Global News
Oil Spill Spreads as Second Tanker Sinks in Manila Bay
A second tanker has gone down off the coast of the Bataan Peninsula, threatening even more pollution in the Manila Bay area. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, the tanker Jason Bradley sank off the municipality of Mariveles - at the bay's entrance - on the...
One Knot at a Time
Seals are important for the role they play in containing pressure and eliminating leakage and contamination. Bearings reduce friction and are key components for transferring motion. When functioning properly, seals and bearings are the furthest thing on the chief...
Blaze on two tankers – all crew rescued or involved in firefighting
A total of 62 seafarers from a Hafnia product tanker and VLCC ablaze in the South China Sea have been either rescued or accounted for. Marcus Hand | Jul 19, 2024 The Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it was alerted to a fire onboard both...
Advancing the maritime industry: the critical need for digital transformation
Ship repair and maintenance businesses have traditionally lagged in new technology deployment. However, the prism through which we view and solve the challenges of these complex physical assets needs updating, writes Peter Jackson, vice president, Business...
Barcelona first Med port to have shore power
The Port of Barcelona’s first phase of an offshore power system will enable two ships to be connected simultaneously at Hutchison’s BEST terminal. Marcus Hand | Jul 18, 2024 The first onshore power supply system (OPS) in the Port of Barcelona was opened on...
Container shipping market outlook for H2 2024
Spot container freight rates have surged to unexpected highs in the first half of 2024 due the Red Sea crisis, what will happen in the remaining months of the year. Marcus Hand | Jul 18, 2024 In a five-part series mid-year we take stock of shipping markets in the...
Hub and spoke versus direct services in container shipping: an analysis
The Red Sea crisis has prompted shipping lines to re-consider the hub and spoke strategy and increase their direct services allowing the carriers to absorb excess capacity and reduce their vulnerability to port congestion. Antonella Teodoro and Nick Savvides | Jul 17,...
US Imports Remain High With Signs of Softening of Container Spot Prices
Container import volumes remain strong at U.S. ports and significantly ahead of 2023 levels despite the first signs of softening in the spot market prices. Yet the outlook remains strong spurred on by the resiliency of the U.S. economy and consumers' willingness...
IMB: Violence Against Crew on the Rise Amidst Drop in Piracy
The safety of crews on merchant ships is increasingly becoming a major concern owing to the rise in violent attacks despite a notable decrease in maritime piracy incidents, according to the latest update from the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting...
Iran Releases Chevron-Chartered Tanker Held for 15 Months After Taking Oil
Tracking services and the AIS signal from the Marshall Island-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet show the vessel underway and bound for Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates nearly 15 months after the tanker was detained by Iranian forces. The latest AIS data...
How a Gulf of Alaska Test Range Helped Israel Defend Itself From Iran
At the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska, in 2019, the Israelis successfully tested an anti-ballistic missile system that intercepts weapons in space. Now, in the Israel-Hamas War, it’s finally being used in battle, pushing military conflict above the...
Carrier Roosevelt Arrives in Red Sea Area of Operations
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on July 12 that the supercarrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has arrived in the 5th Fleet area of operations taking over for the carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower which left the Red Sea area in late June...
Shipping Industry Needs to Improve to Prevent Injury and Suicide Says Gard
A new report examining key trends within crew-related insurance claims identifies concerns with an increase in injuries as well as a “worryingly high number” of the percentage of deaths caused by suicide among seafarers. While there is a positive trend in...
Carbon Capture is No Silver Bullet, But Holds Opportunities for Shipping
Can onboard carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology be a viable tool in shipping’s decarbonization journey? Answering this question requires a holistic perspective, accounting for the entire carbon value chain. In short, the technical ability to capture and store...
Report: Abandoned Tanker Sinks Off Yemen
The aging tanker Lavant, which sustained uncontrollable flooding off the southeastern coast of Yemen in June, appears to have disappeared and has likely sunk, multiple intelligence sources have confirmed to Reuters. The 30-year-old ship's loss is considered a...
Court of Appeals Calls FMC “Illogical,” Overturning D&D Fee Ruling
Evergreen won an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. in a case over the application of detention and demurrage fees (D&D) that could be a significant blow in the long-running battle between shippers and carriers over the hotly contested fees....
ILWU Plans Strike at DP World Canada Starting Monday
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has notified terminal operator DP World Canada that it plans to go out on strike beginning at 1630 hours on Monday afternoon. In response, the B.C. Maritime Employers' Association (BCMEA) - the collective...
