Philippine News

November 12 ------ The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA Singapore) and Oslo-headquartered classification society DNV have given fresh life to their long-standing collaboration focused on accelerating the development of a smart, greener and future-proof maritime sector. As announced, MPA Singapore and DNV renewed their memorandum of understanding (MoU) that aims to ‘bolster’ cooperation in maritime sustainability, digital innovation and talent development. The doc

November 12 ------ Danish technology company Topsoe has signed an offtake agreement to provide its solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) technology for Spanish shipping and chemicals company Forestal del Atlántico’s Triskelion e-methanol plant in Galicia, Spain. As disclosed, the SOECs will be delivered from Topsoe’s manufacturing facility in Herning, Denmark, which is nearing the final stage of readiness for industrial-scale production. The agreement, which includes a 10-year

November 11 ------ European shipping emissions surged last year to their ‘highest’ level since official monitoring began back in 2018, fresh data published by the EU’s Transport & Environment (T&E) shows.   According to the EU MRV (monitoring, reporting and verification) system, which measures emissions from ships of 5,000 GT and above calling at European ports, 2024 set a brand-new record with emissions jumping by 13% despite trade volumes remaining flat.   Although the use

November 11 ------ After days of pursuit, forces with EUNAVFOR and the Indian Navy have caught up with a pirate-occupied dhow in the Indian Ocean, containing the risk its operators posed to shipping.   "The Pirate Action Group (PAG) linked to recent incidents is being monitored closely by the Indian Navy and EUNAVFOR Operation ATALANTA and there is currently no threat from this group to merchant vessels," the EU's Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO) said in a statem

November 11 ------ Naval architecture and marine engineering company AURELIA Design and climate-tech company CALCAREA have joined forces to bring ocean-based carbon capture to commercial shipping.   The collaboration seeks to combine AURELIA’s expertise in green ship design and e-systems integration with CALCAREA’s carbon removal process.   The partnership will focus on CALCAREA’s limestone weathering technology, a system that accelerates a natural process where CO2 reacts wi

November 11 ------ A dozen fishermen are missing after two Chinese vessels capsized off the coast of South Korea over the weekend, prompting a large-scale search effort.   The first vessel - identified only as the "A" - capsized at about 0650 hours Sunday morning at a position about 70 nautical miles from Gageo. Out of the 11 people on board, six crewmembers were rescued by a good Samaritan vessel and were in good health.   The Korea Coast Guard dispatched rescue assets and r

November 10 ------ The tanker market has been on a roll in the last few months due to a combination of factors. Increased sanctions (enforcement), resilient oil demand, partly due to stock building in China, and growing OPEC+ supply all contributed to create a rate environment we have not seen since the freight rate boom in the early days of the pandemic. Very limited fleet supply growth, both in 2024 and 2025 has contributed as well. A tightening supply-demand balance has ma

November 10 ------ The Greek-owned tanker Hellas Aphrodite was liberated on the afternoon of November 7, more than 24 hours after the vessel was boarded by pirates off the coast of Somalia. EUNAVFOR Atalanta reports that the 24 crewmembers are safe, having been able to remain in the vessel’s citadel, and that the Spanish frigate ESPS Victoria was standing by the tanker as it prepared to get back underway. The vessel was boarded November 6, while approximately 560 nautical mil

November 10 ------ When the Trump administration agreed to suspend its Section 301 port fees on Chinese shipping late last month, America's shipbuilding unions interpreted the deal as a betrayal. U.S. shipyards did not comment on the suspension formally, but their employees were vocal in their displeasure. The fee suspension has been interpreted as a sign of the leverage that Beijing has in Washington, thanks to a combination of China's importance to American soy farmers and

November 10 ------ South Korea’s Busan Port Authority (BPA) and the Ulsan Port Authority and the United States’ Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), the Port of Tacoma (PoT) and the Port of Seattle have penned a formal agreement aiming to strengthen efforts in establishing a green shipping corridor. As officials from environmental organization Pacific Environment have shared, the NWSA has been working with a number of partners over the past three years on the U.S.-South Korea g

November 9 ------ The U.S. Coast Guard has achieved a new record for cocaine seizures in a fiscal year, capturing more than 225 tons in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations between October 2024 and October 2025. The achievement is a testament to heightened patrol operations in the region, as well as the continued boom in cocaine production in Columbia and other countries of origin. Colombia alone manufactured an estimated 1,800 tons of cocaine in 2022, and output has

November 9 ------ A new study among the providers of shore services for seafarers confirmed the concerns over the decline in access to shore leave and the time spent ashore by seafarers. Shore leave has been repeatedly identified as one of the concerns for seafarers, as experts cite the importance of shore time to crew welfare. A survey of seafarers in May 2024 published by the World Maritime University highlighted the concern, one that has been repeated in the recent edition

November 8 ------ The Suez Canal Authority is continuing its outreach to the shipping industry as it reported its first significant increases in transit volume since the start of the regional crisis in late 2023. They reported the highest monthly rate of returning vessels in October since the beginning of the war in the Middle East. News of the improvement was shared as the Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Admiral Ossama Rabiee, hosted a meeting of the representatives fr

November 8 ------ Foreign relief efforts are beginning to flood into Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, bringing aid for thousands of people affected by the category five storm. The powerful storm has shut down the nation's tourism industry, and the cost of the physical damage alone is believed to equal about one-third of Jamaica's annual domestic product. The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Trent arrived off Falmouth, Jamaica on November 4 to deliver a company of disast

November 7 ------ A piracy incident is ongoing off the coast of Somalia after the Greek-owned product tanker Hellas Aphrodite reported it had been attacked and boarded. The incident comes just days after a failed boarding on another tanker and is raising concerns over a resurgence of the pirates after 18 months since they boarded another large cargo ship. The manager of the vessel, Latsco Shipping, confirmed the incident and said the crew was accounted for and that they remai

November 7 ------ Hydrogen Solutions (HYDS) has reached final investment decisions (FIDs) for its two green hydrogen production projects, HyFuel and Kaupanes Hydrogen, advancing them into the construction phase. HYDS revealed FIDs on November 5, stating that this development represents “significant progress in scaling competitive green hydrogen supply and enabling zero emission solutions in segments where direct electrification is not sufficient”. The HyFuel project is owned

November 7 ------ Despite reporting better than expected third quarter results and narrowing the range for its yearly income estimate, investor concerns continue to grow on the container shipping segment as Maersk pointed to continuing issues. While it reported strong quarterly results, it was the underlying issues around freight rates that raised the greatest concern for Maersk and the industry more broadly. Among the first of the large, publicly traded container carriers to

November 7 ------ Lloyd’s Register (LR), in collaboration with COSCO Shipping Group, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the University of Southampton, has launched a new center for developing and testing zero-carbon and intelligent-ship technologies. Named the International Maritime Future Technologies Innovation Centre, this virtual center aims to advance research and development in low- and zero-carbon maritime technologies, intelligent ship systems, and digital innovation.

November 6 ------ The annual report of the Panel of Experts on Yemen has an established reputation for producing carefully researched and well-substantiated information, and this latest report identifies that sanctions imposed on the Houthis have been relatively ineffective in constraining their ability to purchase equipment needed to mount their attacks on shipping. The report identifies an increase in arms shipment seizures, which it attributes mostly to the closure of port

November 6 ------ The European Commission has adopted the Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) which sets out a common approach to boost investments in renewable and low-carbon fuels focusing on waterborne and aviation transport. The plan responds to the urgent need of Europe’s transport and fuels industry to unlock investments and scale up production of renewable and low-carbon fuels and is part of a comprehensive transport package introduced on November 5, 2025. Wha