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What Does UNCLOS Say About...
Relations between the US and Russia have hit a fresh bump after the US coastguard boarded a vessel sailing in the...
Indefinite U.S. Control of Venezuelan...
Following the removal of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, the Trump administration plans to oversee the country’s oil exports, and...
Shadow Fleet Tanker ‘Qendil’ Runs...
The Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker Qendil ran aground off Turkey’s Bozcaada island on Sunday while transiting from Alia?a to Yalova,...
চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর : বাংলাদেশের প্রবেশদ্বার...
গোলাম সোহরাওয়ার্দি চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর বাংলাদেশের অর্থনীতির হৃৎপিণ্ড। নৌপথে দেশের যে আন্তর্জাতিক বাণিজ্য, তার ৯০ শতাংশের বেশি হয় এ বন্দরের...
Venezuela’s Oil Exports Paralyzed Amid Political Turmoil...
posted on: Jan 7, 2026
Jan 3 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s oil exports, which had fallen to a minimum amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s announced blockade of all sanctioned tankers going in and out of the country’s waters, are now paralyzed as port captains have not received requests to authorize loaded ships to set sail, four sources close to operations said on Saturday. The paralysis emerges as the U.S. extracted President Nicolas Maduro and his wife from capital Caracas and announced it will oversee a political transition in the South American country. President Trump said on Saturday that an “oil embargo” on the country was in full effect. Several vessels that have recently loaded crude and fuel bound for destinations including the U.S. and Asia have not set sail, while others that had waited to load have left empty, according to monitoring data. No tankers were loading on Saturday at the country’s main oil port of Jose, TankerTrackers.com said. A total suspension of oil exports, including tankers chartered...
Maduro Arrest Likely Thwarts China’s Panama Canal Plans...
posted on: Jan 7, 2026
The abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on the orders of US President Donald Trump likely means China has no ability to prevent US dominance of the Panama Canal, which Beijing was attempting to frustrate since last June by blocking the sale of two canal ports and dozens of others around the world by CK Hutchison Holdings, the conglomerate controlled by Hong Kong’s richest tycoon Li Ka-shing, to a conglomerate led by the US-based BlackRock, Inc, the world’s largest asset manager. In a move smacking of imperialism that shocked world capitals, Trump announced the US would take over the Latin American country’s oil sector, which would give the US an advantage over China in oil and in the dollar over the Chinese currency. China was taking 80 percent of Venezuelan crude, some 746,000 bpd, often arriving via Malaysia’s ship-to-ship transshipment hubs or through rebranding practices designed to hide their...
Dark Mode Exodus: Sanctioned Venezuelan Tankers Slip Past U.S. Oil Blockade...
posted on: Jan 7, 2026
Jan 5 (Reuters) – About a dozen oil tankers loaded with Venezuelan crude and fuel have left the country’s waters since the start of the year in apparent defiance of the U.S. government’s blockade on exports, according to documents seen by Reuters and industry sources including monitoring service TankerTrackers.com. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a blockade of all sanctioned tankers bound for Venezuela in mid-December, before the dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. troops in the early hours of Saturday morning. Trump said on Saturday that an oil embargo remained in full force after Maduro’s extraction. All the departed vessels identified are under sanctions and most are now sailing on the high seas without any known flag or current ship safety documentation in place, shipping data showed. Half of them are supertankers that typically carry Venezuelan crude to China, according to TankerTrackers.com and shipping documents from PDVSA. It was not immediately clear whether the U.S. had approved or allowed the shipments. Trump...
Experts concerned over depletion of marine fisheries stocks...
posted on: Jan 7, 2026
Bangladesh’s deep-sea ecosystem is under mounting pressure from overfishing, aggressive industrial practices and plastic pollution, according to new findings presented to the country’s chief adviser on Tuesday, prompting calls for urgent research-driven policy intervention. The warning came as a high-level committee submitted the findings of a comprehensive marine fisheries and ecosystem survey conducted by the research vessel R.V. Dr Fridtjof Nansen to the interim government at a meeting held at the state guest house Jamuna. The month-long survey, carried out between 21 August and 21 September last year, involved 25 scientists from eight countries, including 13 Bangladeshi researchers. Presenting the findings, Prof Sayedur Rahman Chowdhury of Chittagong University’s Institute of Marine Sciences said the study identified 65 previously undocumented aquatic species in Bangladesh’s waters. But the discoveries were overshadowed by troubling trends. “The excessive proliferation of jellyfish in deep waters is a clear sign of ecological imbalance,” Chowdhury said,...
