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After years of delays, design challenges and costs overruns, the U.S Coast Guard (USCG) is finally set to begin the construction of the lead vessel in a class of new heavy polar icebreakers, the first to be built in the country in more than five decades.
The USCG and the Navy Integrated Program Office received approval on December 19 to begin building the first ship, which will be called Polar Sentinel. The USCG announced that the approval incorporates eight prototype fabrication assessment units (PFAUs) currently being built or planned.
“The PFA has prepared the government and the shipbuilder to begin construction of the PSC class, resulting in more precise, cost-effective and reliable construction processes,” said the Coast Guard in a statement.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reckons the ship will cost $1.9 billion, which is far above the original estimate when the USGC awarded the construction contract to VT Halter Marine in April 2019. VT Halter Marine was acquired by Bollinger Shipyards, and has since been renamed Bollinger Mississippi Shipbuilding.
The approval to start the construction of the lead vessel now means the USCG can embark on the much-delayed program. If all goes according to the revised plan, delivery of Polar Sentinel is scheduled for 2029, five years later than the original timeline provided by VT Halter.
Construction of the lead ship has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, and has left the U.S. lagging behind rivals China and Russia, which have both invested in a growing fleet of modern heavy icebreakers.
The program is technically challenging, and requires relearning skills that have not been exercised since Polar Star and Polar Sea were built in the 1970s. Construction is not straightforward: the hull plating of a heavy icebreaker has to be much thicker to enable it to endure thick ice. A special-purpose steel alloy also ensures the hull will be capable of remaining flexible even in extremely low temperatures. Deeper, more closely spaced structural stiffeners inside the hull will ensure the ship doesn’t crumple when it encounters large ice floes; this additional internal structure results in a highly compartmentalized interior belowdecks.
Polar Sentinel will be the lead ship in the PSC program, with the subsequent two ships averaging about $1.6 billion each. CBO has highlighted that given the estimates, the three-ship PSC program would cost $5.1 billion, about 60 percent more than the Coast Guard’s current estimate of $3.2 billion. Operating and supporting a force of three heavy icebreakers is expected to cost $12.4 billion between 2029 and 2063, when those ships would be in service. If the Coast Guard acquires more than three ships, operating costs would be higher and would continue for a longer period.
In the meantime, the USCG's icebreaker program must grapple with the challenges of aging tonnage until Polar Sentinel arrives. The 400-foot heavy icebreaker Polar Star was commissioned in 1976, while the 420-foot medium icebreaker Healy has been in operation since 2000. Just this week, the USCG completed the $125 million acquisition of commercial polar icebreaker Aiviq to provide bridging capacity and increase operational presence in the Arctic ahead of the PSC fleet deliveries.
The USCG contends that having more polar icebreakers is critical to guarantee year-round presence of at least one vessel in the east Arctic and another in the west Arctic, as well as the half-time presence of a ship in the Antarctic. This will enable the U.S. to counter the increasing economic and geopolitical competition in the Arctic from China and Russia.
Russia is facing increasing difficulties in recovering its position in the Mediterranean and the Levant, following the overthrow by President Bashar Al Assad in Syria by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
As was predictable, Russian claims to be negotiating a continuance of its basing in Syria with its new leaders proved to be bluster. Given the Russians’ long history of terror bombing of civilian targets during the civil war, its provision of asylum to the fleeing Assad family, and having accused the HTS leader Ahmed Al Sharaa of being a CIA spy, the Syrians saw no benefit in prolonging the Russian presence. HTS has now made it clear that it sees no continuing role in Syria for either Russia or Iran.
In the meantime, the Russians have pulled back from their positions in Syria’s interior, concentrating the forces remaining at their airbase at Khmeimim and at Tartus on Syria’s coast, off which the remnants of Russia’s Mediterranean flotilla still lingers. It has been somewhat surprising that the Russians have been able to execute this withdrawal unscathed and without interference, which must be considered a credit to the discipline applied to Syria’s various armed factions by the new HTS leadership.
The Russians are likely to have explored any possibility of keeping a presence in the Mediterranean area, in particular to service their interests in North Africa. The most likely option is in eastern Libya, in the area controlled by the renegade Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar. Nonetheless, at a time when its war maintenance reserves are severely depleted by the ongoing war in Ukraine, Russia’s military hardware marooned in Syria is a valuable and urgently needed resource that could have a major impact on the Ukrainian battlefield, a development which Ukraine would seriously wish to sabotage. To make the shift, helicopters, and high-value air defense units can be flown out, but armored vehicles, heavy equipment, and munition stockpiles need to be moved by sealift.
Hence the sighting in transit the Straits of Gibraltar on December 23 of two Ropucha Class landing ships (Alexander Otrakovsky (L031) and Alexander Shabalin (L110)) and the improved landing ship Ivan Gren (L135), in company with cargo vessels Sparta and Ursa Major often seen previously on the route to Tartus. Being shipped as deck cargo on the Ursa Major were two dockside cranes - not needed in well-equipped Tartus, but probably a necessity to build up one of the under-developed ports in Libya which the Russians may have contemplated adopting as their new Mediterranean base.
