Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Export Terminal Near Kerch Strait

Bankrupt Chinese Yard Relaunches Under New Ownership

Published Dec 31, 2025 2:04 PM by The Maritime Executive

China's shipbuilding industry has been expanding capacity as it takes on more and more global market share, and investors and conglomerates have been getting in on the opportunity by reactivating old yards that went bankrupt after the last downturn. Buyers get ready-made drydocks, gantry cranes and fabrication plants for a fraction of the time and cost of building a greenfield yard. The latest instance is the restart of the Nanjing Dongze Shipyard on the Yangtze, which began with a judicial...

Thai Navy Seizes Vessel Accused of Smuggling Fuel to Cambodia

Published Dec 31, 2025 12:40 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Royal Thai Navy reported the details of a seizure of a small vessel that it said was operating without a visible identity and which was suspected of smuggling fuel to Cambodia. The seizure, which comes after the latest attempt at a ceasefire in the ongoing border dispute, is reported to be part of a repeated crackdown on efforts to support the military factors to Cambodia. During a patrol in the Gulf of Thailand, the HTMS Prachuap Khiri Khan, came...

Finnish Coast Guard detaining cargo ship

Finland Detains General Cargo Ship Suspected of Damaging Subsea Cables

Published Dec 31, 2025 11:30 AM by The Maritime Executive

Finnish authorities moved quickly to find and detain a vessel suspected of damaging subsea telecommunications cables running between Estonia and Finland. A suspected vessel has been detained while the investigation is ongoing, but officials are cautioning that the damage could have been accidental. Finnish telecom company Elisa reported a fault on one of its cables that was discovered around 0500 on December 31. Since then, the Swedish telecom company Arelion has also reported an interruption on another cable running between...

Danish Archaeologists Uncover Largest Medieval Sailing Cog Ever Found

Published Dec 30, 2025 9:52 PM by The Maritime Executive

A team of archaeologists in Denmark have discovered the largest medieval European cargo ship ever found, according to the Viking Ship Museum. The team found the wreck on the bottom of the Oresund while conducting site investigations for the construction of Lynetteholm, the controversial manmade island being built just off central Copenhagen. The new 270-acre land feature is both a harbor protection feature to defend against storm surge and a new urban development district. During examination of the seabed between...

Shipping

Russia Adds Long-Delayed Multifunction Vessel Capable of NSR Support

Russia’s Sea Rescue Service took delivery of the Kerch Strait, a multifunction support and rescue vessel. It is the latest in the efforts to expand support services for vessels operating along the Northern Sea Route. Construction of the vessel was first proposed nearly two decades ago, and construction began, according to media reports, in 2010 at the Amur Shipyard. The project was suspended due to litigation and did not resume till 2018, with the ship finally launched in November 2020....

Tugs & Salvage

NTSB: Towing Vessel Hit USCG Dock After Captain Fell Asleep at the Helm

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that a towing vessel operating on the Columbia River in Washington State veered from the channel and hit a U.S. Coast Guard dock after the captain in charge of the vessel fell asleep. They note that the individual, the night before self self-medicated with ivermectin, a prescription medication normally used to treat parasitic infections, and was later diagnosed with an acute COVID-19 coronavirus infection. The towing vessel Schweiger was underway on...

Government

Turkish drillship Yavuz (TPAO file image)

Turkey Seeks Agreement With Syria on Offshore Energy E&P

Turkey is planning to reach an agreement with the new government of Syria on maritime cooperation and offshore E&P, the nation's minister of energy said in an interview this week. The deal would allow Turkey's oil and gas companies to begin exploring for energy resources off Syria's coast, and the two governments hope to conclude an agreement sometime next year, energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar told GDH. The specific deal would expand upon a current framework agreement, and would likely bear...

Corporate News

ABS Approval for SHI Floating Nuclear Power Plant Design

[By: ABS] A Floating Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) designed by Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), known as the FSMR, featuring two small modular reactors (SMRs) developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has received ABS Approval in Principle. The design, which initially features two SMART100 SMRs, introduces a compartment approach separating the reactor and power generation functions, ultimately allowing the use of a variety of different SMR types. The design also features a modular reactor and safety system within...

Cruise Ships

Judge Lets Hawaii’s “Green Fee” Tax on Cruises Go Ahead

A judge in U.S. District Court in Hawaii rejected a lawsuit by the cruise industry and vendors seeking an injunction against extending for the first time Hawaii’s tax on transient visitors to cruise ships. Known as the “Green Fee,” the state in May enacted an increase to the tax and for the first time included cruise ship passengers, saying the state needs more tools to deal with climate change. Hawaii asserts that Act 96 of 2025 establishes the Green Fee,...

