Stena Line, one of Europe’s largest ferry companies, announced plans for an ambitious reconstruction of two of its cargo RoRos to improve efficiency and meet future regulatory requirements. The program is remarkable considering the ships have just marked more than 20 years in service and illustrates the challenges facing ship owners. The International Maritime Organization placed into effect as of 2024 its CII (Carbon Intensity Indicator) an operational efficiency measure applicable to vessels over 5,000 GT. CII becomes increasingly more stringent each year to 2026 to drive further impr ..read more

  South Africa has won a long-running legal battle against a United Kingdom company over a silver treasure valued at $43 million that was salvaged from the wreck of a commercial ship sunk by the Japanese during World War II. The ss Tilawa is said to be the only cargo-passenger liner attacked in the Indian Ocean during World War II and has become known as the “Indian Titanic” due to the loss of 280 people. The UK Supreme Court issued the verdict on the case after a British company Argentum Exploration laid claim to the silver that was recovered from the seabed in 2017. The company sought t ..read more

  The International Chamber of Shipping, the trade association that represents 80 percent of the world’s merchant fleet, confirmed that its secretary general Guy Platten will leave his position after seven years in mid-2025. Platten took over the leadership at a critical time in the industry and emerged as a strong advocate for seafarers and a leader shaping the debate on decarbonization. “Working as ISC secretary general has been the highlight of my career and I am proud of what we have achieved,” said Platten. “This has not been an easy decision, but I feel it is the right time for some ..read more

[By: Flipkart] Bajaj Auto Ltd., the world's most valuable two-wheeler and three-wheeler company, and Flipkart, one of India's leading e-commerce marketplaces, today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the latter's last-mile delivery operations. This collaboration signifies a significant step towards a greener future for the Indian e-commerce landscape. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 10 May by Bajaj Auto and Flipkart spokespersons - Samardeep Subandh, President (Intracity Business Unit, Bajaj Auto Ltd) and Prabhu B ..read more

  [By Christopher Niezrecki] America’s first large-scale offshore wind farms began sending power to the Northeast in early 2024, but a wave of wind farm project cancellations and rising costs have left many people with doubts about the industry’s future in the U.S. Several big hitters, including Ørsted, Equinor, BP and Avangrid, have canceled contracts or sought to renegotiate them in recent months. Pulling out meant the companies faced cancellation penalties ranging from US$16 million to several hundred million dollars per project. It also resulted in Siemens Energy, the world’s largest ..read more

[By: Damen Shipyards Group] Fairplay Towage Group, one of Europe’s leading towage providers, has placed an order with Damen Shipyards for the delivery of two further tugboats, one of which is of the ASD Tug 2813 design, the other one being a tug fitted with azimuth stern drives and a bollard pull of 60 tonnes. The latter acquisition will be fitted with an aft winch for offshore towage. The ASD Tug 2813 boasts an impressive bollard pull in excess of 80 tonnes for harbour assistance. Both vessels will be fitted with external FiFi capabilities for swift response to emergencies. These are the ..read more

  The authorities leading the recovery operation in Baltimore have declined comments on the timeline for the next steps including the removal of the Dali only saying that systematic preparations were underway and that they remain on target to open the full channel by the end of the month. The Baltimore Sun newspaper however is reporting that it obtained an email showing the vessel will be moved to the dock on or about Tuesday, May 14, and handed over to investigators. The Unified Command alerted the media of a tentative plan subject to weather and other conditions for the controlled demol ..read more

  A four-month program is underway in the North Sea to expand monitoring and surveillance operations. The program is being conducted by the Royal Danish Navy and Danish Customs in cooperation with the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) which provides unique airborne capabilities. During the deployment, the remote craft will carry out maritime surveillance tasks in the busy waters around the north coast of Denmark. The program will provide information on potential oil spills and discharges at sea the partners report. Environmental monitoring is a key aspect of this service. They report ..read more

  After weeks of being held in Iran and promises that the crew of the seized containership MSC Aries would be released, the governments of Portugal, India, and Pakistan confirmed that the first seven crewmembers had left the ship. Iran last week had said all the crew would be free to leave if the captain joined them and now it is being reported the crew will be released when their contractual obligations are completed. Portugal as the flag state of the containership confirmed that seven people of the 24 still aboard the vessel had departed. They said specifically that the first release co ..read more

  EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta is confirming that one of the frigates involved in its security operation off Somalia has “taken charge” of a suspected band of pirates after the group attempted an assault on a product tanker. The vessel was able to elude the pirates after an exchange of gunfire highlighting the continued danger in the Gulf of Aden and western sections of the Indian Ocean. The approach took place approximately 100 nautical miles north of Bosaso, Somalia, and west of Socotra island, Yemen, where the security operations have warned that pirate action groups are active. Earlier ..read more