Cuba Kills Four on Florida-Based Speedboat that Opened Fire
Cuban forces killed four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-based speedboat that entered Cuban waters on Wednesday and opened fire on a Cuban patrol, the Cuban government said at a time of heightened tensions with the United States.The wounded were evacuated and receiving medical attention, while the Cuban patrol commander was also wounded, Cuba's Interior Ministry said in a statement,ā¦
EWM Welding Technology Sold in North America Through ESAB, Linde Collaboration
To offer U.S. fabricators access to advanced welding processes that improve performance and profitability, ESAB has collaborated with distributor Linde Gas & Equipment to sell welding technology from German manufacturer EWM in North America. Linde will feature EWMās Titan XQ 500 puls, Titan XQ 400 puls and Phoenix XQ 505 puls multiprocess/pulsing welding systems at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 in booth S63335ā¦
OceanTools Celebrates Recent Project Successes
OceanTools is celebrating two projects that highlight their engineering expertise and versatility. From designing subsea pressure housings for a well-known space technology company to creating solutions for the worldās deepest oceans, their housings deliver reliability and resilience in the most extreme environments.A major U.S. space technology company approached OceanTools with detailed specifications, and they designed and built a highly intricate pressure vessel to meet their requirements.
Babcock Celebrates Milestones in Type 31 Defense Program
Babcock International Group has achieved two milestones in the delivery of the Royal Navyās Type 31, Inspiration Class program, as the Steel Cut for HMS Bulldog and the Rollout of HMS Active took place at their Rosyth facility in Scotland.The ceremonial Steel Cut for HMS Bulldog marked the official start of build on the fourth of five Inspiration-class frigates, while the rollout of HMS Active saw the emergence of the second frigate from the purpose-built ship assembly hallā¦
Croatia Looking into Legality of Importing Russian Oil for Druzhba Pipeline
Croatia is assessing whether it can lawfully import seaborne Russian crude oil to supply to Hungary and Slovakia after the Druzhba pipeline supplying them via Ukraine was damaged, the European Commission said on Wednesday.Supply via Druzhba to Hungary and Slovakia, the only EU countries still importing Russian oil, was halted on January 27 due to damage which Kyiv blamed on a Russian drone strike."Croatia has communicated that it is assessing the situationā¦
Sonangol Looks to Secure $4.8b Loan From China for Sea Port Refinery
Angola's state oil company Sonangol is talking to Chinese financial institutions to secure a $4.8 billion loan to partly finance the construction of a new refinery in the Atlantic sea port of Lobito, it said on Wednesday.The financing, if completed, will mark the first borrowing by the Southern African oil producer from China since 2017, when it opted to reduce its exposure to resource-backed loans.Theā¦
Hungary Accuses Ukraine of Plans to Disrupt National Energy System
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Ukraineon Wednesday of planning to disrupt the Hungarian energy system, and dispatched troops to safeguard infrastructure, escalating a dispute that has undermined Europe's pro-Ukraine consensus.Hungary and Slovakia, whose leaders are outliers in the EU for maintaining relations with Moscow, blame Kyiv for an outage on the Druzhba oil pipelinethat suppliesā¦
Saudi Arabia Increases Oil Product, Exports In Case of US Attack on Iran
Saudi Arabia is increasing its oil production and exports as part of a contingency plan in case any U.S. strike on Iran disrupts supplies from the Middle East, two sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday.The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plan.U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is considering a strike on Iran to pressure its leaders to agree a deal to curb Tehran's nuclear programme.
