Holland News

Building on strong momentum and record performance, Holland America Line has announced Holland America Evolution, a multiyear investment to reimagine six ships.Representing the most ambitious guest experience update in the company's 153-year history, Evolution will deliver a comprehensive bow-to-stern revitalization while bringing the best of its Pinnacle Class ships to most of the fleet.Evolution will span the four Holland America Vista Class ships — Oosterdam, Zuiderdam, Westerdam and Noordam — and the two Signature Class ships, Nieuw Amsterdam and Eurodam.

Van Oord has installed three monopile foundations using GBM Works' jetting solution in combination with CAPE’s vibro lifting tool for the first time at commercial scale, a milestone in silent offshore installation.Designed to reduce underwater noise and minimise impact on marine life, the method was deployed at Ecowende's Hollandse Kust West wind farm using Van Oord's new offshore wind installation vessel Boreas.GBM Works' VibroJet® technology combines vibrations with controlled water jets inside the monopile to fluidise the soil and reduce resistance.

The U.S. is allowing a Russian tanker full of crude oil to reach Cuba, the New York Times reported on Sunday, possibly granting a lifeline to the Caribbean island amid a de facto oil blockade imposed by Washington.Ship tracking data showed the Russian-flagged tanker Anatoly ⁠Kolodkin on Sunday was just off the eastern tip of Cuba.The Times report, citing a U.S. official briefed on the matter, said it was unclear why the U.S. Coast Guard was allowing the shipment to go through.

Holland Shipyards Group announced the successful delivery of Men Skey, the third and final Offshore Support Vessel (OSV) in a series of three built for Dixstone. Following the delivery of Men Cren and Men Goe earlier in 2025, this milestone marks the completion of the offshore newbuild program.With Men Cren already delivered as the first vessel in the series and both sister vessels currently operating successfully along the coast of West Africa, Men Skey will soon join them to further strengthen Dixstone’s offshore support activities in the region.The three shallow draft (max.

CAPE Holland, a global leader in offshore industry foundation installation equipment and a company within the Venterra Group, announced that it has secured a contract with CDWE for the Fengmiao Offshore Wind Farm project in Taiwan. Under this agreement, CAPE Holland will supply its CAPE VLT-640 Tandem Vibro Lifting Tool for the pre-installation of foundation (FOU) piles and offshore substation (OSS) piles.The decision to deploy the CAPE VLT-640 was driven by its ability to safely drive piles through challenging subsea soils with risk of pile run.

The White House has ordered U.S. military forces to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months, a U.S. official told Reuters, indicating Washington is currently more interested in using economic rather than military means to pressure Caracas."While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking (for)," the official said on Wednesday…

Title: Famous Irish MarinersAuthor: Emma ByrnePublication date: September 22, 2025ISBN 9781788494922 PRICE €17.99/£15.99 HBFORMAT 196x129 mm EXTENT 176ppAlso available as an eBook.Ireland has a rich history of famous – and infamous – mariners: from our earliest navigators, who may have reached North America – by currach – a thousand years before Columbus, to daring polar explorers Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean.Read the stirring adventures of Ireland’s seafaring women, from Granuaile to Kate Tyrrell…

Holland Shipyards Group has sealed its first contract with the Dutch Ministry of Defence.The yard will construct two advanced floating training platforms, Uhlenbeck and Thetis, designed to support a wide range of maritime training operations for defence personnel. The contract also includes a 15-year maintenance period.Both Uhlenbeck and Thetis are concrete structures built on pontoons and will be moored in Den Helder.The Uhlenbeck platform (60 x 13.8 m) is tailored to provide operational dive training.

The U.S. military killed five alleged drug smugglers in strikes against two vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday, in an expansion of the Trump administration's use of the armed forces in its counter-narcotics campaign.On Wednesday afternoon, Hegseth said the military attacked a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean and killed two men on Tuesday. It was the first known U.S. military operation in the Pacific since President Donald Trump kicked off a new offensive against the drug trade.Hours later…

In Memoriam: Captain Charles Robert MacVean, USN, (Ret.), PhDMarch 22, 1937 – September 10, 2025The book, Blind Man’s Bluff, describes the secret USN submarine operations known as “The Projects.” It begins with the opening line, “There was something about Commander Charles R. MacVean that had a way of inspiring legend.” Authors Sontag and Drew narrowed that “something” down to “his sense of humor and humanity.”  Even in the toughest of situations, MacVean radiated calm assurance and situational command.

