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California Sues Interior Over $120M Offshore Wind Lease Buyout
California has sued the Department of the Interior over a $120 million payment made to Golden State Wind in exchange for relinquishing a federal offshore wind lease.

Two Crew Killed in Engine Room Fire on South Korean Product Tanker
Two crewmembers died in an engine room fire aboard a South Korean-flagged product tanker off Incheon; 16 of the 18 on board were rescued.

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.

Sweden Charges Pilot and Cargo Ship Master Over Fatal Collision
Swedish prosecutors have charged the master of the cargo ship Misje Verde and the pilot aboard with causing the deaths of two people on a pleasure boat off Tjorn.

MARAD Activates Training Ship Empire State for Federal Service
SUNY Maritime has been told the Maritime Administration will take its training ship Empire State into temporary federal service from around September 1.

Romania Rescues 12 Crew from Cargo Ship Suspected of Being Attacked
Romanian rescue services took 12 seafarers off the 7,298-dwt Progress IV after a fire that the country's president said appeared to have followed an attack.

NextOcean to Fit Motion Prediction Radar to SOV Esvagt Njord
NextOcean has been awarded a contract to install its WavePredictor motion radar aboard the service operation vessel Esvagt Njord, working at the Dudgeon wind farm.

Bulgaria Ratifies Transfer of Seven Belgian and Dutch Minehunters
Bulgaria's parliament has ratified agreements covering the acquisition of seven minehunters from Belgium and the Netherlands for Black Sea mine countermeasures.

MSC Suspends Novorossiysk Bookings After Drone Strike on Boxship
MSC has suspended new bookings to and from Novorossiysk with immediate effect after one of its containerships was struck by a drone leaving the Russian port.

Keyfield Buys Mega Dredger Inai Kenanga at Steep Discount to Valuation
Malaysian offshore vessel owner Keyfield International has entered the dredging market with the $24.7m purchase of the 2016-built mega dredger Inai Kenanga.

Victoria Opens Australia's First Offshore Wind Auction for 2GW
Victoria has launched Australia's first offshore wind auction, seeking an initial 2GW off the Gippsland coast in a request for proposals running to August 2027.

Orsted Shelves 1.4GW Incheon Offshore Wind Project in South Korea
Orsted has suspended its bid for what would have been South Korea's largest offshore wind project, off Incheon, after it failed internal investment criteria.

KNOT Takes 2024-Built Shuttle Tanker From Parent in 113 Million Deal
KNOT Offshore Partners is acquiring the 2024-built shuttle tanker Hedda Knutsen from its sponsor in a $113m deal, taking the fleet to 20 vessels.

SFL Orders Four LNG Dual-Fuel Car Carriers in 363 Million Dollar Deal
SFL is investing $363m in four LNG dual-fuel car carrier newbuildings for 2029 delivery, with two already chartered to a major Asia-based manufacturer.

Container Lines Urged to Catch Dangerous Cargo Risk at Booking Stage
A new report argues container shipping must identify dangerous cargo risks at booking rather than after a box is loaded, as vessel fires hit a ten-year high.

DNV Urges Owners to Build Fleets That Survive the Wrong Fuel Call
DNV's tenth Maritime Forecast to 2050 puts regulatory uncertainty at the centre, urging owners to build strategies that survive radically different outcomes.

IAEA Launches ATLAS Initiative to Bring Nuclear Power Back to Sea
The IAEA has launched ATLAS, a global initiative aimed at creating the regulatory and safety framework needed to bring nuclear power into civilian shipping.

US Southern Command Carries Out 68th Strike on Suspected Drug Vessel
US Southern Command has conducted its 68th airstrike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel, bringing the campaign's estimated toll to 227 deceased suspects.

Tanker Struck by Unknown Projectile Northwest of Musandam Peninsula
A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile northwest of the Musandam Peninsula, the latest attack on neutral shipping in the US-defended Hormuz corridor.

Port Houston Impact Study Puts Economic Activity Near One Trillion Dollars
Port Houston's latest economic impact assessment estimates it supports nearly $1 trillion in economic activity, roughly three percent of US gross domestic product.

Canada's West Coast Ports Handle 409 Billion Dollars of Cargo
Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo handled more than 200 million tonnes worth C$409bn in 2025, as Canada works to expand trade beyond the United States.

Scrap Metal Fire on Bulker at Cardiff Renews Cargo Screening Concern
Fire crews fought a smoky scrap metal fire in the hold of a bulker at Cardiff, the latest in a run of similar blazes linked to contaminated cargo.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Overtakes Singapore as Second Busiest Box Port
Ningbo-Zhoushan has edged past Singapore to become the world's second busiest container port, growing at nearly twice the Singaporean rate in the first half.

Task Force Handled 25 Piracy Incidents in Six Months Off Horn of Africa
Combined Task Force 151 intervened in more than two dozen piracy incidents over six months as attacks off the Horn of Africa reached a ten-year high.

Judge Dismisses Most Remaining Dali Economic Damage Claims
A Maryland court has dismissed most remaining economic loss claims over the Dali and the Key Bridge collapse, applying a 1927 Supreme Court precedent.

