On Monday, Russia's defense ministry claimed that its forces thwarted a Ukrainian attack on shoreside components of the TurkStream gas pipeline, the subsea line that connects Russian producer Gazprom to buyers in Turkey and the EU. 

TurkStream runs from a terminal near Anapa, Krasnodar to the Turkish town of Kiyikoy, west of Istanbul. The landing point is less than 100 miles from the border with Europe, and the line feeds gas networks in Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia and neighboring states in southeast Europe. 

The Kremlin alleged Monday that Ukraine used a long-range drone strike to target the Russkaya compressor station on the Russian side of the pipeline. It claimed that air defense units shot down nine Ukrainian drones before they could hit the site, and that only minor damage was reported. The TurkStream line remains in operation, the ministry said. 

Ukraine has not commented on the alleged strike, but has repeatedly attacked Russian energy export infrastructure in retaliation for Russian drone strikes on the Ukrainian electric grid. 

TurkStream is one of the last Russian pipeline gas connections to Europe. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a dispute over terms of payment resulted in a near-shutdown of westbound Russian gas, which had powered European economies since the Cold War. Though EU gas prices skyrocketed, the disruption was short-lived - and Europe began to decouple its energy markets from Russia, shifting instead to new sources like American LNG. 

The destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline system and the closure of the trans-Ukrainian pipeline network late last year have cut off most of Gazprom's access to Europe, with dire effects on its finances. The giant company was once a top earner for the Russian government; it posted a loss in 2023, its first in more than 30 years, and is now reportedly contemplating large-scale layoffs at its headquarters. The TurkStream (and the smaller BlueStream) are Gazprom's last functioning gas links to Europe. While other connections have been shuttered, the TurkStream's EU-bound transport volumes rose by 23 percent in 2024.  

Like Nord Stream, the TurkStream megaproject is a symbol of Russian influence. It was personally announced and inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and remains among the most ambitious subsea pipeline projects ever constructed. It starts at the Russkaya compressor station, the most powerful facility of its kind in the world, then follows two parallel 32-inch pipelines running about 500 nautical miles under the Black Sea.  

TurkStream was among the first projects for Allseas' supersized pipelay/heavy lift ship, Pioneering Spirit, the largest vessel by displacement in the world.

 

Shell has confirmed the discovery of an unexploded bomb next to a 40-year-old gas line running across the North Sea. 

Unexploded ordnance from World War II - and even earlier - is found regularly in UK waters, and it poses a potential hazard to navigation and development. During an inspection of the Far North Liquids and Associated Gas System Pipeline (Flags pipeline), Shell's staff located what they believe to be an unexploded bomb near the line at a position about 40 miles to the east of Shetland. 

Shell has launched an investigation into how this unexploded bomb came to be next to an operating subsea gas pipeline, and the supermajor has brought in a third-party advisor to examine the circumstances. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been notified, and a guard vessel has been stationed next to the location of the bomb. For now, the pipeline continues to operate as normal. 

The Flags pipeline was installed in 1982, in the heyday of North Sea oil and gas development. It is a 36-inch line stretching about 200 nautical miles north to south, and delivers wet gas from the Brent Field to the St. Fergus Gas Terminal in Scotland. In 2007, Flags was connected to the Tampen gas pipeline between Norway's Statfjord development and the UK. Shell and ExxonMobil share the pipeline's ownership.

An estimated 500,000 pieces of unexploded weaponry from WWI and WWII rest on the bottom in waters around Great Britain, according to a 2020 parliamentary study. Just last month, a Scottish fishing vessel brought up an unexploded antisubmarine mortar in the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh. The device contained about 80 pounds of explosives, and after the crew were evacuated, it was safely removed from the boat by an HM Coastguard bomb squad. The mortar was moved offshore and safely detonated in deeper water. 

After three years and nine exploration wells, Shell has decided to write down the value of its lease area in Namibia's Orange Basin by $400 million. 

Shell has discovered oil in more than one of its wells in the block, but has decided that these prospects "cannot currently be confirmed for commercial development." Shell encountered geological challenges and technical difficulties during the drilling campaign, including low permeability in the formation, which makes extraction difficult. 

Namibia's energy ministry said Monday that despite the findings related to reservoir quality and subsurface complexity in the lease area, it believes that the basin still holds potential for development. "The collective discoveries from the nine drilled wells amount to significant volumes of hydrocarbon accumulations. The government of Namibia remains committed to developing these discoveries, which are believed to be commercially viable," the ministry said in a statement Monday.

On Monday, Namibian energy minister Tom Alweendo told The National that Shell was not walking away, and that it was a matter of finding more economical ways to develop the resource down the road. In a statement, he said that the write-down was unfortunate, but that E&P efforts off the country's shores "have barely begun to scratch the surface." 

Other nearby lease areas may prove better-suited to development. TotalEnergies is currently in the middle of an appraisal campaign in lease area PEL 56, not far from Shell's PEL 39. Other firms with active interests in lease acreage off Namibia include Woodside, Rhino Resources, Chevron, Namcor and Trago. Galp's Mopane prospect in PEL 83 may be commercially viable, and the Portuguese producer is looking for a partner to bring it to market. 

"The Namibia governement will continue working with dedicated companies to develop these resources and our plan to first oil are still on track," said Alweendo. "We remain confident that ongoing exploration efforts will reveal commercial opportunities and look forward to delivering first oil production in the near future."

The African Energy Chamber added that the Orange Basin's best prospects may be towards the north end, and that its gas reserves might prove to be commercially viable. The chamber also pointed to the promise and potential of the Walvis Basin, another Namibian offshore region with strong potential for gas development. 
   

 

Among other measures targeting Russia's energy sector, the Biden administration has sanctioned Zhoushan Wison Offshore for its role in supplying Novatek's Arctic LNG 2 plant with power modules - key equipment for bringing the blacklisted project online. 

