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At the head of the U.S.’ largest ferry system is Steve Nevey, Deputy Secretary, Washington State Ferry (WSF), which is engaged in a historic modernization to a hybrid-electric fleet. Nevey gives a candid look inside problems during the Wenatchee conversion, with insights on the hybrid electric direction and pace for newbuilds at Eastern Shipbuilding.Steve Nevey did not stumble into maritime. He was raised in it, shaped by it, and by most accounts destined for it. Born in the UK, Nevey grew up in a naval household. His father served aboard HMS Invincible, and after visiting the ship as a two-year-old following its return from the Falklands War, ships became his singular obsession.

Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras has signed a $427 million contract through its logistics subsidiary Petrobras Transporte (Transpetro) with the Rio Grande Shipyard for the construction of four medium range tankers as part of a broader program to renew and expand its shipping fleet.The four MR1-class vessels, each with a deadweight tonnage of 40,000 tonnes, will be used to transport crude oil and petroleum products along Brazil's coast, Petrobras said.The order forms part of the Mar Aberto (Open Sea) Program, which aims to expand Transpetro's owned fleet to 42 vessels by 2030 from 26 currently

Australian mining company Fortescue has signed an agreement with Belgian shipping and cleantech group CMB.TECH to charter up to 12 ammonia-capable bulk carriers, stepping up efforts to decarbonize maritime transport and support the development of green ammonia as a marine fuel.Under the agreement, Fortescue will charter 12 Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels, each with a carrying capacity of 210,000 deadweight tonnes, from Bocimar, the dry bulk shipping arm of CMB.TECH.Up to three of the vessels will be delivered with dual-fuel ammonia engines and are expected to enter service by the end of 2026

Germany scrapped a landmark frigate programme on Wednesday following delays and expected cost overruns, sending shares in the country's top defence firm Rheinmetall — which was tipped to win the contract — sharply lower.Plans to build six F126 frigates had been mired in trouble for a while, with Berlin weighing whether to hand the contract to Rheinmetall's NVL division after initial supplier, Dutch group Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, failed to meet timelines and budgets.Germany's defence ministry said it would terminate the programme, warning it would have pushed the cost of six ships to more than €18 billion ($20 billion), up from an initial estimate of about €10 billion.

Ships have begun sailing through the Strait of Hormuz under a new scheme by the U.N.'s shipping agency to evacuate vessels trapped there by the conflict, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.The initiative, which has taken months to conclude, will enable hundreds of ships with some 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf to sail through Hormuz, the International Maritime Organization said on Tuesday."Ships have already begun to pass under the plan," an IMO spokesperson said on Wednesday, declining to provide any details of the vessels that had crossed.