Hope Fades for Survivors as Indian Coast Guard Finds Lost Bulker's Lifeboat

Margaritaville Sets Harland & Wolff Conversion and Galveston Introduction

Published Aug 25, 2026 5:55 PM by The Maritime Executive

Margaritaville at Sea has selected Harland & Wolff as the location for the conversion of its third cruise ship as part of its expansion plans. The line will refurbish its largest cruise ship, the former Costa Fortuna (102,587 gross tons), ahead of its January 2027 introduction and, as part of its expansion, also announced it will be homeporting a ship in Galveston, Texas. The cruise line, which brings the styles and spirit of legendary musician Jimmy Buffett to sea, launched...

File image courtesy Hengli Heavy Industries

Hengli Heavy Industries Emerges as a Winner of China's Shipbuilding Boom

Published Aug 25, 2026 5:28 PM by The Maritime Executive

China's state-owned shipyards are a dominant force in the shipbuilding industry, but their full orderbooks are creating opportunities for privately-held competitors as well - notably Hengli Heavy Industries, which in a few short years has expanded to become the world's largest single shipyard (by order backlog). In its latest quarterly report, released August 24, Hengli Heavy said that it received 207 vessel orders in the first half of the year - a new all-time global record for a single yard....

containerships at anchor off southern California

Port Congestion Sets New Record at 4.3M TEU in Stranded Volume

Published Aug 25, 2026 4:51 PM by The Maritime Executive

The volume of container capacity stranded due to port congestion has reached a new record high, reports the analytics firm Linerlytica. Mounting delays in China and Asia and persistent delays in Europe are resulting in a shortage of vessels and capacity and contributing to the increases in freight rates, reports Linerlytica. It calculated that the volume of container capacity delayed due to congestion reached 4.31 million TEU this week, which surpassed the prior peak of 4 million TEU reached in...

Omani foreign minister Badr Albusaidi (left) with his Iranian counterpart, Seyed Abbas Araghchi (right) (Omani Foreign Ministry)

Oman Signals Progress on Hormuz Shipping Corridor Agreement

Published Aug 25, 2026 4:15 PM by The Maritime Executive

The foreign minister of Oman announced Tuesday that talks with Iran on the joint management of a Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor were proceeding well, despite repeated Iranian attacks on neutral merchant vessels in Omani waters - including one as recently as last night. In a statement, minister Badr Albusaidi said that he had visited Tehran for a "constructive dialogue" with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. The two sides are nearing an agreement on one temporary shipping corridor - not...

Shipping

Crew of USS Abraham Lincoln conduct underway replenishment, August 16 (USN)

After Record At-Sea Deployment, USS Lincoln Heads to Thailand for Crew R&R

The USS Abraham Lincoln has been at sea for longer than any other carrier in recent memory, and by families' accounts, the 5,000-strong members of the crew are ready for a break. After public pressure, the U.S. Navy has provided it and the ship is headed home - but first, the crew will get to enjoy a "routine port visit" for rest and relaxation at a port in eastern Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy said in a statement this week....

Tugs & Salvage

A Ukrainian strike drone flies past the Ural (Russian social media)

Ship's Cook Survives Drone Attack, Then Dies in Attack on Rescue Vessel

A series of Ukrainian drone strikes on two cargo ships off Novorossiysk left eight injured and one dead, according to local media in Turkey. The victim was the cook on the first vessel to be hit, was rescued by the second vessel, then was killed in a later strike on the second vessel. On August 18, the Turkish-owned, San Marino-flagged freighter Necibe (IMO 9548732) came under attack by Ukrainian drones while loading wheat off Tuapse. The 18 crewmembers abandoned ship...

Government

Spanish Police Arrest Smugglers Who Opened Fire on Patrol Vessel

Spanish forces have intercepted and arrested ten smugglers who allegedly opened fire on a patrol vessel off Huelva. It is the latest encounter between the speedboat drug-runners of the Andalusian coast and Spain's law enforcement authorities in a high-stakes contest for control of the transatlantic cocaine trade. On the night of August 17, a patrol boat with Spain's Customs Surveillance Service picked up the trail of a suspected narco-trafficking boat off Huelva. The boat began maneuvering hard and throwing bales...

Corporate News

ZeroUSV Achieves World First with Autonomous Deployment of Oshen C-Star Surface Drones from Oceanus12

ZeroUSV Achieves World First with Autonomous Deployment of Surface Drones

[By ZeroUSV] ZeroUSV has achieved a world first by successfully demonstrating the autonomous deployment of multiple autonomous surface drones (ASVs) from a 12 metre Oceanus class uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), marking an important milestone in proving the payload flexibility of the Oceanus class USV platforms. During trials in Plymouth, ZeroUSV's Oceanus12 deployed two Oshen C-Star’s, demonstrating for the first time how one autonomous surface vessel can deploy multiple marine surface drones as part of a coordinated mission. The demonstration was...

