Search Launched for Four Survivors After U.S. Strike on Three Drug Boats

Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Export Terminal Near Kerch Strait

Published Dec 31, 2025 3:23 PM by The Maritime Executive

On New Years' Eve, Ukraine's special operations forces hit oil and gas terminals near the port of Taman, Russia, on the east side of Kerch Strait. The multi-drone aerial strike hit loading piers for the enterprise, which exports oil, oil products and LPG to foreign markets at a rate of up to 20 million tonnes per year. The Ukrainian military's General Staff reported that two berths with oil loading arms were damaged at the terminal. Ukrainian authorities released a video...

NTSB: Towing Vessel Hit USCG Dock After Captain Fell Asleep at the Helm

Published Dec 31, 2025 2:30 PM by The Maritime Executive

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that a towing vessel operating on the Columbia River in Washington State veered from the channel and hit a U.S. Coast Guard dock after the captain in charge of the vessel fell asleep. They note that the individual, the night before self self-medicated with ivermectin, a prescription medication normally used to treat parasitic infections, and was later diagnosed with an acute COVID-19 coronavirus infection. The towing vessel Schweiger was underway on...

Bankrupt Chinese Yard Relaunches Under New Ownership

Published Dec 31, 2025 2:04 PM by The Maritime Executive

China's shipbuilding industry has been expanding capacity as it takes on more and more global market share, and investors and conglomerates have been getting in on the opportunity by reactivating old yards that went bankrupt after the last downturn. Buyers get ready-made drydocks, gantry cranes and fabrication plants for a fraction of the time and cost of building a greenfield yard. The latest instance is the restart of the Nanjing Dongze Shipyard on the Yangtze, which began with a judicial...

Thai Navy Seizes Vessel Accused of Smuggling Fuel to Cambodia

Published Dec 31, 2025 12:40 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Royal Thai Navy reported the details of a seizure of a small vessel that it said was operating without a visible identity and which was suspected of smuggling fuel to Cambodia. The seizure, which comes after the latest attempt at a ceasefire in the ongoing border dispute, is reported to be part of a repeated crackdown on efforts to support the military factors to Cambodia. During a patrol in the Gulf of Thailand, the HTMS Prachuap Khiri Khan, came...

Shipping

Russia Adds Long-Delayed Multifunction Vessel Capable of NSR Support

Russia’s Sea Rescue Service took delivery of the Kerch Strait, a multifunction support and rescue vessel. It is the latest in the efforts to expand support services for vessels operating along the Northern Sea Route. Construction of the vessel was first proposed nearly two decades ago, and construction began, according to media reports, in 2010 at the Amur Shipyard. The project was suspended due to litigation and did not resume till 2018, with the ship finally launched in November 2020....

Tugs & Salvage

Search Launched for Four Survivors After U.S. Strike on Three Drug Boats

On Tuesday, U.S. Southern Command launched strikes to destroy three drug-smuggling boats in one engagement, killing three suspected traffickers and - in a departure from other recent attacks - leaving four alive for potential rescue. In a statement Wednesday, Southern Command said that the three boats were operating in international waters along known smuggling routes. The three targets had previously engaged in a boat-to-boat transfer of suspected narcotics, and all three were operating together in a formation. One boat was...

Government

Israeli-built Cypriot Offshore Patrol Vessel Commodore Andreas Ioannides (P61) participating in Exercise Noble Dina 2025 (Credit: Cypriot Ministry of Defence press release)

Cyprus, Greece and Israel Quietly Strengthen Their Mediterranean Alliance

Attracting little publicity, Cyprus, Greece and Israel have deepened their military cooperation, signing a trilateral agreement in Cyprus last week that builds on a multiyear partnership between the three nations. Last week’s agreement, signed at technical level by military staff, covers joint air and naval exercises, training and intelligence cooperation. Greece is expected to take part once again in the Israeli-led naval Exercise Noble Dina in the Mediterranean in the spring. Exercise Noble Dina is an annual Israeli-led multinational exercise...

Corporate News

Major Cargo Improvements on Track for 2026 Completion

[By: Port of Galveston] While the Port of Galveston made headlines with the opening of its fourth cruise terminal in 2025, next year we’ll celebrate another port milestone – completion of major improvements at the West Port Cargo Complex. Located on Galveston Harbor, one of the nation’s busiest cargo waterways, the port moves more than 3 million tons of general and breakbulk cargos, including roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) and giant wind turbine pieces a year. Hundreds of cargo ships call at the...

Cruise Ships

Judge Lets Hawaii’s “Green Fee” Tax on Cruises Go Ahead

A judge in U.S. District Court in Hawaii rejected a lawsuit by the cruise industry and vendors seeking an injunction against extending for the first time Hawaii’s tax on transient visitors to cruise ships. Known as the “Green Fee,” the state in May enacted an increase to the tax and for the first time included cruise ship passengers, saying the state needs more tools to deal with climate change. Hawaii asserts that Act 96 of 2025 establishes the Green Fee,...

