A Chinese supertanker carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after being stranded in the Gulf for more than two months due to the U.S.-Iran war, LSEG and Kpler ship-tracking data showed.The VLCC Yuan Hua Hu is now anchored off the Gulf of Oman, near where the U.S. Navy has set up a blockade on Iranian vessels, LSEG data showed.The crossing comes as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are due to meet over the next two days, and after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi visited Beijing last week.
Anemoi Marine Technologies’ Rotor Sail wind-assisted propulsion system has completed more than eight years of continuous commercial operation after M/V Afros successfully passed its second intermediate dry dock survey.The survey, conducted by Lloyd’s Register in China in April, confirmed the structural integrity and operational condition of the vessel’s four Rotor Sails, Anemoi said.The 64,000-deadweight-tonne Ultramax bulk carrier Afros became the first bulk carrier fitted with Rotor Sails when the system was installed in 2018.
Both Iraq and Pakistan have cut deals with Iran to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the Gulf, according to five sources with knowledge of the matter, in a demonstration of Tehran's ability to control energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has slashed energy exports from a region that normally supplies 20% of the world's crude oil and LNG. The U.S. has blockaded Iranian ports in recent weeks. And though Iran initially sought to halt traffic through the strait, that stance is now changing, said Claudio Steuer of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
Dealmaking in the U.S. upstream oil and gas sector jumped to $38 billion in the first quarter of this year, marking the highest quarterly total in two years, analytics firm Enverus said on Wednesday.Shale producer Devon and smaller rival Coterra closed on their merger last week after announcing plans to combine in February. That deal was valued at $25 billion and took the lion's share of Q1 dealmaking.Both companies operate across multiple shale formations, with both present in the Delaware portion of the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico and Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin.
Ambreen Fatima protested in Karachi with her children on Wednesday for the release of her husband, one of ten Pakistani crew aboard an oil tanker seized by Somali pirates 23 days ago, and who is now drinking dirty tank water to survive, she said.The MT Honour 25, a Palau-flagged product tanker, was seized on April 21 approximately 30 nautical miles off Somalia's Puntland region with 17 crew members aboard, 10 of them Pakistani.Fatima said her daughter had been hospitalised for two days due to the stress and her 16-year-old son, sitting his annual exams, could barely concentrate.
Techcross held a signing ceremony on May 13 with Siemens Industry Software at Techcross Busan factory together with Space Solution, a company specializing in PLM software development and consulting. Through this project, Techcross became the first company in the marine equipment industry to introduce the Siemens NX/PLM system, initiating the establishment of an Al-driven workflow based on a digitally integrated platform.
Guice Offshore, a leader in the offshore maritime mini supply vessel specialty market, announced the appointment of veteran energy finance executive Trey Stolz as Chief Financial Officer. Stolz brings more than 20 years of experience as an investment banker and equity research analyst focused on the oilfield services industry. He has spent the past nine years in senior operational roles within the sector, most recently serving as CFO for a consolidator of oilfield services companies.
Kongsberg Maritime has received a DNV Simulator Statement of Compliance for its new Engine Room Simulator (ERS) model based on Höegh Aurora (CO₂ Pilot), a flagship vessel in Höegh Autoliners’ Aurora Class.The approval follows a full demonstration and audit of the simulator model, confirming compliance with DNV’s maritime simulator requirements and validating the model’s fidelity for advanced training applications.The Aurora Class represents a step change in sustainable deep-sea shipping.
As European and international shipping emissions rules continue to expand, maritime technology companies Awake.Al and Tidalis have announced a partnership focused on emissions monitoring and reporting for ports and shipping companies. The collaboration links operational port-call data with existing maritime operational systems to support automated emissions reporting.Awake.Al's emissions monitoring software will be made available in combination with Tidalis' vessel traffic services and port management systems used by ports, coastguards and maritime authorities worldwide.
How Electrostatic Technology Moves from Experiment to Reality Shipyards face mounting pressure to align with the maritime industry’s decarbonization goals. As vessel owners and operators explore alternative fuels, better hull designs and route optimization to cut emissions, shipyards reevaluate their own practices to keep pace. One area of focus includes the coatings application. Among emerging innovations, electrostatic spraying is now gaining traction in global marine projects.
Vessel owners of every size, shape and locale today face a mounting opportunity and challenge: effectively utilizing all of the data coming from their vessels, their fleets, and putting that information to work to make maritime operations more efficient and profitable.At “The Business of Shipping” panel on Day 1 of the Connecticut Maritime Association’s Shipping 2026 conference, a senior executive from a leading gas carrier operator put it plainly: “Our ships produce massive amounts of data … so much of it is captured … we don’t know what to do with it.
Belgian offshore contractor DEME has officially named its new jack-up offshore transport and installation vessel, Norse Energi, strengthening its offshore wind installation fleet alongside sister vessel Norse Wind.Norse Energi wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) is soon expected to begin operations in the Baltic Sea and North Sea.The initial assignments include Iberdrola’s Windanker offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea from June 2026 and Ørsted’s Hornsea 3 project in the UK from the third quarter of 2026.