Cruise Ships

Margaritaville Sets Harland & Wolff Conversion and Galveston Introduction

Ports

Port Congestion Sets New Record at 4.3M TEU in Stranded Volume

Shipping

After Record At-Sea Deployment, USS Lincoln Heads to Thailand for Crew R&R

Tugs & Salvage

Ship's Cook Survives Drone Attack, Then Dies in Attack on Rescue Vessel

Government

Spanish Police Arrest Smugglers Who Opened Fire on Patrol Vessel

Corporate News

ZeroUSV Achieves World First with Autonomous Deployment of Surface Drones

Cruise Ships

Margaritaville Sets Harland & Wolff Conversion and Galveston Introduction

Ports

Port Congestion Sets New Record at 4.3M TEU in Stranded Volume

Offshore

The South African lease area covered part of the Orange Basin, a geological region where Shell has had success on the Namibian side of the boundary line, above (Press handout courtesy Odfjell)

Top Court Ends Shell's South African Wild Coast Offshore Lease

Last Friday, oil major Shell lost a long-running court battle over its offshore oil and gas exploration plans for a frontier region off South Africa's "Wild Coast," an unspoiled stretch of coastline that provides habitat for migrating humpback whales. Environmental groups (including Greenpeace) began suing Shell back in 2021 in an attempt to stop seismic surveying off the Wild Coast, asserting that it would be harmful to whales and to commercial fishermen. Shell countered that its plans were compliant with...

Shipbuilding

Hengli Heavy Industries Emerges as a Winner of China's Shipbuilding Boom

Environment

Laura DiBella, Chairman Federal Maritime Commission

Op-Ed: FMC Chairman DiBella Calls for Rethinking IMO’s Net-Zero Framework

The Net-Zero Framework (NZF), currently under consideration at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), is an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, aiming for net-zero emissions in the maritime sector by the year 2050. In its current state, this initiative raises more questions than it answers and must be rethought before international acceptance and implementation. Specifically, any viable proposal must allow for the maximum range of alternate fuel sources, including LNG and bio-LNG. The primary flaw in the NZF...

Business

CMA CGM and Saudi Arabia to Invest $434M to Expand Jeddah Islamic Port

An agreement was signed in Paris during a French-Saudi Investment Roundtable that calls for CMA CGM and Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT), Saudi Arabia's terminal operator, to expand the Red Sea Jeddah Islamic Port. Working in collaboration with the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), the companies will be marking one of the largest foreign direct investments in Saudi Arabia's maritime sector. The project will bring approximately $434 million in investment into Jeddah Islamic Port and create a new state-of-the-art container terminal...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Hope Fades for Survivors as Indian Coast Guard Finds Lost Bulker's Lifeboat

Margaritaville Sets Harland & Wolff Conversion and Galveston Introduction

Hengli Heavy Industries Emerges as a Winner of China's Shipbuilding Boom

Port Congestion Sets New Record at 4.3M TEU in Stranded Volume

Oman Signals Progress on Hormuz Shipping Corridor Agreement

After Record At-Sea Deployment, USS Lincoln Heads to Thailand for Crew R&R

Ship's Cook Survives Drone Attack, Then Dies in Attack on Rescue Vessel

Spanish Police Arrest Smugglers Who Opened Fire on Patrol Vessel

ZeroUSV Achieves World First with Autonomous Deployment of Surface Drones

Margaritaville Sets Harland & Wolff Conversion and Galveston Introduction

Port Congestion Sets New Record at 4.3M TEU in Stranded Volume

A Mediterranean Residence Worth Pursuing for American Families

The Next Generation of Marine Propulsion

The Future of Fleet Efficiency is Stacked Optimization

After Record At-Sea Deployment, USS Lincoln Heads to Thailand for Crew R&R

Ship's Cook Survives Drone Attack, Then Dies in Attack on Rescue Vessel

Spanish Police Arrest Smugglers Who Opened Fire on Patrol Vessel

ZeroUSV Achieves World First with Autonomous Deployment of Surface Drones

Margaritaville Sets Harland & Wolff Conversion and Galveston Introduction

Port Congestion Sets New Record at 4.3M TEU in Stranded Volume

Top Court Ends Shell's South African Wild Coast Offshore Lease

Hengli Heavy Industries Emerges as a Winner of China's Shipbuilding Boom

Op-Ed: FMC Chairman DiBella Calls for Rethinking IMO’s Net-Zero Framework

CMA CGM and Saudi Arabia to Invest $434M to Expand Jeddah Islamic Port

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events