Captain News

Two people have died and 11 crew members have been rescued after the Royad Mammadov cargo ship sank in the Black Sea, Romanian authorities reported, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the vessel had been struck by Russian drones.The incident occurred on October 5 in Romania's exclusive economic zone, about 30 nautical miles south of Sfântu Gheorghe and outside the country's territorial waters, according to Romania's Ministry of Internal Affairs.Zelenskyy said the vessel was carrying corn in neutral waters when it was sunk by Russian drones.

Two people died and others were rescued after a fire on a ship in the Black Sea outside Romania's territorial waters, Romanian authorities said on Monday, as Ukraine blamed Russian drones for the incident.Romania's interior ministry said 11 crew members of the ship which sank had been rescued. The country's Naval Authority said the incident involved a fire on the ship Royad Mammadov.Romania did not comment on the cause of the fire but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it had been caused by Russian drones.

Sofar Ocean unveiled Wayfinder Explore, a suite of tools for fleets that manage voyage optimization themselves. Masters and shore teams get access to the same weather and vessel data that powers routes generated by Sofar’s own routing experts. Initial fleet trials are scheduled to begin in Q4.Voyage routing may be handled by specialist providers or in-house teams. Wayfinder Explore gives operators that keep routing decisions in-house the tools to optimize, edit, and compare voyages themselves.When a voyage plan changes…

American Roll-On/Roll-Off Carrier Group Inc. (ARC Group) has added ARC Freedom to its U.S.-flagged fleet.ARC Freedom (IMO 9505041) is a Large Car and Truck Carrier (LCTC) designed to transport automobiles, trucks, heavy equipment and other rolling and project cargo. The vessel will operate as part of the Maritime Security Program (MSP), providing commercially active U.S.-flag capacity that can be made available to support Department of War requirements.“Freedom has always been inseparable from America’s identity,” said Eric Ebeling, President and CEO of ARC.

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) announced the launch of the fourth annual Eastern Shipbuilding Group Coastline Initiative. In partnership with the Bay County Artificial Reef Association (BCARA), the competition challenges students from local welding schools to design and construct artificial reefs that support coastal restoration and marine habitat preservation.Originally launched in Fall 2022, the initiative has built a strong legacy of community impact. Past competitions saw success…

Norway’s Green Yard has unveiled the KLEVEN KY100, a 100-meter Polar Class expedition yacht that marks the shipbuilder’s move into developing and owning its own yacht designs.Developed by Green Yard Kleven in cooperation with Opalinski Design House and HAV Design, KY100 combines the yard’s offshore and polar vessel experience with contemporary superyacht design. The PC5 vessel is designed for worldwide operations, including polar waters, with a cruising speed of 18 knots and range of approximately 10…

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. On a normal sailing pattern…

The Sault Historic Sites, Captain John P. Wellington Great Lakes Marine Hall of Fame, recognized the significant contributions of James H.I. Weakley, President of the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) on Friday, September 11th in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan.The award is given every other year alternating between U.S. and Canadian nominees. The complete list of previous awardees can be found here.Jim Weakley has served as LCA President for almost 25 years leading the U.S.-flagged fleet on the Great Lakes through advocacy, Congressional engagement, and public awareness.

Part of a group of companies that make up Fraser Industries, Fraser Shipyard is a 138-year-old on Lake Superior, an organization which makes equal revenue from newbuild and ship repair, able to work in both steel and aluminum. Recently it signed a collaboration agreement with HD Hyundai to help migrate process and technology from one of the world’s biggest and best shipyard to the shores of Lake Superior. Patrick Kelly, CEO, Fraser Shipyard, discussed the importance of this agreement…

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, pursue new cargo and export opportunities…

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, with its last hard impact with the water's surface breaking the bow of the two-hulled vessel, allowing water to seep in.

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, Country Manager of Ultratug Colombia; Cristian Franco, Fleet and Operations Manager, Colombia; and José Morales, Maintenance Engineer, Colombia.

