The Maritime Executive Set Records With Our Most Popular Articles of 2025

 

It has been a challenging year for the maritime industry. Operators were forced to divert from Red Sea routes, adapted to a return of Somali piracy, and experienced the impact of shifting trade policies. Perennial issues such as illegal fishing and drug running continued to make headlines, along with geopolitical concerns ranging from Russia's shadow fleet to the subterfuge of Iran’s military.

At the end of 2025, it's a good time to look back at the most popular Maritime Executive articles of the year and catch up on the biggest stories that dominated the conversation. With your help, TME set new highs for readership, exceeding one million users a month and besting our previous record for most traffic on a single article (400,000 views). That means that more of our shoreside friends and neighbors are encountering the maritime industry, some for the first time, and that's something we're happy to celebrate this holiday season. 

We appreciate your interest and joining us again this year - and we are looking forward to seeing our loyal readers again in the year ahead.

The 10 stories that drew the most reader interest in 2025:

1) After U.S. Bust, Four Tankers Turn Around Instead of Calling in Venezuela  

2) Coast Guard Busts Luxury Yacht for Repeat Violations of a COTP Order

3) Colombian Drug Gang Bribed Navy Staff to Place GPS Devices on Navy Ships

4) Australia Seizes and Burns Two Illegal Fishing Vessels

5) Suez Canal Responds as Chinese Heavy Lift Vessel Grounds

6) Coast Guard Boat Crew Shoots Out Engine of Migrant Smuggling Boat

7) Norway Uncovers Russian Scheme for Marine Insurance Fraud

8) Russian Warship Spotted Escorting Two Inbound Stateless Tankers

9) Russian Attack Sub Surfaces Right Next to French Trawler off Brittany

10) Iran Withdraws From the Red Sea