U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Published Feb 26, 2026 10:44 PM by The Maritime Executive

During recent cartel violence in Puerto Vallarta, cruise lines paused calls at the port while the Mexican Navy began moving vessel assets in, both in response to a perceived need for improvements in security. On February 22, Mexican special forces killed top organized crime leader Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho," the head of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJGN) and one of Mexico's most-wanted fentanyl traffickers. In response to his death, cartel members launched a campaign of counterattacks...

Permanent Dock Replaces Ice Pier at U.S.’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica

Published Feb 26, 2026 10:05 PM by The Maritime Executive

The new McMurdo Dock Pier has successfully arrived at the U.S.’s Antarctica station as the operation marks 70 years since it was first launched. According to the reports, the arrival of the docking pier marks a major milestone in a multi-year effort to modernize the logistics infrastructure supporting U.S. Antarctic research operations. The station was established in 1955-1956 and sits on Ross Island, not far from the location used by Ernest Shackleton and other famed explorers. The British also used...

Offshore vessel being refitted for ammonia propulsion

Execution Phase for Conversion of PSV to Ammonia Set to Begin

Published Feb 26, 2026 8:44 PM by The Maritime Executive

After several years of planning and development, the Apollo project is set to go into execution this spring, starting the conversion of an in-service platform supply vessel to ammonia-fueled propulsion. The vessel’s owners, Eidesvik Offshore, signed the agreement with Halsnøy Dokk, and it will be completed by fall, making the vessel the first offshore vessel in commercial service converted to be ammonia-powered. The ship, Viking Energy, which was built in 2003, is 2,886 dwt / 5,073 gross tons and has...

Iraqi Maritime Claim Unites Gulf Countries in Opposition

Published Feb 26, 2026 8:18 PM by The Maritime Executive

The registration by Iraq of a claim to maritime areas in the northern Gulf has generated an unusually quick and united rejection from the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. At the heart of the dispute is a stretch of water between Iraq and Kuwait, which leads to Iraq’s main deep sea port at Umm Qasr. Since UN Resolution 833 passed unanimously in 1991, after the first Gulf War, the land borders in the area have been settled, and...

Shipping

Maersk Temporarily Retreats from Red Sea Sailings for Two Routes

Maersk informed customers today, February 27, in an alert that it is retreating from its move back to the Suez – Red Sea corridor for two of its routes, including sailings for its Gemini Cooperation with Hapag. The company called it “temporary adjustments,” citing “unforeseen constraints,” but it is likely to have wider implications for the broader industry's return to routes through the Red Sea. “We are currently experiencing unforeseen constraints arising from the wider operating environment?in the Red Sea...

Tugs & Salvage

Oil Leaking from Sealloyd Arc Shipwreck Hits Thailand's Tourist Beaches

Thai officials are sounding the alarm and calling the latest developments “worrying” as reports grow of oil leaking from the wreck of the cargo ship Sealloyd Arc reaching Thailand’s beaches. They point out that efforts have been ongoing for 19 days, spraying dispersants at the site of the wreck, and in the early days, the winds were keeping the oil offshore. Reports of oil on the beaches and in the shallow waters near popular tourist destinations began coming in on...

Government

U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

The U.S. Department of Justice filed for the forfeiture of the tanker Skipper (310,000 dwt) and the cargo of Venezuelan crude onboard, along with the arrest of the vessel, which it has been holding since December 10, 2025. The ship was seized at the beginning of the U.S. campaign against Venezuela and has been held anchored near the Galveston, Texas, oil terminal since December 21. The complaint alleges the tanker has a long history of facilitating fuel sales for both...

Corporate News

Indian Register of Shipping's Overseas Defence Project with Sri Lankan Navy

[By: Indian Register of Shipping] Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) crossed a significant milestone with the launch of its first defence-export project – a Floating Dry Dock (FDD) being constructed for the Sri Lanka Navy at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL). The Chief Guest at the launching ceremony, held on 19 February 2026 at GSL, was Rear Admiral MDK Wijewardana of the Sri Lanka Navy. Senior officials from the shipyard and IRS were also present. The project represents a landmark achievement...

