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CMA CGM Doubles Female Seafarer...
French shipping giant CMA CGM has successfully doubled its female seafaring workforce within just one year of launching its...
Tanker Operator Quits Russian Trade...
After one of its vessels was hit and damaged in a suspected Ukrainian attack, Turkish tanker owner Besiktas Shipping...
Thordon Bearings wins 2025 Motorship...
Thordon Bearings has won the 2025 Motorship Award for T-BOSS, the ship design which replaces a traditional sterntube with...
Grounded MSC Baltic III’s Hull...
Mike Schuler The grounded container ship MSC Baltic III has sustained significant additional structural damage following severe weather that battered its...
Inmarsat Maritime Unveils Next Phase Of Nexus Wave Evolution Of ViaSat 3 Network...
posted on: Dec 14, 2025
Inmarsat Maritime, a ViaSat (NASDAQ: VSAT) company, has unveiled the next phase in the evolution of its NexusWave bonded connectivity service, following the successful launch of the ViaSat-3 Flight 2 satellite and in anticipation of the launch of the ViaSat-3 Flight 3 satellite. As the two ViaSat-3 satellites are scheduled to enter service in 2026, NexusWave customers will benefit from a dramatic increase in available bandwidth via a new generation of maritime terminal, with additional capacity expected from VS3 Flight 2 over the Americas and VS3 Flight 3 over Asia-Pacific. This means that by investing in NexusWave today, maritime customers can expect a major step forward in performance, more consistent speeds, and even better flexibility to meet their evolving needs. NexusWave is Inmarsat’s fully managed, bonded multi-network service combining capacity from GEO Ka-band, LEO, LTE, and L-band networks in a single intelligent connectivity solution. With the introduction of the...
US forces stormed cargo ship travelling from China to Iran: Report...
posted on: Dec 14, 2025
United States forces raided a cargo ship travelling from China to Iran last month, according to the Wall Street Journal, in the latest reported instance of increasingly aggressive maritime tactics by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Unnamed officials told the newspaper that US military personnel boarded the ship several hundred miles from Sri Lanka, according to the report on Friday. It was the first time in several years US forces had intercepted cargo travelling from China to Iran, according to the newspaper. The operation took place in November, weeks before US forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela earlier this week, citing sanctions violations. It was another action Washington has not taken in years. US Indo-Pacific Command did not immediately confirm the report. An official told the newspaper that they seized material “potentially useful for Iran’s conventional weapons”. However, the official noted the seized items were...
All private ICDs to halt export cargo, empty container handling from tomorrow...
posted on: Dec 14, 2025
Nineteen private inland container depots (ICDs) supporting the Chattogram port are set to suspend handling of export cargo and empty containers from tomorrow morning (11 December), in protest over off-dock owners attempting to introduce a revised tariff. Each depot has notified its clients that from tomorrow, it will no longer be able to load export cargo or handle empty containers. Owners say they cannot continue operations under the existing charges, which they have not been allowed to revise. Confirming the matter, Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (Bicda) Secretary General Ruhul Amin Sikder said the association has issued no organisational decision. “Individual depot owners have communicated their inability to serve clients. They have also informed shipping lines,” he said. “The last time the tariff was increased was in 2016. Over the past nine years, labour wages have gone up several times, but our tariff has remained unchanged. It has become...
U.S. Seizure of Shadow Fleet Tanker ‘Skipper’ Ends Years-Long Sanctions-Evasion Run...
posted on: Dec 13, 2025
The U.S. Coast Guard seized the very large oil tanker SKIPPER off Venezuela’s coast on Wednesday, culminating a three-year enforcement saga involving Iranian oil smuggling networks and sanctions evasion. The vessel, originally designated as ADISA when sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in November 2022, was part of a sprawling international oil smuggling operation that funneled revenue to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and Hezbollah. According to Treasury documents, ADISA was controlled by Triton Navigation Corp., a subsidiary of Centrum Maritime, both part of an intricate web of shell companies managed by Ukrainian national Viktor Artemov. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the vessel under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorist organizations. “The individuals running this illicit network use a web of shell companies and fraudulent tactics including document falsification to obfuscate the origins of Iranian oil, sell it on the international market, and evade...
