Maritime Vessels Directory

Equatorial Guinea has detained an oil tanker capable of carrying 2 million barrels after it attempted to load in Nigeria without proper paperwork, both countries said this week.The Nigerian navy said in a statement that the Heroic Idun, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), was attempting to load oil at the Akpo SBM on Aug. 8 without due clearance from state oil company NNPC, and that it "resisted arrest" when ordered to stop.It was not immediately clear who was the vessel's owner or operator. The navy named Norway's Hunter Tankers as the owner, but the firm sold it in July and did not respond to a Reuters query about the buyer.

A further ten cargo ships are being loaded with grain in Ukrainian Black Sea ports and being prepared for shipment under a food export agreement brokered last month, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Friday.Ukraine’s grain exports have slumped since the start of the war because its Black Sea ports - a vital route for shipments - were closed, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.At the end of July, three Black Sea ports were unblocked under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.

The company that operates Britain's biggest container port, Felixstowe, said on Friday it believed its pay offer to workers was fair and it was disappointed strike action due to begin on Sunday had not been called off.More than 1,900 workers at Felixstowe represented by the Unite union plan eight days of strikes from Aug. 21 in a dispute over pay."The company is disappointed that Unite has not taken up our offer to call off the strike and come to the table for constructive discussions to find a resolution," said a spokesperson for Hutchison Ports, which operates Felixstowe."We recognize these are difficult times but, in a slowing economy, we believe that the company's offer ... is fair.

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced next steps to bring offshore wind energy to the Gulf of Maine. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has made available a Request for Interest (RFI) and Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) in the Federal Register for public comment.“President Biden has set ambitious goals to address the climate crisis, and in response the Interior Department is taking historic steps to develop a robust and sustainable clean energy future,” said Secretary Deb Haaland.

Tanker shipping company AET said it has awarded 10 scholarships in partnership with the Texas A&M Foundation at the Texas A&M University Galveston Campus.The university is home to the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, one of seven maritime academies in the United States, offering a specialized maritime training and education program.The scholarship initiative supports undergraduate students majoring in Maritime Transportation for their bachelor’s degree program, aspiring to become deck officers."By awarding scholarships, we aim to empower students with skills to become valuable members of the global maritime sector," AET said.