The Libyan option may have sunk when later on December 23, the Ursa Major foundered off Oran as a consequence apparently of an engine room explosion. If the evacuation convoy now needs to take the long route back to the Baltic instead, the Ukrainians are likely to be keenly and actively interested in preventing its safe arrival in Russia.
The Russian withdrawal from Syria also has implications for regional politics within the immediate neighborhood. Turkey is evidently keen to fill the vacuum left by the Russians, inspired by memories of Ottoman rule in the Levant and dreaming already of a revival of the Hejaz Railway destroyed by the Arab Revolt. However, autonomy of the Kurdish northeast of Syria is likely to prove an enduring obstacle to Turkish ambitions.
Elsewhere in the region, a realignment is in progress; for transactional purposes some countries have hitherto sought to treat the West and Russia as equals, and in their own best interests may now be seeking to distance themselves from those they had previously lauded as the best of friends.
A former Marine Corps jump-jet pilot who gave up his U.S. citizenship faces extradition to the United States, where he will answer charges that he trained Chinese military pilots how to take off and land from an aircraft carrier. He leaves behind a wife and six children in Australia, his adopted homeland.
According to his biography, Maj. Daniel Edmund Duggan (USMC, ret'd) is a former AV-8B Harrier II pilot who served for 13 years in the Marine Corps. At the time of his service in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Harrier was the USMC's primary fighter and close air support aircraft, and squadrons of AV-8Bs still regularly deploy today with Marine Amphibious Ready Groups aboard the U.S. Navy's big-deck amphibs.
According to an official biography from his former company, Duggan also served as an air combat instructor for the USMC. In retirement, he moved to Australia and founded a company called Top Gun Tasmania, which specialized in providing for-hire flights for the general public in military trainer aircraft. Duggan sold this company and moved to China in 2014, where he founded an aviation company called AVIBIZ Limited in Qingdao. Two years later, he renounced his U.S. citizenship at the U.S. embassy in Beijing.
Duggan returned to Australia and was arrested in October 2022, following a request from the U.S. government, and he was held without bail pending extradition hearings.
A federal indictment charges Duncan with conspiring to provide defense services to China without prior U.S. government authorization, despite a U.S. defense articles embargo on the Chinese government. The objective of the alleged conspiracy was to enable a South African consultancy to provide the PLA Navy with aircraft carrier takeoff and landing training.
In furtherance of this goal, the co-conspirators allegedly bought a T-2 Buckeye trainer from an American dealer, without informing the dealer of the intended Chinese end-user. Duggan had no part in this equipment transfer, but was hired to provide "evaluation of [Chinese] military pilot trainees, testing of naval aviation related equipment, and instruction on the tactics, techniques and procedures" for carrier takeoff and landing, according to federal prosecutors. The indictment alleges that he made multiple trips to China and was paid tens of thousands of dollars - wired through the U.S. financial services system - for military flight training and evaluation services over the course of 2011-12.
Duggan's co-conspirators included another former American fighter pilot who had served in the U.S. Navy, according to the indictment.
Duggan strenuously denies any wrongdoing and claims that he was only training civilian pilots in China. In court, he attempted to prevent the Australian government from sending him back to the U.S., asserting that the charges are politically motivated and that he could not be guaranteed a fair trial in U.S. courts. He lost the case, and a final personal appeal to Australia's attorney general was not successful. Despite a high-profile advocacy campaign organized by his family, he will be flown back to the U.S. to stand trial on charges of money laundering and arms trafficking. If convicted, he faces up to 60 years in prison, and his family's two homes in Australia may be subject to forfeiture.
On Monday evening, a small passenger vessel exploded and burned alongside the pier in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, killing one and injuring five.
Just before 1800 hours, a blast rocked the quay at Lauderdale Marina, a dealership and fuel dock just north of Port Everglades. A 37-foot boat exploded violently when its engines fired up, startling passersby. Security camera video footage showed that the boat's main deck separated from the hull due to the force of the explosion.
"It was like a boom, kind of, and I turned around and the whole dock was already on fire," one witness told local station WSVN.
The explosion killed one passenger, identified as Quebec resident Sebastien Gauthier, 40. Gauthier went into the water in the blast, and his body was recovered by a dive team later in the evening.
??????????FLORIDA MARINA EXPLOSION LEAVES 1 DEAD, 5 HURT
— Shah Faisal AfRidi (@Sfaisalafridi) December 24, 2024
Yesterday’s boat explosion at Lauderdale Marina left one person dead and five hospitalized, three with severe injuries. The incident happened at a fuel station, quickly spreading to nearby boats and setting the dock ablaze.
A… pic.twitter.com/iMm1dzbuBi
The other five passengers of the boat survived the blast and were evacuated to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment, including three people with serious trauma injuries. The boat continued to burn and ignited a second vessel located nearby; both fires were extinguished, and the vessels will be hoisted out of the water for forensic examination.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion is under way, led by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. It is the second time this month that a boat has exploded at the Lauderdale Marina: the previous blast occurred during fueling, and one person was evacuated for treatment for burns.
[By: AST Reygar]
AST Reygar, a leading maritime solutions provider and part of AST Networks, is excited to announce the upcoming launch of a cutting-edge front-end dashboard for its award-winning vessel monitoring system, BareFLEET. Designed with user-friendliness at its core, this new software aims to enhance usability for operators across the maritime sector.
