Topic
Seafarers
Every Vessel Hunter story on Seafarers: 31 stories, from 1 July 2026 to 14 October 2026. Newest: "Azov Concord sinks and Chelsea 3 is hit as drones strike two ships off Bulgaria". Each story links to the ships and ports it names, so a name in the text opens the record behind it.
Azov Concord sinks and Chelsea 3 is hit as drones strike two ships off Bulgaria
Drones struck two cargo ships in Bulgaria's Black Sea economic zone on 13 October. The Azov Concord sank off Krapets and the Chelsea 3 was towed into Varna.
Stena Imperator and Stena Superior join the Swedish register
Stena Bulk has moved the product tanker Stena Imperator and the Suezmax Stena Superior to the Swedish flag, the fourth and fifth ships of its programme.
MAIB: Arvia lift moved on a stored call while a technician was in the shaft
A Filipino electrical technician was crushed in a lift shaft on Arvia after the lift was returned to normal mode and answered a stored call, the MAIB has found.
Two seafarers missing after drone hits Petro Dolphin off Sohar as IRGC widens threat
Two Indian seafarers are missing after a drone hit the tanker Petro Dolphin at Sohar anchorage on 11 October, two days after the IRGC extended its threat beyond Hormuz.
Estonia drops €10m-a-year ferry aid as Tallink warns ships may leave the flag
Estonia has removed nearly €10m a year in passenger shipping aid from its 2027-2030 budget plans. Tallink says reflagging has become more likely.
Twelve seafarers injured as LR2 tanker On Peace is hit in the Strait of Hormuz
A projectile hit the Panama-flagged LR2 On Peace in the Strait of Hormuz, injuring 12 of her 19 crew. Oman flew ten casualties to Khasab as crew hazard pay climbs.
Five crew killed on Honour 25 as Puntland forces retake hijacked tanker
Five crew of the product tanker Honour 25 were killed as Puntland forces retook the ship from Somali pirates on 29 September, while pirates holding the Eureka drove her ashore and fled.
MARAD orders training ship Empire State to sail for Norfolk on 30 September
The Maritime Administration has issued a sailing order for SUNY Maritime College's training ship Empire State, which leaves the Bronx on 30 September for Norfolk and follow-on operations supporting the US Navy.
Seafarer killed as capesize Cape Dao is struck and left adrift in Hormuz
A 26-year-old Indian wiper was killed when two projectiles hit the capesize Cape Dao off Oman's Musandam peninsula on 23 September, setting her engine room on fire and leaving her adrift.
Maritime Briefing of 23 September 2026
Transpetrol enters the LR1 segment, Taiwan gets a home-based cable layer, LS Marine books a record cable contract, and the European List of recycling yards becomes a fight.
Master Killed in Black Sea Drone Attack as Turkey Circulates Truce Text
A drone strike on a Ukraine-bound Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship killed the master and injured three crew, days after Turkey handed Russia and Ukraine a draft memorandum on ending attacks on merchant shipping.
Gottlieb Detained at Brake Over Steering Gear and Hidden Engines
German authorities detained the Barbados-flagged cargo ship Gottlieb at Brake after a pilot reported failing steering gear, and found three auxiliary diesels missing from her certificates.
Three Ships With Indian Crews Struck in Two Days Near the Strait of Hormuz
An LPG carrier and two crude tankers carrying Indian crew were hit on 8 and 9 September; all those on board survived, but 173 Indian seafarers remain on ships west of the Strait of Hormuz.
Georgia Moves to Let Ships With Ten or More Crew Sail a Month Without a Qualified Cook
A legislative package before the Georgian parliament would let the Maritime Transport Agency waive the qualified cook requirement in cases of exceptional necessity.
IMO Says 400 Ships and 6,000 Seafarers Still Cannot Leave the Persian Gulf
Washington says the mines are cleared and the transit routes are open; tracking data shows a trickle of ships out and very few going back in.
IMO Says More Than 90 Seafarers Are Held as Piracy Returns to the Gulf of Aden
At least 15 attacks have been recorded this year against five in the whole of 2025, with the hijacking of the tanker Seamull on 20 August the most recent.
Turkish and Somali Forces Retake the Hijacked Coaster Lutuf off Somalia
The Cameroon-flagged general cargo ship Lutuf has been recovered nearly two weeks after Somali pirates seized it while it was carrying supplies to a Turkish military base in Mogadishu.
IMO Says 400 Ships and 6,000 Seafarers Still Cannot Leave the Gulf
The IMO says up to 400 ships carrying around 6,000 seafarers have been unable to leave the Persian Gulf safely since the conflict began.
IMO Demands Release of More Than 90 Seafarers Held by Pirates
The IMO has demanded the immediate release of more than 90 seafarers held by pirates and armed robbers, with six vessels now detained after a resurgence of attacks.
Two Crews From Two Conflicts Fly Home To Manila On The Same Night
Two flights arriving at Manila about two hours apart brought home seafarers from separate attacks in conflicts 2,000 miles distant from one another.
Indian Dhow Sunk In Red Sea With Fourteen Crew Rescued
An Indian-registered dhow was sunk in the Red Sea off Yemen after an attack, with all fourteen people aboard rescued by the Yemeni coast guard and landed at Mokha.
India Monitors Six Ships And 166 Seafarers Near Hormuz After Crew Death
India is monitoring six Indian-flagged vessels and the safety of 166 Indian seafarers operating in the Persian Gulf and near the Strait of Hormuz, as attacks on merchant shipping continue across two separate conflict zones.
Seafarer happiness falls again as workload and wages bite
Seafarer morale has fallen for a second consecutive quarter, with the leading welfare index recording 6.87 out of ten for the second quarter of 2026 against 7.18 in the first quarter.
India confirms attack on LPG tanker in Iranian waters
India has confirmed an attack on an LPG tanker carrying 28 Indian crew in Iranian waters, hours after a seafarer was killed in the Black Sea.
Crew member found dead aboard cruise ship at Italian port
Italian authorities are investigating the death of a 33-year-old crew member found in her cabin after a cruise ship docked at La Spezia, with the cause of death not yet confirmed.
Five seafarers killed in Black Sea port strike
Five seafarers have been killed and 12 injured after a strike on a merchant ship working cargo at a port in Ukraine's Odesa region, one of the deadliest single strikes on commercial shipping of the war.
Six seafarers abandoned aboard detained ship in Las Palmas
Six seafarers remain stranded on a Turkish-owned vessel detained in Las Palmas, owed around $68,000 in unpaid wages.
Shipping struggles to stamp out illegal recruitment fees
Research by IHRB and TURTLE finds 31% of seafarers have been asked to pay illegal recruitment fees, prompting a new industry toolkit backed by more than 30 organisations.
Hormuz is a test of trust for shipmanagers
In a contributed piece, InterManager president Sebastian von Hardenberg argues the Strait of Hormuz crisis is a direct test of trust between shipmanagers, owners, crews and their families.
Hormuz moves from shutdown to managed recovery
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is recovering under heavy restrictions as the IMO oversees the evacuation of more than 11,000 stranded seafarers, in what Windward calls the clearest sign yet of returning normalcy.
Officer shortage risks exceeding 100,000 by 2030
The shipping industry needs over 113,000 additional certified officers by 2030, according to the BIMCO/ICS Seafarer Workforce Report 2026, which warns of a widening structural shortage.
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