Ports

Saudi Arabian Forces Bomb Port in Yemen Raising Tensions with UAE

Saudi Arabia, acting in the name of what it calls the “Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen,” launched what it is terming limited airstrikes on the Port of Mukalla in southeastern Yemen on the Gulf of Aden. Saudi officials accused the United Arab Emirates of having sent a large amount of unauthorized military equipment into the port and demanded that the UAE immediately withdraw its unauthorized forces. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have long been at odds, supporting different factions...

Shipping

Russia Adds Long-Delayed Multifunction Vessel Capable of NSR Support

Tugs & Salvage

NTSB: Towing Vessel Hit USCG Dock After Captain Fell Asleep at the Helm

Government

Turkey Seeks Agreement With Syria on Offshore Energy E&P

Corporate News

ABS Approval for SHI Floating Nuclear Power Plant Design

Cruise Ships

Judge Lets Hawaii’s “Green Fee” Tax on Cruises Go Ahead

Ports

Saudi Arabian Forces Bomb Port in Yemen Raising Tensions with UAE

Offshore

Judge Delays Dominion’s Offshore Wind Suit Awaiting U.S. Data

The first showdown over the U.S. Department of the Interior’s efforts to stop the construction of five offshore wind farms is being delayed as a U.S. District Court in Virginia waits for data from the government. Dominion Energy’s efforts to gain a temporary restraining order to permit it to restart work were delayed, with the next hearing set for January 16. Dominion Energy and its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is one of five that were ordered to stop offshore...

Shipbuilding

Bankrupt Chinese Yard Relaunches Under New Ownership

Environment

large gas carrier designed for ammonia shipping

JERA Advances Plans to Ship Ammonia Produced in Louisiana to Japan

Japan’s largest power generation and energy company, JERA, is advancing its plans to ship low-carbon ammonia from a production facility in Louisiana to Japan to fuel a power generation plant. The project, working with shipping companies NYK and Mitsui O.S.K., is expected to become the first commercial-scale effort to import ammonia fuel to Japan. The companies announced that they have signed contracts which will lead to the development of very large gas carriers designed specifically for ammonia transport. Mitsui O.S....

Business

Japan Suspends Kawasaki Heavy Industries for Submarine Engine Data Fraud

The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced a series of steps it is taking after investigations confirmed that Kawasaki Heavy Industries had supplied fraudulent test data on its engines and provided inappropriate gifts to a number of naval personnel over the past 40 years. Kawasaki Heavy Industries had first announced in 2024 that it was investigating after information surfaced showing a long-term pattern of falsifying test data to ensure engines were delivered on time under their contracts. Kawasaki Heavy Industries is...

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Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Export Terminal Near Kerch Strait

Bankrupt Chinese Yard Relaunches Under New Ownership

Thai Navy Seizes Vessel Accused of Smuggling Fuel to Cambodia

Finland Detains General Cargo Ship Suspected of Damaging Subsea Cables

Danish Archaeologists Uncover Largest Medieval Sailing Cog Ever Found

Russia Adds Long-Delayed Multifunction Vessel Capable of NSR Support

NTSB: Towing Vessel Hit USCG Dock After Captain Fell Asleep at the Helm

Turkey Seeks Agreement With Syria on Offshore Energy E&P

ABS Approval for SHI Floating Nuclear Power Plant Design

Judge Lets Hawaii’s “Green Fee” Tax on Cruises Go Ahead

Saudi Arabian Forces Bomb Port in Yemen Raising Tensions with UAE

California Protects Blue Whales and Blue Skies With Historic State Law

One Event. World Of Maritime. This February, Copenhagen is the Place to Be

Drew Marine Insights Tour: Connecting Expertise with Shipboard Challenges

Russia Adds Long-Delayed Multifunction Vessel Capable of NSR Support

NTSB: Towing Vessel Hit USCG Dock After Captain Fell Asleep at the Helm

Turkey Seeks Agreement With Syria on Offshore Energy E&P

ABS Approval for SHI Floating Nuclear Power Plant Design

Judge Lets Hawaii’s “Green Fee” Tax on Cruises Go Ahead

Saudi Arabian Forces Bomb Port in Yemen Raising Tensions with UAE

Judge Delays Dominion’s Offshore Wind Suit Awaiting U.S. Data

Bankrupt Chinese Yard Relaunches Under New Ownership

JERA Advances Plans to Ship Ammonia Produced in Louisiana to Japan

Japan Suspends Kawasaki Heavy Industries for Submarine Engine Data Fraud

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events