Corporate News

April 2022 saw the third consecutive monthly climb in long-term contracted ocean freight rates, with shipping costs rocketing by 11.1% globally to stand 109.9% up year-on-year. The data, revealed in the latest Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI) Public Indices for the contract market, demonstrates how supply chain demand, successful carrier strategies and continued COVID-19 disruption in China are coalescing to ‘pile on the pain’ for shippers worldwide. Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI) Xeneta&...

Wan Hai Lines Ltd. held ship naming ceremonies for WAN HAI 285 and WAN HAI 286 accompanied by a charity donation on 27th April, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a physical ceremony was replaced by an online one. WAN HAI 285 and WAN HAI 286 are the 2nd, and 3rd vessels in a series of 2,038 teu containerships built by China Shipbuilding Trading Co., LTD., and Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard Co., LTD. Ms. Chiu-Mei Cheng, Board Member‧General Manager of TAIWAN KIRIN COMPANY, LIMITED and Ms. Connie Chu, Ma...

States are being urged to take action to bring into force the Cape Town Agreement of 2012, a key international treaty, which will establish an international regime for fishing vessel safety. This will help make fishing safe, sustainable and legal - and make a significant contribution to the protection of fishers, an unacceptable high number of whom lose their lives every year. “We cannot afford to be complacent, when it comes to addressing the safety of fishers and fishing vessels,”...

Matson, Inc., a U.S. carrier in the Pacific, and Greenbrier Gunderson Marine christened and launched a new flat-deck container barge in a ceremony at the Greenbrier Gunderson Marine shipyard in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, April 23, 2022. The new barge, christened ‘Haleakala’ in honour of the landmark crater on the island of Maui, will be deployed in Matson’s Neighbour Island service in Hawaii starting this summer, connecting cargo to and from the U.S. West Coast through its...

Oceania Cruises., the culinary- and destination-focused cruise line, revealed its 2024 Collection of voyages to Europe, Alaska, Canada, Asia, Australia & New Zealand, Africa, South America, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean. The Collection encompasses more than 350 itineraries including over 130 Grand Voyages across seven ships and all seven continents. The itineraries are available to preview online and open for reservations on May 4, 2022. Destination-rich itineraries "Next to our re...

£1.06 million in funds has been awarded to a consortium, led by MSE International, in order to address clean maritime challenges in the seaports and shipping sectors. The consortium of nine organisations, which is led by MSE International, will get the £1.06 million funds, as part of the Smart Maritime Land Operations Call. The call was launched in November 2020, as part of a Maritime Research and Innovation UK (MarRI-UK) initiative, supported by the Department for Transport (DfT),...

Satcom Direct (SD), the business aviation solutions provider, is strengthening its Asia Pacific network with the opening of a Singapore office. The new location represents the base for Brian Roos, the recently appointed Asia Pacific, Regional Director, and the newly named Regional Sales Manager, Kaviraj (Kavi) Nadarajah. Brian Roos Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President, of SD International, Michael Skou Christensen, Roos is responsible for establishing the SD presence in Singapore a...

International not-for-profit organisation Global Maritime Forum announces the new composition of its Board of Directors, following annual general meeting. Jan Dieleman, President, of Ocean Transportation at Cargill was elected as the new Chair of the Board of Directors, taking over the position from Peter Stokes, former Senior Adviser and Head of Shipping at Lazard, who is retiring. Author's quote “I am honoured to accept the role as Chair of the Global Maritime Forum. Peter has made gre...

Ukrainian seaports are in the frontline of the war. Help port workers and their families, now and through the crisis. The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) is working with The Seafarers’ Charity to support port workers and their families impacted by the humanitarian disaster caused by the war in Ukraine. Practical financial help Ukrainian seaports are in the frontline of the war, as the siege of Mariupol and heavy fighting around Berdyansk and Kherson has demonstrate...

