Turkey Pledges Investigation into Movements of Damaged Shadow Tanker

Saronic Secures $392M Unmanned-Vessel Contract From the U.S. Navy

Published Dec 8, 2025 10:08 PM by The Maritime Executive

  Autonomous vessel company Saronic has secured a U.S. Navy production contract worth $392 million for its Corsair unmanned vessel, a 24-foot speedboat with a 1,000-pound payload. It is the entry point for an ever-growing series of vessels in the startup's lineup, which extends from a six-foot mini-drone up to an 180-foot aluminum vessel capable of carrying containerized payloads. The contract was first reported by DefenseScoop in August, but the announcement provides additional details. "With Saronic, we went from...

CATL Expects Oceangoing Battery-Electric Vessels Within Three Years

Published Dec 8, 2025 8:17 PM by The Maritime Executive

  Leading battery-maker CATL is already big in the business of electric vessels, thanks to burgeoning interest from China's domestic operators, and it believes that the market is only going to get bigger. At Marintec last week, the head of the company's marine division predicted that ocean-going electric vessels will be plying the seas within three years - defying green-fuel technologists who say that battery-electric designs lack the power density needed for transoceanic voyages. CATL makes more lithium-ion batteries than...

COSCO Goes Big with $7B Order for 87 Ships in Vessel Renewal Project

Published Dec 8, 2025 7:14 PM by The Maritime Executive

In an industry familiar with large orders, China’s COSCO Shipping has nonetheless drawn attention with reports that it signed an order that will see the company build 87 new vessels across all segments of its fleet. China State Shipbuilding reports the order is valued at approximately $7 billion, although it cautions in a stock exchange filing that the final terms will evolve as the projects proceed. Chinese media is reporting that it is the largest ever order placed...

Austal USA Holds Keel-Laying for its First Offshore Patrol Cutter

Published Dec 8, 2025 6:09 PM by The Maritime Executive

  On Monday, Austal USA laid the keel for the future USCGC Pickering, the first vessel for the yard's Offshore Patrol Cutter contract for the U.S. Coast Guard. The service has executed options for six hulls, and the contract provides for as many as 11 vessels.  The OPC will provide a replacement for the service's medium-endurance cutters (WMECs), many of which are well past their planned service lives. The new vessel class has been a long time coming, and Austal...

Shipping

Early Thick Arctic Ice Forces Russian LNG Carrier to Retreat

  Russia’s attempts to continue to ship LNG from the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 site to China appear to have been stymied by an early onset of thick winter ice. Russian media reports are that after a week of trying, one of the medium weight LNG carriers that has maintained the export flow for the terminal has abandoned its latest attempt. Position signals show that the Russian-flagged LNG carrier Buran has moved north into the Kara Sea. The message says...

Tugs & Salvage

Turkey Pledges Investigation into Movements of Damaged Shadow Tanker

  Turkish and Bulgarian officials have met to discuss the case of the fire-damaged tanker Kairos, which drifted off the Bulgarian coast at the end of last week and required a rescue operation. Bulgaria wants to know what the intentions were for the tanker that had been damaged during an attack by Ukraine, while reports from Turkey say the Turkish authorities had also not been informed about the movements of the tanker. Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport...

Government

A Coast Guard sniper disables a drug boat's engines with a .50-caliber rifle (USCG)

U.S. Coast Guard Has Seized 150,000 Pounds of Cocaine Since August

  The U.S. Coast Guard says that it has seized 68 tonnes of cocaine since beginning an intensive interdiction campaign in the Eastern Pacific in August, suggesting that it is on track for another banner year. At this pace, the service's performance could approach the record that it set in FY2025.  "This milestone is a testament to the vigilance and tenacity of our crews," said Adm. Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guard’s acting commandant. "When we say we own the sea,...

Corporate News

Babcock and HII Partner to Support Royal Navy's Autonomous Ambitions

  [By Babcock] Babcock International Group (Babcock), the defense company, has unveiled transformational plans to support the UK Royal Navy’s next generation autonomous ambitions. The Royal Navy is leading the way in the combined use of autonomous and crewed systems in the Maritime Domain; fundamentally changing the threat calculus of our adversaries. The First Sea Lord, General Sir Gwyn Jenkin’s speech at the International Seapower Conference demonstrates how the Royal Navy is taking the lead on technological development within Europe...

Cruise Ships

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

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...

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

Early Thick Arctic Ice Forces Russian LNG Carrier to Retreat

Tugs & Salvage

Turkey Pledges Investigation into Movements of Damaged Shadow Tanker

Government

U.S. Coast Guard Has Seized 150,000 Pounds of Cocaine Since August

Corporate News

Babcock and HII Partner to Support Royal Navy's Autonomous Ambitions

Cruise Ships

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

Ports

Retailers Expect Declining Import Cargo Volume to Continue in 2026

Offshore

Judge Vacates Trump’s Order Stopping Review and Approval of Wind Farms

A U.S. federal judge found for the states in a complaint filed against the Trump administration regarding Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order placing the wind energy industry under review. While the decision is being hailed as a key victory by advocates, it may in reality do little to end the administration's assault on wind energy and other elements of renewable energy. A coalition of 17 states and Washington, D.C., had sued earlier this year seeking...

Shipbuilding

Saronic Secures $392M Unmanned-Vessel Contract From the U.S. Navy

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

Cargo operations at the busy port of Shanghai Yangshan (file image courtesy Bruno Corbet / CC BY SA 3.0)

China's Trade Surplus Blows Past $1 Trillion

In the first half of 2025, the Trump administration made an unprecedented effort to shake loose China's grip on the American import market, employing sky-high tariffs to deter importers from buying Chinese goods. It worked, but not by reducing China's exports overall. Chinese manufacturers are making and shipping more finished goods than ever before - but they're now selling to other countries.   China's trade surplus in goods has broken an annual record: Chinese exports exceeded imports by...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Turkey Pledges Investigation into Movements of Damaged Shadow Tanker

Saronic Secures $392M Unmanned-Vessel Contract From the U.S. Navy

CATL Expects Oceangoing Battery-Electric Vessels Within Three Years

COSCO Goes Big with $7B Order for 87 Ships in Vessel Renewal Project

Austal USA Holds Keel-Laying for its First Offshore Patrol Cutter

Early Thick Arctic Ice Forces Russian LNG Carrier to Retreat

Turkey Pledges Investigation into Movements of Damaged Shadow Tanker

U.S. Coast Guard Has Seized 150,000 Pounds of Cocaine Since August

Babcock and HII Partner to Support Royal Navy's Autonomous Ambitions

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

Early Thick Arctic Ice Forces Russian LNG Carrier to Retreat

Turkey Pledges Investigation into Movements of Damaged Shadow Tanker

U.S. Coast Guard Has Seized 150,000 Pounds of Cocaine Since August

Babcock and HII Partner to Support Royal Navy's Autonomous Ambitions

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

Retailers Expect Declining Import Cargo Volume to Continue in 2026

Judge Vacates Trump’s Order Stopping Review and Approval of Wind Farms

Saronic Secures $392M Unmanned-Vessel Contract From the U.S. Navy

EPS Tanker Studied to Determine Results of Wind-Assisted Propulsion

China's Trade Surplus Blows Past $1 Trillion

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events