Tanker Hit as Hormuz Sailings Drop
The number of visible commodity vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropped to five per day over the weekend, shipping data showed on Monday, as companies tread cautiously amid continued attacks on ships.The actual number of ships passing the strait could be higher as some vessels have switched off their automatic identification system to evade attacks.Weekend traffic was limited to small-sized vessels, data from commodities firm Kpler showed.
Great Lakes Ports and Shipyards Formalize Partnership
The American Great Lakes Ports Association has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Great Lakes Alliance of Shipyards to advance shared priorities in domestic shipbuilding and commerce.The MoU marks the first formal partnership between the U.S. Great Lakes port and shipyard communities. By connecting public port authorities with leading American shipyards, the organizations will work more closely to expand the region’s industrial capacity…
US Claims Strike on Two Iranian Sea Mine Launchers
Iran's energy hub of Kharg Island is being blown to smithereens, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, after forces hit two rocket launchers on another island in the first known American strikes on the Islamic republic since late July.Attacking Kharg, which handled 90% of Iran's oil exports before the war launched by U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28, would severely disrupt its energy trade and put huge pressure on its economy."Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!
Death Toll Rises After Ferry Capsizes Off Cyprus
At least eight people died and 18 were missing after a ferry carrying around 270 passengers and crew capsized off North Cyprus on Sunday, leaving survivors clinging to its overturned hull.The privately owned ferry left the port of Kyrenia at 12:30 p.m. local time (0930 GMT) and immediately started taking on water for an unknown reason, authorities said. It was heading for the Turkish port of Tasucu in the eastern Mediterranean.Survivors reported the ferry moving erratically…
Ask the Experts: Engage Driveline Experts Early & Often
As anyone who has built a commercial vessel knows that working out the engineering early in the design process provides a better chance to get the vessel that meets the owner’s criteria and expectation. Bob Lennon, Business Development Manager, Regal Rexnord, a 40-year industry veteran, discusses with Maritime Matters: The MarineLink Podcast the tangible steps that any vessel owner can take to ensure that the vessels drivetrain is in good order to help ensure a quiet, vibration-free ride.
Iran Condemns New US Sanctions, Mediators Step Up Efforts to Reopen Hormuz
Iran condemned the United States' new economic sanctions on Friday as "state terrorism" and said other countries were legally obliged not to implement them, while the U.S. Treasury Department announced additional targeted Iran-related measures.The Iranian foreign ministry's statement came as mediators stepped up efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which handled 20% of world oil supplies before…
Shipyard in Focus: RMK Marine Builds a New Generation of Ships in Türkiye
Shipbuilding rewards experience, but today's rapidly evolving maritime market increasingly demands something else: a willingness to build ships that have never been built before.For Türkiye's RMK Marine, that combination of experience and experimentation is defining its position in the global shipbuilding market. RMK Marine, as one of Türkiye’s leading shipyards, has the capability to build vessels up to 200 meters in length and 28…
Bencros Marine Fenders Introduces Verified CO2 Savings for Customers
Bencros Marine Fenders, a Slovakia-based manufacturer of rubber fenders for ports, tugs and workboats, announced at the SMM Start-up Night in Hamburg that the CO2 savings embedded in its fenders are now independently verified and can be transferred to its customers as certified emission reductions. The first certificates go live on September 2, 2026 on the registry of carbon standard Proba.Bencros…
Berg Propulsion: How Retrofits Can Contribute to Decarbonization Goals
Rather than pinning its decarbonization hopes on future tonnage, shipping can pursue its goals today by retrofitting available technology to existing, conventionally fueled vessels, explains David Sakandelidze, Business Manager for Energy and Efficiency, Berg Propulsion.The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) target for net-zero emissions from ships by around 2050 is now only 24 years away—less than the average lifetime of a commercial ship.
