Washington Governor Bob Ferguson announced he has selected the $714.5 million bid from Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group to build three new 160-vehicle hybrid-electric ferries. “We’re restoring domestic service to pre-pandemic levels years ahead of schedule, improving crew retention, and soon will bring our first hybrid-electric vessel into service,” Governor Ferguson said.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Iranian oil trading networks on Thursday, including on a China-based crude oil storage terminal linked via a pipeline to an independent refinery, just days before direct talks between the U.S. and Iran.The sanctions came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will hold direct talks with Iran on Saturday in Oman.
Russia said on Tuesday the U.S. had agreed to help it lift restrictions on food, fertilizer and shipping companies in exchange for agreeing to a maritime security deal in the Black Sea.The United States further said it had also agreed with Russia and Ukraine to implement a ban on military strikes on each other's energy installations.
A U.S. delegation will seek progress toward a Black Sea ceasefire and a broader cessation of violence in the war in Ukraine when it meets for talks with Russian officials on Monday, after discussions with diplomats from Ukraine on Sunday.The so-called technical talks come as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his drive for a halt to Russia's three-year-old assault against Ukraine.
In a move to restore full domestic ferry service by summer, Governor Bob Ferguson said that Washington State Ferries (WSF) will delay the hybrid-electric conversion of two of the state’s largest ferries. The decision comes as WSF works to increase its operational fleet, ensuring that 18 vessels are in service simultaneously for the first time since 2019.
The U.S. State Department has removed a statement on its website that it does not support Taiwan independence, among changes that the island's government praised on Sunday as supporting Taiwan.The fact sheet on Taiwan retains Washington's opposition to unilateral change from either Taiwan or from China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday warned Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino that Washington will "take measures necessary" if Panama does not immediately take steps to end what President Donald Trump sees as China's influence and control over the Panama Canal.Mulino, after the talks with the top U.S.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol spoke with Donald Trump on Thursday and congratulated him on winning the U.S. presidency on the "Make America Great Again" slogan as officials in Seoul worked to prepare for "significant" economic changes.Yoon and Trump held a 12-minute phone call and discussed the close security and economic ties of their two countries across all areas
Australia said on Wednesday it would invest billions of dollars over the next two decades to expand a shipyard in Western Australia that would become the maintenance hub for its nuclear-powered AUKUS submarine fleet.The government will make an initial investment of A$127 million ($85 million) over three years to upgrade facilities at the Henderson shipyard near Perth
The United States expanded sanctions against Iran's petroleum and petrochemical sectors on Friday in response to an Iranian missile attack on Israel, the administration of President Joe Biden said.The U.S. move adds petroleum and petrochemicals to an executive order that targets key sectors of Iran's economy with the aim of denying the government funds to support its nuclear and missile programs.
Three shipyards have expressed interest in building a long-awaited series of new hybrid-electric car and passenger vessels for Washington State Ferries (WSF).Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland, Wash.; Eastern Shipbuilding Group in Panama City, Fla. and Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia have sent pre-qualification packages after WSF earlier this year invited shipbuilders to bid
Washington State Ferries announced it has canceled the sale of two retired vessels after the buyer failed to meet its contractual obligations and left a tugboat crew abandoned in Puget Sound.Sold in August for $100,000 apiece, the decommissioned WSF ferries Elwha and Klahowya had been sold to Nelson Armas, who has gained approval from the U.S.