Wednesday, February 04, 2026
Media Kit
cargo ship aground in Turkey

Turkey Responds as Ship Damaged in Black Sea Attack is Now Aground

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Fatality

Divers Find Sunken Ferry Trisha Kerstin 3, Death Toll Rises to 43

Published Feb 3, 2026 5:18 PM by The Maritime Executive

After an extended search, the Philippine Coast Guard has discovered the location of the sunken ferry Trisha Kerstin 3, which went down last month off Basilan. Divers located the vessel lying in an east-west orientation off Baluk-Baluk Island, southeast of Zamboanga City. The discovery of the wreck site raises the possibility that technical divers will be able to find additional human remains, and potentially may discover clues to the vessel's tragic capsizing. The ferry Trisha Kerstin 3 departed Zamboanga City...

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Estonian police helicopter boarding

Estonia Detains Russia-Bound Ship on Suspicion of Smuggling

Published Feb 3, 2026 4:28 PM by The Maritime Executive

In a developing story, Estonian forces late on Tuesday, February 3, boarded a refrigerated containership and seized the vessel for an inspection. The Estonian Tax and Customs Board reports the vessel is suspected of being used for smuggling. Forces from the Inspection Unit of the Tax and Customs Board, along with the police and the navy, were involved in the operation. The police’s special unit, K-Commando, used a helicopter from the Police and Border Guard to board the containership Baltic...

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GulfLink

Trump Administration Green-Lights Texas GulfLink SPM Project

Published Feb 3, 2026 4:18 PM by The Maritime Executive

Just weeks after taking over the federal environmental-review process for deepwater oil and gas terminal licensing, the U.S. Department of Transportation has approved a construction and operation license for Texas GulfLink, the first issued under the Trump administration. Texas GulfLink will be a twin single-point mooring facility located about 27 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas. It will be fed by a 42" subsea pipeline to a manned offshore platform, where its operations will be overseen on-site...

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Social media

Tuna Seiner With Suspected Links to Drug Trafficking Catches Fire in Manta

Published Feb 3, 2026 4:18 PM by The Maritime Executive

A tuna-fishing vessel with suspected links to cocaine smuggling has caught fire at the port of Manta, Ecuador, according to local media. The vessel Gold Tuna, a 1967-built purse seiner of about 180 feet in length, reported a fire at about 0400 hours on Monday morning. Local firefighters responded to the scene, and the blaze was extinguished in about three hours. Ecuador's security situation has deteriorated markedly in recent years, and drug-smuggling cartels use the country as a gateway for...

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Offshore

GulfLink

Trump Administration Green-Lights Texas GulfLink SPM Project

Just weeks after taking over the federal environmental-review process for deepwater oil and gas terminal licensing, the U.S. Department of Transportation has approved a construction and operation license for Texas GulfLink, the first issued under the Trump administration. Texas GulfLink will be a twin single-point mooring facility located about 27 nautical miles off the coast of Brazoria County, Texas. It will be fed by a 42" subsea pipeline to a manned offshore platform, where its operations will be overseen on-site...

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Shipbuilding

dual-fuel containership

Number of Dual-Fuel Ships Nearly Doubled in 2025, and Strong Orderbook

The amount of liner shipping using dual-fuel vessels able to take advantage of the emerging alternative lower emissions fuels nearly doubled in 2025, according to new data from the World Shipping Council. In its year-end update on the Dual-Fuel Fleet Dashboard, WSC highlights continuing strong investments as shipowners push forward with their efforts, not waiting for the IMO and other regulators. WSC launched the Dual-Fuel Fleet Dashboard as a tool to track the global liner shipping industry’s investments in new...

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Environment

LCO2 transport

Northern Lights has Deals With Shipping Lines to Double CO2 Transport Fleet

The Norwegian CO2 storage initiative, which became the first commercial operation for carbon capture and storage, announced a new deal that will double the company’s fleet by 2029. This comes just months after the company completed its first injection of liquid CO2 for permanent storage. Northern Lights, which is a joint venture between Equinor, TotalEnergies, and Shell, reports it has struck a new charter deal with major shipping companies, including existing partner Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line), while adding MISC...

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Business

Indian container port

India Approves Plan for Domestic Shipping Line in Broad Container Ecosystem

The government of India oversaw the formal signing of agreements on February 3, which set out the plans for the country’s new domestic container shipping line to be known as Bharat Container Shipping Line (BCSL). It is one key element of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s broader vision for a self-reliant container ecosystem to lessen India’s dependence on foreign carriers and drive job growth and the economy. The memorandum of understanding for the new container line was signed by the leading...

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