Washington Moves to Revive Prize Courts for Seized Merchant Vessels
The US administration is moving to revive the prize court, a tribunal for determining the legality of seizing enemy merchant vessels, untested since the Second World War.

Petrobras Amazon Basin Find Opens Brazil's Last Offshore Frontier
Petrobras has logged hydrocarbons in the Foz do Amazonas Basin, opening Brazil's Equatorial Margin frontier while raising questions over spill response in strong currents.

Typhoon Shuts Zhoushan Bunker Anchorages as Asian Lead Times Stretch
Typhoon-driven disruption has halted bunkering at two outer anchorages in China's Zhoushan hub, while supply tightens in Singapore and South Korean lead times stretch.

Qatar LNG Exports Collapse 96 Percent to Just 18 Cargoes in Six Months
Qatar's LNG exports have fallen 96 percent over six months to 18 cargoes from 509 a year earlier, leaving an estimated $24bn shortfall in gas sales.

Damen Launches Fast Crew Supplier Tumar for Kazakh Emergency Ministry
Damen has launched the Fast Crew Supplier 2710 Tumar for Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations, three months after the contract was signed.

US Navy Waives Post-Shakedown Period for Submarine USS Massachusetts
The US Navy has completed shakedown trials on USS Massachusetts and waived the boat's post-shakedown availability, citing its material condition and combat readiness.

Eastern Pacific Expands Orca AI Rollout After 130,000-Mile Trial
Eastern Pacific Shipping will install Orca AI's navigation platform on dozens more vessels after a five-ship trial covering more than 130,000 nautical miles.

Navios Partners Posts 274 Million Dollar First-Half Net Income
Navios Maritime Partners reported net income of $274.3m for the first half of 2026 as its multi-segment fleet absorbed disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea.

Cocaine Found Hidden in Sea Chest Strainers of Ship Off Singapore
More than 28kg of cocaine was found concealed in the sea chest strainers of a foreign-registered vessel transiting Singapore's waters.

Report Flags Invasive Species Risk From Gulf of California LNG Traffic
A study finds proposed LNG export projects in Mexico's Gulf of California could raise the risk of invasive species arriving through ballast water discharge and hull biofouling.

K Line Move Makes Kobe Terminal Handler of 40 Percent of Port Trade
K Line will begin operations at Kobe International Container Terminal on 1 September, a move that will see the facility handle nearly 40 percent of the port's foreign trade boxes.

BW LNG Stretches the 174,000 CBM Workhorse to a 177,000 CBM Design
BW LNG has detailed a 177,000 cbm three-tank LNG carrier design that adds cargo capacity while keeping the dimensions and terminal compatibility of the 174,000 cbm class.

RSGT and CMA CGM Commit 434 Million Dollars to Jeddah Terminal
Red Sea Gateway Terminal and CMA CGM have signed an agreement to develop and operate a terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port in an investment worth about $434m.

Sri Lanka Opens Four Mannar Basin Blocks in 2026 Licensing Round
Sri Lanka has launched its 2026 offshore licensing round, offering four exploration blocks covering nearly 34,000 square kilometres in the Mannar basin.

Hijacked Tanker Showed Years of Tracking Gaps Before Pirate Seizure
A tanker now held by Somali pirates went dark for stretches of up to 102 days across 2024 and 2025, long before the hijacking, tracking data shows.

Arctic LNG 2 Fleet Grows to 18 Carriers as China Shipments Climb
Novatek and its partners now run a fleet of at least 18 gas carriers serving the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, with 31 shipments delivered to China this year.

Black Sea Attacks Drive Global Grain Shipments Down Eight Percent
Global grain shipments have fallen 8 percent year on year over five weeks, driven by a 26 percent collapse in Black Sea exports as attacks on ships and port infrastructure intensify.

Wind Propulsion Fleet Passes 100 Vessels Ahead of SMM Hamburg
More than 100 commercial vessels now operate wind propulsion systems, and the sector will stage its largest showcase yet at the SMM maritime fair in Hamburg.

Kongsberg to Equip Solstad and SBM Offshore Deepwater Newbuild
Kongsberg Maritime will supply integrated systems and deck machinery for a multi-purpose deepwater installation vessel ordered by Solstad Offshore and SBM Offshore.

Boskalis Joint Venture Completes 53 Million Pound Dover Reclamation
A Boskalis Westminster and McLaughlin & Harvey joint venture has finished the final reclamation stage at the Port of Dover, adding 10 hectares of port land.

Philippine Coast Guard Accepts Two Ex-US Patrol Boats Named for Spratly Islands
The Philippine Coast Guard has formally accepted two ex-US Coast Guard Marine Protector-class patrol boats, to be recommissioned under the names of two Philippine-occupied Spratly islands.

More Than 200 Chinese Vessels Mass Near Philippine-Held Shoal
More than 200 Chinese vessels have gathered around Mischief Reef in the South China Sea, raising concerns over pressure on the Philippine-controlled Second Thomas Shoal 25 miles away.

Ulsan Signs Arctic Route Agreement With Wagenborg and Korean Agency
Ulsan Port Authority has signed a tripartite agreement with Royal Wagenborg and the Korea Maritime Promotion Corporation to develop the port as a hub for Arctic route shipping.
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