Marshall Islands News

China's test of a nuclear-capable missile last month has exposed the limits of Pacific leaders' ambition to make the region an "Ocean of Peace", free from the crossfire of major-power rivalry.The July launch, China's first known ballistic-missile test into the Pacific since September 2024, was fired into the Pacific just hours after Fiji and Australia signed a major defense treaty, marking Fiji's first ever alliance.More than a month after the test, Pacific Islands foreign ministers were unable to agree on a collective statement condemning Beijing's missile test…

By Richard Gunn and Julia Cyrson, Reed Smith LLPIn the largest penalty the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has ever levied, a Special Chamber ruled unanimously against Equatorial Guinea on May 27, 2026, ordering it to pay over €14 million in damages to the Republic of the Marshall Islands for the unlawful seizure of a commercial tanker and detention of its multinational crew. The ruling in the M/T Heroic Idun (No. 2) case represents a watershed moment for international maritime law…

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…

U.S. imports of Middle Eastern crude are set to hit about 600,000 barrels per day in August, the highest since the Iran war began, as a brief opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the rerouting of Saudi oil through the Suez Canal pushed barrels toward American ports, ship-tracking data showed.Nearly a dozen ships loaded with Middle Eastern crude were headed to U.S. ports as American refiners and traders moved swiftly to snap up barrels that exited the strait when a memorandum of understanding signed by U.S.

Armed assailants boarded the chemical tanker Asana off the southern coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden on Friday and are in control of the vessel, maritime security officials said.Based on initial assessments, the incident appeared to be related to Somali piracy rather than Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia, one of the maritime security sources said.Attempted attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden have risen in recent weeks, adding to concerns over safety in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz on the other side…

A tanker has reported being approached by six small boats 50 nautical miles (93 km) south of Yemen's Aden, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported on Monday, adding warning shots were fired by the tanker.The British maritime security firm Ambrey later said that Automatic Identification System data indicated the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker initiated evasive maneuvers after the skiffs approached on its starboard side.Ambrey reported that one skiff came very close to the tanker before its armed security team fired warning shots.

July 6 presents a modest but operationally significant shift at Kharg Island, where both the western and eastern crude terminals were reoccupied overnight by dark ballast tankers, fresh arrivals not present in the July 5 collection, indicating a new loading cycle is opening after a period of terminal vacancy. Three dark VLCC-class tankers of approximately 333 meters are now at berth across both terminals, with loading expected to commence within 6 to 24 hours.July 5 recorded 36 AlS-visible transits…

Four liquefied natural gas tankers controlled by Qatar headed into the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, despite a fall in ship traffic after Iran announced that it had again closed the waterway over the weekend, shipping data showed.The tankers - Wadi Al Sail, Mekaines, Al Sadd and Mesaimeer - entered the strait via the Iranian route for the first time since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran started, shiptracking data from analytics firm Kpler showed.QatarEnergy, whose LNG exports have been heavily curbed since the war began on February 28…

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry recognized several milestones and achievements during Posidonia, highlighting the collaboration and teamwork to make them possible. In mid-May 2026, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) released the 2025 Port State Control (PSC) Annual Report, which recognized the RMI as a qualifying jurisdiction for the 22nd consecutive year. The RMI is the only one of the world’s three largest registries to achieve QUALSHIP 21 for this year and the only registry in the world to achieve 22 consecutive years.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Registry’s long-term and consistent commitment to shipping continues to be recognized by the international community. The recently released United States Coast Guard (USCG) 2025 Port State Control (PSC) Annual Report recognizes the RMI as a qualifying jurisdiction for the 22nd consecutive year. The RMI is the only one of the world’s three largest registries to achieve QUALSHIP 21 for this year, and the only registry in the world to achieve 22 consecutive years.

Russian drones hit two ships in the Black Sea approaching ports in Ukraine's Odesa region on Monday, including a Chinese-owned cargo vessel, Ukrainian authorities said, after a night of Russian attacks on the area.Ukraine's seaports authority said that the strikes had hit two civilian vessels, one under Marshall Islands flag and another under Guinea-Bissau flag, both of which were heading to ports in the region.The Ukrainian navy reported a strike on the Ksl Deyang, which it described as a Chinese-owned cargo ship sailed by Chinese crew under Marshall Islands flag.