Cruise Ships

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Ports

container floating in ocean with tugboat

Containership Spills 85 Boxes Overboard Forcing Suspension at Casablanca

Port officials ordered a suspension of operations overnight at the Port of Casablanca in Morocco as they were dealing with an overboard incident with containers near the entrance to the harbor. It is unclear when operations would resume as daylight revealed numerous containers floating in the port’s fairway. The National Ports Agency issued the suspension order at approximately 2300 local time on Thursday, February 26, saying transit was unsafe due to the incident. Media reports indicate operations at the port...

Shipping

Maersk Temporarily Retreats from Red Sea Sailings for Two Routes

Tugs & Salvage

Oil Leaking from Sealloyd Arc Shipwreck Hits Thailand's Tourist Beaches

Government

U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

Corporate News

Indian Register of Shipping's Overseas Defence Project with Sri Lankan Navy

Cruise Ships

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Ports

Containership Spills 85 Boxes Overboard Forcing Suspension at Casablanca

Offshore

U.S. Offshore Wind Projects Report Progress After Resuming Offshore Work

Three of the five offshore wind projects under construction in the northeast U.S. have each signaled this week strong progress. It comes after each project received preliminary injunctions against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which had imposed stop-work orders in late December. Speaking to investors on February 25, the executives of Iberdrola, one of the partners in Vineyard Wind 1 off the coast of Massachusetts, said as far as they are concerned,...

Shipbuilding

Hanwha and Greece’s Onex Shipyards Partner to Expand U.S. Shipbuilding

A new trilateral agreement was formalized between Onex Shipyards & Technologies, which is working to revitalize Greek shipbuilding, and South Korea’s Hanwha Power Systems, with American officials looking on during the signing event. According to the reports, the effort will support the efforts in Greece but also looks to leverage the emerging opportunities in the United States under the Trump administration’s U.S. Maritime Action Plan. Onex reports that the agreement focuses on the development of newbuildings with LNG capacity as...

Environment

Study: Ocean Warming Puts "Constant Negative Pressure" on Fish Populations

A new meta-study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution suggests that ocean warming has an outsize impact on the total amount of fish in the water, enough to have major implications for global fisheries. The study, led by researchers at Spain's Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, looked at hundreds of thousands of studies of fish populations in the Northern Hemisphere over a period of nearly 30 years, spanning 1993-2021. The vast data set covered more than 1,500 fish species and...

Business

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) prepares for takeoff of the Viasat-3 F2 satellite (Viasat)

Case Study: Satcom Giant Inmarsat

The maritime industry is a conservative business. It tends to favor the established option over the innovative solution. Inmarsat – the original name in maritime satcom – has managed to compete in a tough market by combining both, leveraging its reputation for reliability to bring a new concept into the mainstream. In 2024, it debuted a bonded connectivity service, pairing a speedy low-earth-orbit connection with the reliability of its geostationary fleet. This multi-orbit, multi-network service – NexusWave – has revitalized...

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U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Permanent Dock Replaces Ice Pier at U.S.’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica

Execution Phase for Conversion of PSV to Ammonia Set to Begin

Iraqi Maritime Claim Unites Gulf Countries in Opposition

Maersk Temporarily Retreats from Red Sea Sailings for Two Routes

Oil Leaking from Sealloyd Arc Shipwreck Hits Thailand's Tourist Beaches

U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

Indian Register of Shipping's Overseas Defence Project with Sri Lankan Navy

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Containership Spills 85 Boxes Overboard Forcing Suspension at Casablanca

The Hybrid Adjustable Tip Propeller: Adaptability and Efficiency

Environmental Remediation at Aging Ports

Beyond Sanctions Lists: Navigating Fragmented Enforcement in Maritime Trade

Maersk Temporarily Retreats from Red Sea Sailings for Two Routes

Oil Leaking from Sealloyd Arc Shipwreck Hits Thailand's Tourist Beaches

U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

Indian Register of Shipping's Overseas Defence Project with Sri Lankan Navy

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Containership Spills 85 Boxes Overboard Forcing Suspension at Casablanca

U.S. Offshore Wind Projects Report Progress After Resuming Offshore Work

Hanwha and Greece’s Onex Shipyards Partner to Expand U.S. Shipbuilding

Study: Ocean Warming Puts "Constant Negative Pressure" on Fish Populations

Case Study: Satcom Giant Inmarsat

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events