Merchant Ship News

Pakistan said its navy had rescued and evacuated 18 crew members of a merchant vessel operating in the North Arabian sea after a distress call.The rescued crew members of the vessel, GOLD AUTUMN, who included nationals of China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia, were safely transported to Karachi for medical care and repatriation, a statement from Pakistan's military said.(Reuters)

A cargo ship carrying wheat sank in the Sea of Azov after coming under attack from Ukrainian drones, a Russia-installed official said on Sunday, leaving one person dead and two missing.Vladimir Saldo, Moscow-installed leader of the Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine's Kherson region, said the attack occurred on Friday but crew members were unable to make known what had happened to them until Sunday."It became known that the reason for the sinking of the Volgo-Balt in the Sea of Azov was a terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime…

A migrant has been rescued and 50 others are feared drowned after a boat sank in the Mediterranean, officials said on Sunday.The man had been in the sea for 24 hours and said he believed everyone else on the vessel had died, according to the Alarm Phone group which runs an emergency hotline for migrants.The boat had come from Tunisia, it added, a common departure point for migrants risking the dangerous journey to reach Europe.The man was rescued by a merchant ship off Tunisia and brought to Malta for medical treatment, Malta's armed forces said.

Armed assailants attacked a commercial tanker off the coast of Mogadishu on Monday, firing at the vessel after attempting to board the ship in the first suspected Somali piracy incident of its kind since 2024, maritime sources said.If confirmed, this would be the first Somali piracy attack against a merchant ship since May 2024, raising risks for critical energy and goods transported through the region, maritime sources said.The vessel was sailing some 332 nautical miles (615 km) off the Somali coast when four armed attackers approached in a skiff from the starboard side and opened fire…

Frederick Joseph Harris of Mystic CT, passed peacefully at 5:47PM on 10/24/2025, with his family by his side. “Fred” was born on 11/25/1944 at Framingham Union Hospital to Frederick Everett and MaryRosa Camilla Harris.Fred was a proud patriot who loved his country. Fred received his bachelor’s degree in Marine Engineering from Maine Maritime Academy (with Honors) in 1967. Upon graduation, Fred was commissioned in the U.S. Naval Reserve with the obligation of sailing in the U.S. Merchant Marine. In the Merchant Marine, Fred sailed on various U.S.

ElbFeeder, a joint venture of the Icelandic transportation company Eimskip and German listed ship-owner Ernst Russ, signed contracts for a pair of 2,280-TEU container vessels with the shipyard China Merchants Jin Ling Shipyard (Nanjing) Co. Ltd. The newbuildings will be an addition to the ElbFeeder joint venture and expand it to a total of nine vessels. Options for two additional vessels were negotiated.The newbuildings will be employed in the Eimskip Blue Line between Reykjavik…

PETRONAS CCS Ventures Sdn. Bhd. (PCCSV) MISC Berhad (MISC), and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., (MOL) announced the incorporation of a strategic joint venture (JV), Jules Nautica Sdn. Bhd. This JV will lead the development and act as the ultimate owner of Liquefied Carbon Dioxide (LCO₂) carriers, which are critical for transporting LCO₂ to designated storage sites as part of advancing carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions.The trio completed the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for a 62…

Red Sea marine traffic has increased by 60% to 36-37 ships a day since August 2024, but is still short of volumes seen before Yemen's Houthis began attacking ships in the region, according to the commander of the EU's Aspides naval mission.The number of merchant ships using the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait increased after missile and drone attacks by the Houthis slowed and the U.S. and the rebel group signed a ceasefire deal, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said in an interview in Madrid.But shipping traffic…

What has been described as the most transformational warship in the U.S. Navy has been transformed again. USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) recently completed modifications to remove her main guns and replace them with a hypersonic missile capability. The work to have her guns removed to make space for new weapons was conducted at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. With the modifications, Zumwalt  now carries four “all-up round canisters” for the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) missile in place of the forward Advanced Gun System (AGS) gun mount.

About 10,000 Sailors served aboard 130 landing craft support (LCS) ships during World War II. The last two surviving LCS Sailors, J. William Middendorf II and Eddy Desmond, visited NUWC Division Newport to share their stories with a full audience in Chafee Auditorium on Nov. 18.Middendorf and Desmond were the most prominent members of a panel, which also included Dr. Christopher Lehman, national security and naval warfare expert; Christine Pitts, granddaughter of U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr.