According to the U.S. State Department, Wison supplied power generation modules for Arctic LNG 2's barge-based liquefaction trains, which (until recently) were under construction near Murmansk. After the modules were completed at Wison's plant, the company allowed them to be shipped to the Arctic LNG 2 construction site via a series of complex transfers. The modules were transshipped multiple times between different module carriers, including the U.S.-sanctioned ships Hunter Star and Nan Feng Zhi Xing, which have also been blacklisted for involvement in Russian energy projects. Some of these ships took steps to conceal their identity and location, the department noted. 

Wison is a leading offshore shipyard and module fabricator, and its blacklisting has implications for other customers. Among other projects, Wison is building the Nguya LNG floating liquefaction plant for Eni, a key part of the Italian supermajor's phase two development plans for new fields off Pointe-Noir. Nguya was just launched in November, and was 80 percent complete at that point; the effects of Wison's blacklisting are uncertain, but U.S. blocking sanctions typically complicate the process of making payments, since they prohibit the use of the U.S. banking system.

The State Department also sanctioned HongKong Yaqing Shipping Co. Ltd. for its role in transporting the modules from Wison, along with the company's heavy lift ship Ocean 28. It also designated two more LNG carrier operators, Skyhart Management and Avision Shipping, for managing two ships that took on blacklisted cargo from Arctic LNG 2. The department identified their vessels as the Mulan, Pravasi and Onyx. 

Also sanctioned were Rosatom Chief Executive Officer Alexey Likhachev and members of Rosatom’s board, including Vyacheslav Ruksha, head of the Northern Sea Route Directorate. In addition to its role in Russia's nuclear program, Rosatom is the operator of Russia's nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet and the manager of the Northern Sea Route - the long icebound stretch of coastal water north of Siberia. Ruksha, as head of the Northern Sea Route directorate, is Russia's lead manager for Arctic navigation between the Barents Sea and the Bering Strait. 
 

 

The U.S. Navy today announced the names for the fifth and sixth carriers of the Fold class. While the ships are a decade away, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced the names of two future vessels as USS William J. Clinton (CVN 82) and the future USS George W. Bush (CVN 83) noting that it follows a Navy tradition of often naming aircraft carriers after U.S. presidents.

“President Clinton and President Bush led the United States through some of the most challenging moments in U.S. history,” said Secretary Del Toro. “Their legacies will endure through these aircraft carriers, which serve as formidable platforms dedicated to safeguarding our national security and strengthening our resolve to protect this Nation against any who would threaten our freedoms and way of life.”

The move comes as USS John F. Kennedy is in the fitting-out stages and scheduled for commissioning in 2025 replacing her namesake which was sold for scrap in 2021. Newport News which is building the carriers highlighted that this year it expects for the first time to be building two of the super carriers simultaneously.  Work on Enterprise is underway and they move the keel sections in the dry dock so that work can begin in 2025 to assemble Doris Miller.

The current schedule anticipates that the new Ford-class carriers will be commissioned with the Enterprise in 2028 and the Doris Miller in 2032. The Navy is still debating plans with Congress for the continuation of the program. One scenario anticipates William J. Clinton would be ordered by 2032 and George W. Bush by 2034. The Congressional Budget Office however in December 2024 also showed a scenario that would cancel the additional carriers.

The Navy noted this would be the first time either of the former presidents would be honored with a navy vessel. President Joe Biden said he personally delivered the news to the former presidents and both were deeply humbled.

“The future USS William J. Clinton and the future USS George W. Bush will begin construction in the years ahead. When complete, they will join the most capable, flexible, and professional Navy that has ever put to sea.  They will be crewed by Sailors who hail from every corner of the United States, and who will sail these ships into harm’s way, defending our interests overseas and our safety here at home,” said President Biden.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the Department of Defense is honored by the Navy's naming of two future carriers. The Navy highlights as Commander-in-Chief, Clinton was responsible for multiple military operations including in Iraq as well as directed the largest deployment of U.S. naval forces since the Vietnam War in response to the 1996 Third Taiwan Straits Crisis to deter Chinese aggression.

As Commander-in-Chief, President Bush rallied the nation in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and launched the response to the terrorists in Afghanistan. The military also ended the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

The Navy highlights the aircraft carriers as the centerpiece of America's Naval forces, calling them the most adaptable and survivable airfields in the world. During the ceremony announcing the names they also reported Ms. Chelsea Clinton, daughter of President Clinton, would serve as the sponsor for the future USS William J. Clinton.
 

 

Since the Russia-Ukraine war started in 2022, Turkey has become a popular destination for Russian superyachts evading western sanctions. Reportedly, this has created a new business venture for Turkish yards looking into repair and maintenance of these luxury vessels. In the past one year, some shipyards based in Tuzla, Istanbul have been expanding their capacity to service superyachts.

Last week, KRM Yacht Refit & Rebuild reported completing the installation of a 900-ton lift mobile crane, said to be the largest of its kind in Turkey. This new lift ability will allow the KRM yard in Tuzla to accommodate yachts of up to 70 meters in length.

In an interview with the Turkish media Patronlar Dunyasi, the founder of the KRM Shipyard Kerem Baser, said that the new capacity will allow his yard to repair and renew larger yachts.

“Most Russian billionaires’ yachts are currently in Turkey. They have been wanting to renovate these yachts but our previous crane could only handle smaller vessels of up to 40 meters in length. Looking ahead, we are aiming to handle renovation of yachts of up to 100 meters,” commented Dunyasi.

With intensifying economic sanctions from the West, superyachts linked to Russian oligarchs are now unable to access repair and maintenance services from European yards. According to Dunyasi, this presents a lucrative opportunity for Turkish yards.

“It is not just about maintenance and repair; the yachts can be entirely renewed or even redesigned. If a yacht is from a good manufacturer, refitting it could cost more than $6 million. This will open up new opportunities for Turkish manufacturers operating in the Tuzla shipyard ecosystem,” added Dunyasi.

Turkey maintains a neutral stance on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. As a result, Turkish waters have become a safe haven for superyachts linked to Russia.

Retailers are continuing to front-load their imports which is driving up the volumes seen at major U.S. ports. The National Retail Federation in its monthly read on container volumes expects the rush to get merchandise into the country will continue in part started by the fear of an East Coast port strike and now potential tariffs from the new Trump administration.

