COMMON SPIRIT

In a major move to accelerate the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking fleet expansion, Bollinger Shipyards, Rauma Shipyards, Seaspan Shipyards, and Aker Arctic announced a partnership to deliver next-generation Arctic Security Cutters (ASCs) under the Coast Guard’s multibillion-dollar icebreaker program.The collaboration combines U.S., Canadian, and Finnish shipbuilding expertise to meet the Coast Guard’s urgent Arctic mission requirements. Backed by nearly $9 billion in funding secured under President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”, the effort aims to deliver the first vessel within 36 months of contract award, using a mature, production-ready design.

Yinson Production, via its joint venture PTSC South East Asia (PTSC SEA), has secured a lease and operate contract for a new floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit for Vietnam’s offshore Block B gas development.The contract was awarded by Phu Quoc Petroleum Operating Company (PQPOC), the operator of Blocks B 48/95 and 52/97, on behalf of state-run Petrovietnam. The project marks a key milestone in Vietnam’s push to enhance energy security and offshore infrastructure.The contract includes a firm term of 14 years, with an option to extend for up to nine additional years. The total contract value, including extensions, is estimated at $600 million.

CK Hutchison's plan to sell most of its $22.8 billion ports business is unlikely to be finalised anytime soon, with political brinkmanship set to continue, and sources saying that a Sunday deadline for exclusive talks was likely to be extended.The Hong Kong conglomerate's plan to sell the business, which would include two ports along the strategically important Panama Canal, to a consortium led by BlackRock and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run shipping company MSC, has become politicised amid an escalating China-U.S. trade war.

“We estimate the dry bulk supply/demand balance to weaken in both 2025 and 2026, compared to 2024. Demand growth is expected to slow, impacted by a weaker economic outlook for China and the world and a shift in US trade policy,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.The rise in tariffs and the start of trade negotiations by the US have introduced additional uncertainty and are directly impacting 4% of global dry bulk tonne mile demand. In China, this is expected to slow economic growth starting in the second half of 2025, while front-loading ahead of the start of tariffs led to comparatively stronger growth in the first half.

As the global shipping industry accelerates toward decarbonization, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) has unveiled its first methanol bunkering simulator at its Maritime Training Center in Kochi, India. Developed in partnership with Wärtsilä, the new platform is designed to give seafarers hands-on training for safely handling methanol, one of the leading alternative fuels driving maritime’s low-carbon transition.The simulator marks a significant step in BSM’s broader strategy to future-proof crew training for a new generation of low- and zero-emission vessels.