GeoLocation
SAAM Towage has ordered a second tug from Chilean yard ASENAV, adding to a vessel it already commissioned earlier this year. The new unit is a 32-metre Robert Allan RAstar 3200W design with more than 80 tonnes of bollard pull and IMO Tier III emissions controls.
ASENAV said its new RAstar 3200-W escort tug is about 50% complete at its Valdivia yard and is due for delivery in February 2027. The speculative-build vessel will have 80 tonnes of bollard pull and is being built without a prior contract.
Sata Shipbuilding has started construction of the first Arctic Security Cutter icebreaker for the United States Coast Guard in Pori. The first two vessels in the five-ship program will be built at Helsinki Shipyard with Sata support, with delivery of the first ship due in 2028.
Kenya closed the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa after President William Ruto said the country had made commitments worth $1.1bn for the blue economy. The three-day meeting was the first Our Ocean Conference held in Africa, and Kenya handed hosting duties for 2027 to Canada.
Hull assembly has begun in Helsinki for Polar Max, the Canadian icebreaker commissioned by the Government of Canada. The vessel started construction in August 2025 and will have its completed hull finished at Davie Shipbuilding’s yard in Québec in 2030.
Orskov Yard has welcomed the Canadian fishing vessel Sivulliq from Baffin Fisheries for a 25-year class renewal, major engine overhaul, propeller refurbishment and other maintenance work. The vessel crossed more than 3,000 nautical miles to reach Frederikshavn for the refit.
Davie Defense has won a U.S. Coast Guard contract to build five Arctic Security Cutters, with two of the vessels to be built in Finland at Helsinki Shipyard. The program is part of a plan for up to 11 cutters, and the first is due in 2028.
ASENAV has signed its first shipbuilding contract with SAAM for a next-generation tug to be built in Valdivia, Chile. The RAstar 3200-W vessel is due to join SAAM’s Canadian fleet in the first half of 2027 after about 15 months of construction.
Bollinger Shipyards has signed a contract with the U.S. Coast Guard to build four Arctic Security Cutters, a new class of medium polar icebreakers. The work will be based at the yard’s Houma, Louisiana, facility and supported by multiple Gulf Coast sites.
Bollinger Shipyards has named Commander Mark Matta, USCG (Ret.), as director of programs and Captain Peter Morisseau, USCG (Ret.), as Arctic Security Cutter program manager. The appointments come after the yard was selected to design and build six Arctic Security Cutters for the U.S. Coast Guard with an international team using a Multi-Purpose Icebreaker design.
Helsinki Shipyard will be one of the main partners of the Lux Helsinki light art festival this winter, using the event to spotlight the Polar Max icebreaker now under construction for the Canadian Coast Guard. The 2026 festival’s largest artwork, Rooms of Light, will feature the shipyard’s Hietalahti cranes, while steel block construction on Polar Max began in the summer in Helsinki and at Davie’s SATA Shipbuilding in the autumn.
ABB has secured a contract to supply the complete electric power and propulsion package for Polar Max, the new 22,800-tonne icebreaker being built for the Canadian Coast Guard. The vessel is being constructed by Helsinki Shipyard in Finland and Davie Shipbuilding in Quebec and is expected to enter service by 2030.