HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division is marking 140 years of service to the US today, January 28, 2026.On Jan. 28, 1886, Collis P. Huntington, a businessman whose investments enabled completion of the U.S. transcontinental railroad, turned his focus to shipbuilding, establishing what was first chartered as Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Co.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has announced that the Maritime Administration (MARAD) has awarded $8.75 million in grants to revitalize U.S. shipyards and advance America’s maritime dominance.The funding is part of the Small Shipyard Grant program, which supports advanced training, workforce development and new technologies that strengthen U.S. shipbuilding and repair capabilities.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the U.S. has been seeking control over the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, which were damaged by mysterious blast in September 2022.Explosions that destroyed the pipelines more than three years ago largely severed Russian gas transit to Europe, squeezing energy supplies on the continent although Russia had already largely stopped deliveries.
The Port of Virginia is using a layered approach to strengthen safety throughout its operation by identifying the most common critical risks at its terminals and offices, emphasize safety as a core value and creation of an internal safety brand that serves as a continual reminder for everyone on port property.
Maybe it is a human trait, or maybe a Washington, D.C. trait, but when confronted with a difficult problem with unpalatable solutions, there is usually an impulse to delay the moment of difficult decision by ordering a study. The U.S. merchant marine industry is the poster child for this behavior.
Performance Shipping reported its third-quarter financial results for 2025, highlighting solid fleet performance amidst softer market conditions.For the three months ending September 30, 2025, the company posted net income of $3.9 million, a decrease from $12.4 million in the same period in 2024.
On October 7, Damen Shipyards Group delivered its latest Combi Freighter (CF) 3850 to family owned German shipping company Reederei Gerdes. The delivery of the vessel, named Holger G, took place during a ceremony at the Bason Shipyard in Vietnam. The vessel is named Holger G. Damen’s CF 3850 represents the latest generation in the shipbuilder’s cargo vessel portfolio.
Christopher Ralph Lavers and Edmund G. R. Kraal have released a new edition of their volume 7 book, Advanced Electrotechnology for Marine Engineers - Reed's Marine Engineering and Technology Series. Copies can be purchased here.
In Memoriam: Captain Charles Robert MacVean, USN, (Ret.), PhDMarch 22, 1937 – September 10, 2025The book, Blind Man’s Bluff, describes the secret USN submarine operations known as “The Projects.” It begins with the opening line, “There was something about Commander Charles R. MacVean that had a way of inspiring legend.
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), said that the U.S. Navy has exercised an option to add an additional DDG 51 destroyer to the multi-year contract awarded in 2023.Bath Iron Works currently has under construction the Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Harvey C. Barnum Jr.
Germany is considering changing its foreign trade law to prevent the company running the Nord Stream 2 pipelines from being taken over, a document showed on Friday, as part of Berlin's efforts to prevent any resumption of Russian gas imports.For decades Germany relied on cheap Russian gas, but since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, it has sought alternatives.
Performance Shipping Inc., a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of tanker vessels, announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has signed a Memorandum of Agreement to sell its oldest vessel, the 2009-built, 105,071 dwt Aframax tanker vessel, M/T P. Sophia, to an unaffiliated third party for a gross sale price of $35.65 million.