When a Louisiana refinery's mooring dock collapsed upon contact with a barge in 2023, allision damage might have been suspected - but the National Transportation Safety Board has determined that it was the dock to blame, not the vessel. A structural inspection had discovered serious deterioration of the dock six years before the accident, and no progress was made in making repairs in the year and a half before the casualty.

In the early hours of April 25, 2023, the towing vessel Ovide J was arriving at the Chalmette Refinery crude oil dock with two laden barges and a cargo of 50,000 barrels of crude. The refinery is on the Lower Mississippi near mile 89, just downriver from New Orleans. The dock was built in 1967 out of wood and steel pilings, dolphins, and access bridges. The transfer platform was located on dolphin number three, along with a boom crane and the pipe manifold. 

The relief captain was at the helm as the towboat approached the dock from downriver, using the current to guide the tow slowly towards the pier. The relief captain made his final approach at 0001-0004, maneuvering slowly to make contact with the dock at about 0.3 knots. 

When the tow made contact with dolphin number 3, part of the dock fell off into the river. The relief captain put the starboard side engine in neutral in order to avoid fouling the propeller with any debris from the collapse. The other two dolphins remained intact, so the crew moored to the surviving portions of the dock and notified the company of the casualty. Luckily, no one was injured.

The Ovide J and her barges sustained no damage from the incident, and the timber fendering around the dock was undamaged. Video from the pilothouse showed no signs of a hard contact (like jarring, vibration or movement of objects). The relief captain later told investigators that the maneuver - which he had performed at the same dock 20 times in the past year - had gone perfectly to plan.

"When you come in, you touch up stern first. . . . So, when I came in, I lightly touch on the stern. . . . As soon as I touched up, the dock collapsed," he said. "If I had to do it again, I would do it the same way over again. I would not change a thing."

The dock sustained about $7 million worth of damage: 150 feet of the structure collapsed, and the support piles for dolphin number three were sheared off below the waterline. But the damage may have started long before the casualty event, based on past inspection reports. In 2017, a third-party engineering inspection found major deterioration of the braces between the dolphin's pilings. Six years before the collapse, three horizontal braces on the dolphin were broken, one more was damaged and two pilings were "severely deteriorated." The dock owner informed NTSB that the recommendations from this inspection had "not been progressed" before the dock collapsed. 

"Because a portion of the dock collapsed from what appeared to be a low-impact contact during docking, it is likely that the dock’s dolphin no. 3 transfer platform structure was compromised to the extent that it could not sustain the forces from a typical docking. The dock owner was aware that the dock had structural integrity issues before the collapse but had not yet taken steps to address them," NTSB concluded. 

The risk of a resumption of Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has risen in recent days, linked to growing potential for the resumption of hostilities in Gaza.

On January 19, the Houthi leadership in Yemen announced that they would no longer attack US and UK shipping so long as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held. Since the Houthi announced that they would suspend their campaign, insurance premiums for Red Sea transits have fallen and there have been no announced attacks. The industry has regarded the ceasefire as fragile, and major carriers such as Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC and CMA CGM have been reluctant to resume services through the Red Sea. Some shipping has returned, however, including LNG tanker traffic, which normally carries the highest insurance premiums.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have been replenishing missile and drone stocks and seeking alternative sources of supply. US Coast Guard Sentinel Class cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr (WPC 1147) intercepted a dhow in the Arabian Sea on January 28, with Iranian missile and drones components destined for the Houthis on board. And on March 5, the U.S. Treasury announced a series of sanctions connected with Houthi attempts to procure weapons systems directly from Russia, orchestrated by the Houthi external affairs office in Oman led by Mohammad Abdulsalam, who was sanctioned under E.O. 13224 along with his deputy Eshaq Abdulmalek Abdullah Almarwan.

The principal cause of the heightened risk is the fragile situation in Gaza, where the first phase of the ceasefire has ended without agreement on its continuation or a second phase. But the primary catalyst is likely to be the immediate rejection of the Arab League’s proposal for the reconstruction of Gaza by both Israel and the United States.

