krogragg

Category: United States

  • US rail giants in $85bn coast-to-coast tie-up

    US rail giants in $85bn coast-to-coast tie-up Union Pacific has struck a deal to acquire rival railroad Norfolk Southern in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at $85bn, in a move that would form the first coast-to-coast freight rail network in the US. The combined operator would span more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states and…

  • CTM taps in-transit hull cleaning robots

    CTM taps in-transit hull cleaning robots Monaco-based dry bulk pool giant C Transport Maritime (CTM) has invested in CRABI Robotics, a US-based startup developing an autonomous hull cleaning system aimed at tackling biofouling while ships remain in transit. The partnership will also see CTM serve as a pilot partner, helping the robotics firm bring its…

  • Hanwha orders historic LNG carrier from US yard

    Hanwha orders historic LNG carrier from US yard South Korea’s Hanwha Group has placed a landmark order for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier at its US-based Hanwha Philly Shipyard — the first such export-market-viable vessel to be built in the United States in nearly half a century. The order, valued at a minimum of…

  • BIMCO issues clause to tackle US fees on China-linked ships

    BIMCO issues clause to tackle US fees on China-linked ships The Documentary Committee of the world’s largest shipping association, BIMCO, has adopted a standard clause aimed at addressing contractual uncertainties that may arise from the US Trade Representative’s notice of actions to impose fees on Chinese-related ships calling US ports. A BIMCO subcommittee comprising legal…

  • Diana Shipping makes move on Genco with $46m stock play

    Diana Shipping makes move on Genco with $46m stock play Greek dry bulk owner Diana Shipping has disclosed a 7.7% equity stake in US-listed peer Genco Shipping & Trading, further stirring interest around the Manhattan-based bulker player. A recent 13D filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission shows the Semiramis Paliou-led Diana has acquired…

  • US lawmakers propose twin bills to tackle maritime pollution

    US lawmakers propose twin bills to tackle maritime pollution Two United States lawmakers have introduced a pair of bills aimed at cutting down […] The post US lawmakers propose twin bills to tackle maritime pollution appeared first on Offshore Energy. Sara Kosmajac Go to offshore energy biz

  • USTR threat hits Chinese shipyards as global orders slump

    USTR threat hits Chinese shipyards as global orders slump A contraction in Chinese shipbuilding orders has been registered in the first half of 2025, with Beijing’s once unassailable dominance increasingly under pressure from geopolitical tensions and a softening global market. According to new data from BIMCO, China’s share of newbuilding contracts dropped from 72% to…

  • Trump’s shipbuilding revival wavers as key maritime adviser departs

    Trump’s shipbuilding revival wavers as key maritime adviser departs The Trump administration’s early ambition to revitalise US shipbuilding appears to be losing momentum, following the departure of Ian Bennitt, the White House National Security Council’s (NSC) senior director for maritime and industrial capacity. Bennitt’s exit, alongside that of NSC chief of staff Brian McCormack, underscores…

  • Trump threatens secondary sanctions in 50-day ultimatum to Putin

    Trump threatens secondary sanctions in 50-day ultimatum to Putin US president Donald Trump on Monday announced a sweeping threat to impose secondary sanctions on nations importing Russian exports — a move that could shake up global energy markets and disrupt tanker trades from the Black Sea to the Indian Ocean. Sitting beside NATO secretary-general Mark…

  • Genco targets fleet and growth moves with new $600m credit line

    Genco targets fleet and growth moves with new $600m credit line US-based dry bulk owner Genco Shipping & Trading has completed an amended and upsized revolving credit facility, boosting its borrowing capacity to $600m as it positions itself for future growth and continued balance sheet flexibility. The new deal increases the New York-listed company’s credit…

  • Trump wipes out subsidies for wind and solar power

    Trump wipes out subsidies for wind and solar power US president Donald Trump has signed an executive order to eliminate subsidies for green energy sources, more precisely wind and solar power, as he makes another step on his warpath against renewable energy. The order directs the secretary of the treasury to terminate the clean electricity…

  • McDermott picks up Brazilian contract

    McDermott picks up Brazilian contract Houston-based McDermott has secured an offshore transportation and installation contract from BRAVA Energia for subsea work at two major deepwater developments in Brazil. The scope covers transportation and installation of flexible flowlines, umbilicals, and associated subsea equipment for four new wells—two each at the Papa-Terra field in the Campos Basin…

