LAIS

Equinor said it is complying with a stop-work order issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which ordered the suspension of offshore construction activities on the Empire Wind project citing national security concerns.Empire Offshore Wind LLC, the project company, received the notice on December 22 and has begun safely suspending all ongoing work on the U.S. outer continental shelf, while retaining the ability to carry out emergency actions and measures necessary to protect health, safety and the environment.The Interior Department confirmed that five offshore wind projects under construction received similar notices.

The Trump administration suspended leases on Monday for five large offshore wind projects that are under construction off the U.S. East Coast over what it called national security concerns, sending shares of offshore wind companies plunging.The suspension was the latest blow for offshore wind developers that have faced repeated disruptions to their multi-billion-dollar projects under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he finds wind turbines ugly, costly and inefficient. State officials, offshore wind companies, and industry trade groups slammed the move as unjustified.The U.S.

Singapore-based Seatrium has resolved its dispute with an affiliate of Maersk Offshore Wind, over the delivery of a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), originally intended for Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 project in the United States.Under the agreement Seatrium Energy reached with Maerk’s affiliate Phoenix II A/S, the parties will discontinue all legal proceedings related to the contract, agreeing to deliver the vessel by February 28, 2026.The settlement follows months of dispute after Phoenix II issued a termination notice in October 2025, which Seatrium rejected, maintaining that the buyer was in breach of contract.

Finnish engineering group Wärtsilä has agreed to divest its Gas Solutions business to German private equity investor Mutares SE & Co. KGaA, continuing its efforts to streamline operations and unlock value from its portfolio.Gas Solutions, which operates globally across the gas value chain, provides systems and lifecycle services for maritime gas handling, inert gas systems, gas-to-power solutions, liquefaction and biogas applications. The unit generated annual revenue of around $350 million (€300 million) in 2024

Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker near the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Gulf, saying it was carrying 4 million litres of smuggled fuel, state media reported on Friday.Authorities did not name the vessel or disclose its nationality. They said 16 foreign crew members had been detained on criminal charges. State TV said the tanker was seized on Wednesday.Iranian news websites published video footage and photographs of what they said was the seized tanker.Iran said last week it had seized another foreign tanker carrying 6 million litres of what it described as smuggled diesel in the Gulf of Oman without identifying the vessel or its nationality.