The US rejection has been accompanied by powerful American statements of intent, which on March 4 included both a B-52 patrol off the Gaza coast and deliveries of heavyweight bombs via C-17s flying into Nevatim in Israel. A tweet from President Trump set the tone: "People of Gaza, if you (continue) to hold hostages, you are dead."

Arab states have long sought to remain on good terms with the United States while building links with America’s adversaries. Egypt, which hosted the Arab League summit, is also a large recipient of US military assistance. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have recently boosted their diplomatic ties with Iran, while accommodating US military assets. Likewise, Qatar still tolerates both a Hamas presence and the important US airbase at Al Udeid. Oman exercises with the Iranians and provides a safe refuge for the Houthis to pursue international objectives, whilst at the same time also providing port facilities to the US Navy at Duqm.

All these relationships entail a delicate balancing act by Arab governments, a component of which is appeasing very strong popular support for Hamas and Palestine, which will be further inflamed by the rejection of the Arab League proposal. For some of the weaker governments, maintaining this balance is a real struggle – which may, for example, explain a recent flurry of UK Royal Air Force flights into Jordan.  

A high stakes, maximum pressure attempt to settle the Gaza crisis brings with it two principal risks. The first is that of unrest within Arab states, and the potential economic damage such unrest might cause in terms of disruption to trade and supplies of oil and gas. The second risk is that the Houthis will resume their attacks on the Red Sea traffic. Behind both risks is the Iranian regime, itself in a nervous and vulnerable state. The major shipping companies are probably exercising good judgment at present by holding off any return to the Red Sea.

Poor weather has repeatedly delayed the pollution-abatement operation for the wreck of the New Zealand naval survey ship HMNZS Manawanui, which grounded and sank off Samoa in October 2024, and New Zealand's representatives have declined to update local media on the amount of fuel left in her tanks. 

After the sinking, New Zealand's defense department initially said that Manawanui contained about one million liters of fuel in her tanks, and maintains that minimal amounts leaked out after the sinking. After several rounds of dive operations, a commercial contractor has recovered an estimated 340,000 liters of petroleum, the service confirmed to New Zealand outlet Stuff - but officials declined to say how much fuel remains on the ship. 

The task was supposed to finish in January, but has taken longer than expected. The salvor continues to work on recovering remaining amounts of fuel from the vessel's tanks and compartments; conditions on scene are challenging, including periods of rough weather and a difficult location at the edge of the reef. 

The ship will likely remain in place and become a part of the reef structure, New Zealand defense minister Judith Collins told local media. Despite local complaints about the smell of diesel fuel, the government of Samoa "has decided it wants it to stay where it is," she said. Collins suggested that it will likely be a diving attraction when cleanup operations are completed, much like an artificial reef. 

HMNZS Manawanui went aground near a reef on the southern coast of Upolu, Samoa on October 5. The commanding officer ordered the 75 crewmembers aboard the vessel to abandon ship, and all made it safely to shore, despite rough surface conditions. Several of the survivors were injured while crossing a reef to reach safety, but all survived; the vessel caught fire and sank the next morning. 

Manawanui will not be replaced, Collins confirmed in January, and her missions will be picked up by the patrol boat HMNZS Otago - a much smaller vessel lacking Manawanui's working deck and 100-tonne crane.

The Philippine government is used to provocative statements from China's state-owned media empire, but has expressed alarm at a new theory circulating on  tightly-monitored Chinese social media: the newly-created concept that Palawan, one of the Philippines' home islands, is actually part of China. 

To date, all of China's expansionist claims in the South China Sea have been focused on reefs and small islands, most of them uninhabited. If the anonymous comments on Chinese social media were transformed into policy, Palawan would be the first major piece of inhabited sovereign territory that China has claimed in the Philippines. Though new, such a claim would be consistent with China's foreign policy objectives: Beijing has laid similar historical claim to Tibet, Taiwan and parts of northern India.

If the new Palawan claims were promoted on open-access Western platforms like X or Facebook, Manila would likely have little cause for concern. But since the Chinese internet is tightly governed and subject to rigid censorship, and China has allowed the Palawan claims to stay posted online, the Philippine government has reacted with alarm. 

