The U.S. Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz Begins

Korea Coast Guard's patrol ship 3001, recently refurbished and painted in haze gray to become BAE Jambeli (Korea Coast Guard file image)

S. Korea Donates Patrol Vessel to Help Ecuador Fight Drug Smuggling

Published Apr 13, 2026 6:05 PM by The Maritime Executive

Ecuador intends to push its full-scale war on drug trafficking and organized crime a notch higher with the impending arrival of a multipurpose vessel that was donated by South Korea in 2024. The Ecuadorian Ministry of National Defense says that the BAE Jambelí is currently in San Diego, U.S, en route to South America. She is slated to become a key asset in the war against the cartels that have turned Ecuadorian waters into a haven of drug trafficking to...

Cruise Ship That Grounded Near "Cast Away" Island Will Be Retired

Published Apr 13, 2026 5:45 PM by The Maritime Executive

A Fiji cruise ship that gained unprecedented global attention after grounding on an island where the 2000 Tom Hanks film “Cast Away” was filmed has been retired comparatively early after 22 years in service. Blue Lagoon Cruises, the owner of the Fiji Princess, has announced that it has made the difficult decision to retire the vessel following her grounding at a reef near uninhabited Monuriki Island on April 4. The ship had 30 passengers and 31 crewmembers aboard when she...

Oceania's Marina (Christian Ferrer / CC BY 4.0)

The Joys of Cruising

Published Apr 13, 2026 3:36 PM by Jack O'Connell

As most of you savvy MarEx readers know, I love to cruise. The food, the accommodations, the service, the amenities. The ships themselves are marvels of human engineering, full of wondrous sights and sounds and hidden alcoves and sudden discoveries. And the destinations? Limited only by your imagination. You can go anywhere you want and be pampered every step of the way. It's a great way to escape, and you can see the world while you're at it. Yet surprisingly...

U.S. Southern Command Conducts Two More Lethal Strikes on Drug Boats

Published Apr 13, 2026 1:44 PM by The Maritime Executive

U.S. Southern Command has resumed its campaign of strikes on drug-smuggling boats on the maritime corridors off South and Central America, resulting in additional fatalities. On Saturday, the counter-smuggling task force carried out two strikes on drug boats in the Eastern Pacific. Two suspects were killed in the first strike, leaving one survivor; three were killed in the second strike. The Coast Guard has been notified of the survivor so that it can launch a search and rescue operation. In...

Shipping

Another busy day in the Singapore Straits, April 13 (Pole Star Global)

Singapore's Straight Talking on Strait Blockade

Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has outlined to the parliament in Singapore why his country strongly supports the global status quo position that nations bordering straits should not hamper transit passage even through territorial waters, nor charge transit fees. In a particularly powerful speech, given Singapore’s respected and even-handed position globally, he noted that more oil and containers passed through the Strait of Malacca than through the Strait of Hormuz. At its narrowest, the Strait of Malacca is only...

Tugs & Salvage

MAIB: Lost Trawler's Crew Couldn't Isolate Source of Flooding

The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is yet again putting the spotlight on safety standards in the fishing industry after publishing the investigation report on the flooding, capsizing and foundering of a fishing trawler in Scottish waters in 2024. The prawn trawler Freedom II suffered engine room flooding at a position about 11 nautical miles southwest of Oban, Scotland, on February 21, 2024. The four crewmembers could not correctly identify the source of the flooding, and they had to...

Government

Damage to the tanker Al-Salmi after an Iranian attack, March 2026 (KPC)

IMF Warns Against Fuel Hoarding as Reality of Oil Supply Cut Sets In

Following news of a collapse in talks between the U.S. and Iran last weekend and the launch of a new U.S. Navy blockade at the Strait of Hormuz, oil markets are adapting to the prospect of a longer period of supply constraints. Benchmark Brent prices for June delivery remain below $100 per barrel, but the volume of physical barrels has not changed - and the last of the tankers that made it out of the Gulf before hostilities began will...

Corporate News

Laborde Products Powers Newbuild M/V Larry Gravely by Diversified Marine

[By: Laborde Products] Laborde Products powered the newbuild M/V Larry Gravely, constructed by Diversified Marine in Houma, Louisiana. The twin-screw towboat is equipped with a pair of Mitsubishi Tier 3 S6R2 main engines, each rated at 803 horsepower at 1,400 RPM. The engines were applied to support the vessel’s operating profile and the steady, day-to-day demands of aggregate service on the inland waterways. Built at Diversified Marine, the Larry Gravely was designed for consistent service, with propulsion decisions centered on...

