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Tanger Med handles 84m tonnes in first half as carriers rebuild services via Suez
Tanger Med handled 84 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, up 6%, as ONE, CMA CGM and the Gemini partners redrew their networks around the gradual return to the Suez Canal.
Shell completes $840m sale of Na Kika and Coulomb interests to Talos and Ridgewood
Shell Offshore has completed the sale of its Na Kika platform and Coulomb field interests in the US Gulf to Talos Energy and a Ridgewood Energy affiliate for about $840m in cash.
Divers recover three more victims from capsized ferry Virgo Transport 8
Basarnas divers recovered three more bodies from the inverted wreck of the ferry Virgo Transport 8, bringing the total to 18, with more than 100 people still missing in the Java Sea.
2020 Bulkers signs binding deal to buy AHTS AS and build a fleet of 15 anchor handlers
Oslo-listed 2020 Bulkers has signed a binding agreement to acquire AHTS AS, valuing its ten anchor handlers at $264m, and launched a private placement of up to $175m.
Five container lines now have more capacity on order than in service
Five operators in the Alphaliner top 100 have orderbooks larger than their fleets, led by Hai An Transport at 368% and Regional Container Lines at 157%, as the global ratio hits 45%.
Aramco begins partial restart of East-West Pipeline as Yanbu books a cargo
Saudi Aramco can now restart part of the flow on its East-West Pipeline, damaged in a drone attack on 11 September, and one crude export loading has already been scheduled at Yanbu.
MSC Hermes III abandoned off Vietnam and declared a derelict adrift
The MSC Hermes III is drifting unmanned in the South China Sea after all 25 crew abandoned the 2,490 teu feeder on 22 September; a navigational warning now lists her as a derelict.
Maritime Briefing of 24 September 2026
Washington extends blocking measures to shipowners, insurers and ports; Chinese yards take 82% of first-half contracting; and the June Aster death toll reaches 77.
Three dead and four missing as Thai fishing vessel sinks
Three crew died and four remain missing after the Thai fishing vessel S. Kanchanawari 888 sank about 40 nautical miles off Sattahip in severe weather, with 15 of the 22 on board rescued.
Yangzijiang Maritime orders 24 ships with options on 16 more
Yangzijiang Maritime Development has ordered 24 newbuildings at several Chinese yards and taken options on 16 more, lifting its portfolio to 98 vessels including options.
CLdN orders two 6,700 lane-metre RoRo ships at HD Hyundai
CLdN has ordered two 6,700 lane-metre RoRo vessels from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for delivery in mid-2029, the 15th and 16th ships it has contracted at the yard in ten years.
Jan De Nul orders second trenching support vessel for cables
Jan De Nul has ordered a second trenching support vessel, an exact sister to Isambard K. Brunel, taking its subsea cable newbuilding programme to five ships and its cable fleet to fourteen.
Carnival Panorama guest goes overboard on final day of cruise
A male guest went overboard from the cruise ship Carnival Panorama on the last day of a seven-night voyage from Long Beach, with US and Mexican authorities notified and a search under way.
Bulk carrier First Margaux strikes fishing vessel in Singapore Strait
The Panama-flagged bulk carrier First Margaux struck the stern of the Chinese fishing vessel Luqing Yuanyu 108 in the Singapore Strait on 17 September, with no reported injuries on either ship.
Philippine police back task force on June Aster ferry fire
The Philippine National Police has backed an interagency task force to investigate the MV June Aster fire, which has left 77 dead and eight missing after the ferry burned on passage from Manila to Palawan.
Chinese yards take 82% of new orders as crude routes lengthen
Chinese shipbuilders booked 121.06m dwt of new orders in the first half of 2026, 82.3% of the world total, as owners ordered large tankers for the longer crude voyages the Hormuz closure created.
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.
Dutch tanker Star Bonaire held at Ghent since mid-September
The Dutch-flagged product tanker Star Bonaire has been detained in the Ghent-Terneuzen canal since Monday 14 September, with no deficiencies made public.
Emirates Shipping Line stops carrying plastic waste from October
Emirates Shipping Line will stop accepting bookings for plastic waste under HS code 3915 from 1 October, becoming the second ocean carrier to apply a blanket ban.
LS Marine Solution books record $113m Shinan Ui cable contract
LS Marine Solution has converted its preferred-bidder position at the 390 MW Shinan Ui offshore wind project into a KRW 156.9bn contract with Hanwha Ocean.
Cadeler's Nexra and Vattenfall to develop turbine exchange methods
Cadeler's service platform Nexra and Vattenfall have signed a memorandum of understanding on major component exchange methods for large offshore wind turbines.
Transpetrol enters the LR1 segment with two Yangzijiang newbuildings
Transpetrol has ordered two 75,000 dwt LR1 product tankers at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding for delivery in the first and second quarters of 2030, adding a new size class to its fleet.
Industry and unions split over Indian yards on EU recycling list
Steel producers, unions and NGOs have asked the European Commission not to admit two Alang yards to the European List, while shipping bodies are lobbying ministers to approve them.
Taiwan-flagged cable layer Oceanus 1 enters service at Kaohsiung
Oceanus 1, a Taiwan-flagged cable-laying vessel with an 8,000-tonne carousel, arrived at Kaohsiung on 16 September after handover from her Vietnamese builder.
Wind-powered Neoliner Origin makes first Zeebrugge call
The sail-assisted ro-ro Neoliner Origin called at Zeebrugge on 21 September, the first large cargo ship working partly under sail to load in a Belgian port.
