[The following are exerpts and paraphrasing from testimony given by Matthew O. Paxton, President of the Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), to Congress on the morning of February 26, 2025.]While maritime strength and shipbuilding historically have been a cornerstone of global power, shifting times and geopolitical pressures impact readiness and output.
The shipping industry has been watching the dual-fuel engine choices made for newbuildings as an indicator of what many see as an uncertain fuel future.In December, DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insights platform counted 27 ammonia and 322 methanol-fueled vessels currently on the orderbooks.Methanol has raced ahead of ammonia, which currently lags in both engine and regulatory development.
A.P. Moller-Maersk expects strong demand for shipping goods around the globe to continue in the coming months, though does not expect to resume sailing through the Suez Canal until "well into 2025".Attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants have disrupted a shipping route vital to east-west trade
A strike by dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast that disrupted much of the nation's ocean shipping this week ended on Thursday, but a key issue driving labor unrest across the continent - the growing use of automation - was unresolved.Companies view automation as a path to better profit while unions see it as a job-killer.
Yemen's Houthis said on Monday that they conducted four military operations targeting four ships in the Red, Arabian and Mediterranean Seas as well as the Indian Ocean "linked to the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel."In the first operation, "Israeli ship MSC Unific was targeted in the Arabian Sea," Yahya Sarea, the Yemeni group's spokesperson said."A U.S.
The river Rhine in south Germany reopened to cargo shipping on Friday after being closed by high water since the weekend, navigation authorities said.Falling water levels after dryer weather this week mean Rhine river shipping has re-started around Maxau in south Germany, the German inland waterways navigation agency said. This means sailings to Switzerland are again possible.
The United States anchored a temporary floating pier to a beach in Gaza on Thursday to boost aid deliveries, but Washington is facing the same challenges that have beset the United Nations and relief groups for months when it comes to distributing assistance to the war-torn enclave.These include working in a war zone to stave off a looming famine and a dire shortage of fuel for aid trucks.
Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) on Friday held a launch and christening ceremony for the ferry Long Island at its Allanton Shipyard in Panama City, Fla.Scheduled to be delivered later this year, the new Subchapter H passenger and auto ferry is being built for Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, a subsidiary of McAllister Towing, for operations between Bridgeport, Conn.
The St. Marys River has reopened to vessel traffic after a U.S.-flagged Great Lakes freighter struck a channel light in the waterway.At approximately 1 a.m. on Thursday, the 730-foot bulk carrier American Mariner suffered a marine casualty and went bow-first into the Munuscong Junction Light, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The incident occurred in Munuscong Lake, which is a section of the St.
A portion of the St. Marys River has been closed to vessel traffic after a U.S.-flagged Great Lakes freighter struck a channel light in the waterway.At approximately 1 a.m., the 730-foot bulk carrier American Mariner suffered a marine casualty and struck the Munuscong Junction Light with its bow, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The incident occurred in Munuscong Lake, which is a section of the St.
The Swedish Maritime Administration has purchased the 18-year-old icebreaker Polar Circle, expanding its fleet of icebreaking ships to help keep the nation's ports and shipping lanes clear during the cold winter months.In December, the Swedish Maritime Administration put out a tender to acquire a secondhand icebreaker, with Polar Circle emerging as the most suitable option.
An oil leak from a barge carrying up to 35,000 barrels of fuel oil that capsized in early February off the Caribbean island of Tobago has stopped, said the twin islands' government on Thursday.The spill, which was first spotted off the coast of Tobago's Atlantic coast on Feb. 7, damaged some of the island's mangrove and threatened its tourism and fishing sector.