Set to go live early into 2025, the dashboard introduces intuitive features that provide vessel operators with actionable insights into fuel consumption, operational efficiency, engine alerts and overall fleet performance. This fosters valuable conversations around efficiency and best practises, helping operators make informed decisions to reduce their fuel consumption, operational costs, and environmental impact.
With system testing already underway, a trial phase set for December will allow select users to explore the platform, culminating in the official launch in January 2025.
“BareFLEET has always been recognised for its ability to deliver reliable, real-time vessel performance data,” said Daniel Clark, General Manager at AST Reygar . “With this new dashboard, we’re making that information more accessible and actionable for operators, supporting their drive towards greener, more efficient operations.”
The BareFLEET dashboard will be available to new and existing users, offering seamless integration with AST Reygar’s existing platform.
The owner and operator of a Greek product tanker along with two engineers working on the vessel have each pleaded guilty in the latest U.S. Coast Guard MARPOL violation case. The fines totaled more than $4.5 million for offenses including discharging oily waste into the U.S. territorial waters and trying to conceal the crime including falsifying records.
The U.S. Justice Department reported that the chemical tanker Kriti Ruby committed the offenses during port calls in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Port of Newark, New Jersey, in May and September 2022. Built in 2008, the 48,000 dwt Kriti Ruby is registered in Greece.
The owners of the vessel, Avin International, and operator Kriti Ruby Special Maritime Enterprises entered their guilty pleas on December 23. Both companies pleaded guilty to pollution, falsification of records, and obstruction of justice. The owner was ordered to pay $3,375,000 and the operator an additional $1,125,000 with both companies also to serve five-year probation. They will be subject to compliance plans and monitors.
The vessel reportedly discharged oily waste into the sea through its sewage system bypassing the required pollution prevention equipment. In addition to not recording the discharges, the USCG said the crew concealed most of the pumps and hoses used to conduct the bypass operations in a sealed cofferdam.
Kriti Ruby’s former chief engineer and second engineer were also sentenced after having previously pleaded guilty. Former chief engineer Konstantinos Atsalis not only admitted to falsifying the vessel’s oil record book but he also acknowledged that the vessel’s crew had knowingly bypassed required pollution prevention equipment by discharging oily waste from the vessel’s engine room through its sewage system into the sea. Additionally, he admitted that he directed crew members to hide equipment used to conduct these transfers. He was sentenced to time served and a $5,000 fine.
Sonny Bosito who had been the second engineer on the tanker also pleaded guilty to concealing the pollution by falsifying the records. He was sentenced to time served.
“Prioritizing profits over the environment by discharging oily waste into the sea and working to cover up that pollution is illegal,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “We are committed to enforcing the law and fighting against maritime pollution.”
The problems came to out during a USCG expanded Port State inspection in September 2022 in Newark. The tanker was cited for deficiencies including blockages in the oil discharge monitoring and control system and the oil filtering equipment. At the time, USCG also reported the oil record book as missing. The Kriti Ruby received a seven-day detention. The vessel was also cited for five additional deficiencies on a subsequent USCG inspection in November 2022 in Philadelphia.
Vineyard Wind, an affiliate of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, confirmed in a brief statement that it is shelving the proposed Vineyard Wind 2 project in response to Connecticut’s decision not to proceed in awarding wind projects after the recent New England tri-state solicitation. The project had been selected by Massachusetts and is in a later stage of permitting at the federal level.
“With Connecticut’s decision today (December 20) not to purchase the remaining 400 MW, we are unable to contract the project’s full 1200 MW at this time. We look forward to advancing this project and participating in future solicitations,” Vineyard Offshore wrote in its response.
Connecticut along with Massachusetts and Rhode Island launched the first multi-state coordinated solicitation earlier this year saying it was in response to the changing market conditions and challenges faced by offshore developers. They provided the opportunity for projects to bid either multi-state or individually.
Massachusetts and Rhode Island announced in September that they had selected three projects with a total projected capacity of 2.9 GW. The two states will share SouthCoast Wind (which received federal approvals last week) while Massachusetts also selected New England Wind 1 with 791 MW of capacity. It also said it would take 800 MW from the 1,200 MW Vineyard Wind 1 project. It implied it would be sharing the project with another state.
Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut’s regulators announced Friday that they were proceeding with solar power but decided not to take up any offshore wind in the current round. Lamont generally referenced cost considerations for power while saying the state was not ruling out offshore wind power in the future.
CIP won the lease area which is approximately 29 miles south of Nantucket in a 2018 lease auction. The project has advanced with its Construction draft and Operations Plan on file at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. In March 2024, BOEM included Vineyard Wind 2 in its announcement for an environmental impact statement to advance New England’s offshore wind projects. The hearings have been completed and BOEM is working on its report and the EIS.
Vineyard Offshore CEO Alicia Barton said in September 2024, “We look forward to Connecticut’s forthcoming decision on the remainder of the procurement so that we can begin to deliver important economic and climate benefits to the region.”
Vineyard Offshore is in a joint venture partnership to develop Vineyard Wind 1, which is under construction. It holds the Vineyard Northeast lease off the coast of Massachusetts which is where the second project would be located, as well as Vineyard Mid-Atlantic which includes Excelsior Wind in the New York Bight. It also has a lease area off the coast of Humboldt County in Northern California.
