Retailers Expect Declining Import Cargo Volume to Continue in 2026

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

Published Dec 8, 2025 1:58 PM by The Maritime Executive

Lawmakers in France were successful in adding a new tax on cruise passengers to the proposed 2026 French state budget. They contend the tax is to counter the environmental impact of cruises on coastal France. The senators presenting the measure assert it is a “polluter pays” tax, singling out the emissions of cruise ships while in ports. They argue that it would not harm the attractiveness of the sector but would provide additional finances to protect and enhance...

HD Hyundai Moves Forward with Plans to Establish an Indian Shipbuilder

Published Dec 8, 2025 1:38 PM by The Maritime Executive

  South Korea’s largest shipbuilding group, HD Hyundai, is continuing to take steps toward developing a large shipbuilding yard in India. The company is exploring multiple opportunities to support the Indian government initiative to make the country an international leader in shipbuilding. HD Hyundai reports it has signed a strategic partnership with the Tamil Nadu state government in southeast India on the Bay of Bengal regarding the establishment of a new shipyard. They plan to work together to explore sites...

Bulgaria Seeks Answers as First of Crew is Removed from Sanctioned Tanker

Published Dec 8, 2025 12:10 PM by The Maritime Executive

Bulgarian authorities are still seeking answers about how the fire-damaged tanker Kairos ended up stranded offshore while it continues to render assistance to the crew onboard. The tanker remains stable in heavy weather just off the coast of southern Bulgaria after having washed ashore on Friday, December 5. High winds and heavy seas have hampered the operations, but according to reports, Bulgarian officials were able to inspect the ship and have made contact with the Chinese owners. The...

Salvors offload a chunk of a concrete mooring platform removed from USS Arizona (USN)

U.S. Navy Marks a Milestone for the Preservation of USS Arizona

Published Dec 7, 2025 11:07 PM by The Maritime Executive

  The U.S Navy has removed over 100 tonnes of weight from the wreck on famed World War II warship USS Arizona, safeguarding the integrity of the ship and ensuring it remains a revered memorial in Pearl Harbor for decades to come.   The Navy is announcing the successful removal of significant portions of two aging mooring platforms, which were welded onto the wreck of the ship to aid in the salvage of guns and munitions after the deadly December 1941 attack on...

Shipping

Bulker Exchanges Shots with Skiffs off Yemen

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 vessel Bobik (31,896 dwt) reported the incident to UK Maritime Trade Operations early on December 5. The vessel is Turkish-owned and reports coming from Georgia after having made a port call in Ukraine. The ship was built in 2006...

Tugs & Salvage

Vietnam and Malaysia Coordinate to Rescue Crew from Listing Cargo Ship

  Vietnamese officials are highlighting a successful coordination with their counterparts in Malaysia to rescue the crew from a cargo ship that had taken on a dangerous list. The crew was safely transported to Malaysia while attempts are being made to tow the cargo ship Kayo (5,200 dwt). The incident began around midnight on Friday, December 5, when the Vietnamese Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center picked up a distress call from the cargo ship Kayo. The vessel, built in...

Government

To Offset Declining Frigate Force, UK Debuts Unmanned Strategy for GIUK Gap

  To offset increasing Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic, the Royal Navy is rolling out a new plan for high-tech monitoring in the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) Gap, the line of control that separates Russia's Northern Fleet from the open ocean. The service is putting new emphasis on unmanned technology for this task, reflecting the age and uncertain future of its conventional frigate fleet. In a display day for media last week, British Secretary of State for Defense John Healey...

Corporate News

Knud E. Hansen Supports Next-Generation RoPax Ferries For Cook Strait

[By: Knud E. Hansen] KNUD E. HANSEN, a leading naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy, is pleased to announce a significant milestone in its ongoing collaboration with Ferry Holdings Limited. Following the successful signing of the shipbuilding contract with Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI), two new state-of-the-art RoPAX vessels will be built. These vessels are destined for service linking the North and South islands across New Zealand’s challenging Cook Strait and through the environmentally sensitive environs of the Tory Channel and Queen...