The Global Port Tracker showed an increase in volumes in the fall with November’s container imports up 14.7 percent over a year earlier. It was down slightly from October – 3 percent – but they also believed retailers were front-loading before the October International Longshoremen’s Association strike on the East Coast.

The current volumes are coming in significantly ahead of the NRF’s forecast. They believe it is a sign of the continuing front-loading. “Importers had already front-loaded,” said Ben Hackett of Hackett Associates noting it is “giving a boost to imports in December and early January.”

Volumes for November are approximately 14 percent over the forecast from the NRF for the month. They report without finalized numbers from the Port of New York New Jersey the TEU volume was 2.17 million containers in November. Further, while the numbers are not finalized for December, NRF believes the volume was 19 percent over its forecast. They are now projecting December at 2.24 million TEU.

Highlighting last week’s tentative agreement for the new ILA contract, Jonathan Gold, the NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, said, “The agreement came at the last minute, and retailers were already bringing in spring merchandise early to ensure that they would be well-stocked to serve their customers in case of another disruption, resulting in higher imports. The surge in imports has also been driven by President-elect Trump’s plan to increase tariffs because retailers want to avoid higher costs that will eventually be paid by consumers. The long-term impact on imports remains to be seen.”

The NRF also raised its forecast for the full year 2024 saying with the recent surge they now expect the year will total 25.6 million TEU. That would be better than a 15 percent increase over 2023 and just 200,000 TEU short of the all-time record in 2021. That is an increase of 700,000 TEU over its previous forecast.

The momentum is also expected to carry into the first part of 2025. The NRF is calling for 10 percent year-over-year increases in both January and March but a soft February due to the timing this year of the Lunar New Year when many factors in China and Asia are closed. The early forecast sees an 8 percent increase year-over-year for April and nearly a 6 percent increase for May.

 

Ukraine's military intelligence agency claims that Russia is encountering difficulties in gaining access to its longtime naval base in Tartus, where it appears to have staged large quantities of military equipment for outward shipment. One of the Russian naval vessels stuck offshore Syria, the amphib Alexander Otrakovsky, has now developed technical issues with its water desalination plant and with leaking fuel tanks - but it cannot enter port for repairs, according to Ukraine's HUR.

In early December, U.S.-designated terror group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) began an offensive against the government forces of dictator Bashar al-Assad, the latest in a long series of battles in Syria's 13-year civil war. This time, Assad's forces rapidly collapsed under pressure, and his Russian backers retreated ahead of the advancing rebels. As HTS seized the capital city of Damascus, the Russian military pulled back and concentrated its assets in Tartus and Latakia, where Russia has operated military bases since the Soviet era. 

As an apparent precautionary measure, the Russian Navy's Mediterranean Flotilla sortied from Tartus and took up station off the coast, where it has remained since. Satellite imagery confirms that the Russian berths in the port are empty of seagoing vessels, and the quaysides have filled up with Russian trucks and equipment. 

The timeline for Russia to regain access and retrieve that equipment appears uncertain, according to the HUR. The spy agency reports that Russian Rear Adm. Valery Vladimirovich Varfolomeyev attempted to negotiate with HTS on an agreement for port access on January 9, but was rebuffed.

While the Ukrainian report could not be immediately verified, three Russian military cargo ships are loitering in the area, along with the tank landing ships Ivan Gren and Alexander Otrakovsky. The landing ships are often used to augment Russian logistics capabilities (in addition to their amphibious assault role). None of these vessels have re-entered port.

Depending upon the degree of access Russia eventually negotiates, at least some of the gear may end up being left behind. Pro-Ukraine news service Euromaidan reports that Russian troops have orders to burn any non-operational equipment on the ground if it cannot be evacuated, in order to prevent it from falling into HTS' hands. 

 

The Chinese Embassy in Somalia announced that the fishing vessel seized by pirates in November has been released. They said the crew was unharmed and the vessel was moving into “safe waters.” 

The incident involving the fishing boat was reported at the beginning of December by EUNAVFOR Atalanta, the EU mission to monitor security off the Horn of Africa. The report said Atalanta had been notified and investigated but they classified it an armed robbery because the vessel remained in territorial waters. In today’s statement, the Chinese Embassy said attempts to sabotage the China-Somalia cooperation are in vain citing the “profound traditional friendship.”

Details of the release were not provided with the embassy only speaking of the “unremitting efforts of the Chinese government.” Atalanta had reported it was monitoring the vessel and in contact with the authorities in Somalia and China.

In mid-December, reports surfaced that the pirates increased their demand to $10 million for the release of the vessel. This came after reports said the Chinese offered $300,000 and later 1 million dollars for the release of the ship and its crew.  Associated Press in Somalia reports today it is unclear if any money was paid.

The vessel had been boarded it was revealed in late November. When Atalanta spotted the vessel, it reported “the fishing vessel is under control of the alleged pirates, some of whom are carrying AK-47s and machine guns.”

The vessel was taken to the Puntland region which is semi-autonomous of Somalia. The region is known for its support of the piracy activity.

Atalanta’s data shows that it has documented reports of 20 attacks in 2024 including ones that were not successful in seizing vessels. They said there were 15 suspicious approaches reported during the year. It however notes that there is an unknown number of unreported/unconfirmed incidents involving dhows and smaller vessels.
 

 

Finnish police have issued a travel ban to a ninth member of the crew of the tanker Eagle S, which is suspected of cutting multiple subsea power and communications cables in the Gulf of Finland on Christmas Day. 

On Dec. 25, Fingrid's EstLink 2 power transmission cable and four subsea telecom cables suddenly shut down. The outages corresponded to the position of the tanker Eagle S, an LR1 associated with the Russian-controlled "shadow fleet." In response, Finland dispatched a police tactical team in a helicopter and asked Eagle S to divert into Finnish territorial waters. The crew agreed to comply, and the tanker has been detained ever since. In addition to the police detention order, eight crewmembers were banned from leaving the country, the ship's cargo was arrested, and the vessel was given an administrative detention for multiple "serious" safety deficiencies. 

