UK and France Forming Multinational Effort for Strait of Hormuz

Police Intercept $110M Cocaine at London Gateway Port

Published Mar 25, 2026 6:27 PM by The Maritime Executive

Authorities in the United Kingdom are demonstrating resolve in the fight against drug trafficking after intercepting a large consignment of cocaine at the London Gateway port. The discovery comes as drug seizures in the country hit record highs. In the latest operation, Border Force officers seized around one tonne of cocaine hidden in a container that had been shipped from Panama. The drugs were found on March 20 and are said to have a street value of $107 million. The...

Hutchison Expands Arbitration Claims Beyond $2B Against Panama

Published Mar 25, 2026 6:04 PM by The Maritime Executive

The ongoing battle between CK Hutchison’s Panama Ports Company and the government of Panama has reportedly been “escalated beyond $2 billion,” the company announced in its latest volley in the back-and-forth between the two sides. It reportedly expanded the international arbitration with an additional filing on March 24. PPC continues to call Panama’s actions an “unlawful takeover” of the terminals at the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal. It filed the arbitration claim in February with the International Chamber of Commerce...

Carrier USS Ford Pulls Into Port at Crete for Fire-Damage Repairs

Published Mar 25, 2026 5:30 PM by The Maritime Executive

The carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has pulled into Souda Bay, Crete for repairs after a serious fire that started in a laundry room. The blaze damaged berthing areas, already in short supply on board a carrier designed for a smaller crew, and raised concerns about the effects of a nine-month deployment on a vessel designed for six-month service intervals. Ford arrived in Souda Bay on the 23rd, and will be in Crete for an indeterminate period for "efficient assessment,...

Activists Hound MSC Ships Accused of Transporting Raw Material for Military

Published Mar 25, 2026 5:05 PM by The Maritime Executive

A group of protestors aligned with the BDS movement (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) launched a new effort this week, hounding MSC Mediterranean Shipping containerships, which they allege are transporting raw materials for the Israeli military. They were calling on trade unions, civil society, and political parties to join an effort to pressure the governments and authorities from Italy to Greece to Spain to respond to the alleged shipments. The group was targeting two of the company’s vessels operating in the...

Shipping

Port of Khor Fakkan, UAE (iStock / IPGGutenbergUKLtd)

Ocean Carriers Adapt to Hormuz Shutdown With Overland Routes

The Strait of Hormuz shutdown has focused the world's attention on the flow of commodities out of the Arabian Gulf, including 20 percent of the world's oil and 30 percent of its fertilizer. But just as importantly, cargo shipments are not getting in, and the region is dependent upon imports for most of its food. Most of the world's leading container lines have suspended cargo bookings into the Gulf market because they cannot get past the Strait. Alternatives exist overland...

Tugs & Salvage

Two Bulkers Collide on Mississippi Near New Orleans

Two vessels have collided and remain stuck together just up the Mississippi River from New Orleans, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. On the afternoon of March 23, the freighter Pac Dubhe was downbound on the Mississippi, headed for Panama. The geared bulker African Buzzard was headed upriver. At about 1550 hours local time, as they passed the town of Hahnville, Louisiana, the two vessels collided. African Buzzard's anchor embedded in the bow of the Pac Dubhe, the Coast Guard...

Government

Carrier USS Ford Pulls Into Port at Crete for Fire-Damage Repairs

Corporate News

ClassNK Grants AiP for LCO2 Carrier Intended to Serve Socket SPAR Unit

[By: ClassNK] ClassNK has issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for the designs of a liquefied CO2 carrier intended to serve the Socket SPAR Unit for an injection facility. The certification demonstrates its feasibility from regulatory and safety perspectives. As CCS projects continue to advance worldwide, Japan faces unique challenges due to its deep and steep offshore waters, where subsea pipeline-based CO2 storage is not always feasible. Under the Ministry of the Environment’s ‘Environmentally Friendly CCS Demonstration Project,’ a floating...

