Sunday, March 15, 2026
Media Kit
Kharg

Iran is Making Unimpeded Use of the Strait of Hormuz

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Kharg Island

US Targets Military on Iran’s Kharg Island Demanding Opening of Hormuz

Published Mar 13, 2026 9:54 PM by The Maritime Executive

The U.S. military launched strategic bombing on Iran’s Kharg Island, the home of Iran’s oil export industry. In a posting on social media, Donald Trump announced on Friday evening the attack while saying this time it had been limited to military targets, while also demanding free and safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump called it “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East,” while saying that “Iran has no ability to defend...

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French troops boarding vessel smuggling drugs

Supply Boat Caught Smuggling Drugs Now Issued a Distress Call off Australia

Published Mar 13, 2026 8:33 PM by The Maritime Executive

Nearly two months after French authorities intercepted a small vessel smuggling a large amount of cocaine across the Pacific, the same vessel has now turned up off Australia and issued a distress call. ABC News Australia reports the vessel was escorted into Sydney harbor on Friday, March 13, after the Australian Maritime Safety Authority became involved. The vessel named Raider is reported to have made a distress call on Thursday, reporting a shortage of food and fuel. A representative of...

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Chinese deep sea fishing boats

South Africa Arrests and Fines Four Chinese Vessels for Illegal Fishing

Published Mar 13, 2026 7:55 PM by The Maritime Executive

South African authorities have intercepted and fined four Chinese distant-water fishing vessels that were suspected of engaging in illegal fishing. The boats entered South African waters without permits and repeatedly switched their automatic identification system (AIS) on and off. The four Chinese-flagged fishing vessels, Zhong Yang 231, Zhong Yang 232, Zhong Yang 233, and Zhong Yang 239, are said to have entered the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and territorial waters without the required authorization. The vessels are owned by...

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Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver Posts Record Growth in Throughput as Canada Diversifies Trade

Published Mar 13, 2026 7:15 PM by The Maritime Executive

Canada’s push to increase exports to overseas markets, particularly in Asia owing to increasing protectionism by its key trading partner, the U.S, is having the desired effects. The country’s largest port, Vancouver, has seen cargo throughput hit record highs. The Port of Vancouver is highlighting the impacts of the government’s efforts to double exports to non-U.S. markets, reporting record cargo volumes in 2025. The port handled 170.4 million metric tonnes (mmt) of cargo during the year, an eight percent increase...

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Offshore

Drillship

Second "Big Beautiful" Offshore Lease Sale Draws Fewer Big Spenders

The U.S. Department of the Interior has completed the second offshore oil and gas auction of its revised lease plan, and the outcome was quieter this time. The auction generated $47 million in high bids for a total of 140,000 acres in 25 blocks, down from the previous auction's total of $280 million. A total of about 80 million acres were up for auction, but the majority received no bids. 13 companies participated in bidding, down from 30 in the...

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Shipbuilding

State of Maine training ship

Third US Training Ship State of Maine Delivered to MARAD

The third newly built U.S. training ship for the merchant marine, the State of Maine, was handed over to TOTE Services and delivered to the U.S. Maritime Administration. It will be the fifth training vessel, and the first purpose-built vessel, to be operated by the Maine Maritime Academy, located in Castine, Maine. The handover to the U.S. government took place at the Hanwha Philly Shipyard, and the vessel is scheduled to depart for Maine in the coming days. Once it...

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Environment

Trawlers

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...

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Business

containership

ONE and Chinese Shipbuilder Increase Investment in Owner/Lessor Seaspan

Three years after taking Seaspan, the leading owner/lessor of containerships to the leading carriers, private Ocean Network Express is set to become its largest shareholder, along with the addition of Chinese shipbuilder Yangzijiang Shipbuilding as an investor. The deal sees the lead investors in the go-private transaction beginning to cash out as Seaspan reaches new leads in its ownership and management of shipping assets. Seaspan was started in 2000 and was mostly working with China’s COSCO Shipping and Yang Ming,...

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