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.