  • Trump’s signature legislative package contains significant shipbuilding provisions

    Trump’s signature legislative package contains significant shipbuilding provisions Donald Trump’s so-called big beautiful bill, a signature legislative package, which has just passed both the US House of Representatives and Senate, contains significant provisions aimed at revitalising American shipbuilding and the broader maritime industrial base. The bill allocates substantial funding and introduces new initiatives with a…

  • White House tariff deadline looms large on liner agenda

    White House tariff deadline looms large on liner agenda Donald Trump and tariffs are very much back in shipping news headlines, with one key deal seemingly agreed and plenty of others under negotiation ahead of a deadline next week. The July 9 expiration date for the White House’s pause on April’s reciprocal tariffs on a…

  • Trump’s shipbuilding ambitions face enormous hurdles

    Trump’s shipbuilding ambitions face enormous hurdles President Trump’s ambitious plan to rejuvenate the US shipping and shipbuilding industries is encountering significant challenges, just months after its announcement. Despite bipartisan support for revitalising the maritime sector as a matter of economic and national security, internal policy conflicts and administrative delays are hindering progress. A key setback…

  • Condon Claims Management acquires Marine Claims Associates

    Condon Claims Management acquires Marine Claims Associates Thomas Miller-controlled Condon Claims Management has acquired US-based Marine Claims Associates for an undisclosed price.  The acquisition will take place effective immediately and the entire Marine Claims Associates’ team will fall under the Condon Claims Management brand. “Having the knowledge and experience to broaden our services is essential…

  • Maritime Partners swoops for Centerline Logistics

    Maritime Partners swoops for Centerline Logistics In a consolidation move within the US Jones Act market, Maritime Partners has inked a deal to acquire Centerline Logistics, one of the country’s top coastal tanker and marine services providers. The agreement will see an entity managed by Maritime Partners take over Centerline from its current backers, Macquarie…

  • Fire-damaged Morning Midas car carrier sinks

    Fire-damaged Morning Midas car carrier sinks The salvors, Resolve Marine, have reported that the Morning Midas car carrier sank in international waters in the North Pacific, following a fire that broke out onboard on June 3. Damage caused by the fire, compounded by heavy weather and subsequent water ingress, caused the Morning Midas to sink…

  • US airstrikes on Iran spark memories of previous tanker wars

    US airstrikes on Iran spark memories of previous tanker wars Shipping stock prices surged in Asia today on the back of the fast-escalating geopolitical crisis in the Middle East, with Iranian politicians threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz after US airstrikes on key nuclear sites.  Iran’s parliament has voted to block the Strait…

  • Freight market reacts to soaring Middle East tensions

    Freight market reacts to soaring Middle East tensions Tensions in the Middle East have reached a boiling point this week as senior US officials reportedly prepare for a potential military strike on Iran, a move that threatens to ignite a wider regional conflict. According to a Bloomberg report citing individuals familiar with the matter, the…

  • Oceaneering scores Gulf of Mexico vessel contract

    Oceaneering scores Gulf of Mexico vessel contract Houston-based oilfield services provider Oceaneering has, through its offshore projects group (OPG), secured a vessel services contract with an undisclosed major operator in the Gulf of Mexico. The agreement will see the US-flagged 2013-built multipurpose vessel (MPSV) Harvey Deep Sea deployed to carry out subsea inspection, maintenance, and…

  • Middle East shipping routes on alert amid rising US-Iran-Israel tensions

    Middle East shipping routes on alert amid rising US-Iran-Israel tensions A rare and urgent joint advisory issued by United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa, and Joint Maritime Information Centre has set alarm bells ringing for ship operators passing through the Middle East. The advisory warns of an increased threat…

  • Historic surge on the transpacific buoys liner profits

    Historic surge on the transpacific buoys liner profits Drewry’s weekly World Container Index (WCI) increased 41% to $3,527 per feu yesterday, the second highest leap dollars-wise since the index was created, with the busy transpacific leading the way once again amid a brief trade detente between the world’s two largest economies, the US and China.…

  • Salvors unable to reach fire-stricken Morning Midas until Monday

    Salvors unable to reach fire-stricken Morning Midas until Monday Efforts to bring the fire-stricken Morning Midas under control are facing a significant delay, with salvage teams not expected to reach the drifting vessel until Monday, nearly a full week after the crew abandoned ship. Zodiac Maritime, the manager of the Liberian-flagged car carrier, confirmed that…