On Monday, Finland's National Bureau of Investigation announced that investigators have added a ninth crewmember to the list of criminal suspects connected to the cable damage incident. All nine face possible charges of aggravated vandalism and aggravated interference with telecommunications, and have been served with a travel ban to ensure that they stay within reach during the investigation. 

Chief Criminal Inspector Risto Lohi told YLE on Monday that the investigation is now focused on determining whether there was intent to cause the damage. The police continue to question the crew, with a focus on the deck department. 

"The investigation is now continuing with crew interviews, underwater investigation and technical investigation. At this stage, the focus is shifting to analyzing the material already collected," he said. 

Investigators confirmed Monday that they believe that the tanker could have continued onward to damage additional subsea infrastructure if it had not been stopped. Possible further targets could have included the Estlink 1 subsea cable - the backup for the Estlink 2 - and the Balticconnector gas pipeline. All of these subsea links are important for energy security in the Baltic states, which are currently attempting to wean their grids off of reliance on Russian electrical power. 

"There would have been an almost immediate danger that other cables or pipes related to our critical underwater infrastructure could have been damaged," Lohi told Reuters.

After three subsea cable damage incidents in little more than a year, NATO has agreed to take action to protect its members, including its two newest states. Sweden - which just joined NATO last year, following Finland - is now planning to contribute three naval vessels for subsea security operations in the Baltic. The warships will be under NATO control and will deploy to monitor traffic and subsea cable integrity. 

The suspected anchor-drag sabotage incidents have affected multiple NATO members. Sweden believes that an earlier cable incident involving the Chinese bulker Yi Peng 3 in Swedish waters may have narrowly missed a subsea power link. "There are traces of an anchor, probably from Yi Peng 3, also in connection with NordBalt-cable, that is, the connection between Sweden and Lithuania. This obviously illustrates the seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in," Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin told media on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Finland will host the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit in Helsinki, where subsea security will be high on the agenda. 

 

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office had reportedly concluded China is using unfair policies and practices to dominate the shipbuilding industry as well as the global maritime and logistics sectors. The finding comes as China in 2024 moved into the dominant position in newbuilding orders scoring as much as 70 percent of the orders and widening the gap with South Korea its nearest rival.

According to an exclusive report from Reuters, Katherine Tai who leads the efforts to oversee U.S. trade has concluded a nearly 10-month investigation into the shipbuilding industry and will release the final report by the end of this week. The investigation was launched in April 2024 in response to a formal complaint filed by a coalition of five U.S. unions representing steelworkers, machinists, and shipbuilders.

China the report will conclude according to Reuters is using “unjustifiable” or “unreasonable” business practices. Under the Trade Act of 1974, the U.S. Trade Representative has the power to investigate and penalize countries involved in unfair trade which is a burden to U.S. commerce.

The unions supported by U.S. senators highlighted the plans of China’s Central Government to build up the shipbuilding industry over the past 20 years. They alleged China had taken actions to seize market share, suppress prices, and create a worldwide network of ports and logistics infrastructure.

Reuters reports Tai will cite the financial support provided by the government to the shipbuilding industry as well as efforts to “artificially suppress China’s labor costs in the maritime, shipbuilding, and logistics sectors.” Further, the report will say China has engaged in forced technology transfers, intellectual property theft, and procurement policies to give its shipbuilders an advantage.

China last year lashed out at the call for the trade investigation. China’s Ministry of Commerce said the complaint “lacks factual basis.” Chinese media cited the reference to “so-called subsidies” by the U.S. steelworkers and other unions as “totally untenable.”

It is unclear what penalties the U.S. might seek to invoke against the Chinese shipbuilding industry. U.S. flag shipping does not build ships in China and has limited use of the yards for overhauls or other conversion projects such as Matson’s LNG conversions of three containerships. Reuters quotes one source saying “a process will be laid out to try to stop the erosion of the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base and to start it growing again.” Reuters asserts there are just 20 public and private shipyards in the U.S. down from over 300 in the early 1980s.

The unions when they filed the complaint called for steps including a port fee on Chinese-built ships that dock in the U.S. They also proposed a fund to help the U.S. shipbuilding industry.

Coming at the end of the Biden administration, the enforcement of the decision will fall to the Trump administration. Donald Trump could use the finding as a further justification for his plan to impose tariffs of up to 60 percent on Chinese-made imports.

Reuters highlights that Trump’s incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz was part of the effort to develop the proposed SHIPS for America Act (Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security) legislation pending in Congress. It is billed as the first comprehensive strategy to rebuild America’s maritime sector and includes proposals such as a requirement for a portion of U.S. imports from China to be carried on U.S.-flagged ships. 
 

A spokesperson for the Houthi militants in Yemen is claiming their forces staged attacks over a 9-hour period against the USS Harry S. Truman and the carrier strike group. While they claimed to have been successful in their goals, U.S. CENTCOM has not acknowledged the attack and today released a photo of the carrier strike group sailing in the Red Sea.

Spokesperson Yahya Saree posted a message online on January 11 claiming that over a 24-hour period, the Houthis were targeting the USS Harry S. Truman and warships working with the carrier. CENTCOM acknowledges the Truman is sailing with the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham and the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, and over the weekend was in the Red Sea.

The claim said “a number of cruise missiles and drones,” were involved in the engagement with the carrier which lasted for 9 hours. “The operation achieved its goals and forced the aircraft carrier to leave the theater of operations and flee to the far north of the Red Sea,” claimed the Houthis.

This came after unconfirmed reports that U.S. and British forces supported a new Israeli attack on positions in Yemen. The Israel Defense Forces released a statement on January 10 reporting it struck Houthi military targets on the western coast and inland Yemen. They said the attacks included the Hudaydah and Ras Isa ports as well as the Hizaz power station, a central source of energy for the Houthis.

Israel has continued to target the ports of Yemen in its response. In December it reported destroying tugs in the ports. Online pictures showed the damage to tugs in the ports and now Bloomberg is reporting a lineup of tankers has formed off Yemen due to the lack of port facilities. They are reporting at least 15 tankers were waiting offshore, some loaded with Russian oil. Bloomberg cited unconfirmed reports of further attacks on the oil storage facilities at Ras Isa at the end of last week.

