Firefighters and federal authorities continued working Saturday to contain a hazardous-materials fire aboard the container ship ONE Henry Hudson after an explosion and onboard fire forced the evacuation of all crew members at the Port of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) and port officials. By 6:30pm local time, the fire had been substantially contained.
The ABS Board of Directors has elected John McDonald as the new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ABS at a board meeting on November 11.In the culmination of a well-planned succession process, McDonald, the serving ABS President and Chief Operating Officer, will take over on January 1, 2026, when present ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki retires.
ABS and Persona AI inked an MOU to develop inspection technologies for Persona AI’s humanoid robot platform deployment in shipyards. Humanoid robots are suited to operate in shipyards designed for human workers, offering flexibility and mobility in complex, confined, or ergonomically challenging spaces.
On April 30, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), together with several original co-sponsors, reintroduced the SHIPS for America Act in the U.S. Senate, first introduced in December 2024, divided into two bills. Companion legislation was also introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Trent Kelly (R-MS) and Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA). This is a major, historic effort to revitalize the U.S.
At the 163rd ABS Annual Members Meeting, the classification society says it has never been stronger, with substantial growth and leading safety performance reported. Key numbers in 2004 included the fleet growing to 300 million gross tons, giving it pole position in global class in global new order share with 22 percent.
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.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told lawmakers on Tuesday that not all of the agency's proposed multimillion-dollar fees for Chinese-built ships to dock at U.S. ports will be implemented, and they may not be cumulative.Greer told a Senate Finance Committee hearing that the proposals were made to address a lack of shipbuilding in the United States.
A Trump administration proposal aimed at reviving the U.S. shipbuilding industry may backfire by imposing steep fees on China-linked vessels—penalties that industry leaders say would hurt American ship operators and ports rather than help them, industry executives said at U.S. Trade Representative hearings on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s regulatory freeze has injected chaos and uncertainty into a number of lucrative American fisheries, raising the risk of a delayed start to the fishing season for some East Coast cod and haddock fleets and leading to overfishing of Atlantic bluefin tuna, according to Reuters interviews with industry groups and federal government employees.
[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.
Energy services firms Saipem and Subsea7 have reached an agreement on the key terms for possible merger of the two companies under one unit to be named Saipem7, whose combined backlog would be over $45 billion.Saipem and Subsea7 shareholders will own 50% each of the share capital of the combined company, whose revenue is expected to be around $20.
James Fisher and Sons has ordered four new LNG dual-fuel tankers from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Yangzhou) Dingheng as part of its ‘fleet of the future’ business strategy.The new tankers, which will carry oil products and IMO Class II chemicals, will have LNG dual-fuel propulsion capability