Friday, March 06, 2026
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Dubai's skyline (iStock / Tomas Sereda)

After Strikes on Dubai, UAE May Target Iran's Shadow Fleet Operators

Published Mar 5, 2026 11:05 PM by The Maritime Executive

The financial and operational networks that undergird Iran's sanctioned oil trade pass through Dubai, where they operate in the shadows in a lightly-regulated market. That may soon become a problem for Tehran. According to the Wall Street Journal, the UAE - growing tired of Iran's missile and drone attacks - has warned the Iranian government that in retaliation, it may start seizing assets linked to these shell companies. The freewheeling business environment of the UAE's free trade zone system has...

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The receiving terminal at the Russian-controlled, EU-sanctioned Vadinar refinery in India, a leading buyer of Russian oil (Nayara / CC BY SA 4.0)

As Energy Prices Rise, U.S. Green-Lights India's Purchases of Russian Oil

Published Mar 5, 2026 10:11 PM by The Maritime Executive

Under pressure to control oil prices amidst a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the White House is backtracking on its efforts to pressure India into refusing Russian oil. In hopes of easing supply concerns, it is giving New Delhi temporary permission to increase the use of already-afloat Russian crude. "The waiver effectively acts as a green signal" for India to buy Russian oil at scale, Kpler analyst Sumit Ritolia told the Times. The newly-promulgated rule from the Office of...

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Debris cascades off the stern of IRIS Shahid Bagheri after a direct hit, March 5 (US Central Command)

Video: U.S. Forces Hit Iranian Drone Carrier

Published Mar 5, 2026 9:14 PM by The Maritime Executive

U.S. forces have released new footage of a strike on one of Iran's "drone carriers," the converted merchant vessels that Iranian forces have rebuilt to launch ballistic missiles, suicide drones and other unmanned munitions. The vessel's appearance matches IRIS Shahid Bagheri, which U.S. Central Command previously claimed to have struck on the first day of the conflict. An accompanying statement by CENTCOM appears to confirm that an attack occurred on March 5. The footage released by U.S. Central Command shows...

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dry dock

Royal Caribbean Group Proposes Ship Repair Yard for Panama's Pacific Coast

Published Mar 5, 2026 8:31 PM by The Maritime Executive

Officials from Panama are responding positively to the concept of creating a shipyard on the Pacific coast of the country. Royal Caribbean Group met with the president of Panama, Jose Raul Mulino, and other government executives to outline its proposal, which would see a yard with capabilities to handle large ships in operation by 2031. Royal Caribbean is proposing that the shipyard be established in the Punta Pierdra sector, near the city of Puerto Armuelles, which is located in the...

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MORE STORIES BY CATEGORY

Offshore

Maersk Offshore Wind Turbine Installation Vessel

Seatrium Delivers WTIV to Maersk Offshore Wind

The next-generation wind turbine installation vessel, which became the center of a dispute before it was completed, has been successfully delivered, with both companies now celebrating the possibilities. Seatrium reports it completed the delivery on February 26 after sea trials and final readiness evaluations at the Tuas Boulevard Yard in Singapore, while Maersk Offshore Wind is calling the ship the first in its journey towards growing a future-ready fleet. Maersk Offshore Wind, which is owned by the investment company A.P....

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Shipbuilding

dry dock

Royal Caribbean Group Proposes Ship Repair Yard for Panama's Pacific Coast

Officials from Panama are responding positively to the concept of creating a shipyard on the Pacific coast of the country. Royal Caribbean Group met with the president of Panama, Jose Raul Mulino, and other government executives to outline its proposal, which would see a yard with capabilities to handle large ships in operation by 2031. Royal Caribbean is proposing that the shipyard be established in the Punta Pierdra sector, near the city of Puerto Armuelles, which is located in the...

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Environment

Trawlers

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...

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Business

iStock

AI, Analytics, and Automation: The New Currents in Maritime Operations

For decades, maritime operations have been defined by tradition, by paper logs, phone calls, and manual entries that somehow coordinated one of the most complex systems in the world. That era is ending. Today, software is doing what steel and fuel once did for the industry, powering global trade at scale. Having worked closely on large-scale maritime HR and compliance systems, I’ve seen how digitalization is no longer about convenience. The shift from manual, disconnected workflows to integrated, data-driven operations...

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