Funding News

Tilla, a Berlin-based maritime tech startup, announced the successful closing of a USD$2.3 million (€2 million) funding round designed to accelerate the global expansion and innovation of its crew logistics platform. The round is led by global maritime venture capital firm Motion Ventures, which recently launched a $100 million maritime tech fund, alongside a strategic investment from EXMAR, a Belgian shipping company with a long-standing reputation under the Saverys family. The…

The SL7EXPO project, which aims to preserve one of the groundbreaking SL-7 Sea-Land Container ships as a maritime exposition center in support of the SHIPS for America Act, has received seed funding from the Society of Marine Port Engineers.Originally built by containerization innovator, Malcolm McLean, as 33 knot container ships, the eight SL-7 class ships were converted into Fast Sealift Ships by the US Government in the early 1980s. Their conversion into Roll on/Roll off vessels…

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) testified this week in support of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," spotlighting a major investment in the U.S. Coast Guard as a cornerstone of the legislation."For more than 20 years, the Coast Guard has received less than half of the capital investment necessary to successfully carry out its critical missions," Graves said during his prepared remarks. "To support the Coast Guard, we provide more than $21 billion to recapitalize Coast Guard assets."The funding package includes acquisition of new cutters…

U.S.

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. is pleased to see the issuance of a new Executive Order titled Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources. In addition, the company confirms that it currently has no specific plans to issue any securities under its universal shelf registration statement on Form S-3, which has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and provides Odyssey with the flexibility to access the capital markets in a timely manner.

Tallink Grupp has entered into new cooperation agreement for 2025 with Finnish non-profit organisation John Nurminen Foundation, whose activities are aimed at protecting the Baltic Sea. In 2025, about USD $0.20 (EUR 0.20) from each Captain’s chocolate bar sold onboard company’s vessels will be donated to the foundation towards key partnership projects aimed at saving the Baltic Sea, its environment and culture. Tallink Grupp’s travel retail subsidiary, Tallink Duty Free, is in its third year of partnering with the foundation.

Dutch company Econowind, based in Zeewolde, has secured €1 million in development capital from Invest International to advance and test its VentoFoil XL, a 24-30 meter high steel wind sail inspired by aviation technology. Like airplane wings, these innovative sails are designed for large vessels, harnessing wind power to reduce fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 15%.Econowind has been producing smaller VentoFoils for coastal shipping for several years. With the introduction of the XL model…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) making available more than $662 million in Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 funding for MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The PIDP investment is intended to help modernize the nation’s ports and strengthen supply chains.“America’s ports play a central role in our supply chains,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With today’s announcement…