"We categorically reject the baseless and revisionist claims circulating on Chinese social media that Palawan was historically part of China and should be returned to it," said Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Año in a statement. "Palawan has always been and will always remain an integral part of the Republic of the Philippines. No historical record, legal precedent or credible evidence support the claim that Palawan was ever under Chinese sovereignty."

The claim on Chinese social media suggests that Palawan is "Zheng He Island," named for the 14th-century Chinese explorer Zheng He. Año noted that there is no historical evidence that Zheng He visited Palawan, nor any sign of Chinese settlement in the province. "These false narratives, proliferated through digital disinformation and information warfare tactics, appear to be part of a broader effort to undermine Philippine sovereignty," Año warned. 

The "Zheng He" theory would extend China's ambitions beyond the boundaries of the well-known "nine-dash line" policy, Beijing's historically-derived claim to almost all of the South China Sea. The nine-dash line covers most of the Philippines' western exclusive economic zone, along with large sections of the Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indonesian and Bruneian economic zones. An international court invalidated the basis of that claim in 2016, but China has ignored the ruling. 

Work officially began with the next milestone on the fifth and final vessel in the Maritime Administration’s program to provide state-of-the-art training ships to the state-run maritime academies. The grand block for the fifth vessel, which has been assigned to the California State University Maritime Academy, was placed into the dry dock to begin assembly of the ship.

The orders for the vessels began in 2020 using the Vessel Construction Manager acquisition model where MARAD retained TOTE Services to manage the construction of the vessels and Philly Shipyard (now Hanwha Philly Shipyard) received the orders. The fifth vessel was added to the contract in April 2022. Philly Shipyard at the time said the fifth vessel was valued at approximately $300 million, bringing the total order intake under the contract for the five-ship program would be approximately $1.5 billion.

"California State University Maritime Academy is honored to be part of a distinguished fleet of purpose-built training ships, each designed to meet the evolving needs of America's maritime education while also providing the U.S. with ships that can support disaster response and other critical national needs," said Vice Admiral (Ret.) Michael J. Dumont, Interim President of Cal Maritime. "This vessel stands as a testament to innovation, resilience, and the nation's unwavering commitment to preparing the next generation of mariners. It will be proudly operated by the crew, cadets, and faculty of the only state maritime academy on the West Coast."

The program is known as the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV). The ships were designed to provide a modern training facility replacing outdated vessels used for the training programs. The training facilities include classrooms and a fully equipped bridge as well as a modern diesel power plant versus the steam plants that many of the previous training ships employed. The vessels are also able to handle a container, have RoRo capabilities, and can also be used for disaster relief. 

Hanwha, which acquired the shipyard at the end of 2024 and looks to expand its U.S. government work highlights the speed of the construction program. They note that all five vessels’ keels were laid over the past 39 months. TOTE highlights that it is a demonstration of the efficiency of the contracting model.

Each of the vessels is 525 feet (160 meters) in length and is designed with a range of over 10,000 miles at 18 knots. They accommodate 600 students and teachers and can accommodate up to 1,000 people on their humanitarian missions. The vessels also have a full hospital and helipad to support the humanitarian deployments.

The first and second NSMVs, Empire State and Patriot State, were delivered in September 2023 and 2024. Both have now undertaken their first training voyages as they settle in at SUNY Maritime College in New York and Massachusetts Maritime Academy. 

The three remaining vessels are currently in various stages of construction at Hanwha Philly Shipyard. The State of Maine is in the final stages of outfitting and will be delivered later this year for the Maine Maritime Academy. The fourth vessel, Lone Star State, completed block assembly in October 2024 will be at Texas A&M Maritime Academy and the California vessel, Golden State, is tentatively scheduled for delivery in late 2026.
 

The Pentagon's "startup" program, the Defense Innovation Unit, has awarded a contract to a San Francisco tech company to turn modern AI into useful military planning and wargaming tools, which could help theater-level commanders decide how to deploy warships, aircraft and troops. If operationalized, the "Thunderforge" software initiative could have a profound effect on how the Navy and Marine Corps fight.

