ROBERT LADLOW

Major carrier CMA CGM has announced its INDAMEX service will transit Suez Canal on fronthaul and backhaul voyages between India/Pakistan and US East Coast in a notable step towards a largescale return of container ships to the Red Sea region.The first vessel to complete a full service loop via Suez Canal will be CMA CGM Verdi, sailing from Karachi to New York on 15 January. eeSea by Xeneta data shows voyages via Suez Canal rather than Cape of Good Hope reduces full loop transit time on this service by two weeks, down to 77 days.

Conrad Shipyard and Samsung Heavy Industries have agreed to a collaborative framework to jointly explore opportunities in the rapidly expanding U.S. LNG bunkering market.Under the agreement, Conrad and SHI will work together to evaluate and pursue technical, commercial, and market-based initiatives that support the design, construction, and deployment of LNG bunkering vessels tailored for U.S. regulatory and operational requirements.Conrad’s extensive experience navigating regulatory requirements associated with LNG bunkering vessel design, engineering, and construction combined with SHI’s state-of-the-art LNG technology is expected to greatly enhance the U.S. LNG market.

Hanwha Ocean has delivered the Wind Mover wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) to offshore wind contractor Cadeler, completing the second vessel in the company’s M-class series about one month ahead of schedule.The vessel was formally signed over on November 28 and sailed away on December 2, following a naming ceremony at Hanwha Ocean’s shipyard in Korea.Wind Mover is the second of two WTIVs ordered by Cadeler in 2021, with the first vessel, Wind Maker, delivered in January 2025. One vessel will operate in Taiwanese waters while Wind Mover is scheduled to begin work in Europe.

Facility will include 150,000 square feet of covered manufacturing space optimized for serial productionNew yard will support 200 new jobs and expands shipbuilding capacity Master Boat Builders announced plans to build a new $60 million, 150,000 sq ft manufacturing facility dedicated exclusively to government and defense shipbuilding programs. The new 20-acre site is located directly across Bayou Coden from the company’s existing yard.“This new facility is about building more capability here at home,” said Garrett Rice, President, Master Boat Builders.

Morocco will open a new deepwater Mediterranean port next year and another on the Atlantic in 2028, Equipment and Water minister Nizar Baraka said, as the North African country aims to replicate the success of Africa's largest port, Tanger Med.Nador West Med, under construction on the Mediterranean, is scheduled to be operational in the second half of 2026, Baraka told Reuters in an interview.It will offer 800 hectares for industrial activity, with plans to expand to 5000 hectares, surpassing Tanger Med's industrial zones, he said.