The Shanghai Research and Design Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) has received in-principle approval for the construction of a dual-fuel container ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) with a capacity of 27,500 TEU. This is 3,000 TEUs larger than the largest existing ships owned by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which have a capacity of 24,346 TEUs.
The CHERISH2O (CHEmical industry water Reuse In a Sustainable Harbour) project has been launched in the Port of Antwerp. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges, VITO, essenscia, VMM and Antea Group are working with 12 companies, including Ashland, BASF, Bayer, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, to explore the possibility of large-scale wastewater treatment for reuse in production. This will help reduce water consumption and mitigate the risk of water shortages in drought conditions.
In February 2025, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will launch an operational collaboration called Gemini Cooperation, aimed at creating a flexible and interconnected maritime network with a high schedule reliability of over 90%. The joint network will cover East-West shipping and will be a significant step in the long-term cooperation between the two companies announced in January 2024.
Transportation and logistics company HMM plans to invest more than $17.5 billion in its business development by 2030. About $8.1 billion will be spent on maintaining the existing container fleet of 130 vessels with a total capacity of 1.55 million TEU. The company also plans to acquire about 70 eco-friendly vessels to meet the growing demand for “green” transportation.
The Port of Klaipeda has become one of the leaders in environmental protection among European seaports. Singapore-based shipping company X-Press Feeders has included the Port of Klaipeda in the route of its container ships powered by green methanol. The vessel using this sustainable fuel, Eco Umande, has called at the port for the first time, starting a new era of environmentally friendly shipping. Eco Umande will call at the port every two weeks.
The Port of Duisburg, a historic maritime hub, has officially opened the Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT). This modern inland terminal, the largest in Europe, marks a turning point in the port’s 300-year history.
Polish refiner Orlen has signed a long-term agreement with Lithuania’s KN Energies, giving it exclusive access to the Klaipeda terminal for small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) transhipment. This will allow the company to increase gas supplies to north-eastern Poland and the Baltics. The new agreement will be valid until March 2030.
The development of Kazakhstan’s ports on the Caspian Sea opens up significant prospects for the country. Lidiya Parkhomchik, a leading expert at the Institute of World Economy and Politics, emphasized that the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) plays a special role in Kazakhstan’s transport strategy. The route connects the ports of Aktau and Kuryk with Baku, providing an important multimodal corridor for cargo transportation. It is expected that in 2024, the volume of transportation along the TITR will increase from 2.7 to 4.2 million tons.
The new cruise ship Mein Schiff 7 of the German company TUI Cruises visited the port of Riga for the first time. Commissioned in June this year, the 316-meter-long and 35.8-meter-wide ship is one of the largest ships calling at the port this season. The liner can accommodate 2,896 passengers and 1,447 crew members. This is the first ship in the Mein Schiff fleet to run on methanol and the future “green” methanol, making it virtually carbon neutral.
A contract for a magnetic scan of the seabed was signed at the headquarters of ZMPSiŚ SA as part of the project “Construction of a sea and rail access to the deep-sea container terminal in the outer port of Świnoujście”. The contractor chosen was UXO Marine Sp. z o.o. from Rumia, specializing in geophysical surveys in the Baltic Sea.