Predictive maritime intelligence company Windward, which harnessed the power of AI to create a unique platform, has agreed to a buyout by U.S.-based FTV Capital Group, a growth equity investment firm. Both companies are highlighting it as the next step in the evolution of Windward as it expands from its strong base in the maritime sector to related industries.
Under the terms of the agreement, which is being conducted as a “reverse triangular merger under Israeli Companies Law,” FTV’s subsidiaries will acquire the company in a deal valued at £216 million ($271 million) or 215 pence per share. The companies highlighted that it represents a nearly 100 premium to the six and 12-month weighted average stock price and nearly 50 percent over the most recent closing price. It is a nearly 40 percent premium to the Initial Public Offering Price in December 2021.
Windward was started in 2011 by two partners after their service in the Israeli Navy. The platform focuses on providing insights on ships at sea and risk management intelligence. The company promotes that its technology provides a 360-degree view of the maritime ecosystem to help customers make real-time, predictive intelligence-driven decisions.
The Fund group says it believes Windward is a highly attractive business with a strong management team and strategy. It views the acquisition as “an attractive opportunity to increase exposure to the growing maritime compliance and supply chain end market.”
“Fund sees an opportunity to accelerate Windward's continued expansion from its current market position within the maritime sector, into a broader supply chain analytics provider and plans to support the development of Windward's future product roadmap under private ownership,” the companies write in the announcement. They look to use the acquisition as an opportunity for enhanced data and AI-led insights across the ecosystem.
“The company's attractive subscription revenue model demonstrates strong operating leverage and margin expansion,” said Jerome Hershey, Principal of Fund. Through the acquisition, they look to support Windward in the next stage of its development. FTV reports it has access to the capital necessary to accelerate Windward’s strategic plan.
FTV reports it has raised over $6 billion in committed capital. It focuses on investments in high-growth companies in the enterprise technology and services and financial technology and services sectors.
"This marks an exciting next step in the evolution of Windward, providing the opportunity to build upon our first mover advantage in maritime generative AI through accelerated innovation and greater market reach,” said Ami Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of Windward and one of its founders.
Completion of the acquisition requires the approval by a simple majority of Windward shareholders and the structure of the deal means it does not require regulatory approval. The companies anticipate the acquisition will be completed by the end of Q1 2025.
The Greek authorities are confirming reports that a tanker laden with Russian oil collided with a cargo ship this morning, December 24, in the area of the Kafireas Strait, south of Karystos. The circumstances of the incident are unclear at this time, but the reports indicate the crews were not injured, and both ships sustained minor damage.
The identity of the tanker was not supplied, but reports stated it is loaded with a cargo of over 131,000 tons of crude coming from Novorossiysk, Russia. It seems to indicate a Suezmax size tanker which is common among the so-called shadow fleet. The registry of the vessel and the nationalities of the 26 crewmembers were not reported.
Greek authorities are saying the tanker was reporting that it was bound for the port of Castellón, Spain. Greece over the past few months has made efforts to disrupt ship-to-ship oil transfers that the tankers transporting Russian oil were carrying out in Greek waters. However, it has remained a hotspot for the shadow tanker fleet.
The cargo ship, which was involved in the incident, is reported to been sailing empty from Italy to Constanta, Romania. A crew of 22 was aboard.
The officials referenced “adverse weather conditions” saying that the two vessels were unable to anchor off Karystos due to conditions and had been directed to proceed to Piraeus. The Greek authorities it is believed will detain the vessels for an inspection and investigation into the circumstances of the collision.
The damage is believed to be minor and above the waterline on both vessels. There are no reports of an oil spill or other forms of pollution at this time.
Incidents involving the shadow fleet remain one of the main concerns of the international community. Earlier this month, Baltic nations and the UK announced a new program to inspect tankers transiting the region. They will ask to see documentation and proof of insurance, and tankers that fail to comply could be added to future sanctions. The EU and the UK each recently increased the number of sanctioned tankers in the latest effort to crack down on the Russian oil trade and enforce the G7 price cap on Russian crude.
[By: Eastern Shipbuilding Group]
Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) is pleased to announce the successful delivery of the LONG ISLAND (ESG Hull 228), a newly constructed passenger and auto ferry, to the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, a subsidiary of McAllister Towing. The vessel, designed to provide seamless transportation between Bridgeport, CT, and Port Jefferson, NY, across Long Island Sound, is the latest addition to the company’s fleet.
“This delivery is a proud moment for our team,” said Joey D’Isernia, CEO and Chairman of Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. “It represents our strong partnership with McAllister Towing and our dedication to enhancing the infrastructure for Long Island’s residents and visitors. The LONG ISLAND will be a critical asset, delivering safe, reliable service and embodying our commitment to quality and innovation.”
The LONG ISLAND, measuring 302 feet in length, is engineered to accommodate both vehicles and passengers with state-of-the-art features, including EPA Tier IV-compliant main engines, increased crew capacity, and an upgraded furnishings package. This ferry joins two other Eastern-built vessels in the fleet: P.T. BARNUM (1999) and GRAND REPUBLIC (2003), solidifying ESG’s longstanding relationship with McAllister Towing, which has commissioned over a dozen vessels from ESG.
