The shipping news you might have missed over the past fortnight
December 18 was the last issue of Daily Splash, our free newsletter. In the intervening 17 days, the Splash editorial team has been updating the site regularly with the shipping news agenda showing no signs of slowing down during the festive season. Key maritime developments you might have missed over the past couple of weeks are detailed below.
Houthi strikes at merchant shipping in the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza continued to dominate shipping headlines with one in five ships now electing to avoid the Red Sea and take longer routes via southern Africa.
The Israeli war with Hamas also saw Genoa-based liner Kalypso Compagnia di Navigazione file for liquidation in late December. The war had crippled the Italian containerline. A charter conflict broke out between Kalypso and Zhonggu Shipping with the Chinese tonnage provider refusing to allow its four 2,518 teu ships to call in Israel.
The other big container news came from Seoul where Harim Group, along with a local private equity partner, was selected by state creditors as the winning party to take a majority stake in South Korea’s flagship carrier, HMM. Harim Group is best known for its poultry business, but it already has a sizeable exposure in shipping, having bought Pan Ocean, one of the nation’s largest bulk owners, a few years ago.
In terms of big deals concluded in recent days, the Saverys family-controlled Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB) moved to join one of Europe’s best-known tanker brands Euronav and its clean tech division, CMB.TECH in a $1.15bn cash deal.
In related news, Carl-Antoine Saverys has taken the helm from Francis Mottrie at his father Nicolas Saverys-controlled gas shipowner Exmar.
Also stepping up, Arsenio Dominguez Velasco became the 10th secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as of January 1, taking over from Kitack Lim.
January 1 also saw the largest regional green regulations in the history of shipping come into effect with the industry included in the European Union’s emissions trading system (EU ETS). Vessels visiting EU ports will be required to offset their applicable CO2 voyage emissions through the purchase of an equivalent number of EU Allowances (EUAs).
The EU also recently unveiled its 12th package of sanctions against Russia, with tankers very much included in the set of restrictions. The new sanctions call for notification rules for the sale of tankers to any third country in order to make more transparent their sale and export, in particular in the case of secondhand carriers that could be used to evade the import ban on Russian crude or petroleum products and the G7 price cap.
In dry bulk, George Economou made a move on another publicly listed shipowner, with US dry bulk player Genco Shipping & Trading becoming the latest in line to attract his interest. The Greek shipping magnate picked up a 5.4% stake in the New York-listed Genco.
Canadian owner CSL, meanwhile, partnered with Adelaide Brighton Cement (Adbri) to build and operate the world’s first fully electric battery-capable self-unloading bulk carrier. The 11,000 dwt ship is expected for delivery from an unnamed shipyard in early 2026.
Other significant deals included the news from Hamburg on December 21 with Wilhelmsen Ship Management and MPC Capital agreeing to acquire 100% of the company Zeaborn Ship Management.
Finally, 110-year-old Maersk Broker completed a management and employee buyout from its long-standing owners, the Mc-Kinney Møller family. The Copenhagen-based ship brokerage will continue to operate under its new name, MB Shipbrokers.
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