Global News

Tracking data detected two Chinese containerships that appeared to be making a U-turn after attempting to exit the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued a statement saying that it had denied the ships transit to...

The recently designated Chairman and a Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission, Laura DiBella, issued a statement regarding China’s current retaliation policies against Panama after the cancellation of CK Hutchison’s concession to operate the port terminals at...

The Omani Port of Salalah, located on the Arabian Sea, came under attack on Saturday morning, March 29. The government’s official news agency condemned an Iranian attack, saying it was impinging on its sovereignty while noting that the port was providing a vital...

China marked the next milestone in its efforts at expanding the domestic cruise industry with the float-out of its second large domestically built cruise ship. Built for China’s Adora Cruises, the ship will enter service this year, and the company reported it intends...

Iranian officials on Friday, March 27, reported that one of the abandoned vessels has now drifted across the Persian Gulf and grounded on one of their islands. The danger from the 20 commercial ships that have been attacked since the start of the war adds another...

The Trump administration has temporarily waived the Jones Act for select liquid bulk and dry bulk cargoes, allowing foreign seafarers and shipowners greater latitude to work within the United States. Energy market analysts expect that the move will reduce fuel...

Close attention is being paid to two tankers, which observers suspected were heading toward Cuba in a Russian effort to provide some relief to the fuel-starved island. The Trump administration is continuing its efforts toward regime change by imposing a near-total ban...

The United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the Polar Code in November 2014 to reduce loss of life at sea caused by inadequate preparedness for operations in polar regions, which are more isolated and challenging than lower-latitude waters....

The back-and-forth between China, Panama, and CK Hutchison heated up as Panama’s President, Jose Raul Mulino, met the press on Thursday in his weekly session. He dismissed the accusations made by the Panama Ports Company (PPC) and CK Hutchison in the ongoing dispute...

China marked the next milestone in its efforts at expanding the domestic cruise industry with the float-out of its second large domestically built cruise ship. Built for China’s Adora Cruises, the ship will enter service this year, and the company reported it intends...

The Strait of Hormuz shutdown is having a direct effect on the price of oil and LNG, and in some downstream and byproduct markets, the impact is becoming acute. Net global oil supply is expected to fall by eight million barrels per day in March, according to the IEA....

A container ship has reported an attack at a position just west of the Strait of Hormuz, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).  At about 0200 hours GMT on Wednesday, the master of a container ship reported that the vessel had been hit by an "unknown...

Nearly two months after French authorities intercepted a small vessel smuggling a large amount of cocaine across the Pacific, the same vessel has now turned up off Australia and issued a distress call. ABC News Australia reports the vessel was escorted into Sydney...

The U.S. Treasury Department late on Thursday, March 12, announced it was issuing a general license authorizing the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products already loaded on tankers and at sea in a desperate attempt to stabilize global oil...

As the security situation in the Gulf region remains dangerous for vessel transits, industry voices differ on the question of whether vessels should stay out of the Strait of Hormuz for reasons of seafarer safety.  Transits of the strait are under direct...

War risk at the Strait of Hormuz continues to deter shipowners from venturing near to Iran, and AIS-active traffic remains 90 percent below normal levels, according to MarineTraffic. Despite the hazards, a handful of owners are willing to make the run and join the...

Reports broke in the Indian media late on Friday, March 6, that the country has quietly been harboring an Iranian vessel this week after it made an urgent request to enter an Indian port. Off-the-record comments from a government spokesperson assert that the request...

The government of Sri Lanka has decided to take control of the Iranian supply ship IRIS Bushehr, with the president of the country calling it a humanitarian effort after the ship sought refuge in Colombo. They are evacuating the sailors from the ship...

Thai officials are sounding the alarm and calling the latest developments “worrying” as reports grow of oil leaking from the wreck of the cargo ship Sealloyd Arc reaching Thailand’s beaches.  They point out that efforts have been ongoing for 19...

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is reporting that it has placed a detention order on a Chinese manager bulker, which has been in distress for all of February and required constant monitoring. The ship has finally been secured in the Gladstone anchorag, but is...

As tensions rose in the Middle East immediately prior to the pre-emptive American and Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, there were indicators of an imminent attack. International airlines abandoned routes through Iranian airspace the previous day, as the USS...

After several years of planning and development, the Apollo project is set to go into execution this spring, starting the conversion of an in-service platform supply vessel to ammonia-fueled propulsion. The vessel’s owners, Eidesvik Offshore, signed the agreement with...

All along the Baltic, reports are emerging of ships becoming stuck and needing extra assistance from icebreakers as the region is experiencing the harshest winter conditions since the season of 2010-2011. Finnish authorities are denying media reports that they were...

The Port of Los Angeles foresees continued weakness in container volumes for the first quarter of 2026 after a 12 percent decline in January. However, while highlighting that it does not expect increased certainty for U.S. trade policies, it believes the rate of...

Video is circulating online showing an incident in Santos, Brazil, on Monday, February 16, in which a containership maneuvering in the harbor collided with two ferries and is seen pushing them across the harbor. Onlookers are yelling that the vessels will collide, and...