Op-Ed: Estonia Prepares the Next Phase of Growth for EST Flag
The following article is an op-ed piece from Andrei Barotov and Kristiina Peterson, Chief Specialists of Maritime Competitiveness at the Estonian Transport AdministrationLeveraging its ‘e-Estonia’ digital society initiative, the government of Estonia is preparing to extend the digital reach of EST Flag ship registration services, while also expanding its tonnage eligibility. Andrei Barotov and Kristiina Peterson…
Four Shipowners Order Four VINGA Product Tankers
Four shipowners from Sweden, Norway and Canada have ordered four new VINGA product tankers for delivery in 2028 and 2029, expanding the Furetank-developed vessel series to 26 ships.Two of the vessels will be owned by FureBear, a joint venture between Sweden's Furetank and Canada's Algoma Central Corporation, while Norway's O.H. Meling and Sweden's Älvtank will each take one.The order marks O.H. Meling's first investment in the VINGA series…
Hormuz Crisis Accelerates Gulf Pipeline and Port Expansion
The Iran war's redrawing of the global trade map is forcing Gulf nations to retool their investment play book, ploughing capital into infrastructure, from energy pipelines to ports, to weather the fallout from the conflict.The war has highlighted the Gulf's overreliance on the Strait of Hormuz, previously a chokepoint for 20% of global oil flows but also subject for decades to Iranian threats of disruption.With the strait virtually blocked for much of the past six months…
Iran Outlines Terms for Restoring Hormuz Shipping
Iran is preparing a list of conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz after mediators asked Tehran to set them out, said Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, adding that ending the regional war was among them.Rezaei said Iran had agreed with Oman on a shipping corridor through the strait, with parts of the route in Omani waters and parts in Iranian waters. Ships would use a designated central channel if the U.S.
Bollinger taps Steerprop by USCG Iceabreaker Propulsion
Finland's Steerprop won an order to supply complete propulsion packages for four Arctic Security Cutters (ASCs) being built for the US Coast Guard by Bollinger Shipyards. Each vessel will be equipped with two Steerprop Contra-Rotating Propellers (CRP) azimuth propulsors and two tunnel thrusters. The vessels will be built to an existing Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI) design. During the selection process…
Sanmar Shipyards Delivers Second Tugboat to Ultratug
Sanmar celebrated the delivery of a second tugboat to Ultratug, a leading operator in the Americas, at a special ceremony held at its Altinova Shipyard on August 11, 2026.The tug, UT AMAZONAS, will operate in Colombia and is the sister vessel to UT PATZCUARO, the first tug that Sanmar built for Ultratug, which was delivered just a few months ago and is now operating in Mexico.Guests of honor from Ultratug Colombia at the ceremony were Silvia Herrera…
Russia Focuses Strikes on Ukrainian Ports, Industrial Sites, Distribution Facilities
Russia hammered Ukrainian ports, industrial sites and retailers' distribution facilities with missiles and drones in an hours-long attack on Kyiv and other cities that was partly repelled, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.Commuters went to work in the capital to the boom of air defences firing at waves of drones after an overnight barrage that Ukraine's military said included an unspecified number of ballistic missiles and 258 drones."Overnight…
Turkey Increases Diesel Imports From US, India
Turkey increased its imports of diesel from the United States and India in August to record levels, shipping data showed, as a Russian ban on diesel exports and wider disruption caused by the Iran war prompted its importers to diversify their sources of supply.So far this month, Turkey has imported more than 120,000 barrels per day of Indian diesel, while its imports from the U.S. reached 90,000 bpd…
SHIPPINGInsight Names U.S. Maritime Administrator Captain Stephen Carmel Opening Keynote Speaker for PROJECT 2027- Catalyzing the US Maritime Industry into Action Conference
SHIPPINGInsight confirmed that Captain Stephen Carmel, U.S. Maritime Administrator, will deliver the opening keynote address at SHIPPINGInsight’s PROJECT 2027: Catalyzing the U.S. Maritime Industry into Action, powered by AMIC (American Maritime Industrial Coalition), to be held October 13, 2026, in Houston, Texas. His remarks, entitled “State of Play for U.S. Maritime,” will assess the current condition…
Corvus Energy Introduces Blue Whale NxtGen Power Energy Storage System
Corvus Energy AS, a provider of marine energy storage solutions, introduced Blue Whale NxtGen Power, a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) energy storage system developed together with BYD Energy Storage.Blue Whale NxtGen Power is the first product to come out of the strategic cooperation between Corvus Energy and BYD Energy Storage, announced in December 2025.BYD Energy Storage supplies battery cell technology and cell stack manufacturing…
JE Dunn, Alberici Place Final Beam in $300m Saronic Expansion
JE Dunn Construction and Alberici Constructors, Inc. celebrated placing the final structural beam of Saronic Technologies’ $300 million shipyard expansion project. Saronic will use the expanded Franklin shipyard to increase production capacity for its fleet of Marauders, the company’s 180-foot fully autonomous ships.The project broke ground in November 2025 and is expected to be completed in early 2027.
