Philippine News

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

December 7 ------ An LPG carrier has become the latest target of the ongoing piracy off West Africa, with reports confirming that nine of the ship’s crew have been kidnapped and one injured. The vessel was underway bound for Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, when it was boarded. Security group Vanguard reports the vessel was approximately 50 nautical miles west of the coast when an unknown number of armed pirates boarded the ship. The vessel is identified as the CGAS Saturn (3,090 d

December 7 ------ With Europe working to revamp its industrial sector, the availability of cost-competitive steel is a major factor. But as the European Union tightens its climate regulations, focus has shifted to the decarbonization of steel production as well. Currently, the steel industry’s carbon footprint in Europe accounts for approximately five percent of all regional emissions, which is equivalent to about 190 million tons of CO2. Thus, the steel sector is critical in

December 6 ------ Philippos Ioulianou, Managing Director of EmissionLink, has warned the IMO’s decision to delay its Net Zero Framework is creating a regulatory vacuum that threatens to fragment global shipping decarbonization efforts. “What looks like a pause is, in reality, an open door for national governments to move ahead with their own systems,” Mr Ioulianou said. “Instead of gaining clarity, we risk creating a patchwork of unaligned carbon schemes that will make global

December 6 ------ Continuing to look to the future with remote ship management, shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries and Evergreen have opened the first remote monitoring center jointly developed by a shipyard and shipowner. It is the next step in a continuing project between the two companies that anticipates the era of remote autonomous navigation. The Samsung Remote Operation Center was established at Evergreen’s headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan. The companies report that th

December 5 ------ The West must draw clear red lines for responding to gray-zone aggression by China and Russia. Both adversaries have mastered operating below the threshold of open conflict to achieve their strategic aims with little consequence from Western governments. This ambiguity has eroded Western deterrence and emboldened authoritarian states to keep testing the limits of restraint. Western leaders must define where provocation ends and aggression begins. And they mu

December 5 ------ Last week, a container barge parted its tow wire and ran aground on a reef in the Bahamas, reportedly attracting looters from nearby communities. According to the operator, the barge Brooklyn Bridge broke away from its towing vessel due to severe winds while en route from Florida to Puerto Rico. The barge then drifted aground on a reef off Abaco, at the northern end of the island chain. The operator commissioned a dive inspection and confirmed that there was

December 5 ------ Taking the next step in the development of green hydrogen hubs, Norwegian company GreenH has selected compatriot Nel ASA as the technology provider for its projects in Kristiansund and Slagentangen. Following the investment decision for the hydrogen plant in Bodø earlier this year, the hydrogen producer announced that the requirements set by Enova for the support allocation to the projects at Vestbase in Kristiansund and Slagentangen outside Tønsberg had bee

December 5 ------ Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry (BSIC) and China Shipbuilding Trading (CSTC), both arms of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), have rolled out the red carpet for the final dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered bulk carrier in a series constructed for Japan’s shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL). As disclosed, Beihai Shipbuilding and CSTC held a naming ceremony for the fourth 210,000 dwt LNG-fueled bulker made for MOL on Novemb

December 4 ------ An academic team led by researchers at the UK’s National Centre for Atmospheric Science completed a first in-depth study looking at sulfur emissions at sea and found “fairly good compliance” with the IMO regulations introduced in 2020. The group looked at compliance both in the European Sulfur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) and ships in the open ocean. The team found that the average sulfur content in ship fuel dropped nearly tenfold in open ocean areas foll

December 4 ------ South Africa’s Competition Commission has referred a case of alleged collusion and price fixing against eight of the world’s largest container carriers to its Tribunal for prosecution. The case alleges that for over a decade, the carriers conducted a price-fixing scheme. The Commission, which operates under a 1989 law, investigates the cases and if it finds sufficient information, refers the situation to the Tribunal for prosecution. There is also a Competit

December 4 ------ The rivalry between PortMiami in South Florida and Port Canaveral in Central Florida took a surprising turn with Port Canaveral nudging Miami from its traditional number one ranking in FY 2025. The difference was small between the two ports, just 0.4 percent, but it is a major achievement for Port Canaveral as it continues to see rapid growth in its cruise business. Port Canaveral topped even its own projections, which had set a target of around 8.4 million

December 4 ------ Germany’s Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE) has set the wheels in motion to enrich its liquefied natural gas (LNG) arsenal with another multi-year LNG supply agreement, which has been signed with Argentina’s Southern Energy, in a bid to further strengthen Europe’s energy security. The duo’s heads of agreement for an eight-year supply arrangement will enable SEFE to buy up to two million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG on a free on board (FOB) basis, with delive