A Greek-operated tanker sailed from the Gulf to India on Friday after crossing the Strait of Hormuz in one of the few crude sailings through the waterway this week, ship tracking data showed on Friday.The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has led to the effective closure of the strait, stranding hundreds of ships and leading to unprecedented disruption of energy supplies.The Liberia-flagged suezmax tanker Karolos, which can carry a maximum of 1 million barrels of oil, was sailing towards the western India port of Sikka on Friday after crossing the Strait of Hormuz on May 14…

A Chinese-owned oil products tanker was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Chinese media outlet Caixin reported, as President Donald Trump launched a U.S. plan that day to help stranded vessels but suspended it a day later.This was the first time a Chinese oil tanker has been attacked, a person with knowledge of the matter told Caixin on Thursday.Traffic through the vital strait, through which 20% of the ‌world's oil and gas supplies pass, has been at a virtual standstill…

European Union countries agreed on Friday to keep pushing for a global price on shipping's CO2 emissions in U.N. talks next week, setting up another potential clash with the United States over the proposal.Governments at the International Maritime Organization decided last year to postpone the climate plan by a year, after the Trump administration strongly opposed the measure and threatened to impose sanctions and visa restrictions on delegates who supported it.That has not stopped European countries attempting to revive the plan…

Oil and gas producer Eni this week finished loading a 1-million-barrel cargo of Venezuelan heavy crude bound for Spain, the first the Italian company receives in almost two years following the issuance of U.S.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands took delivery of the sailing cargo vessel Juren Ae in October 2024, and it marked a new era in wind-propelled transport in Oceania.The vessel’s name refers to the “steering paddle” on a Marshallese canoe, and its construction was the result of the efforts of the Pacific Blue Shipping Partnership, co-chaired by Fiji and the Marshall Islands. The partnership includes other nations such as Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau.

Port Milwaukee welcomed the Marshall Islands-flagged Federal Nagara as the first vessel of the 2026 international season on Friday, April 3.The Federal Nagara arrived at the Logistec terminal to unload specialty steel products following its transit through the St. Lawrence Seaway from Spain and Belgium, where it was loaded. The St. Lawrence Seaway locks opened for the season on March 22, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. The St. Lawrence Seaway is a binational system…

The Iran war has threatened Gulf ports and disrupted global trade through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned that ships passing through the narrow Strait will be targeted, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on the country on February 28.Below is a list of reported attacks:MARCH 1A crew member was killed on board Marshall Islands-flagged crude tanker MKD VYOM after it was hit by a projectile as the vessel sailed off the Omani coast…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) announced that Cyprus officially recommended the ICS International Medical Guide for Seafarers and Fishers for use on board vessels under its flag.The Republic of Cyprus Deputy Shipping Ministry has issued a circular to its fleet recommending the comprehensive medical guide, joining an expanding list of leading flag states that recognize the guide's value in protecting seafarer and fisher health and safety. In addition to recommending inclusion of the guide in the list of publications to be on board Cyprus flagged ships…

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has threatened Gulf ports and disrupted global trade through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned that any ship passing through the narrow Strait will be targeted.Below is a list of reported attacks since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran started on February 28:MARCH 1A crew member was killed on board Marshall Islands-flagged crude tanker MKD VYOM after it was hit by a projectile as the vessel sailed off the Omani coast…

Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, said port, maritime security and risk firms.The latest attacks on ships linked to the U.S. and Europe mark an escalation in the conflict between Iran and U.S.-Israeli forces, raising the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began to at least 16.Shipping in the Gulf and along the narrow Strait of Hormuz…

Three vessels have been hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime security agencies and sources said on Wednesday, as one of the strikes led to a fire onboard a ship and forced most of its crew to evacuate it.The Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was targeted and damaged approximately 11 nautical miles north of Oman, two maritime security sources said.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said later, referring to the incident, that the fire had been extinguished and that there was no environmental impact.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted oil and natural gas exports from the Middle East and forced production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq, with Kuwait announcing cuts over the weekend.Analysts predict that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will also have to cut output soon as they run out of oil storage.Below are the main energy disruptions so far:PRODUCTION SHUTDOWNSIraqi output collapses: the country's oil production from its main southern oilfields has fallen by 70% to just 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) from 4.3 million barrels per day (bpd) before the war…