The last confirmed attacks by the U.S. were announced by CENTCOM on January 8. They reported strikes against two underground weapons storage facilities in Yemen.

CENTCOM released pictures from January 12 reporting General Michael Erik Kurilla, Command of CENTCOM, had visited the carrier to see operations and meet with the crew.

"The USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group exemplifies the strength, power projection, and war fighting prowess of the U.S. Navy," said Gen. Kurilla. “The Carrier Strike Group presence in the region reinforces our commitment, alongside our partners and allies, to ensuring maritime security and deterring threats to regional stability.”

CENTCOM reports the carrier strike group has been in its area of responsibility since December 14. In less than a month, the Houthis have claimed three attacks on the carrier with CENTCOM acknowledging that missiles were shot down during one of the assaults launched from the carrier on Yemen.
 

[By: UniBallast]

Scienco/FAST, along with UniBallast, B.V. based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, proudly announces the launch of the portable InTankFITT® Container, a containerized version of its revolutionary filterless Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS), InTank®. Designed to address the growing regulatory and operational challenges in ballast water management, this solution represents a major advancement in maritime technology.

Compact and Portable Design: The containerized system is preassembled and housed within a shipping container, enabling one treatment system to be shared between two or more project vessels or barges that do not require regular ballast water treatment.

Regulatory Compliance: InTank’s automated treatment provides assured compliance – treatment is checked twice and the TRO is recorded before discharge with automated, easy-to-read treatment reports available to the crew, port authorities, and customers before discharge.

Operational Efficiency: The filterless design eliminates the need for a complex and lengthy filtration process, reducing operational downtime and maintenance requirements. Fitted to a port-based ballast water reception barge, InTank’s non-filter and in-tank treatment makes receiving water from a discharging vessel very simple.

Scalable and Flexible: ideal for retrofits and temporary applications, the container design can be mounted on the deck or placed on a temporary platform for operation. The system's compact design allows it to be housed in a standard 20-foot container, facilitating worldwide shipping. InTank water treatment is not linked to ballast operations, removing stress during intake and discharge.

"The application for the SciencoFAST InTank Container is for up to 50,000 DWT (or system can treat 500-5,000 m3 of ballast water, up to 12 tanks (upgradeable) and all water types), which is a significant portion of the market. UniBallast offers this as both a product and a service, and this new capability not only simplifies ballast water management but empowers ship-owners and operators to achieve compliance with confidence and ease," said Rudy Mes, Sr. Vice President.

 

Canada has made its first-ever naval deployment to Antarctica. Last week, the Royal Canadian Navy vessel HMCS Margaret Brooke departed Halifax bound for the South American and Antarctic regions. The deployment of the vessel marks the start of Operation Projection 2025, as Canada eyes to enhance its cooperation with partners in South America. In addition, the expedition is meant to support Canada’s Antarctic scientific research.

“It is a historic moment as our Navy takes a step further south, into the Antarctic region. The crew on board HMCS Margaret Brooke embarks on a long and strenuous journey that will bring forward Canada’s presence and diplomacy to nations throughout the Central and South Americas,” said Rear-Admiral Josée Kurtz, Commander of the Canadian Maritime Forces Atlantic.

HMCS Margaret Brooke is a Harry DeWolf – class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV). The vessel entered naval service in October of 2022 as the second AOPV delivered under the Canadian National Shipbuilding Strategy. The vessel is meant to enhance Canada’s presence in the Arctic waters. However, during this expedition, the vessel will for the first time show its operational capabilities in the Antarctic maritime domain.

The expedition is scheduled to last for four months, with the ship expected back in Halifax in May. 85 crew members are onboard, and scientists from the National Research Council will join the ship in Punta Arenas, Chile for a two-week tour south of the Antarctic circle.

“The scientists will be doing some core sampling (of the ocean floor), some oceanography and some marine geology. HMCS Margaret Brooke was deployed north of the Arctic circle this past summer. With this deployment south of the Antarctic circle, it will be the first Canadian warship to reach the northernmost and southernmost points of the Earth within the same year,” said Commodore Jacob French, Commander of the Canadian Atlantic Fleet.  

 

For the first time, China's coast guard has begun patrolling a section of the country's "nine-dash line" - the loosely-defined boundary of Beijing's unilateral claim to the South China Sea, including international waters and other states' exclusive economic zones. 

Since the beginning of the new year, a group of large China Coast Guard cutters have been rotating through patrol duty in an area just off Zambales, Luzon. At closest approach, the patrols have come within about 55 nautical miles of Philippine shores. 

One of the deployed vessels is CCG 5901, the largest armed law enforcement vessel in the world at 12,000 tonnes displacement. Over VHF, its crew has informed the Philippine Coast Guard that the CCG is enforcing Chinese law in Chinese waters, even when 100 nautical miles inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone. 

The Philippine Coast Guard has dispatched the offshore patrol vessel BRP Teresa Magbanua to monitor the Chinese presence and push back on these sovereignty claims. Despite rough weather conditions, the crew of the Magbanua have kept watch and demonstrated continued Philippine presence. 

While monitoring the Chinese flotilla, the Philippine Coast Guard noticed a pattern that may explain the China Coast Guard's new behavior. The CCG cutters have been patrolling a north-south racetrack off Luzon's coast, and the tracklines align well with a segment of the "nine-dash line," which was invalidated by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in 2016.

Courtesy PCG 

"Their goal is to normalize such deployments, and if these actions go unnoticed and unchallenged, it will enable them to alter the existing status quo. This strategy of normalization, followed by altering the status quo and ultimately operationalizing their illegal narrative, has consistently been part of the Chinese playbook," said PCG spokesman Jay Tarriela. "This is why it is important for the Philippine Coast Guard to actively expose these unlawful deployments of Chinese vessels to the global community, ensuring that such actions are not normalized and that this bullying behavior does not succeed."

Tarriela warned that if China does not get pushed back, it could begin conducting the same patrols in other nations' exclusive economic zones, since the "nine-dash line" affects all of the coastal states of the South China Sea. This includes waters administered by Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.

