WESTERN TOWBOAT CO.

The world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker vessel was officially named during a ceremony held Friday in Rotterdam. The 135.5-meter-long, 18,600-cubic-meter-capacity GTT Mark III Flex membrane vessel has been named Gas Agility.The first LNG bunker vessel owned by Emerald Green Maritime Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), she is chartered by Total’s affiliate Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions (TMFGS).In February 2018, TMFGS and MOL signed a time charter party for the vessel, and construction began at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding’s yard in China in November 2018.

Shipbuilder Austal Australia has delivered the seventh Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, PSS President H.I. Remeliik II, was gifted by the Government of Australia to the Government of Palau during a handover ceremony at Austal Australia’s Henderson shipyard.Austal Chief Executive David Singleton said this Guardian-class Patrol Boat delivery was unique as it is the first to take place under COVID-19 restrictions.The 39.5-meter steel monohull patrol boat—designed, constructed and sustained by Austal Australia—is based on a proven design platform that has included the 38-meter Bay-class

The United States and Guyana will begin joint maritime patrols aimed at drug interdiction near the South American country’s disputed border with crisis-stricken Venezuela, the U.S. secretary of state and Guyana’s new president said on Friday.The agreement comes as U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, as part of a consortium with Hess Corp and China’s CNOOC Ltd, ramps up crude output from Guyana’s massive offshore Stabroek block, a large portion of which is in waters claimed by Venezuela.“Greater security, greater capacity to understand your border space, what’s happening inside your Exclusive Economic Zone - those are all things that give Guyana sovereignty,” U.S.

Finnlines' newbuilding program is progressing as planned despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with first steel cut Wednesday for its second new hybrid ro-ro vessel at the Chinese Nanjing Jinling shipyard.Finnlines’ ongoing €500 million ($593 million) newbuilding program includes three green hybrid ro-ro vessels as well as two eco-friendly Superstar ro-pax vessels. The ro-ro vessels are expected to be delivered during 2021–2022 and the Superstar ro-pax vessels are set to start in traffic in 2023.Construction for the first ro-ro vessel began in June.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index inched up on Friday helped by an uptick in panamax and supramax rates, and posted its first weekly gain in three due to robust capesize rates.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for ships ferrying dry bulk commodities and reflects rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, was up by 2 points at 1,296 points.The index rose 2.3% this week.The capesize index fell 14 points, or 0.7%, to 1,900 points, even as it gained 3.3% for the week.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, were down $114 at $15,761.The panamax index rose 10 points, or 0.8%, to 1,315 points.