Port Of Los Angeles Calls for Proposals for New Cruise Terminal
The Port of Los Angeles issued a Request for Proposals for the construction and operation of a new Outer Harbor Cruise Terminal, along with the redevelopment and operation of the existing World Cruise Center. It is a critical part of the future plans for the port and...
Houthis Continue Attacks, Including Five Missiles at One Ship
The Houthis are asserting a broad array of attacks conducted on a range of ships in both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, including a barrage at one vessel and targeting a Maersk vessel. Spokesperson Yahya Saree asserted all the attacks were for support of Israel or...
Panama Canal Continues to Restore Capacity While Warning of Water Concerns
The Panama Canal Authority is accelerating its efforts to build back capacity at the canal while also providing for increased vessel draft as the region is now in the rainy season. While the canal is returning to normal levels the authorities however warn that the...
The Maritime Executive’s Global Shipbuilding Edition is Out, Read Online
China, with its 35 percent share, continues to dominate the global shipbuilding market thanks to its solid government subsidies, cheap land and labor. Japan and South Korea, with a combined 45 percent, are also key players with Hyundai Heavy Industries leading the way...
Preparing the U.S. Coast Guard for China’s Gray-Zone Operations
America’s allies in the Indo-Pacific are getting pretty familiar with China’s grey-zone maritime behavior, but the United States itself is ill-prepared to deal with it. Yet it should be prepared, experts warned a US House of Representatives committee in a...
Piracy Warning for Asia with Crews Being Tied Up and Stores Stolen
Monitoring agencies are issuing warnings over increased piracy activity specifically where boarders have come onto the vessels and tied up crewmembers while stealing stores. The regional information sharing operation ReCAAP is again highlighting the areas around the...
Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Claim Strike on Port of Haifa
Yemen's Houthi rebels claim to have launched what may be their most ambitious attack on shipping to date: a long-range strike on the port of Haifa, hundreds of miles from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. On Sunday, spokesman Yahya Saree claimed in a...
Bulker’s Crew Abandons Ship After “Uncontrolled” Flooding off Yemen
On Sunday morning, a merchant ship sustained serious flooding at a position near the eastern mouth of the Gulf of Aden, just off Yemen's eastern coast. The crew have safely abandoned ship, according to the UK Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO). The incident...
China’s Coast Guard is Deliberately Creating Legal Ambiguity
While laws should provide clarity and transparency, China’s recent orders regarding maritime jurisdiction appear to be deliberately based on ambiguity and uncertainty. This has become very evident in the past day after the latest clash with the Philippines in the...
South Korea’s Rise as a Global Shipbuilder
During the World War II period, shipbuilding rose into one of the most critical sectors for most countries in continental Europe and the U.S. In these regions, shipyards represented the backbone of waterfront businesses, providing a lifeline for many coastal...
Autonomous Vessels Need to be More Afraid of Dying
The frigate KNM Helge Ingstad is heading south in the clear winter darkness in Hjelteforden northwest of Bergen. It is heading towards Scotland after a major NATO exercise in Trøndelag County. The warship, with 137 people on board, does not emit AIS signals...
New Safety Warning as Greek Bulker is Abandoned and Drifting in Red Sea
The Greek-owned bulker Tutor has been abandoned with the Filipino crew evacuated two days after the vessel became the first confirmed casualty of a Houthi-launched remote-controlled boat. The Tutor becomes the third vessel abandoned after an attack...
Philippine Soldier Injured in Collision With Chinese Vessel
A Filipino soldier was injured in a collision between Philippine and Chinese government vessels at Second Thomas Shoal on Monday, according to local media and the U.S. embassy in Manila. Philippine news outlet GMA reports that one soldier was injured during a...
U.S. Sanctions Third Master Mariner for Shipping Iranian Oil
The U.S. government has sanctioned a third master mariner in connection with tankers linked to Yemen's Houthi rebel movement, which has repeatedly attacked shipping in the Red Sea since last fall, injuring and killing multiple seafarers. The decision to blacklist...
Australia Declares Fourth Offshore Wind Zone as It Pushes Renewable Energy
The Australian government continues to push forward with its efforts to jumpstart the offshore wind energy sector. They declared the fourth wind zone after a review process and this comes as the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese launched an aggressive...
Great Lakes Bulker Takes On Water After Hitting Underwater Object
Another of the historic bulkers operating the Great Lakes declared an emergency today after striking something underwater while underway on Lake Superior, near Grand Portage, Minnesota. The U.S. Coast Guard reports the vessel which is 72 years old was able to...
