Global News

The National Retail Federation issued its first outlook for 2026 imports, saying that it believes retailers are assessing what is ahead for 2026 and, as such, import levels are expected to remain down year-over-year until at least spring. While they expect a slight...

The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from another 66 UN organizations and entities, the latest in its pullback from multilateral commitments. Several of these offices are well-known are known to the maritime community; these bodies will now...

A Chinese-owned and managed crude oil tanker is reporting that it was attacked by a suspected drone while sailing in the Black Sea. The tanker Elbus (159,000 dwt) was traveling only with ballast along the Turkish coast, reportedly bound for the Russian...

After multiple warnings throughout the year about the dramatic increase in piracy around Singapore, the monitoring operation ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre, in its year-end report, highlights that the surge peaked at mid-year with the arrest of some perpetrators....

The UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency is reporting a busy night and efforts on Friday, January 9, to track containers after a severe winter storm crossed the region around the English Channel overnight. Warnings were posted for shipping as containers went...

Europe’s ambitions to decarbonize the shipping industry face obstacles due to the fragile state of the alternative fuel supply chain, an analysis by the activist NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) shows. Though Europe is setting the pace in efforts to cut down...

Egypt is hoping to enhance the navigational safety of the busy Suez Canal after securing a $22 million grant to finance the construction of a dual-fuel diving support vessel (DSV). As more shipping lines make a return to the waterway owing to the gradual return of...

Ukraine’s Black Sea ports are experiencing unrelenting daily attacks by Russian drones and missiles during the current offensive despite the push by the United States and European leaders to complete a peace agreement. Ukraine’s Navy reported the mounting damage to...

Russia’s Sea Rescue Service took delivery of the Kerch Strait, a multifunction support and rescue vessel. It is the latest in the efforts to expand support services for vessels operating along the Northern Sea Route. Construction of the vessel was first proposed...

The deployment of Emirati forces in locations to the north and south of the Maritime Security Transit Corridor (MSTC) in the Gulf of Aden, and in similar positions dominating sea routes through the southern Red Sea, is currently in the middle of a significant...

It has been a challenging year for the maritime industry. Operators were forced to divert from Red Sea routes, adapted to a return of Somali piracy, and experienced the impact of shifting trade policies. Perennial issues such as illegal fishing and drug running...

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Unit and Special Operations Forces revealed the latest round of drone strikes on Russia’s oil operations. The Defense Intelligence Unit also confirmed the obvious that Ukraine has intensified its assault on the oil sector to cut off...

Russia appears to be intensifying its assault on the Black Sea ports of Ukraine. The relentless barrage continued for a second night at the Port of Odesa with reports of damage to multiple vessels and port infrastructure. Ukraine says the attack consisted of 99 drones...

A judge in U.S. District Court in Hawaii rejected a lawsuit by the cruise industry and vendors seeking an injunction against extending for the first time Hawaii’s tax on transient visitors to cruise ships. Known as the “Green Fee,” the state in May enacted an increase...

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced a new agreement that it is calling a landmark as it prepares for the long-term future growth of the port, which is the largest on the U.S. East Coast.  It directly supports the Port Authority’s Port Master...

The Port of Los Angeles notes that despite all the uncertainties of 2025 and the rapid changes in trade policies, that it will still have one of its top three years of all time, making it again the only North American port to exceed 10 million TEU in a year. Port...

Investigators from the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) have begun an investigation into how thousands of bananas ended up on beaches near Southampton, and why shipping was disrupted after 16 reefer boxes went overboard. They are looking into the...

A California-based startup called Clippership, working with a team of established leaders in the maritime community, reports it has completed designs classed by RINA for its first vessel, a wind-powered cargo ship designed for autonomous operations. The first vessel...

A Turkish-owned product tanker was struck by a Russian drone after the vessel departed Ukraine bound for Egypt. The Ukrainian Navy released a video of the strike, reporting that the crew was uninjured, and the vessel was damaged but proceeding on its trip. The product...

The UK’s Royal Navy is highlighting that it once again tracked the movements of a Russian submarine and its escorts traveling through the English Channel in recent days. According to the Royal Navy, there has been a 30 percent increase in Russian vessels transiting UK...

South Africa’s Transnet officially signed the partnership agreement with International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) for the privatization and upgrade at the Durban port. It comes more than two years after the deal was first announced and after courts rejected a...

Police, customs authorities, and the Receiver of Wrecks have warned beachcombers not to eat the bananas or to take them home.  But local people have interpreted prevailing Wrecks and Salvage law in a more free market fashion, and have helped themselves to the...

Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers said that the government has decided to let South Korea’s Hanwha Group increase its investment to become the largest investor in shipbuilder Austal. The reports said the government will place restrictions on the operations to ensure...

A bulker southbound in the Red Sea reported to authorities that it had been approached and exchanged gunshots with the unknown boats. The ship is safe and continuing on its way while analysts speculate over the events. The Barbados-flagged...

The Port of Long Beach (California) revealed today that it plans to name long-time executive and well-known industry figure Dr. Noel Hacegaba as the port’s next Chief Executive Officer as of the new year. With nearly 16 years of experience with the port,...

