BigLift ordered a third 1,800 tonne capacity Heavy Lift Vessel at the end of June, namely a further Happy S-type vessel identical to BigLift’s flagship Happy Star (above) featuring two 900mt Huisman Heavy Lift Mast Cranes. With high crane pedestals and lengthened jib, the newbuild will have a lifting height only matched by Happy Star in the worldwide fleet of heavy lift vessels. The new ship will be named Happy Sun and will be built by Ouhua Shipbuilding in Zhoushan, China. Delivery is expected in the first quarter of 2018. The Happy Sun will be 156m long and will have a 29m deck and a 18,374dwt. The length and the forward position of the superstructure will offer a single, large cargo hold and a wide, open deck area. The vessel will also be fitted with pontoon type hatch covers and a large poop deck which will leave the full deck area available for cargo stowage. The Happy Sun’s ‘tween deck will be adjustable in height and BigLift says the ship will be allowed to sail with open weather deck hatches at a draught of up to 7.50m. The vessel will also have Finnish/Swedish 1A Ice Class notation, and a service speed of 15 knots. Upon delivery of the Happy Sun, BigLift’s fleet will comprise 16 state-of-the art heavy lift vessels with lifting capacities up to 1,800mt.

China Cosco Shipping Group and the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund signed a confirmation letter in early July for the sale of a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority to the Chinese conglomerate. The letter, signed on 4th July in Beijing, confirmed that all terms in the April agreement regarding CCSG’s purchase of a majority ownership stake in Greece’s largest port have been approved by the two parties. The signing was witnessed by Chinese premier Li Keqiang and his counterpart Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. In April, Greece agreed to sell a 67% stake in PPA for €368.5 million to the Chinese shipping company, created by the merger of Cosco Group and China Shipping Group earlier in 2016. Under the deal, CCSG will firstly acquire the 51% stake for €280.5 million and then the remaining 16% for €88 million after five years and, once it completes, will invest €350 million over the next decade. The Cosco Group has already been investing in the port’s container terminal since 2009, after winning a 35-year concession to operate the facility. Total container throughput in the port has increased to 3.36 million TEU in 2015 from 880,000 TEU in 2010. CCSG said its investment has also increased the Greek government’s financial income, with 1,200 local jobs being created during the period.

Fincantieri announced on 17th June during the 20th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, that it and Rosneft had signed a Heads of Agreement for the formation of a joint venture focused on design and engineering of a new type of vessel to be built at the Zvezda shipbuilding complex. The parties will also explore the possible development of those professional competences required to support the shipbuilding phase of the project. Co-operation with Fincantieri will enhance the technical potential of the Zvezda Shipbuilding Cluster. The co-operation will be carried out in compliance and subject to the applicable EU, US and international trade rules.

Hyundai Glovis, a South Korean logistics company and a subsidiary of car giant Hyundai Motor Group, has rejected proposals offered by the U.S. government to use U.S.-registered vessels. The reason behind the request was that these vessels often set sail on a return trip empty after unloading their cargo in South Korea. However, the US officials were once again turned down, as Hyundai Glovis said that using U.S.-registered vessels would mean paying extra costs, according to The Korea Herald. Hyundai Glovis has been offered the same proposal on a number of occasions over the past year. The operator, which currently operates 66 ships to export vehicles globally, shipped around 200,000 cars to the U.S. last year, a 31 percent share of a total of 640,000 units exported to the nation.

Ilshin Shipping of South Korea has ordered a revolutionary new bulk carrier at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. The 50,000 dwt ship will be LNG-fuelled and the LNG tank will be manufactured with high manganese steel made by local steel mill POSCO. Existing LNG tanks have tended to favour nickel, aluminium or stainless steel construction thus far. The ship, due for delivery in November next year, will be dual classified by Korean Register and Lloyd’s Register.

K Line of Japan has placed orders for three VLCCs at Kawasaki Heavy Industries with delivery scheduled in 2017 and 2018, and two Aframax tankers at Namura Shipbuilding, due for delivery in 2018 and 2019. The vessels are designed to comply with forthcoming rules including the latest Ballast Water convention.

Kleven Maritime launched the first of six new anchor handling tugs for Maersk Supply Service on 10th June at the Kleven Verft shipyard in Ulsteinvik, Norway (above). The vessel is the first of Maersk Supply Service’s Starfish-class, with 23,065 Horsepower, 230 tonnes bollard pull, and towing drums designed for 500 tonnes of pull force.

SCF Tankers, an affiliate of Sovcomflot, has beaten rivals to win an auction for the sale of nine ice-class tankers belonging to bankrupt Primorsk International Shipping. SCF bid $215 million for the fleet, beating Hafnia Tankers’ $208 million bid at the auction in London. Primorsk International Shipping subsequently asked a bankruptcy judge to approve the sale, which was duly granted. The ailing company had filed for chapter 11 protection in January 2016.

Norden, a Danish shipowner, sold off 4 of its handysize dry cargo vessels in June as it continued to streamline its portfolio. The sale, generating an accounting loss of $18 million, will leave the company with 8 of this vessel type in its owned fleet. The ships disposed of were the 20,969gt Nord Hong Kong (above), 20,924gt Nord Houston, 20,969gt Nord London and 20,969gt Nord Vancouver, all built in 2011. The company’s four postpanamax vessels have also been sold.

Nordic American Tankers (NAT) has taken delivery of the 78,918gt/2000 built Nordic Sirius, the third in a series of four Suezmax vessels purchased in May 2016. NAT entered into an agreement with an undisclosed seller to acquire the four 2000-2004 built and 150,000dwt tankers for $106 million. The 78,922gt/2004 built Nordic Castor was delivered the previous week and the fourth vessel was scheduled for delivery in mid-July. NAT’s fleet will then consist of 30 Suezmax tankers, including two newbuildings from Korea, scheduled for delivery in August 2016 and January 2017.

STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, now in court receivership, is experiencing a reduction in its order book as companies fall on hard times. The yard is itself going through a court-led restructuring scheme having been under creditor control for the last three and a half years. STX has said it will focus more on series production of product tankers in the future to try and boost profits.

Tanker fleet growth has blossomed with 203 ships added to the global fleet over the past 12 months.The growth amounts to 21.9 million dwt over the course of the past year whilst the demolition of older ships has fallen to a mere 34 tankers (2.5 million dwt) in the same period. Of the 366 tanker orders placed in 2015, 218 were contracted in the 2nd half of the year, although many were placed to circumvent the higher costs associated with the new Tier III regulations which came into force on 1st January in the USA.

The Suez Canal Authority has set new toll rates for oil tankers as part of a six-month experiment. Very large crude carriers (VLCCs) transitting the canal from the Arabian Gulf after discharging at the SUMED oil pipeline will be charged $155,000 if they are carrying more than 250,000 in deadweight tonnage. VLCCs are to pay $230,000 on their return ballast trip. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated an $8 billion expansion of the canal in 2015 that aims to double daily traffic and increase annual revenue to more than $13 billion by 2023.