Us News

The IMO and World Maritime University (WMU) have released a new Handbook on Gender Mainstreaming in the Maritime Sector, calling for action to address persistent gender inequality across the global maritime industry.The handbook, authored by WMU Professor Momoko Kitada, was launched on the International Day for Women in Maritime on May 18. Kitada is also the recipient of the 2026 IMO Gender Equality Award. The publication is the first of its kind, aimed at closing the gender gap in the maritime sector…

Israeli forces opened fire on at least two vessels in an aid flotilla sailing towards Gaza on Tuesday, according to video footage and flotilla organisers, but Israel said no live ammunition was used and there were no casualties.The flotilla was making a renewed attempt to deliver aid to Gaza after earlier missions were intercepted by Israel in international waters.Video from the flotilla's livestream showed soldiers firing shots at two of the boats. The type of ammunition fired was not clear."At no point was live ammunition fired…

NATO is not drawing up any plans for a potential mission in the Strait of Hormuz and would need a political decision to do so, its top commander said on Tuesday, amid suggestions by some members that the alliance could play a role there.Any decision to launch a mission would require the approval of all NATO's 32 members and several have already signalled opposition, although no formal proposal has been presented so far, according to diplomats."The conditions under which NATO would consider operating in the Strait of Hormuz are ultimately a political decision," said U.S.

The United States has charged seven Chinese executives and four of the world's largest shipping container companies with conspiring to restrict supply, raising the price of containers during the COVID pandemic, Department of Justice officials said on Tuesday.The companies together manufacture about 95% of the world's standard dry shipping containers and conspired to restrict output and fix prices between November 2019 and January 2024, the DOJ said. Prosecutors allege the scheme resulted in U.S.

U.S.-flag shipping on the Great Lakes lost a total of 1,953 hours or 82 ship days due to inadequate icebreaking, about a third of the shipping season on the Great Lakes.It took 96 hours after the Soo locks opened for the year for the first vessel loaded with iron ore to finally clear the St. Marys River the critical connection point between Lake Superior and the lower lakes. At one point, 19 vessels were stopped for multiple days in the ice, waiting for icebreakers to clear the way to either get their loads or deliver them.The ice season dragged on well into April…

The Chamber of Shipping of America has recognized 48 Crowley-owned or -managed vessels with 2026 Jones F. Devlin Safety Awards for achieving a combined 427 years of service without a lost-time injury.The Jones F. Devlin Safety Award recognizes merchant vessels that operate for at least two consecutive years without a crew member experiencing a lost-time injury. The awarded Crowley vessels include tugs, barges, commercial container ships and tank vessels operating globally.The…

Hyliion Holdings Corp., a developer of modular power plant technology, announced that the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR), in partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), has selected the USX-1 Defiant as a candidate test vessel for Hyliion’s KARNO technology. Initial sea trials are funded under a development program from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to advance the use of KARNO Cores for onboard power generation in U.S. Navy vessels.For the USX-1 Defiant sea trials…

American Cruise Lines has announced that new riverboat American Encore was christened in Lewiston, Idaho on May 12th. The boat’s inaugural 9-Day Columbia & Snake Rivers cruise departed from Stevenson, Washington on May 6th with guests also enjoying an included hotel stay in Portland, Oregon on May 5th.Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represented Eastern Washington and the Snake River in Congress for twenty years, was named American Encore’s Godmother. Ms. Rodgers was joined on the ship’s top deck for the ceremonial blessing and bottle smash by cruise guests…

Four liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels were sailing to China from the U.S. and expected to arrive in June, according to data from financial firm LSEG, marking the first U.S. LNG cargoes to leave the U.S. and go directly to China during U.S. President Donald Trump's second term in office.Last week, Trump went to Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During the trip, Trump told Fox News on May 14 that China wants to buy oil, LNG and other goods from the United States.In years past…

The Trump administration on Tuesday imposed sanctions on an Iranian foreign currency exchange house and what it said were front companies overseeing transactions on behalf of Iranian banks as the U.S. maintains pressure on Tehran.The move came after Iran said its latest peace proposal to the United States over the U.S.-Israeli led war that started February 28 involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of U.S. forces from areas close to Iran, and reparations…

Cellula Robotics US Inc. and Metron, Inc. have signed a 10-year agreement to deliver a combined solution for the United States defense market, bringing together Cellula's commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) long-endurance autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) platforms with Metron's best-in-class adaptive mission autonomy and decades of proven undersea warfare and maritime domain expertise.Building on their successful collaboration to date, including work supporting the Defense Innovation Unit's CAMP project…

