Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Media Kit
grounded tanker

Oman Faces Environmental Catastrophe off Dhofar Coast From Grounded Tanker

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Port

Who Rules the Future?

Published Jul 21, 2026 2:38 PM by Chad Fuhrmann

Classification societies no longer serve solely as compliance inspectors at vessel delivery. Evolving pressures demand they maintain oversight of innovation throughout a vessel's lifecycle. Owners want faster approvals for complex ships; shipyards are progressively innovating, and shifting regulations create ambiguous moving targets. Meanwhile, technological advances outpace existing standards, pushing class societies to adapt faster than ever before. "The role of a classification society has expanded considerably beyond its traditional foundations in survey, certification and rule-setting," explains Korean Register Chairman &...

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State Dept

Rubio to Meet With China's Foreign Minister After S. China Sea Clash

Published Jul 21, 2026 2:36 PM by The Maritime Executive

Shortly after a violent clash between Chinese and Philippine forces at Second Thomas Shoal, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Manila and is expected to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is in the Philippine capital for a regular gathering of ASEAN leaders. The U.S. Department of State has criticized Chinese forces for the standoff, which resulted in injuries for one Philippine servicemember, and South China Sea tensions will likely rank high on the agenda...

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ferry cargo ship collision

Video: Greek Ferry and RoRo Cargo Ship Collide at Chania Port in Crete

Published Jul 21, 2026 1:54 PM by The Maritime Executive

The authorities in Crete, along with the Hellenic Coast Guard, are investigating the circumstances of a collision between a ferry and a RoRo cargo ship on Tuesday morning, July 21, in Chania harbor. There were no injuries or pollution, but both vessels sustained damage. The passenger ferry Elyros (33,635 gross tons) was maneuvering away from the dock around 10:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning. According to the reports, there were 100 passengers and 118 crewmembers aboard, and the vessel...

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Ship

When Compliance Becomes Performance

Published Jul 21, 2026 1:31 PM by Capt. Volodymyr Smirnov

The modern shipping industry has become increasingly proficient at demonstrating compliance. Documentation is available. Procedures are established. Bridge teams are familiar with company requirements and often understand what inspectors expect to see. Yet observations, incidents and operational surprises continue to occur on vessels that appear fully compliant on paper. The question is no longer whether procedures exist. The more important question is whether documented compliance genuinely reflects operational reality. Compliance versus Operational Alignment A procedure may be documented, understood, and...

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Offshore

Sweden onshore wind farm

Sweden Permits Two Offshore Wind Farms, Denies 11 Due to Defense Concerns

While saying that Sweden needs to develop new power sources and critically green power to remain competitive, the government had nonetheless decided to deny 11 pending applications. It was the latest move by the government, which also denied 13 applications in 2024, citing defense concerns. “The government assesses that the applied for activities would, among other things, have an unacceptable impact on our defense capabilities,” said the Ministry of Climate and Enterprise. “However, the decisions do not mean that the...

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Shipbuilding

Chinese-built self-unloader for African ore operations

Rio Tinto Takes Delivery of Record-Setting Self-Unloader Built by CSSC

A newly built self-unloader designed to support the African ore operations of Rio Tinto named Wontanara was delivered on July 21 by its Chinese builders. China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC) is calling the new vessel “the king of self-unloading ships” due to three records it reports the ship achieved. CSSC says the class of five ships will be the world’s largest shallow-water transshipment self-unloaders (by deadweight) as well as the fastest self-unloader in terms of discharge speed among specialized vessels....

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Environment

Green Ammonia ship

Proving Phase

For years, ammonia has held a strange place in shipping's transition – promising, commercially uncertain, operationally uncomfortable. It carries no carbon atoms, can be made from renewable hydrogen and nitrogen, and may eventually serve deep-sea trade routes that batteries cannot reach. But it's also toxic, corrosive, and unforgiving. "Ammonia slip," where unburned ammonia escapes through combustion or exhaust, is a real concern when injection timing and combustion pressure are poorly controlled. The question is no longer whether ammonia can work....

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Business

ABS power barge

Floating Data Centers: Uptime is the Product

Frank Genco, ABS Vice President of Strategic Account Program writes that with the right partners, data center operators will find transitioning their land-based infrastructure to a marine environment delivers safer, more secure and sustainable performance. Every industrial revolution comes with its own infrastructure, which must scale rapidly in order to fuel the innovation and associated disruption that comes in its wake. Data centers are the factories of the AI revolution, and their rapid growth — in scale, output and resource-demand...

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