A Ukrainian drone closes in on a product tanker at Taganrog (USF)

Ukraine Damages Product Tanker and Oil Terminal on Sea of Azov

Port of Itajai Plans to Remove 133-Year-Old Wreck to Prepare for Dredging

Published May 31, 2026 4:49 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Brazilian Port of Itajaí has embarked on a project to remove the wreck of a merchant ship that has been lying on the bottom of a critical shipping channel for more than 130 years. The move is expected to pave the way for deepening of the channel to allow larger vessels to access the port. Itajaí, Brazil's second-largest container port, said it has signed an agreement with the University of Vale do Itajaí (Univali) to carry out a technical...

After Iranian Attack, Activists Renew Push for Live Export Ban

Published May 31, 2026 4:49 PM by The Maritime Executive

Animal welfare organizations are renewing their push for a total ban on seaborne livestock exports after some 4,000 sheep and goats died off the coast of Oman earlier this month. Maritime intelligence firm Windward reported that the Indian-flagged cargo vessel MSV Haji Ali sank following a suspected drone attack in the volatile Strait of Hormuz region. The 57-meter vessel was traveling from the Port of Berbera in Somalia to the Port of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates with a...

Op-Ed: Three Countries Could Scuttle WTO's Fishing-Subsidy Limit Agreement

Published May 31, 2026 3:12 PM by The Lowy Interpreter

More than 600 million people around the world seek to make their living through fishing or from processing the catch. Most of those workers – often impoverished – rightly pay little attention to the intricate debates of the World Trade Organization, but a newly struck Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (FSA) heralds a breakthrough for the marine environment as well as a timely boost for multilateral rules-based cooperation. Following 20 years of negotiations, the FSA came into force on September 15,...

Claimed wreckage of the Orbiter drone on the beach at Qeshm Island (Tasnim)

No Signs of Peace in the Gulf

Published May 31, 2026 1:47 PM by The Maritime Executive

From activity noted, there are few if any indications from the Gulf region or in the Strait of Hormuz area that a ceasefire or an end to the war is imminent. The blockade of Iranian ships and ports goes on unabated. On May 29. U.S. Central Command reported that US naval forces had disabled Gambian-flagged 71-meter general cargo vessel MV Lianstar (IMO 9072692) in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel ignored repeated warnings that it should not attempt to...

Shipping

Australian Police Find Cocaine Inside a Luxury Bus Aboard a Ro/Ro

The Australian Border Force (ABF) has once again busted a cocaine shipment tucked inside an imported luxury bus aboard a ro/ro - an unusual choice of concealment, but one that it has encountered before. On May 6, ABF officers searched a ro/ro at the Port of Fremantle and examined its rolling cargo, including a high-end motor coach. Hidden behind panels in the ceiling of the bus, they found about 34 kilos of cocaine in packages. At sky-high Australian pricing of...

Tugs & Salvage

Ukraine Damages Product Tanker and Oil Terminal on Sea of Azov

On Friday night, Ukraine's drone forces launched another large-scale attack on targets in Russian-occupied Crimea, damaging a tanker and two petroleum terminals. Unmanned Systems Force (USF) Commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi reported that airborne drones from his division hit 23 different targets around the region. In Taganrog, a small port at the northeastern end of the Sea of Azov, a drone struck and damaged a product tanker, causing a substantial fire on board. At about the same time, USF drones hit...

Government

A trial launch of Iranian Fateh-110 ballistic missiles, used against targets in Kuwait over the weekend (Hossein Velayati / CC BY 4.0)

U.S. and Iran Trade Fire as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Continue

Over the weekend, Iranian and U.S. forces traded fire in a continued low-level contest over the control of the Strait of Hormuz. Five U.S. servicemembers were injured in a Saturday missile strike on an airbase in Kuwait, according to Bloomberg, and the same base was attacked again early Monday. U.S. forces emphasized that a ceasefire remains in effect despite the limited exchange. At about 0615 hours local time, U.S. Central Command confirmed that it had carried out a series of...

Corporate News

Associated British Ports Appoints New Group Head of Property

[By: Associated British Ports] Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s largest port operator, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rupert Joseland as its new Group Head of Property. Rupert will lead the Property team of one of the UK’s biggest commercial landowners with a portfolio of over 8,600 acres across a range of strategic locations providing unrivalled development options and multimodal logistics links. He will also directly head the Property team for ABP Southampton. Rupert is an accomplished property...

Cruise Ships

Silversea Cruise Ship Rescues Solo Sailor in North Pacific

On the tail end of a Pacific voyage to Tahiti and Hawaii, the cruise ship Silver Whisper had the opportunity to save a solo sailor whose yacht had been dismasted off the Pacific coast. On Tuesday, the crew of the Silver Whisper got a distress call from the Canadian-flagged sailboat April Alice. The small yacht was dismasted and disabled at a position about 420 nautical miles off the coast of Oregon, and the sole crewmember had sustained a shoulder injury....