To the north, South Korea's government is eyeing new Chinese activity in a contested part of the Yellow Sea. The so-called Provisional Measures Zone is claimed by both sides, and all activities within it are banned except for navigating and fishing. Construction is specifically disallowed - but China has been installing large metal structures in the zone, which it describes as "fishing support facilities." Another structure recently went in the water, South Korean officials reported January 9. 

East Asian defense analysts have noted that China pursued a similar incremental strategy with its island-building campaign in the South China Sea - creating nominally civilian structures, militarizing them over time, and then using them to support political claims of sovereignty.

“China is not only installing structures but also conducting military exercises in the region, signaling its ambitions to establish effective control over the West Sea,” Lee Dong-gyu, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, told Chosun Daily. “These actions aim to gain leverage in future negotiations with South Korea.”

 

The grounded self-unloader Algoma Verity has been refloated and safely moved to a nearby berth, the U.S. Coast Guard reported Sunday. 

At about 1130 hours Sunday morning, Algoma Verity was refloated on a rising tide, and she is now moored at Tioga Marine Terminal in Philadelphia. Coast Guard officers, salvors and representatives from the owner remain aboard to monitor the situation and continue an investigation into the cause of the casualty. 

“The on-scene personnel demonstrated exceptional initiative in a very dynamic environment,” said Capt. Kate Higgins-Bloom, captain of the port and commander of Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay. “The vessel is now well out of the channel, but we still have work to do to get the Algoma Verity safely out of the port. We are thankful for the flexibility of all our port partners as we work to protect public safety, the marine environment, and commerce.”  

As a precautionary measure, the Coast Guard has set up a revised safety zone extending 100 yards upriver and downriver from the Tioga Marine Terminal.  

On Wednesday night, Algoma Verity was northbound from the Port of Philadelphia with a cargo of 45,000 tonnes of salt, bound upriver for a terminal in Bucks County. In windy conditions, she went aground outside the main shipping channel in a bend just north of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The pilot of the 50,000 dwt self-unloader notified the Coast Guard of the incident at 1830 hours Wednesday, prompting an emergency response.

The vessel sustained tank damage in four ballast tanks and one empty fuel tank, according to the Coast Guard. No pollution or injuries have been reported, and an investigation into the cause of the casualty is under way. 

 

Imagine a world where every ship is piloted by an excellent captain, every hospital patient is attended to by an excellent doctor and every magazine article is written by an excellent author – and I don’t mean me, but rather an artificial intelligence (AI).

Our world now features AIs that, like their human creators, have highly differentiated areas of specialty. While ChatGPT and Claude make headlines for writing, less visible but equally revolutionary AI systems are transforming industries like shipping.

At the core of the AIs mentioned is the ability to analyze billions of data points like words, waveforms or pixels to train “parameters,” which are how AI grasps relationships. AI then weights these parameters, thus generating an “odds table” based on statistical understanding, to model relationships between inputs and outputs. By pattern matching with its parameters, AI can use those relationships to accurately guess outcomes.

It’s this probabilistic element that distinguishes AI from mere software, whose results tend to be deterministic: That means it will produce the same output when given the same input. AI operates more like a human mind, which can think in non-linear ways, remember things incorrectly or misspeak – although this arises from probabilistic data modeling, not the physical, sensory experience that humans enjoy.

Like a baseball player instinctively hitting a 100 mile-per-hour fastball, AI relies on experiential knowledge – the parameters – to make split-second decisions based on probabilities rather than performing real-time calculations for every variable.

Competing with Humans?

It’s for this reason that AI will compete for roles that have relied on humans with years of experience, who have developed a “velvet touch” or intuition, down to the specific quirks of docking at a certain berth, or who know the ins and outs of a given waterway.

That one ship that seems to only sail right when her favorite captain runs her? Ironically, it’s specifically for that type of situation that AI will be most effectively deployed.

But why? Isn’t it counter-intuitive that AI is so good at something so artisanal?

The key is that an AI is trained similarly to a human. It’s provided with inputs and outputs, and it gauges the results. So, by capturing enough data and keeping enough memory, AI could define limitless parameters for a ship, handling it in virtually any circumstance, much like the blind prophet Tiresias of Homer’s Odyssey: “If you can snare him and hold him tight, he will tell you about your voyage, what courses you are to take, and how you are to sail the sea so as to reach your home.”

The AI would not even need to “set foot” on board. Indeed, the only requirement would be that the dataset be as comprehensive and as accurate as possible. It would not even need to be perfectly accurate – remember, “parameters” are like odds tables.

People typically think of computers as rigid but powerful, inflexible but precise. AI is not like that: It can display finesse as a human would, but it doesn’t panic or get drunk or tired. It can guess accurately based on intuition when faced with imprecise knowledge.

These skills require intelligence, which used to be reserved for humans.

Maritime AI

And that intelligence comes in all shapes and sizes.

For example, the small but powerful shipboard units provided by Hefring Marine, the Icelandic maritime technology company founded in 2018, are nothing like the vast arrays of tensor graphics cards and virtual memory banks that power ChatGPT or Claude. This is partly because Hefring Marine’s AI is so much more specialized. It only needs to optimize one vessel for its operations and environment, using training data fed to it from roughly 30 sensors.

The often-limited connectivity at sea is not an obstacle to collecting essential training data since the unit can operate independently for months without Internet access. It simply stores data locally and uploads it when connectivity is restored.

In terms of “accuracy,” Hefring Marine trained its initial models with Norwegian Search and Rescue, who have experienced captains who know their ships very well. They provided a baseline, or idealized outcome, against which to test the AI’s performance. The AI’s result, its deviation from the idealized outcome, is termed the “error.” A low-error model will consistently produce outcomes which are close to the idealized outcome.

During training, the AI will constantly compare its outputs to those of seasoned captains, refining its parameters. Once the AI’s error rate hits its target range, its training is complete, and it will reliably emulate the seasoned captain’s decision-making, which ideally means it will optimize fuel efficiency, speed and safety, and navigational choices.

