Sunday, April 19, 2026
Media Kit
USS Spruance (U.S. Navy file image)

U.S. Navy Attacks and Seizes First Vessel in Blockade of Iran's Seaports

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Russia's giant Ust-Luga oil export terminal, before recent Ukrainian strikes (Gazprom)

United States Ambivalent to Russian Oil Sanctions

Published Apr 19, 2026 1:43 PM by The Maritime Executive

Particularly in the United States, where the constitution was designed to incorporate checks and balances between the different parts of government, democracies do not always speak with one clear voice. So in examining what America’s attitude is towards the imposition and enforcement of oil sanctions, there may be discrepancies between what various arms of government are saying. For example, sanctions listings published as executive orders by the US Treasury’s OFAC, and even speeches from key figures in Congress, may not...

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Chinese branded drone

Indonesia Discovered a Subsea Spy Drone. Is it Legally a Ship?

Published Apr 19, 2026 1:33 PM by The Lowy Interpreter

[By Dita Liliansa] Indonesian fishers found a torpedo-like object in the waters north of Gili Trawangan, Lombok, on April 6. The exact coordinates of the discovery and the object’s direction of travel are unknown. Much else remains speculative: whether it was moving within Indonesia’s archipelagic sea lane (ALKI II) in the Lombok Strait or outside it, what activity it was conducting, and whether the object is attributable to a state. Speculation persists that the object is an unmanned underwater drone...

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US helicopters over Strait of Hormuz

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

Published Apr 18, 2026 11:34 AM by The Maritime Executive

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...

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Celestyal Journey cruise ship

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

Published Apr 18, 2026 11:00 AM by The Maritime Executive

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...

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Offshore

Chinese offshore wind farm

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....

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Shipbuilding

The approximately 300-metre-long hole at Tyholt in Trondheim is big enough to accommodate the London Eye, Oslo Plaza and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris – one next to the other. Photo: Statsbygg

Norway is Building the Most Advanced Testing Basin Ever Constructed

[By Henriette Louise Krogness and Tore Stensvold] It was no easy task for Statsbygg when the Norwegian Ocean Technology Centre was given the go-ahead to put shovels in the ground at Tyholt in Trondheim, Norway. Statsbygg oversees the Norwegian government’s building and property development affairs. “I have never had a more challenging task in my entire career,” says Statsbygg project director Arild Mathisen. “That’s because nothing like this has ever been built in Norway, or anywhere else in the world,”...

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Environment

Calcasieu pass

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...

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Business

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

"Energy Dominance" In Action

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...

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