Aqua superPower and Tidal Transit have formed a strategic partnership to support the deployment of electric crew transfer vessels (E-CTVs) for ports and harbors serving offshore infrastructure, including offshore wind projects.Under the agreement, Tidal Transit will build and operate E-CTV vessels and manage offshore charging infrastructure installation, while Aqua superPower will design, build, operate and maintain shore-side charging systems at vessel origin ports.The collaboration aims to simplify deployment of electric vessel operations by combining vessel capability…

Crane specialist Liebherr has completed an extensive inspection and refurbishment of a BOS 35000 offshore crane aboard ZITON’s jack-up vessel Wind Enterprise during a 10-day service campaign in Denmark.The board offshore crane was installed on a 16-meter pedestal and will support offshore wind operations across Northern Europe, according to Liebherr.The company said the project, carried out at the Port of Esbjerg, included replacement of the complete power pack, hydraulic elements…

Technology group Wärtsilä has signed a long-term Lifecycle Agreement contract with Finnish Border Guard.The 10-year agreement extends existing coverage of ‘Turva’ vessel and will also cover two new vessels, ‘Karhu’ and ‘MT1407’, which are scheduled to join the fleet in 2026 and 2027. The Baltic Sea is one of the busiest marine areas in the world, demanding the Finnish Border Guard to always be ready.It is critical that the vessels are operating reliably and efficiently, so that the Border Guard can safeguard the nation’s borders and respond effectively to any situation.

Oil fell by nearly 2% on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had paused a planned attack on Iran to allow for negotiations to end the war in the Middle East.Trump posted on social media on Monday that he was holding off on a planned military attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday, while efforts continue to reach a deal, adding that the United States was ready to resume attacking if one is not reached.Brent futures LCOc1 for July were down $2.02, or 1.8%, to $110.08 a barrel at 0802 GMT, while U.S.

The chief executive of NextEra Energy said on Monday that his company felt good about Dominion's investment in offshore wind, a technology he has disparaged in the past.CEO John Ketchum made the remarks on a call with investors to discuss NextEra's $66.8 billion bid for Dominion, which is building a more than $11 billion offshore wind project off the coast of Virginia."As we look at it, we feel very good about it," Ketchum said, noting that the facility is already sending power…

I watched the first episode of The Madison, a Michelle Pfeiffer TV Drama on Paramount.In short, it deals with a rich NY family, where the patriarch dies while fishing in Montana and the daughter of the matriarch played, by Michelle Pfeiffer, gets mugged in New York City. Very quickly it is conveyed that New York City is fake and that truth can be found fly fishing on the Madison River in Montana.The mugging as depicted in the show symbolizes the evilness and moral loneliness of New York City…

Drive into Corpus Christi and you can feel the paradox that defines many port cities: the waterfront is everywhere, yet the maritime business that powers the place is easy to miss — until you look past the horizon of tanks, docks, and ship traffic and realize you’re staring at one of the world’s most consequential energy gateways.By volume, the Port of Corpus Christi has become a central export valve for U.S. crude oil and a fast-rising platform for LNG — an industrial ecosystem that has grown at a pace few ports can match.

Supertanker Agios Fanourios I is heading for Vietnam to discharge its Iraqi crude oil cargo after it was held by the U.S. Navy for five days in the Gulf of Oman, the vessel's manager said on Monday.The Maltese-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz on May 10 and was sailing in the Gulf of Oman before making a U-turn on May 11.It resumed its journey toward Vietnam on May 16 and is expected to arrive at the Nghi Son refinery on May 30, LSEG shipping…

Helm Operations, a market leader in fleet management software for the maritime industry, announced that Helm CONNECT Logbook has received official recognition from the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The recognition confirms that Helm CONNECT's digital Logbook meets federal standards for commercial vessel record keeping, giving US operators a fully accepted alternative to traditional paper logs.Helm CONNECT Logbook replaces paper-based record keeping with a digital solution that gives vessel crews and shore teams access to the same accurate…

As the maritime industry faces rising pressures, from workforce shortages to evolving safety expectations and the drive for long‑term sustainability, diversity has become an essential pillar of progress. This is especially true in the ongoing effort to support more women entering and advancing in seafaring careers. With the release of the Guidelines on the Application of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (Fifth Edition), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is shining…

Three U.S. shipyards operated by Fincantieri have been recognized by the Shipbuilders Council of America for workplace safety performance in 2025, highlighting the company’s focus on operational discipline across its U.S. shipbuilding and repair operations.Fincantieri said its U.S. facilities at Fincantieri ACE Marine in Green Bay, Wis., Fincantieri Marine Repair in Jacksonville, Fla., and Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., received national recognition under…

The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the national association representing the U.S. shipbuilding, maintenance, and repair industry, today announced its annual member safety awards for the 2025 calendar year. This year, 21 shipyards across Alabama, California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin are receiving awards for their achievements in safety.The following shipyards and repair facilities…