  • Dali VDR transcript released

    Dali VDR transcript released The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the US has released the audio transcript from the Dali containership’s voyager data recorder (VDR) on the night of March 26 last year when it slammed into Baltimore’s largest bridge, creating one of the most high-profile shipping accidents of the decade to date.  The…

  • Solvang and BlackRock’s GIP form liquefied gas shipping firm

    Solvang and BlackRock’s GIP form liquefied gas shipping firm Norwegian gas shipowner Solvang and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) have established a liquefied gas shipping joint venture. The new 50:50 joint venture will be named Solvang Gas Carriers. It will initially own Solvang’s fleet of 13 VLGCs designed to transport LPG and ammonia, and will…

  • Appeals court temporarily reinstates Trump tariffs

    Appeals court temporarily reinstates Trump tariffs A federal appeals court has reinstated one of president Donald Trump’s broadest tariff actions, just one day after the US Court of International Trade ruled the move unconstitutional and blocked its implementation—triggering renewed uncertainty across global shipping and supply chains. On Thursday, the US Court of Appeals for the…

  • Eni selling nearly half of its carbon capture business to BlackRock’s GIP

    Eni selling nearly half of its carbon capture business to BlackRock’s GIP Italian giant Eni has signed an agreement to enter into a period of exclusivity with BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) regarding the sale of a 49.99% stake in its carbon capture business. During the exclusivity period, GIP will progress the confirmatory due diligence…

  • Federal court blocks Trump’s tariffs

    Federal court blocks Trump’s tariffs In the latest twist in the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump, an American federal court has blocked the president’s sweeping tariffs. The Court of International Trade has ruled that the emergency law invoked by the White House does not give the president unilateral authority to impose tariffs on nearly…

  • China United Lines reenters booming transpacific trades

    China United Lines reenters booming transpacific trades China United Lines (CUL) is making the most of the boom times suddenly being seen on the transpacific, with news from Linerlytica, a consultancy, that it reenter the tradelane with the launch of its Trans Pacific West Coast 1 (TP1) service calling at Shekou, Ningbo, Qingdao, Long Beach,…

  • Boxport congestion spreads from Europe to the US and China

    Boxport congestion spreads from Europe to the US and China Port congestion seen across key Northern European hubs is intensifying and is now spreading to China and the US, a situation expected to worsen as a result of Donald Trump’s on/off tariff strategy.  Compounding the situation, low water levels on the Rhine are limiting barge…

  • Japan-US Shipbuilding Revitalization Fund under discussion

    Japan-US Shipbuilding Revitalization Fund under discussion The Japanese government will issue a major new shipbuilding directive next month, aimed to revive an industry it used to lead the world in, as well as using the nation’s yards as a bargaining chip in trade talks with the Donald Trump administration in the US.  Using the 2022-promulgated…

  • Norden helps lower Microsoft’s maritime supply chain emissions

    Norden helps lower Microsoft’s maritime supply chain emissions Danish shipping giant Norden is working on a pilot project with global technology company Microsoft to help reduce its maritime supply chain emissions The company said that the pilot project involves the use of Norden’s biofuel voyage and Book and Claim solution. Norden’s book and claim solution…

  • HD Hyundai pitches port cranes to US Trade Representative

    HD Hyundai pitches port cranes to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative, has been in South Korea this week where shipbuilding talks have taken place as well as pitches made to become an alternate supply of port cranes.  As well as meeting with government officials, Greer sat down with HD Hyundai vice…

  • Tariff truce tipped to usher in covid era uptick in box fortunes

    Tariff truce tipped to usher in covid era uptick in box fortunes The 90-day tariff ceasefire between the world’s top two economies could see covid era surges in shipments and box freight rates, one leading analyst has suggested.  The US and China have agreed to slash reciprocal tariffs by 115% for the next 90 days.…

  • Backers of new US Virgin Islands registry present plans to Trump

    Backers of new US Virgin Islands registry present plans to Trump The backers of a new open registry have dusted off plans first aired three years ago, and presented the concept of a US Virgin Islands (USVI) flag to Donald Trump, amid the current government’s determination to bolster American maritime.  The flag idea has been…

  • Washington unveils another package of sanctions aimed at Iran’s oil shipments

    Washington unveils another package of sanctions aimed at Iran’s oil shipments The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated the teapot refinery Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group and three port terminal operators in Shandong Province for their role in purchasing or facilitating the delivery of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth…

