Oldendorff News

Salzgitter Flachstahl and Oldendorff Carriers have entered into a long-term agreement to reduce carbon emissions in the maritime transport of iron ore, marking a further step toward decarbonizing Salzgitter’s steel supply chain.Starting in January 2026, Oldendorff will transport iron ore for Salzgitter from various loading ports to Hamburg using bulk carriers operated with a focus on fuel-efficient practices. By optimizing cargo flows and routing, the collaboration is expected to reduce CO₂e emissions by at least 20%.

A new Research Centre dedicated to advancing sustainable shipping has been launched by the University of Strathclyde in partnership with international shipping company Oldendorff Carriers.The Centre will address evidence gaps critical to an effective industry transition, focusing on technological, operational and human factors, including the impacts of decarbonization measures on crew.Key research areas will also encompass the design of next-generation, energy-efficient vessels…

Researchers from MIT and Georgia Tech have concluded that burning heavy fuel oil with scrubbers in the open ocean can match or surpass using low-sulfur fuels when a wide variety of environmental factors is considered.The scientists combined data on the production and operation of scrubbers and fuels with emissions measurements taken onboard a bulk carrier owned by Oldendorff Carriers. Gaseous and particulate matter (PM) emissions data were collected while the bulk carrier  was burning 3%S HFO…

Costamare has reported a net income of $290.7 million as part of its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2024, also noting its plans to renew its owned fleet.Gregory Zikos, Chief Financial Officer of Costamare, said: “In the container ship sector the Red Sea crisis led to diversions via the much longer Cape of Good Hope route. These diversions, together with strong cargo demand, absorbed the incremental new building capacity. The commercially idle fleet remained low during 2024 and at the start of 2025.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has issued several safety recommendations after an electrical short circuit led to the grounding of a bulk carrier in the channel off Port Hedland, in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.On April 9, 2022, the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Hagen Oldendorff departed its berth with a harbor pilot on board and four tugs assisting for an outbound passage of Port Hedland’s 40km dredged channel.During the transit, shortly after completing a turn…

A luxury cruise ship has rescued dozens of migrants who were trying to reach the Spanish Canary Islands in a fishing boat that had stalled in rough seas killing five people, Spanish authorities and the cruise operator said on Thursday.The archipelago has become the main point of entry to Spain for illegal migrants from Africa in recent years, and the route is also the deadliest. Migration rights group Walking Borders said last week that nearly 5,000 migrants died at sea on that…

The first voyages of the Blue Visby Prototype Trials took place in March/April 2024 with the bulk carriers Gerdt Oldendorff and the Begonia, which, under voyage charter to Blue Visby Consortium member CBH Group, performed ballast voyages to CBH Group’s Kwinana Grain Terminal, Australia.The Blue Visby Solution is aimed at eradicating Sail Fast Then Wait (SFTW): the operational practice of ships that sail to their destination "with the utmost despatch", without regard to other ships or to the conditions at the destination.

A coal ship stranded at the Port of Baltimore set sail for Singapore this week as crews work to remove the Dali container ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse and block access to the port.The Liberian-flagged JY River exited the port via a temporary channel on Thursday, according to LSEG data and a source familiar with the ship's movements.The ship was stuck at the port after the March 26 bridge collapse that killed six construction workers and halted traffic to the trade hub that accounted for 28% of U.S.

Today’s evolving maritime security risks pose all-too-familiar threats to international shipping, and as just one of the many causes of fatigue, they add to the cognitive burden already faced by watchkeepers. But Groke Technologies can boost safety onboard, says co-founder and CEO Juha Rokka.Life at sea is already physically and mentally demanding. Crewing levels are tight, work hours are long and irregular, watchkeepers are required to perform administrative tasks while on the bridge…

Global industry leaders from North America, Asia and Europe have announced the formation of the North Pacific Green Corridor Consortium (NPGCC) whose members and partners will work together to decarbonize the value chain for commodities between North America and Asia.The NPGCC will apply its collective expertise to develop a corridor for the decarbonized transportation of multiple commodities, including agricultural products, metal concentrates and steelmaking coal.The members of the NPGCC are committed to establishing the consortium as a catalyst for decarbonization efforts…

Ships sailing to the U.S. port of Baltimore dropped anchor in waters nearby while vessels were stranded inside the port after traffic was halted following a bridge collapse, shipping data showed on Tuesday.A 948-foot container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the port in darkness early on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below.Port traffic was suspended until further notice, Maryland transportation authorities said.At least 13 vessels that were expected to load coal were anchored near to Baltimore port…

BIMCO has published two standard Quiet Enjoyment Letters (QELs), the first standard form QELs available to the industry, to offer a tool that can ensure the charterers’ uninterrupted use of a ship if the owner defaults under the financing facility. The QELs will be provided by the lender to the charterer to ensure that the charterer, who does not have a contractual relationship with the lender but only with the owner, can continue to “quietly enjoy” the ship in case of the owner’s default.

