Vessel Hunter News
Maritime, in motion

COSCO Shipping Ports Handles 80.16m TEU as Overseas Volume Rises 18%
COSCO Shipping Ports reported first-half throughput of 80.16m TEU, up 7.9%, with EBITDA climbing 20.6% to $536m and an interim dividend of 2.360 US cents per share.

Oakland Signs for a $640m Turning Basin Widening to Take Longer Ships
The Port of Oakland has completed an agreement with the US Army Corps of Engineers to widen and modernise its inner and outer harbour turning basins by 2030.

Den Breejen Shipyard Changes Hands After Almost Eighty Family Years
The Hardinxveld-Giessendam shipyard has been sold by the Den Breejen family to CCD, an investment vehicle formed by Ceylan Duzdusen together with Concordia and Damen.

Cochin Shipyard Cuts Steel on Four Battery-Electric Tugs for Svitzer
India's Cochin Shipyard has begun building four fully electric TRAnsverse 2600e harbour tugs for Svitzer, under an agreement signed in December 2025 covering a minimum of four vessels.

Yang Ming Signs for Six 13,650 TEU Dual-Fuel Boxships at Hanwha Ocean
Yang Ming has contracted six LNG dual-fuel container ships for delivery between 2028 and 2029, taking its next-generation fleet renewal programme towards 24 ships by 2030.

CSSC Takes a $1bn Car Carrier Order and Two More PCTCs for SFL at SMM
Guangzhou Shipyard International signed for 10 LNG dual-fuel pure car and truck carriers worth more than $1bn, with market sources naming Ray Car Carriers as the owner.

CSSC Net Profit Rises 163% as Its Order Backlog Reaches 729 Ships
China State Shipbuilding Corporation recorded first-half revenue of RMB91.53bn and net profit of RMB9.95bn, on higher deliveries of high-end vessels and rising average prices.

Japan Puts $3.8bn Behind Imabari, JMU and Namura in Its First Yard Tranche
Japan's transport minister has unveiled the first investments under a plan to double national shipbuilding volume by 2035, with a total programme of about $6.4bn in public and private money.

Indian Recyclers Are Bidding Into Losses as End-of-Life Tonnage Dries Up
High-standard Indian recycling facilities are bidding aggressively for the limited tonnage available even when the economics suggest a substantial loss at current steel prices.

Six Shipping Bodies Back Two Indian Yards for the EU Recycling List
BIMCO, ECSA, ICS, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO and the World Shipping Council have welcomed a European Commission proposal to add two Gujarat yards to the European List of Ship Recycling Facilities.

German Port Strike Deepens Congestion Already Holding 160,000 TEU at Anchor
A 48-hour warning strike at Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Bremen, Wilhelmshaven, Emden and Brake landed on top of North European congestion already absorbing about 5% of deepsea containership capacity.

Samsung Seeks $186m From CMA CGM Over Store Door Delivery Failures
Samsung Electronics America has filed one of the largest post-pandemic regulatory claims against a container carrier, alleging unjust practices in inland transport and detention billing between 2020 and 2023.

Jebel Ali Falls Out of the Top Ten as Hormuz Rewrites the Port Ranking
The ten largest container ports finished 2025 in the same order as a year earlier, but 2026 returns covering 76% of the ranked volume show one port leaving the top ten entirely.

The Container Fleet Is About to Pass 34m TEU After Adding 10m in Five Years
Global containership capacity stood 8,000 TEU short of 34m at the start of September, having taken five and a half years to add the 10m TEU that previously took more than a decade.

US East Coast Box Rates Break $10,000 as Panama Cuts Daily Transits Again
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index reached a 25-month high of 3,509.53 points, with Shanghai to US East Coast rates breaching $10,000 per FEU for the first time since 2022.

SMIT Salvage Refloats the Anchor Handler Skandi Amazonas Off Macae
The stranded anchor handler Skandi Amazonas has been patched, refloated and towed clear off the coast of Macae in Brazil after striking a rock and being beached to save her.

