Sweden will order four navy frigates from France's Naval Group in a $4 billion deal that will triple its air defence capacity as the new NATO member focuses on security threats in the Baltic Sea, its prime minister said on Tuesday.Sweden is racing to build up its military in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Nordic country's subsequent accession to NATO, with the new frigates representing a significant expansion of maritime defence capabilities.
U.S.-flag shipping on the Great Lakes lost a total of 1,953 hours or 82 ship days due to inadequate icebreaking, about a third of the shipping season on the Great Lakes.It took 96 hours after the Soo locks opened for the year for the first vessel loaded with iron ore to finally clear the St. Marys River the critical connection point between Lake Superior and the lower lakes. At one point, 19 vessels were stopped for multiple days in the ice, waiting for icebreakers to clear the way to either get their loads or deliver them.
Port Houston, an advocate of the nation’s busiest waterway, the Houston Ship Channel, has announced the appointment of Amy Rister as its Director of State Government Relations.In her role, Rister will lead Port Houston’s state government relations strategy and serve as a key liaison to state leaders. She will partner with legislators, state agencies, and stakeholders to champion policies and investments that strengthen Texas’ maritime and freight transportation system and sustain the Houston Ship Channel’s economic impact. Rister will be based in Austin.
The Chamber of Shipping of America has recognized 48 Crowley-owned or -managed vessels with 2026 Jones F. Devlin Safety Awards for achieving a combined 427 years of service without a lost-time injury.The Jones F. Devlin Safety Award recognizes merchant vessels that operate for at least two consecutive years without a crew member experiencing a lost-time injury. The awarded Crowley vessels include tugs, barges, commercial container ships and tank vessels operating globally.
Hyliion Holdings Corp., a developer of modular power plant technology, announced that the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR), in partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has selected the USX-1 Defiant as a candidate test vessel for Hyliion’s KARNO technology. Initial sea trials are funded under a development program from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to advance the use of KARNO Cores for onboard power generation in U.S. Navy vessels.
American Cruise Lines has announced that new riverboat American Encore was christened in Lewiston, Idaho on May 12th. The boat’s inaugural 9-Day Columbia & Snake Rivers cruise departed from Stevenson, Washington on May 6th with guests also enjoying an included hotel stay in Portland, Oregon on May 5th.Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represented Eastern Washington and the Snake River in Congress for twenty years, was named American Encore’s Godmother. Ms.
Four liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels were sailing to China from the U.S. and expected to arrive in June, according to data from financial firm LSEG, marking the first U.S. LNG cargoes to leave the U.S. and go directly to China during U.S. President Donald Trump's second term in office.Last week, Trump went to Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During the trip, Trump told Fox News on May 14 that China wants to buy oil, LNG and other goods from the United States.In years past, China, the world's biggest gas importer, bought lots of LNG from the U.S.
The Trump administration on Tuesday imposed sanctions on an Iranian foreign currency exchange house and what it said were front companies overseeing transactions on behalf of Iranian banks as the U.S. maintains pressure on Tehran.The move came after Iran said its latest peace proposal to the United States over the U.S.-Israeli led war that started February 28 involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of U.S. forces from areas close to Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by the conflict.
Next Geosolutions, an international player in marine geoscience and offshore construction support services for the energy sector and listed on Euronext Growth Milan market, announces the award of a contract by TenneT TSO B.V. with a total value of approximately USD$10.45 million (€9 million).The contract covers the execution of marine survey activities in the offshore wind area “Voordelta – Nederwiek 3,” part of TenneT’s Roadmap 2030, aimed to assess the technical feasibility of the cable corridor
Damen Shipyards Group has received class and flag state approval for its ASD Tug 2713 Fuel Flexible (FF) to operate on methanol fuel. The approval was issued by Bureau Veritas and the Kingdom of the Netherlands flag state, respectively. It follows the approval in principle (AiP) that Damen received for its design of methanol-powered compact vessels in 2023.The 27.25 by 12.83 meter ASD Tug 2713 FF is a multi-purpose vessel, designed to perform coastal and harbour operations including (LNG) terminal support, ship handling/berthing (push-pull, escort)
Seatrium Limited announced a new contribution of about USD$1.33 million (S$1.7 million) to enhance the Seatrium Professorship at the National University of Singapore College of Design and Engineering (“NUS CDE”). This reinforces a partnership with NUS CDE to advance innovation and collaboration in energy transition and sustainable offshore technologies, including ocean renewable energy.With current and past contributions in addition to government matching grants, the total contribution will exceed USD$3.9 million (S$5 million).
ABB has introduced Waterside Automation solution, which enables quay cranes to perform a larger share of container handling operations automatically. By automating operations over the vessel and reducing the need for continuous manual control, the solution addresses a key bottleneck in container terminal efficiency and enables a gradual transition toward autonomous quay crane operations.Today, facing ever-increasing pressure on schedule reliability, many container terminals have already automated much of their yard operations.