Maritime intelligence archive

Trump Administration Asks Court to Remand Second Offshore Wind Approval

The Department of Justice filed last week with a U.S. District Court in Maryland, asking the court to remand the approval of the Construction and Oper...

U.S. to Allow Dark-Fleet Tankers to Shed Sanctions, Wright Says

The Trump administration is authorizing the sale of sanctioned oil tankers in an effort to allow the vessels to start legitimately shipping crude, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

HD Hyundai and Anduril Demonstrate Autonomous Vessel for US Navy

South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai and the U.S.-based venture-backed defense company Anduril are reporting a breakthrough with the first demonstratio...

Coast Guard Halts Search for Survivors of Capsized Boat Off Mexico

Some 11 people were missing but 16 were rescued, including three who had injuries consistent with shark bites, the authorities said.

Report: US Coast Guard's SASH Prevention Programs Lack Unifying Framework

Rand released a report earlier this month entitled “Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the Coast Guard.” The report was mandated by the Fiscal Y...

Tragedy Strikes After Container Ship Crew Rescued in South Atlantic

The container ship Espirito Santo Express (IMO 9793923) has been abandoned by its crew after an explosion on board caused a fire on October 16. The re...

Tug Attacked Near Strait of Hormuz

Merchant ships face serious risk of attack in and around the Strait of Hormuz, and not just tankers, bulkers and boxships. On Sunday, a tug was attack...

Video: AIDA Cruise Ship Rescues Four People from Burning Fishing Boat

Passengers starting a week-long cruise aboard the cruise ship AIDAnova got to witness a rescue operation on Sunday afternoon, October 18. The German c...

Rheinmetall Says Mangalia Will Become a Dual-Use Shipyard with MSC

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall confirmed that it plans to acquire the Mangalia shipyard in Romania together with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Comp...

CTF 151 strengthens counter-piracy partnerships in Djibouti

DJIBOUTI (Oct. 13, 2026) – Combined Maritime Forces’ counter-piracy task force strengthened ties with regional and international partners during a visit to Djibouti, Oct. 8-13. Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 held senior-l

Rescuer Lost During Evacuation of Burning Containership East of Brazil

The rescue of the crew from a burning containership took a tragic turn, according to reports from the Portuguese authorities. While the crew of the Si...

Russian Oil Exports by Arctic Route Jump Amid World Freight Crisis

Russia's oil exports through its Northern Sea Route (NSR) in 2026 have already exceeded last year's by nearly 50%, with some 20 million barrels shipped to Asia from the start of navigation in July to mid-October, traders

Iran’s Main Oil Terminals Remain Empty as US Blockade Bites

Iran’s main oil-loading terminals have remained empty for weeks, adding to signs that a US naval blockade of the country is throttling Tehran’s exports.

U.S. Sets First Deep-Sea Mining Lease Sale for November

The Trump administration has scheduled the first offshore mineral lease sale in U.S. history, opening more than 31 million acres of seabed near American Samoa to companies seeking critical minerals...

Readout of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces Vice Adm. Curt Renshaw’s Meeting with Kuwaiti Defense Leaders

TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 19, 2026) U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces Commander Vice Adm. Curt Renshaw met with key Kuwaiti political and defense leaders during a trip to Kuwait City, Kuwa

Breeze Ship Design Secures Contract for Union Vega Offshore's PSV Series

Union Vega Offshore has placed an order for two firm 900 m² Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs), with options for an additional four vessels, based on Bree...

EMGS lands offshore exploration survey award in Pakistan

Norwegian geophysical services specialist Electromagnetic Geoservices (EMGS) has secured a letter of award from Pakistan’s Mari Energies for controlled-source electromagnetic surveys across multiple offshore exploration

Award winning rescue for HM Coastguard’s Prestwick helicopter crew

Norway ends one offshore wage row only for Reach Subsea strike to begin

Norway’s protracted offshore well services wage dispute has been settled through voluntary arbitration, even as a separate labour conflict has triggered a strike at subsea contractor Reach Subsea. An arbitration panel ha

Qatar LNG Cargo Makes Rare Red Sea Journey to Get Gas to Europe

A carrier loaded with Qatari liquefied natural gas is sailing north through the Red Sea, potentially speeding up delivery to European customers with a rare transit through waters vulnerable to renewed attacks from Houthi

MSC-backed GCC expands car carrier spree with two more newbuilds

MSC-controlled Global Car Carriers (GCC) has added another two large LNG dual-fuel car carriers in China, taking its rapidly expanding newbuilding programme to 22 ships. The former Gram Car Carriers has booked two 8,600

Tug Strike Off Khor Fakkan Extends Maritime Threat Exposure to Support Vessels Outside Hormuz

The reported damage to a tug outside Hormuz exposes an additional vulnerability in the maritime-support system. The evidence does not yet establish a campaign against auxiliary vessels, service disruption, pollution or a

Sentinel-3C captures Hurricane Rachel

Image: Demonstrating that the visible channels of Sentinel-3C’s sea and land surface temperature radiometer are working as expected, on 2 October the instrument captured this image of Hurricane Rachel over the eastern Pa

Nanjing Tanker picks Dalian for LR2 quartet

China Merchants-controlled Nanjing Tanker has selected Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC) to build four more LR2 product and crude tankers, taking its planned newbuilding programme in the segment at the Chin