Cruise Ships

The Joys of Cruising

Ports

Construction Starts on Port of Montreal's Long-Delayed Container Terminal

Canada has finally started the construction on the new Contrecoeur container terminal at the Port of Montreal. The megaproject, which was first proposed nearly 40 years ago and has been the subject of delays and controversies, is expected to expand the capacity of the port by approximately 60 percent, making it the largest Atlantic coast port expansion in the country's history. The project will add up to 1.15 million TEU in annual container handling capacity, effectively eliminating capacity constraints that...

Shipping

Singapore's Straight Talking on Strait Blockade

Tugs & Salvage

MAIB: Lost Trawler's Crew Couldn't Isolate Source of Flooding

Government

IMF Warns Against Fuel Hoarding as Reality of Oil Supply Cut Sets In

Corporate News

Laborde Products Powers Newbuild M/V Larry Gravely by Diversified Marine

Cruise Ships

The Joys of Cruising

Ports

Construction Starts on Port of Montreal's Long-Delayed Container Terminal

Offshore

China Commissions Wind Farm At Its Deepest Offshore Position

Chinese officials highlighted the commissioning of its newest offshore wind farm, which is also setting a record for the country’s deepest fixed-bottom wind turbines and is located far out to sea. They highlighted the complex geology and challenges of extreme sea conditions in developing and operating the 504 MW wind farm, the Huaneng Shandong Peninsula North L Site. The wind farm was developed by the state-owned China Huaneng Group and will be managed and operated by the Yantai Power Plant....

Shipbuilding

Meyer Werft Presents “Vision” for a Battery-Electric Cruise Ship

The German shipbuilder Meyer Werft, well known for its innovation in cruise ship design and construction, is presenting a new concept for the world’s first 100 percent battery-electric cruise ship with a size of more than 80,000 gross tons, which it aptly named Project “Vision.” It reports that the concept study demonstrates how sustainable innovations can redefine the future of the cruise industry while emphasizing the technology concepts that already exist to make a large, battery-electric cruise ship a reality....

Environment

Buildout Continues of Emerging Category of CO2 Carriers for CCS

A new segment of shipping, purpose-built CO2 carriers designed to support the emerging efforts at carbon capture and storage (CCS), continues to grow. The first of the commercial operations is beginning, and the sector is driving the development of the ships. Northern Lights, a partnership between Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies was the first to enter the segment, starting commercial operations in 2025. It was designed with an initial capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year and has already announced plans...

Business

Gianluigi Aponte Transfers World's Largest Container Line to His Children

Gianluigi Aponte, the founder and chairman of number-one container line MSC, has transferred the ownership of his company over to his daughter Alexa and his son Diego. MSC confirmed Monday that Gianluigi Aponte passed ownership of the company to his children at the end of last year. They both have extensive experience in the industry: Alexa is now the MSC Group's CFO, and Diego serves as the company's president. “With Diego and Alexa, I am confident the group will continue...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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The U.S. Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz Begins

S. Korea Donates Patrol Vessel to Help Ecuador Fight Drug Smuggling

Cruise Ship That Grounded Near "Cast Away" Island Will Be Retired

The Joys of Cruising

U.S. Southern Command Conducts Two More Lethal Strikes on Drug Boats

Singapore's Straight Talking on Strait Blockade

MAIB: Lost Trawler's Crew Couldn't Isolate Source of Flooding

IMF Warns Against Fuel Hoarding as Reality of Oil Supply Cut Sets In

Laborde Products Powers Newbuild M/V Larry Gravely by Diversified Marine

The Joys of Cruising

Construction Starts on Port of Montreal's Long-Delayed Container Terminal

Estonian Solutions Support Cruise Industry’s Green Transition

Cyber Risk in Shipping: From Technical Threat to Business Reality

Architecture of Adaptability: Designing Vessels to Stand the Test of Time

Singapore's Straight Talking on Strait Blockade

MAIB: Lost Trawler's Crew Couldn't Isolate Source of Flooding

IMF Warns Against Fuel Hoarding as Reality of Oil Supply Cut Sets In

Laborde Products Powers Newbuild M/V Larry Gravely by Diversified Marine

The Joys of Cruising

Construction Starts on Port of Montreal's Long-Delayed Container Terminal

China Commissions Wind Farm At Its Deepest Offshore Position

Meyer Werft Presents “Vision” for a Battery-Electric Cruise Ship

Buildout Continues of Emerging Category of CO2 Carriers for CCS

Gianluigi Aponte Transfers World's Largest Container Line to His Children

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events