bulker on fire after being struck off Oman

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

OOCL Giant Loses Boxes Overboard in Northern Pacific

Published Mar 11, 2026 2:34 PM by The Maritime Executive

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) reports that one of its ultra-large container vessels has suffered a significant container incident in the Northern Pacific as it was traveling toward the United States. The OOCL Sunflower, which has a capacity of 16,828 TEU, lost 57 containers overboard with additional damage on the vessel, but the full extent of the incident will not be known until a survey can be completed once the vessel reaches port. One of the company’s newest containerships, the...

U.S. Warns of Impending Strikes on Iran's Seaports After Iran Hits Salalah

Published Mar 11, 2026 2:01 PM by The Maritime Executive

On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command warned civilian personnel to stay clear of Iran's commercial seaports along the Strait of Hormuz, indicating the likely onset of a bombing campaign. CENTCOM accused Iranian forces of using the ports as staging grounds for Iran's limited, asymmetric naval operations. "CENTCOM urges civilians in Iran to immediately avoid all port facilities where Iranian naval forces are operating. Iranian dockworkers, administrative personnel, and commercial vessel crews should avoid Iranian naval vessels and military equipment," the command...

Three Ships Reportedly Hit in Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

Published Mar 10, 2026 11:13 PM by The Maritime Executive

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...

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

Published Mar 10, 2026 10:14 PM by The Maritime Executive

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...

Shipping

Australia Bans Chinese Bulker for Nonpayment of Crew Wages

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...

Tugs & Salvage

Three Ships Reportedly Hit in Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

Government

Canadian Coast Guard fisheries patrol boat

Canadian Coast Guard Fires Captain Who Willfully Disregarded Distress Call

The Canadian Coast Guard disciplined a veteran captain with 18 years of experience, firing him after an incident in which it found he “willfully disregarded a distress call.” The captain, who still contends he did nothing wrong, lodged an appeal to Canada’s Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, which found that the Coast Guard had “just and reasonable cause to discipline” the captain and that the termination was “justified.” The board, in its synopsis of the decision, writes...

Corporate News

175D Lands Repeat Order From Royal Canadian Navy

[By: Everllence] Group Ocean, the Canadian marine-services company, has ordered 4 × 12V175D-MM high-speed engines – each rated at 1,860 kWm, 1,800 rpm and IMO Tier III – in connection with the construction of 2 × 24m ASD (Azimuth Stern Drive) harbour tugs for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). This repeat order follows that for four identical tugs featuring the same engine configuration from earlier in the decade. Silvia Stefan – Director Governmental Projects, Everllence Canada – said: “Everllence Canada’s...

Cruise Ships

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

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...

Ports

COSCO Cancels Container Service at Balboa in Panama

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...

Shipping

Australia Bans Chinese Bulker for Nonpayment of Crew Wages

Tugs & Salvage

Three Ships Reportedly Hit in Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

Government

Canadian Coast Guard Fires Captain Who Willfully Disregarded Distress Call

Corporate News

175D Lands Repeat Order From Royal Canadian Navy

Cruise Ships

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

Ports

COSCO Cancels Container Service at Balboa in Panama

Offshore

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

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...

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

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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

OOCL Giant Loses Boxes Overboard in Northern Pacific

U.S. Warns of Impending Strikes on Iran's Seaports After Iran Hits Salalah

Three Ships Reportedly Hit in Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

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

Australia Bans Chinese Bulker for Nonpayment of Crew Wages

Three Ships Reportedly Hit in Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

Canadian Coast Guard Fires Captain Who Willfully Disregarded Distress Call

175D Lands Repeat Order From Royal Canadian Navy

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

COSCO Cancels Container Service at Balboa in Panama

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

Australia Bans Chinese Bulker for Nonpayment of Crew Wages

Three Ships Reportedly Hit in Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

Canadian Coast Guard Fires Captain Who Willfully Disregarded Distress Call

175D Lands Repeat Order From Royal Canadian Navy

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

COSCO Cancels Container Service at Balboa in Panama

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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