The chief executive officer of semisub rig owner Dolphin Drilling has submitted his resignation from the company.

The resignation of Dolphin CEO Bjørnar Iversen comes into force with immediate effect. He joined the company as CEO in July 2019. Before joining Dolphin Drilling, Iversen was the CEO of Songa Offshore and held various senior management roles at Odfjell Drilling.

Jon Oliver Bryce has been appointed as the interim CEO of the company. He currently holds the position of chief strategy officer and brings over 30 years of experience in the drilling industry. Before joining Dolphin Drilling, he held senior and leadership roles at Awilco Drilling and Odfjell Drilling.

Bryce holds a degree in mechanical engineering, is on the supervisory board of the UK Chamber of Shipping, and is the chair of the British Rig Owners Association.

“We would like to thank Bjørnar for his contributions to the company over the last six years and wish him well with his future endeavours,” said Martin Nes, chairman of Dolphin Drilling’s board of directors.

Norway’s Odfjell Drilling has won an extension for one of its rigs with compatriot energy major Equinor.

The deal is to extend the employment of the 2009-built Deepsea Atlantic semisub until the end of the second quarter of 2027.

The unit will operate under previously agreed terms until the mid-third quarter of 2026. The current 23-month contract has a value of about $290m.

After this, the unit will then continue with Equinor until the end of the second quarter of 2027 for an approximate incremental value of $148m excluding escalation fees, integrated services, performance bonuses, and fuel incentives.

The contract maintains further optional periods of four priced one-well options as well as three further optional periods of approximately one year each, with the rates for each period to be mutually agreed upon before exercising. If exercised, such options could keep the rig contracted into 2030.

“With this additional backlog, the Odfjell Drilling owned fleet is now fully booked until 2027 with a significant, predictable, and increasing revenue backlog,” said Kjetil Gjersdal, CEO of Odfjell Drilling.

Taiwanese dry bulk shipping operator U-Ming Marine Transport is expanding its fleet a brace of ultramax newbuilds in Japan.

The subsidiary of the Far Eastern Group has signed up for 64,100 dwt vessels at Oshima Shipbuilding with delivery expected in April and June 2028. No price has been revealed.

U-Ming owns and operates nearly 80 ships, including those under construction, and joint ventures. Most of the fleet comprises bulkers, but the company also trades in the VLCC, cement carrier and crew transfer vessel segments.

Last October the company booked a series of four ultramaxes at Chinese builder New Dayang for delivery in 2027 and 2028. U-Ming’s fleet list also shows a pair of capsize bulker newbuildings contracted at China’s Hengli Heavy Industry with estimated delivery in the second half of 2027.

US-listed Greek bulker owner Seanergy Maritime has strengthened its fleet by adding two Japanese-built vessels, while its spin-off United Maritime is shipping out its oldest capesize.

The Stamatis Tsantanis-led Seanergy has picked up an unnamed 2013 Imabari-built newcastlemax and a 2011 Mitsui-built capesize for about $69m.

The 178,459 dwt capsize, which will be renamed Blueship, will initially join Seanergy’s fleet on a six-month bareboat deal, after which the company will buy the vessel for $22.5m. The 207,851 dwt newcastlemax will be renamed Meiship once it changes hands in the first quarter of this year.

Upon delivery, Seanergy’s fleet will comprise two newcastlemaxes and 19 capes with a carrying capacity of about 3.8m dwt.

“We believe that the deliveries of the two new vessels are well-timed, based on the higher level of the freight futures for the second half of 2025,” Tsantanis said.

Meanwhile, United Maritime will be banking about $15m from the 2004-built Gloriuship, which should be delivered to its new owner by mid-July. The 171,314 dwt unit was Seanergy’s oldest cape and was used to set up United back in 2022. The company currently operates eight bulkers: three capes, a pair of kamsarmaxes and three panamax vessels.

Tsantanis (pictured) said the sale was “well-timed” and at a sizeable premium over the vessel’s scrap value. The deal will positively impact the average age of United’s fleet and bolster the company’s cash reserves by some $7m after repaying the existing debt.

A Greece-flagged tanker was boarded yesterday by two knife-wielding individuals while transiting eastbound in the Singapore Strait, the latest in a string of robbery incidents in the area.

The attack took place approximately 2.7 nautical miles northwest of Indonesia’s Pemping Island, according to UK maritime security specialists Ambrey.

The tanker was sailing at 9.7 knots and had an estimated freeboard of 6.35 m during the incident.

Crews transiting the Singapore Strait with freeboards lower than 10 m are advised by Ambrey they are at heightened risk with Splash reporting similar attacks in the same area repeatedly over the past six weeks.

The crew of the boxship that abandoned the ship which caught fire in the Red Sea has been rescued unharmed.

The Hong Kong-flagged boxship ASL Bauhinia exploded and caught fire some 226 km northwest of Hodeidah, Yemen, in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday.

The vessel is owned by Shanghai-based Asean Seas Line and operated by Emirates Shipping Lines. It was deployed on the latter’s Gulf Red Sea Connector connector between Jebel Ali to Aqaba. The 1,930 teu containership was supposed to reach Aqaba on January 31 with a stop in Jeddah on January 29.

According to reports, the explosion and fire on the 2022-built vessel were caused by hazardous cargo. Even though the vessel caught fire in an area where the Houthi have been wreaking havoc on commercial shipping since November 2023, there is no indication of their involvement in the incident.

A maritime industry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that the 22-strong all-Chinese crew abandoned the vessel and were later rescued unharmed. The vessel is now adrift.

Analyst Lars Jensen, chief executive at Danish consultancy Vespucci Maritime, said that the situation could develop into a general average situation and that shippers with cargo on the ASL Bauhinia would be well advised to check their insurance coverage.