Buckley McAllister, the President of the ferry company, said “P.T. Barnum, the founder of the ferry, once said that the noblest art is that of making others happy. All of those who have worked to make the ferry service what it is today can be very proud of their role helping drivers on the I-95 and Long Island Expressway. Eastern Shipbuilding has provided our company with over a dozen high quality vessels and transformed the maritime services we can offer. We are very thankful to Eastern Shipbuilding and the D’Isernia family for the happiness this new vessel will bring to our employees and customers for generations to come.”
The addition of the LONG ISLAND ferry will enable a consistent three-vessel schedule during peak travel periods, enhancing the capacity and reliability of service across Long Island Sound. This delivery marks another successful chapter in ESG’s commitment to building high-quality, resilient vessels for customers across the U.S.
VESSEL SPECS:
Ferry LONG ISLAND – Hull 228
Customer – Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company
Type – Auto & Passenger Ferry
Length – 302 ft
Delivery – 2024
On Monday, a sanctioned Russian cargo ship sustained an engine room explosion off Spain and sank, leaving two crewmembers missing.
At about 1230 hours local time, the Ursa Major was under way eastbound in the Strait of Gibraltar when she sustained an explosion in the engine room. She slowed and deviated from course, then began to list.
AIS data shows that a Spanish Navy warship, the Spanish response vessel Clara Campoamor and a good Samaritan vessel - the Sparta, another sanctioned Russian cargo ship - came to the aid of the crew. 14 seafarers were rescued and two remained missing as of late Monday.
Ursa Major was operated by a subsidiary of sanctioned Russian defense company Oboronlogistika. She was a mainstay of the Russian supply route to Tartus, Syria, the Russian Navy's longtime base in the Eastern Mediterranean. The U.S. Treasury included the heavy lift vessel in a package of Ukraine-related sanctions in May 2022.
After the Ursa Major's sinking, Sparta resumed her eastward journey at low speed, making six knots and declaring her destination as Port Said, Egypt.
Potential sealift role
The voyage of Sparta and Ursa Major comes at a unique moment for Russian operations in the Mediterranean. With the collapse of the Russian-backed regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russia's tenure at Tartus looks tenuous, and Moscow is reportedly negotiating with the leadership of militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham over the future of Russian forces in Syria. According to the Institute for the Study of War, as of Monday, Russian soldiers have fully withdrawn from their forward bases in Syria's interior and are now concentrated at Tartus and the nearby air base at Hmeimim, both on the coastline. "It remains unclear whether Russia will withdraw from coastal Syria," ISW assessed, noting reports that negotiations between Moscow and the new regime are ongoing.
NEW: Russian forces have reportedly withdrawn completely from most of their positions in Syria, including their base at Qamishli in northern Syria. Russia’s only remaining positions are at Hmeimim and Tartus along the Syrian coast. (1/4) https://t.co/Z1Q1rYLZ4m pic.twitter.com/W31UVAFvgG
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) December 24, 2024
Photos taken of Ursa Major earlier in her voyage showed that she was carrying two large crawler cranes as deck cargo. This heavy lifting equipment prompted speculation in the open-source intelligence community that she may have been headed to provide support for the removal of Russian heavy equipment from Tartus - the same equipment she delivered over the course of many years. Her declared destination on AIS was Vladivostok, and her master told local media that her holds were empty.
Russian vessels Sparta and Ursa Major heading westbound in the English Channel escorted by Russian Navy Project 20380 Steregushchiy-class corvette RFS Soobrazitelnyy (531) and a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate - December 16, 2024
— WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) December 16, 2024
SRC: FB- Dover Strait Shipping - Fotoflite pic.twitter.com/LkMMxkkhOK
The government of Panama has pushed back against President Donald Trump's new demand to lower charges for U.S. vessels or "return" the Panama Canal to American custody.
Over the weekend, Trump accused the government of Panama of charging inflated transit rates to U.S. shipping and U.S. Navy vessels for usage of the waterway, and he suggested a connection to Chinese influence. "When President Jimmy Carter foolishly gave it away, for one dollar, during his term in office, it was solely for Panama to manage, not China," said Trump. "It was likewise not given for Panama to charge the United States, its Navy, and corporations . . . exorbitant prices and rates of passage."
In a follow-up speech on Sunday, Trump warned that if U.S. shipping interests do not get a better deal on canal transits, "we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in full, quickly and without question."
Panamanian president José Raúl Mulino, a conservative populist who was elected earlier this year, immediately pushed back. "Panamanians may have different views on many issues," Mulino said in a statement. "But when it comes to our canal, and our sovereignty, we will all unite under our Panamanian flag." Three former presidents of Panama - Ernesto Perez Balladares, Martin Torrijos and Mireya Moscoso - cosigned the statement.
Panama quickly received diplomatic support from the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, and from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which called the canal "a golden waterway for connectivity among countries." Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning expressed support for Panama and referred back to an earlier era of East-West confrontation - the Cold War, when Beijing backed Panama's long effort to end U.S. control of the Canal Zone.
