Regulation News

Four men, including the chief officer of an international livestock carrier, have been charged over their alleged roles in an organised crime plot to import more than 525kg of cocaine into Australia, after packages of the drug were found floating in the ocean off Western Australia.A Western Australia Joint Organised Crime Taskforce investigation into suspicious activity by an international vessel was already under way when members of the public alerted police on November 6 after finding large packages tied to flotation drums about 30km offshore.Later that day…

South Africa’s National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) has welcomed a judgment delivered by the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Makhanda which strengthens its authority to prevent cruelty to animals during the export of live animals by sea.The ruling overturns severe restrictions previously imposed by the East London Magistrates’ Court during the planned loading of more than 53,000 animals onto the live export vessel Al Messilah in July 2023.The Magistrate had, amongst other things…

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC or Commission) investigates and negotiates settlements and informal compromises of civil penalties in relation to potential violations of the Shipping Act and Commission regulations. Recently, the Commission completed two compromise agreements recovering a total of $1,350,000 in civil penalties. The agreements were reached with a vessel-operating common carrier (VOCC) and a non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVOCC).One compromise agreement was reached with Hyundai Glovis, Co. Ltd.

Human trafficking remains one of the most lucrative and devastating crimes in the world, second only to the illicit drug trade. Today, an estimated 50 million people are living in modern slavery.To combat this crisis, Invisible Traffick, a Northern Ireland–based charity, is providing both in-person and online training to help maritime professionals recognize the warning signs of human trafficking and make the invisible, visible.Invisible Traffick’s founder and CEO, Gayle Bunting…

The 52-year-old livestock carrier Spiridon II remains in quarantine off Turkey with around 20 crew and 2,853 cows onboard.Having departed from Montevideo (Uruguay) bound for Turkey on September 19 with 2,901 heifers, some of which may be pregnant, the Spiridon II is, over 50 days later, still unable to deliver the animals to shore.Veterinary authorities are refusing to allow them to disembark due to a controversy over ear tags that guarantee, among other things, the exact origin…

The Australian Border Force (ABF) led a week of action in Portland last month, targeting criminal infiltration along Victoria's south-west coastline.The high visibility activity forms part of a broader operation to prevent organized crime groups from using the Australian border as a means for illegal activity, including trafficking illicit drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.The week of action also focused on the threat of trusted insiders and involved community engagement to spread awareness of the Border Watch program…

The 52-year-old MV Spiridon II loaded 2901 cattle has been stranded off Turkey, denied permission to unload due to issues with the animals’ ear tag.According to local media, the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry inspected the cattle when the vessel arrived but denied permission to land the animals because approximately 500 of the ear tags did not match documentation on the ship.The vessel departed Uruguay on September 19 and arrived at Bandirma Port on October 22. The…

The Trump administration said on Thursday it would pursue negotiations with China over its dominance of shipbuilding and ocean logistics as it formalized plans for a one-year pause on U.S. port fees on China-linked vessels as part of a broader deal to reduce trade tensions.The U.S. Trade Representative's office said in a Federal Register notice that it would pause for a year starting November 10 all punitive actions against China resulting from its "Section 301" unfair trade practices investigation.

A newly released study by Seafarers' Rights International (SRI) finds that cabotage laws now exist on 85% of the world’s coastlines, are growing in number at an unprecedented pace, and are increasingly essential to national security, economic stability and maritime resilience.The Cabotage Laws of the World (2025) report, commissioned by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), compares nations in their enforcement of cabotage laws, which restrict the waterborne transportation of goods or passengers between two points within the same country to domestic carriers.

China's sanctions on U.S.-linked units of shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean threaten to impact ambitious plans for shipbuilding cooperation between Seoul and Washington by disrupting supplies of Chinese equipment and materials, officials in Seoul said on Friday.Beijing announced the sanctions on Tuesday as the U.S. and China began charging additional port fees on each other's vessels, in the latest exchange in a protracted trade war ahead of a planned meeting of the two countries' leaders.South…

China announced sanctions on Tuesday against five U.S.-linked subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean amid trade tensions between the world's two largest economies, sending the company's shares sharply lower.The move, announced by the Chinese commerce ministry, comes on the day that China and the U.S. implement additional port fees targeting each others' vessels, although China has exempted ships it built.Organisations and individuals within China are prohibited from engaging in any transactions…

The U.S. and China on Tuesday began charging additional port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil, making the high seas a key front in the trade war between the world's two largest economies.A return to an all-out trade war appeared imminent last week, after China announced a major expansion of its rare earths export controls and President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to triple digits.But after the weekend…

Trade Representative Jamison Greer said on Sunday that the U.S. reached out to China for a phone call following an announcement that it was expanding its rare earths export controls but Beijing deferred, while China accused the U.S. of what it called "double standards.""I can tell you that we were not notified, and quickly, as soon as we found out from public sources, we reached out to the Chinese to have a phone call, and they deferred," Greer told Fox News' "Sunday Briefing," while calling China's move "a power grab."U.S.

