Ring Power Named North American Distributor for Cox Marine Diesel Outboard Line
Ring Power Corporation, a provider of marine power solutions, announced an expansion of its partnership with Cox Marine, becoming the exclusive North American distributor of the UK company's diesel outboard line. Under the new agreement, Ring Power now holds distribution rights across the entire United States, the Caribbean and U.S. territories.The expanded territory strengthens Ring Power's ability to support commercial…
Finland Run Drills to Board, Search Vessels in Subsea Sabotage Prep
Finnish authorities boarded and searched a target vessel in the Baltic Sea on Thursday in a live drill that officials said shows how seriously the region takes the threat of undersea sabotage after a string of incidents.Finland and the wider Baltic Sea region have experienced ruptures of power cables, telecom lines and gas pipelines following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, raising concerns that critical infrastructure lacks sufficient protection.Masked officers from the coast guard…
US-Iran Conflicts Drives Increased Global Orders of Supertankers
Shipowners have already ordered more than twice as many supertankers this year as in all of 2025, a buying spree worth over $20 billion that is the biggest for at least 25 years, as the US-Iran war redraws trade routes and boosts demand for long-haul crude shipments.Data from Signal Group, a shipping analytics platform, show 217 Very Large Crude Carriers ordered so far in 2026, against 93 last year. Allied Shipbroking recorded 164 VLCC orders, up from 83.
Oil Prices Fall 2% as Fears Ease of Middle East Supply Disruption
Oil prices eased about 2% on Thursday to a one-week low, after reports of additional Saudi crude cargoes through Oman eased supply concerns, though prices stayed above $100 a barrel on fears the Middle East conflict could widen.Brent crude futures were down $2.67, or 2.5%, to $103.13 a barrel at 12:03 p.m. ET (1603 GMT), after touching their lowest level since September 10. US West Texas Intermediate futures were down $1.61, or 1.6%, at $100.82 a barrel, their lowest since September 11.
Israeli Energy Ministry Plans to Boost Natural Gas Output
Israel's Energy Ministry said on Thursday it plans to expand natural gas production that would boost competition within Israel and increase exports.An inter-ministerial committee headed by the ministry issued final recommendations aimed at the need to raise natural gas output to meet domestic needs, encourage investment and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.Recommendations were approved by Israel's energy minister and the ministry's director general.Israel has become a key regional n
Italy Prepares Navy Amidst Bab el-Mandeb Tensions
Italy is preparing for a possible naval mission to safeguard its merchant shipping as security concerns mount in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday.Crosetto said he and Italy's chief of defence staff had agreed to mobilise the navy to prepare "whatever is necessary" to guarantee the secure transit of Italian vessels, arguing that delays in responding to mounting…
Argentine Government Cracks Down on Falkland Islands Activities
Argentina's government has presented a bill to crack down on companies operating in the Falkland Islands, potentially escalating tensions with the United Kingdom over the territory that is controlled by Britain but claimed by Argentina.The proposal introduced on Thursday toughens sanctions on companies and people who unlawfully participate in activities in the Falklands and in Argentina's maritime…
GLO Marine Eyes $57m in Revenue for Middle East Expansion, New Facility
GLO Marine is targeting revenues of more than USD$57.47 million (€50 million) by 2030 as it prepares to establish a permanent operation in the Middle East and bring its new USD$6.9 million (€6 million) Technology Centre in Romania into commercial operation.The two investments sit at the center of a wider growth plan that will see the company expand from its established marine and offshore engineering base into larger integrated project scopes…
Saronic to Build Landing Craft Utility Vessels at Port Alpha Shipyard
Saronic announced that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy to construct Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels, executed as a firm fixed-price agreement under an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) award. This will be the first build at Port Alpha, Saronic’s next-generation shipyard in Brownsville, TX.LCUs are a Navy logistics vessel, used to move troops, vehicles, and cargo from ships offshore directly onto a beach or unimproved shoreline without the need for a port or pier.