Captain Anisur Rahman (5N) no more….
posted on: Jan 5, 2026
Photo retrieved from BMA archives, courtesy Sajid Hussain, CEng (15E)Ex-Commandant, BMA 4 January 2025 Captain Anisur Rahman (5N) breathed his last at approximately 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, 4 January 2025, at United Hospital, Dhaka. Inna lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūnإِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ“Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed, to Him we shall return.” Captain Anisur Rahman had been battling prolonged health challenges with remarkable fortitude and dignity. In March 2021, he was flown to Singapore for a major surgical procedure. Although the operation was successful, he continued to struggle with his health in the years that followed. Throughout this difficult period, he remained composed and resilient, embodying the quiet strength that had defined his life and career. A proud alumnus of the Bangladesh Marine Academy, Captain Anisur Rahman was deeply respected among his peers and juniors alike. He leaves behind countless pleasant memories cherished by generations of...
Hong Kong Court Sentences Oil Tanker Captain to Jail for Poor Seamanship...
posted on: Jan 5, 2026
A court in Hong Kong sentenced the master of a Chinese-registered oil tanker to 14 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of endangering the safety of others at sea. The judge said the captain’s actions were “obviously too slow,” and it resulted in a collision with the fishing boat off Hong Kong that killed one person, while six others were rescued from the sea. The oil tanker was transiting into Hong Kong waters around 0400 on November 17, 2024. According to the reports, the captain admitted he had chosen to take a shortcut into Hong Kong waters. Further, despite regulations, he failed to assign a dedicated lookout. He cited concerns for crew fatigue. The tanker had been able to visually and on radar see fishing boats operating in the area as it was approaching Hong Kong. The reports said the captain, Lin Shou-wen, age 53,...
Cyprus, Greece and Israel Quietly Strengthen Their Mediterranean Alliance...
posted on: Jan 5, 2026
Attracting little publicity, Cyprus, Greece and Israel have deepened their military cooperation, signing a trilateral agreement in Cyprus last week that builds on a multiyear partnership between the three nations. Last week’s agreement, signed at technical level by military staff, covers joint air and naval exercises, training and intelligence cooperation. Greece is expected to take part once again in the Israeli-led naval Exercise Noble Dina in the Mediterranean in the spring. Exercise Noble Dina is an annual Israeli-led multinational exercise which normally takes place off the coasts of Greece and/or Cyprus. The exercise last year, from March 19 to April 3, practiced tactical maneuvering, commercial vessel escort duties, anti-submarine warfare, air-sea cooperation exercises and search and rescue operations. The technical agreement comes shortly after a broader agreement signed by Benjamin Netanyahu, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at a meeting in Jerusalem on December 22. This agreement...
In 26 Years Under Panamanian Ownership the Canal has Contributed $31.231 Billion to the Treasury...
posted on: Jan 5, 2026
FILE PHOTO: A view of the Balboa Port is pictured after Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison agreed to sell its interests in a key Panama Canal port operator to a BlackRock Inc-backed consortium, amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to curb China’s influence in the region, Panama City, Panama, March 4, 2025. REUTERS/Enea Lebrun/File Photo Panama: The Panama Canal has contributed a total of $31.231 billion to the treasury since its administration was transferred on this day 26 years ago by the United States to the Panamanian State. These multimillion-dollar contributions, which include the record figure of $2.965 billion corresponding to fiscal year 2025, are one of the “relevant milestones” described this Wednesday by the Panama Canal Administration as it commemorates another year of the transfer, which was agreed upon with the Torrijos-Carter agreements of 1977. “On the 26th anniversary of its transfer, the Panama Canal is consolidating itself as an engine of national development, with tangible results that directly impact the economy, logistical competitiveness and the...
