Maritime Briefing of 29 September 2026

The strike on 14 September hit a vessel that US officials would not name, other than to say it was not a US Navy ship; the Marines suffered smoke inhalation and possible concussion and have returned to duty. More than 10 million barrels a day of crude are now moving through the strait.

Quoted war risk premiums for Saudi-linked tankers calling at Yanbu have risen to about 3% of hull value from under 1% in early July, and to as much as 7% for ports further south such as Jizan, against 6% to 9% for Hormuz transits. Tankers with no Saudi connection pay 0.2% to 0.3% in the Red Sea.

A resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre by BRP Malabrigo and BRP Cabra on 24 September was suspended after a China Coast Guard vessel manoeuvred dangerously against the supply boat Lapu Lapu; nobody was hurt.

PNS/M Hangor hit a target in the North Arabian Sea on 27 September; the missile, its range and whether it was launched submerged were not disclosed. She is the first of eight boats, four built in China and four in Pakistan.

The Greek RoRo is off Tinos, where five tugs and other vessels are cooling her and keeping her stable.

Of 243 people aboard the Indonesian ferry, 108 survived and 71 are still missing; the search in the Java Sea has been extended by seven days.

The vessel, carrying about 100 people and cargo from Kigoma in Tanzania to Kalemie in the Democratic Republic of Congo, capsized off Mapera village; 49 were rescued.

Anitta Bhum, Benyapar Bhum and Chantisa Bhum are the first of eight ships for Regional Container Lines at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong and join its Far East services in October and November.

The Indian yard pays €2.3m for the stake in the Groningen ship design firm, its first equity participation in a foreign design house, to push into European short-sea and coastal shipping.

A team inspected land at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu for a yard with 2.5 million gt a year of capacity and about 15,000 direct jobs; Samsung Heavy Industries is working with Swan Shipyard instead.

The package placed through their joint venture Orizzonte Sistemi Navali includes about €1.3bn of options; the first 13,500-tonne ship is due in 2033.

The inland hulls, due in the fourth quarter of 2027 and the second quarter of 2028, take the series to six; the first, AM Lianova, will sail for Stream Shipping, Amer's joint venture with the German cooperative MSG, with skippers Bram and Lilian Timmer as co-owners.

The Caspian gas and condensate field, 100 km southeast of Baku, holds about 140bn cubic metres of recoverable gas.

The 100% interest covers water depths of 1,000 to 2,500 metres next to the North Hub developments run by Searah, its joint venture with Petronas.

Cross-sector earnings reached $66,421 a day, up 3% in a week and more than 50% since the end of August, nearly three times the long-term average.

About 8.5% of the global containership fleet, roughly 3m TEU, is absorbed by delays.

Direct contributions to the Treasury in fiscal 2027 are projected at $3.608bn, up 12.9%; the budget funds the Rio Indio reservoir, an energy corridor, port terminals and a logistics corridor.

Throughput reached 14.2m tonnes on higher aggregates and oil volumes, after 13m tonnes in the first quarter.

BIMCO puts the gain at 234 million barrels year to date, led by Venezuela and Guyana; Suezmaxes have taken 48% of the extra barrels.

The gauge read 6.10 metres on 27 September, the lowest since measurements began in 1866; one-way traffic is already in force on the Upper IJssel, with a diversion of up to 300 km for affected ships.

The court cleared him on 24 September of all six charges linked to Brazil's Operation Car Wash, on the prosecution's application after a stern warning in lieu of prosecution.