CHARLES 208

Italy has formally launched its next-generation destroyer program, with Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN) signing a contract valued at approximately $4.2 billion with OCCAR for two new DDX destroyers for the Italian Navy.OSN, the joint venture between Fincantieri (51%) and Leonardo (49%), said the contract includes approximately $1.48 billion in options and covers development, production, logistics studies and Initial In-Service Support.Fincantieri and Leonardo are expected to receive subcontracts valued at approximately $2.05 billion and $1.93 billion, respectively, including options.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line), has taken delivery of the 174,000-cubic-metre LNG carrier Puteri Kelantan, the third vessel of its type delivered for Petronas LNG in 2026.The vessel, owned by a joint venture company led by “K” Line, was delivered on September 24 by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) in China.Puteri Kelantan follows two vessels of the same type delivered for Petronas LNG in May and June this year. A fourth sister vessel, Puteri Negeri Sembilan, is scheduled for delivery in November.The new LNG carrier is about 299 meters long and 46.4 meters wide, with tank capacity of approximately 174,000 cubic meters.

All 25 crew members of the Liberia-registered container vessel MSC HERMES III were rescued after abandoning the ship in a lifeboat about 300 km east of Vietnam, Singapore's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) said.MRCC Singapore received a distress alert at about 8:45 a.m. Singapore time on September 22 while the vessel was within Singapore's Maritime Search and Rescue Region.It immediately broadcast a request for nearby vessels to provide assistance, with three vessels responding.MSC RUBY subsequently recovered all 25 crew members from the lifeboat. No injuries were reported.

A new shuttling system is reshaping the Middle East oil market, as producers seek to keep exports flowing despite the escalating regional conflict. The question now is whether this complex, expensive process is a stopgap measure or the global energy market’s new normal.Several miles off Oman's coast, south of the Strait of Hormuz, rows of tankers lie at anchor. Many sit alongside each other, connected by ropes and hoses as they transfer crude from one vessel to another, creating a floating bridge between the Middle East's oilfields and the global market.

US and Iranian negotiators in New York are exploring a phased path out of war that would involve Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran, sources close to the talks said.The strait has become the central bargaining chip in efforts to end the nearly seven-month US-Iran conflict, with Iran seeking relief from the US blockade that is choking its economy and Washington seeking free passage for ships on the global oil supply route now blocked by Tehran.