News

The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed on Friday, May 30, that the dismantling contract for ex-USS Enterprise has been awarded. It marks the official end to the process that began several years ago after the first U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carrier was decommissioned in 2017 and the debate began on her final fate.

A court in Italy has ordered six activists with the organization Mediterranea Saving Humans to stand trial related to the 2020 rescue of 27 migrants who were stranded in the Mediterranean on the product tanker Maersk Etienne.

Finnish authorities have nearly completed the nearly six-month criminal investigation into the damage to the subsea power cable believed to have been caused by a shadow fleet tanker while the national energy company reports progress on repairing the cables.

The Norwegian authorities released the details of a Port State inspection after the feeder ship NCL Salten was refloated and moved to a dock. The Norwegian Maritime Authority reports multiple deficiencies were found on the ship and it is being held at the dock in Orkanger until plans are finalized to move the vessel to a repair yard.

China is speaking out vehemently opposing plans by the Australian federal government to take back the leased Port of Darwin, terming the move as "ethically questionable." The port has become the latest battleground over Chinese influence through port operations with Chinese officials asserting it is all part of the United States’ efforts and a plan to advance militarization in northern Australia.

A month after reporting that three crewmembers from the product tanker Seven Pears (53,700 dwt) had been injured during the strikes on Houthi positions in the port of Ras Isa in Yemen, Russian officials are reporting the remainder of the crew of the tanker has been evacuated.

The skipper of a training sailboat operating in Germany was injured when the vessel was caught in the wake of a tanker as it was entering a lock on Saturday evening, May 24. The skipper was injured when the rigging collapsed as the vessels collided in the lock and the mast was damaged on the sailboat.

Reports from Bangladesh are recounting what is being called a “brutal robbery” of the crew aboard a general cargo ship laid up in the anchorage of the western port of Mongla. Three crewmembers required First Aid after the ordeal in which an organized gang looted the ship and terrorized the crew.

The U.S. Coast Guard and local officials are trying to figure out why a well-known sailing ship used for ocean research and by a non-profit promoting ocean clean-up suddenly began taking on water and sank at its dock in California on Sunday night.

The NCL Salten which created headlines last Thursday when it grounded on the lawn of a residence was refloated today, May 27, and has been brought into a local port for inspections. The authorities continue to look at the work rules and manning to understand if they contributed to the navigation officer falling asleep near the end of his watch and causing the ship to ground.

Japan’s first fully battery-driven electric workboat, named e-Crea was unveiled on May 23 by NYK Group. According to the company, fully electric vessels represent one of the most promising options for sustainable shipping and this vessel will be an important model to advance the technology.

The Ukrainian ports of Odesa and Chernomorsk were both included in the current wave of Russian attacks, which have been called among the largest since the start of the war in Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement afterward claiming the strikes were justified as they were military targets and containers aboard a ship being used to import drones and other supplies.

After vowing to take steps to protect its vessels, Russia has reportedly begun escorting shadow fleet tankers in the Gulf of Finland. Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen of Finland called it “unprecedented” during an interview on Finnish TV on Saturday, May 24.

Despite reports in the Times of London that plans to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius had been put on hold, the UK’s Prime Minister Kier Starmer signed a formal agreement on the transfer on May 22. A High Court order had temporarily delayed the signing ceremony earlier in the day.

The governments of Poland and Estonia continue to highlight the dangers in the Baltic coming from the shadow fleet and asserting their rights to inspect vessels. This comes as Russian officials have stepped up their verbal attacks on the EU’s efforts to reign in the activity of the so-called shadow fleet of tankers supporting Russia’s oil and gas trade.

China’s shipping industry continues to expand the car carrier sector as its export car market continues to grow. In one week, China has put the world’s largest car carrier, with a capacity for 9,500 units, into service and now has launched the world’s first methanol dual-fuel car carrier.

The Turkish Navy and drone manufacturer Baykar appear to have achieved a notable advance in the use of drones from flat tops during the recent Exercise Sea Wolf 2025, held in the Eastern Mediterranean in mid-May.

On Tuesday, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board met for the first time with their Mexican counterparts aboard the Mexican Navy sail training ship Cuauhtémoc, which struck the Brooklyn Bridge at six knots on Saturday night.

The European Union moved forward yesterday with what it called the most wide-sweeping sanctions package on Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine and targeted the oil and gas industry.

With the ongoing challenges in the offshore wind energy sector impacting the economics and development of sites, the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark have each announced revised approaches for their upcoming tenders to deal with as the Dutch termed it, the “deteriorating market conditions.”