Welcome to the MarRI-UK weekly roundup!
This week highlights continued momentum across UK maritime, with major offshore wind investments, naval developments and clean energy initiatives reinforcing the sector’s strategic importance. Globally, newbuild activity remains robust—particularly across LNG carriers, tankers and container vessels—despite capacity constraints and market uncertainty. Meanwhile, the ongoing Iran conflict continues to disrupt global shipping, driving volatility in freight markets, increasing operational risks and accelerating the need for resilient, low-carbon and secure maritime solutions.
This week’s highlight
- The 9th MTPC will be held at University of Strathclyde, Glasgow on 15-17 June 2026
- Survey request from project “Solutions for Decarbonisation Investments in Maritime SMEs”, please add your input via Decarbonisation Investments in the Maritime Industry, to support maritime SMEs challenges when adopting decarbonisation equipment.
- UK earmarks shipyards as critical for national security Read more
MarRI-UK Member’s and Partner’s News
- (25/03) New contract for training and support to Turkish Typhoon aircraft Read more
- (25/03) Babcock Launches Second Type 31 Frigate – HMS Active Read more
- (24/03) BAE Systems announces Partner 2 Win Supplier of the Year award winners Read more
- (20/03) Strathclyde-supported start-up secures backing to develop lower-cost wind energy Read more
- (20/03) Lloyd’s Register certifies another remotely operated uncrewed vessel Read more
UK Maritime
- (27/03) UK government funds Port Talbot as floating wind gateway Read more
- (26/03) Confidence in Situational Awareness for MASS: Building the Future Testing Capability in the UK to Support a Thriving Maritime Autonomy Sector Read more
- (26/03) UK’s LCCC Signs Contracts for Difference with AR7 Winners Read more
- (26/03) Smulders HSM Starts Building East Anglia Two Offshore Substation Read more
- (26/03) First Hornsea 3 OWF offshore export cable in place Read more
- (26/03) New oil & gas UK offshore hub for Serica with TotalEnergies’ assets in the bag Read more
- (26/03) Royal Navy prepares to board Russian shadow fleet vessels in UK waters Read more
- (25/03) Venterra’s GeoForce joins Reach Subsea on second Shetland HVDC link Read more
- (25/03) €693 million financing to support UK’s subsea electricity superhighway Read more
- (25/03) Sleipnir Installs First Hornsea 3 Offshore Substation Jacket Foundation Read more
- (25/03) Ofgem Shortlists Five Bidders for East Anglia Three, Inch Cape and Dogger Bank C Offshore Transmission Assets Read more
- (25/03) Vestas Unveils Plans for V236-15.0 MW Nacelle Factory in Scotland Read more
- (25/03) Leonardo da Vinci finishes cabling in UK waters for NeuConnect, goes to the Netherlands Read more
- (25/03) Rolls-Royce SMR, Studsvik enhance collaboration Read more
- (25/03) UK’s second Type 31 frigate HMS Active completes float-off Read more
- (25/03) UK’s destroyer, able to track hundreds of targets simultaneously, arrives in Eastern Med Read more
- (25/03) EnerMech wins five-year deal on Bumi Armada FPSO Read more
- (25/03) Ofgem shortlists bidders for $4.7bn offshore wind links Read more
- (24/03) Navantia Secures Funding to Expand Manufacturing Capacity at Arnish Yard Read more
- (24/03) NDA launches waste container standardisation initiative Read more
- (24/03) Second UK CO2 storage licensing round yields interest for over 2 million North Sea acres Read more
- (23/03) UK Maritime Industry Input Sought for YES to Shipping Forum at Posidonia 2026 Read more
- (23/03) Investment to support growth at Arnish Read more
- (23/03) NorthStandard backs crew nudges to cut ship emissions Read more
- (23/03) BP and ADNOC’s JV ready to kick off Mediterranean gas hunt with Valaris rig Read more
- (23/03) $1 billion boost for AUKUS: US expands submarine support to UK Read more
- (23/03) London marine insurers claim 88% appetite to underwrite war risk Read more
- (20/03) Offshore vessel charging tech developer plans commercial rollout in UK Read more
- (20/03) Ørsted-Backed UK Programme Selects Two Firms for AI Offshore Wind O&M Solutions Read more