Bunker Tanker Drifts From Its Tugs and Wedges Against a Johor Road Bridge
A small Malaysian product tanker being relocated at a Johor shipyard escaped the tug moving her, drifted down the Johor River and came to rest against the Sungai Johor Bridge.

Navigation Warning Issued After a Feeder Loses 46 Containers Off Batangas
The Philippine Coast Guard has warned shipping in one of its busiest lanes after the 564 TEU Span Asia 39 lost 46 empty containers overboard in rough weather.

Chemical Leak at Mersin Port Affects 35 People After Machine Topples on a Box
Heavy equipment fell onto a container at Mersin International Port before dawn on 4 September, releasing what is believed to be ethyl acrylate and halting terminal operations.

Master and Third Officer of the Tanker Alsu Arrested Over the Marmara Collision
A Turkish court has charged the captain and third officer of the tanker Alsu with negligent homicide after the cargo ship Tugberk Imamoglu sank within ten minutes with ten crew aboard.

Rotterdam Terminal Workers Face Prison After a Controlled Cocaine Delivery
Dutch prosecutors are seeking up to 3.5 years for two men accused of using temporary terminal jobs in Waalhaven to retrieve cocaine first intercepted in St Maarten in April.

COSCO Rejects Claims That Its Ships Carry Hidden Intelligence Equipment
COSCO Shipping has issued a statement firmly opposing allegations that its vessels carry concealed platforms to intercept military communications near coastlines.

EU Forces Board a Sixth Tanker in the Mediterranean for Flag Verification
Italian forces boarded the crude tanker Sun from helicopters and launches on 30 August, the sixth flag verification by EUNAVFOR IRINI since its mandate was extended this year.

IMO Secretary General Rules Out Hardening Merchant Ships Against Missiles
Asked at SMM whether shipping ought to reinforce vessels against missile and drone attack, the IMO Secretary General answered no, and repeated the call for ships to stay out of the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan Rejects a $27 LNG Cargo and Faces Longer Rolling Blackouts
Pakistan turned down the single cargo offered in its latest emergency LNG tender at $26.969 per mmBtu, and has issued a fresh tender while blackouts in Karachi run up to 24 hours.

QatarEnergy Extends LNG Force Majeure Into November as Hormuz Stays Shut
QatarEnergy has told European and Asian buyers that cargo cancellations now run into early November, with one Italian utility alone losing 29 cargoes since April.

Iran Turns on Inbound Tankers and Lengthens Its Non-Compliant List to 57
Iranian forces have started striking and turning back tankers heading into the Persian Gulf, while the IRGC's list of non-compliant vessels has grown from 46 to 57 in a week.

US Strike on Larak Island Pre-empts a Rocket-Launched Sea Mine Barrage
CENTCOM fired on IRGC positions on Larak Island to destroy two Iranian rockets about to be launched, in what appears to have been an attempt to re-mine the Strait of Hormuz.

Two Filipino Seafarers Die Aboard the VLCC Sidr as the Hormuz Toll Reaches 18
Bahri's 300,759 dwt Sidr was hit by projectiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, killing two of the 16 Filipino crew and lifting the confirmed seafarer death toll to at least 18.

Maritime Briefing, 4 September 2026: Hormuz, Anchorages, Yard Capacity
Iranian tankers stacking up off Galle and Johore, a tug lost with six missing off Busan, and Panama paying $191.7m for full control of its oil pipeline corridor.

South Korea Takes Offshore Wind Site Selection Into State Hands With 25 GW Target
Seoul has approved a planned-siting regime that shifts offshore wind site selection from developers to the government, targeting 25 GW of preliminary development zones by 2031.

Singapore Warns Owners and Agents Over False Vessel Data Filed for Port Calls
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has warned that false or unverifiable information on identity, ownership, cargo or trading history could bring enforcement action.

Brussels Stops the Clock on the Saipem and Subsea7 Phase II Merger Review
The European Commission has suspended its in-depth investigation into the Saipem and Subsea7 merger while it waits for further information, pushing the timetable towards 2027.