According to Breaking Defense, the biggest operational advantage may be surprisingly mundane: collating and analyzing all the data needed to plan the logistical details of a military operation, which can take hundreds of hours of work using dated Pentagon computing systems. This would free up staff officers for more strategically-important tasks. 

The Thunderforge system draws on AI agents developed by Scale AI, along with Anduril's Lattice platform and Microsoft's large language model (LLM) products. The developers emphasized that the agents will always operate under human oversight. 

"Today’s military planning processes rely on decades-old technology and methodologies, creating a fundamental mismatch between the speed of modern warfare and our ability to respond," said Bryce Goodman, DIU Thunderforge Program Lead and contractor. "Thunderforge brings AI-powered analysis and automation to operational and strategic planning, allowing decision-makers to operate at the pace required for emerging conflicts."

The system will be deployed first with Indo-Pacific Command and European Command, the two regions with the most at stake in a high-end fight. Adm. Sam Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and a proponent of unmanned systems, commended DIU for its work to "iteratively develop, test, and ultimately field emerging technologies at speed and scale." Maj. Gen. Peter Andrysiak, chief of staff at U.S. European Command, said that data-driven decisionmaking is more important than ever, and welcomed the advent of AI tools for higher efficiency.  

"We will lead the Joint Force in integrating AI into operational decision-making. DIU’s enhanced speed will provide our nation’s military leaders with the greatest technological advantage," said Alexandr Wang, Founder and CEO of Scale AI.
  

The U.S. Treasury has imposed new counterterrorism sanctions on seven Houthi leaders who worked to secure weaponry from the Russian government and supply Yemeni fighters for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. No Russian officials were sanctioned in the announcement. 

The Houthis repeatedly attacked merchant shipping in the Red Sea from late 2023 through the end of 2024, then paused their operations in January after the announcement of the group's stated objective - the phased ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestinian terror group Hamas. The Houthis' primary military sponsor is the government of Iran, which has provided the group with weapons and funding for years, but the U.S. Treasury also has reason to believe that the terrorist organization has received support from Iran's Russian allies as well. 

"By seeking weapons from a growing array of international suppliers, Houthi leaders have shown their intent to continue their reckless and destabilizing actions in the Red Sea region," said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement. "The United States will use all available tools to disrupt the Houthis’ terrorist activities and degrade their ability to threaten U.S. personnel, our regional partners, and global maritime trade."

According to the Treasury, Houthi spokesman Mohammad Abdulsalam has helped arrange the group's efforts to get weapons and support from the Russian government, working from offices in Oman. Abdulsalam has traveled to Moscow and met with the Russian foreign ministry, as well as members of the Russian military, according to the Treasury's staff. An aide to Abdulsalam, Eshaq Abdulmalek Abdullah Almarwani was also designated for his role in the talks.  

Ali Muhammad Muhsin Salih Al-Hadi, head of the Sanaa Chamber of Commerce (SCC), plays a key role in financing Houthi weapons purchasing. He has traveled to Russia to make arrangements "to secure defense equipment for Houthi militants and investment in Houthi-controlled industries," according to the Treasury.

Top Houthi leader Mahdi Mohammed Hussein Al-Mashat, chairman of the terror group's Supreme Political Council (SPC), has also worked to increase cooperation between the Russian government, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Houthi movement, according to the Treasury. SPC member Mohamed Ali Al-Houthi helped coordinate the group's truce with Russia and China, which pledged a moratorium on Houthi strikes on maritime traffic linked to the Houthis' leading international supporters. 

Also named were two senior Houthi operatives - Abdulmalek Abdullah Mohammed E Alagri and Khaled Hussein Saleh Gaber - who also traveled to Russia to participate in the meetings. Alagri has also joined talks with the Chinese government, according to the Treasury. 

The Houthi military trade with Russia involves both imports and exports, according to the Treasury. The department asserts that Houthi operative and "major general" Abdulwali Abdoh Hasan Al-Jabri operated a "lucrative human smuggling operation, recruiting Yemeni civilians to fight for Russia in Ukraine." The recruits were not always well-informed of their new role, Treasury said, but their efforts have earned the terrorist group a new source of much-needed revenue.  

