In December of 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard announced the award of two contracts to build up to six Arctic Security Cutter (ASC) icebreakers. The announcement declaring the vessels would be built between the United States and Finland in a major step forward for America’s national security in the Arctic region. The decision process encompassed more than the security of the Arctic passage.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation and Saltchuk Resources, Inc. announced a definitive agreement for Saltchuk to acquire Great Lakes at an aggregate equity value of approximately $1.2 billion and a total transaction value of $1.5 billion.Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies
Seatrium delivered FREDERICK PAUP to Manson Construction Co. Built at Seatrium’s Brownsville Texas yard, the Jones Act-compliant vessel is the largest self-propelled hopper dredger in US history.Key highlights:Largest in the U.S. – 420’ length x 81’ beam, with a 15,000+ cubic yard hopper capacityPowerful and Agile – Self-propelled with 25,000 horsepower, triple azimuthing stern drives
The American Waterways Operators, the trade association of the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry, has released a new video on the industry's contributions to U.S. national and homeland security.The two-minute video, The Tugboat, Towboat and Barge Industry: Supplying America, Securing America, notes that while the mariners who transport cargo and facilitate commerce on America's rivers
The U.S. Coast Guard’s Facilities Design and Construction Center completed a contract modification with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company Aug. 25 to remove up to 100 submerged concrete piles under the old Pier November at Base Charleston in North Charleston, South Carolina. The modification, with a potential value of approximately $14.
On August 15, the Panama Canal marked 111 years of operations, renewing its commitment to a sustainable future through a water strategy focused on public well-being and an operational vision that enhances the country’s logistical competitiveness.Since the waterway’s inauguration in 1914, with the historic transit of the steamship Ancón, which, for the first time
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) and a broad coalition of every donor and energy transfer port have sent the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the Energy and Water Development Subcommittees leaders a letter, urging them to reverse a funding diversion and restore critical support for ports through the FY2026 appropriations process.
On July 10, 2025, the electric solar passenger ship "Insel Mainau," designed and built by Ampereship GmbH, completed a range test on Lake Constance. During a 19-hour continuous journey, the all-electric catamaran covered exactly 211.3 kilometers on the lake, with a remaining battery capacity of 20 percent. The ship was back in regular operation the very next day.
At least two supertankers made U-turns near the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. military strikes on Iran, shiptracking data shows, as more than a week of violence in the region prompts vessels to speed, pause, or alter their journeys.Washington's decision to join Israel's attacks on Iran has stoked fears that Iran could retaliate by closing the strait between Iran and Oman through which around
In the early hours of Friday, June 20, Great Lakes Towing tugs conducted an efficient refloating operation of the foreign-flagged freighter SUNNANVIK, which had become lodged in the narrow mouth of the Cuyahoga River near the East Bank of the Flats.At approximately 12:43 a.m., the 9,000-ton SUNNANVIK became wedged in the canal, temporarily disrupting traffic.
Scientists at the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Liverpool have used satellite data to create insight into the Mersey River that will help port operators be smarter about managing complex navigation channels. Through a project focused on Liverpool’s famous river and funded by the UK Space Agency
On April 17, the Trump administration shielded domestic exporters and vessel owners servicing the Great Lakes, the Caribbean and U.S. territories from port fees to be levied on China-built vessels.The Federal Register notice posted by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) was watered down from a February proposal for fees on China-built ship of up to $1.5 million per port call.