At the end of April 2022, the shipping company Rederi AB Gotland added another vessel on the Hansa Destinations Nynäshamn–Rostock route. This has doubled the freight capacity and added more departures in both directions. This means that increased goods volumes can be moved from land to sea transport. Eliana Marino and Drotten The new vessel added to the route between Port of Nynäshamn and Rostock in Germany is called the Eliana Marino. The vessel Drotten has operated on the ro...

Inmarsat, the pioneer in global, mobile satellite communications, launches Fleet Secure Unified Threat Management (UTM), as a standard option on Inmarsat’s award-winning Fleet Xpress service, protecting vessel networks against cyberattacks. Fleet Secure UTM completes a portfolio of Inmarsat cyber security solutions for ship owners, which includes Fleet Secure Endpoint and Fleet Secure Cyber Awareness Training. Developed in partnership with maritime Cyber Security specialist Port-IT, the r...

The eCommerce surge is shaking up the shipping industry, making speed and efficiency a must. The time has come to move beyond paper and towards widespread adoption of the game-changing electronic Bill of Lading (eBL). MSC’s CDIO André Simha will explain more at an upcoming event during the eCommerce week organised by UN agency UNCTAD. Demand for shipping eCommerce has skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic. Due to lockdowns, travel restrictions, and health concerns, more and...

Charities and community groups operating locally to Aberdeen Harbour, soon to be known as Port of Aberdeen, have received £30,000 from the port to help their work supporting individuals and families through the cost of living crisis. Supporting communities Through the port’s community action program, supPORT-all, two awards of £10,000 have been granted to CFINE and Big Noise Torry (Sistema Scotland). Two further awards of £5,000 have been granted to the Inchgarth Commun...

Babcock has started construction of the first of five Royal Navy Type 31 frigates, HMS Venturer, at its Rosyth facility. After cutting the first steel on the programme in September 2021, the traditional keel-laying event formally recognised the start of the build, including placing a specially commissioned coin under the keel.  On completion of the ship, the coin will be presented to the Captain and crew. The ceremony was held in the new build hall, the Venturer Building, which forms...

Waves Group are pleased to announce it has secured the Marine Warranty Surveyor (MWS) contract for the third phase of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm development – Dogger Bank C.  This is our third win of the three project phases as they are currently providing MWS services for Dogger Bank A and B, which are currently under construction. Once the three phases are complete, Dogger Bank will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world. Offshore marine consultancy In total it is expected...

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., a global cruise company which operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, announces its commitment to pursue net zero emissions by 2050 across its operations and value chain. The Company has also committed to develop short- and near-term greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) reduction targets to support its path to net zero. In addition, the Company has published its first Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (...

MAN Energy Solutions has won the order for 4 × dual-fuel MAN B&W 6S60ME-GI engines in connection with the construction of two hybrids, 8,000 lane-metre, RoRo vessels for CLdN, the Luxembourg-based shipping group. Both 234-metre vessels are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2025. The two new buildings will have a hybrid propulsion system with each featuring 2 × ME-GI engines (2 × 11 MW) along with MAN Energy Solutions’ proprietary EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculat...

MSC will celebrate its 40th Anniversary in Spain in 2022. This history began on 2 May 1982 when the first offices were opened in Valencia and Barcelona, and today MSC Spain has over 600 staff dedicated to servicing the needs of its customers in the country.   To mark this historic moment, MSC Spain will host a series of events for people who have worked with the company over the years and who have contributed to its success and growth, including those in the local community. This...

Ocean Infinity is on a mission to play its part in protecting the planet by transforming operations at sea, through the development and deployment of innovative technology.   Developing technologies with benefits  Sam Taylor, Business Development Manager, discusses the essential technologies being developed to facilitate safe remote operations that could bring wider benefits to the conventional offshore industry by enabling lower emission operations. Some developments cou...

Okeanus Science & Technology, LLC (Okeanus), an established provider of marine equipment and engineering services, recently revealed how some of the company’s deck-handling equipment proved instrumental to the discovery of the iconic US Revenue Cutter Bear. The shipwreck was located during a 2019 geophysical reconnaissance mission off Nova Scotia carried out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and CSA Ocean Sc...

