The United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 5769, the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014, by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 413-3 on Wednesday, December 3. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation reauthorizes funding for the United States Coast Guard and
Japanese Imabari Shipbuilding held the naming and delivery ceremony of its latest newbuilding, a 84,000 dwt bulk carrier MV Nord Draco, ordered by and built for E.K. LINE S.A. The vessel design secures 80,000 mt dwt at under 14-meter draft, by widening the breadth compared to conventional panamax ty
This November the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code). The Polar Code covers the full range of design, construction, equipment, operational, training, search and rescue and environmental protection matters relevant
Chinese shipbreakers are heading for a another downturn as domestic scrap prices plunge to record lows, Platts said citing data from the China National Shiprecycling Association. Despite the country’s attempts to subsidize decommissioning of older ships losses have pilled up, reaching USD 32.5 milli
Greece-based bulk carrier Star Bulk has taken delivery of 20 vessels out of the 34 vessels the company agreed to acquire from Excel Maritime. According to Star Bulk’s Chief Executive Officer, Petros Pappas, the remaining 14 vessels are expected to be delivered by the end of the year. Star Bulk repor
BW Pavilion LNG Pte. Ltd., a joint venture between BW Group and Pavilion Energy, held a shipnaming ceremony at Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard for two Singapore-flagged LNG newbuildings, the BW Pavilion Vanda and BW Pavilion Leeara. The Singapore-flagged LNG newbuildings will add to the JV’s fleet
The New South Wales government is ordering six new ferries that will be some of the fastest in the fleet and have a similar look to the First Fleet vessels already in use in Sydney Harbour. The concept design and specifications outlined in the tender were developed using feedback from customers, and
International classification society DNV GL has developed the GAS READY class notation that gives owners, who at the new building stage want to prepare their vessel for a potential conversion to LNG operation after delivery, a useful framework for contracting. It provides a picture of the level of L
Blank check company Cambridge Capital Acquisition Corporation and privately-held tanker owner Parakou Tankers, Inc. have entered into a merger agreement. The deal stipulates that Parakou will become a publicly listed company through a merger transaction with Cambridge. Once the transactions are comp
Maersk Supply Service, DeepOcean UK and Damen have held the keel laying ceremony of Maersk Supply Service’s new DOC 8500 Cable Layer at Damen Shipyards Galati, Romania. Carsten Plougmann Andersen, CEO of Maersk Supply Service, said that this keel laying ceremony represents a very physical evidence o
China Securities Regulatory Commission has verified and approved Tianjin Marine’s application for issuance of shares the proceeds of which will be used to finance the company’s newbuilding plans. According to the company’s filing with Shanghai Stock Exchange, the non-public sale will cover up to 3.4
The former board chairman of China’s state-owned Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, Gu Tiquan, charged for taking bribe, pleaded not guilty before Shanghai Intermediate People’s Court on Monday, December 1st. Gu Tiquan is accused of taking bribes from a steel supplier totaling USD 932,000 over 15 years (1998
The newbuilding market saw four orders for 208k Newcastlemax at New Yangzijiang placed last week by German shipping company H.Vogemann, Clarkson reported in its Hellas Weekly S&P Bulletin. The first two vessels are slated for delivery in the end of 2016, with the remaining two scheduled for the firs
The shipping industry is fully committed to total compliance with the 0.1% sulphur in fuel requirements in Emission Control Areas (ECA) from January 2015, and there is no reason to suggest that there will not be full compliance, says the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). But there is “concern
