Maritime news

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

• Frontline secures multi-year cover for VLCC quartet
  Splash247 · 8/28/2026

  Frontline has taken advantage of the red-hot VLCC market to lock four ships into term charters, securing rates of up to $120,000 per day and adding longer-term earnings cover at levels rarely seen in the sector. The John Fredriksen-backed tanker giant has fixed two newly delivered VLCCs for one year each at $120,000 pe

• Indian Oil Tanker Turns Back After Iranian Warship Warning In Strait Of Hormuz
  Marine Insight · 8/28/2026

  The tanker, HAANA, was trying to use the southern route, known as the "Oman corridor", when a large Iranian warship warned it.

• Port Automation: The Reality Nobody Tells You
  Marine Insight · 8/28/2026

  Port automation requires more than AI; workforce skills & phased rollouts matter. Discover how modular TOS tech like Infyz iTOMS boosts terminal efficiency.

• Indian Navy Receives First Indigenous Multi-Purpose Vessel ‘Samarthak’
  Marine Insight · 8/28/2026

  The vessel can launch and recover different types of aerial, surface and underwater targets for gunnery and anti-submarine warfare exercises.

• Royal Navy Led Multinational Task Force Prevents 25 Piracy Attempts In Indian Ocean During 6-Month Deployment
  Marine Insight · 8/28/2026 · piracy

  Combined Task Force 151 has succeeded in keeping piracy related activities in check during their short 6-month deployment in the Indian Ocean.

• Record profits for Frontline as tanker fundamentals take a back seat
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/28/2026

  John Fredriksen owned tanker company rakes in $659 million in the second quarter of the year

• Splash Wrap: The price of passage
  Splash247 · 8/28/2026

  Shipping spent this week paying ever more extravagant sums for something that used to be taken largely for granted: passage. War, drought, congestion and regulation have turned the journey from A to B into an increasingly complicated calculation of risk, availability and price. This week showed just how expensive keepi

• Russia Strikes Ukrainian Ports, Industrial Plants, Storage Sites & Retailers With 258 Drones & Missiles Overnight
  Marine Insight · 8/28/2026

  Russia carried out a massive attack against Ukrainian port facilities, industrial plants, grain storage sites, distribution hubs and other vital energy and civil infrastructure.

• Hafnia cashes out of Andromeda joint venture
  Splash247 · 8/28/2026

  Product tanker giant Hafnia has cashed out its stake in a joint venture with Monaco-based Andromeda Shipping, booking a $13.3m profit as it continues to prune older tonnage from its fleet. The BW Group-controlled owner sold its 50% interest in the two MR tankers held through H&A Shipping during the third quarter. Hafni

• Seaspan takes the renminbi into the global P&I market
  Splash247 · 8/28/2026

  Bing Chen-led Seaspan is taking the internationalisation of the renminbi into marine insurance, becoming the first overseas shipowner to pay protection and indemnity calls to China P&I Club in the Chinese currency. The containership lessor and China Shipowners Mutual Assurance Association signed an agreement in Shangha

• Japan set to tweak shipping tax regime
  Splash247 · 8/28/2026

  Japan is preparing a broad review of the tax regime supporting its international shipping industry as Tokyo increasingly treats control over ships and maritime transport as an economic security issue. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s Maritime Bureau announced Friday it intends to consider f

• K Line steps back into VLCC newbuild market
  Splash247 · 8/28/2026

  Japanese shipping major Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) has returned to the VLCC newbuilding market with an order for three 311,000 dwt ships at compatriot Nihon Shipyard. The company confirmed the contracts on Friday, with deliveries scheduled from 2029 onwards. Pricing and propulsion details have not been disclosed. T

• ONE’s Yusen Terminals 30-year lease extension in Port of LA
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/28/2026

  The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved a 30-year lease with Yusen Terminals

• Seafarer dock work battle heads towards EU court
  Splash247 · 8/28/2026

  A European legal battle over whether ships’ crews can be required to undertake cargo handling work in port has widened after the European Trade Union Confederation was allowed to intervene in an appeal before the Court of Appeal of The Hague. The case centres on the International Transport Workers’ Federation’s Non-Sea

• U.S. Military Says It Has Cleared Iran’s Mines From Strait of Hormuz Shipping Lanes
  gCaptain · 8/28/2026

  U.S. Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper says U.S. forces have cleared sea mines laid by Iran from the internationally recognized shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, offering new...

