General News

Classification society ABS has adopted new structural requirements for the evaluation of converted floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units. The criteria are contained in a revised version of the society?s ABS…

Chinese oil giant CNOOC has signed a contract with Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Company for the construction of two UT788 CD deepwater AHTS vessels at a cost of $205 million. The vessels will…

FBMA Marine (FBMA), the Aboitiz-owned shipbuilder based in Cebu, Philippines, has recently launched the ?Wight Ryder II? for UK operator Wightlink Ferries. The 40m single-deck passenger catamaran, which was launched on 30…

The privatisation of the shipyards in Malta will eventually lead to the company's liquidation, a prospect that only came to light yesterday in a report published by the European Commission. In its…

The Indonesian government may reduce the maximum age of ships allowed for import because of safety concerns and the domestic shipyard industry's increasing ability to manufacture internationally standardized ships. Budi Darmadi, the…

The 43 maritime authorities of the Paris and the Tokyo Memoranda on port state control will begin a joint concentrated inspection campaign with the purpose to ensure compliance with SOLAS Chapter III…

Half of the offshore support vessel newbuildings slated for delivery in 2009 will fail to hit the water this year, ODS Petrodata says. A maximum 200 of the planned 393 anchor handlers…

Keppel Corp has been forced to cancel a newbuilding order worth SGD181m ($122m) after the owners failed to finance the project. The Singapore yard said it had received a notice from Romanian…

The ship services network, Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS), has packaged its ships agency services together with its Unitor range of marine products, technical services and maritime logistics into an integrated offer for…

The US Navy has announced a contract for the construction of a second Austal-designed and built Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). Awarded to prime contractor Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics company, the…

BAE Systems and VT Group in the UK are poised to sign a ground-breaking joint-venture agreement to merge their shipyards into a national champion. The new entity, to be called BVT Surface…

China Shipping (Group) Co., the nation?s second-biggest sea-cargo company, plans to order dry- bulk ships this year as prices fall on overcapacity concerns and the global recession. "We?ll never give up on…

The estuary of Narmada river, in Gujarat, India, is all set to become the lifeline for shipbuilding activities of India. In a move with far-reaching consequences, the Gujarat government has decided to…

Samsung Heavy Industies is part of the Atlantico Sul (AS) consortium which last week received news it is to receive Reais 542m ($248m) from the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) to build…

Norway?s Ulstein Verft recently launched a new Ulstein SX121 construction vessel on April 29. ?Sarah? has been in the dockyard since the middle of January 2009 and was built for Marine Subsea,…

The new IMO convention for "Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships" aims to prevent hazardous working conditions and to ensure environmental protection during ship recycling operations. Expected to come into force…

Market sources say the Beijing-based China Cosco Holdings has cancelled at least five of the 23 ships of 57,000 dwt on order at subsidiary Cosco Shipyard Group (CSG). A source adds that…

The survival of embattled Chilean shipping group CSAV could rest with South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries after German owners attending crisis talks in Hamburg last month attached conditions to a rescue…

It?s not the owners? fault, it?s the yards who are to blame for the likely prolonged downturn in shipping said Arthur Bowring, md of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association. Speaking at the…

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Engineering Design and Construction (BEDC) has released invitation to submit sealed bids for the construction of three identical 140,000 cu. ft. self-propelled…