bulker on fire after being struck off Oman

Thai-Owned Bulker Ablaze in the Straits of Hormuz With Three Crew Missing

COSCO Cancels Container Service at Balboa in Panama

Published Mar 11, 2026 6:24 PM by The Maritime Executive

China’s state-owned shipping company COSCO Shipping Lines informed customers in a memorandum dated March 10 that it has suspended all services at the Port of Balboa, Panama, at the Pacific terminus of the Panama Canal. No reasoning was given for the suspension, which quickly contributed to speculation that it was another step in China’s retaliation against Panama after the seizure of the port terminal operations from CK Hutchison. In a brief customer advisory obtained by Panama’s La Prensa newspaper, COSCO...

UK Finds Fault in Planning and Medical Care on Cruise Ship in Severe Storm

Published Mar 11, 2026 5:31 PM by The Maritime Executive

The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch issued its report on a 2023 incident aboard the cruise ship Spirit of Discovery in which many passengers were injured, including one who later died, as the vessel lost propulsion during a violent storm in the Bay of Biscay. The report outlines significant steps that have been taken to address a range of safety issues, while the UK, along with the Norwegian authority, is making recommendations to the IMO and class societies to enhance...

Second "Big Beautiful" Offshore Lease Sale Draws Fewer Big Spenders

Published Mar 11, 2026 4:17 PM by The Maritime Executive

The U.S. Department of the Interior has completed the second offshore oil and gas auction of its revised lease plan, and the outcome was quieter this time. The auction generated $47 million in high bids for a total of 140,000 acres in 25 blocks, down from the previous auction's total of $280 million. A total of about 80 million acres were up for auction, but the majority received no bids. 13 companies participated in bidding, down from 30 in the...

Australia Bans Chinese Bulker for Nonpayment of Crew Wages

Published Mar 11, 2026 3:28 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has issued its first ban in 15 months, prohibiting a vessel from entry into the country’s ports. It was imposed on a Chinese bulker in what AMSA is calling an action to protect seafarer welfare. The Liberian-registered bulker Ocean Bright (75,621 dwt) departed Newcastle, Australia, on March 8 bound for China, and AMSA then issued a ban preventing the vessel from calling at any Australian port for six months. It said the vessel was directed...

Shipping

IEA Approves Record Oil Reserve Release, Keeping a Lid on Prices

On Wednesday, IEA members approved a record-setting coordinated release of 400 million barrels from global reserves, helping to keep an expected increase in Brent crude prices to just five percent. Brent closed at $92 per barrel, well under the $100 benchmark and far short of the $120-per-barrel levels it approached briefly on Monday. The continued increase in pricing reflects market expectations that the Strait of Hormuz will remained closed, pending major geopolitical or military developments. The effective shuttering of the...

Tugs & Salvage

Three Ships Reportedly Hit in Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

A container ship has reported an attack at a position just west of the Strait of Hormuz, according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). At about 0200 hours GMT on Wednesday, the master of a container ship reported that the vessel had been hit by an "unknown projectile" at a position 25 nm to the north of Ras al Khaymah, UAE. The ship was damaged, and crewmembers were working to determine the extent of the impact. All personnel aboard were...

Government

Coast Guard Icebreaker USCGC Polar Star Completes Antarctic Mission

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Polar Star, America's only operational heavy icebreaker, has successfully completed her annual mission to break out the cargo pier at McMurdo Sound. McMurdo is the home of the main U.S. Antarctic research base, and it gets only one big resupply delivery per year during the Southern Hemisphere's summer season. This year's voyage was special, as it marked Polar Star's 50th year in commissioned service. The first in a series of two ships, Polar Star...

Corporate News

National Association of Waterfront Employers Joins USA?IT Coalition

[By: USA-IT] The National Association of Waterfront Employers (NAWE) today announced that it has formally joined the United to Safeguard America from Illegal Trade (USA-IT) coalition, a nationwide partnership dedicated to combating the growing threats associated with illicit trade across U.S. supply chains. USA-IT is a public-and private-sector coalition focused on protecting Americans’ economic and physical security from blackmarket criminal networks. The coalition works to educate the public about the harms of illegal trade, promote best practices to counter illicit...