Hai An lines up $70m feeder newbuild investment

Vietnamese shipowner Hai An Transport and Stevedoring has approved an investment of up to $70m in two feeder containerships at a Chinese shipyard, adding another pair of vessels to its expanding newbuilding programme. Th

MSC joins Rheinmetall in €138m Romanian shipyard takeover

Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has been confirmed as a joint buyer of Romania’s bankrupt Mangalia shipyard, teaming up with German defence giant Rheinmetall in a €138m deal to revive one of Europe’s largest shipbuilding

Hormuz attacks overwhelm UKMTO

The sheer volume of attacks on commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz has left Britain’s maritime security reporting centre struggling to keep track, with most vessels targeted in the increasingly dangerous wate

COSCO books 16 grain carrier newbuilds

China’s COSCO Shipping Bulk has signed up for another 16 multipurpose grain carriers at Fujian Shipbuilding, extending its newbuilding spree in the dry bulk sector. The latest batch of 87,000 dwt vessels was contracted,

India rolls out credit risk backstop for shipbuilders

India has introduced two government-backed credit-risk insurance products for shipbuilders, aiming to protect domestic yards against missed payments and buyer defaults on vessel construction contracts. The measures, unve

Is Russia Probing NATO Weakness in the Black Sea?

Russia is clearly mounting a campaign in the Black Sea against merchant shipping, with the aim of reducing shipping volumes heading to and from Ukrain...

The Blockade on Iran Is Now Hitting Home

Analysts use the best available information to try to determine how effective the United States' blockade of Iranian shipping has been in putting pres...

Two Protesters Arrested for Boarding Offshore Gas Platform off Australia

Australian authorities have arrested two Greenpeace activists who briefly boarded an offshore gas platform off the coast of Western Australia. On Satu...

Greenpeace activists charged after disrupting Woodside offshore gas project

Two Greenpeace activists have been charged after a weekend occupation of Woodside Energy’s Scarborough floating production unit off Western Australia forced the company to suspend pre-commissioning activities. Four activ

Union Maritime orders PSV pair at Fujian Shipbuilding

UK shipowner Union Maritime has ordered two platform supply vessels (PSVs) from China’s Fujian Shipbuilding, with options for two more, as it expands its offshore support fleet. The 84-metre newbuilds were contracted at

Ukraine Talks with Turkey, India, Egypt Over Grain Corridor

By Daryna Krasnolutska, Volodymyr Verbianyi and Olesia Safronova Oct 18, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Ukraine is in talks with Turkey, Egypt and India on the possibility of opening up Black Sea civil navigation,...

Havila adds six vessel-years of firm North Sea work

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Havila Shipping has signed contracts with Neo Next + Energy’s UK arm for two of its platform supply vessels (PSVs). The contracts were awarded to the 2010-built Havila Fanø and the 2009

GPS OPERATIONAL ADVISORY JDAY 292

Romania Shoots Down Two Suspected Russian Drones in NATO Airspace

On Saturday, Romania launched F-16 fighter jets to shoot down two one-way attack drones over its territorial seas, the country's defense minister said...

China's Unconventional Naval Warfare Capabilities are Evolving

The evolution of maritime warfare has largely moved in expanding the form of conflict and the direction of it. Originating from largely surface confli...

Union Leader Launches Crane Sit-in at Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan Yard

The head of one of the labor unions at Hyundai Heavy Industries has begun a sit-in on top of a crane at HHI's shipyard in Ulsan, the local branch of t...

Iran Urges US To Accept Proposal To Reopen Strait Of Hormuz

DUBAI, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Iran’s offer to the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days is still on the table, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Iranian media...

Vessel struck by unidentified projectile in Hormuz & Arabian Gulf

ALERT 150/26 ALERT 150/26 – ATTACK MSCIO has received information regarding an incident on 18 October 2026, northeast of Khor Fakkan, UAE, in the Gulf of Oman. A tug reportedly was struck by two unknown projectiles while

GPS OPERATIONAL ADVISORY JDAY 291

Sulina interceptions do not establish sea-access status; Danube closure concerns a different reach

The air-defence report and the navigation closure answer different questions. The former concerns air engagements east and southeast of Sulina; the latter closes an inland dredging reach. Neither establishes the conditio

Fincantieri Accelerates Robotics and Physical AI to Build Future Shipyard

Fincantieri, a global leader in high-complexity shipbuilding, is accelerating the transformation of its shipyards through the integration of advanced...

Canaveral Port Authority Donates Firefighting Equipment

The Canaveral Port Authority today officially turned over the ceremonial keys to “Truck 52,” an aerial fire apparatus formerly operated by Canaveral F...

Yemen Fighting Rages as Civilian Toll From Houthi-Saudi Conflict Worsens

New clashes were reported as the Houthis put more pressure on Taiz, a city connecting the government-held south of the country and the Red Sea.

16 People Rescued in Pacific Ocean Off Mexico, U.S. Coast Guard Says

The agency said a major rescue operation was underway near the coast of Baja California after it received reports of 27 people in the water.

MSCIO 149/26 describes gunfire, not a shipboard blaze; nearby notices remain unmatched

MSCIO 149/26 reports an armed approach and withdrawal, not an onboard blaze. NAVAREA adds a nearby caution point; UKMTO's candidate adds an LNG classification but an unresolved location crosswalk. Retain the notices sepa

Iran’s Guards Say Two Tankers Hit Mines In Strait Of Hormuz

DUBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said on Saturday that two oil tankers had caught fire after hitting naval mines while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, the official Iranian news agency...