OVERSEAS SKOPELOS

Unidentified people in a wooden boat fired on a Comoros-flagged livestock carrier on Thursday in the Red Sea near Yemen, British maritime security firm Ambrey said.The security firm advised vessels not to transit east of the Hanish Islands, 30 nautical miles to the northwest of Mocha, a port city on Yemen's Red Sea coast, and to maintain a safe distance from small boat activity.Ambrey added that the vessel, travelling from Bosaso, Somalia, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, reported having received instructions to proceed to Mocha. It did not make clear who had given the instructions.

Green hydrogen developers are cancelling projects and trimming investments around the world, raising the prospect of longer than targeted reliance on fossil fuels.The challenges facing the sector have exposed its initial ambitions as unrealistic.Hard-to-electrify industries that were seen as ideal candidates for green hydrogen, such as steelmaking and long-distance transportation, have found that transition to the low-carbon fuel looks prohibitively expensive.The gap between ambition and reality in Europe shows the extent of the reset happening within the industry, said Jun Sasamura, hydrogen manager at research company Westwood Global Energy.

“We forecast that bulker deliveries will gradually increase this year and in 2026, reaching 41.2m Deadweight Tonnes (DWT) and a six-year high. Bulker newbuilding contracting was strong in 2023 and 2024, and several of the ships ordered during this period are expected to be delivered during this and next year,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.Of the 59.3 million DWT expected to be delivered until the end of 2026, the panamax segment accounts for 33.9% while supramax accounts for 28.3%. Ordering for these segments rose in 2023 and 2024 as they were benefitting from comparatively higher freight rates.

Hanwha Shipping, a U.S. subsidiary of Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, on Tuesday said it ordered an LNG carrier valued at roughly $252 million from its own Pennsylvania-based unit Hanwha Philly Shipyard.Under the agreement, the ship will be built in Korea and flagged in the United States. It is slated for delivery in the first half of 2028.The deal comes as the United States works to revive domestic shipbuilding and expand its fleet of commercial and military vessels. Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Ocean bought Philly Shipyard for $100 million in December."This agreement looks to be a 'first step' in building out U.S.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has announced that the Maritime Administration (MARAD) has awarded $8.75 million in grants to revitalize U.S. shipyards and advance America’s maritime dominance.The funding is part of the Small Shipyard Grant program, which supports advanced training, workforce development and new technologies that strengthen U.S. shipbuilding and repair capabilities.  Duffy said the program will help America counter Chinese competition and maintain freedom on the seas.“Unleashing the full power of America's shipyards will boost our economic strength and national security,” said Acting Maritime Administrator Sang Yi.