FRUHOLMEN

Two people have died and 11 crew members have been rescued after the Royad Mammadov cargo ship sank in the Black Sea, Romanian authorities reported, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the vessel had been struck by Russian drones.The incident occurred on October 5 in Romania's exclusive economic zone, about 30 nautical miles south of Sfântu Gheorghe and outside the country's territorial waters, according to Romania's Ministry of Internal Affairs.Zelenskyy said the vessel was carrying corn in neutral waters when it was sunk by Russian drones. He added the ship had been chartered from Türkiye and was operated by citizens of Azerbaijan and India.

ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S) has ordered three 90,000-cubic-meter Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) for a total investment of $324 million.The three newbuilds are scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2029, ADNOC L&S said.Upon delivery, the VLGCs will be deployed under seven-year contracts with ADNOC Global Trading.The investment is also valued at $324 million (AED 1.19 billion), according to ADNOC L&S.

Ongoing fleet renewal by niche player Cool Carriers indicates continuing competitiveness at scale of the specialized, pallet-optimized reefership.Not so long ago, it seemed that the unrelenting march of containerization and ever-widening influence of the powerful ocean container line entities would finally usurp the conventional, breakbulk refrigerated cargo vessel. However, Limassol, Cyprus-headquartered Cool Carriers, the largest operator in the sector, displays remarkable resilience through consecutive programs of tonnage development.Hard on the heels of a period of renewal centered on five ships in the 900,000-cu.-ft.

The United States is having a maritime moment. Maritime is back on the national agenda. The Maritime Action Plan, the SHIPS for America Act,and now the Administration’s August 13 memorandum on rebuilding the Navy and America’s shipbuilding industrial base have renewed the conversation about rebuilding America's maritime capability. The focus on shipyards, workforce development, the merchant marine, and domestic vessel construction is both encouraging and long overdue.After more than two decades designing commercial vessels, I’m encouraged by the attention. Engineers don't usually get excited about policy discussions, but this one feels different.

SFL Corporation has ordered two 93,000-cubic-metre Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs) for about $216 million and secured long-term time charters for the newbuilds with an unnamed oil major.The vessels are scheduled for delivery from the second quarter of 2028 and will mark SFL's entry into the gas carrier segment.The associated charters will add a minimum of about $162 million to SFL's fixed-rate charter backlog. The initial charter duration will be determined within the next six months, potentially increasing the backlog, while the charterer will have options to extend the charters by up to four years.