Iran Fires on Containership, Tanker and Cruise Ship Saying Hormuz is Closed

Royal Navy Pays a Visit to Pitcairn, the UK's Sole Pacific Territory

Published Apr 17, 2026 8:56 PM by The Maritime Executive

Unlike the French, the United Kingdom has for the most part given up what used to be its empire, retaining only a ceremonial role in the governance of most its former colonies. However, the UK still has direct control of a small number of overseas territories, sufficiently spread around the world for US military planners to be able to usually find a small British-owned island somewhere close by should a crisis arise, and from which operations can be supported. One...

A VLCC in ballast arrives at Port of Corpus Christi (file image courtesy Port of Corpus Christi)

"Energy Dominance" In Action

Published Apr 17, 2026 7:38 PM by Erik Broekhuizen / Poten & Partners

The crisis in the Middle East and in particular the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has upended global oil markets. Both crude oil and refined products are now in short supply. Refiners around the world are desperate to get their hands on alternative sources of crude oil, almost at any price. However, the options are limited and dwindling. The volume of Russian and Iranian oil in floating storage is shrinking fast since the U.S. has lifted some of...

Zim's Employees Go Out On Strike as Hapag Merger Moves Forward

Published Apr 17, 2026 6:29 PM by The Maritime Executive

Employees of Israeli shipping firm Zim have gone on strike to protest the labor terms of the firm's sale to Hapag-Lloyd, according to local media. Union officials told CTech that they are concerned that Hapag-Lloyd wants to offer early retirement to many longtime employees instead of keeping them on. On Thursday, about 900 of Zim's employees went out on strike amidst talks on a new collective bargaining agreement for the workers' union. On the side of management, Zim, Hapag-Lloyd and...

Can Coral be Bred for Better Tolerance to Heatwaves?

Published Apr 17, 2026 5:18 PM by The Conversation

[By Liam Lachs, Adriana Humanes and James Guest] As global warming accelerates, extreme heatwaves are causing widespread death of tropical reef corals. Most corals rely on tiny algae cells living within their tissues that photosynthesise and produce energy. Corals use this energy to build their skeletons that create the reef structure. In our warming world, evolution of heatwave tolerance will be critical for coral populations to persist. Natural adaptation occurs over many generations and is probably already under way. But...

Shipping

U.S.-Flagged Cargo Ship Goes Missing During Passage of Typhoon Sinlaku

The U.S. Coast Guard reports that a small U.S.-flagged cargo ship went missing off the coast of Saipan during the passage of Super Typhoon Sinlaku. An upturned hull - not yet identified - was spotted Saturday morning at a position 100 nautical miles away. The Mariana is a U.S.-flagged offshore supply vessel repurposed for cargo and employed on a regular freight route between Guam, Tinian and Saipan. On the afternoon of April 11, as Sinlaku approached the islands, Mariana departed...

Tugs & Salvage

Canada Investigates Bridge Allision on the Welland Canal

Marine investigators in Canada have launched an investigation after a general cargo vessel struck a bridge while transiting the busy Welland Canal in Port Colborne, Ontario. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said it was deploying a team of investigators following the incident involving cargo vessel BBC Tokyo, which came into contact with the Clarence Street Bridge (also known as Bridge 21) while transiting the canal on April 16. "The TSB will be gathering information and assessing the occurrence,"...

Government

Iran Fires on Containership, Tanker and Cruise Ship Saying Hormuz is Closed

Iranian officials on Saturday reversed the previous statements and once again declared the Strait of Hormuz is closed, along with renewing their strict conditions. Several ships are reporting they were fired upon, while others said they were told the Strait is closed and were forced to turn back from their attempts to exit the Persian Gulf. The monitoring operation UKMTO (UK Maritime Trade Operations) has received reports of a series of incidents taking place on Saturday in the Strait of...

Corporate News

Freire Shipyard Launches The Armada Diving Support Vessel A22 Proserpina

[By: Freire Shipyard] The Spanish shipyard C.N.P. FREIRE, S.A. (Freire Shipyard) held in Vigo the launch ceremony of the diving support vessel, hull number 739, built for the Armada Logistics Support Command: A22 Proserpina. Delivery is scheduled for later this year. The ceremony was presided over by the shipyard's General Managers, Marcos and Guillermo Freire, accompanied by the Chief of Staff of the Armada (AJEMA), His Excellency Antonio Piñeiro Sánchez. As well was attended by prominent civil authorities, including the...

