Owner Operator News

Fincantieri has delivered Four Seasons I, the first ultra-luxury cruise yacht built for Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, a joint owner-operator of Four Seasons Yachts, at its Ancona shipyard.The vessel is described by the Italian shipbuilder as the world’s first intelligent ultra-luxury ship and represents the first Navis Sapiens unit, based on an integrated digital architecture developed by Fincantieri Ingenium, a joint venture between Fincantieri NexTech and Accenture.The system…

A new report from the Getting to Zero Coalition identifies 25 new green shipping corridors – trade routes designed to demonstrate and scale novel zero-emission fuels, vessels, and technologies – launched this last year, expanding the global total to 84 active initiatives.At a Crossroads: Annual Progress Report on Green Shipping Corridors 2025 reveals that new initiatives have been launched in major developing economies like China, India, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, and Kenya.For the first time since the report’s inception in 2022…

With everything going on around the maritime industry these days — from a Presidential Executive Order to Make U.S. Maritime Great Again, to bipartisan legislation in Congress to boost our shipyards and merchant marine, to the import tariff rollercoaster ride we’re all on — it’s easy to forget some other important U.S. maritime policy initiatives whose benefits are just over the horizon. One such initiative we mustn’t lose sight of is the effort by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S.

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has found the owner, operator, and local agent of the container ship X-Press Pearl liable for environmental and economic damage caused by the 2021 fire and sinking of the vessel.The ship's registered owner, EOS Ro Pte. Limited, along with others, has been fined $1 billion under the polluter pays principle.The Singapore-flagged vessel had 1,486 containers on board at the time, 81 of which were identified as containing hazardous. It arrived in Sri Lankan territorial waters of Sri Lanka with a container already leaking nitric acid and caught fire on May 20, 2021.

Since coming into force, the IMO Polar Code has had a positive effect on maritime operations in polar waters, write Dan Oldford and Ed Moakler, ABS HETC, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.What is the Polar Code, When and Why did it come into force?Polar regions have many unique hazards compared to warmer waters around the world. Since the earliest explorers sought to explore the Arctic and Antarctic by ship, many vessels have been lost due to sea ice, cold air temperatures and ice accretion.Prior to the Polar Code coming into force there were no international regulations…

Seatrium Limited signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Karpowership, a global energy company and the owner, operator, and builder of the world’s largest Powership (floating power plant) fleet.Under the LOI, Seatrium will carry out the integration of four New Generation Powerships, with an option for two additional units. Karpowership will deliver the hulls and key equipment for the four Powerships to Seatrium Singapore, where integration works will begin in the first quarter of 2027.

North Star’s £400 million ($550 million) ongoing commitment as part of its ESG strategy, combined with a £1.8 million ($2.47 million) investment in crew training last year, has delivered significant progress in its transition to operating a net zero fleet by 2045.The UK’s largest integrated ship owner-operator has a current fleet of 48 vessels. Findings from its 2024 ESG report include an 18% reduction in fleet-wide carbon intensity compared to 2022, alongside a 15% year-on-year…

On April 17, 2025, the Office of the US Trade Representative (“USTR”) published a notice of action (the “USTR Notice”) implementing its port fee proposal, first announced on February 21, 2025. The rules differ substantially from the February proposal (summarized here). The calculation of the fees has changed to a net tonnage-based fee (or for certain vessels, based on containers discharged or Car Equivalent Units). Several points have been clarified. Specialized rules apply to LNG transportation and vehicle carriers, including fees and restrictions on non-Chinese vessels.

Four Seasons Yachts reports the appointment of Kate McCue as the inaugural Captain of Four Seasons l, the first ultra-luxury yacht in the highly anticipated fleet. A graduate of the California Maritime Academy, Captain Kate brings nearly three decades of maritime expertise, combining technical precision with a passion for hospitality to create a truly transformative yachting experience. A pioneer in the industry, she made history in 2015 as the first American female captain of…

Gaslog, owner, operator and manager of 35 LNG carriers and one FSRU, has selected Propulsion Analytics to develop a customized version of the Engine Hyper Cube platform tailored specifically for its fleet.The platform will be enabled by Kongsberg Digital’s Vessel Insight cloud infrastructure.It builds on Propulsion Analytics’ core Engine Hyper Cube application, which performs continuous engine performance analysis using high-frequency data from onboard engine sensors.This data is seamlessly integrated via Kongsberg Digital’s Vessel Insight Vessel-to-Cloud infrastructure…

Fincantieri and Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings LTD, Joint Owner/Operator of Four Seasons Yachts, celebrated the launch of "Four Seasons I" at the Ancona shipyard, the first ultra-luxury ship under construction for Four Seasons Yachts, which will be delivered to end of this year and which will set sail in January 2026. The launching ceremony was attended by Fincantieri's President, Biagio Mazzotta, the CEO and General Manager, Pierroberto Folgiero, the General Manager of the Merchant Ships Division…

Political winds blowing a raft of new tariffs and incoming supply uptick suggests a volatile 2025 Bearish sentiment crept into the car carrier market in June after the European Union (EU) announced increased import tariffs for Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) up to as much as 45.3%. The EU tariffs, which came into play in November for a period of five years and were increased following an investigation into Chinese state subsidies to domestic car manufacturers, are weighing…

Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, Joint Owner/Operator Four Seasons Yachts has appointed Anglo-Eastern as its ship management partner for its ultra-luxury yacht, Four Seasons I. Anglo-Eastern will oversee the technical management of the vessel, which is under construction at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Ancona, Italy. Four Seasons I is scheduled to commence commercial operations in 2026.