Hefring’s AI model claims to boost fuel efficiency by three to 20 percent while minimizing hard impacts that wear down both vessels and crews. If data gathered from the decision-making of a great captain was used to train the AI model, then it’s like always having a great captain looking over your shoulder and providing feedback on a digital overlay.

Ever the bellwether of practical merit, marine insurers are signaling interest. Some even offer premium discounts as an incentive to use Hefring Marine’s AI. The insights it provides help insurers assess damages more quickly and accurately. The collected data minimizes factual arguments. Further, the system’s predictive capabilities alert operators to potential maintenance needs, saving costs over the vessel’s lifespan.

It’s only a matter of time before AI on ships is not just for navigational assistance and safety advice. Eventually, given enough data and computing power, it should be able to handle complex tasks like dynamically positioning a monopile in a wind park. For now, however, most operators, especially those doing niche tasks, are safe.

Legal Implications

But AI adoption is likely to grow. As it does, the law will come into play, particularly in Europe. The E.U.’s AI Act, touted as the world’s first “comprehensive” regulatory regime targeting AI, betrays its discomfort with technology. For example, in 2023 the E.U. prognosticated that ChatGPT’s GPT-4 model, which is in common use, would likely “pose systemic risk” given its vast range of capabilities.

AIs operating in other areas may also be deemed “high risk,” e.g., in medicine, the law or biometrics. An AI used as a safety component or to profile an employee’s work performance may be treated that way, too. The E.U.’s AI Act subjects such AIs to certification, scrutiny of the data used in training, post-market monitoring and many other burdens.

So, is Hefring Marine’s AI “high-risk”? Hefring Marine’s AI touches on several aspects: It’s designed to improve safety; it gives operational guidance, and it can be used to track a captain’s low performance if, e.g., they stray from optimum ship handling. Arguably, it also plays a role in infrastructure, which is defined as a critical “high-risk” AI sector.

Then there is GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), the E.U.’s personal data protection law. More than 1,000 American websites, including the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, still block access to E.U.-based IP addresses since they do not wish to comply with GDPR’s many rules. For AI, any training data associated with an individual, like our seasoned captain from earlier, would likely be classified as personal data and thus be subject to GDPR.

Depending on how case law develops, this could make it increasingly difficult – maybe even impossible – to train AI models in Europe or to collect European training data for that purpose.

Decision Time

Humans are now not the only sophisticated intelligence on Earth. Should we embrace AI in every walk of life – even in shipping? Or try to constrain AI, like the E.U.?

The good news: Since it’s us who created this new intelligence, we get to decide.  

One month after two aging coastal tankers broke up near the Kerch Strait, their cargoes of heavy fuel oil continue to contaminate beaches in Crimea and Krasnodar, and Russian authorities have decided to ramp up the the response.

Last month, the aging river-sea tanker Volgoneft 212 sank in a severe storm about five nautical miles outside of the Kerch Strait. The tanker Volgoneft 239 went aground off Taman shortly after, and it gradually broke up and began leaking its cargo. The two tankers were each carrying thousands of tonnes of mazut, a Russian grade of heavy fuel oil; Russian officials claim that the majority of the sludgy cargo did not spill, but mazut has been washing up around the region for weeks in significant quantities. Both vessels were more than 50 years old, and the head of Russia's maritime trade union told state outlet TASS that they were never designed for the rough conditions of the Kerch Strait in a winter storm; the masters of both vessels have been arrested and charged, but the remainder of the aging river-sea tanker fleet continues to trade in the area without interruption. 

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the spill "one of the most serious environmental challenges" that Russia has recently encountered. The port of Taman is particularly affected, according to  Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov, as it is nearest to the wreck of the Volgoneft-239, which continues to leak. The remaining fuel in the damaged tanker's stern section will be pumped off, Kurenkov said. 

After weeks of citizen complaints, a new federal emergency task force has been set up to deal with the crisis. Local volunteers have reported limited support from the government for heavy cleanup on the tourist beaches of the Krasnodar region, which have borne the brunt of the impact. Over 10,000 people have joined the cleanup effort, and more than 80,000 tonnes of sand-oil mix have been collected to date - but volunteer efforts to shovel and bag the oiled beach sand have been spoiled in some places by re-spillage of unremoved waste. 

The environmental hazard from the spill is significant enough that Russia may decide to ban the sale of fish caught in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov - though no ban has been implemented yet. Wildlife impacts are significant, with region-wide reports of oiled seabirds and dozens of reported deaths of dolphins. 

 

[By Anna Turns]

The ocean absorbs more than 90% of the atmosphere’s excess heat trapped by human-emitted greenhouse gases. It plays a vital role in mitigating the climate crisis and our health relies on that of the ocean. But often, it is simply considered a place to extract useful resources such as food and minerals.

The charitable research institute Scottish Association for Marine Science (Sams) recently voted to make the ocean a trustee on its board, represented either by a specific person or a working group that can help hold the organization to account and speak up for the ocean’s interests. The Conversation spoke to Sams’ director, Nicholas Owens, a professor of marine science, about why he thinks this step could help charities, organizations, and businesses make decisions that are healthier for the ocean – and the planet.

How can the ocean be a board member?

The move to empower the ocean as a “board trustee” mirrors legal innovations, such as the recognition that rivers and ecosystems have legal “personhood” in countries such as Ecuador, India and New Zealand. In 2022, the Scottish beauty company, Faith in Nature, elected “nature” to its board, while adventure clothing brand Patagonia announced that Earth would be the US company’s only shareholder.

Human activities are disrupting marine ecosystems at an alarming rate. But most of these human activities are, to a significant degree, controlled by decisions taken in boardrooms. By considering how decisions will affect the ocean as a whole, our board can hopefully make significant improvements and inspire other organizations to prioritize ocean health and sustainable marine development above resource extraction or financial gain.

How significant is this move?

I believe that electing the ocean to be a trustee of Sams could be one of the most important decisions in our history. It challenges outdated models of governance and champions a future where the ocean’s voice is central to decision-making.