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 of the nation’s maritime capabilities and outline priorities for the industry going forward.The address comes as federal agencies…

Estonia has taken delivery of a new 38-meter multipurpose workboat that combines compressed biomethane and battery-electric propulsion with research, buoy-handling, pollution-response and rescue capabilities in a single vessel.Named KRATT, the new vessel was designed and built by Baltic Workboats for the Estonian State Fleet and christened August 12 at Saaremaa, Estonia. The €22 million vessel is scheduled to enter service in Estonian waters this autumn.At the center of the newbuild is an alternative-fuel power plant designed around compressed biomethane (CBM) as its primary fuel…

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said reports about poor conditions aboard aircraft carrier the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East were "completely misrepresented.""We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in those high seas in those austere conditions with less port calls - it's incredible…

The Canadian Coast Guard has remembered the 40th anniversary of the rescue of 155 Tamil refugees off the coast of Newfoundland.On August 11, 1986, Captain Gus Dalton and fellow fishermen found two lifeboats carrying 155 people fleeing violence and war in Sri Lanka near St. Shotts. Together with local fishing vessels, we launched a coordinated rescue effort.The CCGS Leonard J. Cowley played a key role in bringing the refugees safely ashore.“Forty years later, this rescue remains a powerful example of compassion…

The U.S. Coast Guard coordinated the rescue of 22 crew members from the Marshall Islands-flagged vehicle carrier Min Jiang Kou after the ship experienced a fire approximately 630 miles south of Costa Rica on Thursday.At 1:09 p.m., Coast Guard Southwest District watchstanders received an Inmarsat distress alert indicating an engine room fire onboard. Watchstanders established contact with the ship’s manager, who reported the crew activated the vessel’s carbon dioxide fire suppression system…

SLB and Equinor have signed a multi-year agreement for advanced reservoir stimulation services across the Norwegian Continental Shelf, including a major upgrade of the well stimulation vessel MV Island Captain.The agreement provides dedicated stimulation capacity to support the development of tight offshore reservoirs and help maximize recovery from future wells.As part of the contract, MV Island Captain will be converted into a fully proppant-capable stimulation vessel.Planned upgrades include expanded proppant storage…

Exiger, a supply chain AI company and largest provider of supply chain risk technology to the U.S. Government, has announced that retired U.S. Navy Captain (Supply Corps) Mark Harris has joined as a Strategic Advisor.He brings over 30 years of logistics, supply chain, and operations management experience across diverse Navy programs to the development and delivery of Exiger's AI across military and defense industrial base customers.Capt. Harris joins as Exiger expands its footprint across Fed Gov and Defense Industrial Base to accelerate defense readiness with AI."The U.S.

Capt. Jonathan Andrechik transferred command of Coast Guard Sector New York to Capt. Doreen McCarthy Monday, during a change-of-command ceremony at Sector New York in Staten Island. Rear Adm. Michael Platt, Commander, Coast Guard Northeast District, presided over the ceremony.Capt. McCarthy reported to Sector New York and has served as the deputy commander since May of 2024. Prior to serving as the Sector New York Deputy Commander, Capt. McCarthy completed a Senior Service School at the United States Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama.Following the change-of-command ceremony, Capt.

Dozens of people were feared dead after a ferry carrying 133 people capsized off the coast of Guyana late on Saturday, with authorities suggesting an inaccurate passenger list and drug use by the crew might have contributed to the situation.No survivors have been found since Sunday afternoon, when Guyanese authorities announced they had rescued 67 people, including 15 children.The captain and other crew members are now in police custody, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill said at a press conference late on Sunday."Search and rescue is still in progress," Edghill said.

The 13th annual Maritime & Arctic Security & Safety Conference (MASS), hosted by the Atlantic Canada Aerospace & Defense Association (ACADA), and sponsored by Saab Canada, Inc., is currently underway this week in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.ACADA represents Atlantic Canada's aerospace and defense industry and promotes the region as a globally recognized hub of aerospace and defense excellence. (Atlantic Canada includes the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland & Labrador.)With 600 participants…

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) will host a Change of Command on July 10, 2026, at the New London Community Recreation Center, New London, CT, where current RDC Commanding Officer Captain Michael Chien, will be relieved by Captain Phillip Granati. Captain Chien has held command since June 16th, 2023. He leaves to become the Senior Coast Advisor to the President of the Naval War College in Newport, RI.During Captain Chien’s tenure, the command advanced the service's technological baseline through rigorous scientific inquiry…