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Hapag-Lloyd Buys 25 Percent of APM Terminals Maasvlakte II
Hapag-Lloyd is taking a quarter of the automated Rotterdam terminal at the centre of the Gemini network, its terminal arm's latest move toward a 30-facility portfolio.

Maersk Drops Its Fleet Cap as Capacity Passes 4.7m TEU
Maersk has abandoned the 4.0 to 4.4 million teu ceiling that defined its strategy for the decade, with its operated fleet already past 4.7 million teu and CMA CGM closing the gap.

MSC Reaches 500 Secondhand Boxship Purchases Since 2020
MSC has bought its 500th secondhand containership since August 2020, taking its operated fleet from about 3.8m teu to close to 7.4m teu and more than 21 percent of global capacity.

Romanian F-16s Destroy Explosive Drone at Neptun Deep Gas Field
Two Romanian fighter jets were sent to disable a loitering naval drone found next to an active work area at the Neptun Deep gas project, where several hundred people were working.

CK Hutchison Files Second Panama Claim Seeking $1.5 Billion
CK Hutchison has opened a second arbitration against Panama over the Balboa and Cristobal concession, claiming more than $1.5 billion for breaches of investment protection treaties.

U.S. Sanctions Ten Ecuadorian Fishing Vessels Over Cocaine Runs
Fifteen Ecuadorian individuals and companies and ten fishing vessels have been designated for moving cocaine and supporting go-fast boats bound for Central America and Mexico.

Pirates Seize Sanctioned Product Tanker East of Al Mukalla
A 32,238 dwt product tanker sanctioned by OFAC in December 2025 is being steered toward Bosaso after six armed pirates boarded it 136 nautical miles east of Al Mukalla.

Panama Canal Cuts Daily Transits to 32 From September 3
Daily transits drop from 34 to 32 on September 3 and fall again on September 15, with unbooked ships already waiting more than eight days to get through.

DP World Lands First Cranes Under 30-Year Tartous Concession
DP World has taken delivery of the first cranes at the Port of Tartous under a 30-year concession, the opening step in an investment programme running through 2028.

Global Tug Deliveries Reach 177 in the First Half of 2026
A total of 177 port tugs and inland pushers were delivered worldwide in the first half of 2026, up from 173 a year earlier, driven by new port development and fleet modernisation.

Carriers Raise Panama Canal Surcharges as Gatun Lake Falls
Falling water levels at Gatun Lake have brought stricter draft restrictions, and CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and MSC have all announced significant Panama Canal surcharges.

Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia Weigh Coordinated Coast Guard Patrols
The three coast guard chiefs have signed Notes of Discussion on information sharing, training and coordinated responses to cross-border threats, and are weighing coordinated patrols.

Port of Hamburg Throughput Falls 3.1 Percent in First Half of 2026
Hamburg handled 56.1 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, down 3.1 percent, with container volumes of 4.0 million TEU and a marked 13.5 percent fall in cargo handling with the United States.

Suezmax Skiros Attacked After Loading at the CPC Terminal
The Greek-run Suezmax Skiros was attacked in the Black Sea after loading Russian-origin crude at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal near Novorossiysk, with no injuries or pollution reported.

Sanctioned Ships Account for 58 Percent of Tanker Scrapping in 2026
Sanctioned vessels are taking an extraordinary share of the tanker recycling market this year, with 22 blacklisted tankers making up 58 percent of all reported tanker demolition sales.

Covert Hormuz Crossings Are Holding Global Oil Prices in Check
Middle Eastern producers are shuttling crude out of the Persian Gulf undetected and transferring it to tankers in the Gulf of Oman, keeping Brent between $80 and $90 through August.

Russia Builds an LNG Shadow Fleet Ahead of the EU's 2027 Ban
Russia is assembling a shadow fleet of LNG carriers ahead of the EU's complete ban on Russian LNG imports from January 2027, buying up ageing tonnage the industry is already retiring.

Everllence and Hudong-Zhonghua to Design 180,000 cbm LNG Carrier
Everllence has signed an engineering design agreement with Hudong-Zhonghua covering a 180,000 cubic metre class LNG carrier using a dual-fuel electric propulsion system.

ALAM Maritim Chief Returns to Post After Anti-Corruption Remand
Malaysian offshore services firm ALAM Maritim says its group managing director was remanded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for two days and has resumed his executive roles.

Hydrophone Study Records One Fishing Blast an Hour off Sulawesi
A single hydrophone in the Spermonde Archipelago recorded an average of 23 blasts every 24 hours, suggesting bomb fishing is far more common in hotspot areas than previously believed.

BlackSea Revives the LASH Concept for Floating ISO Containers
Blacksea Technologies has scaled down the Cold War Lighter Aboard Ship concept into an autonomous 85-foot vessel that carries watertight, floating ISO containers instead of barges.

US Lifts 12-Year Security Restriction on Vessels Calling Nigeria
The US Coast Guard has lifted the Conditions of Entry imposed on vessels calling at Nigerian terminals in 2014, removing enhanced scrutiny that had weighed on turnaround times and costs.

Australia and China Trace 91 Containers in Tobacco Smuggling Sweep
The Australian Border Force and China Customs identified 112 suspicious containers, with 91 confirmed as smuggled tobacco carrying about US$65 million in unpaid duty.

Indonesia Seizes 2.6 Tonnes of Methamphetamine on Tanzanian-Flagged Ship
Indonesian police and customs seized 2.6 tonnes of liquid methamphetamine from a Tanzanian-registered general cargo ship off Bengkalis, detaining 10 Myanmar nationals.