Ports

Saudi Arabian Forces Bomb Port in Yemen Raising Tensions with UAE

Saudi Arabia, acting in the name of what it calls the “Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen,” launched what it is terming limited airstrikes on the Port of Mukalla in southeastern Yemen on the Gulf of Aden. Saudi officials accused the United Arab Emirates of having sent a large amount of unauthorized military equipment into the port and demanded that the UAE immediately withdraw its unauthorized forces. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have long been at odds, supporting different factions...

Shipping

Russia Adds Long-Delayed Multifunction Vessel Capable of NSR Support

Tugs & Salvage

Search Launched for Four Survivors After U.S. Strike on Three Drug Boats

Government

Cyprus, Greece and Israel Quietly Strengthen Their Mediterranean Alliance

Corporate News

Major Cargo Improvements on Track for 2026 Completion

Cruise Ships

Judge Lets Hawaii’s “Green Fee” Tax on Cruises Go Ahead

Ports

Saudi Arabian Forces Bomb Port in Yemen Raising Tensions with UAE

Offshore

Sister ship Armada 86 06 (file image courtesy Ocean Infinity)

Ocean Infinity Launches New Search for Lost Flight MH370

Ocean Infinity has launched its search for the lost Flight MH370, the aircraft that disappeared over the Indian Ocean in 2014. MH370's fate remains unknown, and the company believes that its advanced search technology could find the wreckage at last and perhaps yield new clues into the aircraft's loss. AIS tracking provided by Pole Star Global shows that the Ocean Infinity ship Armada 86 05 is on station and searching at a position about 1,100 nautical miles west of Perth....

Shipbuilding

Bankrupt Chinese Yard Relaunches Under New Ownership

Environment

large gas carrier designed for ammonia shipping

JERA Advances Plans to Ship Ammonia Produced in Louisiana to Japan

Japan’s largest power generation and energy company, JERA, is advancing its plans to ship low-carbon ammonia from a production facility in Louisiana to Japan to fuel a power generation plant. The project, working with shipping companies NYK and Mitsui O.S.K., is expected to become the first commercial-scale effort to import ammonia fuel to Japan. The companies announced that they have signed contracts which will lead to the development of very large gas carriers designed specifically for ammonia transport. Mitsui O.S....

Business

Japan Suspends Kawasaki Heavy Industries for Submarine Engine Data Fraud

The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced a series of steps it is taking after investigations confirmed that Kawasaki Heavy Industries had supplied fraudulent test data on its engines and provided inappropriate gifts to a number of naval personnel over the past 40 years. Kawasaki Heavy Industries had first announced in 2024 that it was investigating after information surfaced showing a long-term pattern of falsifying test data to ensure engines were delivered on time under their contracts. Kawasaki Heavy Industries is...

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Search Launched for Four Survivors After U.S. Strike on Three Drug Boats

Ukraine Hits Russian Oil Export Terminal Near Kerch Strait

NTSB: Towing Vessel Hit USCG Dock After Captain Fell Asleep at the Helm

Bankrupt Chinese Yard Relaunches Under New Ownership

Thai Navy Seizes Vessel Accused of Smuggling Fuel to Cambodia

Russia Adds Long-Delayed Multifunction Vessel Capable of NSR Support

Search Launched for Four Survivors After U.S. Strike on Three Drug Boats

Cyprus, Greece and Israel Quietly Strengthen Their Mediterranean Alliance

Major Cargo Improvements on Track for 2026 Completion

Judge Lets Hawaii’s “Green Fee” Tax on Cruises Go Ahead

Saudi Arabian Forces Bomb Port in Yemen Raising Tensions with UAE

California Protects Blue Whales and Blue Skies With Historic State Law

One Event. World Of Maritime. This February, Copenhagen is the Place to Be

Drew Marine Insights Tour: Connecting Expertise with Shipboard Challenges

Russia Adds Long-Delayed Multifunction Vessel Capable of NSR Support

Search Launched for Four Survivors After U.S. Strike on Three Drug Boats

Cyprus, Greece and Israel Quietly Strengthen Their Mediterranean Alliance

Major Cargo Improvements on Track for 2026 Completion

Judge Lets Hawaii’s “Green Fee” Tax on Cruises Go Ahead

Saudi Arabian Forces Bomb Port in Yemen Raising Tensions with UAE

Ocean Infinity Launches New Search for Lost Flight MH370

Bankrupt Chinese Yard Relaunches Under New Ownership

JERA Advances Plans to Ship Ammonia Produced in Louisiana to Japan

Japan Suspends Kawasaki Heavy Industries for Submarine Engine Data Fraud

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events