Hunt News

China is conducting a vast undersea mapping and monitoring operation across the Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans, building detailed knowledge of marine conditions that naval experts say would be crucial for waging submarine warfare against the United States and its allies.In one example, the Dong Fang Hong 3, a research vessel operated by Ocean University of China, spent 2024 and 2025 sailing back and forth in the seas near Taiwan and the U.S. stronghold of Guam, and around strategic stretches of the Indian Ocean, ship-tracking data reviewed by Reuters shows.

China is conducting a vast undersea mapping and monitoring operation across the Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans, building detailed knowledge of marine conditions that naval experts say would be crucial for waging submarine warfare against the United States and its allies.In one example, the Dong Fang Hong 3, a research vessel operated by Ocean University of China, spent 2024 and 2025 sailing back and forth in the seas near Taiwan and the U.S. stronghold of Guam, and around strategic stretches of the Indian Ocean, ship-tracking data reviewed by Reuters shows.

Asian refiners are increasingly sending medium-sized crude cargoes from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia through the Panama Canal as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupts trade flows, raises shipping costs and forces Asian refiners to hunt for alternative supplies.The use of medium-sized tankers that typically cost more per barrel to transport crude, coupled with Asian companies' willingness to pay additional fees to move oil through the Panama Canal, underscores their urgent need…

The world's farmers face soaring fertiliser and fuel prices as the war in the Middle East escalates, leaving some scrambling for supplies as the spring planting season approaches.The war, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz, has shut down fertiliser plants in the region and severely disrupted shipping routes, potentially curbing supplies to key importers around the world just as farmers in the Northern Hemisphere prepare to plant seeds."It's a mess because it's spring," said Cedric Benoist…

Indian sub-continent ship recycling markets have been reflecting on what has been escalating on the international stage of late, reports cash buyer GMS. The company notes extremely turbulent effects emanating week after week from these markets — meaning it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify what price can be obtained for which type / LDT of unit and, most importantly, which buyer in which market would be willing to jump for the unit in question.“As we await January’s inflation figures from the various destinations…

The U.S. government has filed for court warrants to seize dozens more tankers linked to the Venezuelan oil trade, four sources familiar with the matter said, as Washington consolidates control of oil shipments in and out of the South American country.The U.S. military and Coast Guard have seized five vessels in recent weeks in international waters that were either carrying Venezuelan oil or have done so in the past. The seizures were part of Washington's campaign to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of power that culminated in U.S.

The Association of Maryland Pilots has taken delivery of a new Baltimore Class pilot boat from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding.The vessel is a sistership to the first of its class delivered four years earlier.Built with an aluminum hull and based on the Ray Hunt Design deep-V, the launch measures 48.5 feet long, with a 15.6-foot beam and a 4-foot draft. Powered by twin Volvo Penta D13 diesel engines, the vessel can reach speeds of up to 30 knots, making it faster than larger offshore…

The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will resume on December 30, Malaysia's transport ministry said on Wednesday, more than a decade after the Beijing-bound flight disappeared in one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014. Multiple search operations for the plane have been conducted since then but all proved fruitless.More than…

A Canadian anti-whaling activist who has dodged arrest in Japan for more than a decade vowed at COP30 in Brazil to continue fighting for marine protection – taking aim in particular at deep-sea mining and Norway’s krill industry.Paul Watson urged delegates this week at the U.N. climate summit in the Amazon city of Belem to look beyond the world’s forests and remember that oceans also help to limit climate change, with phytoplankton producing much of the oxygen that we breathe.These photosynthetic organisms along with many ocean creatures are under threat…

Arguably there are no two names more closely related to Pilot Boat design and construction in the United States than Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding and Ray Hunt Designs. Together the dynamic duo has designed and built more than 80 vessels – not to mention a vibrant refurbish and repair operation – design and building for pilot organizations around the country. In a recent episode of Maritime Matters: The MarineLink Podcast, a trio of executives: Peter Duclos, President, Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding…

NATO chief Mark Rutte mocked Russia on Monday over the "limping" condition of one of its submarines as Russian authorities denied it had been forced to surface because of technical problems.Russia's Black Sea Fleet said the diesel-powered submarine Novorossiysk had surfaced off France to comply with navigation rules in the English Channel, and rejected reports it had suffered a serious malfunction.But Dutch authorities said at the weekend that the submarine was under tow in the North Sea.

