Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Japan's second-largest shipping company, aims to capitalize on opportunities that emerge from a shift in trade routes driven by new U.S. tariffs, CEO Takeshi Hashimoto said.The highest U.S. tariffs in more than a hundred years came into force on Wednesday, roiling global markets.
When President Donald Trump sat down to lunch with his Japanese counterpart this month, talk turned quickly to how Tokyo could help realize a decades-old proposal to unlock gas in Alaska and ship it to U.S. allies in Asia.Trump and his energy tsar Doug Burgum framed the venture as a way for Japan to replace Middle East energy shipments and address its trade imbalance with the U.S.
Patrick Murphy has been President of Blue & Gold Fleet, L.P., the San Francisco Bay Area’s largest and premier provider of Bay Cruises and ferry service, since 2016. Murphy grew up in the Maritime business. His father, Roger Murphy, founded Blue & Gold Fleet in 1979. Patrick Murphy began his career in 1982
The domestic passenger vessel answers the call for cleaner and more efficient platforms. It is truly an electric time to be a part of this niche industry.In the shadow of a rapidly changing political landscape, the domestic passenger ferry sector is nevertheless seeing an increasing number of newbuild vessel orders.
On Monday, September 8, 2025, Meyer Turku Shipyard celebrated the keel laying of the fourth cruise ship in the Icon Class. The ship, built for Royal Caribbean and known by its working name Icon 4, has thus progressed to the hull assembly phase. The traditional ceremony held at the bottom of the building dock included a symbolic ceremony in which representatives of the customer
Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, which is being built at the Meyer Turku shipyard, floated out during a ceremony on Friday, August 29, 2025. The traditional float out ceremony included speeches by representatives of the shipyard and the vacation company, a salute fired by a gun salute group, and a playful competition to open the water valves of the construction basin.
Since coming into force, the IMO Polar Code has had a positive effect on maritime operations in polar waters, write Dan Oldford and Ed Moakler, ABS HETC, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.What is the Polar Code, When and Why did it come into force?Polar regions have many unique hazards compared to warmer waters around the world.
Analysts question feasibility as framework trade deal outpaces current U.S. export capacityThe European Union’s commitment to purchase $250 billion in U.S. energy supplies annually under a new trade framework with Washington faces significant market challenges, according to analysts and industry observers.The agreement, announced Sunday, includes 15% U.S.
Meyer Turku has today handed over the Star of the Seas to Royal Caribbean. Star of the Seas is the second Icon class ship built at the Meyer Turku shipyard. Star of the Seas will leave the shipyard in mid-July and will later in the summer start sailing on the Caribbean from its home port in Port Canaveral.
“Shipping is a people business”, so the saying goes. Jim Lawrence, who passed away at the beginning of June, truly embodied that. Certainly, he was a great participant at maritime events. When not up on the podium serving as the moderator, he would be walking around, shaking hands, talking about a particular transaction or development (and, sometimes, the intrigue behind it)
Alaskan state representatives will visit Japan this month to court investors for a natural gas project President Donald Trump says could pump trillions of dollars into the United States, but Japanese energy firms remain wary of its viability.Officials from the state-run Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) and development partner Glenfarne Group will visit "allied Asian nations in late
American Cruise Lines said that American Legend, the newest small ship in the company’s innovative Project Blue series, was christened in Key West, Florida. The celebration took place while the ship was docked at Mallory Square, just steps from the City’s vibrant town center. American Legend was visiting Key West along one of the company’s popular 8-Day Florida Gulf Coast & Keys cruises