First Chinese Container Ship Reaches Murmansk via Northern Sea Route
Murmansk has received the Xin Xin Hai 1, the first Chinese-operated container ship to arrive by the Northern Sea Route and the port's first container imports through the Arctic passage.

Zim Lifts Q2 Revenue to $1.8bn as Hapag Merger Meets Regulators
Zim reported $1.8 billion in second-quarter revenue, up nine percent, but its shares fell four percent after Brazil's competition authority opened a full review of the $4.2 billion Hapag-Lloyd merger.

Indian Union Says Owners Are Pressuring Crews to Transit Hormuz
The Forward Seamen's Union of India says shipowners are pressing seafarers to sail through the Hormuz war risk zone against their wishes, an apparent breach of the right to request repatriation under the MLC.

Nine Ships Struck in 24 Hours as Black Sea Grain War Escalates
Ukraine is reported to have struck as many as five bulkers around Novorossiysk while Russia claimed strikes on at least four ships, with one vessel abandoned after a drone attack set it on fire.

Iran Turns Back Chinese Tanker While Still Holding UAE Product Carrier
The IRGC says it warned off a Chinese oil tanker rather than attacking it, while continuing to detain the UAE-linked product tanker Amara near Larak Island.

Kongsberg Maritime Wins Deck Machinery Contract for Asian FPSO
Kongsberg Maritime will deliver a fully integrated mooring and deck machinery package for a new FPSO serving an offshore development in Asia, with equipment delivery due in mid-2027.

SAL Takes Delivery of MV Mila, First of Four 14K 700 Type Newbuilds
SAL has taken delivery of MV Mila, the first of four 14K 700 Type heavy lift newbuilds, equipped with two 350-tonne cranes for tandem lifts of up to 700 tonnes.

Zimbabwe Ferry Death Toll Reaches 94 in Lake Kariba Capsizing
The death toll from the capsizing of the ferry Nbuya Nehanda on Lake Kariba has reached 94, with the vessel carrying about twice its rated 90-passenger capacity when it sailed.

German Seaports Halted by Daylong Ver.di Warning Strike
A daylong Ver.di warning strike stopped container and cargo handling at six German seaports including Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven, with negotiations set to resume on August 24.

MSC Tests Suez Transits as Container Volumes Rise on the Corridor
MSC has sent seven eastbound vessels through the Suez Canal and Bab el Mandeb in two weeks, as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd return services to a corridor CMA CGM never fully left.

Foreign-Build Plan for U.S. Warships Meets Congressional Resistance
A White House memorandum would allow the first two ships of a U.S. Navy series to be built in South Korea or Japan, drawing objections from lawmakers in shipbuilding districts.

Ferguson Marine to Cut a Quarter of Its Workforce in Scotland
Scotland's state-owned Ferguson Marine will shed about 70 jobs through voluntary redundancy, roughly a quarter of its workforce, as it approaches the handover of the ferry Glen Rosa.

Oil From Grounded Shadow Fleet Tanker Comes Ashore in Oman
Crude from the grounded Suezmax Caroline Bezengi is washing ashore in Oman, where crews are cleaning the coastline by hand while 40-knot winds keep salvage vessels away from the wreck.

Antin Completes Acquisition of Vigor Marine Group From Lone Star
France's Antin Infrastructure Partners has completed its purchase of Vigor Marine Group, the Portland-based ship repair and fabrication group with six drydocks, 29 berths and about 2,700 employees.

White House Asks Navy to Move Ford-Class Carrier Island Amidships
The White House has asked the U.S. Navy to relocate the Ford-class island amidships, a change that could add several billion dollars per carrier and disrupt work already under way on USS Doris Miller.

Houthis Push for the Red Sea Coast as Fighting Spreads in Yemen
Houthi forces are attacking south of Hodeidah in an attempt to reach the Red Sea coast, striking coastal shipping and port facilities while merchant traffic through the southern Red Sea holds up.

UAE Suspends All Trade With Iran After Antiship Missile Strike
The United Arab Emirates has suspended all trade and financial transactions with Iran after two ballistic missiles targeting maritime navigation fell in and near its territorial waters.

Chief Engineer Killed as Projectile Hits Bulker Off Oman Coast
One seafarer was killed when the Greek-managed bulker Minoan Dignity was struck by an unknown projectile half a nautical mile off Oman, at the western approach to the Strait of Hormuz.

Typhoon Leaves Multi-Day Queues At Shanghai And Ningbo
Typhoon Dolphin has left multi-day vessel queues at Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan after temporary port shutdowns disrupted schedules across the region.

CK Hutchison Port Earnings Rise Despite Loss Of Panama Terminals
CK Hutchison Holdings increased first-half earnings from its ports business despite losing its Panama operations, while disruption in the Strait of Hormuz diverted cargo to Sohar in Oman.

AD Ports Profit Jumps As Fleet Doubles And Hormuz Reshapes Its Cargo
AD Ports Group almost doubled second-quarter net profit as its shipping arm expanded sharply and disruption in the Gulf pushed cargo onto alternative routes.

Firefighter Killed By Explosion At Chinese Shipyard Blaze
One fire and rescue worker has died and twelve people were injured after an explosion at a shipyard in the south-eastern Chinese province of Fujian.

Second Ford-Class Carrier Puts To Sea For Acceptance Trials
The second of the United States Navy's Ford-class supercarriers, USS John F. Kennedy, has got under way for acceptance trials, roughly six months after her builder's trials.

White House Opens Navy Shipbuilding To Foreign Yards Under New Model
A White House memorandum has ordered an overhaul of United States Navy shipbuilding that could allow foreign yards to build the first vessels in selected programmes before construction moves to American facilities.
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