Vessel Hunter · Daily maritime briefing

Thursday, 15 October 2026

HS Dignity sinks, GEM No.2 hit at Sharjah, Suez returns

Drone strikes in the Black Sea and the Gulf, a new Malaysian no-bunkering zone, big ships back in Suez and tanker and FLNG deals, on 15 October 2026

7 stories5 sections4 min readVessel Hunter newsroom

Security

4 stories

**Bulgaria called off the search for the crew of HS Dignity on 14 October,** a day after a drone sank the cargo ship 17 nautical miles off Krapets; six crew were rescued and ten are missing. Our report of 14 October wrongly named Azov Concord as the ship that sank; Azov Concord helped pick up survivors.

HS Dignity sinks off Bulgaria as search for ten missing crew is called offFull story · Incident

Aerial view of a crude oil tanker at sea

**A drone hit the Panama-flagged tanker GEM No.2 at the Sharjah anchorage on 9 October,** and all 22 Indian crew are safe. UKMTO reported a tanker and a containership struck north of Musandam on 13 October.

GEM No.2 tanker hit by drone at Sharjah anchorage as two more ships are struck near HormuzFull story · Incident

US Central Command said on 10 October that 135 ships had been turned around since the US resumed its blockade of Iranian ports on 14 July,

four commercial ships had been disabled and ten tankers linked to the IRGC's shadow network destroyed. On 10 October US forces disabled a Panama-flagged bulk carrier they said was trying to run the blockade.

Japan's cabinet approved three bills on 13 October to subsidise the extra cost of importing oil from outside the Strait of Hormuz,

support tanker insurance and finance alternative oil transport infrastructure.

Ports and regulation

4 stories

Aerial view of an oil tanker and an LPG carrier at anchor

Malaysia has banned bunkering, most anchoring and cargo ships and tankers over 300 metres by 40 metres in a new Marine Sensitive Area

at the eastern approaches to the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, with fines of up to MYR 1 million.

Malaysia bans bunkering and big ships in new sensitive area off the Singapore StraitFull story · Industry

Container ships over 130,000 net tons made 166 Suez Canal transits in the third quarter, against 16 a year earlier,

and the 24,212 TEU CMA CGM Pantheon made her first transit on 13 October.

Suez Canal large container transits jump tenfold as CMA CGM Pantheon makes first passageFull story · Port activity

**The Port of Melbourne handled 323,301 TEU in August, up 13.1% year on year,** with transhipment up 56.1% to 23,000 TEU. Motor-vehicle traffic rose 33.9% to 847,000 revenue tonnes and dry bulk 56.7% to 577,000, while liquid bulk fell 26.3%. The port handled 3.52m TEU in the year to June 2026, its second record year in a row.

BIMCO adopted the Energy Saving Device Retrofit Addendum 2026 on 8 October,

a framework for owners and time charterers to agree how the cost, off-hire time and fuel and emissions savings of a retrofit are shared during an existing charter.

Tankers and gas

4 stories

**Larine Tankers has sold the 2016-built LR1s Bluebird and Starling to UAE buyers for $110m,** leaving the Odfjell-family-linked owner with no ships.

Larine Tankers sells LR1 pair Bluebird and Starling to UAE buyers for $110mFull story · Vessel sales

A VLCC owned by Sinokor was put on subjects at a lump sum of $81m for a US Gulf to Asia voyage loading in late November,

the highest level since assessments of the route began in 2017. The Baltic Exchange composite VLCC earnings stood at $936,646 a day on 9 October, up 350.8% since 13 July.

**Golar LNG is buying NYK's 2013-built LNG carrier Grace Dahlia as the donor hull for its fourth FLNG,** for redelivery from Yantai in 2029.

Golar LNG buys NYK's Grace Dahlia as donor hull for its fourth FLNGFull story · Vessel sales

India's Aegis Logistics has agreed to buy 89.8% of Dubai-based Tristar for $809m,

taking control of a group with tanker and dry bulk shipping operations, from shareholders including Agility, Gulf Investment Corporation and Diamond Holdings.

Offshore

3 stories

Transocean has added about $1.1bn to backlog after Equinor approved a $1bn deal for three semisubmersibles

and Norske Shell hired Transocean Norge for two wells. Seadrill, meanwhile, lost its appeal in the Hercules redelivery dispute with SFL.

Transocean adds $1.1bn to backlog with Equinor approval and Transocean Norge dealFull story · Industry

Danish accommodation specialist CBED has bought the 2014-built CSOV Seaway Moxie from Seaway7

and renamed her Wind Dedication, its fourth ship. The UK-flagged vessel can accommodate up to 60 people.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has bought 25% of the Five Estuaries offshore wind project in the UK from a Macquarie-led consortium,

the project's second ownership change in a matter of days.

Shipbuilding

4 stories

Hengli Heavy Industries has signed contracts for 11 very large ammonia carriers of 88,000 to 93,000 cbm in a single week

The yard, built on the former STX Dalian site, launched its first 93,000 cbm VLAC on 23 June 2026. Tsakos has also ordered two 3,200 TEU containerships there for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2028.

Cochin Shipyard plans about ₹6,000 crore of investment,

a steel block fabrication facility at Vallarpadam and a shipbuilding and repair unit at V. O. Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi. Its order book stands at about ₹22,300 crore.

**Japan launched the seventh Taigei-class submarine, Shogei, at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Kobe on 8 October.** The 3,000-tonne boat cost about ¥80.5bn and is due for delivery in March 2028.

The US Navy is seeking up to five prime contractors for a $15bn overhaul of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton,

including a carrier-sized drydock. Bids are due on 1 December.

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