Five European Union countries are calling for a windfall tax on energy companies' profits in reaction to rising fuel prices due to the Iran war, according to a letter from finance ministers to the EU Commission seen by Reuters on Saturday.The finance ministers of Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria made the joint call for an EU-wide tax in a letter dated Friday.
Oil prices were little changed in choppy trade on Monday, as investors awaited clarity on the status of talks between the U.S. and Iran even as they remained wary about sustained supply losses due to shipping disruptions.Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 76 cents, or 0.7%, to $109.79 a barrel at 0656 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 futures were trading 53 cents, or 0.5% lower, at $111.
Valero Energy Corp has shut its 380,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, following an explosion and fire at a diesel hydrotreater unit, people familiar with the plant operations said on Monday.The cause of the explosion at the 47,000-bpd 243-diesel hydrotreater unit was not clear. The blast could be heard as far as 11 miles away, the sources said.
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.
A landmark moment in Gulf Coast industry was celebrated today with the christening of Creole King, a state-of-the-art barge-mounted stevedoring crane, at the Port of Iberia.Operated by Cooper Consolidated and assembled by E-Crane’s Gulf Coast Service team, the Creole King represents a technological and environmental leap forward for midstream cargo operations.
American Cruise Lines christened American Patriot in Newport, Rhode Island last week—celebrating the holiday and simultaneously marking the countdown to the country’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026. American Patriot is the first ship in the company’s new Patriot Class—a fleet of new 130-passenger ships designed for exclusively cruising the U.S.A.
Russia's Baltic Ust-Luga port, one of its largest petroleum export hubs, was damaged again on Sunday by a Ukrainian drone attack which sparked a blaze later brought under control, Russian officials said.It followed several Ukrainian drone strikes last week on Russia’s western energy corridor when facilities at the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk came under fire
The advancement of the recently announced America’s Maritime Action Plan (MAP) is embraced by the ports in the bi-state St. Louis region as a unique opportunity to play a role in this comprehensive federal framework. The MAP is a blueprint for rebuilding the nation’s maritime strength, increasing the use of technology, enhancing supply chain resilience and expanding domestic industrial capacity.
The Trump administration on Thursday issued more Iran-related sanctions, targeting 13 entities based in Hong Kong, China, the United Arab Emirates and the Marshall Islands, as well as eight vessels, the U.S. Treasury Department said.The measures cover Greek national Antonios Margaritis and his network of companies and vessels that Treasury said was involved in transporting Iranian oil exports in