A U.S. Navy destroyer intercepts an Iranian tanker near the Strait of Hormuz (Central Command)

Hormuz Traffic Ticks Up With More Vessels Outbound

Search Called off for Cruise Crewmember Who Went Overboard off Cape Cod

Published Apr 26, 2026 10:53 PM by The Maritime Executive

The U.S. Coast Guard has called off a search for a crewmember who fell overboard from the cruise ship Norwegian Breakaway off the coast of Wellfleet, Massachusetts on Saturday night. Norwegian Breakaway made a routine commercial voyage to Bermuda last week and was on the way back to port on Saturday. The search was initiated after the cruise ship notified the Coast Guard that a man had gone over the side. A camera had caught video footage of a man...

Car Carrier Damaged in Allision With Bridge Pier at Bremerhaven

Published Apr 26, 2026 5:24 PM by The Maritime Executive

Last week, a car carrier hit a pier at the site of a decommissioned bridge at the port of Bremerhaven, tearing a long gash in the vessel's starboard side. Early on Tuesday, the 2024-built car carrier CMA CGM Monza departed her berth in the Kaiserhafen Zwei. As the vessel proceeded to the harbor, the master requested the assistance of an additional tug, as conditions were windy and gusty. She passed by Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven yard, headed northbound. At about 0230...

Marco Sylvester, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs and IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez (IMO)

Liberia Tables a Pragmatic Net Zero Proposal for the IMO

Published Apr 26, 2026 4:30 PM by The Maritime Executive

Liberia, supported by co-sponsors Argentina and Panama, is to present a new emissions proposal to the IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee for consideration at the MEPC’s forthcoming 84th Session. When the previous Net Zero Framework was presented last year, it heavily polarized IMO delegates and was met with stiff opposition, led by the United States. After one of the most contentious sessions in the IMO’s history, culminating in a vote on October 17 last year, the proposal failed to attract...

Report: Arctic Routes to Remain Peripheral, Especially for Boxships

Published Apr 26, 2026 4:30 PM by The Maritime Executive

In the past few years, there has been a lot of hype about the growing ship traffic along the Arctic routes. But recent analysis shows that whle Arctic shipping has indeed surged, growth remains uneven. In a new report, credit insurance firm Coface said that the commercial impact of Arctic shipping routes is likely to remain marginal within the next five years. Nevertheless, Arctic routing offer significant benefits for certain commodity flows. With climate change opening up navigation in the...

Shipping

Locomotives chug up an incline in Iran's Alborz mountain range (David Gubler / CC BY NC SA 2.0)

Iran Struggles with Alternative Routes to Avoid Sea Blockade

Iranian Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani has told the semi-official Mehr News Agency that over 200,000 trucks use the Bazargan border crossing annually, and that in the last three months there have been 45,000 transits across the border. The Barzagan crossing lies on the Turkish border with Iran’s Eastern Azerbaijan Province. The purpose of the spokeswoman’s comments was clearly to advertise how even if a sea blockade of Iranian ports was hampering imports by sea, then Iran had alternative routes for...

Tugs & Salvage

Workboat Hits and Damages Moored Fast Ferry Near Trondheim

[Brief] On Friday, a service vessel struck a moored fast ferry at a small port on the island of Froya, northwest of Trondheim, penetrating the ferry's hull. Video from the scene shows that a service vessel - identified by AIS as the Multi Power - approached the port side of the moored fast-ferry catamaran Froyfart at low speed, then made contact. Local outlet Hitra-Froya obtained imagery showing the hull damage to the fast ferry from the inside. The impact tore...

Government

The Horn of Africa, with principal military bases and logistic hubs (Google Earth/CJRC)

Churn in Horn of Africa Political Alliances

The Horn of Africa, embracing Eritrea with its Red Sea coastline, Djibouti and the component parts of what used to be Somalia, is in a state of flux, buffeted by the changing political situation in the neighborhood. How matters settle will have a direct impact on the safety and flow of merchant traffic through the Suez Canal and the Bab el Mandeb, a trade route using the Maritime Security Transit Corridor (MSTC) which recently carried just under 15% of world...

Corporate News

BV Calls for Greater Connectivity Across Value Chains

[By BV] Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore (BV), a world leader in testing, inspection, and certification (TIC), declared its vision for the future of maritime trade during Singapore Maritime Week, with Executive Vice-President, Industrials & Commodities, Matthieu de Tugny delivering a keynote address detailing how digitalization, artificial intelligence, and the energy transition are fundamentally reshaping shipping and the global value chains it underpins. During the keynote address, de Tugny outlined that the industry’s trajectory will be shaped by three intersecting...