This might sound like a trivial gimmick, even whimsical. But after several months of careful discussion and debate, the trustees and I are convinced that even with a strong empathy for ocean conservation and a well-informed understanding of marine environmental matters, the decisions we tend to make are anthropocentric.

This is a fundamental step change. It’s a reminder to consider this extra dimension every time a decision is made at board level and to ensure that an ocean-centric perspective seeps into everything we do.

Swimming, sailing, even just building a sandcastle - the ocean benefits our physical and mental wellbeing. Curious about how a strong coastal connection helps drive marine conservation, scientists are diving in to investigate the power of blue health.

Why does a research institute run by and for humans need an ocean-centric perspective?

Human interests are usually given precedence, and concern is limited to the impact on the ocean rather than the long-term interests of the ocean. This anthropocentric approach is near universal.

Take, for example, the UN’s “ocean decade”, a major global research initiative that aims to unlock “the science we need for the ocean we want”. While the project is worthy and ambitious, the pronoun “we” is telling.

Some of the UN’s ocean decade ambitions are ocean-centric, at least in part, but most are focused on the food we take from the sea, the pollution we sometimes allow to enter the sea, and the marine urbanization we intend to develop offshore. While the ocean decade (from 2021 to 2030) is a magnificent way to mobilize the international marine science community, even the best-intentioned ambitions invariably prioritize human benefits.

So if this isn’t a gimmick, how will your board meetings now differ? Who will be speaking up for the ocean?

Our internal working group is currently deciding how to practically operate. For example, choosing between appointing one person (perhaps, an environmental lawyer) or a larger working committee to represent the voice of the ocean at each board meeting. Whatever the outcome, trustees will be holding our organisation to account from a less anthropocentric perspective.

More widely, this move has already started shifting the sorts of conversations our teams are having on a daily basis. From a research perspective, we’ve always been ethical, but now, this can be a catalyst for a deeper cultural change. I’m proud that lots of our staff are excited to work for an organisation that is taking this more considered approach.

What does it mean for your researchers and your marine research?

We already have teams focusing on the blue economy, investigating how best we can live alongside ocean ecosystems sustainably and mindfully without causing harm. But, some of the debates we have will change and affect the types of marine research we carry out in the future.

Take our deep sea research, for example. We carry out research to investigate deep-sea ecosystems. The results of our studies can be used for many purposes, including to inform the debate about deep sea mining licences.

If our research is not doing any harm, perhaps it’s fine for us to take samples and further investigate what’s there. But – and this certainly does take a leap in thinking – what would the ocean say about this? Should even research into such contentious topics be carried out?

This is a different way of looking at this argument, from a more neutral and less ego-centric perspective. By becoming more sensitive to the needs of the ocean environment, our suite of research interests may well evolve slightly in the future.

Could it lead to any negative consequences for the research institute?

Our current ethical policy is based on conventional norms. Taking an ocean-centric perspective could lead to different outcomes. If followed genuinely, this approach could result in poorer short-term financial performance. But we’re prepared to make a possible short-term sacrifice to ensure more positive outcomes for the ocean in the future.

Electing an ocean trustee is not just a practical step. It is a philosophical statement. By recognizing that humans are part of nature and not separate from it, this challenges anthropocentric models of governance that prioritize human interests over the natural world.

Our society’s survival depends on the health of the planet’s ecosystems. This philosophy is deeply rooted in many Indigenous cultures that consider nature a partner, not a commodity.

Anna Turns is Senior Environment Editor at The Conversation. Since studying biology, Anna has worked in the media for more than two decades, from TV production to magazine journalism and radio broadcasting. As a freelance environmental journalist, she has written regularly for many national publications including The Guardian, BBC Future, New Scientist and Positive News with a focus on solutions. 

This article appears courtesy of The Conversation and may be found in its original form here. 

Top image: Christopher Michel / CC BY SA 3.0 

 

The tragic loss of bulk carrier Edmund Fitzgerald is set to be permanently engraved in a marker, five decades after it sank with the loss of all hands. 

On the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior, a group in Superior, Wisconsin, called the Friends of the Fitz is seeking to raise $7,000 to purchase a Wisconsin Historical Society marker to honor the bulker and her crew.

The marker would be installed on Barkers Island, since Superior was the last port of call for Edmund Fitzgerald. The story of the vessel's loss is a maritime legend in the Great Lakes: the bulker sank on the evening of November 10, 1975, during a particularly rough storm on Lake Superior. There were no survivors amongst the ship’s 29 crew.

Plans to erect the marker come days after Superior Mayor Jim Paine proclaimed 2025 as the “Year of the Fitz”, setting the stage for commemorative events to remember the sinking of the ship, which was a constant presence on Lake Superior for 17 years. Her wreck is located some 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan.

Built in 1958, the 729-foot-long Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest and fastest Great Lakes ship of her era. Sometimes called the Mighty Fitz or Big Fitz, the ship set multiple records for the largest season-hauls and was the first lake freighter built to the maximum St. Lawrence Seaway size. The vessel had a capacity of 26,000 tonnes.

During her productive life of service, Edmund Fitzgerald carried taconite iron ore from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Toledo and other Great Lakes ports. Her tragic sinking occurred in 1975 after embarking on a voyage from Superior, Wisconsin, near Duluth carrying a full cargo of ore pellets with Captain Ernest M. McSorley in command.

On November 10, the ship was caught in a severe storm on Lake Superior, with near hurricane-force winds and waves up to 35 feet (11 meters). In these extreme conditions, she took on water and sank quickly, with the loss of all hands. Investigators were later determined that the probable cause of the accident was the sudden massive flooding of the cargo hold due to the collapse of one or more hatch covers.

“There are so many memorials out there and ways that other communities have remembered their real part in the Edmund Fitzgerald’s history and Superior is no different,” said Jenny Van Sickle, Superior City Councilor. “So the Friends of the Fitz are raising money in order to purchase and install our own official marker here in Superior.”

The historical marker will be another piece of artifact that will help keep the memories of Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew alive for decades. It will join the ship’s 200-pound bronze bell, which was recovered in July 1995 and is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. The ship’s bow anchor is on display at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.