The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has signed a shareholder agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Saudi Aramco and Lamprell to enter into a joint venture (JV) partnership to establish a maritime yard in eastern Saudi Arabia. The JV represents the outcome of the joint vent
The current orderbook for dual-fuel vessels shows some considerable growth in shipowners’ investment in LNG-powered vessels, Gibson Shipbrokers says in its weekly tanker market report. Some significant orders have been Sovcomflot’s 4 ice class Aframax tankers and AET’s order of 4 Aframaxes in additi
Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) is considering setting up a USD 1 billion fund to boost investments in shipping and spur on Dubai’s maritime sector, Reuters cited sources familiar with the matter as saying. The investment fund will be available to Dubai-based companies, the sources told Reuters
Starting with the latest addition to the global fleet of super-sized containerships, the recently-christened 21,413 teu OOCL Hong Kong has taken the title of the largest ship in the world based on its advertised nominal container intake. However, the sea giant features 191,317 in dwt capacity, consi
Attractive newbuilding prices have pushed the order count for very large crude carriers (VLCC) to around 30 so far this year, which is more than double when compared to last year’s 13 orders for the entire year. What is more, a number of owners, not just VLCC owners, are considering investment in ne
The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for cooperation in the field of big data. Under the MOU, the two companies will jointly develop smart ship solutions and apply them to
Twenty-one new ships were ordered on a global level during the month of April, according to a monthly market report released by Vessels Value. When compared to April 2016, newbuilding orders have decreased by 27.6 percent. Out of 21 orders placed in April 2017, five were for bulkers and sixteen for
Despite the strong rebound of freight rates in March this year that saw the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) pass 1,282 point mark on 27 March 2017, BIMCO expects the sector’s fully-fledged recovery to start taking shape in 2018 and 2019. The BDI going up brought earnings into profitable levels for a couple o
In a time dominated by smart technology and automation being applied across the board, from industrial production to our homes and smart phones, we are witnessing an advancement of this technology in the marine sector as well aimed at making even ships autonomous. World Maritime News spoke with Oska
MR tanker Stena Imagination was named at the Port Rashid Terminal in Dubai on April 18. The vessel is jointly owned on a 50-50 basis by Swedish Stena Bulk and Indonesian Golden Agri Resources (GAR). “Naming the Stena Imagination in Dubai is very much a strategic choice. Stena Bulk recently opened an
Shipowners’ interest is being diverted away from the recycling market with secondhand vessel values rising, according to Clarksons. This causes new tonnage in the market to generate firm competition between cash buyers. The number of Capesize bulk carriers sold for demolition in the year to date is
There are numerous risks of technical nature not being considered when opting to construct the ever bigger containerships that are being overshadowed by the luring economies of scale, the Nordic Association of Marine Insurers (Cefor) warns. According to the association, apart from the commercial cha
Shipyards have been struggling with reduced vessel ordering for years as global output dropped and capacity diminished shortening their forward cover to the current 2.3 years, according to Clarksons Research. Forward cover, one basic indicator of the volume of work that shipyards have on order, is c
Product tanker orderbook has dropped to its lowest level in nearly 17 years as it was equivalent to 10.2% of fleet capacity at the start of February 2017, a low not seen since August 2000, according to Clarksons Research. At the start of February, the product tanker orderbook of 10,000+ dwt vessels