Shipping Technology Launches ST Sailing Pro, Introducing Automatic Propulsion Control
Shipping Technology has launched ST Sailing Pro, an extension of its ST Sailing track pilot that now not only controls a vessel's steering, but also its propulsion. This is the next step in the company's roadmap towards autonomous sailing. In short, the captain enters a destination and a desired arrival time, after which the system continuously calculates the course and engine power needed to meet it, taking changes in locks, currents, water levels etc. into account.
Strait of Hormuz Vessel Traffic Slows to a Trickle
Commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz dwindled to just three ships on Wednesday, down from 12 a day earlier and well below the 10-day average of about 17, preliminary ship-tracking data showed on Thursday.The figures exclude any vessels that might have passed through the waterway with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.Of the three vessels…
Rescuers Plan to Right Capsized Ship; 129 Missing
Indonesian rescuers plan to try to right a passenger ship that capsized in the Java Sea last weekend as persistent strong currents and big waves prevent them from…
Panama Canal Stress: Is the Worst Dead Ahead?
The headline grabbing global attention is simple enough: a shipowner reportedly paid more than $5 million for a single Panama Canal transit slot. But that may only mark the start of an historic surge in shipping costs.The vessel was a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier operated for South Korea's SK Gas. The fee was not the canal toll itself, but an auction premium paid to secure passage through…
LNG Prices Projected to Spike; European Stocks Dwindle
Global LNG prices could shoot higher this winter as Europe holds its lowest stocks in years and North Asian buyers face increased competition with the Strait of Hormuz still closed, executives said at an industry conference this week.Europe will enter this winter more vulnerable than usual amid storage levels that are lower than last year, industry executives and analysts said at Gastech in Bangkok.At the same time…
El Niño's Sting: Bulk Vessel Panama Canal Transits drop 22%
"Since the start of July, Panama Canal bulker transits have fallen 22% y/y. Bulkers have faced increased competition for transit slots from other sectors, especially tankers, as the US has boosted energy exports to Asia. El Niño is also expected to lead to lower water levels, which mean transit restrictions and thus heightened competition for available capacity,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis…
The Human Perspective on the Future of Maritime Safety
The future of maritime safety will not be determined by a choice between people and technology but will instead depend on how effectively the industry combines them. Capt. Naoki Saito, General Manager and Head of the Cyber Security Ship Management Systems Department, ClassNK fully acknowledges the critical place mandatory procedures occupy in upholding consistent maritime safety, and their role in preserving knowledge from operational experience.
SERF’s UP: Could More Expensive Sustainable Fuels = a Cheaper, Faster Transition?
SNAME’s M-50 Sustainable Fuels Technology and Research panel has given itself the task to try to figure out if there actually is a preferred sustainable fuel out there.This is a massive rabbit hole effort that does not fixate on the state of the art, but instead is making an attempt to engage all engineering tools, experience, and insight to predict the optimal future.SNAME’s assumption focuses on…
An Update on Plans for the U.S.’s Icebreaking Fleet
The U.S. is expanding its icebreaking fleet to strengthen Arctic and domestic access, and support commercial shipping, seabed resources, subsea cables and fisheries. Current plans include 1–3 heavy Polar Security Cutters (PSCs), 11 medium Arctic Security Cutters (ASCs), seven Homeland Security Cutter (HSC) HSC-L (light) icebreakers, 11 HSC-Ms (medium) and one additional heavy HSC-H (heavy). But as delays and cost overruns on the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) Program shows…
“This is a Different Maritime Revival” says MarAd's Carmel
Stephen M. Carmel & MarAd are aiming to make this U.S. Maritime Rebuild StickFor anyone who has spent a career in the U.S. maritime industry, the past two years have been unusual by any metric. Maritime has moved from the far margins of federal policy discussions to center stage, with rebuilding American shipbuilding, the Merchant Marine and the maritime industrial base elevated a national priority. Action to shore up the big ship, military portion of the equation has been rapid and measurable.
