Wednesday, March 18, 2026
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offshore wind farm

Report: Trump Administration Offers $1B to Cancel Two Offshore Wind Leases

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fire damaged Russian gas carrier

Mediterranean States Call on EU to Coordinate Response to Drifting Wreck

Published Mar 17, 2026 7:33 PM by The Maritime Executive

The wreck of the Russian-flagged gas carrier Arctic Metagaz continues to drift in the Mediterranean, driven by the winds and currents. Member states of the European Union, a subgroup of nine European nations, and Libya are all raising concerns over the dangers, while Russia has reportedly said it is not its problem. The wreck has been drifting since the vessel was racked by an explosion and fire on March 3, while it was traveling south of Malta. Initial uncertainty over...

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Most carriers have suspended shipments to the Gulf's main container hubs (file image courtesy Imre Solt / CC BY SA 3.0)

What Does the Mideast Crisis Mean for Ports and Cargo Owners?

Published Mar 17, 2026 6:00 PM by Shaan Burton

The war with Iran has reached critical levels with an increase in direct attacks on commercial container vessels. As of March 11 2026, three container vessels had been hit by “unknown projectiles”. A Thai-flagged commercial vessel was hit 11 nautical miles north of Oman, causing a fire on board, a Japan-flagged commercial vessel sustained minor damage after it was struck about25 nautical miles off the United Arab Emirates' coast, and a third commercial vessel was hit about 50 nautical miles...

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Japanese inter-island cargo vessel

Four Killed as Japanese Cargo Ship Hits Commercial Fishing Vessel

Published Mar 17, 2026 5:42 PM by The Maritime Executive

Japan is reporting another incident in which a fishing vessel was struck by an inter-island cargo vessel in the busy sea lanes around the islands. In the latest incident, four people were killed, and nine other crewmembers from a commercial fishing vessel were rescued with no major injuries. The Hachinohe Coast Guard in northern Japan on Honshu island received a call from the cargo ship Suehiro Maru (2,400 dwt) at around 0115 local time reporting the collision. It was determined...

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cocaine bundles retrieved from the North Sea

Dutch Catch Smugglers Throwing Drugs into the North Sea from Containership

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

A drug intervention team in the Netherlands reports it was able to catch smugglers “red-handed” aboard the ocean-going vessel tossing narcotics overboard into the North Sea. The operation took place on Sunday, March 15, off the coast of the Zeeland province near Neltje Jans, report prosecutors in Amsterdam. According to the announcement, five individuals were caught in the act as part of an intensive operation in the North Sea. The five suspects range in age from 34 to 61 years...

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Offshore

OMSA

In the Know Podcast 77: Aaron Smith, President and CEO of OMSA

For the latest edition of In the Know, The Maritime Executive's podcast series, editor-in-chief Tony Munoz spoke with OMSA President and CEO Aaron Smith about the importance of Jones Act shipping in the offshore sector. OMSA - the Offshore Marine Service Association - is the voice of the U.S. offshore-vessel industry, and its primary mission is to protect the Jones Act's benefits for American mariners and shipowners. Smith, the organization's longtime leader, joins the podcast to talk about how loopholes...

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Shipbuilding

Japanese Prime Minister Sanse Takaichi and Donald Trump

Report: Japan and U.S. to Announce $100M Shipbuilding R&D Project Using AI

Reports from the Japanese media on Tuesday indicated that Japan’s Prime Minister will announce a new $100 million investment project to develop AI-driven technologies in part to aid the U.S. shipbuilding industry. It is a tangible project within the $550 million in investments Japan pledged to the Trump administration to win a trade deal in 2025. News outlets Nikkei and the Yomiuri Shimbun report the agreement will be finalized when Prime Minister Sanse Takaichi and Donald Trump meet in Washington,...

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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

Bunker barge

Hormuz Shutdown Drives Up Bunker Prices, With Broad Effects on Shipping

Bunker prices around the world have soared in response to the crisis in the Mideast, as the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted oil supplies to the most important refining and bunkering hubs. Prices in Singapore hovering above $1,100 per tonne - a price premium of more than 60 percent over Brent crude. Bunker fuel is normally cheaper than oil, but restricted crude supplies for refiners in the Indo-Pacific have inverted the normal relationship, yielding green-fuel prices for...

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