Maritime news

Headlines aggregated from the maritime press. Links go straight to the source — Seafarer Index does not reproduce full articles.

• IMO chief urges states to stop attacks on merchant shipping
  Seatrade Maritime · 9/16/2026 · regulation

  IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez has called on governments to prevent geopolitical conflicts being used to justify attacks on civilian ships and seafarers.

• IMO Net-Zero Framework penalties could face FMC threat in US
  Seatrade Maritime · 9/14/2026 · regulation

  Carriers passing proposed net-zero compliance costs to shippers risk significant regulatory scrutiny, contract suspensions, and port bans, law firm warns

• WSC asks IMO to address small battery safety gap
  Seatrade Maritime · 9/14/2026 · regulation

  Exempt small lithium-ion batteries are being shipped in large quantities in containers without the need to declare the units as dangerous goods

• World Shipping Council Calls for IMO Action on Lithium Battery Cargo Safety Gap
  gCaptain · 9/11/2026 · regulation

  The World Shipping Council is urging governments to close what it says is a dangerous loophole in international shipping rules that can allow containers packed with thousands of lithium batteries...

• IMO Urged to Give Shipping Clear Investment Signal on Net Zero Pathway
  gCaptain · 9/11/2026 · regulation

  The Getting to Zero Coalition is calling on International Maritime Organization member states to preserve a strong and predictable Net-Zero Framework as negotiations over shipping’s global emissions rules head into...

• Sanctions-Evasion Networks & Diverging Rules Risk Creating A 2-Tier Maritime System
  Marine Insight · 9/9/2026 · regulation, enforcement

  More than 80% of world trade is carried by sea, making a stable shipping system important for global supply chains and the wider economy.

• Shipping powers warn global maritime rulebook is breaking down
  Splash247 · 9/8/2026 · regulation

  Eighteen of the world’s leading maritime nations have issued an unusually stark warning that the international rules underpinning global shipping are being eroded, threatening to fragment both maritime markets and global trade. In a public statement titled In defence of free shipping, the Consultative Shipping Group (C

• IMO carbon price heads for December showdown
  Splash247 · 9/7/2026 · regulation

  Shipping’s proposed global carbon price has survived another bruising week at the International Maritime Organization, with a clear majority of countries continuing to back the core architecture of the Net-Zero Framework ahead of a decisive round of talks in December. Nearly 1,200 delegates participated in last week’s

• Spirit of IMO alive, but Net Zero Framework progress limited
  Seatrade Maritime · 9/7/2026 · regulation

  Following the end of the MEPC’s Intersessional Working Group on GHG the feeling was that the collaborative resolve remained but there was little tangible progress

• Madrid tweaks shipbuilding support rules amid yard revival
  Splash247 · 9/7/2026 · regulation

  Spain has widened the rules governing state-backed ship financing, allowing previously approved projects to amend their subsidy awards when construction contracts or financing structures change substantially before delivery. Royal Decree, which entered into force on September 4, plugs a gap left by revisions to Spain’s

• IMO Net-Zero Framework Holds Ground After Latest Round of Climate Talks
  gCaptain · 9/4/2026 · regulation

  The International Maritime Organization’s Net-Zero Framework emerged largely intact from another round of negotiations this week, despite a push by the United States and several oil-producing countries to weaken or...

• ABS and JB Energy Sign MOU to Support Floating Offshore Wind Development in Brazil
  gCaptain · 9/3/2026 · regulation

  ABS and JB Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on strategic studies for the proposed Aura Sul Wind Project, a floating offshore wind pilot under consideration...

• Panama Canal Loosens Neopanamax Booking Rules as Capacity Tightens
  gCaptain · 8/30/2026 · regulation

  The Panama Canal is temporarily relaxing key elements of its Neopanamax booking system, giving shipping companies more flexibility to secure transit slots as the waterway prepares for reduced capacity and...

• IMO Net-Zero Talks Resume With Carbon Pricing at Center of Debate
  gCaptain · 8/28/2026 · regulation

  Governments will return to London next week for another round of negotiations over the International Maritime Organization’s Net-Zero Framework, with countries still sharply divided over the future of the landmark...

