Philippine News

December 13 ------ The oceans have to play a role in helping humanity remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to curb dangerous climate warming. But are we ready to scale up the technologies that will do the job? The answer, according to an expert group reporting to the European Union, is no. At least, not yet – not until there are measures in place to ensure these technologies, called marine carbon dioxide removal technologies, are doing what they are supposed to do and wo

December 13 ------ The Maritime Union of New Zealand and the International Transport Workers’ Federation are celebrating the decision of New Zealand’s Associate Minister of Transport to uphold the country’s cabotage rules. It comes at a time when many flags are under pressure due to rising costs and the option to switch to less costly foreign flag operations. The debate was triggered after Holcim New Zealand, a supplier of cement, aggregates, and ready-mix concrete, announced

December 12 ------ The Renewable Hydrogen Coalition (RHC), as the voice of the value chain, encompassing renewable energy suppliers, start-ups, investors, and industrial offtakers dedicated to making Europe the global leader in renewable hydrogen solutions, has called on the European decision-making realms and leaders to scale up incentives, funding opportunities, and market fundamentals for clean technology, especially the landscape surrounding hydrogen made from renewable s

December 12 ------ After one of its vessels was hit and damaged in a suspected Ukrainian attack, Turkish tanker owner Besiktas Shipping has decided to quit all trade with Russia. The business decision suggests that Ukraine's covert and overt strikes have created a strong perception of ongoing risk to Russia-linked energy shipping, and not just in the Black Sea. On the night of November 27-28, the Besiktas-owned tanker Mersin was at anchor off the coast of Senegal when floodin

December 12 ------ Japan is set to launch service aboard its first autonomous navigation ferry. The vessel Olympia Dream Seto recently completed the licensing process and will start sailing with the autonomous system as part of an ongoing government-sponsored project to advance autonomous navigation technology. The Nippon Foundation hosted a demonstration of the autonomous system on Wednesday, highlighting it as a major milestone in the development of the technology. Reporter

December 12 ------ The Northern Lights joint venture (JV), encompassing oil majors Shell, Equinor, and TotalEnergies, has issued the first storage certificates for CO2 permanently stored in the Aurora reservoir in the North Sea, documenting the quantities of CO2 transported and stored. The first CO2 volumes were transported in August through the 100-kilometer pipeline and injected into the Aurora offshore reservoir 2,600 meters below the North Sea seabed offshore Norway. Foll

December 11 ------ Xeneta, an ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform transforming the shipping and logistics industry, is convinced that the return of container ships to the Red Sea is edging closer, as France’s shipping giant CMA CGM, as a major carrier, reveals a new full-loop service via Suez Canal. After CMA CGM announced its INDAMEX service would transit Suez Canal on fronthaul and backhaul voyages between India/Pakistan and U.S. East Coast

December 11 ------ Lawmakers in France were successful in adding a new tax on cruise passengers to the proposed 2026 French state budget. They contend the tax is to counter the environmental impact of cruises on coastal France. The senators presenting the measure assert it is a “polluter pays” tax, singling out the emissions of cruise ships while in ports. They argue that it would not harm the attractiveness of the sector but would provide additional finances to protect and e

December 11 ------ Despite a year of turbulent trade policies and interruptions, China’s container volumes are continuing to surge. Two of the country’s largest port complexes have set new records after just 11 months, combined handling over 90 million TEU so far in 2025. The Port of Shanghai, which highlights that it has maintained the top global ranking for 16 years, has once again surpassed the 50 million TEU threshold. It is the second consecutive year the port complex re

December 11 ------ A bulker southbound in the Red Sea reported to authorities that it had been approached and exchanged gunshots with the unknown boats. The ship is safe and continuing on its way while analysts speculate over the events. The Barbados-flagged vessel Bobik (31,896 dwt) reported the incident to UK Maritime Trade Operations. The vessel is Turkish-owned and reports coming from Georgia after having made a port call in Ukraine. The ship was built in 2006 and is 175.

