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Maritime Intelligence
Current shipping, offshore, safety, regulatory, port and environmental developments from trusted maritime industry sources.
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Anthropic says it disrupted an Iran-linked user that used its Claude artificial intelligence models to track U.S. naval forces, compile targeting material and research vulnerabilities in shipboard systems. The activity...
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Maritime Intelligence
U.S. Maritime Administrator Stephen Carmel on Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks by honoring the merchant mariners who answered an extraordinary call for help and helped...
Maritime Intelligence
The cost of shipping oil in the largest tankers hit record highs this week following the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the U.S.-Iran war began in late February.
Maritime Intelligence
The U.S. Coast Guard is set to launch its new digital mariner credentialing system, marking a major shift in how mariners apply for Merchant Mariner Credentials and medical certificates as...
Maritime Intelligence
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is still running far below normal, but the latest UKMTO data shows a steady flow of ships continuing to move through the waterway, much...
Maritime Intelligence
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reached the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Friday, four Yemeni government sources told Reuters, moving to tighten their grip on a vital global shipping route in the widening Middle East war.
Maritime Intelligence
The Port of Long Beach handled its busiest August on record as U.S. container imports remained stronger than expected through the late summer peak season. The port moved 919,992 twenty-foot...
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The World Shipping Council is urging governments to close what it says is a dangerous loophole in international shipping rules that can allow containers packed with thousands of lithium batteries...
Maritime Intelligence
European Union spending on Russian Arctic LNG has already surpassed last year’s total, even as the bloc prepares for a broader phaseout of Russian energy imports. EU countries paid an...
Maritime Intelligence
The Getting to Zero Coalition is calling on International Maritime Organization member states to preserve a strong and predictable Net-Zero Framework as negotiations over shipping’s global emissions rules head into...
China’s Hubei province has signed batch construction agreements for 89 battery-swapping bulkers, taking its electric shipping drive from individual demonstration vessels towards series production. The package, unveiled at an inland shipping forum in Wuhan this week, comprises 29 vessels in the 10,000 dwt class, 20 o...
Oman’s Asyad Shipping has returned to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for two more MR product tanker newbuildings, taking a charter-backed programme launched just two months ago to eight ships. The Muscat-listed owner is paying around OMR39.89m ($103.6m) for the latest pair of 49,999 dwt tankers, with deliveries schedul...
Singapore-based Wealth Holdings has added a third multipurpose newbuilding programme this year, signing for up to six 25,000 dwt ships at China’s Hubei Guangji Green Energy Shipbuilding. The deal covers two firm vessels with two separate two-ship options, taking Wealth Holdings’ potential MPP newbuilding pipeline ac...
Flexport has defeated a $33.7m Federal Maritime Commission claim brought by Peloton over detention, demurrage and storage costs accumulated during the pandemic-era supply chain crunch. Administrative law judge Mary Apostolakos Hervey rejected Peloton’s amended complaint in full, finding that Flexport had not violate...
South Korea’s Korea Line has secured a new long-term bulker charter with China’s Zhejiang Shipping worth an estimated KRW42.08bn ($31.38m). The SM Group-controlled owner will provide one bulk carrier under a contract running nominally from October 25, 2026 to October 25, 2029, according to a regulatory filing in Seo...
25 years on from the day the towers fell in New York, Punit Oza provides Splash readers with the big picture on how the aftershocks still move through every port, every charter party, and every sea lane on Earth. On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 men armed with box cutters brought down two …
The threat from drifting drones and unexploded ordnance in the Black Sea has escalated sharply, with discoveries along NATO’s eastern coastline jumping 208% in just six months, according to a new assessment from maritime security specialist Ambrey. Ambrey recorded 91 discoveries of unexploded ordnance, unmanned aeri...
Shipping has always made money from risk. This week provided a particularly brutal demonstration of how quickly that risk can be repriced. The Strait of Hormuz dominated again, with the US-Iran conflict descending into an increasingly literal tanker-for-tanker war. Washington attacked Iranian tonnage, Tehran claimed...
Yemen’s Houthis have seized the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha, bringing the Iran-backed group to within around 80 km of the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The capture was confirmed by Houthi and Yemeni officials, with pro-government forces withdrawing south towards Dhubab. Mokha’s fall gives the Houthis greater contro...
The tanker sale that has dominated market chatter this month has finally taken shape, with Dubai-based trading house Onex DMCC linked to an extraordinary $200m purchase of a near-new VLCC from George Procopiou’s Dynacom Tankers. VesselsValue’s latest sales register identifies the ship as the 306,000 dwt Pinios, buil...
Maritime Intelligence
Vessel transits at the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven on Thursday from 11 the previous day, preliminary ship-tracking data showed on Friday, well below the 10-day average of 15.