  • ARO Drilling agrees extensions for five jackups with Saudi Aramco

    ARO Drilling agrees extensions for five jackups with Saudi Aramco ARO Drilling, a joint venture of New York-listed offshore driller Valaris, has signed extensions for five jackup rigs with Saudi giant Aramco. The extensions, all for five years, were signed for the Valaris 250, Valaris 116, Valaris 146, Valaris 140, and Valaris 141 or as…

  • Valaris bags $135m drillship deal in Africa

    Valaris bags $135m drillship deal in Africa New York-listed offshore driller Valaris has been awarded a five-well contract offshore West Africa for one of its drillships. The contract, awarded to the 2014-built Valaris DS-15 drillship by an undisclosed client, is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026. Based on an estimated duration of…

  • US issues further sanctions against Iran

    US issues further sanctions against Iran Yesterday, the US imposed sanctions on seven entities engaged in Iranian petroleum products and petrochemical products trade as well as identifying two vessels as blocked property.  The tankers Eloise and Olia managed by Vroom Marine Venture were the ones picked up for the latest sanctions as the US continues…

  • US sanctions three tankers over ties to the Houthis

    US sanctions three tankers over ties to the Houthis The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has targeted three vessels and their owners for allegedly providing support to the Houthis.  Marshall Islands-registered Zaas Shipping & Trading facilitated the delivery of LPG to the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa using the…

  • Trump calls for free passage of American ships through Suez and Panama canals

    Trump calls for free passage of American ships through Suez and Panama canals US president Donald Trump has called for free passage of American ships through two of the vital shipping waterways, the Panama and Suez canals. Trump said in a social media post on Saturday that American ships, both military and commercial, should be…

  • Kpler wraps up Spire Maritime acquisition

    Kpler wraps up Spire Maritime acquisition Brussels-based maritime data analytics firm Kpler has closed the acquisition of Spire Global’s ship tracking business, Spire Maritime. The deal, worth about $241m, gives Kpler control over Spire’s satellites and maritime Automatic Identification System (AIS) data stream. “This milestone marks a significant step forward in Kpler’s mission to deliver…

  • ZIM ordered to pay Samsung $3.7m for US demurrage violations

    ZIM ordered to pay Samsung $3.7m for US demurrage violations Israeli carrier ZIM has been ordered to pay about $3.7m to Samsung Electronics America (SEA) for violating the US Shipping Act. The American affiliate of the Korean manufacturing giant filed a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in October 2022, claiming Zim engaged in…

  • S&P Global buys Orbcomm’s ship tracking business

    S&P Global buys Orbcomm’s ship tracking business S&P Global has agreed to acquire the automatic identification system (AIS) business of Orbcomm. The New York-headquartered company said the purchase, on undisclosed terms, will see one of the leading providers of ship tracking services integrated within its Global Market Intelligence division. Orbcomm’s AIS vessel tracking technology has…

  • World’s second-largest owner opens Washington office

    World’s second-largest owner opens Washington office In a sign of the times, Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), the world’s second-largest shipowner, will open a new office in Washington, DC. “As global challenges continue to evolve-ranging from geopolitical uncertainties and stricter environmental regulations to increasingly intricate supply chains-strengthening cooperation with governments and international organizations has become…

  • Wiernicki to step down at ABS

    Wiernicki to step down at ABS One of the best-known names in the business of ship classification is to stand down at the end of the year.  ABS chairman and CEO Christopher Wiernicki after leading the American classification society for the past 12 years, having taken over from Robert Somerville in 2013.  Prior to joining…

  • Philly Shipyard steps forward to meet US LNG carrier requirements

    Philly Shipyard steps forward to meet US LNG carrier requirements The Korean-controlled Philly Shipyard is gearing up to build the first LNG carriers in America since the 1970s. Following last week’s announcement by the US Trade Representative (USTR) on port fees designed to boost American shipbuilding, Hanhwa Ocean, which bought Philly Shipyard last year, has…

  • Scale of blank sailings dwarfs covid era as US-China trade dries up

    Scale of blank sailings dwarfs covid era as US-China trade dries up With trade between the world’s two largest economies effectively coming to a halt thanks to US president Donald Trump’s tariff war with China, containerlines are blanking sailings on a greater scale than was witnessed at the onset of the covid pandemic five years…

