CAROLYN CHOUEST

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday that a loose wire led to a power failure on the cargo ship Dali that crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024, killing six people and wrecking the bridge.The NTSB is holding a hearing in Washington to determine the probable cause of the incident that killed six construction workers on the bridge.The board staff said they are recommending operators complete periodic inspections of high voltage switchboards and proposing changes that would allow ships to more quickly recover from loss of power.

In a shipbuilding industry defined by tradition, one new entrant is seeking to rewrite the rules of how naval vessels are designed, built and delivered. Saronic Technologies, founded just three years ago, is racing to create what CEO Dino Mavrookas calls “a next-generation shipbuilding ecosystem” — one capable of delivering unmanned surface vessels (USVs) at the speed and scale the U.S. and its allies will need to compete on tomorrow’s seas.Saronic Technology’s ambition is staggering: a vertically integrated, AI-driven maritime manufacturer with its own shipyards, proprietary software stack, and thousands of employees

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) has secured a contract to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for a North American shipowner.The order is valued at 741.2 billion won (about $507 million), HD KSOE said.The vessels will be constructed by HD Hyundai Samho and are scheduled for delivery in 2028.According to the contract details, the shipbuilding period runs through November 30, 2028.The order covers two LNG carriers, reflecting continued demand for high-specification LNG transport capacity amid global gas market expansion.

MPC Container Ships (MPCC) has entered into contracts with Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry in China for the construction of four 4,500 TEU container vessels, scheduled for delivery starting first half of 2028.The contract price per vessel is $58 million and the agreement includes options for two additional vessels at the same price.Each vessel will operate under a 10-year time charter, with extension options, for a leading global liner company.The vessel design and commercial structure were optimized collaboratively with the charterer to ensure an optimal fit for their network, operational profile, and long-term sustainability objectives, MPCC said.

Iran confirmed on Saturday that its Revolutionary Guards had seized a tanker in Gulf waters carrying a cargo of petrochemicals bound for Singapore over alleged violations, Iranian state media reported.A U.S. official and maritime security sources had said on Friday that Iranian forces intercepted the oil products tanker and diverted it into Iranian territorial waters. It was the first report of Tehran seizing a tanker since Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran in June.Iranian state-run television read a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stating that "the tanker was in violation for carrying unauthorized cargo". It did not provide further details of the alleged violations.