Taiwan has blacklisted 52 Chinese-owned ships that operate under flags of convenience.

The crackdown follows the severing of a subsea communications cable near Taiwan at the beginning of January. Taiwan’s National Coast Guard Administration identified a Cameroon-registered cargo ship, Shunxin 39 (pictured), as the suspect in the incident.

Taipei will now target vessels flagged under countries like Cameroon, Tanzania, Mongolia, Togo, and Sierra Leone, where it deems ship registration processes often lack stringent safety and regulatory standards.

Of the 52 vessels identified, 15 were deemed threats due to their extended presence in Taiwanese waters over the past year. Among these, one vessel was flagged as a “high threat,” with several others categorised as posing medium or lower levels of risk.

Earlier this month, the Shunxin 39 was ordered to return to waters near the Port of Keelung to be investigated. Due to rough weather, coast guard officers were not able to board the ship for investigation and could not detain it. The ship continued on its way to South Korea.

It was later revealed that the vessel belongs to Hong Kong-based Jie Yang Trading headed by a Chinese citizen.

Taiwan’s National Security Bureau said earlier this month ships which have previously been found to misreport information will be put on a list of ships for priority inspection at ports.

Moreover, if these ships enter within 24 nautical miles of Taiwan’s coast and are close to where undersea cables are, the coast guard will be dispatched to board them and investigate.

Other ships hanging around the Taiwanese coastline have sparked concern. For instance, the Belize-flagged Russian general cargo vessel, Vasily Shukshin, left Russia’s Vostochnyy port on December 8 and loitered off Taiwan’s coast on December 19, according to Ray Powell, director of Stanford University-affiliated maritime analyst group SeaLight.

Powell said the vessel was “aimlessly criss-crossing” the area near Taiwan’s Fangshan undersea cable landing station for three and a half weeks “for no apparent reason,” but that it had since started to return to Russia earlier this week.

According to data provider Windward, the frequency of underwater infrastructure sabotage has increased from just two incidents in 2000 to 75 incidents in 2024 with the seas around Taiwan as well as the Baltic becoming hotspots for ships deliberately dragging anchors to take out critical subsea infrastructure.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority has seized a ship suspected of damaging un underwater fiber optic cable linking Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland yesterday, the latest in a series of undersea sabotage attacks plaguing the Baltic region.

The ship in question this time is the 32,200 dwt, Maltese-flagged oil tanker Vezhen, which was sailing from Russia. The vessel is owned by Navibulgar from Bulgaria. 

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.

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. 

Spot rates for LNG carriers are now at all-time lows, although some analysts believe the shipping sector is close to bottoming out. 

Citing an “overwhelming oversupply” of units competing for limited employment opportunities, Clarksons Research noted in its latest weekly report, published on Friday, that spot rates have fallen to new record lows. Unlike many other shipping segments, the proportion of LNG carriers trading spot is very small, but nevertheless the dire trading conditions are eroding longer term charter deals too. 

The average spot rate assessment for a 174,000 cu m ship fell by 31% to $14,000 a day as of last Friday, while the equivalent rate for a 145,000 cu m steam turbine unit now stands at just $2,500 a day, down 29% week-on-week. Protracted weakness, especially for older steam turbine units, is seeing more vintage gas tankers head for demolition, while many owners are contemplating lay-ups as a record volume of newbuilds readies to leave Asian drydocks. 

“General fundamentals are weak,” analysts at broker Braemar noted in a recent report. 

Looking at this week, Braemar said it would be monitoring the ongoing cold spell in the US as well as owners’ intention when it comes to laying up their ships or not. 

Some analysts do believe that the market is close to bottoming out. 

Speaking last week at Marine Money’s London gathering, Dr Adam Kent, who heads up British consultancy Maritime Strategies International, argued that LNG of all shipping segments is the one best poised for an uptick.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority has seized a ship suspected of damaging un underwater fiber optic cable linking Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland yesterday, the latest in a series of undersea sabotage attacks plaguing the Baltic region.

The ship in question this time is the 32,200 dwt, Maltese-flagged oil tanker Vezhen, which was sailing from Russia. The vessel is owned by Navibulgar from Bulgaria. 

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.

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. 

There has been a remarkable doubling of the amount of project cargoes leaving China on dry bulk carriers over the past year.