US Expands Sanctions Over Iranian Oil Sales, Weapons
The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on more than 30 individuals, entities and "shadow fleet" vessels it said enabled Iran's illicit petroleum sales, ballistic missiles and weapons production.Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control also targeted multiple networks that enable Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics to secureā¦
Ireland to Strengthen NATO Ties as Maritime Threats Increase
Ireland plans to boost radar and subsea surveillance capabilities and increase cooperation with NATO members amid growing hybrid threats in the North Atlantic, the country said in its first maritime security strategy on Wednesday.Ireland, which is neutral and has the EU's lowest level of defence spending, has been criticised for its lack of capability to monitor and defend territorial waters that theā¦
ESAB Launches Ruffian EMP 270G Engine Drive
In collaboration with Linde Gas & Equipment, ESAB announced that its new Ruffian EMP 270G EDW engineādriven welding generator will make its official debut at CONEXPOāCON/AGG 2026 and attendees can place orders directly in Lindeās booth (S63335). ESAB and Linde have also teamed up to offer exclusive, showāonly pricing during CONEXPO, which runs March 3ā7 in Las Vegas.The show special packages feature the Ruffian EMP 270G with an Sentinel A60 welding helmetā¦
GIT Coatings Launches XGIT-FORCE
GIT Coatings, a leader in sustainable high-performance marine coatings, announced the launch of its graphene-base hard foul-release coating, XGIT-FORCE. With first applications already underway across a global fleet, XGIT-FORCE is engineered to unlock up to 10% fuel savings and provide the highest return on investment of any antifouling coating on the market. XGIT-FORCE is the result of years of research and developmentā¦
Hartman Seatrade Adds Two Liebherr LS 250 Ship Cranes to its Fleet
Hartman Seatrade has selected the LS 250 heavy-duty ship crane to outfit its latest vessels. The cranes, supplied by Liebherr, are configured for tandem operations, allowing combined lifts of up to 500 tons for project cargo. Engineered for versatile cargo handling, the LS 250 delivers dependable lifting performance even in demanding maritime conditions. The cranes offer a lifting capacity of up to 250 tons with a maximum outreach of 36 meters.
Fincantieri Delivers First āIntelligentā Cruise Yacht
Fincantieri has delivered Four Seasons I, the first ultra-luxury cruise yacht built for Marc-Henry Cruise Holdings, a joint owner-operator of Four Seasons Yachts, at its Ancona shipyard.The vessel is described by the Italian shipbuilder as the worldās first intelligent ultra-luxury ship and represents the first Navis Sapiens unit, based on an integrated digital architecture developed by Fincantieri Ingeniumā¦
WinGD, HHI Complete Landmark Approval Tests on Ammonia Marine Engine
Swiss marine power company WinGD has completed both Type Approval Testing (TAT) and Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) of its ammonia-fueled two-stroke marine engine, marking a milestone in efforts to decarbonize shipping.The test programs were completed in January 2026 on the X52DF-A-1.0 engine at HD Hyundai Heavy Industriesā Engine & Machinery (HHI-EMD) facility in South Korea. The tests were witnessedā¦
Vega Reederei Picks Inmarsatās NexusWave for Newbuild Fleet
Inmarsat Maritime, part of Viasat, has secured a contract with Vega Reederei to equip 10 new diesel-electric coaster vessels with its NexusWave bonded connectivity service.The agreement covers installation of NexusWave on the 89-meter, 3,800-deadweight-tonne short-sea general cargo ships, scheduled for delivery by July 2026. The deal also includes Fleet Secure Unified Threat Management (UTM) and Fleetā¦
Kongsberg Maritime to Equip LS Marineās Ultra-Large Cable Lay Vessel
Kongsberg Maritime has been selected to supply a fully integrated equipment package for a next-generation ultra-large cable laying (CLV) vessel being built for LS Marine Solution at Tersan Shipyard in Türkiye.The vessel, designed to support growing global demand for subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) and optical cable installation, will be 148.4 meters long and 31 meters wide, with a cable carrying capacity of 13ā¦
Shell, METLEN Sign LNG Supply and Trading Deal
Shell and Greeceās METLEN have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a framework for cooperation in the supply and trading of liquefied natural gas (LNG).Under the agreement, the two companies plan to supply and trade approximately 0.5 to 1.0 billion cubic metres (bcm) of LNG per year over the five-year period from 2027 to 2031.Deliveries are expected to be made to the Greek LNG regasificationā¦
ABS Opens U.S. Cruise Center of Excellence
ABS has opened the ABS Cruise Center of Excellence, its dedicated global hub for the cruise sector, located in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The center expands ABSā local presence and provides cruise operators with direct access to industry-leading classification, risk management, compliance and performance software and engineering services.The new center brings together local experts specializing in classificationā¦
Opinion: Shipping Will Need More Self-Regulation
Shipping will have no choice but to boost self-regulation as well as choosing the right āsafe havenā partners if it is to deal with the huge pressures the fast-changing political, trade and regulatory landscapes will inflict on the industry, according to Mark OāNeil, President and CEO of the Columbia Group.There are many spheres of influence that will result from the breakdown of the international rule-based orderā¦