- (20/03) Wales introduces new deal to drive its renewable energy potential Read more
Newly added Funding Opportunities – access the full list via MarRI-UK: Maritime Funding Opportunities
- Call for tenders on “Time Charter Tug Hire May 2026” Submit before 22 April 2026
- Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition 7 Apply before 15 July 2026
- ERC Advanced Grant Apply before 27 August 2026
- Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure 2: Alternative Fuels Apply before 16 September 2026
- Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure 2: Electric Power Apply before 16 September 2026
- Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure 2: Energy Efficiency Apply before 16 September 2026
Events Highlight
- 31 March 2026 – SAF Café Series – Spotlight on Advanced Fuel Fund FOAK Projects – Online
- 14 April 2026 – DfT Academic Engagement Event 2026 – Birmingham, UK
Publication
- LR: Engine retrofit capability builds as regulatory uncertainty delays conversions Download
- LR Summary Report: IMO Facilitation Committee (FAL 50) Download
- LR Class News: 06/2026: UK ETS extends to domestic maritime sector Download
- DNV-RP-F123 Hydrogen pipeline systems (Recommended practice) Read more
- DNV: Energy Industry Insights 2026 Main Report Download
- HENSOLDT publishes its 2025 Annual Report Read more
Global Maritime News
Offshore Renewable Energy
- (26/03) Quebec’s Power Utility Eyeing Link to Nova Scotia Offshore Wind Farms Read more
- (25/03) RWE Opens O&M Base for Thor Offshore Wind Farm Read more
- (25/03) EU, France Grant EUR 126 Million for BW Ideol’s Floating Foundation Factory Read more
- (25/03) Denmark wins European Commission approval for $5.7bn wind push Read more
- (24/03) First Power Flows from Biggest US Offshore Wind Farm Read more
- (24/03) EU Approves EUR 5 Billion Danish Offshore Wind CfD Scheme Read more
- (24/03) Stillstrom, Faber Group and Prysmian launch offshore charging pilot project Read more
- (24/03) TotalEnergies exits US offshore wind in $928m Trump deal Read more
- (23/03) Taiwanese wave energy project secures land lease Read more
- (23/03) Formosa 2 Partners Reach Financial Close on ‘Asia-Pacific’s First Offshore Wind Refinancing’ Read more
- (23/03) BorWin Kappa Jacket Foundation Installed Offshore Germany Read more
- (20/03) All Transition Pieces In Place at Baltic Power Offshore Wind Farm Read more
- (20/03) Siemens Gamesa Orders Baltica 2 Wind Turbine Towers from Polish Manufacturer Read more
- (20/03) Swedish County Backs Part of 1 GW Västvind Offshore Wind Project Read more
- (20/03) First Turbine Installed at Hai Long 3 Offshore Wind Farm Read more
Clean Maritime
- (27/03) Uncertainty Complicates Efforts To Prioritise Shipping Investments Amid Today’s Decarbonisation Regulations – Yet Delaying Action Is Not A Viable Strategy, Wärtsilä Survey Finds Read more
- (27/03) Norsepower and COSCO team up to mass-produce rotor sails Read more
- (26/03) Woodside delays lower-carbon ammonia production from recently taken-over facility Read more
- (25/03) Scenic Cruise selects Hybrid-electric propulsion package for luxury polar expedition vessel Read more
- (24/03) Norway: Northern Lights starts injecting first CO2 from wastewater Read more
- (23/03) Dorian LPG takes over newbuild dual-fuel LPG and ammonia gas carrier Read more
- (20/03) US calls for abandonment of IMO’s NZF Read more
Nuclear Energy
- (26/03) NASA aims for nuclear-powered Mars mission in 2028 Read more
- (26/03) Singapore to bolster nuclear safety capabilities Read more
- (25/03) Deep Isolation further validates borehole technology Read more
- (25/03) German energy minister calls nuclear phase-out ‘huge mistake’ Read more
- (24/03) Nucleareurope releases action plan to stimulate EU nuclear investments Read more
- (24/03) Data centre to be built near planned Polish nuclear power plant Read more
- (23/03) Vietnam, Russia sign agreement on new nuclear plant Read more
- (23/03) Application submitted for Swedish SMR plant Read more
- (20/03) IAEA warning of risks of losing off-site power Read more