Calls for Oversight as More Ships Fail Inspections as Fire Risks Increase
The dangers of fire at sea persist and are growing as new cargoes including lithium-ion batteries, and alternative fuels, begin to become more prevalent. Survival Technology provider Survitec is highlighting the results of a new analysis that shows an “alarming...
Asian Ports Top World Bank Rankings While Many Large Ports Rank Lower
The World Bank is out with its latest port ranking and predictably ports in Southeast Asia continue to dominate the top of the ranks, but some of the world’s largest container ports, and most in the U.S., ranked far lower. The Container Port Performance Index they say...
Cleanup Underway After Oil Spill Impacts Antwerp’s Container Terminal
Port officials in Antwerp are saying that they expect it will take several days to fully complete a remediation effort after an oil spill that is encompassing the port’s Deurganck Dock, container operations, and Kieldrecht lock. About 20 ships, both inland and...
UK is On Track to Miss its 2030 Offshore Wind Targets by 18 Years
The UK is second in the world after China in terms of offshore wind capacity, but a new report estimates that it could miss its 2030 offshore wind targets by as much as 18 years. The report - written by the London-based research firm Institute for Public Policy...
Egypt Builds its First Ship Recycling Facility at Port of Damietta
Egypt is on course to establish the country’s first ship recycling facility. The Ministry of Transport’s Holding Co. for Maritime and Land Transport(HCMLT), this week signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with El Wehda Industrial Company for development of a...
Grimaldi Launches Second Study for Automated Berthing Using Satellites
Italy’s Grimaldi Group working with the European Space Agency (ESA) is proceeding to the second phase of a program designed to develop and validate an assisted guidance system using satellite technology for docking maneuvers of large car carrier vessels. According to...
Vietnam and Cambodia Clash Over New Mekong Canal
In August 2023, Cambodia sent an official notice to the Mekong River Commission flagging the construction of a new major canal project on the Mekong River. The Mekong, long a source of regional bounty, has become a modern point of contention for the countries along...
NGO Sues Norway over Seabed Mining Approval
Environmental campaign group WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) is moving to sue Norway for its controversial decision to open up vast parts of its continental shelf to deep seabed mining. According to WWF-Norway, the legal action is the last resort in an attempt to...
Shipping Industry May Create the Very First Global Carbon
In August 2023, Cambodia sent an official notice to the Mekong River Commission flagging the construction of a new major canal project on the Mekong River. The Mekong, long a source of regional bounty, has become a modern point of contention for the countries along...
Op-Ed: Mariner Shortage Could Put the Jones Act at Risk
Let’s take a little look at the American maritime industry today as it stands. In fact, why not have a look around at your own personal “work world.” In very simple terms, do you have enough trained employees to handle the work load you already have? And we are...
Climate Change May Be Fueling a Resurgence of Piracy Across Africa
In the churning waters off Nigeria, armed pirates in small skiffs speed towards a cargo ship. They clamber aboard, seizing control of the vessel and its valuable cargo. This isn’t a scene from a swashbuckling film; it’s a stark reality for seafarers in many parts of...
Software Issue Causes South Carolina to Close Charleston and Inland Ports
An unspecified “software issue” was being blamed for the unusual move of suspending all cargo operations at the Port of Charleston as well as South Carolina inland ports on Monday, May 20. The South Carolina State Ports Authority said that it is working with an...
Belgium Bans Exports of “Dirty Fuels” to West Africa
The Port of Antwerp will no longer be used by oil companies and traders to export so-called dirty fuels to West Africa. The Belgium government banned the export of toxic motor fuels that are highly harmful to public health and the environment. Belgium’s Minister of...
Three Crews from the UK’s RNLI Coordinate to Save Historic Sailing Vessel
The UK’s volunteer Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is being commended for its operation earlier in the week to assist a historic sailing vessel that was taking on water and requested urgent assistance. It became a 10-hour operation involving three of the...
ILWU Canada Delays Strike Notice for DP World’s Vancouver Terminals
Canadian officials are again preparing for a potential strike that would impact DP World Canada’s West Coast operation, including the second-largest Vancouver container terminal, while holding out hope for a new round of federal mediation. Yesterday, May 15, the...
IMO Urges More Efforts as World Marks Women in Maritime Day
Organizations around the globe marked the annual Women in Maritime Day, on May 18, highlighting the advancements women are making in the field while calling for continued actions for training and to support equality. The International Maritime Organization marked the...
Three Missing After Turkish-Owned Cargo Ship Sinks Off Romania
Romanian authorities have a search and rescue mission underway on Saturday, May 18, after a small, Turkish-owned general cargo ship sunk off the northern coast near the border with Ukraine. Three crewmembers, Syrian nationals, are reported missing while eight were...