120 years of canal development
The Canal Zone was acquired by the U.S. government in 1903 and transformed into a strategic waterway by 1914, at great human and fiscal cost. It remained under American military control until the mid-1970s, but the arrangement was a persistent source of tension with Panama. Over the course of 1973-77, the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations negotiated two treaties that would return the canal to the Panamanian government. The treaties were signed under Carter and were ratified by the U.S. Senate with bipartisan support. These agreements included the condition that the canal must remain neutral to all shipping, including warships, with "no discrimination against any nation, or its citizens or subjects, concerning the conditions or charges of transit."
At the time of the signing in 1977, the handover was a controversial decision and was vehemently opposed by many conservative leaders - including future President Ronald Reagan, who criticized Ford and Carter for the transfer treaty. These concerns faded from view over the intervening decades, and were dormant until revived by Trump's comments on Saturday.
Today, the canal is operated by the Autoridad del Canal de Panama (AMP), a Panamanian government agency. In addition to the smaller American-built canal, AMP has constructed the larger New Panama Canal lock system, which has opened up new all-water transport routes between Asia and the Atlantic - and improved the fortunes of Gulf Coast LNG terminals and U.S. East Coast container ports.
AMP commercially operates the two canal systems based on a set rate sheet, augmented by an auction system to book reserved transit dates. Prices for bookings float with international demand, and have sometimes risen to high levels. Last year, when water use restrictions limited lock operations, congestion drove slot prices to a record $4 million for a single prime-time reserved transit.
A historic wharf on Santa Cruz's waterfront has collapsed in heavy surf, sending three inspectors into the water and scattering debris along the waterfront.
Over the weekend, forecasters predicted a severe storm system arriving along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington. Extreme waves and hurricane-force winds were in the marine forecast, and a high surf advisory warned of waves of 30-40 feet, with the highest sets approaching 60 feet. Some beachfront municipalities ordered temporary evacuations of waterfront buildings as a precautionary measure.
In the town of Watsonville, 10 miles east of Santa Cruz, a man got trapped beneath debris on the beach and was killed; his body was recovered at about noon on Monday. A second man went missing from a nearby park, and local authorities believe he was likely pulled out to sea.
BREAKING REPORT: ?? Large portion of the Santa Cruz wharf has collapsed into the ocean.. pic.twitter.com/EPyz7Piaft
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) December 23, 2024
At about 1245 hours Monday, the same heavy waves destroyed the last 150 feet of the historic Santa Cruz wharf. This section had been damaged in previous storms and was already closed to the public for ongoing repairs. Some construction machinery fell into the water, and three people who were associated with the repair project - two engineers and one inspector - went in as well. Lifeguards were stationed nearby in advance of the storm, and they arrived on jet skis to retrieve two survivors, who were reportedly afloat on large sections of debris from the wooden wharf. The third survivor made it to shore on their own.
"Our staff, our contractors had no sense or indication that the wharf was going to give way. Again, they were out there doing inspections as part of our preparations to make sure that the wharf was safe," an official with the Santa Cruz Department of Parks and Recreation told local outlet KTVU.
The historic wharf at Santa Cruz was built during WWI and was about half a mile long - the longest of any wooden wharf in the Western hemisphere, according to the city's parks department. The city of Santa Cruz was investing about $4 million in repairs to the portion of the structure that collapsed Monday.
The EU Commission has approved a request from the German government to spend $4.2 billion on state subsidies for four floating terminals that import LNG, supporting Northern Europe's urgent transition away from Russian pipeline gas supplies. State subsidies are restricted under EU competition rules, but the EC determined that Germany's spending proposal was justified and reasonable.
The aid package will support Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET), a state-owned company, in operating four floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) stationed along Germany's northern coast. The special-purpose piers for these FSRUs are located in Brunsbüttel, Stade and Wilhelmshaven.
The floating terminals were hastily chartered during the height of Europe's energy crisis in December 2022, and Germany agreed to pay high day rates to ensure that it could get enough LNG to fuel its economy. It was an expensive stopgap measure to replace pipeline gas from Russian state-owned energy firm Gazprom, which was turning off the tap.
Germany set up a state-owned operation and marketing company, DET (Deutsche Energy Terminals), to manage the FSRUs. The company leases out the terminals' receiving capacity to European gas importers on a short- and medium-term auction basis. The difference between the auction revenue and the actual chartering cost generates a recurring loss for DET, and the grant money from the German government will make the company whole.
The aid package could swell to $5.2 billion if losses exceed current projections. The plan has a sunset provision: German authorities have pledged to decommission the floating terminals in Brunsbüttel and Stade once permanent onshore facilities are completed at these locations, and will then sublet the two unused FSRUs to other charterers on the global market.
Environmental groups have criticized Germany's heavy investment in new fossil LNG infrastructure, arguing it could lock in natural gas dependence for decades to come. However, the trend may have peaked, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA): LNG imports into the EU have declined and the rush to build new terminals appears to be slackening.
"Europe’s LNG terminal construction spree might be coming to an end, with some countries delaying or canceling infrastructure. Since the beginning of 2023, new terminals or expansions have been shelved in Albania, Cyprus, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. It is unclear whether three planned terminals in Greece will go ahead," said Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, lead energy analyst, Europe, at IEEFA.
On Sunday, a jackup rig partially collapsed off the coast of Trinidad, injuring one worker and leaving one missing.
