Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and Mitsubishi Corp have both bought minority stakes in SBM Offshore's FPSO Turritella. The partners will contribute $590m in cash payments to the joint venture companies which own and operate the FPSO, with the first $446m payment made today. NYK has bought a 30% interest, and Mitsubishi has acquired a 15% stake, with SBM Offshore holding the remaining 55%. Under construction in Singapore, the FPSO is due to be delivered and go on-hire in 2016 with Shell...

Maersk Line announced today that it has signed a contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the construction of nine 14,000 teu ships worth a total of $1.1bn.   The contract, signed by Maersk and HHI in Copenhagen today, includes options for a further eight vessels. The Singapore-flagged, 353 m-length vessels will join the Maersk fleet in 2017, and are the latest step in Maersk's $15bn investment programme which it announced last year.   Previous orders under the programme ...

South Korean shipbuilding conglomerate Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) is in talks with several unnamed shipping companies on potential order for a total of up to 11 vessels this July.   Namely, HHI and its Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. arm could win orders for as many as 11 vessels in July, Ka Sam Hyun, a senior executive vice president in charge of ship sales at HHI told Bloomberg.   According to Ka, aside to containerships the shipbuilder also expects to win orde...

China has extended a subsidy program that encourages shipping companies to scrap old vessels by two years. The move is a bid to support an industry struggling to emerge from a global downturn.   The scheme, which began in 2013 and was due to end this year, gives shipping lines grants of 1,500 yuan ($241.67) per gross ton to replace old vessels with newer, more environmentally friendly models.   These subsidies helped state-backed shippers including China COSCO and China Shipping ...