To fund expansion and infrastructure upgrades, Ireland’s Dublin port has proposed a massive hike in its port fees starting next year. The fees would increase an over 40 percent for container charges, a move that shippers have criticized as an added tax on businesses...

Kongsberg Maritime has signed a major contract with Sea1 Offshore to deliver Launch and Recovery Systems (LARS) for the company’s four new offshore construction vessels. Each vessel will be equipped with two advanced LARS units, supporting subsea construction and...

German shipowners, the association for the industry, and the trade union ver.di are all saying that a fair agreement has been reached for a new contract for German seafarers.  They concluded an agreement during the second round of talks, which took place on...

Cadeler announced the delivery of Wind Mover, the tenth vessel to join the company’s growing fleet of next-generation wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs). The vessel is part of a new fleet of larger ships designed to handle the challenges emerging in the...

Explosive gas atmospheres are a constant consideration in the design and operation of ships, FPSOs and offshore platforms. From cargo pump rooms to vent masts, every area where flammable vapor might occur must be identified and managed. This process, known as...

In a tense, fiercely fought election, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) on November 28, elected its council for the next biennial term for 2026-27. The Council is the Executive Organ of IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, for supervising the work...

Salvors have completed the delicate task of deconstructing and removing the debris of a World War II-era wooden hull tugboat that sank at the Bremerton Marina in Washington. The historic tug Dominion, a 130-foot vessel that was built in 1944, sank in September,...

Executive Teaser •    Transport reliability will emerge when the transport trinity - cargo owners, transport operators, and nodes - acts as one operating unit. •    By managing time, risk, and asset integrity as shared assets, and acting...

It appears the Trump administration is further tightening its pressure on Venezuela, using one of the destroyers deployed to the Caribbean to spook a sanctioned shadow tanker from approaching Venezuela. Using tracking data, Bloomberg reports the sanctioned tanker...

Maritime investigators are yet again highlighting the dangers associated with free-fall lifeboats on commercial vessels after an inadvertent release sent a lifeboat flying into the water and caused serious injuries to a crewmember. The Transportation Safety Board of...

On a visit earlier this month to the headquarters of the IRGC Navy's 2nd Naval District in Bushehr, Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi stated that the presence of Iranian naval forces on Iran's maritime borders “instills such fear in...

New drone strikes on drug smuggling boats have not been holding back the Coast Guard's performance in daily cocaine seizures, according to a top USCG commander for the region. If anything, the numbers have been going up, as demonstrated by the new record set by...

A U.S.-bound cargo barge being towed by a U.S. tug reported that it was taking on water north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, while traveling along the Inside Passage. Officials said that the vessels were moved into a more secure location and that the...

Mystery still surrounds the seizure by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of the Marshall Island-flagged 73,000 dwt oil tanker MV Talara (IMO 9569994). The ship was seized 22 miles off the coast of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab...

Animal advocacy groups have been raising the alarm over the situation aboard livestock carrier Spiridon II, which was stranded off the Turkish coast for weeks due to irregularities in paperwork. 58 cows have already died, with another 140 pregnant cows...

Unions continue their resistance against efforts by ports and terminal logistics operators across the globe to automate processes in order to enhance efficiency. A group of unions announced that they formed an alliance aimed at fighting automation on the basis that it...

As the global VLCC community gathers in Dubai for Bahri Week, all eyes are once again on OPEC and Middle East production policy. OPEC+ members, led by Saudi Arabia, have begun unwinding their voluntary production cuts, and the return of supply is reshaping momentum...

The Greek-owned tanker Hellas Aphrodite was liberated on the afternoon of November 7, more than 24 hours after the vessel was boarded by pirates off the coast of Somalia. EUNAVFOR Atalanta reports that the 24 crewmembers are safe, having been able to remain...

The National Retail Federation, an industry trade group, issued its monthly report on expected import volumes through the major U.S. container ports, projecting that volumes will fall below two million TEU per month and continue a steady decline through the first...

Residents are complaining of odors, and animal rights groups are protesting the situation, as Turkish officials continue to deny the offloading of a livestock carrier for more than two weeks. Problems with the documents for the animals aboard have caused the ship to...

Poor bridge resource management was a leading factor in the allision of the Maersk Shekou with the moored tall ship Leeuwin II in Fremantle last year, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.  In the early hours of August 30, 2024, Maersk Shekou was...

In November 2024, BIMCO launched a Ship Recycling Alliance to help accelerate safe and environmentally sound ship recycling of ships through the coordination of the voices of the ship recycling industry and the shipping industry. The alliance was also launched to...

China announced a green hydrogen policy last week, which will see the country’s state budget offer subsidies for the production of green fuels. Interestingly, the initiative came in the week that IMO member states failed to adopt a Net-Zero Framework for the global...

Hot on the heels of the completion of Port of Mobile's channel dredging project, Maersk-owned APM Terminals has agreed to build a new 1,300-foot container berth at its facility at the seaport, adding enough room to handle another ULCV alongside. The additional space...