1. Hurricane Erin Surges To Category Five, First Of 2025 Atlantic Season. Hurricane Erin strengthened on Saturday into a “catastrophic” Category 5 hurricane north of the Caribbean islands, reaching the top of the five-step, Saffir-Simpson scale. Erin’s top winds, which have exploded from tropical storm strength early Friday, reached 160 miles per hour (257 kilometers) as the storm churned 105 miles north of Anguilla in the Leeward Islands, the US National Hurricane Center said in a special statement at 11:20 a.m. New York time.
https://gcaptain.com/hurricane-erin-surges-to-category-five-first-of-2025-atlantic-season/
2. US Mulled Use Of Russia Icebreakers For Gas Development Ahead Of Summit. The United States has had internal discussions on using Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker vessels to support the development of gas and LNG projects in Alaska as one of the possible deals to aim for when President Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin on Friday, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
https://gcaptain.com/us-mulled-use-of-russia-icebreakers-for-gas-development-ahead-of-summit/
3. Greenpeace protests hit Shell offshore gas platform. Greenpeace UK protesters have installed an artwork by artist Anish Kapoor onto a Shell platform in the North Sea.
The environmental non-profit group said the work was the world’s first artwork to be installed at an active offshore gas site, Skiff, a four-legged unmanned gas platform in the Clipper field in the Southern North Sea, approximately 70 km northeast from Bacton.
https://www.rivieramm.com/news-content-hub/greenpeace-protests-hit-shell-offshore-gas-platform-85827
4. Emissions tech venture secures UK grant for Southampton pilot. STAX Engineering and Seabound will deliver PortZero at Associated British Ports’ Southampton under a UK Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) award of US$1.5M, according to a STAX statement.The company said the four-party consortium comprises Seabound, ABP and Lomar Shipping, with the aim of demonstrating an integrated barge-based capture and control system at berth.
https://www.rivieramm.com/news-content-hub/emission-tech-venture-secures-uk-grant-for-southampton-pilot-85820
5. Emergency tow removes chemical tanker blockage in Poland. Fairplay Towage teams acted swiftly to unblock a Polish port after a chemical tanker suddenly lost power in a busy shipping fairway.Two of its tugboats, 2001-built Fairplay-73 and 2024-built Fairplay-83, responded immediately when 2003-built, Faroe Islands-flagged tanker Oktan suffered a blackout on 2 August, in the middle of the shipping lane and city centre, upon arrival to Świnoujście, Poland.
https://www.rivieramm.com/news-content-hub/emergency-tow-removes-chemical-tanker-blockage-in-poland-85772
6. More Than 40 Missing In Nigeria Boat Accident. More than 40 people were missing in a boat accident in Nigeria after a boat conveying 50 persons to a popular market in northwest Sokoto State capsized on Sunday, the country’s emergency agency said.The passengers were travelling to Goronyo market, a popular food produce market in the state, when the boat capsized. Ten people have been rescued, Zubaidar Umar, the head of the National Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement on social media platform X.
https://gcaptain.com/more-than-40-missing-in-nigeria-boat-accident/
7. Germany Condemns China’s ‘Aggressive Behaviour’ In South China Sea. Germany’s foreign minister on Sunday criticised what he called the “aggressive behaviour” of China in the Taiwan Strait ahead of a trip to Japan and Indonesia, and stressed the need to strengthen internationally binding rules.Speaking to reporters, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul praised Japan’s solidarity with Europe over Ukraine as he prepared to board a plane, and highlighted the importance and economic potential of the two populous Asian countries.
https://gcaptain.com/germany-condemns-chinas-aggressive-behaviour-in-south-china-sea/
8. US rejects IMO’s Net-Zero Framework: ING commentary. Following the announcement that the US has rejected the IMO’s Net-Zero framework and threatened retaliatory measures against countries that support it, Rico Luman, Senior Economist, Transport & Logistics, at ING, provides the following commentary
https://www.shipmanagementinternational.com/news/us-rejects-imos-net-zero-framework-ing-commentary
9. Final testing underway at Rijeka Gateway ahead of terminal opening. Rijeka Gateway, the region’s most technologically advanced container terminal, has entered its final testing phase with the arrival of its first container vessel – the M/V Cape Fulmar – and first test train – operated by ENNA Logic.
https://www.shipmanagementinternational.com/news/final-testing-underway-at-rijeka-gateway-ahead-of-terminal-opening
10. New shipping service introduced between Jeddah, Sudan, Djibouti and UAE. The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has announced the launch of the new shipping service RSX1, operated by GOODRICH, at Jeddah Islamic Port (JIP). The RSX1 service connects JIP with three key regional and international ports: Port Sudan in Sudan, Djibouti Port in Djibouti, and Jebel Ali Port in the UAE, with a handling capacity of 720 TEUs.
https://www.shipmanagementinternational.com/news/new-shipping-service-launched-between-jeddah-sudan-djibouti-and-uae