U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

container floating in ocean with tugboat

Containership Spills 85 Boxes Overboard Forcing Suspension at Casablanca

Published Feb 27, 2026 11:23 AM by The Maritime Executive

Port officials ordered a suspension of operations overnight at the Port of Casablanca in Morocco as they were dealing with an overboard incident with containers near the entrance to the harbor. It is unclear when operations would resume as daylight revealed numerous containers floating in the port’s fairway. The National Ports Agency issued the suspension order at approximately 2300 local time on Thursday, February 26, saying transit was unsafe due to the incident. Media reports indicate operations at the port...

PCG servicemembers deliver the bodies of recovered victims from the Trisha Kerstin 3 sinking (PCG file image)

Four Philippine Coastguardsmen Dismissed Without Honor Over Ferry Sinking

Published Feb 26, 2026 11:22 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Philippine Coast Guard has dismissed four servicemembers with dishonorable discharges in connection with the loss of the ferry Trisha Kerstin 3, which resulted in at least 65 deaths. Unlike other maritime nations, the PCG conducts a pre-departure inspection and signoff before every voyage for merchant vessels. This means that PCG personnel bear some responsibility for the condition of the vessel when it leaves the dock, including its loading arrangements. Survivors claim that the Trisha Kerstin 3 was heavily overloaded...

U.S. Citizen Was Killed in Shootout With Cuban Patrol Boat

Published Feb 26, 2026 10:44 PM by The Maritime Executive

One of the suspects killed in a firefight between a Florida-registered speedboat and a Cuban border patrol vessel was an American citizen, multiple U.S. sources have confirmed. According to the Cuban interior ministry, a border guard patrol boat spotted a suspicious speedboat off the town of Corallilo on Wednesday. The "illegal" speedboat opened fire, injuring the patrol commander, and the Cuban border guardsmen returned fire. Four people on the speedboat were killed, and six survivors were injured. Cuban authorities said...

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Published Feb 26, 2026 10:44 PM by The Maritime Executive

During recent cartel violence in Puerto Vallarta, cruise lines paused calls at the port while the Mexican Navy began moving vessel assets in, both in response to a perceived need for improvements in security. On February 22, Mexican special forces killed top organized crime leader Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho," the head of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJGN) and one of Mexico's most-wanted fentanyl traffickers. In response to his death, cartel members launched a campaign of counterattacks...

Shipping

harsh winter conditions in the Gulf of Finland

Cargo Ships Are Becoming Stuck in the Baltic with Worst Ice in 15 Years

All along the Baltic, reports are emerging of ships becoming stuck and needing extra assistance from icebreakers as the region is experiencing the harshest winter conditions since the season of 2010-2011. Finnish authorities are denying media reports that they were forced to call in Russian icebreakers but confirmed the Russians are assisting in the Gulf of Finland and that all the countries' icebreakers are working full-time this winter. There have been reports first of strong coastal ice, such as in...

Tugs & Salvage

Australia Detains Bulker After 24-Day Response to Engine Problem

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is reporting that it has placed a detention order on a Chinese manager bulker, which has been in distress for all of February and required constant monitoring. The ship has finally been secured in the Gladstone anchorag, but is now officially detained due to seaworthiness issues. The saga of the bulker Swift Hangzhou began hours after the vessel departed Gladstone on January 31, bound for South Korea. The 79,343 dwt vessel, registered in Liberia, was...

Government

U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

The U.S. Department of Justice filed for the forfeiture of the tanker Skipper (310,000 dwt) and the cargo of Venezuelan crude onboard, along with the arrest of the vessel, which it has been holding since December 10, 2025. The ship was seized at the beginning of the U.S. campaign against Venezuela and has been held anchored near the Galveston, Texas, oil terminal since December 21. The complaint alleges the tanker has a long history of facilitating fuel sales for both...

Corporate News

Indian Register of Shipping's Overseas Defence Project with Sri Lankan Navy

[By: Indian Register of Shipping] Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) crossed a significant milestone with the launch of its first defence-export project – a Floating Dry Dock (FDD) being constructed for the Sri Lanka Navy at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL). The Chief Guest at the launching ceremony, held on 19 February 2026 at GSL, was Rear Admiral MDK Wijewardana of the Sri Lanka Navy. Senior officials from the shipyard and IRS were also present. The project represents a landmark achievement...