Maritime UK has responded to the Transport Select Committee's inquiry on Maritime 2050. Ranging across shipping, ports, services, engineering, and leisure marine industries, the Department for Transport leads the Government’s strategy for the maritime sector. Maritime 2050: Navigating the future The Department’s policy is framed by Maritime 2050: Navigating the future. Published in 2019, this Government strategy addresses seven top-level themes of competitive advantage, tech...

The first comprehensive set of Marine Plans to guide development across England’s seas have been adopted and published. The publication of the North East, North West, South East and South West Marine Plans follows the adoption of the East Marine Plan in 2014 and the South Marine Plan in 2018. This means all of England’s seas – an area of approximately 230,000 square kilometres – a third larger than the total land area of England – are now covered by Marine Plans....

Sustainability is an issue for everyone, no matter if the user is an individual or a business. OceanWise recognise the interdependence between growth and the environment and believes that without a healthy and sustainable environment they will not be able to drive a healthy economy. They have started taking steps to improve sustainability and reduce the impact on the environment.

Classification Society ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for the design of an ammonia-ready LNG-fuelled Panamax bulk carrier developed by the Planning and Design Centre for Greener Ships (GSC). Ammonia is expected to be used as ship fuel for decarbonisation since it does not emit CO2 when burned. Meanwhile, taking adequate safety measures is impartial due to its characteristics of being toxic to humans and corrosive against materials, and ClassNK has worked on the development of...

With an aim to broaden their coverage in the Indian Ocean region, CMA CGM is happy to announce the reinstatement of the company’s IO Feeder 3 service. As from early June 2022, a new fortnightly rotation will start as follows: Pointe des Galets – Port Louis – Tamatave – Pointe des Galets – Longoni – Pointe des Galets

Satcom Direct, the business aviation solutions provider, has announced that its FlightDeck Freedom® (FDF) flight deck communications platform has been selected as the default datalink system for in-production Gulfstream G500™, Gulfstream G600™, and Gulfstream G650ER™ aircraft with initial line-fits already completed. Operators of Gulfstream aircraft can now optimise the flexible FDF platform, which includes configurable features and monitoring of industry datalink complian...

Navies around the world are becoming increasingly aware that they will also be affected by the decarbonisation challenge facing the maritime world. However, to fulfil their defensive purpose, naval vessels must also meet specific requirements which add complexity to their search for the most sustainable fuel types. Despite navies not being subject to the same scrutiny as the commercial shipping industry, they are nevertheless coming under growing societal pressure to reduce their environmental...

Marine Resources (Marine Resources Recruitment Ltd) is pleased to announce that they have teamed up with Marcela de Kern of Onboard Monaco, with the aim to share industry knowledge, support with recruitment expertise and professionalise the Superyacht industry further. Author of the first textbook ever written about the superyacht industry, Marcela is the Founder of the Superyacht Industry-Forum, a platform to connect yachting professionals. She is currently developing Genoa Superyacht Hub and...

Marine Resources is pleased to announce its selection by Simpson as its key recruitment partner. The UK's specialist recruitment company for the Leisure Marine and Superyacht Industry, Marine Resources has been selected as the sole recruiter to partner with Simpson Marine for this exciting period of expanding their team in Asia. The first project of the partnership will see the appointment of experienced Client Service Managers in Thailand and Hong Kong and experienced Yacht Brokers in Singapor...

As part of its efforts to continually provide new and improved service offerings to customers, Pacific International Lines (PIL) is pleased to launch a new weekly express service connecting Singapore and Surabaya, Indonesia. This new service serves to expand and develop PIL’s presence in Indonesia, further strengthening its intra-Asia trade services. With this dedicated service, PIL continues to drive its global connectivity through the key Asian gateway of Singapore to PIL’s extens...