GLORY 121

The military and Coast Guard budgets are established that will benefit the U.S. ship building and repair sector, but what will stimulate the commercial yards?This author has been scratching his head of late, after a thrilling dive into July’s U.S. Big Beautiful Bill Act, and has asked several colleagues where the funding for support commercial shipbuilding can be found? To answer that, we need to look elsewhere and to future programs.Setting the SceneMany column inches have been dedicated to the decline U.S. shipbuilding, whether signaled by the relatively small presence of a U.S.

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.

The orders for the new alternative-fueled vessels have continued to grow in July 2025, in line with the steady pace of activity seen in the first half of the year, according to the latest figures from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform.A total of 28 new orders for alternative-fueled vessels were placed in July 2025, AFI’s latest report has revealed.LNG remains the dominant fuel choice, accounting for 22 of the 28 orders. The majority of these orders were concentrated in the container segment with 19 on record, with the two remaining being tankers and one a research vessel.Methanol followed with three new orders, including two bulk carriers and one offshore vessel.