Business
UK secures £10bn deal to supply Norway with warships
Jonathan BealeDefence correspondent and
Jessica RawnsleyBBC News
UK MOD Crown CopyrightThe UK has secured a £10bn deal to supply the Norwegian navy with at least five new warships.
The agreement to provide Type 26 frigates will be the UK’s “biggest ever warship export deal by value”, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said, while Norway said it would be its largest “defence capability investment” to date.
The government said the deal would support 4,000 UK jobs “well into the 2030s”, including more than 2,000 at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyards where the frigates will be built.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the agreement would “drive growth and protect national security for working people”.
“This success is testament to the thousands of people across the country who are not just delivering this next generation capabilities for our Armed Forces but also national security for the UK, our Norwegian partners and Nato for years to come,” he added.
The deal is also expected to support more than 400 British businesses, including 103 in Scotland, the MoD said.
Speaking to the BBC, defence minister Luke Pollard called it the “biggest British warship deal in history” and “a huge vote of confidence in British workers and the British defence industry”.
But the move was criticised by some in Norway, including Tor Ivar Strømmen, a naval captain at the Norwegian Naval Academy, who said French and German frigates were superior to British.
“The British Navy builds vessels for one role,” he told Norwegian outlet NRK. “It simply has old-fashioned and quite limited air defence.”
The agreement represents a victory for the British government and defence industry over France, Germany and the United States – which were also being considered by Norway as possible vendors.
It will create a combined UK-Norwegian fleet of 13 anti-submarine frigates – eight British and five Norwegian vessels – to operate jointly in northern Europe, significantly strengthening Nato’s northern flank.
The warships will be constructed at the BAE Systems yard in the Govan area of Glasgow, where frigates for the Royal Navy are currently being built.
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the choice of the UK “demonstrates the tremendous success of our shipbuilding industry and showcases the world-class skills and expertise of our workforce on the Clyde”.
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who informed Sir Keir of the decision to select the UK in a phone call on Saturday night, said the partnership “represents a historic strengthening of the defence cooperation between our two countries”.
Støre said the government had weighed two questions in its decision: “Who is our most strategic partner? And who has delivered the best frigates?… The answer to both is the United Kingdom.”
PA MediaThe Type 26 frigates purchased by the Royal Norwegian Navy will be as similar as possible to those used by their British counterparts, and have the same technical specifications.
They are specifically designed to detect, track, and destroy enemy submarines, with deliveries expected to begin in 2030.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK would “train, operate, deter, and – if necessary – fight together” under the defence deal.
“Our navies will work as one, leading the way in Nato, with this deal putting more world-class warships in the North Atlantic to hunt Russian submarines, protect our critical infrastructure, and keep both our nations secure,” he added.
Citing this year’s strategic defence review, Pollard said Russia had been identified “as the principal threat to not just the UK’s security but NATO’s security”.
“A key threat of that is Russian submarines in the North Atlantic,” he told the BBC. “These new Type 26 frigates are world-class submarine hunters.”
PA MediaEight Type 26 frigates are currently being built at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyards for the Royal Navy, to replace its ageing Type 23 frigates – whose service life has already had to be extended.
It is not yet clear how the Norway deal will impact the delivery of the new vessels to the Royal Navy.
A UK defence source said the plan was still to deliver all 8 Type 26 frigates to the Royal Navy within the next decade. Norway has said it wants its first Type 26 delivered by 2029.
British officials told the BBC that the sequencing of delivery for both Norway and the UK still had to be worked out.
Two of the warships, HMS Glasgow and HMS Cardiff, have been built and are currently being fitted out at a second BAE shipyard, Scotstoun. They are due to enter service in 2028.
Another three, HMS Belfast, HMS Birmingham and HMS Sheffield, are under construction.
BAE has also licensed the Type 26 design to Canada and is building the warships in Australia under contract.
As part of a £300m modernisation at BAE Systems, a new shipbuilding hall – dubbed the “frigate factory” – was opened earlier this year.
The Janet Harvey Hall, named after a pioneering female electrician, is large enough for two frigates to be built simultaneously.
The Royal Navy is also buying 5 new Type 31 General Purpose Frigates – which are being built at Rosyth.
Business
Pakistan considering buying LNG on spot market to offset supply disruptions caused by Iran war: petroleum minister – SUCH TV
Pakistan is considering buying liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the spot market to offset supply disruptions caused by the Iran war, but would favour government-to-government deals to avoid having to pay steep premiums, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has told Reuters.
Qatar’s force majeure forced Pakistan to make costly spot purchases or find alternative fuels ahead of summer demand.