  • Beijing vents fury at US port fees

    Beijing vents fury at US port fees Shipping spent the weekend digesting the news from the US where watered down plans to charge China-linked ships extra for American port calls have created considerable outrage in Beijing and Hong Kong, while causing consternation for members of the Ocean Alliance, one of the big groupings in container…

  • US unveils much-anticipated port call fees

    US unveils much-anticipated port call fees The United States will impose fees on Chinese-built ships calling at American ports—regardless of ownership, in a ruling that the global shipping community has been waiting to hear about for months. The glimmer of good news for non-Chinese owners is that the final measure is less severe than the…

  • Trump administration takes action to impose port tariffs on Chinese ships

    Trump administration takes action to impose port tariffs on Chinese ships The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has laid out plans to introduce fees on Chinese ships calling American ports. The post Trump administration takes action to impose port tariffs on Chinese ships appeared first on Offshore Energy. Ajsa Habibic Go to offshore energy biz

  • Trump’s tariffs crash world trade forecasts

    Trump’s tariffs crash world trade forecasts Many of shipping’s go-to bodies for trade forecasts are now slashing economic predictions for the year ahead in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariff war.  Creating significant alarm, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has warned global merchandise trade for 2025 could drop by as much as -1.5%, potentially becoming…

  • Trump administration chases substandard flags in bid to thwart Iran’s shadow fleet

    Trump administration chases substandard flags in bid to thwart Iran’s shadow fleet The latest American sanctions aimed at Iran’s oil industry make specific warnings to shipping about the use of substandard shipping. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) yesterday designated a China-based independent teapot refinery, Shandong Shengxing Chemical, for its…

  • V.Group takes on management of International Seaways LR1 newbuilds

    V.Group takes on management of International Seaways LR1 newbuilds UK-based shipmanagement and marine services giant V.Group has secured a deal for six LR1 tanker newbuildings that US owner International Seaways expects for delivery from South Korea’s K Shipbuilding. The René Kofod-Olsen-led company will be responsible for full technical and crew management of the scrubber-fitted, LNG-ready…

  • Japanese and Korean yards with investments in China on edge

    Japanese and Korean yards with investments in China on edge With Donald Trump widely tipped to pass judgement on extra fees for Chinese-linked tonnage calling at US ports in the next couple of days, another wrinkle has emerged that has not been widely discussed in Washington to date.  Trump’s tariff war against China late last…

  • The carriers most exposed by Trump’s trade war with China

    The carriers most exposed by Trump’s trade war with China The chart below created by Linerlytica highlights the containerlines most exposed on the transpacific by the ongoing trade war initiated by Donald Trump, the American president, against China, that has effectively brought most business between the two largest economies in the world to a halt.…

  • The steep learning curve America faces if it wants to return to previous shipyard glory days

    The steep learning curve America faces if it wants to return to previous shipyard glory days The stats surrounding the steep learning curve the US faces if it wants to claw back any market share in shipbuilding are astonishing. Donald Trump, the American president, is taking steps to try and build back the country’s shipyards,…

  • Uptick in blank sailings as US and China trade tariff blows

    Uptick in blank sailings as US and China trade tariff blows Global supply chain managers are having to contend with more blanked container sailings as the world’s top two economies show no sign of giving ground in an escalating trade war. China responded today to US president Donald Trump’s cumulative 145% tariffs, placing 125% tariffs…

  • US targets UAE-based Indian in latest Iranian sanctions

    US targets UAE-based Indian in latest Iranian sanctions The Trump administration’s so-called maximum pressure campaign on Iran has turned its attention to Jugwinder Singh Brar, an Indian national based in the United Arab Emirates, who owns the companies Prime Tankers and Glory International. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)…

  • Tariffs on China set to dramatically alter US trade flows

    Tariffs on China set to dramatically alter US trade flows Supply chain planners are busy booking shipments from non-Chinese destinations into the US today following last night’s tariff surrender by Donald Trump, the American president.  Trump announced a 90-day pause for countries hit by higher US tariffs amid financial turmoil and a weakening dollar in…

  • Trump signs Make Shipbuilding Great Again executive order

    Trump signs Make Shipbuilding Great Again executive order US president Donald Trump has signed a well-telegraphed executive order aimed at resuscitating American shipyards while also limiting China’s dominant influence on the sector. Acknowledging the US’s less than 1% global shipbuilding market share yesterday, Trump said: “Rectifying these issues requires a comprehensive approach that includes securing…