Shipboard Firefighting Standards Under Scrutiny as Vessel Complexity Strains Crew Training Capacity...
posted on: Dec 13, 2025
With lithium battery fires, alternative fuels, and automated systems reshaping maritime fire risk, industry leaders push for updated response protocols When a container ship carrying electric vehicles caught fire in the North Atlantic last year, killing one crew member and forcing the abandonment of the vessel, it underscored a troubling reality: modern cargo is creating fire scenarios that traditional shipboard firefighting training never anticipated. Lithium-ion battery fires can burn hotter and spread faster than conventional cargo fires. They can reignite days after being suppressed. They release toxic gases, particularly hydrogen, and produce oxygen making fixed firefighting systems ineffective. And they require suppression techniques, like controlled flooding or specialized extinguishing agents, that crews may have never practiced. As the maritime industry pivots toward decarbonization, alternative fuels, and electric propulsion, fire safety experts warn that training standards, equipment specifications, and emergency response protocols are struggling to keep pace with evolving risks....
NTSB: Finding Loose Wire in Dali’s Switchboard Took a Month...
posted on: Dec 13, 2025
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has reported the probable cause of the container ship strike that took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge: a loose wire buried inside a switchboard. The agency has now released its complete report, detailing the findings of its forensic team – and the challenging, monthlong effort to find one loose wire on a 10,000-TEU boxship. In the early hours of March 26, 2024, as the container ship Dali got under way outbound from the port of Baltimore, a high voltage breaker for a transformer tripped and shut down the ship’s auxiliary power. This cut out the vessel’s propulsion and steering, leaving Dali helpless and adrift. Efforts to restart were unsuccessful. Without a tug to assist, Dali drifted into a pier supporting the Francis Scott Key Bridge and destroyed it, collapsing the structure and killing six people. After the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board began an intensive effort to determine the cause of the...
Britannia Club: Key trends on bulk carrier claims...
posted on: Dec 13, 2025
Bulk carriers make up more than 40% of the world’s fleet capacity, making it essential to closely monitor trends and recurring issues associated with these cargo types, Britannia Club highlighted in its ‘Bulk Carrier Claims Review 2025′. As explained, the Club has reviewed claims data of the years 2021 – 2024 for all bulk carriers carrying bulk or breakbulk cargo. This period was focused on to avoid the distorting impact of the COVID pandemic and to obtain the most recent claims data available. According to Britannia, results showed that the most common claim types are: shortage physical damage contamination wet damage Credit: Britannia Club Shortage Shortage claims remain a substantial issue, with around 50% of registered claims relating to shortages. It is perhaps unsurprising that paper shortage claims occur. The accuracy of measuring the quantity of bulk cargo loaded, transported, and subsequently discharged is imperfect. The two main methods used, draft...
Port of Chattogram: When a Port Becomes a Prey...
posted on: Dec 13, 2025
by Ghulam Suhrawardi Port of Chattogram: When a Port Becomes a Prey Terming the ex-Mayors as ‘devourers of the port, recently spoke a painful truth when he said that “they were not the Mayor for the port, but the port was for them.” Shipping Advisor flagged the political stakes of “individual citizens having become devourers of the port,” and reminded us that the port’s facilities are not “an ATM of private businesses and party leaders.” Chattogram Port is the economic gateway of Bangladesh; it is the bloodline of our economy, and most of the (around 90 per cent) external trade goes through Chattogram Port. Abuse of power associated with Chattogram Port, therefore, is not merely the issue of a specific person or a local matter of Chattogram city; it is a matter of national economic security and global competitiveness of our ports and global trade. It is a matter of public...
