P O Australia News

Babcock has marked two major milestones at its Rosyth shipyard in Scotland as the keel was laid for HMS Formidable, the third ship in the UK’s Type 31 frigate program, and the company announced an expanded partnership with U.S. defense contractor HII to support construction of Virginia-class submarines.The keel laying signals continued progress on the Type 31 program, under which five frigates are due for delivery to the Royal Navy within 10 years of contract signing. The ceremony saw the first modular section of the ship positioned over a coin…

Marine engineering firm Birdon operates across Australia and the United States, delivering complex programs on a global scale. With distributed teams, tight production schedules, and increasing demands for accuracy and efficiency, the company needed more than generic software: they needed shipbuilding technology built for real-world workflows.By partnering with SSI and standardizing on ShipConstructor, Birdon has been able to:• Tailor software to its unique build processes and…

HII and Babcock International Group announced they have signed a contract that expands their strategic partnership to further support Virginia-class submarine construction throughput at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division. Additionally, the contract will build resiliency within HII’s submarine supply base.This is the first Virginia-class outsourced contract to Babcock in support of NNS-specific submarine work, authorizing Babcock to build complex submarine assemblies…

China's trade surplus topped $1 trillion for the first time as manufacturers seeking to avoid President Donald Trump's tariffs shipped more to non-U.S. markets in November, with exports to Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia surging.Shipments to the United States dropped by close to one-third from the same month a year before."The tariff cuts agreed under the U.S.-China trade truce didn't help to lift shipments to the U.S. last month, but overall export growth rebounded nonetheless," said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics.

Oil prices slipped more than $1 on Monday after Iraq restored production at one of its oilfields which accounts for 0.5% of world oil supply, while investors weighed ongoing talks to end the war in Ukraine.Brent crude futures were down $1.07, or 1.68%, at $62.68 a barrel by 11:05 p.m. EDT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $59.07, down $1.01, or 1.68%.Iraq restored production at Lukoil's West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world's largest, after a leak on an export pipeline slashed its output…

Schottel is supplying propulsion systems and a unique control concept for barges and tugs serving at Mineral Resources’ (MinRes) Onslow Iron project.All seven barges and two of the project's seven tugs are newbuilds being constructed by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry in Zhoushan and Guangdong, China. Five barges have already commenced operations at the Port of Ashburton (Western Australia), with the final units scheduled for delivery in 2026. The two tugs are also scheduled to be delivered in 2026.Jeff Weber…

Almost A$9 million ($6 million) worth of cocaine hidden inside a refrigerated shipping container (reefer) has been seized after Australian authorities intercepted the cargo on its arrival into Port Botany in New South Wales.Australian Border Force officers identified the consignment and conducted an x-ray examination which identified anomalies in the rear of the container.Further examination located 22 individually wrapped plastic blocks, with an estimated total weight of 27kg. Presumptive testing of the consignment returned a positive reading for cocaine.

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…

The IMO Assembly has elected the following Member States to serve on three categories of the IMO Council.The UK successfully campaigned to keep Russia off the Council by working closely with international partners and lobbying other Assembly Members. This underscores the international community’s unified and resolute stance against Russia’s continued violations of international law, including at sea, said the UK Department of Transport in a statement.Category (a): 10 States with the largest interest in providing international shipping services: China…

One of Australia's biggest coal export ports will resume operations on Monday, the port operator said, after climate-change protesters disrupted shipping at the Port of Newcastle for a second day on Sunday.Climate activist group Rising Tide, which claimed responsibility for the latest protest, said hundreds of activists paddled kayaks into the shipping lane of Newcastle Harbour on Sunday morning, violating an exclusion zone.The port, 170 km (110 miles) north of New South Wales state capital Sydney…

Ocean Wise and Trelleborg Marine and Infrastructure announced an advancement in marine mammal protection through the international expansion of Ocean Wise’s Whale Report Alert System (WRAS), a real-time alerting tool designed to reduce the risk of ship strikes on whales. This expansion includes a new integration with Trelleborg’s SafePilot Pro software, a professional-grade navigation system used by marine pilots globally.The WRAS, powered by real-time whale sightings submitted…

The livestock carrier Spiridon II has unloaded cattle in the Libyan city of Benghazi after being stranded off the Turkish coast for more than a month after a month-long voyage from Uruguay with nearly 3,000 cattle on board.The Spiridon II is now back at sea.It is unclear what happened to the dead animals and sewage onboard. Dozens of animals had already died, and many calves had been born, lost, or perished. The dead animals and excrement cannot legally be disposed of in the Mediterranean Sea due to MARPOL regulations.