  • Keep watching the bond curve

    Keep watching the bond curve Andrew Craig-Bennett with financial advice for shipowners amid the Trump market gyrations. Donald Trump has just backed away from the abyss – denying, of course, that he is doing any such thing – and, while adding yet more tariffs to imports from China to the US, he has announced a…

  • President Trump inks executive order to ‘restore American maritime dominance’

    President Trump inks executive order to ‘restore American maritime dominance’ The President of the U.S. Donald Trump has signed an executive order seeking to “restore American maritime dominance” as uncertainty lingers over the global shipping market amid geopolitical tensions and the U.S.-China maritime rivalry. The latest developments seem to be taking a toll on Chinese…

  • Trump leaves this week’s green talks at IMO up in smoke

    Trump leaves this week’s green talks at IMO up in smoke Donald Trump has done to the International Maritime Organization what he did to the Paris Agreement, in choosing to distance the US this week from ongoing talks over a global carbon levy on shipping. The most eye-catching scene from the ongoing 83rd gathering of…

  • Liners draw up defensive measures in their armoury to fight Trump’s tariff war

    Liners draw up defensive measures in their armoury to fight Trump’s tariff war Global container growth is set to head into a hard reverse this year on the back of the tariff war initiated by Donald Trump, the American president, which is already seeing noticeable cargo booking cancellations in Asia.  In a post on his…

  • Berge Bulk takes stake in Genco

    Berge Bulk takes stake in Genco Singapore-based owner Berge Bulk has revealed a considerable ownership of stock in the US dry bulk player Genco Shipping & Trading. A filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that Berge Bulk’s vehicle Kibo Investment had picked up 3.13m shares in Genco, corresponding to a 7.3% stake.…

  • China slaps retaliatory tariffs on all US goods

    China slaps retaliatory tariffs on all US goods After US president Donald Trump imposed tariffs on countries across the world earlier this week, it did not take much time for Beijing to return the favour. The Chinese authorities said on Friday that the country would impose 34% tariffs on all imports from the US starting…

  • Global shipping ‘stifled’ by Trump’s tariffs

    Global shipping ‘stifled’ by Trump’s tariffs Shipping stocks remain under severe pressure today as the world comes to terms with the immensity of Wednesday’s tariff announcements from US president Donald Trump.  The average US tariff rate has now been set at just under 25%, levels not seen since the 1930s and the days of the…

  • Trump ignites global trade war, major economies vow retaliation

    Trump ignites global trade war, major economies vow retaliation US president Donald Trump has slapped additional tariffs of 34% on imports from China, also hitting emerging manufacturing powerhouses like Vietnam and Cambodia hard, while targeting European Union imports with 20% tariffs, and adding a baseline of 10% on most goods imported to the US. As…

  • US targets Russian interests moving stolen Ukrainian grain to fund the Houthis

    US targets Russian interests moving stolen Ukrainian grain to fund the Houthis The Trump administration has targeted Russian interests over grain theft from Ukraine used to support funding for the Houthis in Yemen.  The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) yesterday added additional persons and companies to its sanction list as these were identified…

  • Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ arrives

    Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ arrives Donald Trump is expected to announce sweeping tariffs in a statement at the White House Rose Garden at 16:00 EST this afternoon, branding today as ‘Liberation Day’ in the latest economic shock to hit global seaborne trades in the opening months of his return to power. The scope and scale of…

  • US bulker outfit Pioneer Navigation shuffles leadership team

    US bulker outfit Pioneer Navigation shuffles leadership team US dry bulk shipping player Pioneer Navigation has reshuffled its leadership team. The Stamford-based company founded through the combination of Nassau-based Pioneer Navigation in the Bahamas and dry cargo brokerage Atlas Shipping has named Peter Bro as its new president. Bro, who spent about 20 years at…

  • TGS gets OBN work in Gulf of Mexico

    TGS gets OBN work in Gulf of Mexico Oslo-listed seismic data specialist TGS has kicked off a new multi-client ultra long offset OBN data acquisition campaign in the Gulf of Mexico. The so-called Amendment 4 project will expand node coverage in TGS’ multi-client library, adding over 1,100 sq km in the Mississippi Canyon, Ewing Banks,…

  • CMA CGM sues Houston bunker supplier for $5m

    CMA CGM sues Houston bunker supplier for $5m French liner giant CMA CGM is suing GCC Supply & Trading for more than $5m at a court in Texas over an alleged case of contaminated bunkers dating back to 2023. CMA CGM claims 13 of its vessels were damaged when it took on VLSFO fuel at…