Minerva Marine Sells Two 2006-Built Ice-Class Tankers to Chinese Buyers
The Greek owner is selling the ice class 1A aframax Minerva Nounou for more than $40m and the MR Minerva Xanthe for around $16m, both to Chinese buyers.

Chilean Operator Prepares a Punta Arenas to Falklands Cargo Service for November
Easter Island Naviera has agreed with the Falkland Islands Development Corporation to launch a direct cargo service from Punta Arenas, cutting the South American supply leg by half.

Yangzijiang Maritime Signs for Up to 12 More Newbuildings Across Two Chinese Yards
The Singapore-listed owner has extended an ordering run spanning dry bulk, product and chemical tankers with up to 12 more ships at Jingjiang Nanyang and Qidong Qianyao.

Diana Shipping Cuts Its Genco Holding Below 10% After Selling 275,000 More Shares
Diana Shipping has sold another 275,000 Genco shares for about $7.26m, taking its holding to roughly 9.5% and ending its status as a 10% beneficial owner.

Germany Rewrites Its Offshore Wind Law With Contracts for Difference and 35-Year Lives
Berlin has approved an amendment to the Wind Energy at Sea Act introducing two-sided contracts for difference and extending standard project operating life from 25 to 35 years.

Tug TNS Catcher Capsizes While Turning a Box Ship off Busan, Leaving Six Missing
One seafarer has died and six are missing after the tug TNS Catcher rolled over and sank while assisting the 5,576 teu MSC Ikaria VI off Busan.

US Customs Weighs Demanding Foreign Export Filings From Importers Before Cargo Sails
Customs and Border Protection has opened consultation on rules that could require importers to supply foreign export declarations and trace products further back through their supply chains.

The Architect of STX Returns to Shipbuilding Through a Stake in SK Oceanplant
Kang Duk-soo, who built and then lost the STX empire, is returning to shipbuilding through the consortium taking control of SK Oceanplant for about $298m.

Felixstowe and Charleston Join a Pink Corridor Study for Nuclear Powered Box Ships
A UK to US pink corridor project will study what would be required to run a nuclear-powered container ship between Felixstowe and Charleston, from safeguards to insurance.

Panama Pays $191.7m for Full Ownership of Its Cross-Country Oil Corridor
Panama has bought the remaining 41% of Petroterminal de Panama, taking full state ownership of a pipeline and terminal system that works as a second canal for hydrocarbons.

Iranian Tankers Ride at Anchor off Sri Lanka and Malaysia With Nowhere to Discharge
A US naval blockade of Iranian ports has left a fleet of empty tankers stranded at anchorages off Galle and east of Johore, most of them unladen and many under sanctions.

Norway Seizes the Professor Molchanov at Barentsburg on a Naftogaz Crimea Claim
A Russian research vessel turned expedition cruise ship has been seized in Svalbard on behalf of Naftogaz, which holds a $4.22bn award over assets lost in Crimea in 2014.

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.

Tug Seized off the Canary Islands With 3,361 Kilograms of Cocaine in 139 Bales
Spanish forces intercepted the tug GT Victory in the Atlantic near the Canary Islands with more than 3,300 kilograms of cocaine on board, in one of the largest seizures recorded in the islands.

ABB Takes the Power and Propulsion Package for New Zealand's Cook Strait Ferries
Two 200-metre rail-enabled ferries being built at Guangzhou Shipyard International for 2029 delivery will use ABB power, propulsion and automation across the Cook Strait crossing.
Never miss a move
Maritime, in motion. In your inbox.
The vessel sales, incidents, and market moves worth knowing, sent as they happen.
How we make the news
Vessel Hunter News is written with AI, working from maritime news reporting and the primary documents behind it, to fixed editorial rules. Every article passes an automated quality check before it is published, and Vessel Hunter is responsible for what it says. How our news is made. We correct what we get wrong. Mail contact@vesselhunter.io and tell us what to look at.