Cruise Ships

UK Finds Fault in Planning and Medical Care on Cruise Ship in Severe Storm

Ports

U.S. Container Volumes had Normalized Before Iran Despite Uncertainties

Reports indicate the U.S. import container volume was down significantly in February 2026, but despite the uncertainties in trade, the view was that the volumes were beginning to normalize. Descartes Systems Global, in its monthly report, highlighted that February 2026 was ranked as the fourth-strongest February on record, but the impact from the conflict in Iran adds new uncertainty. “While February volumes suggest underlying demand remains relatively stable, the military conflict in the Middle East, evolving U.S. tariffs, and ongoing...

Shipping

IEA Approves Record Oil Reserve Release, Keeping a Lid on Prices

Tugs & Salvage

Three Ships Reportedly Hit in Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

Government

Coast Guard Icebreaker USCGC Polar Star Completes Antarctic Mission

Corporate News

National Association of Waterfront Employers Joins USA?IT Coalition

Cruise Ships

UK Finds Fault in Planning and Medical Care on Cruise Ship in Severe Storm

Ports

U.S. Container Volumes had Normalized Before Iran Despite Uncertainties

Offshore

Second "Big Beautiful" Offshore Lease Sale Draws Fewer Big Spenders

Shipbuilding

Third US Training Ship State of Maine Delivered to MARAD

The third newly built U.S. training ship for the merchant marine, the State of Maine, was handed over to TOTE Services and delivered to the U.S. Maritime Administration. It will be the fifth training vessel, and the first purpose-built vessel, to be operated by the Maine Maritime Academy, located in Castine, Maine. The handover to the U.S. government took place at the Hanwha Philly Shipyard, and the vessel is scheduled to depart for Maine in the coming days. Once it...

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

China Reports it Held “Talks” with Maersk and MSC in Beijing

China’s Ministry of Transport issued a one-sentence notice reporting it had held “talks” with both Maersk and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company. While no details were announced, it quickly raised speculation that Chinese officials were reacting to the two companies' assumption of the port terminal operations in Panama after the government annulled CK Hutchison’s concession and seized the operations in Balboa and Cristobal. In the unusual statement, the Ministry of Transport announced it had “held separate talks with relevant officials from...

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Thai-Owned Bulker Ablaze in the Straits of Hormuz With Three Crew Missing

COSCO Cancels Container Service at Balboa in Panama

UK Finds Fault in Planning and Medical Care on Cruise Ship in Severe Storm

Second "Big Beautiful" Offshore Lease Sale Draws Fewer Big Spenders

Australia Bans Chinese Bulker for Nonpayment of Crew Wages

IEA Approves Record Oil Reserve Release, Keeping a Lid on Prices

Three Ships Reportedly Hit in Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

Coast Guard Icebreaker USCGC Polar Star Completes Antarctic Mission

National Association of Waterfront Employers Joins USA?IT Coalition

UK Finds Fault in Planning and Medical Care on Cruise Ship in Severe Storm

U.S. Container Volumes had Normalized Before Iran Despite Uncertainties

Collaborative Delivery Models Reshape Port Infrastructure Development

IMO Approved Echosounder and Speed Log System With a Single Sensor

Hamburg Maritime Forum 2026: An Ambitious Landmark Edition

IEA Approves Record Oil Reserve Release, Keeping a Lid on Prices

Three Ships Reportedly Hit in Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

Coast Guard Icebreaker USCGC Polar Star Completes Antarctic Mission

National Association of Waterfront Employers Joins USA?IT Coalition

UK Finds Fault in Planning and Medical Care on Cruise Ship in Severe Storm

U.S. Container Volumes had Normalized Before Iran Despite Uncertainties

Second "Big Beautiful" Offshore Lease Sale Draws Fewer Big Spenders

Third US Training Ship State of Maine Delivered to MARAD

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

China Reports it Held “Talks” with Maersk and MSC in Beijing

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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