Maritime Briefing of 22 September 2026
Tanker freight is now large enough to reroute trade, the crew of an LNG carrier report attackers reaching cargo safety systems, and MSC opens talks on Germany's stake in Meyer Werft.
Chattogram Port Unions Call Two Protests Over DP World Terminal Concession
Two Bangladeshi port worker groups have called protests on 22 and 27 September against a proposed government-to-government concession handing Chattogram's New Mooring Container Terminal to DP World.
Vale Charters Eight Tri-Fuel Newcastlemaxes From HMM in $3.5bn, 25-Year Deal
HMM has finalised an order for eight 210,000 dwt tri-fuel Newcastlemaxes at Yangzijiang, each chartered to Vale for 25 years under a KRW 4.7tn transportation agreement effective from 2030.
MSC Explores Buying Germany's Controlling Stake in Shipbuilder Meyer Werft
MSC Group is in preliminary talks to acquire the roughly 80 percent of Meyer Werft held by the German federal government and Lower Saxony, covering the Papenburg and Rostock yards.
Laden Capesize Merchant Mariner Takes Water in Three Ballast Tanks Off Dung Quat
The 179,570 dwt Merchant Mariner is listing about five degrees off Dung Quat with water in three port-side ballast tanks, 174,614 tonnes of iron ore aboard and 3,375 tonnes of fuel oil.
Crew of LNG Carrier Vivit Africa Report Cyberattack on Cargo Safety Systems
The crew of the Liberia-flagged Vivit Africa LNG say attackers took temporary control of steam pressure and safety valve systems, and the ship left the Adriatic without discharging its US cargo.
Pantheon Sells 2011-Built VLCC Sea Leopard for $135m, Above Newbuild Price
Brokers report Pantheon Tankers has sold the 2011-built, 314,000 dwt Sea Leopard for $135m, more than the headline cost of ordering a new VLCC for delivery several years out.
Trafigura Carves Out 14-Ship VLCC Arm With $500m Placement and Oslo Listing
Trafigura is opening its VLCC fleet to outside investors through Volare Shipping, a Singapore-incorporated company raising about $500m ahead of a planned Euronext Growth Oslo listing on or about 5 October.
VLCC Freight Adds $26 a Barrel and Starts to Shrink US Gulf-Asia Crude
The Middle East Gulf-China VLCC benchmark reached $1.2125m a day on 17 September, ten times its pre-conflict level, and freight now adds roughly $26 to every barrel moved from the US Gulf to Asia.
This Week in Maritime: the strait gets a price list, the Dali gets a record
The week a VLCC fixed a Gulf voyage above $1m a day, Washington sanctioned the crypto rail behind Iran's transit fees, Asian port congestion passed its pandemic peak and the Dali became the largest single loss the P&I market has carried.
Maritime Briefing of 20 September 2026
A drone kills a master in the Black Sea while Turkey circulates a truce text, the Dali becomes the largest single loss in P&I history, and Asian port congestion passes its pandemic peak.
House Votes to Strip Two California Maritime Emissions Rules
The House has passed two Congressional Review Act resolutions overturning California's at-berth shore power rule and its commercial harbour craft rule, sending both to the Senate.
Asian Port Congestion Passes Its Pandemic Peak at 4.3M TEU
Container capacity stuck at Asian ports has reached 4.3m teu, above the pandemic peak, with Colombo turnarounds at six days and about 6.6 percent of the global fleet unavailable for normal service.
German Seaport Workers Move to an Indefinite Strike Ballot
Ver.di members at Germany's main seaports have rejected the employers' latest offer and opened a ballot on indefinite strike action running to 1 October, covering up to 11,000 workers.
US Sanctions the Crypto Exchange Behind Iran's Hormuz Transit Fees
OFAC has sanctioned BitBank, the cryptocurrency exchange used to process payments to the IRGC-linked HormuzSafe scheme that charges commercial vessels for passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Coast Guard and FBI Boarded a VLCC Off Texas Over a Cyberattack
A Coast Guard cyber team and the FBI boarded the 319,547 dwt VL Prosperity off Texas after indications that her networks had been compromised, in an investigation covering at least two US-bound tankers.
Maersk Confirms 26 Ships, Well Short of the 40 the Market Expected
Maersk has confirmed an order for 26 dual-fuel ships of 18,600 teu for 2029 and 2030, smaller than the 40-plus programme analysts had described, and still without a single megamax.
Dali Becomes the Largest Single Loss in P&I Market History
Reserves on the Dali casualty now exceed $2.8bn, passing the 2012 Costa Concordia by more than $1bn and pushing the claim into a layer of the International Group's structure never tested at this scale.
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.
Maritime Briefing of 17 September 2026
A disabled tanker off Oman with two crew missing, general average on the fire-hit CMA CGM Petra, a detention at Brake on a pilot's word, and the first consolidated container inspection data since 2024.
Japan Certifies $635M More in Shipbuilding Investment Plans
Japan has certified a further $635m of investment by five shipbuilders, bringing approvals to $1.4bn across eight plans in a programme aimed at doubling output by 2035.
Maersk Overtakes COSCO to Lead the Intra-Asia Container Trade
Maersk has passed COSCO as the largest operator in the intra-Asia container trade with more than 340,000 teu deployed, adding around 34,000 teu year-on-year.
Yanbu Loadings Paused as East-West Pipeline Damage Halts Flow
Loading has been suspended at Yanbu after attacks on the East-West Pipeline, removing a terminal that had been lifting around four million barrels a day, roughly four percent of global supply.
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