• IMO calls for action as Somali pirates hold more than 90 seafarers
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/25/2026 · piracy, regulation

  Secretary-general demands the unconditional release of captive crews of six ships, warns that piracy is posing a serious threat to regional shipping.

• IMO Progresses Work On Ship Emissions, Pollution, And Ocean Protection
  Marine Insight · 5/2/2026 · regulation

  The Committee will resume its Second Extraordinary Session on Friday 4 December 2026, subject to confirmation by the 85th session.

• IMO Adopts World’s Largest Emission Control Area To Regulate Ship Emissions In North-East Atlantic
  Marine Insight · 5/2/2026 · regulation

  Ships operating these waters will face binding limits on the maximum fuel sulfur content to control sulfur oxides and fine particulate matter.

• IMO Climate Talks Stay Alive as Carbon Plan Survives U.S. Pushback at MEPC 84
  gCaptain · 5/1/2026 · regulation

  The International Maritime Organization has kept its landmark shipping climate framework alive following a week of high-stakes negotiations in London, setting up a decisive endgame later this year after deep divisions again...

• Decision on IMO NZF deferred to November
  Seatrade Maritime · 5/1/2026 · regulation

  Prospects for NZF adoption improve at MEPC 84 as atmosphere around decarbonisation discussions improves.

• IMO Carbon Plan for Shipping Faces Growing Revolt as U.S. Courts ‘Silent Majority’
  gCaptain · 4/30/2026 · regulation

  The U.S. is intensifying its push against the International Maritime Organization’s proposed global carbon pricing regime, with Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Laura DiBella urging member states this week to consider alternatives to the stalled Net Zero Framework (NZF) during high-level talks in London.

• ABS and PIL ink MoU on verifying emissions reductions
  Seatrade Maritime · 4/30/2026 · regulation

  Singapore shipping line seeks third party verification of emissions reductions

• Mexico kicks-off IMO NZF debate
  Seatrade Maritime · 4/29/2026 · regulation

  The crucial debate at this month’s MEPC on the Net Zero Framework was launched with a full-throated defence of the regulation by US free trade partner Mexico

• Is the tide turning against US opposition to the IMO NZF?
  Seatrade Maritime · 4/28/2026 · regulation

  Deliberations on the IMO’s Net Zero Framework continue as the US and its allies attempt to swing the vote against the regulation

• Freedom of navigation non-negotiable – IMO Secretary-General
  Seatrade Maritime · 4/28/2026 · regulation

  Arsenio Dominguez tells the UN there is no legal basis for Iran to introduce tolls on the Strait of Hormuz

• FMC Chair Joins U.S. Opposition to IMO Carbon Plan With Warning
  gCaptain · 4/27/2026 · regulation

  The chair of the Federal Maritime Commission has joined the U.S. delegation to high-stakes climate talks at the UN’s International Maritime Organization, accompanied by an explicit warning that could signal a more confrontational...

• IMO Chief Warns ‘No Safe Transit’ in Hormuz, Rejects Tolls at U.N. Security Council
  gCaptain · 4/27/2026 · regulation

  The head of the International Maritime Organization used a rare appearance before the United Nations Security Councilon Monday to deliver some of his strongest statements yet that the crisis in the Strait of...

• Seafarer Shares First-Hand Account With IMO About Being Stranded In Persian Gulf
  Marine Insight · 4/27/2026 · regulation

  IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has called on all Member States to support efforts to address the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.

• Elemental forces set to collide in IMO NZF battle
  Seatrade Maritime · 4/27/2026 · regulation

  Will the dinosaurs win the day and keep maritime in fossil fuel, or can the progressives maintain the net zero momentum, the battle lines have been drawn

• EU Revives Fight for Global Shipping Carbon Price, Setting Up IMO Clash With U.S.
  gCaptain · 4/24/2026 · regulation

  European Union countries agreed on Friday to keep pushing for a global price on shipping's CO2 emissions in U.N. talks next week, setting up another potential clash with the United States over the proposal.

• Seafarer safety paramount in Hormuz evacuation: IMO Secretary-General
  Seatrade Maritime · 4/21/2026 · regulation

  All security conditions need to be met for a safe evacuation plan for 20,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf to be activated says Arsenio Dominguez