At about 0300 hours on Sunday morning, the Rig 110 was conducting drilling at a site at the Heritage Offshore East Field when part of the deck collapsed. 75 people were aboard at the time of the incident; one was injured in the collapse and received medical care, according to local media. The rig was evacuated after the collapse.
One worker, identified as Pete Phillip, 45, remains missing. A search is still under way for Phillip; The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard vessel responded to the scene with the cutter TTS Port of Spain, accompanied by the OSV Atlantic Star and eight other support vessels. Dive operations are under way to search the underwater wreckage, according to the SAR team.
The field's operator, Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd., has set up an incident command center at its marine base in Point Fortin with a staff of 25. This team organized the evacuation of the rig and continues to provide drone surveillance and response support in the aftermath of the collapse.
Phillip's wife told the Trinidad Daily Express that she and her four children are anxiously awaiting his safe return.
"The children keep asking for their father. They just asking if they find him. He was to come home Christmas morning," Candacy Phillip told Daily Express.
Rig 110 is the largest offshore rig asset of Well Services Petroleum Company, an offshore service firm in Trinidad and Tobago. The company has not yet commented publicly on the casualty.
On Sunday morning, a small container feeder hit a product tanker at an anchorage off Kupang, Timor, then sank due to the resulting hull damage.
At about 0230 hours on Sunday, the KSOP guard station at Kupang received notice that the feeder Kuala Mas had collided or allided with the 13,000 dwt product tanker Maritim Khatulistiwa at an anchorage. Early information suggests that the Kuala Mas may have drifted with the current until it hit the tanker.
At about 0318, the crew of the Kuala Mas reported that they were taking on water through a penetration in the starboard side. After two hours of attempting to stem the flooding, the master decided to ground the vessel near the Bolok Kupang pier in order to prevent her from sinking. This plan was accomplished by about 0630, and the crew continued efforts to save their ship for another hour and a half.
At 0802, the master called to request an evacuation. A nearby harbor tug successfully rescued the 20 members of the crew within minutes of the call, and no injuries were reported.
Courtesy Indonesian Ministry of Transportation
The Kuala Mas capsized at 0834, then sank, leaving just a small portion of the hull above the surface. Photos from the harbor show that some of the vessel's containerized cargo floated free and went adrift.
The local KSOP station is taking precautionary measures to avert pollution from the wreck, including deployment of oil boom around the perimeter of the site. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the casualty.
Maritim Khatulistiwa remains at anchor just off Kupang.
Norway’s Belships, a large operator of dry bulk and majority holder of Norwegian Bulk Carriers, agreed last week to the terms for a buyout offer from U.S.-based investment manager EnTrust Global. The board of Belships highlights its goal as an investment company was to provide a competitive return to shareholders while EnTrust is actively focused on expanding its presence in maritime and maritime and maritime infrastructure investments.
“Six years have passed since the merger between Belships ASA and the Lighthouse Group,” said Peter Frølich, Chair of the Board, and Lars Christian Skarsgård, CEO of Belships ASA. “Our goal was to develop the company through strategic investments aimed at expansion and to obtain competitive returns for our shareholders. The total return during the period amounts to 455 percent including dividends. This has been a successful exercise of value creation and company development, and we now find it compelling to be able to present our shareholders with the opportunity for realization, and yet another step forward in Belships long history as a company.”
EnTrust through its Blue Ocean maritime investment group is offering a nearly 30 percent premium to the closing price of the stock on December 19 or a premium of just over 17 percent versus the 30-day weighted average. The recommended voluntary cash offer will be for NOK 20.50 per share ($1.80 per share).
The board says it unanimously resolved to recommend the offer calling the terms a “fair offer.” Analysts agree that while not a high valuation it is a fair deal.
Shareholders including members of the board and the executive management of the company have given irrevocable commitments for what totals just over 61 percent of the shares. The acquiring Blue Northern BLK is seeking to reach 90 and then it will make a mandatory offer for the remainder.
EnTrust highlights through its Blue Ocean Strategy, it currently has over $5 billion in total managed assets and capital commitments in the maritime sector. EnTrust believes this transaction represents a significant opportunity to increase Blue Ocean’s presence in the dry bulk shipping space, with Norway as an attractive maritime hub. The group has a dedicated team managing the firm’s maritime investments with long-term track records in related sectors.
Belships currently reports it has a fleet of 29 vessels and a further 12 under construction representing a total of 2.6 million dwt. The newest vessel, Belgrace (64,000 dwt) was built at Shin-Kasado Dock Co., Ltd., an NYK group company and part of the Imabari Shipbuilding group in Japan. The shipyard highlights the versatility of the vessel with multiple cargos and that it anticipates the Tier 3 requirements which do not go into effect until 2025. The other newbuilds are due for delivery between 2025 and 2028.
Belships also owns 67 percent of Norwegian Bulk Carriers AS. Previously known as Lighthouse Navigation, which was acquired in 2017, Norwegian Bulk Carriers AS is a global dry bulk operator.
In 2023, Belships announced it had decided to exit its ship management business. It agreed to selling its operation and outsourcing its ship management to UK-based V.Group.
The voluntary offer for Belships is expected to launch by January 24, 2025. It runs for a minimum of 20 business days and can be extended until March 31, 2025.
