China’s Seacon Shipping has expanded its fleet through a €63.7m ($66.5m) deal for seven modern mini bulkers.

The Hong Kong-listed company said in a filing it had purchased the Baltic Fin, Baltic Grain, Baltic Moon, Baltic Wind, Baltic Steel, Baltic Sun and the Baltic Split from Baltic Shipping at $9.1m each.

The 3,800-3,900 dwt vessels were built between 2022 and 2024 and should join Seacon’s fleet between April and the beginning of June.

The Qingdao-based owner and operator has been focused on renewing and diversifying its fleet, especially in the tanker segment with several newbuilds, while letting go of some of its bulkers. However, last October the company also took over six 5,200 dwt multipurpose dry cargo newbuildings from Union Marine in a $63.9m deal. These ships are being built at Jiangsu Dajin Heavy Industry for delivery between March 2026 and 2027.

“The acquisition of the vessels under the agreements is in line with the ongoing strategy of the group to optimise its vessel fleet by gradually phasing out its older controlled vessels and replacing them with newer vessels, as well as to expand the group’s controlled vessel fleet,” Seacon said in a release.

The Bulgarian owner at the centre of a new cable cutting incident in the Baltic has denied its ship deliberately carried out the latest damage to subsea infrastructure in the region, something analysts are disputing while politicians discuss clamping down further on ships leaving Russia.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority seized the 32,200 dwt, Navibulgar-owned bulker Vezhen yesterday, suspecting it of damaging un underwater fiber optic cable linking Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland on Sunday, the latest in a series of undersea sabotage attacks plaguing the Baltic region.

On its homepage, Navibulgar has responded claiming it has not information about intentional actions by the crew of the Vezhen, suggesting instead that the ship ran into bad weather.

Dimitris Ampatzidis, a risk and compliance analyst at maritime data giant Kpler, suggested the weather on Sunday in the region was calm to moderate, and the Vezhen’s movements that day bore striking similarities to other ships accused of similar sabotage such as the Yi Peng 3 and the NewNew Polar Bear.

“A vessel slows down, deviates from its expected course, exhibits erratic movement, and soon after, a vital undersea cable is found damaged. The sequence of events follows a now well-documented pattern,” Ampatzidis wrote in an article carried by MarineTraffic.

“What makes this incident particularly striking is how predictable it is when compared to previous events. The combination of vessel behavior and infrastructure damage forms a worrying pattern that continues to unfold in plain sight,” Ampatzidis argued.

Lithuania’s foreign minister, Kestutis Budris, called yesterday for a review of current shipping regulations following a spate of subsea infrastructure damage.

Seabed gas pipelines, power cables and fiber optic cables have all been attacked – likely by merchant ships dragging their anchors – in recent months across the Baltic, forcing NATO to establish Baltic Sentry, a naval protection operation.

“Navigation rules in the Baltic Sea need to be reviewed, especially when it comes to the use of anchors,” Budris wrote in a social media post.

In relation to the vessels used by Russia to evade sanctions, he wrote that “the shadow fleet is a major problem that puts our environment and critical infrastructure at risk.”

A joint statement from the heads of state or government of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden earlier this month noted: “Combatting breakage of undersea cables and pipelines represents a global problem.”

The statement went on to discuss the threats posed by the growth of the shadow fleet. 

“Russia’s use of the so-called shadow fleet poses a particular threat to the maritime and environmental security in the Baltic Sea region and globally. This reprehensible practice also threatens the integrity of undersea infrastructure, increases risks connected to sea-dumped chemical munitions, and significantly supports funding of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine,” the statement read. 

The tanker division of the world’s largest shipowner is readying $1.1bn for its newbuilding programme.

COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation is issuing RMB8bn worth of A shares to raise cash to build three aframaxes, six VLCCs and two LNG carriers.

The aframaxes will be built by sister firm COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou), while all the other vessels are slated for construction at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC).

“The vessel construction projects will further optimise the fleet structure, enlarge LNG transportation capacity and further improve competitiveness on domestic and international oil trading market,” the company said in a release.

There’s just 90 days to go until the second edition of Geneva Dry, the world’s premier commodities shipping conference, with organisers urging people thinking about signing up to do so quickly to avoid disappointment.

