Wärtsilä has signed a Lifecycle Agreement with charity organization Mercy Ships International. The contract covers a 5-year renewal of an existing service agreement for the world's largest purpose-built civilian hospital ship, the Global Mercy, and a 3-year service agreement for the organization’s latest newbuild vessel, the Africa Mercy II. Both ships are fitted with Wärtsilä engines. The order was booked by Wärtsilä in Q3 2026.
KR (Korean Register) has issued a Statement of Fact for the Vessel Performance Calculation Methodology developed by ShipWatch, an affiliated company of Navig8 and ADNOC L&S. KR’s technical review confirmed that the methodology aligns with the principles and performance-monitoring sequences established in the international standards ISO 15016:2015 and ISO 19030:2016.The Statement of Fact was formally presented to ShipWatch on September 2 during SMM 2026 in Hamburg, Germany.
Techcross has completely renewed its Smart Platform, a web-based service for shipowners. The key focus of the renewal is to go beyond simply providing operational data from Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS) by improving the information structure and data analytics functions, enabling users to identify vessel conditions and necessary actions more quickly.The renewed Smart Platform categorizes the status of vessels within a shipowner's fleet into three levels—Alert, Warn, and Normal—allowing users to immediately identify vessels that require priority attention.
Indian ship recyclers are increasingly prepared to bid at levels that could result in substantial losses based on current prices as competition for a limited number of end-of-life vessels intensifies, according to Wirana Shipping, one of the world’s oldest and largest cash buyers of vessels for recycling.Indian ship recycling offers have climbed by as much as USD 30/LT LDT in three weeks as competition for limited vessel supply intensifies, Wirana Shipping has reported in its latest weekly market report.
South Korea is reviewing options, including military measures, to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the presidential office said on Friday, while denying media reports that the government had already decided on a deployment.Several South Korean media outlets, including JTBC and MBC, reported late on Thursday that Seoul was preparing to deploy military assets before the end of the year and could seek parliamentary approval this month.
Argentine President Javier Milei said on Thursday he would tighten sanctions on companies involved in oil projects around the Falkland Islands, boost defense resources in the country's south and send Congress a bill aimed at strengthening Argentina's response to what he called violations of its sovereignty.In a televised address, Milei said he would sign a decree to speed sanctions under Argentine law against companies participating in oil and gas extraction in territory Argentina considers its own but that remains under British control.
Autonomy is often described as removing people from operations. That’s not quite right.It’s not a case of people ‘simply’ being replaced by machines. It’s about the move from vessel-centered operations to shore-enabled operations. People still matter, but their roles, locations and relationships with the operation change fundamentally. Uncrewed doesn’t mean unattended.Control is redistributed, not removedIn our coastal surveillance work in the Middle East, multiple vessels can operate simultaneously under the oversight of an onshore control center.
Everllence has signed Long-Term Service Agreements (LTSAs) with German ferry operator, TT-Line, at the 2026 SMM maritime trade fair in Hamburg. The agreements cover two newbuilding RoPax vessels currently under construction at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Jiangsu) plus two other vessels from TT-Lines’ existing fleet: the Nils Holgersson and the Peter Pan – both also constructed by China Merchants.The Nils Holgersson and Peter Pan are each equipped with 2 × 6L51/60 DF + 2 × 8L51/60 DF engines with Everllence propulsion systems.
China's Ministry of Natural Resources conducted a survey of waters east of Taiwan last month that it said would help it create "one map" for territorial planning and resource management, state broadcaster CCTV said on Thursday.China has been stepping up its activities to the east of Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean to assert its claims of sovereignty and jurisdiction over the island and its waters, to the anger of the government in Taipei.
Turkish authorities continued searching on Thursday for 10 crew members missing after a cargo ship sank off the coast of Istanbul following a collision with another vessel, state-owned Anadolu Agency reported.Two Turkish-flagged commercial vessels collided in the Sea of Marmara off Istanbul on Wednesday. Authorities said one of the ships, carrying 10 crew members, is believed to have sunk within about 11 minutes of the crash.Search operations involving the coast guard, navy, disaster management agency and other emergency services were continuing on Thursday.
Norwegian authorities have seized a Russian cruise ship in the Arctic on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, which is seeking to enforce a $4.22 billion compensation award for assets that Moscow took when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.Officials said the vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was seized late on Wednesday in Barentsburg, a coal mining settlement that Russia operates on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the terms of a 1920 treaty.Russia called the arrest of the ship an act of piracy and said it had summoned the Norwegian ambassador to deliver a strong protest.
Nigeria could double investment into its energy sector within five years after joining the International Energy Agency, its chief Fatih Birol said on Thursday, as nations seek partners they can "trust" after supply disruptions from the wars in Iran and Ukraine.Speaking during a visit to Abuja, Birol told Reuters that Nigeria's admission as an associate member of the Paris-based energy watchdog would help attract investment, deepen technical cooperation and give Africa's largest oil producer a stronger voice in global energy policy discussions.