December 10 ------ Largely unremarked upon in the Western press, southern and eastern areas of Yemen which are not occupied by the Houthis are undergoing a political realignment which is likely to impact the threats posed to shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden areas. Simply put, the threat to shipping will persist while those posing the threat have a secure base from which to operate. While the Houthis are preoccupied by internal divisions and concerned that their senior

December 10 ------ A new study seeks to quantify the beneficial impact of adding wind-assisted propulsion to vessels while also establishing a framework for assessing the technology’s benefits in reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The study, which took place on the Eastern Pacific Shipping product tanker Pacific Sentinel (50,322 dwt), was conducted in association with the Global Center for Maritime Decarbonization in Singapore. The authors of the study highlight that

December 10 ------ Vietnamese officials are highlighting a successful coordination with their counterparts in Malaysia to rescue the crew from a cargo ship that had taken on a dangerous list. The crew was safely transported to Malaysia while attempts are being made to tow the cargo ship Kayo (5,200 dwt). The incident began around midnight on Friday, December 5, when the Vietnamese Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center picked up a distress call from the cargo ship Kay

December 10 ------ Two Italian players, Fincantieri and Roboze, have joined forces with Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard (ASRY), a maritime repair and fabrication facility in the Arabian Gulf, to strengthen maritime capabilities in the Gulf. Thanks to this deal, ASRY expects not only to boost naval shipbuilding and repair but also to establish the Kingdom of Bahrain’s first smart plant dedicated to additive manufacturing. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of His

December 9 ------ Wind-assisted propulsion continues to make advancements into more segments of the shipping industry, with Norsepower reporting it has signed its first contract for newbuild VLCCs and its first newbuilds in Japan. The company offers a modernized, data-driven evolution of the century-old Fletter rotor, a spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus Effect to create a propulsive force that lowers engine power and fuel consumption. Idemitsu Tanker Co., Ltd., the shipp

December 9 ------ Gambia’s maritime administration has begun removing tankers flagged through its privately run ship registry, reports Maritime AI data analytics firm Windward. It says the effort is part of a broader crackdown on weak governance and follows similar efforts by other governments against false flag and shadow fleet tankers. Windward’s analysis says that there are 20 tankers now listed in the IMO’s database as falsely flagged with Gambia in the International Mari

December 9 ------ With the maritime industry facing the pressing challenge of decarbonization, the development of alternative fuel vessels powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and ammonia is gaining momentum, as illustrated by an approval in principle (AiP) Japan’s classification society ClassNK has granted for Spray form insulation system of IMO Type B tank for LNG and ammonia fuel. While IMO Type C tanks have been the mainstream choice for LNG-fueled ships due to their ad

December 9 ------ Norway’s Northern Lights project, along with Japanese ship operator “K” Line (Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha), marked the delivery of the third commercial liquefied CO2 transport vessel. The ship named Northern Phoenix will join the operation in 2026 and be part of Europe’s largest carbon capture project. The ship is a sister to the first two Northern Lights’ vessels, which were delivered in late 2024 and began the commercial CCS program in 2025. It is the first comm

December 8 ------ Despite a year of turbulent trade policies and interruptions, China’s container volumes are continuing to surge. Two of the country’s largest port complexes have set new records after just 11 months, combined handling over 90 million boxes so far in 2025. The Port of Shanghai, which highlights that it has maintained the top global ranking for 16 years, has once again surpassed the 50 million TEU threshold. It is the second consecutive year the port complex r

December 8 ------ As the global commercial fleet approaches the end of its operational life, demand for ship-recycling capacity is projected to triple over the next decade. This surge will be driven by accelerated decarbonization efforts and the retirement of large numbers of aging tankers and bulk carriers. At present, South Asia accounts for 80–90% of global ship-recycling activity, with Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan operating the world’s dominant dismantling yards. If gl