At last year’s inaugural event, organisers were forced to issue a ‘Sold Out’ sign weeks ahead of the summit, and while preparations have been made to accommodate 200 extra delegates this year, sign ups to the trade gathering are pouring in fast.

Confirmed chartering speakers for this year’s event – taking place on April 28 and 29 at the Hotel President Wilson on the shore of Lake Geneva – include Anglo American, Cargill, Eramet, Fortescue, Heidelberg Materials Trading, Montfort Trading, Trafigura and Vale while confirmed shipowner speakers include the likes of 2020 Bulkers, Ariston Navigation, Cetus Maritime, CTM, d’Amico Dry, Drydel Shipping, Fednav, G2 Ocean, Himalaya Shipping, Mandarin Shipping, Marfin Management, Nova Marine Carriers, Oceanbulk Maritime, Precious Shipping, Seanergy Maritime, Star Bulk, SwissMarine, Taylor Maritime Investments, United Maritime, Wah Kwong and Western Bulk.

Geneva Dry brings together all elements of the commodities shipping sector to host the ultimate dry bulk shipping event.

Split into sectors, panels will bring together analysts, financiers, miners, traders and shipowners to discuss where the markets are headed. Sessions include:

– Minor Bulks
– Agri-commodities
– Coal
– Iron Ore
– Decarbonisation

People flying in to Switzerland for the event are advised to spend some extra days in Geneva as multiple other gatherings are taking place that week including parties hosted by brokers and charterers, golf days, workshops as well as the annual general meetings of both the Poseidon Principles and the Sea Cargo Charter.

The full Geneva Dry agenda can be accessed here.
Geneva Dry registration, at just $780, can be accessed here.
Special Geneva Dry hotel room rates can be found here.

Stolt-Nielsen has bought out Golar LNG’s stake in Avenir LNG for $40m.

Commenting on the transaction, Udo Lange, CEO of Stolt-Nielsen, said: “This strategic move not only strengthens our position in the LNG sector but also underscores our commitment to pursuing more sustainable energy solutions for the maritime, industrial, and power generation markets. I am excited about the possibilities ahead and confident that this partnership will propel us into new avenues of growth and impact.”

Golar LNG, a co-founder of Avenir LNG, said the sale was spurred by its decision to focus on its floating LNG position. Golar will remain a 25% shareholder and debt provider to Higas, an LNG storage terminal in Sardinia that was spun off from Avenir LNG in October 2024.

Avenir LNG owns and operates a fleet of five modern small-scale LNG bunkering vessels, with two newbuildings under construction.

Spain’s Navantia has completed its buy-out of the UK’s Harland & Wolff, securing jobs at four yards in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland.

“By combining Harland & Wolff’s proud heritage and facilities with Navantia’s global expertise in defence, maritime and renewable energy, we are creating an exceptional platform for growth,” said Ricardo Dominguez, chairman of Navantia.

Harland & Wolff entered administration in September last year after a request for a £200m ($261m) facility from the UK government’s export credit agency fell through, the second time in just five years when it has entered administration. 

The shipbuilder is most famous for building the Titanic more than a century ago. 

DP World and NSW Ports are co-investing A$400m ($250m) to extend the rail terminal at Port Botany in Sydney to double capacity to more than 1m teu per year.

The project – which will start on site in June and take two years to compete – comprises the addition of five new rail sidings to accommodate 600 m long regional trains.

Marika Calfas, CEO of NSW Ports, said: “This new rail terminal will enable more containers to be moved by rail, reducing the growth of trucks on roads and will deliver greater efficiency for the state’s container supply chains. Port Botany is uniquely the only port in Australia with on-dock rail within each container terminal, connected to an extensive network of metropolitan and regional intermodal terminals including by dedicated freight rail.”

Dutch owner Anthony Veder has bought the Yas, a 9,000 cu m ethylene carrier from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for an undisclosed price, renaming it Coral Palmata. The gas carrier addition takes Anthony Veder’s fleet to 29 ships.

Jan Valkier, CEO of Anthony Veder, said: “We are very proud to serve our customers even more flexibility and efficiency thanks to the addition of Coral Palmata. Built in 2014, the renamed Coral Palmata is the youngest ethylene carrier worldwide in her segment and will contribute to the rejuvenation of our fleet.”

Last year Anthony Veder became the first gas shipowner to install wind tech, with two ethylene carriers in its fleet now sporting VentoFoils from Dutch compatriot Econowind on their decks.