Sunday, October 04, 2026
Media Kit
Shahed

Iran Keeps Up Pace of Strikes With Attack on Brand New LR2 Tanker

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Panama Canal

ITF Calls for Panama Canal to Address Fatigue Following Tug Captain’s Death

Published Oct 2, 2026 6:49 PM by The Maritime Executive

The issue of fatigue among tug operators at the Panama Canal is again attracting attention after the captain of a tugboat is said to have died due to a grueling work schedule. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is calling on the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to take action after a 59-year-old captain died aboard the tug Cerro Santiago. The captain died on September 30 while assisting a northbound Neopanamax vessel. He was said to have been working an extended...

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Former ferry Isabelle X being used for accommodations

Gaps in Awareness, Poor Communication Caused Tug, Barge, Workboat Collision

Published Oct 2, 2026 6:36 PM by The Maritime Executive

Marine investigators in Canada released a report outlining how gaps in situational awareness and a breakdown in communication caused a collision involving a tug, a barge, and a workboat in Squamish Harbor, British Columbia, in December 2024. The incident involved the tug Haisla Northwind, the barge BSG Lubricator, and the workboat Triton 1. It occurred in the marine safety zone of the Woodfibre LNG Project site. The incident on December 18, 2024, occurred while the tug was pushing the barge...

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tanker struck in the Strait of Hormuz

Two More Tankers in Hormuz Report Strikes, Bringing Total to Six in a Week

Published Oct 2, 2026 5:40 PM by The Maritime Executive

Multiple sources are confirming that two more tankers reported strikes, bringing the total to six ships in one week and 110 incidents directly related to the US-Iran conflict, says UK Maritime Trade Operations. The latest wave comes as analysts report Iran’s oil industry appears to have been effectively choked off and oil income is running dry. The first of the two reports used third-party data to UKMTO but has also been widely reported by security consultants. The Kuwait Oil Tanker...

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Taiwan Coast Guard firing water cannon on Chinese fishing vessel

Video: Taiwan Coast Guard Uses Water Cannon on Chinese Fishing Boat

Published Oct 2, 2026 3:33 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Taiwan Coast Guard used a water cannon on a Chinese fishing boat that it reports illegally entered Taiwan’s waters and refused to respond to commands on October 1. It was one of the more dramatic encounters over the ongoing disputes about Chinese fishing vessels approaching Taiwan. Over the past few days alone, the Taiwan Coast Guard reported seizing a Chinese fishing vessel on September 26 that was operating illegally in the waters near Mudouyu, the northernmost island in the...

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Offshore

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New Zealand Invests $20 Million in New Offshore Gas Projects

New Zealand has made further progress in restarting domestic gas production with a new round of funding targeting offshore exploration projects. Resources Minister Shane Jones and Associate Finance Minister Chris Bishop this week announced $21 million financing for two offshore gas projects. The financing will be made through the Gas Security Fund (GSF), a $113 million state-owned investment facility to ramp up gas production in New Zealand. One of the projects considered for funding in this round is EnZed Energy’s...

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Shipbuilding

Modernized MES Vessel Control System

Five Issues That Derail Vessel Control System Modernizations

A vessel control system modernization can look straightforward on paper: remove aging components, install new hardware and software, test the system and return the vessel to service. In practice, the most difficult problems are rarely caused by a single PLC, display or sensor. They develop at the interfaces between old and new equipment, between drawings and actual shipboard conditions, and between the organizations responsible for design, installation and commissioning. 1. Starting with incomplete information Many working vessels have been modified...

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Environment

hydrogen-fueled tanker

Japan Conducts Demonstration Voyage of a Hydrogen-Fueled Tanker

Japan completed what it is calling a world’s first as it successfully demonstrated a coastal tanker using a hydrogen-fired 4-stroke high-speed engine. It is part of an ongoing research and demonstration project sponsored by The Nippon Foundation to contribute to the decarbonization of shipping. The project called for designing and demonstrating a 4,800-dwt tanker specifically designed for hydrogen propulsion. The coastal tanker Kikou Maro (IMO: 1015595) was launched on February 14, 2025, at the Nagasaki Yard of Fukuoka Shipbuilding Co.,...

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Business

iStock

Poten: Sky-High Tanker Rates are Driving Refiners' Oil Buying Decisions

A review of Poten's Daily Market Report, which monitors spot freight rates on many of the key tanker trade routes, shows eyewatering numbers. Across the board, tanker rates have reached levels never seen before (see Chart 1, below). The reasons for the sky-high tanker rates are well documented. The wars in Europe and the Middle East have created significant inefficiencies in the market. On top of that, there is the threat of attacks in areas like the Strait of Hormuz,...

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