GTO-2303

An unprecedented level of investment in multi-deck vehicle carriers is being driven by tonnage replacement and scale economy strategies, but emphatically also by explosive growth in China’s automotive exports.Global deep-sea automotive shipments, excluding the Russian trade, were estimated at some 15.6 million units in 2025, up 5 percent on 2024, maintaining recent years’ trajectory. China’s inexorable rise as a producer and exporter is the conspicuous influence on traffic development.Notwithstanding the impacts of sometimes fraught political relations between the USA and China, and between Europe and China, and the prevailing Middle East conflict

Spanish shipyard GONDAN Shipbuilders has launched a 120-metre Ocean Energy Support Vessel (OESV) for Østensjø Rederi, the largest vessel built by the shipyard to date.The C513 OESV was launched at GONDAN's Figueras facility and will now undergo final outfitting and sea trials ahead of scheduled delivery in late 2027.Designed by Salt Ship Design, the vessel has a beam of 23 meters and is intended for operations including walk-to-work personnel transfers, commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) support for offshore wind, offshore construction, subsea installation, ROV inspection and cable laying and repair.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Friday reached the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, four Yemeni government sources told Reuters, potentially tightening their grip on one of the world's vital shipping routes and further increasing the threat to energy markets in the widening Middle East war.Earlier, two sources from the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government said its forces had withdrawn from Perim and that the Houthis had also taken the mainland Red Sea coastal town of Dhubab, which faces the island.

Oil prices settled $3 higher on Tuesday after shipping industry sources said crude loadings at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea export hub of Yanbu had been suspended and Riyadh had canceled some cargo deliveries to European customers, deepening concerns that disruptions to a critical oil-export route could persist for weeks.Gains in U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 outpaced Brent on Tuesday, as fears that Saudi Arabia's supply troubles were widening sent investors rushing into U.S. crude as an alternative.Brent finished up $3.07, or 2.9%, at $108.75 a barrel, while WTI closed up $4.44, or 4.38%, at $105.83 a barrel. Both contracts closed at their highest since May 19.

Multraship, on behalf of Rijkswaterstaat, delivered the new patrol vessel ENFORCER to the Netherlands Coastguard, a 53-metre-long modern patrol vessel for surveillance work, providing assistance and contributing to safety in the North Sea. ENFORCER was built by Damen Shipyards in Gorinchem. It is owned by Multraship from Terneuzen, which will therefore also be responsible for the vessel’s crew and maintenance. The Netherlands Coastguard will have operational command. To carry out the duties in the North Sea, boarding officers from law enforcement agencies such as the police, customs and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee board the vessel.