Viking Cruises recently announced the launch of its ocean product line, Viking Ocean Cruises, marking the introduction of the travel industry’s first new cruise line in nearly a decade.

Two newly built environmental service vessels—the boom layers and oil/debris skimmers of the R 2010 design were launched at Zvezda shipyard.

The release earlier this month of an official Chinese government report showing that the threats that country faces come mostly from the sea serves to underscore the importance of safeguarding national security through effective maritime security.

THE Indonesian port operator, PT Pelindo I, has posted a 18.2 per cent increase in first quarter volume to 378,308 TEU across its 13 ports, reported the Jakarta Post.

CONTINUING recession in Europe is badly timed for ocean carriers with deliveries of an armada of ultra large container vessels coming before the end of the year, says analysts at Drewry Maritime Research in London.

BANGKOK's Regional Container Line (RCL) is to swop slots on the China-Jebel Ali leg of Far East-Middle East service, FMX/AGX 2, operated jointly by Hanjin, UASC and CSAV Norasia.

PANAMA Canal Administrator Jorge Quijano has accompanied Maersk Line CEO Soren Skou on a visit of the Panama Canal expansion works that are currently under construction.

DENMARK's AP Moller-Maersk group posted a 30 per cent drop in first quarter profits to US$790 million year on year with Maersk Line, its container shipping unit, reporting a profit of $204 million against a year-on-year loss of $599 million.

CHINA'S largest port operator, Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), posted a 3.9 per cent year-on-year increase in April container volume to 2.83 million TEU with overall tonnage rising 6.2 per cent to 45.66 million tonnes, reports Xinhua.

THE Port of Hamburg maintained its container traffic volumes in the first three months of the year at 2.2 million TEU on par with same period in 2012, over half were attributed to Asian trade at 1.2 million TEU.

THE Port of Long Beach has posted a 12.5 per cent year-on-year container volume growth in April to 519,464 TEU.

Ghost Yachts has announced the new Ghost G180F, an innovative 55­m high-performance yacht developed in cooperation with leading Dutch yacht builder Feadship.

Sold by Moran Yacht & Ship in January 2012, the project Stimulus becomes a reality. The 65.5m superyacht has been launched by Palmer Johnson this weekend under her definitive name Lady M.

Setting out to build an ultra-high-performance cruising monohull, Danish Yachts has joined forces with Infiniti Yachts with an exclusive agreement to build the Infiniti 100S, featuring the patented Dynamic Stability System (DSS) by Hugh Welbourn.

Chantier Davie Canada Inc. (Davie) yesterday announced the conclusion of a two ship order from La Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ).

DEUTSCHE Post DHL has claimed three prestigious awards of Best Express Operator, Best Logistics Service Provider - Air Freight and Best 3PL at the 27th Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards (AFSCA) in Beijing.

MAERSK Container Industry (MCI) says its automatic ventilation system AV+ can save cargo owners and shippers up to 25 per cent in energy costs in refrigerated containers.

THE collapse of the German KG ship financing system leaves a hole in the small box ship market, which needs to be filled, particularly as smaller vessels need to be more fuel efficient and eco-friendly, says Drewry Maritime Research.

COSCO, Regional Container Line and OOCL is to launch a jointly-operated service connecting Central China, Thailand and Vietnam to be named RBC/CBS.

THE Hong Kong Marine Department has advised small craft to stay at least 100 metres away from the shore of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Heliport in Wanchai.

Maersk won the IMO 2013 themed award: “Sustainable Development – IMO’s contribution beyond Rio+20” in support of the IMO’s theme for World Maritime Day for 2013, at the 25th annual Seatrade Awards ceremony held in London recently.

Seadrill Limited has today completed the previously announced transaction to sell the T-15 tender rig to Seadrill Partners.

North-Western Shipping Company, JSC took delivery of the third self-propelled dry-cargo vessel of RSD49 project ‘NEVA-LEADER 3′ from Nevsky Shipyard on May 16th 2013.

Focal Marine & Offshore, a Singapore / Shanghai based OSV designer, has received a significant order for their 78m PSV (FOCAL 522) design, amounting up to 10 ships to be built at Xiamen Shipbuilding Industries in China.

The Great Eastern Shipping Co Ltd. (G E Shipping) has signed a contract to sell “Jag Ravi”, a Handymax dry bulk carrier. The 1997 built vessel of about 45,300 dwt will be delivered to the buyers in Q1FY14.

THE world's centre of economic gravity is shifting from west to east and the Abu Dhabi Port Company's (ADPC) ambitious AED26.5 billion (US$7.2 billion) port development aims to make the UAE a global maritime hub, reports the UAE's Gulf Business News.

THE eastern Yiwu city in Zhejiang province has been listed as an international dry port during the 69th session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), reports Xinhua.

MANILA's International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) continues to attract investors mainly due to the company's continuing profitability of the container terminal management sector, according to Drewry Maritime Equity Research (DMER).

MALAYSIA's MTT Shipping Sdn Bhd wants to buy two ships in the 1,200-TEU range to exploit the growing west-east Malaysian trade, adding to the five already in service, reports Bernama news agency.

CHINA Shipping Container Lines' (CSCL) CNY4.2 billion (US$683.9 million) new order for five 18,400 container ships with Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries has given confidence to investors about the shipbuilding market.

SCEPTICISM lingered from analysts reacting to news that China's trade grew at more than expected by 15.7 per cent in April after allegations that figures had been falsified, reports Reuters.

CHINA is investigating the dumping of seamless steel tubes and pipes in domestic markets by American, European and Japanese companies in response to complaints from Chinese producers, Reuters reports.

The European Union is threatening to impose sanctions against Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which has 25 per cent of the EU market, and its smaller rival ZTE Corp, over allegedly illegal export subsidies in the latest tit-for-tat anti-dumping war.

THE Port of Los Angeles April cargo volumes declined 9.5 per cent to 640,330 TEU compared to 707,182 TEU in the same month last year.

SIX shipping giants, CMA CGM, Maersk, Hamburg Sud, CSAV, China Shipping and Hanjin, will restructure Far East to South America east coast services with three new joint strings from July.

GERMANY's Hamburg Sud, the world's 12th biggest container shipping line, has declared a 2012 revenue increase of 16 per cent year on year to EUR4.8 billion (US$6.17 billion), but declined to reveal profit or loss figures.

GERMANY's Hapag-Lloyd, the world's sixth largest carrier, has announced it will increase the rates for westbound Asia-Europe trade by US$1,000 per TEU with effect from July 1.

FIGURES from the Hong Kong Marine Department show the port handled 1.7 million TEU in April, representing a year-on-year decline of 12.2 per cent from two million TEU in April last year.

Cargotec’s MacGregor has received EUR 22 million order to deliver a 900-tonne active heave-compensated (AHC) MacGregor subsea crane to the South Korean shipyard, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd.

Transocean Ltd., a Switzerland-based offshore drilling contractor, said in its monthly fleet update summary, providing information on the new contracts and significant changes to existing contracts.