The weapons talks between Moscow and the Houthis may have had direct relevance to the safety of shipping in the Red Sea. In September, government sources told Reuters that Iran was helping the Houthis negotiate with Russia to acquire the P-800 Oniks (Onyx, Yakhont) supersonic antiship missile - a potent upgrade to the terrorist group's Iranian-supplied munitions, which sank two ships out of more than a hundred attacked. Houthi officials likely met with Russian representatives in Tehran twice last year, security sources told Reuters, and the talks about procuring the Oniks were expected to continue.

[By All American Marine]

All American Marine (AAM) has successfully delivered a 78’ x 26.7’ semi-displacement aluminum catamaran to Cal Poly Humboldt.  This cutting-edge research vessel will serve as a state-of-the-art scientific exploration platform and support faculty research along the Northern California and Oregon coasts.

Designed by Nic de Waal of Teknicraft Design, the RV North Wind builds on the proven success of similar research vessels, including the R/V Shackleford and the University of Hawaii’s R/V Imua. Constructed to US Coast Guard Subchapter T standards, it is optimized for near-coastal and offshore operations, supporting Cal Poly Humboldt’s research initiatives in oceanography, marine ecosystems, and the emerging offshore wind industry. Powered by twin MAN D2862LE43B EPA Tier 4 engines with diesel particulate filters (DPF), the vessel meets California’s stringent environmental standards while delivering exceptional performance. The vessel is capable of fully laden cruising at speeds exceeding 28 knots at 80% engine load.

Outfitted with a Kongsberg ADCP electronics suite, a fixed WASSP multibeam system, and Okeanus deck handling equipment, the RV North Wind provides advanced capabilities for oceanographic research. Onboard, researchers benefit from state-of-the-art wet and dry labs, a computer lab, industry-leading electronics, comfortable live-aboard quarters, and a full suite of oceanographic equipment. Designed with extended missions in mind, it features comfortable accommodations for 14 live-aboard researchers, including full bunks, a spacious bathroom with a shower, and onboard laundry facilities. A state-of-the-art galley and dedicated common areas offer space for collaboration and expanded opportunities for daytrips. This vessel will provide Cal Poly Humboldt researchers, students, and others with a pioneering platform, allowing them to access and study a wide array of marine environments. The knowledge gained from research missions on this vessel will directly support managing and conserving California’s marine resources. These amenities, combined with the vessel’s fuel-efficient propulsion system and advanced research equipment, make it an optimal platform for multi-day and offshore scientific operations. The vessel also accommodates up to 40 daytime passengers, supporting a range of mission types.

State-of-the-art lab and work spaces onboard the RV North Wind

“This vessel is the centerpiece of our academic fleet and will support marine research and teaching efforts for decades to come,” said Eric Riggs, Dean of the College of Natural Resources & Sciences at Cal Poly Humboldt. “All American Marine has delivered a world-class vessel tailored to our needs, ensuring our students and researchers have access to cutting-edge technology and real-world experience.”

Featuring Teknicraft’s signature hydrofoil-assisted hull design, the vessel minimizes drag, enhances fuel economy, and ensures a smoother ride in rough seas. Its Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-modeled hull shape reduces wake energy and optimizes efficiency—critical for long-duration research missions.

“This vessel marks a new era of ocean conservation and research capabilities,” said Ron Wille, President & COO of All American Marine. “We are proud to have delivered another multi-mission research vessel that will drive critical offshore research, environmental monitoring, and support for the education community on the West Coast.”

Now fully operational, Cal Poly Humboldt’s newest research vessel is set to make a lasting impact on marine science, coastal conservation, and sustainable ocean resource management—furthering the University’s mission of providing hands-on experience for students to inspire the next generation of scientists. 

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 grant is the first of two announced under a program launched by the government in 2023 to support the development of port infrastructure needed for the floating wind sector.

