Vessels News

Dajin Heavy Industry has selected Ulstein's ULSTEIN HX122 design for an offshore installation vessel capable of installing future 4XL monopiles, expanding the offshore wind foundation supplier's activities into offshore installation.The vessel, designed by Ulstein Design & Solutions in the Netherlands, is intended to install monopiles, jacket foundations and offshore substations. It will also be capable of supporting oil and gas construction and decommissioning work.The project will expand Dajin's capabilities beyond manufacturing…

Mermaid Maritime has established a joint venture with Nigerian oilfield services company Marine Platforms Limited to pursue subsea work for TotalEnergies Nigeria and other oil and gas operators in the country.The new company, Mermaid Subsea Services Limited, will be 49% owned by Mermaid Subsea Oil and Gas Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mermaid Maritime, while Marine Platforms will hold 51%.The venture is intended to allow direct operational engagement with TotalEnergies Nigeria and other oil and gas companies while meeting Nigerian local content…

More QatarEnergy-linked liquefied natural gas vessels, laden and in ballast, have transited the Strait of Hormuz in the last week despite the US-Iran conflict.In August, Kpler data showed no visible transits by Qatar-linked LNG vessels or vessels carrying cargoes from the Ras Laffan gas terminal, amid fears of attack by Iran, which has tried to throttle traffic through the Strait.Some may have got through undetected if they kept their transponders off, but this month, visible…

Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LD Armateurs) has taken delivery of the DP2 multipurpose support vessel TVO Mariner for its LD TravOcean subsidiary, expanding its capacity for subsea cable installation, repair and protection work.The vessel, delivered to the group in mid-September, will support telecommunications cable installation and repairs, trenching and deepwater ROV operations, as well as offshore wind projects.“The TVO Mariner gives us full ownership on project execution for submarine cable installation and repairs, trenching services and deep water ROV operations.

Ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman for Middle Eastern oil from inside the Strait of Hormuz have reached their limits after Saudi Arabia diverted exports from the Red Sea, adding to shipments from other producers, trade sources and analysts said.The increasing amount of Saudi exports this month requires more supertankers to shuttle crude through Hormuz to conduct cargo transfers, they said. That has reduced ship availability, raising shipping costs and increasing the time…

Crude oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz reached 33.7 million barrels so far in the week starting September 20, preliminary ship-tracking data from Kpler showed on Friday, putting exports roughly on track with the previous week's levels.The traffic comprised 19 tankers, of which 17 are very large crude carriers (VLCCs) that can carry 2 million barrels of oil, the data showed. Most of the tankers are laden with crude from Saudi Arabia, followed by Iraq.For the full previous week…

Van Oord has named its two next-generation flexible fallpipe vessels Vindnes and Vestnes, with the 35,000-tonne-capacity ships scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029.The purpose-built vessels, currently under construction at Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore in China, will expand Van Oord's subsea rock installation capacity for offshore wind, interconnector and other energy infrastructure projects.Unlike converted vessels, Vindnes and Vestnes have been designed specifically for subsea rock installation…

Fincantieri's Norwegian subsidiary Vard has signed a contract, worth between $76 million and $86 million, to build a commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) for Dong Fang Offshore, marking the fifth vessel ordered by the Taiwan-based marine contractor from the shipbuilder.The vessel will be based on VARD 4 39 design and adapted for subsea operations, offshore wind installation and maintenance, as well as cable laying and repair work.Measuring about 102.5 meters long and 19.5 meters wide…

Fugro has secured a marine asset integrity contract in Australia covering the replacement of critical subsea infrastructure and survey and inspection work, with offshore operations expected to start towards the end of 2027.The contract, awarded by an undisclosed client, combines subsea intervention with survey and inspection services using Fugro's remote operations capabilities.Fugro will provide engineering, project management and offshore execution for the campaign, aimed at…

Stillstrom by Maersk has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Semco Maritime to manufacture and deliver a key part of its offshore vessel charging system, moving the technology into manufacturing following completion of its design phase.Semco Maritime will manufacture the local equipment room, or local equipment room (LER), which controls power, communications and safety functions across Stillstrom's offshore charging infrastructure.The containerized unit houses the transformer and medium-voltage switchgear used to transfer offshore-generated electricity from a wind farm to a vessel…

ABL has been appointed by Allseas as marine warranty surveyor for the single-lift removal of the Statfjord A topside in the North Sea, an operation set to use an upgraded 60,000-tonne lifting system aboard Pioneering Spirit.Allseas is carrying out the engineering, preparation, removal and disposal of the Statfjord A platform, a concrete gravity-base production facility on the Equinor-operated Statfjord field.The entire topside will be removed in a single lift by Pioneering Spirit…