Representing a breakthrough in the evolution of a ship’s propeller shaft line, Canada’s Thordon Bearings has unveiled the Thordon-Blue Ocean Stern Space (T-BOSS), a new solution designed to meet the propeller shaft requirements of the sterntubeless ship design proposed by the Blue Ocean Alliance.The Blue Ocean Alliance is a consortium of industry partners – ABS, Thordon Bearings Inc, Wärtsilä, SDARI, and the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) – that have collaborated…

Shipping giant Maersk said one of its vessels, the Maersk Sentosa, reported being targeted by a flying object in the north of the Gulf of Aden early on Tuesday.Maersk told Reuters that no injuries to the crew or damage to the ship or cargo were reported.A spokesperson for the Copenhagen-based company said the ship was one of its U.S.-flagged vessels sailing for the subsidiary Maersk Line, Limited.The captain of an unnamed merchant ship reported an explosion close to the vessel some 180 nautical miles (333 km) east of Yemen's Nishtun…

When scientists in the 1960s excavated the wreck of an ancient Greek merchant ship off the northern coast of Cyprus, what they found was an amazing time capsule from a pivotal period in the Mediterranean world following the death of Alexander the Great.But determining the date of the Kyrenia shipwreck with any sort of precision has proven difficult, and some previous scientific dating yielded conclusions that conflicted with the archeological evidence. Researchers have now calculated…

When a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi Islamists landed near his ship in the Red Sea, Costas Rassias vowed to stop sailing through the perilous waters."I froze," said the Greek 34-year-old second class marine engineer, describing the close call. "I weighed what was more important - my life, or a better income?"As attacks on merchant ships by the Iran-backed Houthis persist, traumatised seafarers are refusing to sail through the Red Sea, according to interviews with more than 15…

Missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi militants struck the Palau-flagged Verbena cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, sparking a fire and severely injuring one of her crew, U.S. Central Command said.The Iran-allied Houthis have launched dozens of attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea region since November in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.Thursday's attack marked their second direct hit on a merchant ship in two days, and the…

A Greek-owned cargo ship was struck by a small craft off Yemen's Red Sea port of Hodeidah sustaining damage in its engine room, maritime security firms and shipping sources said on Wednesday.The vessel, Tutor, was hit approximately 67.7 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's port of Hodeidah, said British security firm Ambrey, and the incident bore the hallmarks of an attack by Yemen's Houthi militia."The vessel aligned with the Houthi target profile at the time of the incident," Ambrey said in an advisory note.United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a small…

Sunil Krishnakumar, Senior Technical Manager at the International Chamber of Shipping, provides his key insights on the newly released Engine Room Procedures Guide, Second Edition, by ICS.The shipping industry has embarked on a transformative journey, actively working towards a sustainable future and a safer environment. With a strong commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the industry is actively seeking the uptake and safe use of new low-GHG technologies and alternatives…

The U.K. on Thursday said its Royal Navy had shot down a missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthis from Yemen targeting a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden."The UK continues to be at the forefront of the international response to the Iranian-backed Houthis’ dangerous attacks on commercial vessels, which have claimed the lives of international mariners," British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statementThe crew of the Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond used a Sea Viper missile system to shoot down the missile…

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said on Wednesday that a merchant vessel and its crew were reported safe after an incident 72 nautical miles east southeast off the port of Djibouti.UKMTO said in an updated advisory note that the master of the vessel had reported an explosion in the water a distance from the vessel."Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity," the note said.Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea region since November in what they say is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians fight

The uniquely painted Norwegian Aqua was launched at the Fincantieri  Marghera (Venice) shipyard, the first vessel in the Prima Plus class for Norwegian Cruise Line's (NCL).With external work now complete, the yard and its partners will forcus on completing the ship for its scheduled April 2025 delivery.“We are thrilled to celebrate another milestone together with our partners at Fincantieri, who are an integral part of the Prima class ships' journey and support us in evolving the extraordinary experience we design and deliver to our guests…

MSC is the manager and commercial operator of a vessel seized on Saturday by Iranian authorities, international shipping company Zodiac Maritime said in a statement."MSC is responsible for all vessel activities including cargo operations and maintenance. Title to the vessel is held by Gortal Shipping Inc as financier, and she has been leased to MSC on a long-term basis. Gortal Shipping Inc is affiliated with Zodiac Maritime," said the company, partly owned by Israeli businessman…

2024 marks 50 years of ship design work for Kongsberg Maritime. From setting the benchmark that set the standard for offshore supply vessels in the 1970s, to advanced anchor handlers that transformed the oil and gas industry, and a growing reference list in fishery and merchant ships, Kongsberg Maritime’s range of ship designs has continued to evolve over the past five decades.The early 1970s, at the dawn of the offshore oil and gas industry, saw the very first vessels, designed…

India will bring in and prosecute 35 Somali pirates its navy captured on a hijacked ship off Somalia, a navy official said, in a departure from its recent practice of rescuing vessels and crew but leaving the disarmed pirates at sea.The captured pirates are due to arrive in India on Saturday and will be handed over to the law enforcement agencies, the official said. He declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.The exact charges against the pirates were not immediately clear…