Boskalis announced on 30th May that Femern A/S, a subsidiary of the Danish state owned Sund & Bælt Holding A/S, and the Fehmarn Belt Contractors joint venture, consisting of Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) and Van Oord, had signed the previously announced contract related to the construction of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link. Boskalis’ share of the contract is approximately €300 million. The contract is conditional to obtaining the outstanding environmental permits that have yet to be issued by the German authorities. The Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link will connect Denmark and Germany and will be the world’s longest immersed road and rail tunnel with a length of more than 18 kilometres. The activity scope for Boskalis together with Van Oord includes the dredging of a tunnel trench in the seabed over a distance of 16 kilometres. The dredged material will be reused to create a new recreational nature reserve area on the Danish side of the Fehmarnbelt. The joint venture will also construct a new working harbour where the tunnel contractors will construct a tunnel fabrication yard where the tunnel sections will be cast before being floated out to sea for installation.

CSSC Shipping, part of the Chinese shipbuilding giant China State Shipbuilding Corporation, has purchased the 157,863gt/1999-built and 311,200dwt DS Chief for $25.25 million from German company DS Tanker. CSSC Shipping has been adding elderly VLCCs to its fleet for storage purposes, using them off Singapore. The company now has five VLCCs and CSSC Shipping acquired its first VLCC in 2014, spending $25.3 million on a 1999-built vessel from JX Shipping of Japan.

Ferus Smit of The Netherlands delivered the Ireland in early June, the second LNG-powered cement tanker to her owner, JT Cement, a joint venture between Swedish shipping company Erik Thun AB and KG Jebsen Cement from Norway. Following delivery, the 4,284gt Ireland departed the Defzijl harbour on her first commercial voyage. The first ship, the Greenland, was delivered in December 2015. The new vessel was launched on 19th March at the Westerbroek Yard and is equipped with a fully automated cement loading and unloading system, based on fluidisation of cement by means of compressed air. The same day as the delivery, the Arklow Cadet of Arklow Shipping was launched. The first vessel in a series of ten that will be delivered to Arklow, the ship has a maximum hold volume of 220,000 cubic feet and a carrying capacity of over 5,000dwt. She has a single hold and a 1A ice class notation. Propulsion is provided by a 1,740 kW MaK engine with a single ducted propeller. Until now, Ferus Smith has built six ships for Arklow Shipping, Arklow Beacon, Arklow Beach, Arklow Bay, Arklow Bank, Arklow Breeze and Arklow Brave.

Hanjin Shipping’s financial strains increased when the 43,004gt/2013 built and 82,158dwt bulker Hanjin Paradip, owned by the Korean firm, was detained in Richards Bay on 24th May due to unpaid charter fees to an unspecified owner. Hanjin Shipping, which has entered restructuring, is negotiating with tonnage providers to get rates cut on its chartered in fleet, a crucial first step outlined by creditors who have warned the company it will face court receivership if it fails to get deals agreed with its tonnage providers.

Lithuanian Shipping Co.’s liquidation commenced as of 30th May after a Regional Court hearing in Klaipeda. The creditors are to consider the sale of the 11,452gt/1995 built Raguva (€1.6 million) and 15,899gt/ 1995 built Venta (€1.9 million) along with payment of the maintenance costs of the Venta. In addition, the creditors will also discuss contracts the company concluded before the initiation of the bankruptcy proceedings, as well as settlement with the creditors whose claims are secured by maritime liens, staff issues and settlement agreement with UAB Laivu technika. The liquidation follows auctioning of the company’s bulkers, with two out of four of them sold by the company’s bankruptcy administrator in the second round of auctions to undisclosed buyers, namely the 12,192gt/ 1998 built Romuva and Voruta were sold for €2.17 million and €2.25 million, respectively.

Meyer Turku revealed in May that it had returned to the black after many years with difficulties. The audited accounts for 2015 show a profit of €15.1 million on revenues of €593.6 million resulting in 2.5% return on revenue. Odfjell of Norway was reported as being on the brink of cancelling four 17,000cbm gas carriers at China’s Nantong Sinopacific following discussions with the shipbuilding yard related to the delayed construction of its eight LPG/Ethylene vessels on order. The company had four 17,000m3 gas carriers and four 22,000m3 gas carriers on order at the Nantong yard. Odfjell said that all the instalments paid on the newbuildings are secured by refund guarantees from reputable financing institutions.

Panama Canal trials, involving the new lock system commenced on 9th June using the 63,940gt/2011 built Neopanamax dry bulk carrier Baroque (above) chartered by the Panama Canal Authority. The vessel was contracted to conduct multiple daily lock transits through the new Atlantic-facing Agua Clara Locks for testing and training purposes. The 255m long and 43m beam Baroque will also further prepare pilots, tug captains and deck officers for operations within the expanded canal. After the trials through the $5.3 billion expansion project, commercial sailings began on 27th June.

Rickmers-Linie, the Hamburg based liner service specialist has taken over the activities of tramp and chartering specialist Nordana Project & Chartering as the two companies pursue improvements in liner and tramp trades. The business will continue under the name and brand NPC and become an independent division supplementing the Rickmers-Linie segment within the Rickmers Group effective from 1st July 2016. Under the new arrangement, NPC will operate a multipurpose heavy lift fleet worldwide in the size range between 8,000 and 21,000dwt with a lifting capacity of up to 500 tonnes.

Stena Weco’s chemical and product tanker Stenaweco Impulse (above) was named in Copenhagen on 13th June. Her godmother is H.R.H. Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and the naming ceremony took place at the Langelinie Quay attended by guests from all over the world. The Stenaweco Impulse is the sixth in a series of 13 IMOIIMAX tankers ordered by Stena Bulk. The vessel is owned by Stena Weco in a joint venture between Swedish Stena Bulk and Danish Weco Shipping. She was built by the Chinese Shipyard GSI (Guangzhou Shipbuilding International). The 183m long/32m wide and 50,000dwt vessel has 18 tanks, each with a capacity of 3,000m3.

Stolt Tankers of Norway, a tanker shipping arm of Stolt- Nielsen Limited, has sold two handy chemical parcel tankers for demolition in India. The two ships are 38,800dwt Stolt Topaz and 38,700dwt Stolt Aquamarine, built in 1986 by South Korean Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME). The duo follows two previous tankers that were recycled during the first quarter of 2016 and were also sent to India for scrap. India has again become the favourite final destination for end of life ships, especially for EU-based owners.

Port of Antwerp: The world’s largest lock was opened for business at the Port of Antwerp on 10th June by the King of Belgium. The new Kieldrecht Lock, (Kieldrechtsluis), connects container terminals at the port’s Deurganck tidal dock with the Waastland Canal. This is the second lock in the area of Antwerp known as Waasland Port on the banks of the River Scheldt. Until now the area was only accessible via the Kallo Lock, which has been in service since 1979, but has been outgrown in terms of capacity, size, and reliability. The new lock measures 68m wide, 500m long and 17.8m deep. The €382 million construction started in 2011 with a total of 5,500,000m3 of earth being excavated, 800,000m3 of concrete was poured, and 55,000 tonnes of reinforced steel was used. A further 12,000 tonnes of steel were processed in the lock’s 4 gates and 2 bascule bridges. The new lock was inaugurated by Grimaldi Lines’ 71,543gt/2014 built Grande Lagos (above).