Canadian mining company Teck Resources announced it has signed a deal with German shipping company Oldendorff Carriers to use wind propulsion to further reduce CO2 emissions in Teck’s supply chain. The joint investment will see the vessel Dietrich Oldendorff, which carries shipments of Teck steelmaking coal from the Port of Vancouver, outfitted with a Norsepower Flettner Rotor system by mid-2024.The Flettner Rotors generate lift from the wind, which is translated into additional thrust, thereby reducing fuel consumption on voyages across the Pacific.

Vale, working in partnership with Oldendorff Carriers, has just commenced its first biofuel voyage on a bulk vessel.The trial is taking place on an Oldendorff vessel performing a laden Vale voyage from Brazil to Asia, carrying a full cargo of iron ore.The Hinrich Oldendorff (209,113 deadweight built 2016) loaded the biofuel in Singapore on October 16 on the ballast voyage to Brazil. The vessel then loaded Vale’s iron ore on November 28 at Guaiba Island Terminal and will consume…

In 2019, Oldendorff Carriers signed a research agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Center for Bits and Atoms to investigate disruptive improvements in ship design, propulsion, and alternative energy sources to help achieve the enhanced decarbonization targets to 2050. As part of their agreement, Oldendorff Carriers asked MIT to conduct a study on the long-term stability and degradation of a B20 advanced biofuel blend.Biofuels offer a drop-in fuel option, reducing GHG emissions from a life-cycle perspective.

Germany’s Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) has published the Interim Investigation Report into the fatal accident on board the bulk carrier Peter Oldendorff on August 3, 2022.The fatal accident occurred when the vessels was moored for cargo operations at a berth in the port of Mukran, Germany. A crewmember (fitter-trainee) was to perform welding works in the steering gear room. This required the removal of a plate from a stack stored vertically in a corner of the steering gear room so a piece could be cut out.The stack was secured against falling over by means of a cross strut locked by a screw connection. Due to the dimensions of the plates forming the stack (dimensions of the plates approximately 300cm x 130cm x 1cm…

Nine companies across the maritime value chain have issued a joint statement expressing their commitment to developing and implementing robust book and claim chain of custody systems to accelerate the early phases of shipping’s decarbonisation. The signatories of the joint statement – Aspen Shipping Decarbonization Initiative, DHL Global Forwarding, Hapag Lloyd, Kuehne + Nagel, Norden, Oldendorff Carriers, ONE, Torvald Klaveness, and Yara Clean Ammonia –belong to the Getting to Zero coalition…

An interim report from an ongoing Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation has detailed the sequence of events of a loaded iron ore carrier’s grounding in a channel while departing Port Hedland, Western Australia in 2022.The interim report details factual information but contains no analysis or findings.In the early hours of April 9, Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Hagen Oldendorff departed its berth at Port Hedland, with a harbour pilot onboard. About 50 minutes after departure…

Peter Twiss, the longtime president and CEO at German shipowner Oldendorff Carriers, has decided to step down after nearly 28 years with the company. Twiss is succeeded by longtime employee Patrick Hutchins.Twiss’ career started at Concept Carriers in 1995, a start-up company which was established by owner Henning Oldendorff as an operating arm, with the aim of moving closer to the cargo clients. Twiss quickly rose through the ranks, and after running Concept Carriers in the late 90s and being co-CEO of Oldendorff Carriers…

German bulk carrier company Oldendorff Carriers -- which operates about 700 ships globally -- and Blue Water signed a contract to implement Blue Water’s BOSS Voyage Optimization Suite for Oldendorff’s cape and baby cape fleet of owned and time chartered vessels.The BOSS Suite is designed to help propel Oldendorff’s efforts towards a greener maritime trade by reducing emissions through intelligent voyage optimization, weather routing, vessel performance analysis and efficient fleet management.“After one year of successful trials…

Lloyd’s Register granted Approval in Principle (AIP) for an SDARI (Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute) designed 210,000 DWT Newcastlemax bulk carrier installed with Anemoi Rotor Sails.The Newcastlemax AIP is part of a joint development project signed in 2020 with Anemoi Marine Technologies, Lloyd’s Register, and SDARI. Oldendorff Carriers is the shipowner partner for this Newcastlemax design"This has been an important project as part of Oldendorff Carriers’ commitment towards Getting to Zero," said Torsten Barenthin, Director Innovation, Oldendorff Carriers.

Oldendorff Carriers signed a deal last week in Oslo with Yara Marine for the installation of U-type scrubbers on two newbuild capesize vessels.Torsten Barenthin, Oldendorff Carriers' Director of Innovation, and Aleksander Askeland, Yara Marine Technologies' (YMT) Chief Sales Officer, have signed an agreement for the first installation of YMT’s new U-type SOx scrubbers on board two bulk carriers at the Nor-Shipping conference and exhibition in Oslo on Wednesday, 6 April 2022. This…

A consortium, led by the Global Maritime Forum and consisting of BHP, Rio Tinto, Oldendorff Carriers and Star Bulk Carriers Corp., signed a letter of intent (LOI) to assess the development of an iron ore Green Corridor between Australia and East Asia.To mobilize demand for green shipping and to scale zero- or near-zero greenhouse gas emission shipping, governments and industry decision-makers are increasingly looking to enable and simplify the task of decarbonizing the maritime sector by establishing Green Corridors: specific shipping routes where the economics…