• Iran War Diplomacy Turns Toward Reopening Hormuz
  gCaptain · 8/28/2026

  Iran war mediators have placed renewed emphasis on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran agreeing to draw up a list of conditions to restore normal traffic after a Qatari emissary pressed the Iranians to respect freedom of navigation.

• USTR and China port fees could return in just 10 weeks
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/28/2026

  No agreement has been reached between the US and China over multi-million dollar port fees suspended in November 2025

• OOCL H1 profit down despite higher revenues and volumes
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/28/2026

  New vessel deliveries could put container freight rates under pressure as the peak season ends

• Trump Renames Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’ Amid Canada Trade Fight
  gCaptain · 8/27/2026

  President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the U.S. government to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” extending his administration’s campaign to rename prominent geographic features into the middle of an...

• Coast Guard Offers 120-Day Relief for Mariners Caught in Credentialing Backlog
  gCaptain · 8/27/2026

  The U.S. Coast Guard is offering temporary relief to some merchant mariners whose credentials expired while their renewal applications were caught in a processing backlog at the National Maritime Center....

• Black Sea Tensions Lead Grain Buyers to Tap Baltic States
  gCaptain · 8/27/2026

  Baltic grain exporters are seeing a boost in demand as blocked supplies from the Black Sea region are spurring buyers to seek alternative sources.

• Hormuz Oil Flows Rising as Gulf Giants’ Ramp Up Accelerates
  gCaptain · 8/27/2026

  (Bloomberg) — The flow of crude through the Strait of Hormuz is creeping higher as producers across the Middle East boost exports in the face of Iran’s lingering threat to...

• MacGregor Leads Lashing Innovation with Hippo Fully Automatic Twistlock and Balanced Lashing System
  gCaptain · 8/27/2026

  MacGregor has experienced a highly positive trend in the demand for its cargo securing innovations in 2026, driven by strong market uptake of its ACV-1 Hippo fully automatic twistlock (FAT)...

• Tanker Hit in Strait of Hormuz as Trump Declares ‘Mission Accomplished’ in Iran
  gCaptain · 8/27/2026

  Another tanker has been struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the continued risks to commercial shipping even as President Donald Trump declared victory in Iran...

• Iran And Oman Reach Agreement On Strait Of Hormuz Control And Revenue Sharing
  Marine Insight · 8/27/2026

  Commercial ships still face risks in the area, even though active fighting between the United States and Iran has eased in recent weeks.

• Shipping Company Pays Record $5.3 Million To Transit Panama Canal Amid Rising Demand
  Marine Insight · 8/27/2026 · wages

  South Korea's SK Gas has agreed to pay a record $5.3 million to secure a Panama Canal transit slot for its LPG carrier G. Spirit on Sept. 1

• Video: US Kills 4 In Strike On Suspected Drug-Smuggling Boat In Caribbean, Death Toll Hits 227
  Marine Insight · 8/27/2026

  Two days earlier, a U.S. strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific killed two people. It was the first such strike in over two months.

• CMB.Tech rides tanker boom but sounds warning on record orderbook
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/27/2026

  Strong crude tanker markets drove VLCC and suezmax earnings to more than three times year-ago levels as CMB.Tech continued to cash in on high asset values.

• U.S Navy’s USS Boxer Slated For Up To $180 Million Overhaul After Middle East Deployment
  Marine Insight · 8/27/2026

  USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship of the U.S Navy, will undergo a major overhaul at the San Diego yard of BAE Systems until October 2028.

• China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Overtakes Singapore To Become World’s Second-Largest Container Port
  Marine Insight · 8/27/2026

  Ningbo-Zhoushan handled 22.90 million TEU in the first half of 2026, an 8.8% increase from the same period last year.

• Tanker Catches Fire After Being Hit By ‘Unknown Projectile’ In Strait Of Hormuz
  Marine Insight · 8/27/2026 · accident

  Iran has attacked vessels it accuses of bypassing its preferred route and has tried to charge tolls to vessels passing through the waterway.

