Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Media Kit
drug seizure

French Navy Intercepts Record Cocaine Shipment Near French Polynesia

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USS Thomas Hudner

Fuel Supplier Convicted of 34 Felonies in Scheme to Defraud Navy and USCG

Published Jan 21, 2026 5:42 PM by The Maritime Executive

A federal jury in West Palm Beach, Florida, found a local fuel supplier guilty of orchestrating a scheme to defraud the U.S. of over $4.5 million. Spanning a period between 2022 and 2024, the court convicted Jasen Butler, age 37, of 34 felonies related to submitting altered and fake invoices to the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. According to the evidence at trial, Butler, the owner of Independent Marine Oil Services, submitted dozens of falsified documents, such as wire transfer...

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Veronica

US Coast Guard Requests Pastoral Support for Shadow Fleet Tanker's Crew

Published Jan 21, 2026 4:50 PM by The Maritime Executive

Military and security actions can create hardship for seafarers when ships get caught in the middle of a geopolitical confrontation, as seen all too often in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz in recent years. Interdictions and seizures can cause distress for crewmembers, regardless of the circumstances, and affected seafarers can benefit from care - even aboard shadow fleet tankers, according to Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI). In a recent U.S. seizure of a Venezuela-linked tanker in the Caribbean, SCI...

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ferry disaster

Hong Kong: Deaths in 2012 Accident Unlawful, but Ferries Met Safety Rules

Published Jan 21, 2026 4:24 PM by The Maritime Executive

More than a decade after one of the worst marine disasters in Hong Kong’s history, the Coroner’s Court is issuing a new finding into the 2012 collision of the Lamma IV and Sea Smooth ferries. The survivors and victims’ families had advocated for the new investigation to lay blame as they also seek a civil suit. The Coroner’s Court convened 44 days of hearings between May and September 2025 and heard testimony from 84 individuals, and today started reading out...

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File image (Rotamflot press handout)

Op-Ed: Arctic Bypass Emerges as Alternative to US-Centric Shipping Networks

Published Jan 21, 2026 3:43 PM by Wolfgang Lehmacher

Red Sea attacks and Arctic ice melt are now part of the same story: as one corridor has become a live-fire risk for seafarers, planners sketch a Nordic-Arctic bypass that could weaken the networks the United States relies on for leverage, and that underpin today’s US-centric maritime system. The emerging question for US-linked maritime actors is whether American sea power is becoming less a guarantor of open routes and more an architect of “coercive connectivity” that accelerates the search for...

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Offshore

offshore wind farm

Vattenfall Finalizes Investment for Germany’s Largest Offshore Wind Project

Offshore wind energy developer Vattenfall confirmed that it is moving forward with the Nordlicht offshore wind cluster. With construction due to start later this year, the two-phase project will become the largest wind project for Germany and a key contributor as the country struggles to accelerate development in the offshore wind energy sector. The permit issued by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) has become irrevocable, making the final step to move forward with the project. Vattenfall had announced...

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Shipbuilding

Spanish shipyard

AD Ports Buys Spanish Shipyard Astilleros Balenciaga

The Abu Dhabi-based AD Ports acquired a Spanish shipyard as part of its effort to expand in the Mediterranean and serve the offshore operations sector. The reports indicate that it paid €11.2 million ($13.1 million) for 100 percent ownership of Astilleros Balenciaga, based on the northern coast of Spain near Bilbao. The shipyard, which traces its origins to 1921, will now be known as Balenciaga Shipyard. AD Ports acquired the yard for its Safeen Drydocks subsidiary, which is part of...

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Environment

European ferries

Interferry Demands Pause for EU ETS Due to Inequities and Use of Funds

Interferry, the global trade association for the ferry industry, is calling for an immediate halt to the further phasing-in of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) for the maritime sector. The group is citing inequities and a severe competitive disadvantage as road transport remains exempt from the program. Further, it alleges that a lack of a funding scheme for e-fuels and investments such as electrification means the monies are instead being diverted to national member state budgets. The trade group...

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Business

Ocean Aero's Triton drone boat in submergence mode, with sail lowered (Ocean Aero press handout)

James Fisher Takes a Stake in Dive-Capable Drone Boat Venture

British offshore services and shipping company James Fisher and Sons has bought a stake in the American autonomous sailing vessel startup Ocean Aero, which is developing a unique renewable energy-powered unmanned vessel. James Fisher joined in a Series D funding round for Ocean Aero this month, taking a "strategic" minority stake in the business. Ocean Aero's focus is far from the tanker business that powers James Fisher day-to-day: it is developing a wind and solar-powered unmanned craft called Triton, which...

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