Revised SHIPS Act Introduced to Revitalize U.S. Merchant Marine

UK Joins Airstrike on Houthi Drone Factory in Yemen

Published Apr 29, 2025 9:09 PM by The Maritime Executive

The UK's military has rejoined the U.S.-led campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels, reprising a role that Britain played at the height of the militant group's anti-shipping campaign last year. Overnight Monday, Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters joined in U.S. airstrikes against a Houthi drone manufacturing center in Yemen. According to the UK Ministry of Defence, intelligence analysts found a cluster of buildings south of Sanaa that were used for making drones "of the type used to attack ships in...

Mitsubishi Launches Energy-Saving Ferry as Japan Grows Sea Transport

Published Apr 29, 2025 6:40 PM by The Maritime Executive

The christening and launch were held today, April 29, for the first of two new large car ferries ordered by Shinnihonkai Ferry Co. and Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT). The vessels that incorporate the latest energy-saving designs are also part of a modal shift that is underway in Japan to realize the benefits of sea transport. The new ferry Keyaki will be approximately 14,300 gross tons. It will be 199 meters (653 feet) in length with...

Wasaline’s Aurora Botnia Slated for Biggest Ever Battery Retrofit

Published Apr 29, 2025 6:27 PM by The Maritime Executive

Finnish ship owner Wasaline is partnering with marine battery manufacturer AYK Energy to undertake the biggest battery retrofit so far carried out on a vessel. Built in 2021, Aurora Botnia which was already billed as one of the most efficient vessels will add a new battery system nearly five times as powerful as its current system and which is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately a quarter. Built at Rauma Marine Constructions, the hybrid ROPAX Ferry...

Tanker and Towboat Collide in "Challenging" Mississippi River Conditions

Published Apr 29, 2025 5:54 PM by The Maritime Executive

On Sunday night, a tanker collided with a towboat's tow on the Mississippi near New Orleans, sinking one barge and setting half a dozen adrift in the river. At about 1630 hours Friday, the towboat Ginny Rose got under way from a fleeting area near St. Rose, Louisiana, headed downbound with a barge tow (based on AIS data provided by Pole Star). River conditions at the time were elevated and "challenging," according to the Coast Guard. At about...

Shipping

Voyaging to Perfection: The Ongoing Evolution of NavStation

How do you take the industry’s ‘ultimate planning tool’ and improve it? Giving users what they need, often before they know they need it, and staying ahead of evolving trends and regulations? Here Timo Essers, e-Navigation Director at NAVTOR, explains the philosophy driving the continual evolution of NavStation, while outlining the headline updates to the soon-to-be released NavStation 6.4. “When you have products and services onboard over 18,000 vessels you tend to get a lot of feedback!” Timo Essers...

Tugs & Salvage

An unknown product tanker (lower right) at Ras Isa during the U.S. strike, April 18 (Houthi social media)

TASS: Three Russian Seafarers Injured in U.S. Airstrike on Ras Isa

The U.S. airstrike on the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa on April 18 was intended to hit energy infrastructure, but the massive blasts also killed 70-80 people and injured about 170 more, according to Houthi-controlled media. Three of the injured people appear to have been Russian seafarers who were working aboard a foreign-flagged product tanker; the vessel reportedly called at Ras Isa despite the U.S. State Department's warning that all ships should cease trading at Houthi-controlled ports. The...

Government

Revised SHIPS Act Introduced to Revitalize U.S. Merchant Marine

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators and Representatives reintroduced the broad SHIPS for America Act which is designed to present a comprehensive legislative approach to revitalize the U.S. merchant marine, commercial shipbuilding, and maritime industries. Elements of the legislation, which was introduced originally introduced in December 2024, have also been worked into the Executive Order on shipbuilding signed by Donald Trump earlier in April as well as the U.S. Trade Representative’s proposed fees on Chinese-built ships calling...

Corporate News

SDHI, Wheel & Time to Launch Integrated F.A.S.T. Logistics Ecosystem

[By: Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Limited] Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Limited (SDHI), India’s largest shipbuilding and heavy fabrication company, has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Wheel & Time Shipping Transport Logistics, a specialist in moving heavy and oversized cargo. With the alliance, SDHI has launched India’s first integrated F.A.S.T. (Fabrication, Assembly, Storage, and Transportation) commercial logistics ecosystem at its state-of-the-art shipyard in Pipavav, Gujarat. The F.A.S.T. model offers an unmatched turnkey ecosystem for executing heavy engineering projects...