Spot LNG cargoes have surged to $20 to $30 per mmBtu amid the Middle East conflict, Malik says, adding that purchases would depend on whether prices are acceptable to the power sector, including under existing government-to-government arrangements with Azerbaijan’s Socar.
Pakistan has also been routing some crude supplies via Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, with Malik saying insurance costs on that route were lower than routes crossing or near Hormuz.
Pakistan imports nearly all of its oil, much of it via the Strait of Hormuz, and remains exposed to supply shocks despite cutting its LNG reliance in recent years, as gas is still needed to meet the country’s peak summer power demand.
It has begun commercial output from its highest-ever producing oil and gas well, as it shores up domestic supply.
“We have arrangements in place to meet domestic and industrial requirements,” Malik said, adding that gas disruptions have not led to major curbs, with eight of 10 fertiliser plants operating.
Officials are also considering the use of costlier fuels such as furnace oil to limit load shedding, although at the expense of higher tariffs. Malik warned that prolonged shortages could threaten food security.
The Baragzai X-01 well in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is producing about 15,000 barrels of oil per day and 45 million cubic feet of gas, with output expected to rise further, the state-run operator Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC) said.
The well could reach up to 25,000 barrels per day and 60 million cubic feet per day of gas, making it Pakistan’s highest-producing well, and may contribute around 10 per cent of crude output while cutting the country’s import bill by about $329 million annually, OGDC said.
The Carnival Miracle cruise ship is anchored in the Pacific Ocean near Kailua Bay during a 15-day cruise, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on Jan. 14, 2024.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images
The global cruise industry is reporting record demand and renewed consumer enthusiasm, but the leaders helming the world’s largest cruise companies say the sector is also facing some of the most complex challenges it has seen in decades.
“We are not an alternative vacation anymore. We are a vacation,” Carnival Corporation CEO Josh Weinstein said during a keynote panel Tuesday at Seatrade Global, a cruise industry conference.
As demand rises, passengers are getting younger; one-third of cruise travelers are now under 40, according to the 2026 State of the Cruise Industry report released by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). One-third of trips are multi-generational, often families traveling together. And nearly a third of cruisers take vacations by ship multiple times a year, according to the report.
The cruise industry hosted 37 million passengers worldwide last year and anticipates reaching 42 million annually by 2029, CLIA found.
“That mainstream demand sets us up very well for volatility,” Weinstein said.
A resilient business in an uncertain world
At least six cruise ships remain stranded in the Persian Gulf by the impasse at the Strait of Hormuz. One of them is the MSC Euribia.
Though roughly 1,500 passengers were safely evacuated amid Dubai airport shutdowns and missile warnings after the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran in late February, there are still some crew on board to maintain the vessel.
“Obviously, we live day by day. The situation is very fluid,” said MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago during the Seatrade Global keynote.
Already the shutdown of marine traffic in the Strait has disrupted itineraries in the Middle East and southern Europe. Threats of blockades, mines on the sea floor and on-and-off-again negotiations are keeping cruise executives guessing about when they can move their ships.
“Morning is one thing, lunchtime is another, dinner is another again,” Vago said of the numerous and often conflicting announcements from government leaders. “We need to stay cool and actually be ready to move out as soon as the possibility and opportunity comes back.”
Despite these challenges, cruise executives argue the industry has never been better positioned to absorb shocks.
“Every crisis we’ve faced — financial, geopolitical or health-related — we adapted,” Carnival’s Weinstein said. “There’s no reason to believe it will be different this time.”
Fuel costs, sustainability and the push to use less
Fuel price volatility has once again put energy strategy front and center for the cruise industry, particularly for Carnival, which does not hedge fuel prices.
“Nobody asks us about hedging when prices are low,” Weinstein said. “But our strategy has been consistent: use less fuel.”
The cruise industry aims to have net zero emissions by 2050, but CEOs agree that they can’t achieve that goal solely by conserving fuel.
Industry leaders see biofuels, green methanol and synthetic liquid natural gas (produced by combining captured carbon with hydrogen) as the most promising solutions to meet their fuel needs.
Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty said cruise lines are already investing hundreds of millions of dollars annually in technology and energy innovation, but availability of alternative fuels remains the bottleneck.
“It’s not about what we want to use,” Liberty said. “It’s about what’s scalable and available.”
“We’re going to have heavy competition with other sectors for those fuels as well. There’s no guarantee we get them,” added Bud Darr, president and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association.
Tailwinds for growth
Even as the industry navigates choppy seas, cruise companies are looking for their next avenues for growth.
Technological advances in artificial intelligence are being used to reduce food waste, plot routes and itineraries and increase efficiency. Cruise line executives say the most important application is to reduce friction in the guest experience.
