Columbia Shipmanagement, member of Columbia Group, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Qingdao-based Seacon Shipping Group to enable the Chinese company’s owned and operated vessels managed as clients out of CSM’s Greece office.

A fresh-faced 35-year old expat Greek shipping investor, has made headline reading this week after he declared his intention to run for the leadership of Syriza, Greece’s main opposition party, becoming the fifth candidate to enter the race.

German carrier Hapag-Lloyd is reported to have failed to make the cut for the next stage in the sale of the South Korean government’s controlling share in the country’s largest shipping line HMM.

A cargo airline has become must have for top container lines, but tanker and offshore wind vessel owner Scorpio Holding is building a significant stake in a low cost carrier

Shipping service company, Marcura Group, is to acquire maritime online procurement firm, ShipServ, to create what it describes as a ‘vertical software, data, payments and procurement platform focused on the maritime sector’.

Closure of the preliminary bids for HMM reportedly sees Hapag-Lloyd into the second round of the process, sparking a local debate on foreign ownership of the flag carrier.

Vessel inspection company for S&P transactions Idwal is expanding into Asia with a regional headquarters in Singapore.

As a second ship has made its escape from the war in Ukraine, the Kyiv government is struggling to agree a new insurance deal that will underwrite vessels using the new corridor.

Hapag-Lloyd has seen its profits fall and a massive decline in its liquidity, but the carrier has been named as one of the possible bidders for the South Korean carrier HMM.

Shipowners have been warned by Gard of the risk of fishing vessel collisions off the coast of China as a seasonal fishing ban is progressively lifted.