Edison Chouest has finalized the long-discussed sale of the icebreaker Aiviq to the U.S. Coast Guard, completing a transaction that began eight years ago.
Despite its early opposition to buying a commercial icebreaker for government missions, the USCG budgeted for Aiviq's purchase in FY2024, and the icebreaker was formally acquired on Dec. 11. After an extended refit, it will enter service in the Arctic and support Coast Guard missions until the delayed delivery of the Polar Security Cutter (PSC), the USCG's future heavy icebreaker.
Aiviq is not part of the PSC program of record, and the service views it as a "bridging strategy" until the purpose-built government icebreakers are delivered.
Once commissioned, the ship will be renamed USCGC Storis after a well-known small icebreaker that served for years in Alaska. The now-scrapped Storis was known as the “Galloping Ghost of the Alaskan Coast,” and had a storied history conducting icebreaking operations in Alaska and the Arctic - including a well-publicized transit of the Northwest Passage.
“This acquisition is a vital step in increasing our operational presence in the Arctic,” said Adm. Linda Fagan, commandant of the Coast Guard. “The future Coast Guard Cutter Storis builds on our legacy of Arctic operations and underscores our commitment to asserting U.S. sovereignty and supporting national security in the region.”
With line-item funding provided by Congress, the Coast Guard bought Aiviq from the Chouest subsidiary Offshore Service Vessels LLC for a total of $125 million. The price includes reactivation, delivery, spare parts, vessel modifications and crew training.
In a statement, the USCG said that it "will evaluate the vessel's condition and identify requirements to achieve full operational capability."
Aiviq was built in 2012 as an icebreaking anchor-handler for Shell's Arctic offshore drilling program. During a tow in the Gulf of Alaska in December 2012, she encountered seas of 20-30 feet and lost power in all engines due to water in fuel contamination. An after-accident inquiry found that this was likely caused by the immersion of her low-freeboard stern and seawater infiltration through her tank vents. Her tow ran aground and was ultimately scrapped.
Aiviq was little-used for many years after the casualty. In 2016, two congressmen with ties to Chouest - Representatives Duncan Hunter and Don Young, a longtime friend of the family company - advocated for the Coast Guard to buy a used commercial icebreaker that matched Aiviq's characteristics. The Coast Guard initially resisted, citing concerns over Aiviq's commercial design.
Once reactivated, Aiviq - the future USCGC Storis - will relocate to a temporary homeport. It will eventually be based at a new pier in Juneau.
Chinese officials reported that the Shanghai Port complex reached 50 million TEU for the first time on December 22. They said the port would exceed the 50 million TEU mark as it continues its position as the world’s busiest seaport for the 15th consecutive year.
Container operations at the port began in 1978 when they handled just 7,951 TEU. The port reached 1 million TEU in 1994 and has continued its rapid expansion. Throughput exceeded 10 million TEU in 2003 and has continued its sequential growth. The 40 million mark was reached in 2017 and last year the port handled 49.16 million TEU.
Port officials point to the broad network and development of infrastructure as contributing to the continued growth. At present, they report he Shanghai Port has nearly 350 international routes, covering more than 700 ports in more than 200 countries. The port cooperates with 22 ports in the Chinese provinces and cities along the Yangtze River, including 16 ports in the Yangtze River Delta.
Emphasizing the regional leadership of Shanghai, they reported the port’s water-to-water transshipment ratio is expected to exceed 60 percent, a record high. In addition, they have developed a network of sea-rail transport connections for containers. The service was launched in 2019 and at present, 10 routes are running daily. They expect 2024 to exceed 900,000 TEU on the sea-rail connection reporting volume increased by about 40 percent year-on-year.
Automation is a key part of the port’s ability to handle the massive volume of containers. They highlighted the use of fully automated unmanned guided vehicles. The port is also expanding its use of digitalization. In 2017 the port launched the Yangshan Phase IV automated terminal which has handled 35 million TEU in the past seven years. Officials reported that compared to a traditional terminal, personnel has been reduced by 70 percent while overall efficiency increased by 30 percent.
Further expansion started in August 2024, with the Luojing Container Terminal on the south bank of the Yangtze River estuary. It is the first time China has repurposed a coal and ore handling terminal for container operations. Phase I has four berths and an annual designed throughput of 2.6 million TEU.
They also highlight the port’s role in alternative energy for the shipping industry. Shanghai Port has completed bonded LNG bunkering operations for 125 international vessels. The total volume of LNG bunkered is 730,000 cbm with the port expected this year to handle 450,000 cbm, a 70 percent increase.
"By 2025, Shanghai Port will achieve regular green methanol bunkering,” announced Luo Wenbin, general manager of Shanghai Port Group Energy Company. “We are stepping up infrastructure construction, including the renovation and expansion of storage tank facilities. Currently, Shanghai Port has two LNG bunkering ships and one methanol bunkering ship, and one more ship of each type will be added in the future. By 2030, we hope to achieve the 'double hundred' goal of LNG bunkering capacity of 1 million cubic meters and green methanol bunkering capacity of 1 million tons."
Since 2023, the Shanghai Port has also been involved in the joint project to create a "green shipping corridor" with the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Hamburg. The effort continues to make progress aiming to become the first long-distance international green shipping corridor.
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