CSL OWL has launched the first of two purpose-built subsea rock installation vessels designed for offshore wind construction and maintenance projects.The vessel, named Rock Star, is the first in CSL OWL's two-ship newbuilding program and is designed to carry up to 17,500 tonnes of rock and install material at rates of up to 2,000 tonnes per hour in water depths of up to 100 metres.Measuring 166.8 meters long and 40 meters wide, the vessel has a deadweight of about 21,000 tonnes…

Boskalis’ recently commissioned Windpiper subsea rock installation vessel has started its maiden project at the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea, placing its first rocks to protect the projects’ export cables.The 227-meter-long vessel loaded nearly 45,000 tons of rock in Norway following its christening in July before sailing for the installation campaign.Boskalis said the load represents a record cargo, with no single subsea rock installation vessel…

Vard has delivered Dong Fang Offshore's first newbuild, the Orient Inspirer service operation vessel (SOV), two months ahead of schedule, while the company has approved an order for another vessel from the Norwegian shipbuilder valued at up to $86 million.The Orient Inspirer, previously known as newbuild NB 987, was delivered from Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam following a ceremony on September 16 and is expected to arrive in Taiwan by the end of September.The vessel will be reflagged…

Jan De Nul has ordered a second trenching support vessel designed to bury subsea energy cables as it expands its fleet for cable installation and protection.The new vessel will be an exact sister ship to the Isambard K. Brunel, which Jan De Nul ordered in March, and will carry a subsea trencher capable of burying cables as deep as five metres into the seabed.The latest order takes the number of new vessels Jan De Nul has under construction for subsea cable installation and protection to five…

INEOS Energy has started commercial operations at the Greensand project in the Danish North Sea, opening what it describes as the European Union's first full-scale carbon dioxide storage site, with initial capacity of up to 400,000 tonnes per year.Denmark's King Frederik X officially opened the facility on September 18 at the Port of Esbjerg. The project is led by INEOS Energy alongside Harbour Energy and the Danish North Sea Fund, or Nordsøfonden.Greensand is designed to scale up to between 4 million and 8 million tonnes of CO2 storage annually as demand grows.In the first commercial phase…

KERSHIP, a joint venture between PIRIOU and Naval Group, launched the PETAR NJEGOS I, the first of two OPV 60M offshore patrol vessels ordered by Montenegro, at its Lanester shipyard on Friday, September 11, 2026.The ceremony, marking a milestone in the program, was attended by numerous Montenegrin and French dignitaries, including Mr. Aleksa Becic, Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Dragan Krapovié, Minister of Defence of Montenegro, Ms Dubravka Lalovic, Ambassador of Montenegro in France…

Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz dwindled to just three ships on Wednesday, down from 12 a day earlier and well below the 10-day average of about 17, preliminary ship-tracking data showed on Thursday.The figures exclude any vessels that might have passed through the waterway with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.Of the three vessels, an empty Supramax dry bulk ship entered the strait via the Iranian route, while an empty petroleum product tanker entered through a dark route…

Aesen introduced the Aesen 116H, a next-generation hybrid crew boat developed to support the evolving operational requirements of offshore personnel transportation and infield logistics operations. This vessel combines hybrid propulsion technology, intelligent energy management and enhanced operational resilience to support safer, more efficient and lower-emission offshore operations.By integrating hybrid propulsion and energy storage systems, Aesen 116H is engineered to optimise engine loading and power utilization…

A total of 17 commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on the weekend, down from 37 a week earlier, shipping data showed on Monday, as tension in the Gulf persisted with the US and Iran in stalemate.Visible traffic through the strait, the conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the war, has dwindled to a trickle. However, Middle Eastern producers continue to export oil on tankers travelling with their transponders off.Among trackable ships…

Cadeler and Vattenfall have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore new offshore wind maintenance solutions, with a focus on major component exchanges for operating wind farms.The collaboration between Vattenfall Vindkraft and Nexra, Cadeler's dedicated offshore wind operations and maintenance platform, will combine operational expertise, service methods and long-term planning to examine more efficient and scalable approaches to maintenance.The companies will focus on Major Component Exchange capabilities across multiple turbine platforms…

A new shuttling system is reshaping the Middle East oil market, as producers seek to keep exports flowing despite the escalating regional conflict. The question now is whether this complex, expensive process is a stopgap measure or the global energy market’s new normal.Several miles off Oman's coast, south of the Strait of Hormuz, rows of tankers lie at anchor. Many sit alongside each other, connected by ropes and hoses as they transfer crude from one vessel to another, creating…

Spanish shipyard GONDAN Shipbuilders has launched a 120-metre Ocean Energy Support Vessel (OESV) for Østensjø Rederi, the largest vessel built by the shipyard to date.The C513 OESV was launched at GONDAN's Figueras facility and will now undergo final outfitting and sea trials ahead of scheduled delivery in late 2027.Designed by Salt Ship Design, the vessel has a beam of 23 meters and is intended for operations including walk-to-work personnel transfers, commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) support for offshore wind…