Located on the northeastern shore of Scotland near Inverness, the Port of Cromarty Firth has a long history of supporting the offshore industries first in oil and gas and more recently offshore wind. Port officials highlight that its position with deep, sheltered waters is perfectly suited to accommodate large ships. The plan calls for bringing the wind farm components to the port where they will expand the lay area as well as provide space for the construction, installation, and operational support.

The components will be manufactured around the UK. The new facility will be the Quay West and the Phase 5 laydown area. The floating turbines can be assembled and pre-commissioned, before being towed to the wind farm site.

The port presented a plan that would make it the UK’s first custom-built integration hub for floating offshore wind construction. It said the expansion was critical to meeting the plans for the sector.

The UK remains the largest installed base of offshore wind in Europe although China surpassed it for total size in the global market. The government has mapped a strong strategy to make wind energy a key component in the long-term strategy and committed to investments in floating wind farms which will be the next phase of the industry.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero launched the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS) to meet the port needs of the floating wind sector. The Department confirmed the grant to the Invergordon-based Trust that operates the port as part of an effort to fund the proposed expansion project. They said today’s grant would pave the way for the port to secure matching funds from banks and investors.

The port also plans to use the grant to start the process of awarding pre-construction contracts for the expansion project. They report the work must be completed by 2027 to be ready for the first commercial-scale floating wind projects.

Port Talbot is the second port selected under the FLOWMIS program. The Department reports the plans for the shortlisted port are currently under development. Talbot is located on Swansea Bay in Wales.
 

In a surprise move that was also seen as a vote of confidence for the lagging dry bulk sector, the Saverys family announced they are paying nearly $1.2 billion to become investors in Golden Ocean. The company describes itself as one of the world’s leading dry bulk shipping companies currently with a fleet of 91 vessels.

The Saverys’ company CMB.TECH continues its efforts at consolidating the shipping industry after acquiring Euronav and converting it to the tanker operating company under its umbrella. The company currently has more than 150 seagoing vessels with operations in crude oil, dry bulk, containers, chemicals, offshore wind, and workboats.

Under the terms of the agreement, CMB.TECH is acquiring a 40 percent stake in Golden Ocean (more than 81 million shares) at a price of $14.49 per share. They represent renown investor John Fredriksen’s entire stake in the company, but CMB.TECH reports it will not trigger a mandatory takeover bid or similar offer.

According to CMB.TECH, the acquisition is in line with its strategic objective of diversification. It says it intends on becoming a long-term shareholder and investing in a modern dry bulk fleet. Last year, CEO Alexander Saverys told the investment community that they planned to use the traditional sectors of the shipping world to help fund and drive their push for decarbonization. CMB.TECH is at the forefront of developing ammonia and hydrogen systems for shipping.

"The acquisition of the Golden Ocean shares from Hemen represents a significant milestone in CMB.TECH’s diversification strategy,” said Alexander Saverys, CEO of CMB.TECH while announcing the agreement. “We look forward to engaging with the board, management, and employees of Golden Ocean and to build on Golden Ocean’s and Mr. Fredriksen’s strong legacy to drive long-term growth and innovation.”

For Fredriksen, it ends his long association with the dry bulk sector and Golden Ocean. He made his investment in 2000 and a decade ago merged the company with Knightsbridge Shipping. Golden Ocean continues to grow its position reporting in late 2024 that it had completed the delivery of 10 new 85,000 dwt vessels. They were built in South Korea.

While the dry bulk sector has been under pressure, analysts viewed the acquisition as a sign of confidence in the opportunities. They noted that the Saverys are paying a strong premium to the valuation of Golden Ocean. The stock, which reached a recent high of $15 a share in May 2024 on NASDAQ, has been trading under $10 a share for all of 2025.

CMB.TECH has been active in the dry bulk sector through Bocimar. The company owns 30 bulkers that transport coal, iron ore, grain, and minor bulks.
 

A group of migrants was rescued after spending four days on a Mediterranean gas platform. One of the NGOs active in the region, the Berlin-based Sea-Watch, finally intervened and with permission from Italy landed 32 survivors and one deceased individual. It was the second incident with the same platform in the past three years.

