General News

Yayasan Sabah Group is set to play an active role in the chemical marine transportation industry, planning to expand its involvement in this sector with the acquisition of more tankers. The group,…

National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia is buying as many as 17 VLCCs and chemical tankers. The company plans a five-year acquisition program under which it will buy at least nine VLCCs…

Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries in Romania will pay the equivalent of 3.6 million euros for the takeover of Mangalia Shipyards from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC). According to a press…

"K" Line Bulk Shipping (UK) Ltd, the London-based regional headquarters company of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha ("K" Line), has ordered a new-design bulk carrier from Oshima Shipbuilding. Developed by the Japanese shipbuilder, the…

STX Shipbuilding in South Korea launched a 51,000DWT product carrier for an Italian owner which was built using the skid launching system (SLS). Shipbuilding period of the product carrier was reduced from…

Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard in China clinched two 1,700TEU container ships from Ownership Corporation in Germany. Ship price and delivery date were not disclosed. In a separate deal, NVA in Germany placed an…

France has agreed to pay Britain as much as £140m to develop and construct an aircraft carrier based on the design of those being built for the Royal Navy. It is the…

SBM Offshore has signed an agreement with Exxon Mobil affiliate Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited in which SBM will proceed with project development activities for two FPSOs for the Kizomba C…

France is reportedly on a collision course with the UK over a £100m demand for access to the UK?s aircraft carrier programme. The issue is expected to dominate the forthcoming meeting between…

The IMO and the non-governmental industry organization Interferry have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalizing the two organizations? intent to work together towards enhancing the safety of non-Convention ferries by collaborating,…

A broad coalition of shipping industry organisations has brought legal proceedings to test the validity of the EU Directive on Criminal Sanctions for Ship-Source Pollution.INTERTANKO, together with INTERCARGO, the Greek Shipping Cooperation…

Vacon's factory in Suzhou, China, has moved to larger premises. Vacon has been operating in Beijing, China, since the year 2000. In 2004, Vacon founded a factory in Suzhou, and the first…

Norwegian oil rig firm SeaDrill has declared its option to build a second semi-submersible ultra deepwater drilling rig with Daewoo Shipbuilding in Korea. The rig is of the design GVA-7500-N and is…

Russian defence minister Sergei Ivanov has announced that construction of the nuclear-powered icebreaker ?50 Let Pobedy? will be completed this year. "I hope that the nuclear icebreaker ?50 Let Pobedy? will be…

Venezuela and Iran have agreed to explore setting up a joint shipbuilding operation, according to the State-owned company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). The preliminary agreement looks towards jointly building oil tankers, liquid…

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Sdn. Bhd., formerly known as Malaysia Shipyard & Engineering Sdn. Bhd, has signed an agreement with Samsung Heavy Engineering to set up a joint venture for LNG…

Shanghai Chengxi Shipyard in China clinched two 53,000DWT bulk carriers from Geden Line in Turkey. Ship particulars are 190m in length, 32.26m in breadth and 17.5m in depth. Tianjin Xinhe Shipyard won…

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) has secured a repeat order for an ultra-deepwater semi submersible drilling rig from a wholly-owned subsidiary of ENSCO International Incorporated (ENSCO) in Dallas, Texas. The total project…

Ezra Holdings in Singapore announced that its subsidiary, Lewek Shipping Pte Ltd, has ordered two new deep-water equipped multi-purpose anchor handling, towing and supply vessels (AHTS) for $40 million, excluding the cost…

SeaDrill has today declared its option to build a second semi-submersible ultra deepwater drilling rig with Daewoo Shipbuilding in Korea. The rig is of the design GVA-7500-N and is fully capable of…

STX Group, one of Korea?s rapidly growing conglomerates, aims to achieve 15 trillion won in total annual sales by 2010. The group announced yesterday it is on track to achieve its ambitious…

The Letter of Intent (LOI) for a roro-passenger ferry signed on 23 December 2005 by Aker Yards and the French company Brittany Ferries has now been confirmed as a firm contract worth…

Norwegian coating manufacturer, the Jotun Group, will spend $37 million building a wholly-owned factory in Zhangjiagang in a bid to meet the rapidly-growing demand in China. The new factory, with a capacity…