Cruise Ships

China Floats Second Cruise Ship and Orders Ships for International Market

China marked the next milestone in its efforts at expanding the domestic cruise industry with the float-out of its second large domestically built cruise ship. Built for China’s Adora Cruises, the ship will enter service this year, and the company reported it intends to order two more cruise ships and take an option for a third newbuild. The second cruise ship, named Adora Flower City, is an enlarged version of the first domestically built ship, which was based on a...

Ports

Police Intercept $110M Cocaine at London Gateway Port

Shipping

Ocean Carriers Adapt to Hormuz Shutdown With Overland Routes

Tugs & Salvage

Two Bulkers Collide on Mississippi Near New Orleans

Government

Carrier USS Ford Pulls Into Port at Crete for Fire-Damage Repairs

Corporate News

ClassNK Grants AiP for LCO2 Carrier Intended to Serve Socket SPAR Unit

Cruise Ships

China Floats Second Cruise Ship and Orders Ships for International Market

Ports

Police Intercept $110M Cocaine at London Gateway Port

Offshore

Chevron Plans to Buy Oil From Sable's Controversial Santa Ynez Unit

Houston-based Sable Offshore, owner of the Santa Ynez platform complex and pipeline in Santa Barbara County, has a buyer for its production. Chevron says that it will begin buying 20,000 barrels per day from Sable now that the Trump administration has approved a restart of the former Santa Ynez pipeline, the oil major announced Tuesday. "We’re going to run Sable’s crude at El Segundo in April," Chevron president of downstream Andy Walz told Bloomberg. "We’re taking American crude oil, putting...

Shipbuilding

HD Hyundai Moving Forward with Humanoid Welding Robot for Shipyards

HD Hyundai has been working on several projects to develop technology that would support the use of humanoid robots to undertake precision tasks at its shipyard. The company announced on March 23 that it had completed a positive evaluation and is now moving to the next phase of the project. The parent company said HD Kore Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediary holding company for its shipyards, will be partnering with HD Hyundai Robotics and a U.S.-based industrial humanoid robotics...

Environment

Carbon Storage Developers Complete Applications in UK’s Second CCS Round

The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority received bids for more than two million acres of seabed in its second carbon storage licensing round. Bidding closed on March 24 after having opened in December 2025 and follows the first four licenses, which were awarded in 2023, which have already begun efforts testing the injection process. A total of 21 licenses were awarded in the first round. The authority had reported strong initial interest before beginning the solicitation, and it now says...

Business

Hutchison Expands Arbitration Claims Beyond $2B Against Panama

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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UK and France Forming Multinational Effort for Strait of Hormuz

Police Intercept $110M Cocaine at London Gateway Port

Hutchison Expands Arbitration Claims Beyond $2B Against Panama

Carrier USS Ford Pulls Into Port at Crete for Fire-Damage Repairs

Activists Hound MSC Ships Accused of Transporting Raw Material for Military

Ocean Carriers Adapt to Hormuz Shutdown With Overland Routes

Two Bulkers Collide on Mississippi Near New Orleans

Carrier USS Ford Pulls Into Port at Crete for Fire-Damage Repairs

ClassNK Grants AiP for LCO2 Carrier Intended to Serve Socket SPAR Unit

China Floats Second Cruise Ship and Orders Ships for International Market

Police Intercept $110M Cocaine at London Gateway Port

Improve Fleet Value With Digital Optimization of Cruise Ship Hotel Areas

Port Everglades: A Diversified Cargo Gateway Built for Performance

One Net Unifies Four Maritime Tech Brands Under One Umbrella

Ocean Carriers Adapt to Hormuz Shutdown With Overland Routes

Two Bulkers Collide on Mississippi Near New Orleans

Carrier USS Ford Pulls Into Port at Crete for Fire-Damage Repairs

ClassNK Grants AiP for LCO2 Carrier Intended to Serve Socket SPAR Unit

China Floats Second Cruise Ship and Orders Ships for International Market

Police Intercept $110M Cocaine at London Gateway Port

Chevron Plans to Buy Oil From Sable's Controversial Santa Ynez Unit

HD Hyundai Moving Forward with Humanoid Welding Robot for Shipyards

Carbon Storage Developers Complete Applications in UK’s Second CCS Round

Hutchison Expands Arbitration Claims Beyond $2B Against Panama

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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