Cruise Ships

China Floats Second Large Domestically-Built Cruise Ship

China’s Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., part of CSSC, marked the floatout of its second, large domestically-built cruise ship. It comes as Chian continues to invest in the sector and looks to become a competitor in the market dominated by a few European shipbuilders. The second ship which was named Adora Flora City for its ties to Guangzhou, the southern city near Hong Kong, was floated overnight between April 27 and 28. According to the shipyard officials, it demonstrates...

Ports

Shipping Halted in Antwerp as Unions Renew Strikes Against Government

The Port of Antwerp is reporting that disruptions caused by a strike against the government have continued to mount today with no ocean or inland ships moving from the port which emerged last month as the busiest in Europe. Port officials are warning that the action will continue till Wednesday morning, and then they expect at least one to two days to clear up the mounting backlog. The national authorities and the Port of Antwerp—Bruges began preparations on...

Shipping

Voyaging to Perfection: The Ongoing Evolution of NavStation

Tugs & Salvage

TASS: Three Russian Seafarers Injured in U.S. Airstrike on Ras Isa

Government

Revised SHIPS Act Introduced to Revitalize U.S. Merchant Marine

Corporate News

SDHI, Wheel & Time to Launch Integrated F.A.S.T. Logistics Ecosystem

Cruise Ships

China Floats Second Large Domestically-Built Cruise Ship

Ports

Shipping Halted in Antwerp as Unions Renew Strikes Against Government

Offshore

Germany Adds FSRU and LNG Terminal as it Works to Manage Import Supply

Germany’s federally owned Deutsche Energy Terminal GmbH (DET) announced the arrival of its third FSRU unit and the second to be placed in the port of Wilhelmshaven. Coming a little over two months after another German company terminated an FSRU contract in the east, the country continues to work to balance the imports of LNG and plan for the country’s long-term energy needs. With the support of the German government, the LNG import projects were started in...

Shipbuilding

Mitsubishi Launches Energy-Saving Ferry as Japan Grows Sea Transport

Environment

Wasaline’s Aurora Botnia Slated for Biggest Ever Battery Retrofit

Business

Hapag and ONE Point to “Considerable Uncertainty” Expecting Lower Results

Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express (ONE) both released financial results today, April 30, providing the first outlook among the major carriers for 2025 based on the ongoing trade war and U.S.-driven tariffs. The carriers cited strong first quarter demand while reporting a quick falloff and “many uncertainties” for 2025 leading to lower financial expectations. “We have gotten the current 2025 financial year off to a good start,” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd told shareholders at the company’s...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Revised SHIPS Act Introduced to Revitalize U.S. Merchant Marine

UK Joins Airstrike on Houthi Drone Factory in Yemen

Mitsubishi Launches Energy-Saving Ferry as Japan Grows Sea Transport

Wasaline’s Aurora Botnia Slated for Biggest Ever Battery Retrofit

Tanker and Towboat Collide in "Challenging" Mississippi River Conditions

Voyaging to Perfection: The Ongoing Evolution of NavStation

TASS: Three Russian Seafarers Injured in U.S. Airstrike on Ras Isa

Revised SHIPS Act Introduced to Revitalize U.S. Merchant Marine

SDHI, Wheel & Time to Launch Integrated F.A.S.T. Logistics Ecosystem

China Floats Second Large Domestically-Built Cruise Ship

Shipping Halted in Antwerp as Unions Renew Strikes Against Government

Voyaging to Perfection: The Ongoing Evolution of NavStation

MacGregor Horizon Gangway Sets New Standard for Offshore Transfers

How Real-Time Emissions Monitoring Prepares Shipowners for EU ETS Deadline

Voyaging to Perfection: The Ongoing Evolution of NavStation

TASS: Three Russian Seafarers Injured in U.S. Airstrike on Ras Isa

Revised SHIPS Act Introduced to Revitalize U.S. Merchant Marine

SDHI, Wheel & Time to Launch Integrated F.A.S.T. Logistics Ecosystem

China Floats Second Large Domestically-Built Cruise Ship

Shipping Halted in Antwerp as Unions Renew Strikes Against Government

Germany Adds FSRU and LNG Terminal as it Works to Manage Import Supply

Mitsubishi Launches Energy-Saving Ferry as Japan Grows Sea Transport

Wasaline’s Aurora Botnia Slated for Biggest Ever Battery Retrofit

Hapag and ONE Point to “Considerable Uncertainty” Expecting Lower Results

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events