  • US federal judge blocks offshore lease sale over impact on Rice’s whales

    US federal judge blocks offshore lease sale over impact on Rice’s whales A federal judge has blocked an oil and gas lease sale in Gulf waters off the coast of Louisiana after finding that authorities did not take into account the impact of new offshore drilling on the highly endangered Rice’s whale. The ruling from…

  • Burmester & Vogel expands with Laysoft acquisition

    Burmester & Vogel expands with Laysoft acquisition Boston-based maritime technology company Burmester & Vogel (B&V) has acquired Windows-based laytime calculation software Laysoft for an undisclosed amount. Founded by technology entrepreneur Kingston Duffie, Laysoft, also known as Laytime2000, has gained more than 200 active users in the dry bulk market over the past two decades, notably…

  • Shell chooses McDermott for engineering and procurement services

    Shell chooses McDermott for engineering and procurement services Houston-based offshore contractor McDermott has been selected by UK supermajor Shell for an enterprise framework agreement for engineering and procurement services and integrated project management team services. McDermott said that the agreement has a duration of three years with two one-year optional extensions. The scope of the…

  • Nortrans pens deal with Saipem for flotel work on Chevron’s Australian project

    Nortrans pens deal with Saipem for flotel work on Chevron’s Australian project Singapore-based Nortrans Offshore has been awarded a contract with Italian giant Saipem for work on the Jansz-Io compression project offshore Western Australia. As part of this project, the company took the 200-person flotel Belait CSS 1 on a long-term bareboat charter. This is…

  • Maersk seals 33-year lease extension at port of NY and NJ

    Maersk seals 33-year lease extension at port of NY and NJ AP Moller-Maersk has reached an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to extend APM Terminals Elizabeth’s lease through December 2062. Originally set to expire in 2029, the 33-year lease extension “paves the way for major infrastructure investments which will…

  • Trump’s tariff war only directly impacting 1.5% of global seaborne trade volumes for now

    Trump’s tariff war only directly impacting 1.5% of global seaborne trade volumes for now Despite their high profile, US trade tariffs – and retaliatory actions – are to date impacting directly only 1.5% of global seaborne trade volumes, according to the latest data from Clarksons Research, which notes that in the previous 2018-19 trade war…

  • $3.5m: How much this COSCO ship might be charged when calling at a US port

    $3.5m: How much this COSCO ship might be charged when calling at a US port Public comments continue to fly into the US Trade Representative (USTR) ahead of Monday’s hearing into controversial plans to tax Chinese-built tonnage calling at US ports.  In the more than 150 submissions sent in, a considerable number have hit out…

  • Investigators warn 68 American bridges are at risk from a Dali-style accident

    Investigators warn 68 American bridges are at risk from a Dali-style accident The one-year anniversary since 2024’s most high-profile ship accident is next week, and the fallout from the Dali containership’s destruction of a bridge in Baltimore continues to permeate throughout the US.  In the early hours of March 26 last year, the Dali lost…

  • Chinese teapot refinery included in latest round of American sanctions targeting Iranian oil

    Chinese teapot refinery included in latest round of American sanctions targeting Iranian oil The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated a so-called teapot oil refinery in Shandong, China and its chief executive officer for purchasing and refining hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil, including…

  • US could bar ships from countries seen to be creating maritime chokepoints

    US could bar ships from countries seen to be creating maritime chokepoints In the latest maritime bombshell coming out of Washington DC, the Federal Maritime Commission, the country’s shipping regulator, has warned it might bar entry to ships from countries found to be causing choke points at key locations around the world. The FMC yesterday…

  • Chinese owners and yards come out fighting in US trade dispute

    Chinese owners and yards come out fighting in US trade dispute Both the China Shipowners’ Association (CSA) and the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (CANSI) have left public comments criticising the US Trade Representative’s proposals to charge extra for fleets with Chinese-built tonnage calling at American ports, arguably the biggest shock policy to…

  • US sanctions tanker headed for demolition

    US sanctions tanker headed for demolition Donald Trump’s so-called ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran has stepped up a gear with the latest targeted sanctions announced in Washington DC yesterday including a ship waiting to be scrapped off Bangladesh as well as tug boats that have serviced Iranian-linked vessels in the past. The Department of the…