• Japan Plans To Build Pipeline Network Through Strait of Hormuz To Secure Energy Supplies
  Marine Insight · 8/27/2026

  Japan is planning to construct a pipeline network bypassing the strategic Strait of Hormuz, to reduce its dependence on critical maritime chokepoints.

• Over 70 Ships Await Clearance Near Danube’s Sulina Canal To Load Ukrainian Grain
  Marine Insight · 8/27/2026

  70 ships are stuck near the Sulina Canal, waiting to load grain at Ukrainian Ports.

• ADNOC L&S adds LNG carrier pair at Jiangnan Shipyard
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/27/2026

  The Abu Dhabi-based shipping company has placed six LNG carriers order from the Chinese shipyard this year

• Efficiency critical in volatile regulatory climate says DNV
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/27/2026

  In a significant shift in position DNV emphasised the need for vessel efficiency in its 10th Energy Transition Outlook, rather than using LNG as an alternative or bridging fuel

• Indian Navy Monitors Safe Transit Of 2 Merchant Ships Through Bab-el-Mandeb Strait
  Marine Insight · 8/27/2026

  The operation is part of the Navy’s continuing efforts to ensure safe movement of essential cargo to and from India.

• India Plans 100 More Merchant Ships Over Next 5 Years To Cut Reliance On Foreign Shipping Lines
  Marine Insight · 8/27/2026

  Indian ship owners say it's currently 16-20% more expensive to operate under the Indian flag than under a foreign one.

• Contact of the roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry Stena Estrid with a jetty, resulting in a hull puncture and engine room flooding
  MAIB (UK) · 8/27/2026
• Optimizing vessel time in port: a shared responsibility
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/27/2026

  How port authorities, terminal operators, and carriers all have a role to play in ensuring efficient turnaround times

• Shipping Traffic Through Strait of Hormuz Rises Slightly, Data Shows
  gCaptain · 8/27/2026

  Shipping traffic at the Strait of Hormuzrose slightly even as a geopolitical standoff persisted between the United States and Iran, while the market also monitored Iran-Oman talks about the waterway, data showed on Thursday.

• Chinese Container Liners Head for Profit Jump as Rates Surge
  gCaptain · 8/27/2026

  Chinese container liners are set for an earnings windfall, echoing regional and global peers, as a rush to get ahead of shifting tariffs and persistent shipping disruptions has driven freight rates to a two-year high.

• Tidewater eyes further acquisitions following Brazil expansion
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/27/2026

  Bringing Wilson Sons Ultratug Offshore into the Tidewater stable will increase its fleet to 225 vessels

• Another tanker struck in Strait of Hormuz
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/27/2026

  Reports say the attack caused a fire on the vessel transiting the Middle East waterway

• Iran-Oman Hormuz plan adds complexity but little hope of reopening
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/27/2026

  Plans for a temporary corridor and joint administration of the Strait of Hormuz risk clashing with US demands for unrestricted freedom of navigation.

• BASS Software rolls out unified platform for maritime operations
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/27/2026

  Shipping software provider launches integrated SaaS suite unifying maintenance, procurement and HSEQ modules

• Davie Adds Six Canadian Icebreakers to Growing Arctic Shipbuilding Portfolio
  gCaptain · 8/26/2026

  Davie Shipbuilding has formally secured a US $8 billion fixed-price contract to build six new icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard, providing new details on one of the largest pieces...

• CMA CGM Joins $434 Million Expansion of Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Port
  gCaptain · 8/26/2026

  Red Sea Gateway Terminal and CMA CGM Group have agreed to invest an initial $434 million to develop a new container terminal at Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Islamic Port, adding up...

• World Maritime Forum 2027 returns to Copenhagen with fleet strategy in focus on February 23 - 24
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/26/2026
• Höegh Autoliners adds six car carriers at China Merchants
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/26/2026

  Höegh Autoliners expands Aurora-Class newbuilding programme to a maximum of 26 vessels

• $434m investment to boost capacity at Jeddah Islamic Port
  Seatrade Maritime · 8/26/2026

  Red Sea Gateway Terminal and CMA CGM are to develop and operate a further terminal at the Jeddah port