Seaspan has reached investment grade status after Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) upgraded its issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to BBB- from BB+, Seaspan announced on August 27. KBRA also affirmed Seaspan’s senior secured debt rating at BBB.
Two of Maersk’s largest container ships passed through the Suez Canal together on August 22, Maritime Executive reports. The move is part of Maersk’s efforts to return more vessels to the Suez-Red Sea route and improve sailing efficiency.
More than 90 seafarers are being held by pirates and armed robbers in the Gulf of Aden and nearby waters as piracy resurges in the region, Splash 247 reports, citing the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Canada’s largest icebreaker, CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, reached the North Pole on August 16 during its 2026 Arctic mission, Maritime Executive reports. The vessel is collecting scientific data to help Canada map the limits of its continental shelf under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Helsinki Shipyard has won a contract to build Finland’s next icebreaker, Splash 247 reported. The 96-meter vessel, named Aino, will replace the 1954-built Voima. Construction is planned to start in 2027, with delivery scheduled for September 2029. Sata Shipbuilding in Pori will produce the steel and ship blocks, while final assembly will take place in Helsinki.
Container shipping is slowly returning to the Suez Canal as major carriers reassess the security risks in the Red Sea. The Maritime Executive reports that MSC is the latest major carrier to test the route.
A.P. Moller - Maersk may move away from its long-standing containership fleet limit as CEO Vincent Clerc prepares the company for further fleet growth, The Maritime Telegraph reports.
For years, Maersk kept its fleet capacity around 4m-4.4m TEU. New vessels mainly replaced older ships. But the company has now moved well above that level.
Two tankers linked to Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) were hit by drones while leaving the Strait of Hormuz. The attacks came just one day after reports that ADNOC was expanding a shuttle operation to move Iraqi crude through the key waterway. GCaptain reported the incidents on August 14.
Grimaldi Group has a new flagship ship. According to The Maritime Telegraph, the company just received MV Grande Pacifico. It is now the largest car-carrying ship (PCTC) in Grimaldi's fleet. The ship was built by China Merchants Heavy Industries Jiangsu. It is the first of five new sister ships.
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are expanding their return to the Red Sea by adding Jeddah to the AE15 service under the Gemini Cooperation. The Maritime Telegraph reports that the new call will restore a direct connection with Saudi Arabia while security risks in the region remain high.
Transworld Shipping Lines has agreed to sell its largest containership, SSL Brahmaputra, to DP World-controlled Avana Logistek for $11.4m, according to Splash 247.
The 4,250-TEU vessel was built in 2003 and joined the Shreyas fleet in 2017 after being acquired as Queens Quay. Renamed SSL Brahmaputra, it became the company’s largest containership at the time.
The MSC Silvana VIII has partially sunk off Zhoushan, China, after salvage teams failed to refloat the vessel, The Maritime Telegraph reports.
The 20-year-old, 332-metre containership entered the Zhoushan ship repair area on June 22 after arriving from Gwangyang, South Korea. The vessel appears to have grounded when Typhoon Bavi hit Zhejiang last month.
