Iran Tries to Intimidate Shipping With Attacks in the Strait of Hormuz

Study: Forced Labor Persists Aboard Fishing Vessels in South-East Asia

Published Mar 1, 2026 2:51 PM by The Maritime Executive

In Southeast Asia, some actors in the fishing and seafood processing sectors have long utilized various forms of forced labor to reduce costs. While there have been efforts to improve labor laws, a new report by the International Labor Organization (ILO) reveals that migrant workers continue to face labor abuses on board fishing vessels. The survey released last week is one of the largest of its kind, significantly expanding data available on migrant workers in the Southeast Asian fishing and...

World Leaders Call for Restraint After Strikes on Iran

Published Mar 1, 2026 2:51 PM by The Maritime Executive

Following multiple Iranian attacks on shipping, resulting in seafarer injuries and at least one shipboard fatality, IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez called for restraint and a cessation of the targeting of merchant vessels. "No attack on innocent seafarers or civilian shipping is ever justified. These crews are simply doing their jobs and must be protected from the effects of wider geopolitical tensions," Dominguez said in a statement. "Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international maritime law, and it...

A visiting French Air Force Dassault Rafale (left) over the Louvre Abu Dhabi, 2021; the UAE has ordered 80 of the type, and has strategic options for defending its ports and shipping (French Air Force file image)

Op-Ed: Gulf States Face a Strategic Choice After Iranian Attacks

Published Mar 1, 2026 12:41 PM by The Maritime Executive

Early on March 1, barely 24 hours after the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the impact of the war on trade in the Gulf region has been immediate. In a very fast moving situation, most air services have been suspended and traffic flows through the Straits of Hormuz have slowed to a trickle. Such a scenario has long been predicted – and feared. Most immediately, the Gulf States are almost entirely dependent on imported foodstuffs and basic necessities, largely carried...

Belgium detaining stateless sanctioned tanker

Belgium Detains Falsely-Flagged, Sanctioned Tanker Linked to Iran

Published Mar 1, 2026 9:49 AM by The Maritime Executive

Belgium, with the assistance of French forces and other EU partners, overnight detained a product tanker that was sailing along its coast. The reports are citing the vessel’s involvement in the Russian oil trade, and while the Europeans are seeking to distance themselves from the U.S. attacks on Iran, the tanker is directly linked to the Iranians. Belgian officials are calling the action "A necessary action curbing reckless behavior by vessels sailing without proper flag belonging to Russia's shadow fleet."...

Shipping

On AIS, container ships (brown) gathered in port or at anchorages in the Arabian Gulf early March 2; none were broadcasting in the Strait of Hormuz (Courtesy Pole Star Global)

Container Lines Adjust to New Risks in Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea

Following the exchange of attacks between Iran, its neighbors and American forces in the Mideast, ocean carriers are proceeding with caution. For safety, many have paused Hormuz transits for now. In addition to the risk to business operations and seafarers, there is an additional factor: War risk insurance increases are on the way for voyages through the Strait of Hormuz, and per-TEU pricing will have to adjust. Hapag-Lloyd announced Sunday that it is imposing a war risk surcharge effective March...

Tugs & Salvage

Ukraine Carries Out Another Strike on Russia's Novorossiysk Oil Terminal

Amidst ongoing back-and-forth strikes between Iran, its neighbors and U.S. forces, Ukraine has carried on with its campaign of long-range attacks on Russian oil infrastructure. On Sunday, Ukraine's drone operators appear to have hit an oil terminal at the port of Novorossiysk once again, the latest strike in a series of actions intended to slow down Russia's revenue-generating energy exports and shrink the Kremlin's war chest. Russian Telegram news channel Astra reports that Ukraine hit an oil terminal in the...

Government

Three U.S. Servicemembers Killed in Iranian Strikes on Kuwait

Three U.S. servicemembers have been killed and five more injured in Iranian retaliatory strikes in Kuwait, according to U.S. Central Command. Several more servicemembers were injured by shrapnel and concussion, but are expected to return to duty in short order. For now, Central Command is withholding identification of the victims pending family notification. The command noted that combat operations are ongoing and the situation remains fluid. #Iran / #Israel / #USA / #Kuwait ????????????????????????????????: Iranian Forces reportedly struck the US...

Corporate News

Austal USA Launches Final EPF - Future USNS Lansing (EPF 16)

[By Austal USA] Austal USA launched the company’s second ship in less than a week, the Navy’s final Expeditionary Fast Transport, future USNS Lansing (EPF 16) in Mobile, Ala., February 25, 2026. The U.S. Navy’s 16th Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF), christened in early January, is now docked pier side for final outfitting and system activation in preparation for sea trials later this year. During this launch process, self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) lifted the ship almost three feet and moved it...

