Friday, July 31, 2026
Media Kit
Icelandic special squad boarding the activist vessel

Iceland Seizes Paul Watson Foundation’s Boat as it Tracks Whale Hunt

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Workers pose with a quad pack of nuclear ballistic missile tubes for the Columbia-class (GDEB)

US Navy Places Largest Order in History: $77B for Submarines

Published Jul 30, 2026 10:00 PM by The Maritime Executive

On Wednesday, the Pentagon awarded a combined $77 billion to U.S. submarine builders General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries for the construction of 14 new hulls, a massive and long-awaited infusion of cash for the submarine industrial base. The award is the largest newbuild order of any kind ever placed, equal to roughly three times the annual order volume of the world's largest shipbuilder, CSSC. The award covers five Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile subs and nine Block VI...

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A handful of barges transit the Rhine near Kaub, Germany, July 30 (Copernicus / Sentinel-2)

Drought Makes Upper Rhine Unnavigable, Driving Barge Rates to New Record

Published Jul 30, 2026 8:39 PM by The Maritime Executive

Low summertime water levels are a routine problem for navigation on the River Rhine, especially in recent years, but the intense drought conditions affecting Western Europe have left the waterway all but unnavigable at a key chokepoint - sending freight rates to record highs. The limiting factor is the gage depth at Kaub, downriver from Wiesbaden. At present it is less than 12 inches, the bare minimum for most barges to transit in laden condition. The shutdown closes off access...

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small Turkish-owned cargo ship with crew from Azerbaijan

Video: Turkey and Azerbaijan Protest as Another Vessel is Severely Damaged

Published Jul 30, 2026 8:18 PM by The Maritime Executive

Officials in both Turkey and Azerbaijan are protesting and demanding greater safety for seafarers as vessels carrying their seafarers have been repeatedly attacked in the Black Sea. It comes as Russia continues its assault on commercial shipping and Ukraine’s ports, appearing to be aiming to fulfill the threat made by Vladimir Putin months ago to cut Ukraine off from the sea. At least three vessels were reported to have been targeted early on July 30. It came after the Russian...

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A thriving community of biofouling on a fixed platform (BOEM file image)

Biofouling From Hormuz Shutdown Poses Major Invasive Species Risk

Published Jul 30, 2026 7:31 PM by The Maritime Executive

For months, industry analysts have noted that biofouling accumulation on vessels stuck in the Arabian Gulf would be a slow-down factor in restarting shipping operations through the Strait of Hormuz. Fouling pressure in the Gulf is intense, and hull cleaning services in the GCC nations' ports have reportedly been in high demand. But all of that biofouling also poses a risk to regional ecosystems in overseas ports, according to a new research paper: once the 1,500 affected ships in the...

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Offshore

Borr Drilling rig

Borr Drilling Buys Paratus' Jack-Up Fleet for Mexican Market

Oslo-listed Borr Drilling has acquired five jack-up rigs from the former Seadrill fleet through its joint venture vehicle in the Mexican offshore market. The rigs include Oeron, Titania FE, Courageous, Defender and Intrepid, all located in Mexican waters. All belonged to Paratus Energy Services, a firm spun off from Seadrill in 2022 during Seadrill's bankruptcy proceedings. The JV, BC Ventures, is getting the rigs for a total of about $287 million, including $237 million in financing from the seller. The...

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Shipbuilding

tanker built in the Philippines

HD Hyundai Launches First Ship From Revitalized Philippine Shipyard

The Philippines marked a key milestone in its long efforts to revitalize the former shipbuilding operations at Subic Bay as HD Hyundai officially launched its first new construction. The South Korean shipbuilder last year took over the former Hanjin shipyard and restarted operations with a promise of significant investments. The 115,000 dwt petrochemical tanker Orion Jade was launched on July 29 as the first newbuild at the yard, which had ceased operations in 2019. At its pinnacle, the Philippines used...

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Environment

EverClean Onsite Inspection

The New Normal for Hull Husbandry: A Continuous Hull Record

Biofouling regulation is moving from voluntary guidance to mandatory rules. But the building throughline is this: hull management is becoming a matter of record, and keeping the hull clean is only part of what that record has to show. The Rules are Changing For most of the past decade, managing biofouling was a matter of good practice. The IMO's biofouling guidelines are still voluntary, but the direction remains strong. Regionally, the rules are already here, and they are spreading. California...

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Business

Jebel Ali, UAE

UAE Resumes Cross-Gulf Trade with Iran

A little-appreciated consequence of the all-out war that broke out in the Gulf on February 28 has been the disruption to the United Arab Emirates’ trade with Iran. A foundation of the Emirates’ extraordinary growth since 1979 has been its role as the import-export gateway to Iran. Not so long ago, about 90 percent of Iran’s trade with the outside world passed through DP World’s massive container terminal at Jebel Ali, where, from a central distribution point, global container liners...

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