Shipowners warned STCW compliance alone will not stop bullying at sea...
posted on: Dec 10, 2025
As the maritime industry prepares for the introduction of amendments on bullying and harassment training under the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention, health and wellbeing experts are warning shipowners not to treat the changes as a mere compliance exercise. New STCW amendments introduce trauma-informed training from 2026 From January 2026, seafarers will receive mandatory training on the effects of bullying and harassment onboard ships. The amendments introduce a trauma-informed approach, recognizing that individuals experience and respond to bullying and harassment differently. While the move is being welcomed as a significant step forward for crew welfare, industry specialists stress that meaningful change will depend on leadership engagement and practical implementation. Leadership commitment seen as critical to real cultural change OneCare Group has cautioned that the effectiveness of the new training will hinge on whether shipowners embed its principles into everyday operations. The group argues that without genuine commitment from...
Social wellbeing at sea: Understanding the subtle human factors behind safe operations and claims...
posted on: Dec 10, 2025
Within the P&I claims environment, we routinely assess incidents that show how closely human factors influence maritime incidents, notes Joanna Koukouli, Co-Global Claims Director – SVP/ Managing Director, The American Club. Although technical issues often receive the most attention, many underlying circumstances relate to the social and interpersonal realities of life at sea. Observations gathered from years of reviewing incidents worldwide work towards understanding these dynamics and supporting a broader industry effort toward safer and more resilient operations. Seafaring requires a unique blend of skill, endurance, and emotional adaptability. Crews live and work in close quarters, often for extended periods, while navigating multicultural communication and long separation from home. From a claims’ perspective, these social dimensions rarely attract attention. However, although they may not be the direct cause of an incident, yet they shape the environment in which decisions are made and tasks are performed. Four main areas, web...
Shipboard Firefighting Standards Under Scrutiny as Vessel Complexity Strains Crew Training Capacity...
posted on: Dec 10, 2025
With lithium battery fires, alternative fuels, and automated systems reshaping maritime fire risk, industry leaders push for updated response protocols When a container ship carrying electric vehicles caught fire in the North Atlantic last year, killing one crew member and forcing the abandonment of the vessel, it underscored a troubling reality: modern cargo is creating fire scenarios that traditional shipboard firefighting training never anticipated. Lithium-ion battery fires can burn hotter and spread faster than conventional cargo fires. They can reignite days after being suppressed. They release toxic gases, particularly hydrogen, and produce oxygen making fixed firefighting systems ineffective. And they require suppression techniques, like controlled flooding or specialized extinguishing agents, that crews may have never practiced. As the maritime industry pivots toward decarbonization, alternative fuels, and electric propulsion, fire safety experts warn that training standards, equipment specifications, and emergency response protocols are struggling to keep pace with evolving risks....
China Trade Surplus Tops $1 Trillion for First Time on Non-US Growth...
posted on: Dec 10, 2025
BEIJING, Dec 8 (Reuters) – China’s trade surplus topped $1 trillion for the first time as manufacturers seeking to avoid President Donald Trump’s tariffs shipped more to non-U.S. markets in November, with exports to Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia surging. Shipments to the United States dropped by close to one-third from the same month a year before. “The tariff cuts agreed under the U.S.-China trade truce didn’t help to lift shipments to the U.S. last month, but overall export growth rebounded nonetheless,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics. “We expect China’s exports will remain resilient, with the country continuing to gain global market share next year.” “The role of trade rerouting in offsetting the drag from U.S. tariffs still appears to be increasing,” she added. Chinese exports overall grew 5.9% year-on-year in November, customs data on Monday showed, a reversal from October’s 1.1% contraction, and beating a 3.8% forecast in a Reuters poll. Imports were up 1.9%, compared with a...
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Admissions, Unemployment, and Governance in Bangladesh’s Maritime Education Admissions, Unemployment, and Governance in Bangladesh’s Maritime Education Image credit: Facebook entry of Fahad Zobaer By Ghulam M. Suhrawardi The maritime sector has historically been one of Bangladesh’s quiet strengths, an area where skill, discipline, and global mobility created economic opportunity for thousands of families. Yet, today, maritime education and […]
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