LAY VESSEL NORTH OCEAN 105

Batteries have become a practical part of maritime decarbonization. They are used on ferries, harbor craft, tugs, offshore support vessels, crew transfer vessels, various types of remotely operated vessels, and hybrid ships to reduce fuel burn, provide spinning reserve, support dynamic positioning, enable peak shaving, and allow zero-emission operation in port. As of mid-2026, 156 different maritime battery systems from 118 manufacturing companies are commercially available. Notably, systems are becoming more energy dense, lighter and more compact, supporting wider maritime adoption – for a 288.

Estonia has taken delivery of a new 38-meter multipurpose workboat that combines compressed biomethane and battery-electric propulsion with research, buoy-handling, pollution-response and rescue capabilities in a single vessel.Named KRATT, the new vessel was designed and built by Baltic Workboats for the Estonian State Fleet and christened August 12 at Saaremaa, Estonia. The €22 million vessel is scheduled to enter service in Estonian waters this autumn.At the center of the newbuild is an alternative-fuel power plant designed around compressed biomethane (CBM) as its primary fuel, four 350-kW gas generator sets and a 400-kWh battery system.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed over the weekend, data showed on Monday, following attacks on tankers, while U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the Middle East conflict stalled.Five commodity vessels transited the strait on Saturday, with none registered for Sunday, shiptracking data from Kpler showed, versus 31 in the prior weekend.Ships entering the strait on Saturday included an empty very large crude carrier with its Automatic Identification System switched off and an Indian-flagged very large gas carrier that used the Iranian route, Kpler data showed.A small tanker laden with Iranian fuel oil exited, it showed.

The leader of U.S. Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, wrote on Sunday that his recent visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln was "awe-inspiring" and hailed the crew's "resilience" following reports of concerns about mental health and deteriorating conditions aboard the aircraft carrier.The ship has not made a port call in more than 200 days, setting a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea, according to Democratic lawmakers who have called for answers after sailors' families raised concerns about worsening conditions on the Lincoln.

U.S. President Donald Trump has allowed the Navy to build ships overseas and ordered it to abandon a complex system for launching jet fighters from its aircraft carriers and instead return to using steam catapults, the White House said on Thursday.Trump signed a national security memorandum directing the change, which would require the fourth vessel in the Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carriers to abandon the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) used on the first three vessels. The design change is expected to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.Huntington Ingalls is the primary contractor building Ford-class aircraft carriers.