A Greek-managed cargo ship was boarded by suspected pirates off Yemen on Thursday in the latest sign of a sharp revival in piracy across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean. Initial reports from the Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean described the incident as a hijacking, but subsequent UK Maritime Trade Op...
Oslo-listed SED Energy Holdings and Ventura Offshore have signed a letter of intent (LOI) for an all-share combination between the two companies. Energy Holdings will acquire 100% of Ventura Offshore’s outstanding shares, with Ventura Offshore shareholders receiving new ordinary shares in Energy Holdings as consider...
Italian offshore engineering contractor Saipem, in consortium with Belgian marine contractor Jan De Nul, has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with ExxonMobil for the Rovuma LNG Phase 1 development in Mozambique. The LOI covers limited preliminary engineering, procurement, and other technical services to advance proje...
Maritime Intelligence
Bluecore Energy is moving its floating nuclear power concept deeper into the development and regulatory phase, securing its first barge and beginning formal engagement with federal regulators as it works...
Maritime Intelligence
Wreck removal crews have now pulled the grounded containership MSC Baltic III about 53 meters toward shore in Newfoundland and Labrador as salvage teams continue dismantling the vessel and removing steel from...
Maritime Intelligence
Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of Yemen's port city of Mocha on Thursday and advanced down the Red Sea coast to strategic islands, military sources said, hours after President Donald Trump said he expected the Iran war to end after the U.S. midterm elections.
Shipping’s digital ambitions are accelerating faster than the structures beneath them. The industry largely agrees on the need for open standards, but adoption remains constrained by proprietary interests, regulatory fragmentation and the absence of firm mandates. The latest chapter from SplashTech’s new magazine. S...
Maritime Intelligence
Twenty-five people died in a fire aboard a foreign cargo vessel undergoing repairs at a state-owned shipyard in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao on Thursday, state media reported.
Maritime Intelligence
Iraq is holding a tender to hire two or more oil supertankers to perform transits through the Strait of Hormuz, the latest evidence that producers in the region are trying to take greater control of their exports through the chokepoint.
Maritime Intelligence
TotalEnergies Lubmarine division announces the launch of Aurelia FE, an innovative trunk piston engine oil designed to help shipowners reduce fuel consumption, lower operating costs and improve vessel efficiency. With...
Maritime Intelligence
Global tanker freight rates are surging to record levels with little respite in sight, a sign of the growing strain in oil markets as traders, shipowners, producers and buyers grapple with a drawn-out conflict in the Persian Gulf and increasingly complex workarounds.
Maritime Intelligence
Latest classification society approval against IACS UR E27 verifies the secure-by-design architecture underpinning NexusWave and reinforces Inmarsat Maritime’s commitment to helping ship operators navigate evolving cyber, operational and compliance requirements. ...
Maritime Intelligence
A Federal Maritime Commission administrative law judge has rejected Peloton Interactive’s bid to recover $33.7 million in detention, demurrage and related charges from Flexport. In an initial decision served September...
Maritime Intelligence
Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of Yemen's port city of Mocha on Thursday, military sources said, posing a further threat to global energy supplies hours after President Donald Trump said he expected the war to end after mid-term elections.
Twenty-five people have died after a fire broke out on a bulk carrier undergoing repairs at CSSC-controlled Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding in eastern China on Thursday. The fire started at around 11.15 am local time while the foreign-flagged vessel was being overhauled at the Qingdao yard. Chinese authorities said 42 p...
Maritime Intelligence
Vessel transits via the Strait of Hormuz fell on Wednesday to seven from 12 the previous day, preliminary ship-tracking data showed on Thursday, with levels also below the 10-day average of 14.
Maritime Intelligence
Global tanker freight rates are surging to record levels with little respite in sight, a sign of the growing strain in oil markets as traders, shipowners, producers and buyers grapple with a drawn-out conflict in the Persian Gulf and increasingly complex workarounds.
India’s Cochin Shipyard has approved a 50:50 joint venture with DP World’s Drydocks World that will take over its International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) in Kochi, giving the Dubai-based repair specialist the lead role in running the operation. Cochin will transfer the Willingdon Island facility to the new company...
New Fortress Energy has sold two former Seadrill cylindrical semisubs for demolition, ending a four-year effort to repurpose the pair as floating LNG liquefaction facilities. VesselsValue’s latest demolition data lists the 2009-built Sevan Driller and 2012-built Sevan Brasil as sold for scrap by New Fortress this mo...
Polys Hajioannou-led Safe Bulkers has raised €80.4m ($93.5m) through a private placement, adding fresh capital to fund its growing newbuilding programme and potentially pursue further vessel acquisitions. The New York- and Athens-listed owner placed 12m new common shares with institutional and other eligible investo...