The drama began on Saturday, March 1 when the NGO’s patrol aircraft Seabird which monitors the flow of migrants in the Mediterranean reported it had spotted an empty launch near the Miskar gas platform which is located approximately 75 miles from the Tunisian coast. The gas field is one of the older ones in operation having been started by Shell in 1975.

After the rubber raft with an outboard motor was discovered, the migrants were able to make contact with Alert Phone an emergency service in the region which then issued a notice to the authorities. According to the information from the group which appeared to be from Ethiopia and Eritrea the boat had capsized in the Mediterranean but they were able to make it to the platform. They said they had been at sea for five days and now had no food or water and were cold as there was no indoor shelter available on the platform.

Migrants on the lower platform signalling to one of the aircraft that were dispatch to confirm the situation (Sea-Watch)

The operator Miskar reported the situation and the European Coast Guard Fonex reportedly confirmed the presence of the migrants on the platform. They issued an alert to Malta, Italy, and Tunisia as the platform sits at the edge between the SAR areas maintained by Tunisia and Malta.

Sea-Watch says the Tunisian navy was going to go to the platform and reported it would remove the people on Sunday. However, no help arrived. The NGO says Italy and Malta did not respond to the situation.

The NGO’s vessel Aurora was dispatched and finally reached the platform on March 4. It found the people cold and hungry huddled on the walkways of the platform. They were taken aboard the Aurora and given initial attention.

Italy ordered the Aurora to the port of Lampedusa where it arrived today, March 5. The people were offloaded while the NGOs highlighted it as another example of neglect by the authorities which failed to rescue the people.

The Miskar platform was also the center of a 2022 controversy when several NGOs accused Shell and Malta of not responding to another group of migrants that also took shelter on the platform. In that case, the NGOs were unable to rescue the people who were removed by the Tunisian navy and returned to Africa.
 

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 new vessel CMA CGM Iron departed Singapore on March 4 bound for the Khalifa port in the UAE on its first voyage. The vessel is joining the route between Ais and the Middle East Gulf region.

CMA CGM ordered 12 methanol-capable vessels from HD Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea in 2023. The order was valued at $2 billion with the series due for delivery in 2025 and 2026. Registered in Malta, CMA CGM is saying the container ship is “a new milestone on its group’s path toward net zero carbon by 2050.”

The naming ceremony for the new ship took place on February 17 in South Korea shortly before her delivery. CMA CGM Iron is 146,000 dwt with a capacity of approximately 13,000 TEU. The vessel measures 1,099 feet (335 meters). The sister ships, which will include CMA CGM Cobalt, Argon, Platinum, Mercury, Helium, Krypton, Thorium, Osmium, Silver, Copper, and Gold will be progressively deployed in 2025 and 2026.

CMA CGM Iron is the first of a new class of a dozen methanol-fueled containerships (CMA CGM)

This new class is the latest step in CMA CGM’s effort with the company reporting it has invested nearly $20 billion to order LNG and methanol-powered ships. In 2024, the Group took delivery of 12 new LNG-fueled vessels and was linked yesterday to a new $2 billion order placed in China for another dozen LNG-fueled vessels. The group says that by 2029 it will have 153 ships capable of using low-carbon energies (biogas, biomethanol, and synthetic fuels) in its fleet. CMA CGM reports a total fleet currently of over 650 vessels with orders of nearly 100 new ships.

“In the future, the diversity of technologies and the availability of greener fuels, such as biomethane or biomethanol, will remain a major challenge for the CMA CGM Group and the industry,” the company said last week in its annual financial results report. 

Methanol continues to emerge as a fuel while concerns continue about the supply and the cost of the fuel. One key challenge is that it has a lower energy density than other alternatives. In part, this might account for a slower pace for additional orders for methanol-fueled ships. There are also reports within the industry that shipowners have revised building contracts with Alphaliner saying this week that Wan-Hai has approached shipbuilders in South Korea about possibly switching its order for eight 16,000 TEU ships to LNG engines.

While there were 166 new orders in 2024 according to DNV, no methanol-fueled orders have so far been placed in 2025. This compares with 44 orders in the first two months of this year for LNG-fueled vessels. 