“A more flexible work environment has been a big demand driver for us,” Liberty said. Most Royal Caribbean ships now host a Starlink connection for fast internet aboard.
Private destinations, the exclusive ports or islands owned or controlled by a cruise line, continue to be a priority for investment. Royal Caribbean, for instance, currently has three private destinations on its itineraries but will have eight by 2028.
It’s developing a major land-based hub in Puerto Williams, Chile, to reduce or eliminate the amount of time passengers to Antarctica have to spend transiting the punishing seas of the Drake Passage.
And the luxury segment, though a small percentage of the overall industry, is growing rapidly. Customers are increasingly interested in exploring health, wellness and longevity — and those trends are showing up in their vacation habits, too.
Smaller ships and river cruising accommodate specialized interests in eco-tourism, off-the-beaten path (not yet discovered by social media influencers) locales and culinary or artistic aficionados.
Social-media driven demand in tourism has also sparked backlash from some destinations, overwhelmed by the crowds. The cruise industry is working with destinations on what it calls managed, predictable tourism.
Vago said MSC worked with Dubrovnik, Croatia, for example, to coordinate the flow of visitors to the medieval town, which wants the tourism spending but without destruction of quality of life for residents.
“Many of these coastal communities actually appreciate that. We plan in advance. We create itineraries three years in advance,” Vago said.
“The strength of this industry is its ability to evolve without losing its soul,” Liberty said. “That soul is hospitality.”
Leadership change and fresh perspective
At Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, the challenge for new CEO John Chidsey is righting the ship.
In his first earnings call, just days after taking the helm, Chidsey acknowledged the company had committed numerous missteps.
Margins are under pressure. Shares have been volatile. Critics have questioned a push to expand cruise itineraries in the Caribbean before Norwegian’s private island was fully completed.
Earlier this year, Elliott Investment Management took an activist stake in Norwegian, which may have provided impetus for the board to make a leadership change.
Chidsey told CNBC Elliott’s goals align with his own and that he intends to create a culture of accountability and urgency where teams are working together rather than separated into silos.
The Seatrade conference was a cruise industry debut for Chidsey, formerly the CEO of Subway, Burger King and Avis.
When asked what a “sandwich guy knows about cruising,” Chidsey didn’t miss a beat, insisting he’s a “turnaround guy not a sandwich guy.”
“I knew nothing about fast food when I went there. I think having a fresh set of eyes is really what Norwegian needs. And it’s all about execution,” he said.
Business
India rejects US Section 301 allegations, seeks termination; calls for resolution via talks – The Times of India
India has strongly pushed back against the United States’ Section 301 investigations, rejecting allegations of unfair trade practices and seeking immediate termination of the probes.In its submission to the US Trade Representative (USTR), India “firmly denies all allegations made in the initiation notice” related to claims of excess structural capacity and production in manufacturing sectors, PTI reported. “The initiation Notice is premised on aggregate macroeconomic indicators, without identifying any specific act, policy or practice of the Government of India that could be considered ‘unreasonable or discriminatory’ and that ‘burdens or restricts United States commerce’ as required by Section 301(b) of the Act,” the submission said. India said the notice provides no “cogent rationale” or prima facie evidence to support allegations that the country has structural excess capacity leading to a trade surplus with the US. “India submits that the present investigation does not satisfy the requirements for the initiation of this investigation pursuant to Sections 301 and 302 of the Trade Act of 1974. India calls upon the USTR to make a negative determination and terminate the investigation forthwith,” it said. The government also urged that trade concerns be addressed through ongoing bilateral negotiations rather than unilateral measures, noting that both countries are engaged in discussions for a Bilateral Trade Agreement. “India remains willing to constructively engage with the United States in the underlying investigation, including any consultation,” it added. Separately, responding to another Section 301 probe launched on March 12 on alleged failure to act against forced labour, India said the investigation does not meet legal requirements for initiation. “India requests the USTR to make a negative determination and terminate the investigation against India. Additionally, India remains willing to constructively engage with the United States in the underlying investigation, including any consultation,” the submission said. The responses have been filed by the commerce and industry ministry on behalf of the government. On March 11, the USTR initiated investigations into policies and industrial practices of 16 economies, including India, China, Japan and the European Union, to examine “unfair foreign practices” affecting American manufacturing. A day later, on March 12, the USTR launched a broader probe covering 60 economies, including India and China, to assess whether their practices related to forced labour imports are unreasonable or discriminatory and restrict US commerce. India said its submissions represent the public, non-confidential summary of its response, while the full version has been filed separately as confidential.
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Pakistan considering buying LNG on spot market to offset supply disruptions caused by Iran war: petroleum minister – SUCH TV
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