Maritime Vessels Directory

The term gamechanger is often over used enough to be rendered meaningless, but the huge Simandou mine in the West African country of Guinea is going to be just that as its start up is set to rock the seaborne iron ore market.The first cargoes from the project may arrive by the end of this year and it's expected that it will ramp up to its full capacity of 120 million metric tons per annum fairly quickly.The four blocks of Simandou are impressive in their scale and infrastructure challenges, boasting a 620 kilometre (384 mile) rail line, a new port with dedicated trans-shipment vessels that will load bulk carriers offshore.

USTR Floats $1.5m Charge to Chinese-Built Ships Entering US Ports

2 days ago

The U.S. Trade Representative's office has proposed charging up to $1.5 million for Chinese-built vessels entering U.S. ports as part of its investigation into China's growing domination of the global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors.USTR said in a January 16 report on a probe launched during the administration of former President Joe Biden that China increased its share of global shipbuilding tonnage from 5% in 1999 to over 50% in 2023 because of massive state subsidies and preferential treatment for state-owned enterprises that are squeezing out private-sector international competitors. The agency said that U.S.

Iran's "Shadow" Vessel Fleet Hit with Fresh Sanctions

2 days ago

The United States imposed a fresh round of sanctions targeting Iran's oil industry on Monday, hitting more than 30 brokers, tanker operators, and shipping companies for their role in selling and transporting Iranian petroleum, the Treasury Department said.The announcement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to bring Iran's crude exports to zero to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and builds on the layers of sanctions already imposed by his government and the previous Biden administration.

Italy’s Saipem and Norway’s Subsea7 Merger to Create Energy Services Giant

2 days ago

Energy services firms Saipem and Subsea7 have reached an agreement on the key terms for possible merger of the two companies under one unit to be named Saipem7, whose combined backlog would be over $45 billion.Saipem and Subsea7 shareholders will own 50% each of the share capital of the combined company, whose revenue is expected to be around $20.9 billion, and core earnings in excess of $2 billion.Saipem7 will become a global organization of over 45,000 people, including more than 9,000 engineers and project managers.Subsea7 shareholders will receive 6.688 Saipem shares for each Subsea7 share held.

Trump Hopes to Ship Alaskan Gas to Asia

2 days ago

When President Donald Trump sat down to lunch with his Japanese counterpart this month, talk turned quickly to how Tokyo could help realize a decades-old proposal to unlock gas in Alaska and ship it to U.S. allies in Asia.Trump and his energy tsar Doug Burgum framed the venture as a way for Japan to replace Middle East energy shipments and address its trade imbalance with the U.S., according to two officials briefed on the closed-door talks.Japanese premier Shigeru Ishiba - eager to ensure a positive first meeting and stave off damaging U.S. tariffs - struck an optimistic note about the Alaska LNG project despite Tokyo's doubts about its viability.

Maritime Reporter and Engineering News (February 2025)