Could 2026 be the make-or-break year of CK Hutchison’s Panama ports deal?...
posted on: Jan 5, 2026
Lam Ka-sing Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison’s US$22.8 billion global ports sale hung in the balance at the end of 2025, nearly 10 months after it was first announced, as a veteran political commentator said the most expensive terminal acquisition in history was unlikely to come to fruition amid geopolitical tensions. What began as a strategic exit for billionaire Li Ka-shing’s conglomerate devolved into a high-stakes geopolitical stand-off between Washington and Beijing over the control of global trade arteries. Professor Lau Siu-kai, consultant to the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a semi-official think tank, said he was sceptical about the future of the deal given the current geopolitical climate. “If the US and China cannot reach a consensus on the sale of the port terminals, completing the sale will be difficult. Given the strategic value of the terminals to China, Beijing will not approve the sale...
UAE Withdrawal Underway from Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Positions...
posted on: Jan 5, 2026
The deployment of Emirati forces in locations to the north and south of the Maritime Security Transit Corridor (MSTC) in the Gulf of Aden, and in similar positions dominating sea routes through the southern Red Sea, is currently in the middle of a significant upheaval. The process is ongoing, and it remains to be seen what Emirati footprint remains in the area once the withdrawal is announced as complete. This development comes after two advances in which allies and proxies of the United Arab Emirates made two dramatic moves to increase their dominance in the area. In the first, forces of the UAE-supported Southern Transition Council (STC) occupied positions in the Hadramawt and Mahra provinces of eastern Yemen, displacing forces aligned with Yemen’s International Recognized Government (IRG) and supported by the Saudis. As a coup de main, this was never likely to work long-term; locals in these areas enjoy...
Mystery as a Cargo of Shoes Likely Lost 150 Years Ago Washes Up in Wales...
posted on: Jan 4, 2026
A charitable organization dedicated to marine and environmental education has sparked a bit of mystery after reporting it has found a large quantity of 19th-century shoes stuck among the rocks in Wales. The Beach Academy put out a request for information and was surprised to hear this is not the first reported sighting of the mystery shoes. It began in early December when volunteers were working on a beach cleanup at Ogmore-by-Sea, a small town west of Cardiff. Located on the Bristol Channel, a busy shipping seaway, and near the historic seaports, they reported volunteers had retrieved leather shoes/boots from the rock pool zone. In one week, they retrieved over 200 shoes. Later counts said they were up to 400 boots. On examination, experts said they look like 19th-century Victorian-style hobnailed shoes. Some appear to be men’s sizes, and others were children’s or women’s shoes. Some were in very good...
Year in Review: The Maritime Stories That Defined 2025...
posted on: Jan 3, 2026
When historians chronicle 2025, they won’t remember it as the year shipping got more efficient or cleaner. They’ll remember it as the year the world’s oceans became a battlefield for national ambition, where every trade route doubled as a strategic asset and every voyage carried geopolitical weight. From the Arctic to the Red Sea, from Venezuelan waters to the Black Sea, maritime operations ceased being merely commercial and became instruments of state power. The transformation was swift and irreversible. Here’s a look at the maritime stories that defined 2025. Shipbuilding as Strategic Revival On April 9, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance,” elevating ports, shipyards, and trade lanes to national-security priorities. The message was clear: maritime strength wasn’t optional—it was existential. In December 2024, South Korea’s Hanwha acquired Philly Shipyard for $100 million, then shocked the industry with a $5 billion expansion plan to boost...
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The ‘Cadet Gridlock’ in Bangladesh’s Maritime Sector: A Sorrowful Story of Wasted Potential The ‘Cadet Gridlock’ in Bangladesh’s Maritime Sector: A Sorrowful Story of Wasted Potential By Minar Rashid 21E On 15 November, the BMCS Gala Night 2025 was held at Singapore’s Orchid Country Club. With the vibrant participation of hundreds of Bangladeshi mariners and their families, the event became a remarkable reunion […]
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