Cruise Ships

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

During recent cartel violence in Puerto Vallarta, cruise lines paused calls at the port while the Mexican Navy began moving vessel assets in, both in response to a perceived need for improvements in security. On February 22, Mexican special forces killed top organized crime leader Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho," the head of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJGN) and one of Mexico's most-wanted fentanyl traffickers. In response to his death, cartel members launched a campaign of counterattacks...

Ports

Panama’s Ports Resume Operations as Investigations Continue

Government officials and the Panama Maritime Authority are highlighting the resumption of operations at the ports at each terminus of the Panama Canal as they work to complete the transition to Maersk’s AMP Terminals and MSC’s Terminal Investments Limited (TiL). However, at the same time, additional investigations are reported to be underway on the former operator, the Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison. Restoring the operations was critical both to the country and to sending a...

Shipping

Container Lines Adjust to New Risks in Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea

Tugs & Salvage

Ukraine Carries Out Another Strike on Russia's Novorossiysk Oil Terminal

Government

Three U.S. Servicemembers Killed in Iranian Strikes on Kuwait

Corporate News

Austal USA Launches Final EPF - Future USNS Lansing (EPF 16)

Cruise Ships

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Ports

Panama’s Ports Resume Operations as Investigations Continue

Offshore

Seatrium Delivers WTIV to Maersk Offshore Wind

The next-generation wind turbine installation vessel, which became the center of a dispute before it was completed, has been successfully delivered, with both companies now celebrating the possibilities. Seatrium reports it completed the delivery on February 26 after sea trials and final readiness evaluations at the Tuas Boulevard Yard in Singapore, while Maersk Offshore Wind is calling the ship the first in its journey towards growing a future-ready fleet. Maersk Offshore Wind, which is owned by the investment company A.P....

Shipbuilding

Hanwha and Greece’s Onex Shipyards Partner to Expand U.S. Shipbuilding

A new trilateral agreement was formalized between Onex Shipyards & Technologies, which is working to revitalize Greek shipbuilding, and South Korea’s Hanwha Power Systems, with American officials looking on during the signing event. According to the reports, the effort will support the efforts in Greece but also looks to leverage the emerging opportunities in the United States under the Trump administration’s U.S. Maritime Action Plan. Onex reports that the agreement focuses on the development of newbuildings with LNG capacity as...

Environment

Study: Ocean Warming Puts "Constant Negative Pressure" on Fish Populations

A new meta-study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution suggests that ocean warming has an outsize impact on the total amount of fish in the water, enough to have major implications for global fisheries. The study, led by researchers at Spain's Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, looked at hundreds of thousands of studies of fish populations in the Northern Hemisphere over a period of nearly 30 years, spanning 1993-2021. The vast data set covered more than 1,500 fish species and...

Business

Algoma Central Buys Mainstay Maritime’s Canadian Great Lakes Shipping

Canada’s Algoma Central, already one of the largest dry and liquid bulk carriers for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region, has agreed to buy three Canadian operating companies and six Canadian-flagged Lakers from Mainstay Maritime (formerly Rand Logistics). The transaction will permit each company to expand its Great Lakes operations under its respective flags. Mainstay Maritime is the newly launched brand name for the former Rand Logistics, and after the acquisition by Oaktree Capital completed in 2023, and the spinout with...

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Iran Tries to Intimidate Shipping With Attacks in the Strait of Hormuz

Study: Forced Labor Persists Aboard Fishing Vessels in South-East Asia

World Leaders Call for Restraint After Strikes on Iran

Op-Ed: Gulf States Face a Strategic Choice After Iranian Attacks

Belgium Detains Falsely-Flagged, Sanctioned Tanker Linked to Iran

Container Lines Adjust to New Risks in Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea

Ukraine Carries Out Another Strike on Russia's Novorossiysk Oil Terminal

Three U.S. Servicemembers Killed in Iranian Strikes on Kuwait

Austal USA Launches Final EPF - Future USNS Lansing (EPF 16)

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Panama’s Ports Resume Operations as Investigations Continue

The Hybrid Adjustable Tip Propeller: Adaptability and Efficiency

Environmental Remediation at Aging Ports

Beyond Sanctions Lists: Navigating Fragmented Enforcement in Maritime Trade

Container Lines Adjust to New Risks in Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea

Ukraine Carries Out Another Strike on Russia's Novorossiysk Oil Terminal

Three U.S. Servicemembers Killed in Iranian Strikes on Kuwait

Austal USA Launches Final EPF - Future USNS Lansing (EPF 16)

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Panama’s Ports Resume Operations as Investigations Continue

Seatrium Delivers WTIV to Maersk Offshore Wind

Hanwha and Greece’s Onex Shipyards Partner to Expand U.S. Shipbuilding

Study: Ocean Warming Puts "Constant Negative Pressure" on Fish Populations

Algoma Central Buys Mainstay Maritime’s Canadian Great Lakes Shipping

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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