Kozhukhar; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Prosecutors in the Italian city of Crotone said on Tuesday they have informed six police and coastguard officers that they may face trial over alleged failures to avoid amigrant shipwreck that killed at least 94 people.The move was denounced by Italy's right-wing government who defended the two coastguards and four police officers."Not only do they risk their lives every day to save others, but they even run the risk of being arrested in the event of a disaster," said Matteo Salvini…

The renewal of the Panama merchant fleet is one of the quality objectives of the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA), which is why the entry of vessels under 15 years of age to the Panama Ship Registry is being prioritized.As a result, 57% of ships registered in 2024 have an average age of four years. These vessels come mainly from the Asian market, a region in which the Panamanian Registry has technical offices (Japan, Singapore, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and the Philippines).Among the strategies to improve the PMA indicators is also the recruitment of newly built vessels.

Ecuador's navy is ready to protect the seas around the Galapagos Islands from illegal fishing by foreign ships whose annual visits threaten marine wildlife in the archipelago's waters, following training exercises with neighboring allies.Training operations around the Galapagos, which sit among a mega-diverse marine reserve, began in 2018 after authorities captured a ship in the protected area the year before.The ship, then known as the Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999, was flying the Chinese…

The United States' Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro on Monday announced a federal, state and local partnership intended to help rebuild the maritime industrial base workforce required to support the Navy.The so-called Michigan Maritime Manufacturing Initiative (M3) will establish training pipelines and programs to meet the Navy’s need for thousands of new workers and jobs across the state and the broader Great Lakes region. With an initial focus on submarine production skillsets before expansion to other types of ships…

The Energy Workforce & Technology Council has signaled its support for the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, introduced by Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY).The two lawmakers on the Senate energy committee introduced the legislation on Monday. It is designed to speed permitting of power transmission, mining and liquefied natural gas export projects."I am encouraged by the bipartisan permitting reform package introduced by Senator Manchin and Senator Barrasso.

The rescue operation for the Comoros-flagged Prestige Falcon oil tanker that capsized off Oman on July 15 has been deactivated, Oman's Maritime Security Centre said on Tuesday.Nine of the 16-member crew were found alive and one dead, the centre reiterated, without giving further detail on the fate of the remaining six crew members.(Reuters - Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Mark Porter)

Since the Russian invasion began in 2022, Ukraine has successfully resisted its opponents on many fronts, but its most surprising success came in a theater where few expected Ukraine to prevail: the Black Sea.In 2022, the consensus among military analysts was that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s military would most likely crush Ukrainian forces in the air, on land and at sea. With a vast infusion of financial assistance and weapons from the U.S. and Western nations, Ukraine has, however, fought Russia to a standstill on land.

Everett, Wash. repair yard Everett Ship Repair has been awarded a contract worth more than $10.4 million to perform maintenance and repair work on a caisson from the U.S. Navy's Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF) in Bremerton, Wash.The $10,473,626 firm-fixed-price contract was awarded by the PSNS & IMF, which provides maintenance, modernization and technical and logistics support services to the U.S. Navy.Everett Ship Repair was one of two bidders for the project.Work is expected to be completed by January 2025.

The United States' Federal Maritime Commission on Monday published its final rule concerning “Definition of Unreasonable Refusal to Deal or Negotiate with Respect to Vessel Space Accommodations”.The rule establishes the necessary elements for the Commission to apply 46 U.S.C. 41104(a)(3) with respect to refusals of cargo space accommodations when available, and 46 U.S.C. 41104(a)(10) with respect to refusals of vessel space accommodations.Where an alleged refusal by an ocean common carrier takes place during the “negotiation” phase of a transaction, 46 U.S.C. 41104(a)(10) would apply.

Britain's new Labor government will end the use of the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge to house migrants off the south coast of England as part of its overhaul of the asylum system, it said on Tuesday.Use of the vessel, which can house up to 500 men, began under the Conservative government with the aim of cutting the 8 million pounds a day cost of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers while their claims are processed.The Bibby Stockholm, anchored off Dorset, became a high-profile symbol of Britain's tough asylum policy under the Conservatives, with human rights campaigners comparing it to

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has intercepted a Togo-flagged, UAE-managed products tanker carrying 1,500 tons of marine gas oil, the IRGC and British security firm Ambrey said on Monday.The vessel had loaded marine gas oil off the coast of Iraq and was destined for UAE's Sharjah when it was intercepted on Sunday, 61 nautical miles southwest of Iran's port of Bushehr, Ambrey said.Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Navy confirmed seizure of the tanker in a statement quoted by Iran's state news agency, saying "the tanker was systematically engaged in fuel smuggling ...

Russia and China are increasingly cooperating in the Arctic region, which could impact regional stability, the U.S. military said as it released its strategy for the Arctic region on Monday.Russia has reopened hundreds of Soviet-era military sites in the Arctic, the report said. China, which describes itself as a "near-Arctic" state, also has ambitions there and has said it intended to build a "Polar Silk Road." China has its eye on mineral resources and new shipping routes as ice packs recede with rising temperatures."Increasingly…

Spanish authorities have detained a German-operated cargo ship for causing a spill during a refueling operation near the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Spain's Merchant Fleet said on Monday.The Antigua & Barbuda-flagged Tony Stark ship cannot leave the port on Africa's north coast until the owners pay bail of 120,000 euros ($130,524), it added.The Tony Stark's German-based operator NautiCore Shipping did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Last week, trails of fuel oil were detected in front of Benitez beach…

American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and the United States Coast Guard Research and Development Center (USCG-RDC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as a stepping stone towards collaborative research and development on top-of-mind technologies impacting the maritime industry.Activity under the MoU can include developing joint research publications, new technology qualifications and information sharing in a variety of research areas including remote and autonomous systems for uncrewed surface and underwater vehicles…

The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) has reported that one seafarer is dead after the newly built container ship Maersk Frankfurt suffered an explosion that caused a fire while navigating the Arabian Sea near the coast of India.“The ship's operator reports a body in the lashing bridge, but it is impossible to reach it because of the flames. The Indian authorities are focusing their efforts to fight the fire and guarantee the safety of the ship and the crew,” said PMA in a statement.Reuters…

Ursula von der Leyen has been re-elected as President of the European Commission. Her political manifesto, presented shortly before the election, matches all the priorities of Danish Shipping for 2024-2029.Danish Shipping welcomes her continued prioritizing of the green transition, industrial policy, and competitiveness. Within 100 days, the Commission will present a Clean Industrial Deal aimed at accelerating emission reductions, faster rollout of green energy, and cheaper prices for green energy and fuels.In other words…

A tanker that was involved in a collision near Singapore last week entered the area of Malaysia's Bertam floating oil terminal on Monday morning after it was intercepted by local authorities on Sunday, shipping data from LSEG and Kpler showed.The Sao Tome and Principe-flagged supertanker Ceres I left the scene of a fiery collision with another tanker, the Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile, on Friday.The Ceres I was found in Malaysian waters with two tugboats towing it, the coast guard…

The Philippines and China have "reached an understanding on the provisional arrangement" for resupply missions to a beached Filipino naval ship in the South China Sea, Manila's foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) did not provide details on the arrangement for the Philippines' resupply missions to the Sierra Madre on the Second Thomas Shoal.But it said it followed "frank and constructive discussions" between the two sides at the…