The Danish Maritime Authority confirmed to local media that it has placed a detention order on a shadowy containership until the vessel can prove its registry and certifications. The vessel was sanctioned in July 2025 by the United States as part of a network...

If you manage ships, you already pay handsomely for compliance—ISM verifications, statutory checks, Port State Control (PSC) readiness, and a thicket of customer and vetting requirements. Yet incidents keep emerging not from a single broken rule, but from the seams...

[By Mikael Lind, Wolfgang Lehmacher, Jeremy Bentham, Chye Poh Chua, Philippe Isler, Jens Lund-Nielsen, and Per Löfbom] Transport still relies heavily on fossil fuels and accounts for roughly one quarter of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions....

The Turkish Coast Guard Command confirmed it was investigating the latest incident of an unexploded drone found in its waters. Earlier in Russia’s war with Ukraine, the concern had been errant mines, but more recently, Turkey is reporting a series of incidents with...

Discussions are underway in Canada in regard to the future development of the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay. During the early to mid-1900s and prior to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, Churchill was Canada’s main port for exporting Western Canadian...

Port across Italy were reporting strikes and disruptions in their operations as unionized dockworkers staged a 24-hour strike to protest the alleged “militarization” of the ports. Reports indicate ships of Zim and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company were being targeted...

Recent reports concerning Chinese seafarers who traveled overseas for what they believed were legitimate job opportunities, only to lose contact with their families for weeks or months, have brought renewed attention to a deeply troubling recruitment pattern. In one...

The Italian Coast Guard completed its inspection of the livestock carrier Blue Ocean A after overseeing the towing of the disabled ship into the port of Cagliari. While not saying it was a record, they are reporting the vessel racked up an astonishing 54...

The disposal of container ships during 2025 remained at record low levels as the industry sought to maintain capacity in part due to the continued diversion from the Red Sea. In a new report, Alphaliner highlights that demolitions are now at 20-year lows. “The healthy...

German authorities launched a large-scale search and rescue operation after being informed of a missing seafarer from a tanker sailing on the Elbe River off Cuxhaven. Two days later, the German Sea Rescue Society (DGzRS) reports the missing person was “found on board”...

Inspection reports across much of the commercial fleet paint a reassuring picture. Fire detection systems are operational, fixed firefighting systems are in good working order, equipment is serviced on time and instructions are correctly posted. On paper, vessels are...

The Supreme Court of Panama announced late on Thursday, January 29, that it had found the laws establishing CK Hutchison’s concession to operate terminals at the ports at the terminus of the Panama Canal unconstitutional. The government quickly issued a statement...

The Alabama Port Authority is reporting that the containership Ruby Tower (127,952 dwt) has been refloated and is no longer blocking the Mobile shipping channel. The ship, however, is holding in Mobile Bay with tugs assisting the ship and the U.S. Coast...

The intermodal container is one of the most impactful innovations of the last century. As the international standard for ocean, rail, and road transport, shipping containers form the backbone of our modern globalized economy. The economic logic that standardized the...

Advancing battery technologies stand out as next-generation solutions to help reduce carbon emissions for marine and offshore applications. Yet, rapid expansion and implementation require technical oversight and validation through an objective classification process...

The Defense Forces of Ukraine announced a new strike on the oil and gas terminal at Taman on the peninsula on the eastern side of the Black Sea and near the Kerch Strait. Ukraine said the terminal, which was hit for a second time in less than a month, was targeted...

The busiest port in the U.S., Los Angeles, is feeling the pressures of a redrawn global trade map due to shifting policies. While recording flat growth in container throughput in 2025, a year the port contends was characterized by uncertainty and volatility, it still...

The fight between Diana Shipping and Genco Shipping & Trading is set to move into the boardroom as Diana Shipping announced it will nominate a new slate of six directors for Genco. The move came just days after Genco’s board rejected a non-binding indicative...

While the industry has seen a slowing in the orders for methanol-fueled ships, the efforts are continuing as shipowners and operators look to understand the segment and the role it can play in sustainable shipping. Cargill, which calls itself one of the world’s...

Rebrand marks 115 years of city-building and reinforces role of its business units, including Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, as a critical economic engine and urban connector After operating as PortsToronto for a decade, the organization that owns and operates...

Plans to develop a new container terminal as part of the redevelopment of the Sparrow’s Point region of Baltimore marked key steps with the US Army Corps of Engineers and federal authorities granting construction permits. The project is a joint venture with MSC’s...

Hapag-Lloyd’s Hanseatic Global Terminals is continuing to execute on its growth strategy, with reports that it has taken full ownership of Port Everglades'Florida International Terminal. Major carriers have been working to build out their terminal operations in...

Europe’s largest port, Rotterdam, is among the ports that faced criticism last year over sluggishness in investing in shore power infrastructures, despite pending EU regulations requiring ships to turn off engines and generators in port. Only days into the new year,...

Global ship recycling no longer suffers from a lack of rules. It suffers from a failure to connect them. What is often described as a compliance gap is, in reality, a governance failure created by fragmented legal regimes that refuse to engage with where and how ship...