BERGEN NORDIC

ABS, Polaris Shipping, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and autonomous navigation solutions provider AVIKUS have signed a four-party Concept Study Agreement for the implementation of a Conditional Unmanned Bridge.Under the agreement, the parties will jointly develop an autonomous navigation concept enabling unmanned bridge operation during deep-sea voyages, when defined conditions are met, on one of Polaris Shipping's 325K Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs).The concept is not a fully unmanned operation across the entire voyage. Rather, it is a phased autonomous navigation concept under which the bridge is left unmanned only under specific low-risk conditions, such as open-ocean passage.

British commandos boarded and intercepted a sanctioned Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the Channel on Sunday, leading for the first time an operation to disrupt the oil revenue that helps fund Russia's war in Ukraine.The vessel Smyrtos, sailing under a Cameroonian flag, was boarded by Royal Marine Commandos and National Crime Agency (NCA) officials in the early hours on Sunday, with support from Chinook helicopters and other aircraft, a frigate and a minehunter."This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin's war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a post on X.

The “Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional” (BRIN), Indonesia’s national agency for research and innovation, has commissioned the French shipbuilder PIRIOU to design and build two research vessels:a multimission offshore hydro-oceanographic vessel (ORV – Ocean Going Research Vessel) and a coastal research vessel (CRV – Coastal Research Vessel).The order was signed on June 11, 2026 during a ceremony held in Indonesia, attended by representatives of BRIN, Stéphane BURGAUD, PIRIOU’s Commercial Director, and the project’s institutional partners. Both vessels will be built by PIRIOU VIETNAM, the Group’s industrial subsidiary in Southeast Asia.

Geopolitical uncertainty, decarbonization, digitalization and new energy efficiency requirements are fundamentally reshaping the maritime industry. At the joint press conference for SMM 2026, MS&D Conference & Expo and ALL ABOUT PORTS, representatives from industry, shipping the port sector and maritime organizations discussed the key challenges and opportunities facing the future of the industry. While SMM puts the key future challenges facing the maritime industry centre stage, the MS&D Conference & Expo focuses on current issues in maritime security and defense.

VINGA vessel naming ceremony and 40 years of design collaborationcutFOLDER-VINGA-serien-webb.pdf [Full background and tech spec - MR DEC 2026cutVinga VesselA newly built tanker in Furetank's VINGA series will be named at the Port of Uddevalla on 28 August. The vessel was designed by Furetank and FKAB Marine Design, the cumulative of 40 years of vessel design collaboration."We know operations and FKAB knows shipbuilding. Our collaboration has been a winning equation over the years — one plus one has equalled three. Our companies' histories are also closely intertwined: FKAB's founder vouched for Furetank when we ordered our first modern tanker.