Great Lakes Limestone Shipments Slip Slightly in July Amid Mixed Port Trends
Shipments of limestone across the Great Lakes held relatively steady in July 2025, totaling 3.53 million tons — a fractional drop of less than 1% compared to the same month last year, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA). Despite the minimal year-over-year change, the trade fell 6.7% short of the month’s five-year average, reflecting softer demand from some key markets.Loadings from U.S.
Golden Ocean, CMB.TECH Set August 20 Target for Closing $4.2B Merger
Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ: GOGL; Euronext Oslo Børs: GOGL) has issued an update on its planned stock-for-stock merger with CMB.TECH NV (NYSE: CMBT; Euronext Brussels: CMBT), confirming the transaction could close as early as August 20, 2025.Under the agreement, Golden Ocean will merge with CMB.TECH Bermuda Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of CMB.TECH, with the latter as the surviving entity.
Great Lakes Iron Ore Shipments Slip in July; Year-to-Date Totals Lag
The Great Lakes iron ore trade lost momentum in July, with shipments totaling 5.1 million tons — a 10.9% decline compared to the same month in 2024, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA). The July volume also came in 1.7% below the five-year average, signaling that weaker conditions are not just a one-month anomaly.The year-to-date picture is similarly soft. Through the first seven months of 2025…
Vantage Drilling Completes Sale of the Tungsten Explorer
Vantage Drilling International completed the sale of the Tungsten Explorer to TEVA Ship Charter LLC, the joint venture entity owned 25% by the Ccompany and 75% by TotalEnergies.
Russia's Arctic LNG 2 Continue Loadings with Sanctioned Tankers
An LNG tanker targeted by U.S. sanctions has berthed at Russia's Arctic LNG 2 plant, the fourth such vessel to do so this year, shiptracking data from Kpler and LSEG showed.The Christophe De Margerie tanker arrived unloaded at Arctic LNG 2 on August 9, showed Kpler data. The vessel was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury department in January as part of a broader goal to target Russia's oil and gas revenues.The Arctic LNG 2 project…
Ørsted Delivers Strong H1 Results
Ørsted’s Board of Directors has approved the interim report for the first half of 2025, with Rasmus Errboe, Group President and CEO, saying he is satisfied with the company’s strong operational performance which saw earnings of DKK 13.9 billion ($2.2 billion).The figure supports Ørsted’s full-year EBITDA guidance of DKK 25-28 billion.The company has however altered the outlook for the offshore division…
Ship Recyclers Face Confusing Fundamentals and Market Uncertainty
A week of confusing fundamentals saw nearly all markets reacting as bizarrely as on “Liberation Day” tariffs from back in April, says cash buyer GMS.The tariffs, finally being levied on key destinations (including India) this week, saw turmoil across the board as the week ended. At the onset, oil futures declined 5% and closed the week out at $63.90/barrel. The tariffs announced on Friday included Russia (rather surprisingly) and China…
Provaris Commences FEED for LCO2 Tank
Provaris Energy has received approval from its development partner Yinson Production to commence the front end engineering design (FEED) development for its proprietary large-scale low-pressure liquid CO2 (LCO2) tanks for integration with Yinson’s floating storage injection unit (FSIU).Yinson will fund 100% of the FEED phase, and first deliverables are scheduled for December 2025.Provaris and Yinson…
Shore Leave: Rare, Brief and Endangered
A new report from the ITF Seafarers’ Trust (ITFST) and the World Maritime University (WMU) highlights the continuing absence of shore leave for the world’s seafarers.Analyzing the data from 5,879 seafarers who responded to the ITFST’s Shore Leave Survey, WMU researchers concluded that more than a quarter of seafarers did not get any shore leave at all, and a third only got ashore once or twice during their entire contract…
IMO Launches Regional Office in Fiji
The IMO has inaugurated a new Regional Presence Office in Suva, Fiji.The Regional Presence Office, hosted by the Government of Fiji and initially based at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) buildings, will support Pacific nations with implementing global regulations and standards in maritime safety and environmental protection, while advancing their maritime sectors. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Domiguez…
GCMD and INTERCARGO Partner on Decarbonization
The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) and the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO) have signed a two-year partnership to accelerate decarbonization efforts in the dry bulk segment.Bulk carriers account for 42.7% of the world’s oceangoing fleet by deadweight tonnage (dwt) and present unique decarbonization challenges, particularly for small and medium-sized…
Dominican Republic to Boost Cruise Tourism
The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) has strengthened its partnership with the Dominican Republic to enhance cruise tourism.During a series of high-level meetings between FCCA leadership and the Dominican Republic’s tourism and port authorities, both parties committed to a shared vision: to position the Dominican Republic as a premier cruise destination in the Caribbean by delivering exceptional guest experiences…
Coast Guard Assists Fishing Vessel off Oregon
U.S. Coast Guard crews from across two districts have worked together to assist three mariners aboard a disabled fishing vessel about 95 miles west of Newport, Oregon.The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Alder, an Air Station Sacramento C-27 Spartan aircrew, an Air Station North Bend MH-65 Dolphin aircrew, and a Station Yaquina Bay 47-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB) crew responded to the Defiant, a 97-foot fishing vessel, after it reported at 6:42 a.m.