- (20/03) Framatome to supply low-enriched fuel for Belgium’s BR2 research reactor Read more
Ports
- (27/03) How ports are hardening against grey-zone threats at sea Read more
- (26/03) West Australia LNG and iron ore ports closed as cyclone approaches Read more
- (25/03) ICTSI exits Chinese port joint venture in Yantai Read more
- (25/03) Ukraine targets Ust-Luga Read more
- (23/03) APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas starts Phase III expansion Read more
- (23/03) Ukraine strikes Primorsk port Read more
- (23/03) Maersk launches $150m logistics hub in Singapore Read more
Navy
- (27/03) HII to expand ROMULUS USV assembly facility Read more
- (26/03) Thales rolls out hybrid mine warfare system integrating manned and unmanned assets Read more
- (26/03) US DIU taps L3Harris for torpedo tube AUV launch and recovery capability Read more
- (26/03) CACI gets $85M US Navy contract for ship and submarine engineering support Read more
- (25/03) US Navy awards $15.3 contract modification to GDEB for Columbia and Virginia-class subs Read more
- (25/03) Cellula Robotics wins contract to deliver AUV prototype for US Read more
- (24/03) USS Gerald R. Ford pulls into Souda Bay for repairs after Red Sea fire Read more
- (24/03) Latvian shipbuilder launches naval division, unveils tactical catamaran Read more
- (24/03) Carrier Air Wing 7 sees command change ahead of deployment on USS George H.W. Bush Read more
- (24/03) Naval Group and METLEN team up on submarine and frigate projects Read more
- (24/03) Hanwha Ocean enters Greek naval market through partnership with ONEX Read more
- (24/03) TKMS and ST Engineering explore joint submarine service center in Singapore Read more
- (24/03) First welded 3D-printed component installed on US Navy’s Virginia-class sub Read more
- (24/03) Trump: Iran fired 101 missiles at USS Abraham Lincoln Read more
- (23/03) Germany plans four MEKO A-200 frigates Read more
- (20/03) US Navy awards contract for near hypersonic long-range missile Read more
Global Shipping & Newbuild
- (27/03) Norden moves into ice-class with LKAB deal and newbuild order Read more
- (26/03) Restis family backs fresh tanker order in Korea Read more
- (26/03) Gulf Energy Maritime in for MR tanker series at HD Hyundai Read more
- (26/03) The world is watching shipping — now what? Read more
- (26/03) COSCO resumes Gulf bookings Read more
- (26/03) Evergreen and Cosco axe Asia – Middle East services Read more
- (25/03) Chinese shipyard books GTT for tank design of LNG vessel quartet Read more
- (25/03) China drives 5% increase in iron ore shipments despite weak demand Read more
- (25/03) HD Hyundai to export know-how in pivot from building ships to building shipyards Read more
- (25/03) Celsius linked to fresh LNG carrier order at Samsung Heavy Read more
- (24/03) TS Lines returns to Mawei Shipbuilding for container newbuilds Read more
- (24/03) Cosco Shipping reports 6% rise in container shipping volume Read more
- (24/03) TS Lines expands boxship orderbook with $168m Mawei deal Read more
- (23/03) Jones Act waiver likely to boost tanker sector Read more
- (23/03) Purus adds to Samsung Heavy LNG series Read more
- (23/03) Bruton bolsters VLCC pipeline with four-ship order at CIMC Raffles Read more
- (23/03) Fredriksen back in dry bulk newbuilds with up to eight newcastlemaxes Read more
- (23/03) CIMC Raffles bags its first VLCC orders from Bruton Read more
Smart Maritime
- (26/03) From radio silence to autonomy: Redefining offshore operations Read more
- (25/03) New ‘industry’s first’ for Halliburton, ExxonMobil, Noble, Sekal, and Wells Alliance offshore Guyana Read more
- (23/03) Aker BP and Armada bring offshore modular data center to Norwegian drilling scene Read more
- (20/03) SBM Offshore interview: Advancing future-ready FPSOs through standardization, robotics, AI and lower‑carbon solutions Read more
Other news
- (27/03) Middle East war damage to energy assets mounts to $25bn Read more
- (27/03) Anchorage queues swell in Asia as war enters week five Read more
(27/03) Maersk shareholder call to halt Israeli arms related shipments rejected Read more