Citing AIS satellite dry bulk carrier movement data from AXSMarine, Greece’s Ursa Shipbrokers has tallied that project cargo exports carried by dry bulk carriers from China to international destinations amounted to 3m tonnes in 2024, requiring the equivalent of 3.99m tonnes of vessel deadweight utilisation for transportation. These figures represent increases of 106% and 103% year-on-year from 2023, respectively.

“The term ‘project cargo’ encompasses various shipments, such as machinery, vehicles, and oversized cargoes, including wind turbine blades, among others,” Ursa explained in a note to clients. 

The number of dry bulk carriers involved in project cargo exports from China, as well as the total project cargo-related voyages, also increased by 58% and 60% year-on-year. In total, 158 dry bulk carriers were engaged in 2024, participating in 160 project cargo voyages originating from China, according to Ursa.

UK consultancy Drewry noted in a recent report that dedicated project cargo tonnage remains tight going into 2025.

“A tight supply of project cargo [vessel capacity] will persist due to a low orderbook, resulting in higher charter rates. Furthermore, if delays in deliveries increase in 2025, we may see rates surging next year for project cargo,” Drewry stated in a recent report. 

German MPP specialist Candler Schiffahrt has bolstered its orderbook at China’s Jiangxi New Jiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry in a deal for two additional vessels.

The Bremen-based company has contracted the 12,000 dwt brace for an undisclosed price tag following a deal for four newbuildings last March.

Shipbuilding sources said the latest deal covers optional units the company secured through the initial order.

The 140 m long vessels have been developed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) to meet the EEDI Phase 3 and the IMO Tier III requirements for NOx emissions.

Candler currently operates four MPPs under its own management and several chartered-in ships.

The yard in Jiangxi, formerly known as Jiangzhou Union Shipbuilding, had also recently secured more orders from Dutch owner Mercurius Shipping for stainless steel chemical tankers.

Chinese boxship player SITC International Holdings has exercised options at Huanghai Shipbuilding for two additional 1,800 teu vessels.

The Hong Kong-listed shipowner is paying nearly $58m to lift the series at the compatriot yard to eight, with deliveries for the latest pair scheduled by October and December of 2027.

SITC signed a shipbuilding contract with Huanghai in June last year for four firm and six optional 1,800 teu newbuilds, meaning it has two more slots booked for potential future fleet expansion.

According to Alphaliner, the intra-Asia carrier ranks 14th in the global container shipping enterprises with a capacity of 181,811 teu spread across 116 vessels, including 102 self-owned.

Norwegian offshore wind contractor Havfram has landed another construction project in Europe.

The work, anticipated to last about one year, will be executed in 2029, utilising one of the company’s newbuild installation vessels, slated for delivery in the second half of 2025, Havfram said without disclosing further details.

This marks the company’s eighth contract for transport and installation support of turbines for large-scale offshore wind projects in Europe between 2026 and 2030.

Havfram is currently building a fleet of what it describes as one of the world’s most advanced offshore wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) at CIMC Raffles in China. The first WTIV is scheduled for delivery in August 2025, with the second newbuild joining the fleet in late Q4 2025.

Last October, the company inked a reservation agreement with an undisclosed client for one of its newbuilds with the expected start-up in the first quarter of 2029, after securing two offshore wind contracts in Germany from Luxcara and a partnership between Vattenfall and BASF, with utilisation secured for the newbuilds in 2027 and 2028.

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Maritime has secured more work for its fleet with three vessels fixed to undisclosed clients.

The company, which is expected to float on the Oslo Stock Exchange in the second quarter of this year, has landed a 135-day contract for the 2014-built construction support vessel (CSV) Normand Jarstein in West Africa, starting in March this year.

The deal with unspecified extension options attached covers subsea support services together with Omega Subsea, in which Solstad Maritime’s shareholder Solstad Offshore has close to a 36% stake.

Meanwhile, the 2009-built CSV Normand Australis has been contracted for up to 290 days for a renewable energy project in Taiwan. The contract starts in February, with firm fixture lasting 200 days.

Lastly, the 2009-built anchor handling tug supply unit Normand Scorpion has been hired for rig support work in Australia. The contract is for 78 days from January, with an option secured for an additional 42 days.

Earlier in January, Solstad also fixed its 2014-built CSV Normand Frontier until the end of 2027. The value of the contracts secured this month has not been revealed.