Cruise Ships

MSC cruise ship transiting the Suez Canal

MSC and Celestyal Cruise Ships Transits Suez After Escape from Persian Gulf

After getting their cruise ships out of the Persian Gulf, two cruise lines elected to send their ships through the Suez Canal to speed their repositioning and return to commercial service. Most cruise ships, like other segments of commercial shipping, have been avoiding the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb due to the Houthis having menaced shipping and continuing safety concerns. The Suez Canal Authority reported that MSC Cruises’ MSC Euribia (184,000 gross tons) made the northbound transit on Sunday, April...

Ports

Ukraine Destroys Sea Drone as Russia Strikes Odesa Ports and Cargo Ships

Ukrainian officials report that Russia continues to target the port infrastructure in the Greater Odesa region in an effort to disrupt commercial trade. They assert the recent strikes on commercial shipping are deliberate acts by the enemy. Overnight, another cargo ship was struck while sailing in the corridor that Ukraine has maintained for two and a half years for commercial shipping. According to the reports, it was the third commercial ship struck recently, however the Ukrainian Navy also released images...

Shipping

Iran Struggles with Alternative Routes to Avoid Sea Blockade

Tugs & Salvage

Workboat Hits and Damages Moored Fast Ferry Near Trondheim

Government

Churn in Horn of Africa Political Alliances

Corporate News

BV Calls for Greater Connectivity Across Value Chains

Cruise Ships

MSC and Celestyal Cruise Ships Transits Suez After Escape from Persian Gulf

Ports

Ukraine Destroys Sea Drone as Russia Strikes Odesa Ports and Cargo Ships

Offshore

U.S. is Negotiating to Cancel More Offshore Wind Leases

Executives at the French company Engie confirmed today that they are in discussions with U.S. officials about possibly canceling their offshore wind farm leases. Last month, the administration agreed to reimburse TotalEnergies for its offshore wind leases and hinted it might use the same technique with others, although advocates and lawmakers are questioning the legal authority. The Trump administration said in March that it had agreed to reimburse TotalEnergies nearly $1 billion it had paid to acquire a large lease...

Shipbuilding

Paying the Piper

The average merchant ship has a service life of 20-25 years, in some cases more. That's a long time to stay in compliance with all the rules that govern shipping, and owners know they have to set themselves up for success. It's not enough to meet regulations on day one: Every ship system has to be supported throughout a lifetime of industrial service if it's going to satisfy inspectors on day 5,000. Without solid backing from the original equipment manufacturer...

Environment

Winning Formula

For residents living near ports, seafarers working aboard ships and passengers stepping ashore, the question is no longer abstract: Why am I still breathing this? Sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) from ship exhausts are a daily reality in many port cities. A 2023 World Bank report estimated that more than 250 million people globally are exposed to air pollution around ports, underscoring that maritime emissions are not only a climate issue but a public-health issue....

Business

Maritime Executive March April 2026 promotion

The Maritime Executive's Annual Energy Edition is Now Available Online

“Strait Outa Compton" That's the witty title of View From the E.U. columnist Erik Kravets' tongue-in-cheek comparison of N.W.A's hip-hop hit from 1988 and Iran's current strategy in the Gulf. But it's not all tongue-in-cheek, as you'll find out. Give it a read. You won't be disappointed. The war in Iran is, understandably, the subject of several articles in this, our annual "Energy Exploration & Production" edition. Allen Brooks, Eye on Energy columnist, uses it as backdrop for why the...

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Hormuz Traffic Ticks Up With More Vessels Outbound

Search Called off for Cruise Crewmember Who Went Overboard off Cape Cod

Car Carrier Damaged in Allision With Bridge Pier at Bremerhaven

Liberia Tables a Pragmatic Net Zero Proposal for the IMO

Report: Arctic Routes to Remain Peripheral, Especially for Boxships

Iran Struggles with Alternative Routes to Avoid Sea Blockade

Workboat Hits and Damages Moored Fast Ferry Near Trondheim

Churn in Horn of Africa Political Alliances

BV Calls for Greater Connectivity Across Value Chains

MSC and Celestyal Cruise Ships Transits Suez After Escape from Persian Gulf

Ukraine Destroys Sea Drone as Russia Strikes Odesa Ports and Cargo Ships

From Fossil Fuels to Shore Power With the Port of San Diego

From Local to Global: Genoa Maritime Forum to Bring the Industry Together

Estonian Solutions Support Cruise Industry’s Green Transition

Iran Struggles with Alternative Routes to Avoid Sea Blockade

Workboat Hits and Damages Moored Fast Ferry Near Trondheim

Churn in Horn of Africa Political Alliances

BV Calls for Greater Connectivity Across Value Chains

MSC and Celestyal Cruise Ships Transits Suez After Escape from Persian Gulf

Ukraine Destroys Sea Drone as Russia Strikes Odesa Ports and Cargo Ships

U.S. is Negotiating to Cancel More Offshore Wind Leases

Paying the Piper

Winning Formula

The Maritime Executive's Annual Energy Edition is Now Available Online

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