The Association of Maryland Pilots has taken delivery of its fifth Chesapeake Class launch from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation since 2002. “The Maryland Pilots have some unique features and configuration control is essential to be sure their operators can seamlessly operate all the boats in their fleet. However, this must be balanced with new equipment and design updates, as well as, in some cases, retrofitting their existing boats. To make this happen over the span of 20 plus years requires a very high level of detail in the design and its execution…

Russian grain exports via the Black Sea port Kavkaz, which accounted for almost a quarter of all seaborne exports last season, have been significantly hampered this month due to new ship entry and inspection requirements, industry sources said.Foreign vessels require permission from port authorities and approval of Russia's FSB security service to enter the country's ports, according to a decree in July by President Vladimir Putin.Since the beginning of August, around 350,000 metric tons of grain have been shipped through Kavkaz…

For Peter Duclos, shipbuilding has always been personal.As President and Director of Business Development at Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, Duclos represents the third generation of his family to lead the Somerset, Massachusetts, shipyard. “I’ve been involved with our family’s 70-year-old company my whole life,” he said. “From dinner table conversations to summer jobs, and now as President.”Armed with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts and a U.S.

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) has secured a contract from Birdon to supply key fluid control components for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) program. The company will deliver motor-operated valves for the first two vessels.The WCC program is a major modernization effort to replace the Coast Guard’s decades-old fleet of inland buoy and construction tenders. These vessels are responsible for maintaining more than 28,000 aids to navigation across 12,000 miles of inland waterways, which are critical routes for the transport of over 630 million tons of cargo annually.

Japan clinched a landmark A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) deal on Tuesday to build warships for Australia, marking Tokyo's most consequential defence sale since ending a military export ban in 2014 as it steps away from postwar pacifism to counter China.Under the agreement, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 7011.T will supply the Royal Australian Navy with three, upgraded Mogami-class multi-role frigates built in Japan from 2029. Eight more frigates will be built in Australia.Designed to hunt submarines…

The Surface Navy Association (SNA) announced the appointment of retired Vice Admiral Ron Boxall as its new President, succeeding retired Vice Admiral Rick Hunt, who has served in the role since 2019. Admiral Boxall will make his first official appearance as SNA President at the upcoming Waterfront West Symposium, taking place September 10–11, 2025, in San Diego.Admiral Boxall’s career highlights include three tours with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, most recently as Director for Force Structure…

Delta Launch Services, a launch company operating on the Mississippi River, ordered a pair of new class of pilot boats from Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation. The Venice Class launches follow a long history of six larger pilot boats built for the Delta Launch Services by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard. Delivery is scheduled for 2027.The custom 44-footer is based on the shipyard’s Resilient class; the design is optimized for performing launch services on the Mississippi River. “The lower Mississippi can be a harsh operating environment.

Flex-lay specialist Maritime Developments Ltd (MDL) has appointed David Hunt to the Board, into the newly created role of Technical Director.David brings with him over 20 years of offshore project delivery leadership across global Contractor and Operator roles, including CNOOC, Neptune Energy, Bibby Offshore and Acergy.At MDL, he will be responsible for growing the company’s engineering capability as the organization continues to scale and diversify its global operations. He will provide technical leadership across MDL’s installation and design engineering teams…

New Zealand is seeking to expand Asia-Pacific military deployments in its quest to show it was now "pulling our weight" with increased spending on its armed forces, the South Pacific nation's defence minister said in Singapore on Friday.Defence minister Judith Collins raised the prospect of welcoming increased warship visits to the country, deepening joint training and other cooperative efforts with its traditional defence partners including ally Australia, the United States, Singapore…

A 90-day trade thaw between Washington and Beijing could prove to be a welcome reprieve for the U.S. freight industry, as importers rush to lock in shipments ahead of the busy back-to-school period, experts said.The $906 billion U.S. trucking industry, in particular, has been facing a nearly three-year-long slowdown due to overcapacity, which was worsened by President Donald Trump's recent tariffs on the country's largest trading partners.But an agreement on Monday between the world's two largest economies to slash tariffs for at least 90 days…

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation has delivered a repowered pilot boat, after 10 years of continuous service for the port of Charleston, to the Charleston Branch Pilots. The all-aluminum vessel was also outfitted with a Seakeeper 40 gyro stabilizer.The 65’ Fort Ripley was designed by Ray Hunt Design and Gladding-Hearn and built by the Somerset, Mass., shipyard in 2014. With a top speed of 28 knots, it was the first commercial vessel in the United States powered by Volvo Penta IPS drives with twin forward-facing…

The White House is weighing an executive order that would fast-track permitting for deep-sea mining in international waters and let mining companies bypass a United Nations-backed review process, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the deliberations.If signed, the order would mark U.S. President Donald Trump's latest attempt to tap international deposits of nickel, copper and other critical minerals used widely across the economy after recent efforts in Greenland and Ukraine.