Cruise Ships

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Ports

Panama’s Ports Resume Operations as Investigations Continue

Government officials and the Panama Maritime Authority are highlighting the resumption of operations at the ports at each terminus of the Panama Canal as they work to complete the transition to Maersk’s AMP Terminals and MSC’s Terminal Investments Limited (TiL). However, at the same time, additional investigations are reported to be underway on the former operator, the Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison. Restoring the operations was critical both to the country and to sending a...

Shipping

Cargo Ships Are Becoming Stuck in the Baltic with Worst Ice in 15 Years

Tugs & Salvage

Australia Detains Bulker After 24-Day Response to Engine Problem

Government

U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

Corporate News

Indian Register of Shipping's Overseas Defence Project with Sri Lankan Navy

Cruise Ships

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Ports

Panama’s Ports Resume Operations as Investigations Continue

Offshore

U.S. Offshore Wind Projects Report Progress After Resuming Offshore Work

Three of the five offshore wind projects under construction in the northeast U.S. have each signaled this week strong progress. It comes after each project received preliminary injunctions against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which had imposed stop-work orders in late December. Speaking to investors on February 25, the executives of Iberdrola, one of the partners in Vineyard Wind 1 off the coast of Massachusetts, said as far as they are concerned,...

Shipbuilding

Hanwha and Greece’s Onex Shipyards Partner to Expand U.S. Shipbuilding

A new trilateral agreement was formalized between Onex Shipyards & Technologies, which is working to revitalize Greek shipbuilding, and South Korea’s Hanwha Power Systems, with American officials looking on during the signing event. According to the reports, the effort will support the efforts in Greece but also looks to leverage the emerging opportunities in the United States under the Trump administration’s U.S. Maritime Action Plan. Onex reports that the agreement focuses on the development of newbuildings with LNG capacity as...

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

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) prepares for takeoff of the Viasat-3 F2 satellite (Viasat)

Case Study: Satcom Giant Inmarsat

The maritime industry is a conservative business. It tends to favor the established option over the innovative solution. Inmarsat – the original name in maritime satcom – has managed to compete in a tough market by combining both, leveraging its reputation for reliability to bring a new concept into the mainstream. In 2024, it debuted a bonded connectivity service, pairing a speedy low-earth-orbit connection with the reliability of its geostationary fleet. This multi-orbit, multi-network service – NexusWave – has revitalized...

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U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

Containership Spills 85 Boxes Overboard Forcing Suspension at Casablanca

Four Philippine Coastguardsmen Dismissed Without Honor Over Ferry Sinking

U.S. Citizen Was Killed in Shootout With Cuban Patrol Boat

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Cargo Ships Are Becoming Stuck in the Baltic with Worst Ice in 15 Years

Australia Detains Bulker After 24-Day Response to Engine Problem

U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

Indian Register of Shipping's Overseas Defence Project with Sri Lankan Navy

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Panama’s Ports Resume Operations as Investigations Continue

The Hybrid Adjustable Tip Propeller: Adaptability and Efficiency

Environmental Remediation at Aging Ports

Beyond Sanctions Lists: Navigating Fragmented Enforcement in Maritime Trade

Cargo Ships Are Becoming Stuck in the Baltic with Worst Ice in 15 Years

Australia Detains Bulker After 24-Day Response to Engine Problem

U.S. Seeks Forfeiture for Tanker and Oil Cargo Seized off Venezuela

Indian Register of Shipping's Overseas Defence Project with Sri Lankan Navy

Cruise Lines Skip Calls at Puerto Vallarta After Cartel Violence

Panama’s Ports Resume Operations as Investigations Continue

U.S. Offshore Wind Projects Report Progress After Resuming Offshore Work

Hanwha and Greece’s Onex Shipyards Partner to Expand U.S. Shipbuilding

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

Case Study: Satcom Giant Inmarsat

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