Cruise Ships

Cruise Ship Reports “Splash” in Strait as Five Ships Escape Persian Gulf

Taking advantage of the relative calm with the current ceasefire and reports that the Strait of Hormuz is open, the first of the cruise ships began their outward journey. Six cruise ships had been caught inside the Persian Gulf when hostilities began and have remained for the past 47 days alongside at ports including Port Rashid, UAE, and Doha, Qatar, while their passengers were repatriated. Three cruise ships, MSC Cruises’ MSC Euribia (184,000 gross tons), and the sister ships Mein...

Ports

Ho Chi Minh City Approves $5B MSC Container Terminal

Vietnam’s transshipment port project Can Gio International has made progress, with Ho Chi Minh City this week approving the consortium to lead its development. The partners under the consortium are led by MSC’s Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) with a 49% stake, Vietnam Maritime Corporation with 36% and Saigon Port, a subsidiary of VIMC, with 15%. The joint venture will see the development of Vietnam’s biggest transshipment port, with Ho Chi Minh City looking to raise its status as a global...

Shipping

U.S.-Flagged Cargo Ship Goes Missing During Passage of Typhoon Sinlaku

Tugs & Salvage

Canada Investigates Bridge Allision on the Welland Canal

Government

Iran Fires on Containership, Tanker and Cruise Ship Saying Hormuz is Closed

Corporate News

Freire Shipyard Launches The Armada Diving Support Vessel A22 Proserpina

Cruise Ships

Cruise Ship Reports “Splash” in Strait as Five Ships Escape Persian Gulf

Ports

Ho Chi Minh City Approves $5B MSC Container Terminal

Offshore

China Commissions Wind Farm At Its Deepest Offshore Position

Chinese officials highlighted the commissioning of its newest offshore wind farm, which is also setting a record for the country’s deepest fixed-bottom wind turbines and is located far out to sea. They highlighted the complex geology and challenges of extreme sea conditions in developing and operating the 504 MW wind farm, the Huaneng Shandong Peninsula North L Site. The wind farm was developed by the state-owned China Huaneng Group and will be managed and operated by the Yantai Power Plant....

Shipbuilding

Pacific Basin Cancels Methanol Vessels Due to Climate-Rules Uncertainty

Pacific Basin Shipping, one of the world's largest operators of dry bulk vessels, is partially abandoning plans to anchor its future fleet growth on green methanol after terminating a contract for four dual-fuel Ultramax newbuilds. As one of the world's leading owners and operators of Handysize, Supramax and Ultramax dry bulk vessels, Pacific Basin operates around 250 ships, of which over 100 are owned and the rest chartered. Four years ago, the Hong Kong-based shipping company said it was putting...

Environment

Riding the LNG Wave

The age of global LNG is upon us. In the latter half of 2025, the global supply increased nearly seven percent. This came largely from North America, which frankly has LNG down to a science. It's abundant here. We know how to extract it in an environmentally conscious manner, and we have the infrastructure to process, store and move it. New U.S. LNG projects reaching final investment decisions in 2025 included Louisiana LNG, Corpus Christi Trains 8 & 9, CP2...

Business

"Energy Dominance" In Action

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Iran Fires on Containership, Tanker and Cruise Ship Saying Hormuz is Closed

Royal Navy Pays a Visit to Pitcairn, the UK's Sole Pacific Territory

"Energy Dominance" In Action

Zim's Employees Go Out On Strike as Hapag Merger Moves Forward

Can Coral be Bred for Better Tolerance to Heatwaves?

U.S.-Flagged Cargo Ship Goes Missing During Passage of Typhoon Sinlaku

Canada Investigates Bridge Allision on the Welland Canal

Iran Fires on Containership, Tanker and Cruise Ship Saying Hormuz is Closed

Freire Shipyard Launches The Armada Diving Support Vessel A22 Proserpina

Cruise Ship Reports “Splash” in Strait as Five Ships Escape Persian Gulf

Ho Chi Minh City Approves $5B MSC Container Terminal

Estonian Solutions Support Cruise Industry’s Green Transition

Cyber Risk in Shipping: From Technical Threat to Business Reality

Architecture of Adaptability: Designing Vessels to Stand the Test of Time

U.S.-Flagged Cargo Ship Goes Missing During Passage of Typhoon Sinlaku

Canada Investigates Bridge Allision on the Welland Canal

Iran Fires on Containership, Tanker and Cruise Ship Saying Hormuz is Closed

Freire Shipyard Launches The Armada Diving Support Vessel A22 Proserpina

Cruise Ship Reports “Splash” in Strait as Five Ships Escape Persian Gulf

Ho Chi Minh City Approves $5B MSC Container Terminal

China Commissions Wind Farm At Its Deepest Offshore Position

Pacific Basin Cancels Methanol Vessels Due to Climate-Rules Uncertainty

Riding the LNG Wave

"Energy Dominance" In Action

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events