Thursday, January 22, 2026
Media Kit
tanker boarded

France Seizes Sanctioned Shadow Tanker in Mediterranean

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RFA Tidespring

RFA Facing Strike Action After Union Reject Pay Offer

Published Jan 21, 2026 10:57 PM by The Maritime Executive

The crisis-ridden Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is staring at operational paralysis after a trade union rejected a pay offer for the fleet’s sailors and went on to state that balloting for industrial action remains on course. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) said that it has rejected a 4.5 percent pay offer for seafarers employed by the RFA, describing it as "wholly inadequate." The move means that over 1,600 civilian ratings, officers and apprentices employed by...

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Engine control room on a cruise ship (file image courtesy Michael Elleray / CC BY 2.0)

LR: Incessant Shipboard Alarms Can Be Reduced, With Clear Safety Benefits

Published Jan 21, 2026 10:01 PM by The Maritime Executive

Mariners have complained about excessive alarms for years, and anyone who has spent time in a modern engine control room knows how multiple beeping alarms can consume the crew's attention. In a new report, Lloyd's Register warns that the problem is getting out of hand. The proliferation of alarm noise has the potential to increase risk, and for little gain, LR found. To get a picture of what alarm fatigue looks like on board, LR collected data from 11 vessels...

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Drugs

Florida Man Charged With Trying to Sell Cocaine He Found at Sea

Published Jan 21, 2026 9:13 PM by The Maritime Executive

Finding a lost cocaine cargo at sea might seem like a payday, since landed prices for a kilo are well into the five figures in North America (and six in Australia). But possessing and reselling found drugs is just as illegal as smuggling them from the source nation, and can have serious consequences. A charter boat captain in the Florida Keys stands accused of recovering at least two dozen kilos and bringing them ashore in U.S. territory - then attempting...

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cruise ship in Amsterdam

Amsterdam Government Calls for Banning Ocean Cruise Ships by 2035

Published Jan 21, 2026 7:43 PM by The Maritime Executive

After agreeing to limit and then relocate cruise ships out of the center of the Dutch city, members of Amsterdam’s coalition government, including the mayor and some aldermen, are now saying it would be more cost-effective to simply eliminate cruise ships. On Wednesday, January 21, they floated a plan to phase out all port calls by ocean-going cruise ships by 2035, while maintaining a smaller number of river cruise ship calls. Concerns about pollution and overtourism have been growing in...

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Offshore

offshore wind farm

Vattenfall Finalizes Investment for Germany’s Largest Offshore Wind Project

Offshore wind energy developer Vattenfall confirmed that it is moving forward with the Nordlicht offshore wind cluster. With construction due to start later this year, the two-phase project will become the largest wind project for Germany and a key contributor as the country struggles to accelerate development in the offshore wind energy sector. The permit issued by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) has become irrevocable, making the final step to move forward with the project. Vattenfall had announced...

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Shipbuilding

Spanish shipyard

AD Ports Buys Spanish Shipyard Astilleros Balenciaga

The Abu Dhabi-based AD Ports acquired a Spanish shipyard as part of its effort to expand in the Mediterranean and serve the offshore operations sector. The reports indicate that it paid €11.2 million ($13.1 million) for 100 percent ownership of Astilleros Balenciaga, based on the northern coast of Spain near Bilbao. The shipyard, which traces its origins to 1921, will now be known as Balenciaga Shipyard. AD Ports acquired the yard for its Safeen Drydocks subsidiary, which is part of...

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Environment

European ferries

Interferry Demands Pause for EU ETS Due to Inequities and Use of Funds

Interferry, the global trade association for the ferry industry, is calling for an immediate halt to the further phasing-in of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) for the maritime sector. The group is citing inequities and a severe competitive disadvantage as road transport remains exempt from the program. Further, it alleges that a lack of a funding scheme for e-fuels and investments such as electrification means the monies are instead being diverted to national member state budgets. The trade group...

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Business

Ocean Aero's Triton drone boat in submergence mode, with sail lowered (Ocean Aero press handout)

James Fisher Takes a Stake in Dive-Capable Drone Boat Venture

British offshore services and shipping company James Fisher and Sons has bought a stake in the American autonomous sailing vessel startup Ocean Aero, which is developing a unique renewable energy-powered unmanned vessel. James Fisher joined in a Series D funding round for Ocean Aero this month, taking a "strategic" minority stake in the business. Ocean Aero's focus is far from the tanker business that powers James Fisher day-to-day: it is developing a wind and solar-powered unmanned craft called Triton, which...

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