ANNELIES ILENA

Subsea services provider OMS Group has signed contracts with Ulstein for the design and construction of two cable laying vessels (CLVs).The vessels will be designed by Ulstein Design & Solutions and constructed at Ulstein Verft, with delivery planned for 2028. Each vessel will be about 130 meters long and 22 meters wide, with cable capacity of up to 6,500 tonnes and accommodation for 75 people.The design includes two large cable tanks, two spare-cable tanks, an enclosed cable deck hangar, and an open deck above the hangar for remotely operated vehicles and containers. The vessels will also be equipped with a 50-tonne A-frame and towing winch for cable ploughing operations.

CF Industries, Trafigura and TFG Marine have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate the adoption of low-carbon ammonia as a marine fuel.Building on the successful collaboration between CF Industries and Trafigura in the shipment of low-carbon ammonia, the agreement establishes a framework for the parties to work together on advancing low-carbon ammonia as a marine fuel, supporting the global shipping industry's emissions-reduction efforts.Under the MOU, CF Industries, Trafigura and TFG Marine will collaborate on market development, stakeholder engagement and bunkering logistics planning. The collaboration will initially focus on the U.S. Gulf Coast and Northwest Europe.

For Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC), the year has had a strong start. Today, a significant milestone was reached in the Squadron 2020 project with the start of production of the fourth multi-purpose corvette and the keel-laying of the third one. This also means that all four multi-purpose corvettes of Pohjanmaa class -- ships that measure 117 x 16.5m with a 5m draft and a crew of 70 -- are now simultaneously under construction at the RMC shipyard. Moreover, preparations are in full swing for the production of the two icebreakers ordered by the United States at the end of 2025.The year 2026 is expected to be particularly interesting and significant for the Rauma shipyard.

A newly built very large gas carrier (VLGC) was named Lucent Pathfinder at a ceremony held at Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Sakaide Works, marking the seventh dual-fuel LPG carrier using LPG ordered by NYK.The vessel, which will be chartered by United Arab Emirates-based LPG trader BGN INT DMCC, is designed for the global transportation of liquefied petroleum gas and is capable of operating on both heavy fuel oil and LPG.The naming ceremony was attended by around 30 stakeholders. Takayuki Koike, LPG director at BGN, named the vessel, followed by a ceremonial rope cutting performed by Wendy Jungsuk Kwon, an LPG trader at BGN.

The formerly retired tugboat Polar King is back on the water thanks to the hard work of the Alaska Marine Lines team and many others throughout the Lynden companies. The 50-year-old tugboat was completely overhauled earlier this year and is now back in the fleet and will be towing barges between Seattle, Hawaii, and Western Alaska ports. The 120- by 34-ft. tug was built in 1974 at McDermott Shipyard, one of eight built that year. Four of those vessels ended up towing barges at AML. After many years of service, three of the four tugs were retired, and the Polar King was selected to receive a major overhaul.