General News

A significant milestone for the protection of the marine environment will be reached on 24 March 2006 with the entry into force of the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention…

Qatar Gas Transport Company and Qatar Shipping will use a joint venture company to own and operate four LNG vessels. The ships are being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries at a cost…

The Glasgow-based shipbuilder Ferguson is once again waiting to hear if the Scottish Executive will give it work and keep the yard going. Ferguson's 118-strong workforce hopes to learn next week if…

The European Commission has launched an investigation into proposed government subsidies of euro5.8 million ($6.9 million) to two German shipyards to ensure it complies with EU rules on state aids. The probe…

The Italian shipowner, Navigazione Montanari S.p.A., declared the option for the construction of two more 37,000 DWT product/chemical tankers for a total investment of ?81 million. The option was provided by a…

The Genoa-based tug company, Rimorchiatori Riuniti, has ordered a AHTS vessel from Fincantieri for delivery in December 2007. The 3,000 DWT vessel is of a MOSS 424 design and will have a…

Last November, Bollinger Shipyards did something completely out of character. The shipbuilder backed out of a $700 million contract it had worked for years to land and passed on another worth $150…

Aker Yards has signed a contract with Island Offshore VIII KS, a company within the Island Offshore Group in Ulsteinvik, Norway, to deliver a 3,500 DWT UT 755 LN platform supply vessel.…

A consortium of MOL, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. and Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) signed an agreement with New Delhi-based Petronet LNG Limited (PLL) for a long-term time…

Vela International Marine Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, signed a contract with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to build six VLCCs at its Okpo yard in South Korea.…

Daewoo Shipbuilding won six VLCCs from Vela with delivery of 2009. Shina Shipbuilding won four 41,000DWT product carriers from Ocean Tanker in Singapore. IHI MU in Japan won a new order of…

Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MOMAF) in South Korea is selecting a shipbuilder to construct a 6,950 tonne ice breaking research vessel for the Antarctic. Delivery of the $102 million vessel…

Construction of the largest shipyard in southern Viet Nam began in Nhan Trach district, southern Dong Nai province. Vinashin will be investing nearly 600 billion VND ($38 million) in building this facility…

The American cruise operator Celebrity Cruises, an affiliated company of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., has ordered another large cruise vessel from Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. The contract for the construction of…

South Korean shipbuilders are scrambling to move production of ship hulls to China to take advantage of its cheap labour and large construction facilities. Leading the pack is Samsung Heavy Industries which…

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K" Line) has entered into service its new 140,000 cbm Moss type LNG carrier "Arctic Discoverer", constructed at Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding's Chiba Works in Japan. The vessel…

Seaspan Corporation based in Vancouver has agreed to purchase two new building vessels from affiliates of Conti Holding GmbH & Co. KG ("Conti") of Germany. This acquisition is incremental to Seaspan's original…

Aker Yards has confirmed an optional agreement with Siem Offshore to build two platform supply vessels (PSV). The value of the contract is approximately $40 million and delivery is scheduled for second…

Wärtsilä Corporation has acquired the entire business of Total Automation Ltd, a Singapore-based public marine automation company, and all Total Automation's shares in its subsidiaries at a price of approximately EUR 61.6…

Brazilian engineering company Ultratec will invest $7.8 million to expand its shipyard in Rio de Janeiro state in preparation for the construction of the P-53 FPSO. Federal energy company Petrobras will lease…

Eukor Car Carriers Inc in South Korea placed an order of four PCTCs with Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries. The new 6,500 capacity car carriers will be delivered by second quarter of 2009.

Jiangdong Shipyard in China clinched eight 12,000DWT multi purpose carriers from two German ship owners with delivery of 2008. Each owner ordered four ships.

Transpetro, the transport unit of Brazil's federal energy company Petrobras, has picked four consortia as finalists to build 26 ships at an estimated cost of $1.9 billion. The company is selecting the…