Dr. Rosalie Balkin, who was nominated by the Government of Australia, was honoured at the annual IMO Awards Ceremony, held in London on November 24, 2025. The ceremony followed the first day of the 34th session of the IMO Assembly, taking place from November 24 to December 3, 2025. Handing Dr. Balkin the silver dolphin trophy, IMO Secretary-General Mr. Arsenio Dominguez commended her five-decade career, in which she has broken new ground, including as the first woman to lead the CMI - the world’s oldest organization focused on unifying international maritime law - since it was founded in 1897.

Four men, including the chief officer of an international livestock carrier, have been charged over their alleged roles in an organised crime plot to import more than 525kg of cocaine into Australia, after packages of the drug were found floating in the ocean off Western Australia.A Western Australia Joint Organised Crime Taskforce investigation into suspicious activity by an international vessel was already under way when members of the public alerted police on November 6 after finding large packages tied to flotation drums about 30km offshore.Later that day…

Australian Border Force (ABF) officers posted overseas in Beijing have prevented over 600,000 illegal vapes from hitting Australia’s streets after information sharing led to the referral of almost 70 high risk containers.The majority of the seized vapes - which had a street value of approximately $30 million, arrived into NSW between September and October 2025.The information allowed ABF officers to identify several other shipments related to the initial referrals, with majority of the containers falsely described as items such as glass bottles…

Mavrik Marine, Inc. was selected to build high-speed passenger ferries for the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District. Mavrik will construct catamaran passenger ferries as part of the District’s eight vessel Lima Class Ferry Replacement Program to provide transportation services in San Francisco Bay.The 50-m aluminum ferries specifications and systems were developed by Aurora Marine Design in San Diego with structural design from One2Three Naval Architects in Australia. Construction will begin immediately at Mavrik’s facility in La Conner, WA.

U.S. natural gas futures eased about 1% on Thursday on near-record output and ample amounts of gas in storage despite near-historic flows to liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants and forecasts for colder weather and higher demand over the next two weeks than previously expected.The price decline also came despite a federal storage report that showed energy firms pulled gas out of storage for the first time this winter during last week's cold weather.Front-month gas futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 3.7 cents…

A gas tanker had just left its berth at the Port of Brisbane, Australia, when it lost propulsion for two minutes as two of its three electrical generators were not properly configured, an ATSB final report has confirmed.On March 15, 2025, the 100-metre, Liberian-flagged Gaschem Homer departed the BP Products berth in the Port of Brisbane, under the conduct of a harbour pilot.While it was being turned towards the port’s entrance, it experienced an electrical blackout, resulting in the total loss of all propulsion and steering control.Power was able to be restored after about two minutes…

U.S. natural gas futures climbed about 4% on Wednesday on near-record flows to liquefied natural gas export plants and forecasts for higher demand than previously expected as the weather turns colder than normal going into December.Front-month gas futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 17.9 cents, or 4.1%, to settle at $4.550 per million British thermal units (mmBtu).LSEG said average gas output in the Lower 48 states rose to 109.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) so far in November…

The recent rejection of around 2,900 dairy cattle on the Spiridon II raises animal welfare and pollution concerns when, after a long sea voyage, the laden vessel has again had to return to sea.The 52-year-old livestock carrier has left Turkey after its cargo was rejected by local authorities. Court transcripts translated by Animal Welfare Foundation indicate that 58 cows died in transit to Turkey, 140 cows had miscarriages in transit, 50 newborn calves were present on board, but another 90 are unaccounted for.Having departed from Montevideo…

In a shipbuilding industry defined by tradition, one new entrant is seeking to rewrite the rules of how naval vessels are designed, built and delivered. Saronic Technologies, founded just three years ago, is racing to create what CEO Dino Mavrookas calls “a next-generation shipbuilding ecosystem” — one capable of delivering unmanned surface vessels (USVs) at the speed and scale the U.S. and its allies will need to compete on tomorrow’s seas.Saronic Technology’s ambition is staggering: a vertically integrated…

The U.S. Navy needs to dramatically increase the fleet, especially submarines, but the available pool of skilled workers is not keeping pace.Submarine construction is ramping up. The Navy continues to build Virginia-class submarines, striving for two per year, and is gearing up build the new Columbia-class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. At the same time, the industry needs to support the ambitious Australia-U.S.-U.K. AUKUS program to make the Royal Australian Navy a nuclear submarine navy.Qualified workers are not only needed to build submarines…

“Iron ore shipments to China have risen 7% y/y since the end of June, following a stable period during the first half of the year. However, Chinese steel production has remained weak, leading to a build-up of portside inventories which reached an eight-month high in week 45,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.The recent uptick in Chinese purchasing appears to be driven by expectations of increased public spending and a rebound in manufacturing activity, as indicated by China’s Caixin PMI.