SeaTac Marine Services announced it has completed an ocean transit move of 110 housing modules in support of HomeAid Hawaii and their partners for the Ka La’i Ola development in Lahaina, Hawaii.The homes are part of more than 400 that will help facilitate permanent housing for survivors of the August 2023 Lahaina Fire.This September, 110 of the homes were safely and securely transported by SeaTac Marine Services via barge and offloaded at the Port of Kahului. The units, manufactured by Factory OS/Harbinger, were loaded out of Mare Island, Calif.

With new rules on Cyber Security coming down from the U.S. Coast Guard, Angeliki Zisimatou, Director Cybersecurity, ABS, is uniquely positioned to discuss maritime cyber security in the round, with insights on what she’s seen and heard from the draft rules, with advise on what it could mean for vessel owners.Cyber security and all that it entails is quickly climbing the priority ladder in maritime, as increasing dependance on connectivity is a double edge sword of promise and peril.While the level of cyber security preparedness varies widely across all industries…

The state of Maryland on Tuesday filed civil claims against the owner and operator of the cargo ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March, killing six people and paralyzing a major transportation artery for the U.S. Northeast.The lawsuit seeks damages from two Singaporean companies that are the registered owner of the Dali cargo ship, Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, and its manager, Synergy Marine Group, for the cost of the bridge, cleanup efforts, environmental claims and other costs.

The families of the six workers who died in the March collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore filed lawsuits on Friday against the owner and operator of the cargo ship that struck the bridge.The lawsuits filed in Maryland federal court by the families of Carlos Daniel Hernandez Estrella, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Miguel Angel Luna, Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval and Jose Mynor Lopez seek unspecified damages from the registered owner of the ship…

Commodities trader Trafigura has completed its first ship-to-ship (STS) transfer of ammonia in international waters close to the port of Ceuta in the Strait of Gibraltar.Approximately 6,000 metric tonnes of ammonia (NH3), supplied by CF Industries from their Donaldsonville, Louisiana-based manufacturing complex, was safely transferred between the Green Power Medium Gas Carrier (MGC), owned by ship owner/operator Purus on time charter to Trafigura, and small gas carrier the Gas…

U.S.-based Patriot Maritime announced it has appointed Mark Handin as president, replacing Lance Bardo who will retire at the end of June.Handin joins Patriot after a 27+ year career in various management, executive and corporate officer roles within Tidewater Marine and the A.P. Moller-Maersk group.Handin will hold overall responsibility for the performance of the companies’ owned and managed vessels under Patriot Contract Services. LLC., and its American Ship Management, LLC subsidiary.

The owner, operator and charterer of the container ship that struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday are likely to face lawsuits over its collapse and the people killed or injured, but legal experts say U.S. maritime law could limit the companies’ liability.U.S. laws pertaining to open-water navigation and shipping, which are created through court decisions and by acts of Congress, could restrict the kinds of lawsuits filed against the registered owner of the Singapore-flagged ship…

This week Esgian’s Week 50 Rig Analytics Market Roundup notes developments in the semisub sector including that Shell has decided to exercise its option on Stena Don in the North Sea but not on Deepsea Bollsta in Namibia. Meanwhile, a new contract for the Transocean Barents will see it operate in the Black Sea, and jackup Shelf Drilling Perseverance will move to Vietnam.ContractsShelf Drilling has secured a contract award for the 400ft Shelf Drilling Perseverance jackup rig with PetroVietnam Domestic Exploration Production Operating Company Limited (PVEP POC).

Containerships owner/operator Seaspan Corporation signaled its entry into the car carrier segment in confirming a deal to order a series of new pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) in partnership with Hyundai Glovis (Glovis).The 10,800 CEU are the largest PCTCs under development to date. They will be dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as ammonia-and methanol-ready.Seaspan said it negotiated the purchase from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, a China State Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard.

U.K. shipbuilder Diverse Marine has introduced its own finance and lease program designed initially for the financed construction of offshore wind crew transfer vessels (CTV).Funding for offshore wind CTVs has been challenging, and the company said it has observed over the last 24 months pressures felt by clients and vessel owners trying to justify builds in the U.K., with conventional vessel procurement methods uncompetitive against yards in Europe, Scandinavia and the Far East…