  • Captain arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter over North Sea collision

    Captain arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter over North Sea collision The captain of the containership Solong, involved in a collision with the Stena Immaculate tanker in the UK North Sea, has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. The incident, which took place on Monday with both ships bursting into flames after…

  • China building 62% of new ships ordered globally in spite of looming US tariffs

    China building 62% of new ships ordered globally in spite of looming US tariffs China has cemented its position as the world’s top shipbuilding nation as it secured orders for 3,454 out of a total of 5,735 vessels in the current global orderbook. The post China building 62% of new ships ordered globally in spite…

  • Containership likely to sink after North Sea collision

    Containership likely to sink after North Sea collision The Solong containership involved in Monday’s collision in the UK North Sea is unlikely to remain afloat, British maritime minister Mike Kane has said. “Modelling suggests that should Solong remain afloat, it will remain clear of land for the next few hours. The assessment of HM Coastguard…

  • Triton buys Global Container International

    Triton buys Global Container International Container leasing giant Triton has agreed to acquire Global Container International (GCI) in a deal valued at more than $1bn, including outstanding debt. Boston-based GCI was established in 2018 by a team of experienced container industry executives in partnership with investment vehicles managed by Wafra. The transaction, expected to close…

  • Preliminary signs of a two-tier freight market emerge as US crackdown on Chinese-built tonnage nears

    Preliminary signs of a two-tier freight market emerge as US crackdown on Chinese-built tonnage nears The first signs of a two-tier market are emerging in anticipation of Donald Trump’s likely penalisation of Chinese-built tonnage.  Broker BRS is reporting Chinese-linked ships are now becoming “far less attractive” for long time charters due to the likelihood that,…

  • Massive fire erupts as tanker and boxship crash off UK coast

    Massive fire erupts as tanker and boxship crash off UK coast A major rescue operation is underway in the North Sea after a product tanker and a containership crashed and caught fire off the coast of Hull in east Yorkshire, UK. A US-flagged MR tanker Stena Immaculate was struck by the Portugal-flagged containership Solong while…

  • Shipping in the crosshairs as trade uncertainty hits all-time high

    Shipping in the crosshairs as trade uncertainty hits all-time high At no point since tracking began on the subject have global trade policies been more uncertain than right now, according to one index developed in the US.  The Trade Policy Uncertainty (TPU) Index (see chart below) developed by four employees at the Federal Reserve Board…

  • CMA CGM’s Saadé vows to invest $20bn into the US over the next four years

    CMA CGM’s Saadé vows to invest $20bn into the US over the next four years CMA CGM’s Rodolphe Saadé was in the White House yesterday, unveiling a $20bn planned investment into the US.  The huge investment over the next four years would create 10,000 jobs, CMA CGM said, and include expanding container terminals, building an…

  • “Bring it back to America”: Trump unveils plan to rejuvenate US shipbuilding

    “Bring it back to America”: Trump unveils plan to rejuvenate US shipbuilding Speaking to the US Congress, President Donald Trump proposed a ‘sweeping’ plan to revive […] The post “Bring it back to America”: Trump unveils plan to rejuvenate US shipbuilding appeared first on Offshore Energy. Sara Kosmajac Go to offshore energy biz

  • Trump’s trade war steps up a gear

    Trump’s trade war steps up a gear US president Donald Trump’s new round of tariffs against his country’s top three trading partners has sparked retaliatory action, launching new trade conflicts. On Tuesday, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports, as well as a 20% duty on Chinese goods. China responded in kind, imposing…

  • US issues further Iran sanctions

    US issues further Iran sanctions The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on more than 30 persons and vessels in multiple jurisdictions for their role in brokering the sale and transportation of Iranian petroleum-related products, the latest in a series of measures the new Donald Trump administration…

  • Container sector set to take biggest hit from US plans to charge Chinese-built vessels

    Container sector set to take biggest hit from US plans to charge Chinese-built vessels Shipping is reeling from what could be the most seismic decision to effect the industry yet in the opening weeks of Donald Trump’s second term in office. The American president will make a decision, likely in around a month’s time, on…

  • US targets Chinese ships and terminal investments

    US targets Chinese ships and terminal investments The US is considering slapping huge fees on Chinese-built ships calling at its ports, while also clamping down on Chinese ownership of terminals on home soil. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has finally outlined the ways it feels Washington DC can fight back against the dominance China…