Coast Guard Responds to Increased Chinese Research Vessel Activity in Arctic
The U.S. Coast Guard has detected two Chinese research vessels operating in the U.S. Arctic and is currently monitoring five similar vessels in or near the U.S Arctic.On August 5, a C-130J Hercules fixed wing aircraft from Air Station Kodiak responded to the Chinese research vessels Ji Di and the Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di. Both vessels were transiting northeast in the Bering Sea.On August 6, the crew of U.S.
Iraq Navy Detains Oil Tanker in Smuggling Crackdown
Iraq's navy has detained a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in its territorial waters as part of a crackdown on fuel smuggling at sea, sources with the navy and oil and transport ministries said on Friday.Smuggling is common in Gulf waters, where heavily subsidised fuel from some countries is sold on the black market to buyers across the region, though it has been relatively rare until recently for Iraqi…
Colonna’s Shipyard: Forged in Steel, Anchored in Legacy
Listen to the full Maritime Matters: The Marinelink Podcast featuring Randall Crutchfield, Chairman & CEO, Colonna’s Shipyard, the fifth-generation, family leader of this medium-sized shipbuilder. Founded in 1875 with a $2,000 loan from his brother, 26-year-old ship carpenter Charles J. Colonna, created a company that has not only withstood the test of time, but today stands ready as a multi-faceted ‘blue collar industrial complex’ to help in the effort to effectively rebuild the U.S.
Synera and Dong Fang Offshore Sign 15-Year Offshore Wind SOV Deal
Asia-Pacific region offshore wind developer Synera Renewable Energy (SRE) has awarded a 15-year service contract to Dong Fang Offshore (DFO) for the provision of a service operations vessel (SOV) to support the operations and maintenance (O&M) of SRE’s offshore wind assets.Under the contract, DFO will provide a newly built, Taiwan-flagged SOV to support Formosa 4 offshore wind project from the construction phase onward.Custom-designed for Taiwan’s offshore conditions…
Grimaldi Takes Delivery of Second Ammonia-Ready Car Carrier
Italian shipping firm Grimaldi Group has welcomed the second ammonia-ready pure car and truck carrier (PCTC), Grande Tianjin, from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS), a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC).The delivery of a 9,000-car capacity PTCT built for Grimaldi Group also marks SWS's 600th vessel or offshore platform since its inaugural delivery, the 150,000-ton Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit Hai Yang Shi You 111…
ABS Certifies Electric Propulsion Solution from Korean Shipbuilders
ABS has issued a New Technology Qualification certificate to HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) for their next-generation electric propulsion solution - the Medium Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) power system for ships.The Breakerless-MVDC Power System builds on HD Hyundai’s modular propulsion drive system and is the first in the world to receive an ABS NTQ certificate…
Algorithm Accountability
When the maritime trade union Nautilus International asked memberswhat they thought of AI at a forum in January, there was some positive sentiment:“We shouldn’t automatically assume there will be problems with AI, as we’ve adopted other tech over the years without it being too intrusive for crew.”Others were not so sure:“There are worrying issues around liability and culpability if an incident happens involving a vessel operated using AI.
