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A Vietnamese-flagged cargo ship ran aground near the Philippines' Antique province Thursday after the officer on watch fell asleep, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.The 225-meter, 2,551-gross-ton Globe 6 was transporting a rice cargo from Ho Chi Minh City to Davao City and had 25 crew members on board at the time of the incident. The ship's master Nguyen Hoai told the PCG that the officer on watch had been asleep when the grounding occurred.The PCG said its personnel were immediately dispatched to investigate the incident and inspect the vessel for possible damage and signs of an oil spill. So far no injuries or pollution have been reported.

The Philippine unit of Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday it will permanently shut one of the country's two oil refineries, blaming a pandemic-led slump in margins, with other regional closures likely to follow, according to analysts.Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp said its 110,000-barrel-per-day Tabangao facility in Batangas province, which began operations in 1962, was no longer economically viable and would be turned into an import terminal.Singapore's complex refining margin, the bellwether in measuring profitability at Asian refineries, has been mostly negative since March prompting many refiners to cut output or temporarily shutter operations.

France will increase its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, calling on Turkey to halt oil and gas exploration in disputed waters that has heightened tensions with Greece.The French leader voiced concern over "unilateral" exploration by Turkey in a call with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Macron's office said in a statement. It added that prospecting should "cease in order to allow a peaceful dialogue" between the neighboring NATO members.The standoff deepened this week with the arrival of Turkish seismic research vessel Oruc Reis in a disputed area of the Mediterranean, accompanied by warships.

The Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA) said it is adding new requirements for its 8th Annual International Student Design Competition for a Safe Affordable Ferry, in an action reflecting the unprecedented developments of 2020. This year, students have been tasked with designing a RoPax ferry for the Amazon River, between Manaus and Tefé, some 200 miles further inland.Due to the widespread impacts of COVID-19, the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association is asking registered and to-be-registered student teams to consider how their designs could be modified for safe operation in a time of the pandemic.

Mitsubishi Turbocharger and Engine America (MTEA) has appointed Cascade Engine Center, located in Seattle, as its marine engine division's new West Coast distributor effective August 11, 2020Cascade Engine Center will have responsibility for Alaska, Washington State, Oregon, California and Hawaii.“The addition of the Mitsubishi Heavy Duty engine lineup to Cascade Engine Center will complement our current commercial engine business, allowing us to support most commercial marine applications on the West Coast,” stated Tim A. Hess, president of Cascade Engine Center, which has been active in the commercial marine business since 1961.