Ports

First Ethanol-Methanol Bunkering Operation Completed in Rotterdam

In a closely watched development that is being called a groundbreaking bunkering, the Port of Rotterdam recently hosted the first ethanol-methanol operation. It comes as there is growing interest in the maritime sector of ethanol as a possible easy addition to alternative fuels. Singapore-based shipping company X-Press Feeders partnered with consultancy firm METHANAVE to trial the bunkering of the blended fuel on the container ship Eco Levant. The bunkering was conducted at the Port of Rotterdam, marking the first time...

Shipping

Australian Police Find Cocaine Inside a Luxury Bus Aboard a Ro/Ro

Tugs & Salvage

Ukraine Damages Product Tanker and Oil Terminal on Sea of Azov

Government

U.S. and Iran Trade Fire as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Continue

Corporate News

Associated British Ports Appoints New Group Head of Property

Cruise Ships

Silversea Cruise Ship Rescues Solo Sailor in North Pacific

Ports

First Ethanol-Methanol Bunkering Operation Completed in Rotterdam

Offshore

Australia's Ichthys LNG Project Dodges Labor Strike

The labor union for Australia's offshore oil and gas workers has called off plans for a strike at the giant Ichthys LNG terminal in Western Australia. The Offshore Alliance said that negotiations with management were proceeding, and the labor action that its members approved earlier in the month will be deferred. The news will be welcome for Asian utilities, which have been paying elevated prices for LNG since the start of the U.S./Israeli conflict with Iran; any interference with Ichthys'...

Shipbuilding

Vard Secures Norway’s Highest Value Order to Build Deep-Sea Research Vessel

Norwegian shipbuilder Vard, a subsidiary of the Fincantieri Group, signed its highest value single ship contract and the largest order of its kind for any Norwegian shipyard. Valued at nearly €700 million (US$816 million), the contract is for the design and construction of a deep-sea research vessel for US-based research organization Inkfish. The vessel, project-named RV11000, is based on a Vard design for specialized research vessels. Developed by Vard Design in Ålesund, Norway, in close collaboration with Inkfish, RV11000 will...

Environment

Microplastics Could Affect the Ocean's Ability to Absorb Carbon

[By Ingebjørg Hestvik] “We study how plastic affects what we call ecosystem services, that is, the services we receive from ecosystems. When the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, we consider it as a service the ocean performs for us,” says researcher Francesca Verones. Photo: Francesca Verones, NTNU You have probably heard this before: more than 70 per cent of our planet is covered by oceans. Nearly half of all photosynthesis on Earth takes place in the ocean, and...

Business

The Hidden Clause Contradictions Driving Demurrage Claims

A bulk carrier arrives at Paranagua on a Saturday morning at 08:00 local time. Sugar cargo, clean fixture, terms agreed weeks earlier in what looked like a routine email exchange. The master tenders Notice of Readiness on arrival. The vessel waits. Laytime does not start counting until Monday at 08:00, leaving two full days on the owner's side of the ledger as unpaid time. Three weeks later, when the Statement of Facts (SOF) lands on the demurrage analyst's desk, the...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Ukraine Damages Product Tanker and Oil Terminal on Sea of Azov

Port of Itajai Plans to Remove 133-Year-Old Wreck to Prepare for Dredging

After Iranian Attack, Activists Renew Push for Live Export Ban

Op-Ed: Three Countries Could Scuttle WTO's Fishing-Subsidy Limit Agreement

No Signs of Peace in the Gulf

Australian Police Find Cocaine Inside a Luxury Bus Aboard a Ro/Ro

Ukraine Damages Product Tanker and Oil Terminal on Sea of Azov

U.S. and Iran Trade Fire as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Continue

Associated British Ports Appoints New Group Head of Property

Silversea Cruise Ship Rescues Solo Sailor in North Pacific

First Ethanol-Methanol Bunkering Operation Completed in Rotterdam

The Hidden Clause Contradictions Driving Demurrage Claims

Rethinking Hull Maintenance: The Problem Goes Deeper Than Fouling

PSSR Under MSC.560(108): What Seafarers Need to Know in 2026

Australian Police Find Cocaine Inside a Luxury Bus Aboard a Ro/Ro

Ukraine Damages Product Tanker and Oil Terminal on Sea of Azov

U.S. and Iran Trade Fire as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Continue

Associated British Ports Appoints New Group Head of Property

Silversea Cruise Ship Rescues Solo Sailor in North Pacific

First Ethanol-Methanol Bunkering Operation Completed in Rotterdam

Australia's Ichthys LNG Project Dodges Labor Strike

Vard Secures Norway’s Highest Value Order to Build Deep-Sea Research Vessel

Microplastics Could Affect the Ocean's Ability to Absorb Carbon

The Hidden Clause Contradictions Driving Demurrage Claims

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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