Turkey Pledges Investigation into Movements of Damaged Shadow Tanker

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

Published Dec 9, 2025 2:05 PM by The Maritime Executive

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...

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

Published Dec 8, 2025 11:19 PM by The Maritime Executive

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...

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...

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

ESG Completes Conversion & Delivers SOV to Hornbeck Offshore Services

[By: Eastern Shipbuilding Group] Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) today announced the successful completion and redelivery of the HOS Rocinante, a first-of-its-kind U.S.-flagged Service Operation Vessel (SOV) converted for Hornbeck Offshore Services. The vessel marks a major milestone in the evolution of the U.S. offshore service fleet to be future-ready for both the offshore wind and petro-energy sector demands for broadly capable marine support vessels. Originally built by ESG as an offshore supply vessel, the HOS Rocinante has undergone an extensive conversion at...

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

Brazilian Court Agrees to Bar Maersk and Others in Santos Terminal Auction

  A Brazilian court handed down a recommendation that sides with the country’s port administrator concerning the structure of the auction for the next port terminal concession in Santos. The court agreed with the authority that has proposed a structure that would bar the current operators of terminals in the port from bidding in the first round of the auction. The Federal Court of Accounts in Brazil decided not to overrule Antaq (National Agency for Waterway Transport) in its proposal...

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

ESG Completes Conversion & Delivers SOV to Hornbeck Offshore Services

Cruise Ships

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

Ports

Brazilian Court Agrees to Bar Maersk and Others in Santos Terminal Auction

Offshore

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

Shipbuilding

Eastern Shipbuilding Completes OSV-to-SOV Conversion for Hornbeck

  Eastern Shipbuilding Group has redelivered the HOS Rocinante, an offshore supply vessel that it rebuilt as a sophisticated service operation vessel (SOV) for Hornbeck Offshore. The project is a rare instance of reutilization of a Jones Act offshore oil and gas vessel for an SOV role - a cost-effective way to create a high-spec, high-capex asset for the U.S. market.  HOS Rocinante (ex name Bravante VI) is a 280-foot OSV built by Eastern Shipbuilding Group for Brazil's Bravante Group...

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

China's Trade Surplus Blows Past $1 Trillion

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Turkey Pledges Investigation into Movements of Damaged Shadow Tanker

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

China's Trade Surplus Blows Past $1 Trillion

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

CATL Expects Oceangoing Battery-Electric Vessels Within Three Years

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

ESG Completes Conversion & Delivers SOV to Hornbeck Offshore Services

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

Brazilian Court Agrees to Bar Maersk and Others in Santos Terminal Auction

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

ESG Completes Conversion & Delivers SOV to Hornbeck Offshore Services

French Senate Adopts Environmental Tax on Cruise Passengers

Brazilian Court Agrees to Bar Maersk and Others in Santos Terminal Auction

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

Eastern Shipbuilding Completes OSV-to-SOV Conversion for Hornbeck

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