Sunil Kapoor on why technology is changing the balance in shipping. When we acquired our vessel, several shipmanagement companies approached us. Nearly every conversation began in the same way: “Let me show you our platform.” Dashboards. Procurement systems. Performance monitoring. Everything looked impressive on th...
Maritime Intelligence
Russia has conducted two dark ship-to-ship (STS) transfers involving oil cargoes that traveled through the Northern Sea Route, highlighting the increasingly complex logistics being used to move Russian crude to Asian markets via the Arctic.
The US-Iran conflict has descended into an increasingly literal tanker war, with this week registering the largest wave of attacks on shipping since hostilities began on February 28. US forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted an American warship with...
CMA CGM has pushed back against Samsung Electronics America’s $186m claim before the US Federal Maritime Commission, telling Splash it believes it complied with its contractual obligations and applicable regulations during the pandemic-era shipments at the centre of the dispute. In a statement provided to Splash, th...
Petros Panagiotidis is returning to the spin-off playbook, with Toro Corp moving to carve out its remaining two LPG carriers into another Nasdaq-listed vehicle and leave itself with a tanker-only fleet. The Cyprus-based owner plans to spin off the 2015-built, 5,000 cu m Dream Arrax and Dream Vermax into AI OKTO Corp...
German shipowner Ernst Russ has doubled down on its move into tankers, acquiring another two chemical and product tanker newbuildings in China and fixing both to Cargill. The Hamburg-listed group has added two 18,500 dwt sisterships to the four-vessel programme it unveiled in April, taking its fast-emerging tanker f...
US maritime nuclear startup Bluecore Energy has raised $50m to accelerate development of floating nuclear power systems as Washington’s push to bring atomic energy into commercial shipping gathers momentum. The Silverton Partners-led seed round follows $10m raised when Long Beach-based Bluecore emerged from stealth...
A new US shipbuilder has launched operations on the Columbia River, reviving part of the historic Kaiser Shipyards site at a time when rebuilding American shipbuilding capacity has become a priority for the Trump administration. New Pacific Industrial has started construction of two 122 ft tugboats for American Mari...
Maritime tech is consolidating at record speed, but the real test is whether bigger platforms remove fragmentation or simply create larger silos. The latest chapter from SplashTech’s new magazine. Maritime technology has entered its roll-up era. A sector once characterised by scores of small specialist vendors is be...
Chief executive of Malaysia’s OSV owner Alam Maritim Resources, Azmi Ahmad, has been charged with two counts of fraud linked to offshore vessel charter agreements involving companies connected to Lembaga Tabung Haji. Azmi pleaded not guilty to both charges, which relate to alleged discrepancies between charter rates...
Oslo-listed semisub player Odfjell Drilling has received a letter of award from Vår Energi for use of one of its rigs. Vår Energi hired the 2019-built Deepsea Bergen, formerly known as Deepsea Bollsta, for three years, starting in early 2028, following completion of the rig’s current contract. The firm backlog cover...
The countdown to Splash Singapore is entering its final fortnight, with delegate registrations accelerating and another group of senior shipping executives joining an already packed speaker lineup. The inaugural event takes place on Thursday, September 24 in the Stamford Ballroom at Raffles City Convention Centre, p...
Maritime Intelligence
Hanwha’s push into U.S. naval shipbuilding was on display Wednesday as Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao toured the company’s Philadelphia shipyard and met with executives about expanding domestic...
Maritime Intelligence
LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) – A container ship arrived in Britain on Wednesday after a landmark voyage from China via the Arctic, as part of plans for more vessels to use the route as a shorter...
Maritime Intelligence
By Laura Curtis (Bloomberg) — A Southern California startup with plans to deploy floating nuclear power plants may be one step closer to providing electricity to the busiest seaport complex in...
Maritime Intelligence
A group representing 18 major shipping nations is warning that growing geopolitical tensions, unilateral trade measures and the expansion of the shadow fleet are threatening the rules-based maritime system that...
Maritime Intelligence
Brent crude futures breached $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since late July, as Iran and the U.S. hit tankers in the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the war began, threatening to worsen the ongoing impairment of energy supplies from the Middle East.
Maritime Intelligence
The peak shipping season at major U.S. container ports is proving longer than expected, with September now forecast to become the busiest month of the year for imports, according to...
Freightos founder Zvi Schreiber has launched a public campaign to overhaul the digital freight platform’s board, arguing the company has abandoned growth, backed the wrong strategy and allowed shareholder value to collapse. Schreiber, who resigned from the board of the box booking platform in February, said Freighto...