Vessels owned or operated by U.S. firms and individuals - or those built in the United States or that fly the U.S. flag - will be charged additional port fees per voyage starting on October 14, China's transport ministry said.The fees are a counter-measure against upcoming U.S. port fees on Chinese ships, the ministry said on Friday.Also starting on October 14, ships built in China - or operated or owned by Chinese entities - will need to pay a fee at their first port of call in the United States.

The U.S. is one week away from imposing port fees on certain vessels with links to China, a move expected to cost the top 10 carriers $3.2 billion next year as President Donald Trump seeks to address China's growing dominance on the high seas."While some observers believe the October 14 deadline may be extended - or even scrapped - as part of broader negotiations, the uncertainty has already unsettled carriers, adding another layer of geopolitical risk to fleet deployment strategies…

The U.S. is one week away from imposing port fees on certain vessels with links to China, a move expected to cost the top 10 carriers $3.2 billion next year as President Donald Trump seeks to address China's growing dominance on the high seas."While some observers believe the October 14 deadline may be extended — or even scrapped — as part of broader negotiations, the uncertainty has already unsettled carriers, adding another layer of geopolitical risk to fleet deployment strategies…

Terminal operators in a major oil port in east China's Shandong province are set to introduce measures to ban shadow fleet vessels and curb visits by other old tankers, according to an official notice seen by Reuters and a tanker tracker.The measures, to take effect from November 1, would ban vessels using fake IMO numbers and ships of 31 years or older, which traders said would target what is known as the shadow fleet that transports oil under Western sanctions.Four terminal operators at Huangdao Port last week issued the notice…

Global shipping companies are moving full steam ahead with commercial vessel orders from Chinese shipyards, despite the U.S. targeting those ships with port fees aimed at countering China's maritime dominance, a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies showed.Chinese shipyards captured 53% of all global ship orders by tonnage during the first eight months of 2025, according to the CSIS analysis of S&P Global data released on Wednesday.That was on par with full-year 2023 levels before the U.S.

South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is in talks with multiple companies about buying a U.S. shipyard, a senior company executive said, seeking to tap into President Donald Trump's push to revive America's ailing shipbuilding industry.The world's largest shipbuilder based on orders is targeting 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) in annual revenue by 2035 from building warships for the U.S. Navy, said Woo-maan Jeong, head of planning and management for HD Hyundai's 329180.KS naval and special ship unit…

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has found the owner, operator, and local agent of the container ship X-Press Pearl liable for environmental and economic damage caused by the 2021 fire and sinking of the vessel.The ship's registered owner, EOS Ro Pte. Limited, along with others, has been fined $1 billion under the polluter pays principle.The Singapore-flagged vessel had 1,486 containers on board at the time, 81 of which were identified as containing hazardous. It arrived in Sri Lankan territorial waters of Sri Lanka with a container already leaking nitric acid and caught fire on May 20, 2021.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has called for vigilance and deeper cooperation among Member States and international partners to address growing threats to global maritime security. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council high-level open debate on August 11, chaired by the President of the Republic of Panama H.E. José Raúl Mulino, Mr. Dominguez outlined the risks facing ships and seafarers as they transport billions of tonnes of goods worldwide. “Our collective response must be rooted in prevention…

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its preliminary report on the May 17, 2025 collision between the Mexican Navy training vessel ARM Cuauhtémoc and the Brooklyn Bridge, stressing that the findings are not final and remain subject to change as the investigation continues.According to the report, the Cuauhtémoc, a 158-foot air-draft tall ship with 277 crew and cadets aboard, struck the underside of the Brooklyn Bridge while transiting the East River after departing Pier 17 in Manhattan.

The U.S. sent letters to Enterprise Products and Energy Transfer on Wednesday informing the companies they could load ethane on vessels destined for China but could not unload the ethane in China without authorization, according to a person familiar with the matter and copy of one letter.The letters from the U.S. Department of Commerce follow a licensing requirement imposed several weeks ago on the companies' exports of ethane to China, which halted shipments and led to vessels anchoring in or hovering around the U.S. Gulf Coast.The letters may signal the U.S.