02 APRIL 2019 World trade will continue to face strong headwinds in 2019 and 2020 after growing more slowly than expected in 2018 due to rising trade tensions and increased economic uncertainty, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). WTO economists expect merchandise trade volume growth to fall to 2.6 …

01 APRIL 2019 Norwegian technology group Kongsberg Gruppen announced on Monday it has completed its acquisition of Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine (RRCM). Officially part of Kongsberg Maritime, RRCM will operate under the KONGSBERG brand and the Kongsberg Maritime legal entity. Kongsberg Gruppen announced its intention to acquire Rolls-Royce’s marine business in July 2018 …

01 april 2019 Four crewmembers from the container feeder Contship Oak have been kidnapped off the coast of Cameroon, vessel operator Contship has confirmed. The attack occured shortly after the U.S. and other allied forces conducted large-scale anti-piracy drills in the region. In an attack on March 30, pirates boarded the Oak at the …

31 MAR 2019 When a person dies, cremation is an increasingly popular option. The practice eclipsed burials in the US in 2015 and is expected to make up more than half of all body disposals by 2020, according to the Cremation Association of North America. But instead of storing a loved one’s …

30 MAR 2019 The “doldrums” is a popular nautical term that refers to the belt around the Earth near the equator where sailing ships sometimes get stuck on windless waters. Known to sailors around the world, the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, (ITCZ, pronounced and sometimes referred to as the “itch”), is …

29 MAR 2019 Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Turkey’s Karpower International have agreed to collaborate on a LNG-to-Powership business providing floating LNG power plants globally. The partners will operate under the brand name KARMOL. The Powership receives regasified LNG through a floating LNG storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to …

28 MAR 2019 The UK Maritime Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) says that poor watch keeping contributed to last September’s collision between the ro-ro passenger ferry and a recreational cruiser in the Solent near Southampton, England. On 29 September 2018, the UK registered roll-on roll-off passenger ferry Red Falcon and the …