Cruise Ships

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

Ports

Retailers Expect Declining Import Cargo Volume to Continue in 2026

The National Retail Federation issued its forecast for imports through the first quarter of 2026, saying that it expects volumes will continue the year-over-year declines seen in five of the past 11 months. The retail trade association, while expecting record sales during the holiday season, projects that import volumes will continue the overall declines well into 2026 due to uncertainty over tariffs and trade policies. “Stores are stocked up and ready for a record holiday season, but there...

Shipping

Bulker Exchanges Shots with Skiffs off Yemen

Tugs & Salvage

Vietnam and Malaysia Coordinate to Rescue Crew from Listing Cargo Ship

Government

To Offset Declining Frigate Force, UK Debuts Unmanned Strategy for GIUK Gap

Corporate News

Knud E. Hansen Supports Next-Generation RoPax Ferries For Cook Strait

Cruise Ships

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

Ports

Retailers Expect Declining Import Cargo Volume to Continue in 2026

Offshore

Wind Farm to Power Amazon and Google Sends First Power to German Grid

  The Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm started feeding its first power to the German grid on December 3. The wind farm marks another milestone both for Germany and the EU, becoming the largest offshore wind farm in Ørsted’s German portfolio and one that has contracted more than four-fifths of its power with long-term corporate power purchase agreements. Located about 45 miles off the German coast in the North Sea, the project is being developed in a partnership between...

Shipbuilding

HD Hyundai Moves Forward with Plans to Establish an Indian Shipbuilder

Environment

EPS Tanker Studied to Determine Results of Wind-Assisted Propulsion

A new study seeks to quantify the beneficial impact of adding wind-assisted propulsion to vessels while also establishing a framework for assessing the technology’s benefits in reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The study, which took place on the Eastern Pacific Shipping product tanker Pacific Sentinel (50,322 dwt), was conducted in association with the Global Center for Maritime Decarbonisation in Singapore.   The authors of the study highlight that one of the key barriers to the adoption of wind-assisted...

Business

Renewed Speculation of Potential Bidders to Acquire HMM

  Korean media reports suggest that there continues to be exploration over the possible privatization of container carrier HMM, nearly two years after a prior attempt collapsed. According to Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper group, the food and logistics giant Dongwon Group has decided to renew its exploration to formulate an offer for the company. Next year will mark a decade since the government stepped in to rescue Hyundai Merchant Marine. It took majority ownership through the Korea Development Bank and...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Retailers Expect Declining Import Cargo Volume to Continue in 2026

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

HD Hyundai Moves Forward with Plans to Establish an Indian Shipbuilder

Bulgaria Seeks Answers as First of Crew is Removed from Sanctioned Tanker

U.S. Navy Marks a Milestone for the Preservation of USS Arizona

Bulker Exchanges Shots with Skiffs off Yemen

Vietnam and Malaysia Coordinate to Rescue Crew from Listing Cargo Ship

To Offset Declining Frigate Force, UK Debuts Unmanned Strategy for GIUK Gap

Knud E. Hansen Supports Next-Generation RoPax Ferries For Cook Strait

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

Retailers Expect Declining Import Cargo Volume to Continue in 2026

Understanding Hazardous Area Classification on Ships and Offshore

Why Financial Wellbeing Is Central to Seafarer Welfare

Estonia's Digital-First Ship Registry: A Modern Maritime Flag

Bulker Exchanges Shots with Skiffs off Yemen

Vietnam and Malaysia Coordinate to Rescue Crew from Listing Cargo Ship

To Offset Declining Frigate Force, UK Debuts Unmanned Strategy for GIUK Gap

Knud E. Hansen Supports Next-Generation RoPax Ferries For Cook Strait

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

Retailers Expect Declining Import Cargo Volume to Continue in 2026

Wind Farm to Power Amazon and Google Sends First Power to German Grid

HD Hyundai Moves Forward with Plans to Establish an Indian Shipbuilder

EPS Tanker Studied to Determine Results of Wind-Assisted Propulsion

Renewed Speculation of Potential Bidders to Acquire HMM

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events