Amrize has launched the MV Tamarack, a 12,500dwt carrier with a capacity of over 10,000 cubic meters of cement.The vessel was delivered by Holland Shipyard in The Netherlands and is managed by CSL’s Canadian division, Canada Steamship Lines.The MV Tamarack replaces two older ships with a single, streamlined, high-performance vessel. Equipped with diesel-electric propulsion, advanced manuvrability systems, shore-power compatibility, noise insulation and energy-saving cargo handling…

A large buildup of U.S. naval forces in and around the Southern Caribbean has officials in Caracas and experts in the United States asking: is the move aimed at combating drug cartels, as the Trump administration has suggested, or is it for something else entirely?Seven U.S. warships, along with one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, are either in the region or are expected to be there soon, bringing along more than 4,500 sailors and marines.U.S. President Donald Trump has said combating drug cartels is a central goal for his administration and U.S.

The United States has ordered an amphibious squadron to the southern Caribbean as part of President Donald Trump's effort to address threats from Latin American drug cartels, two sources briefed on the deployment said on Wednesday.The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the USS San Antonio, USS Iowa Jima and USS Fort Lauderdale could arrive off the coast of Venezuela as early as Sunday. The ships are carrying 4,500 service members, including 2,200 Marines, the sources said.The sources declined to detail the specific mission of the squadron.

Three U.S. Aegis guided-missile destroyers will arrive off the coast of Venezuela in the next 36 hours as part of an effort to address threats from Latin American drug cartels, two sources briefed on the matter said on Monday.President Donald Trump has wanted to use the military to go after Latin American drug gangs that have been designated as global terrorist organizations.The sources said the ships are the USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham and the USS Sampson.A separate U.S. official told Reuters that in total…

Holland Shipyards Group, in collaboration with Eureka Shipping and SMT Shipping, delivered the cement carrier Tamarack earlier this week at Holland Shipyards Group’s yard in Hardinxveld-Giessendam.Tamarack is a 12,500-DWT self-discharging cement carrier designed specifically for the Great Lakes region in Canada. Built to replace two older vessels, Tamarack offers equivalent transport capacity in a more compact and efficient platform. The vessel is equipped with diesel-electric propulsion…

Carnival Corp raised its annual profit forecast after beating second-quarter estimates on Tuesday, driven by the highest margins the company has achieved in nearly 20 years, sending its shares up almost 8% in morning trading.Sea-based vacations continue to be more affordable than land-based options, particularly for lower-income customers, Carnival said. This affordability has helped the company show "remarkable resilience amid heightened volatility," as more people are booking…

Two weeks after the successful load out, the steel topside for the Hollandse Kust (west Beta) substation platform is ready to leave the port of Hoboken near Antwerp in the Netherlands for its final North Sea destination.The topside is schedule to leave the Dutch port on May 17, on a floating pontoon via the Scheldt and the Western Scheldt towards the North Sea.As soon as Heerema Marine Contractors’ installation vessel Sleipnir has completed its current job in British waters, it…

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the U.S. will stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen, saying that the Iran-aligned group had agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.After Trump made the announcement, Oman said it had mediated the ceasefire deal, marking a major shift in Houthi policy since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023.Under the agreement, neither the U.S. nor the Houthis would target the other, including U.S. vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait…

The US Coast Guard is coordinating with local, state and federal agencies in response to the helicopter crash in the Hudson River that occurred Thursday afternoon in New York City near the Holland Tunnel.The tourist helicopter crashed into New York City's Hudson River, killing all six aboard, including three children, Mayor Eric Adams said.The victims were believed to have included a family from Spain and the pilot, the mayor said at a briefing.Response boat crews from Coast Guard stations New York…

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the U.S. and higher duties on dozens of other countries, including some of the United States' biggest trading partners, deepening a trade war that he kicked off on his return to the White House.The sweeping duties would erect new barriers around the world's largest consumer economy, reversing decades of trade liberalization that have shaped the global order. Trading partners are…

A U.S. delegation will seek progress toward a Black Sea ceasefire and a broader cessation of violence in the war in Ukraine when it meets for talks with Russian officials on Monday, after discussions with diplomats from Ukraine on Sunday.The so-called technical talks come as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his drive for a halt to Russia's three-year-old assault against Ukraine. Last week, he spoke with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.A source briefed on the planning for the talks said the U.S.

In the last decade, changing U.S. Administrations have become increasingly tumultuous, as the swings in priorities and directives have a real, material impact on business. Read on for insights on the current and future of U.S. Offshore Wind.In the weeks preceding his late January inauguration, then President-elect Donald Trump referred to wind turbines (both onshore and offshore) as “garbage in a field” and described electric power produced through offshore wind as “…the most expensive energy ever…”In the same briefing…

Battered by Covid, the cruise industry was down but not out. Today it is setting records in passenger count + the size and cost of a new fleet.Post-Pandemic, the fortunes of the big cruise companies have brightened dramatically. A late December, 2024 earnings release from Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL), encompassing brands including Carnival Cruise, Holland America, Cunard, Princess Cruises and others, says it all: “This has been an incredibly strong finish to a record year,” said CCL’s CEO Josh Weinstein, in its statement.