- (26/03) Another Japanese firm invests millions into EIG’s LNG business Read more
- (26/03) CoolCo’s nine LNG vessels sport revamped propulsion drives Read more
- (26/03) Drone strike hits sanctioned tanker off Istanbul Read more
- (25/03) North Sea oil discovery adds low-cost barrels for OKEA with resource estimate boost Read more
- (25/03) Iron Maiden escapes the Strait of Hormuz to Western Australia Read more
- (25/03) Middle East conflict: Energy security risks and price shocks as market volatility hits supply chains Read more
- (25/03) LNG Shock: From Supply Disruption to System Strain Read more
- (25/03) ADES scales down Gulf rig activity citing safety concerns Read more
- (25/03) CK Hutchison’s damages claims against Panama expand to over $2bn Read more
- (24/03) German shipowners seek to make seafaring part of national service Read more
- (24/03) Saudi Arabia loosens vessel document rules due to Iran conflict Read more
- (24/03) Thai tanker passes through the Strait of Hormuz Read more
- (24/03) Russia builds LNG dark fleet Read more
- (24/03) New footage exposes conditions on livestock ship stuck for weeks Read more
- (24/03) NAT trumpets tanker fixtures including $175,000 per day for a Suezmax Read more
- (23/03) QatarEnergy: Missile attacks spur $20 billion loss with drop in LNG exports Read more
- (23/03) Will it be onwards and upwards for the dry bulk market in 2026? Read more
- (23/03) Iran signals possible indefinite Hormuz closure Read more
- (21/03) Tankers: 40% of the Global Seaborne Crude Oil Exports Affected by the War in the Middle East Read more
- (20/03) South Asia’s $107 billion LNG gamble facing finance and energy supply threats amid Middle East conflict Read more
- (20/03) Japanese player to pour $500 million into EIG’s LNG business Read more
Maritime Events Archive
- 31 March – 1 April 2026 – Ocean Connect Asia 2026 – Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore
- 14 April 2026 – South West Clean Maritime Demonstrator Conference – Bristol, UK
- 15 April 2026 – Lean Thinking for Maritime Operations – BMW MINI Industry Visit – Oxford, UK
- 15 April 2026 – Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI2) National Briefing Event – London, UK
- 16 April 2026 – UK Flag Forum 2026: Innovation, Safety & Sustainable Growth – London, UK
- 16 April 2026 – SMI Member Briefing – Online
- 20-24 April 2026 – Singapore Maritime Week 2026 – Singapore
- 22 April 2026 – Future of Hydrogen & Grid Integration – Blyth, UK
- 5 May 2026 – Security and Resilience – London, UK
- 13-14 May 2026 – ALL ENERGY – Glasgow, UK
- 18-21 May 2026 – TRA2026 ReGeneration in transport – Budapest, Hungary
- 19-21 May 2026 – NAVALIA 2026 International Shipbuilding Exhibition – Vigo, Spain
- 27-28 May 2026 – Subsea Security Summit and Expo 2026 – London, UK
- 31 May – 5 June 2026 – ISOPE-2026 – Orlando, USA
- 1-6 June 2026 – POSIDONIA 2026 – Athens, Greece
- 2 June 2026 – Nuclear in Maritime: Powering NextGen Shipping and Boosting Energy Security – Athens, Greece
- 3-4 June 2026 – UK PORTS CONFERENCE – London, UK
- 7-12 June 2026 – OMAE 2026 – Tokyo, Japan
- 9-11 June 2026 – Seawork 2026 – Southampton, UK
- 15-17 June 2026 – 9th UK Marine Technology Postgraduate Conference (MTPC) – Glasgow, UK
- 16-17 June 2026 – Global Offshore Wind 2026 – Manchester, UK
- 16-18 June 2026 – Autonomous Ship Expo – Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 17-18 June 2026 – Ocean Tech Expo 26 – Plymouth, UK
- 17 June 2026 – Accelerating Nuclear for Energy Generation and Shipping – London, UK
- 18 June 2026 – Cross-Sector Battery Showcase – Advancing Innovation Across Industries – Leicester, UK
- 22-26 June 2026 – Mastering Shipbuilding Management (2026) – Liverpool, UK
- 24-25 June 2026 – Clean Maritime Assembly 2026 – Durham, UK
- 26-28 August 2026 – ICMTI 2026 – Liverpool, UK
- 10-12 November 2026 – IMarEST | INEC/iSCSS 2026 – Edinburgh, UK
- 7-10 September 2027 – DSEI 2027 – London, UK
- 13-17 September 2027 – London International Shipping Week – London, UK
To subscribe/unsubscribe, or share your feedback on the content, please get in touch with xue.xu@strath.ac.uk or marri-uk-dmem@strath.ac.uk.