News

Hours after reports surfaced that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was rejecting Donald Trump’s overtures for new talks, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a new round of sanctions targeting the oil industry and tankers.

Retailers are continuing to front-load their imports into U.S. ports due to the uncertainty over U.S. tariffs and the potential that the Trump administration will move to impose fees on Chinese-built ships reports the National Retail Federation.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a continuing resolution (CR) rather than a budget to fund the federal government for the rest of the year, leaving funding levels effectively flat. Without a normal appropriations bill, the Pentagon lacks funding to offset inflation and the authorities needed to start new programs.

The House Republican caucus plans to pass a continuing resolution (CR) rather than a budget to cover the remainder of the fiscal year, a procedural option that keeps federal spending at constant levels and avoids a difficult fight over spending priorities.

The owners of the riverine tankers that split up and sank in the Black Sea in December are facing multiple lawsuits as Russian government agencies try to recover the cost of cleanup from the resulting spills. 

Response efforts continued to Monday’s incident off the east coast of England in which a Portuguese-flagged containership hit a U.S.-flagged tanker that was anchored near Hull, England. The updates from HM Coastguard provided late on Tuesday, March 11, indicate that the containership Solong was still burning but that fears that the vessel would sink were diminished.

Russia’s energy shipping company Sovcomflot reported financial results on Friday, March 7, citing the continuing impact of Western sanctions on its operations and warning that the pressures on its operations were likely to increase this year.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star departed the Antarctic region Tuesday, March 4, after having spent 65 days south of the Antarctic Circle in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2025 the annual research and resupply mission.

The government of Canada confirmed the order for the second of its planned large polar icebreakers with Quebec’s Chantier Davie. The contract for the other large polar icebreaker was confirmed with Seaspan in Vancouver with both vessels being part of the country’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.

South Korea’s SM Line issued a customer alter on March 5 reporting that one of its vessels has experienced damaged and lost containers in a Pacific storm. The SM Portland (51,314 dwt) has resumed its voyage bound for Vancouver where it will be inspected by Canadian authorities.

Denmark’s Lauritzen Bulkers, one of the oldest operators tracing its roots back 140 years, reports it has acquired Alexander & Blake, a Canadian breakbulk and parcel shipping company. The deal comes as the company looks to rebound from what it called “unpredictable and complex market conditions,” in 2024. 

The UK Government awarded a £55 million ($71 million) grant to Scotland’s Port of Cromarty Firth to drive the next phase of expansion which will be used to support planned float offshore wind farms.

The French shipping group CMA CGM recently took delivery of its first dual-fuel methanol containership. While the group continues significant investments in LNG-fueled newbuilds it also recognized the need for diversified sources during this period of transition in the maritime industry.

The UK’s Royal Navy is reporting it has completed a three-day operation tracking the movements in the English Channel of a Russian warship and a military cargo ship believed to be bringing armaments back from Syria.

Shipbuilding like other major industries continues to explore the use of additive manufacturing technology (commonly known as 3D printing) and how it can aid in construction and repairs. In the latest development, HII is highlighting that its Newport News Shipbuilding yard printed and installed the first-ever manifold using the technology for the soon-to-be-delivered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.

With the IMO’s next Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) set to take place in April, Australia’s Fortesce’s marine division, Fortescue Zero, brought its dual-fuel ammonia-powered vessel to London for demonstrations.

China continues to grow its influence over South America with China Merchants reporting an agreement to buy Brazil’s only privately operated VLCC terminal. The company reports the deal is part of its continued growth in the Latin America region and further consolidates its position globally.

Finnish authorities confirmed in a statement on Sunday, March 2, that they have released the product tanker Eagle S that it has been detaining since a December 25 incident with damage to undersea transmission cables.

The famed liner ss United States made an earlier than anticipated arrival in Mobile, Alabama after completing the 12-day tow from Philadelphia. The ship was maneuvered to a berth at the Modern American Recycling Services (MARS) facility in Mobile for the next phase of the effort to convert her into the world’s largest manmade artificial reef.

A jury in Piraeus, Greece found the captain and first officer of an interisland ferry guilty in a tragic 2023 case where a late arriving passenger was pushed to his death as a ferry departed port. The court rejected claims of a spontaneous action while prosecutors argued nothing was done to save the victim and the ferry kept sailing.