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Saronic has broken ground on Port Alpha, a new U.S. shipyard at the Port of Brownsville, Texas, representing a private capital investment of more than $3 billion and a potentially significant addition to U.S. shipbuilding capacity.Situated on 835 acres with an option to expand to nearly 4,400 acres, Port Alpha is being designed to build autonomous, autonomy-capable and manned vessels. Saronic said the project could eventually support up to 10,000 direct jobs.At opening, the yard is planned to provide 150,000 gross tons of annual shipbuilding capacity, which Saronic said would more than double current U.S. commercial shipbuilding capacity.

Samsung Heavy Industries has signed a $226 million (KRW 307.4 billion) contract to build two very large gas carriers (VLGCs) for an undisclosed shipowner in Bermuda, according to a Korean stock exchange regulatory filing.The contract was signed on September 29 and runs through February 28, 2030, with the end date based on the vessels' delivery date.Payments will be made according to construction progress, with the contract including an advance payment.The order represents 2.9% of Samsung Heavy Industries' $7.81 billion (KRW 10.65 trillion) in annual revenue based on its 2025 consolidated financial statements.

Chinese workboat and specialist vessel builder Jianglong Shipbuilding Technology has signed contracts worth $40 million to build two 78-meter multi-purpose offshore supply vessels for an undisclosed customer, with deliveries scheduled for 2028.The first vessel is due to be delivered on or before June 19, 2028, followed by the second on or before August 18, 2028. Payments will be made in installments as construction progresses.The contract value, which excludes owner-supplied items, is equivalent to about $40 million (269.5 million yuan) and represents 38.35% of Jianglong Shipbuilding's audited operating revenue for 2025.

McAllister Towing received the tug Mary McAllister from Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc. in Maine. Mary McAllister is the sixth in a seven-tug series of American Bureau of Shipping-classed and certified 84-metric-ton bollard pull, low-emission tractor tugs.  Mary McAllister is powered by CAT Tier IV engines producing 6,770 horsepower. She is classed with the following certifications and endorsements from ABS: +A-1 Towing, +AMS, Fire Fighting (FiFi 1), Escort, Low Emissions Vessel. Her firefighting prowess includes pumps and monitors capable of producing 12,000 gallons of water and foam per minute.Mary McAllister left Washburn & Doughty just in time to ride out the approaching nor'easter.

Orders for alternative-fuelled vessels reached 168 in the third quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly total in two years, as contracting activity accelerated following a slower start to the year, figures from DNV’s Alternative Fuels Insight (AFI) platform showed.September accounted for 69 orders, the highest monthly total since October 2024, according to DNV’s AFI.A total of 311 alternative-fuelled vessels have been ordered so far in 2026, up 53% from the same period last year.LNG dominated September contracting with 48 vessel orders spanning containerships, car carriers, bulk carriers and ro-ro cargo vessels.