GHAZAL

A.P. Moller - Maersk has signed agreements with three yards for a total of 20 container vessels equipped with dual-fuel LNG engines.Combined, the vessels have a capacity of 300,000 TEU.All 20 ships will be equipped with liquified gas dual-fuel propulsion systems and vary in size from 9,000 to 17,000 TEU. Two 9,000 TEU and six 17,000 TEU vessels have been ordered from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, six 15,000 TEU vessels have been ordered from Hanwha Ocean, South Korea, and six 15,000 TEU vessels have been ordered from New Times Shipbuilding, China.With these orders, Maersk concludes the intended owned newbuilding orders announced in the August 2024 update of its fleet renewal plan.

HMNZS Manawanui grounded and sunk off the coast of Samoa as a result of human error, an interim Court of Inquiry report shows.The Royal New Zealand Navy ship grounded on a reef on the southern side of Samoa, on October 5, 2024, while conducting survey operations.Chief of Navy Rear Admiral Garin Golding stood up a Court of Inquiry following the incident. “The direct cause of the grounding has been determined as a series of human errors which meant the ship’s autopilot was not disengaged when it should have been,” Rear Admiral Golding said.

The Panama Maritime Authority has initiated the expedited cancellation of six Panamanian vessels included in the UK Sanctions List – Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK.The six ships were added to the UK list on November 25.“The State has the responsibility to guarantee the well-being of the Panamanian Registry, free of international sanctions and of vessels linked to or included in sanctions lists that may affect the prestige of the flag. This is a priority issue for this administration,” said the Director General of the Merchant Marine, Ramón Franco.

This week at MarineLink…A group of people met at the University of Alaska Fairbanks at the end of October to brainstorm a possible new economy for Alaska and a clean energy source for the world: geologic hydrogen.It’s not that new a concept. Villagers in Bourakébougou, Mali, found a source of geologic hydrogen while unplugging an old water well in 2011. Subsequent scientific research confirmed an extensive hydrogen field in the strata below, and it is now used to generate electricity for the village.Other natural hydrogen deposits have been found in Canada, Russia, Australia, Germany and New Zealand. Alaska could be next.

Satellite images obtained by Reuters on Thursday show a build-up of Chinese civilian vessels near contested Thitu Island, Manila's key outpost in the South China Sea, but a senior Philippine navy officer said they are "not a cause for concern".One of the images taken by Maxar Technologies on Monday and reviewed by Reuters shows about 60 vessels, some within 2 nautical miles of Thitu, a strategically important island from which Manila monitors Chinese vessels and aircraft in the busy waterway.Vice Admiral Alfonso Torres, chief of the Philippines' Western Command, said it was common for "maritime militia" ships to gather in the area.