Overall, the methanol orderbook grew quickly in the past two years with containerships leading the sector. DNV calculates that there are 25 containerships currently in service able to use methanol which has caught up to the product tanker segment. However, the orderbook shows over 300 methanol ships scheduled by 2030, two-thirds are containerships.
 

Despite significant resources and financial investments, the European Court of Auditors found in a new report that ships continue to pollute EU maritime waters with shortcomings in the tracking and enforcement. The auditors are calling for further steps and possible enhancements in the environmental action program to meet the EU’s zero pollution ambition.

The audit focused on ship-sourced pollution and the more than a decade of regulations from the EU. It examined EU actions between January 2014 and September 2024. They report that €216 million in funding was provided between 2014 and 2023 focusing on elements such as port waste reception facilities, collection of fishing nets, and research. While it concluded the EU’s efforts were well-designed and continue to improve, it said implementation had weakened and that the efforts of the 22 member states “is far from satisfactory.”

“Pollution at sea caused by ships remains a major problem, and despite a number of improvements in recent years, EU action is not really able to steer us out of troubled waters,” said Nikolaos Milionis, the ECA Member responsible for the audit. “In fact, with over three-quarters of European seas estimated to have a pollution problem, the zero-pollution ambition to protect people’s health, biodiversity, and fish stocks is still not within sight.”

The auditors found that EU countries underuse the tools provided for them such as those from the European Maritime Safety Agency. As an example, they cited in 2022-2023 that the European Satellite Oil Monitoring Service identified a total of 7,731 possible spills in the EU. Yet, they found that member states failed to act and only confirmed seven percent of the cases. 

They also said that member states do not carry out enough preventative inspections of ships. They reported that states failed to meet their mandatory target rates for inspections and that the penalties for polluters also remain low. 

“Actions to prevent, tackle, track, and penalize various types of ship-source pollution are not up to the task,” the auditors warned. They concluded that neither the European Commission nor the member states fully track the EU money used to combat seawater pollution. As a result of the lapses in the efforts, the auditor said “the actual amount of oil spills, contaminants, and marine litter from ships remains largely unknown, as does the identity of polluters.”

Among the specific shortcomings in the regulations, they pointed to the recycling obligations for end-of-life vessels. They highlight that one in every seven ships in the world was flying an EU flag in 2022, but the figure for end-of-life ships was 50 percent lower as owners continue to circumvent recycling regulations by adopting non-EU flags before disposing of these ships. The European Commission at the end of February also cited this issue saying it would be enhancing its efforts to enforce the rules and adapt as the Hong Kong Convention comes into force this year.

The audit is also critical of the handing of containers lost overboard. “EU rules on containers lost at sea are far from watertight,” the audit says. It highlights that there is no guarantee of reporting and that few containers are recovered. 

The recommendations call for improving the monitoring and effectiveness of pollution alert tools as well as monitoring member states to confirm they are performing mandatory checks. They said that enhancing monitoring and reporting would be a key step along with better tracking of EU-funded projects.

These findings they suggest should be used to possibly enhance legislation and the previous eighth environmental action plan which was released in 2022. The ambition is for zero pollution of the EU’s waters by 2030.

The complete report is available for download online.

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. It was the latest in a series of movements that have become so frequent The Times (London) reports it has been nicknamed “the Syrian Express.”

The Royal Navy reports that the Russian corvette Boikiy was first detected moving south from the Baltic and HMS Somerset, a Type 23 frigate based in Portsmouth, was dispatched to track the movements of the warship. The UK regularly tracks the movement of Russian warships in the Channel with Commander Joel Roberts of the frigate commenting, “Somerset is well versed in the escort of Russian ships, having conducted these operations on a number of occasions.”

This time it triggered a multi-day operation that included Somerset as well as coordination with UK patrol aircraft and NATO forces. The Somerset deployed her Merlin helicopter to gather additional information and the Belgian minehunter BNS Crocus also joined in the tracking.

Somerset trailing the Russian corvette Boikiy

Boikiy rendezvoused with the cargo ship Baltic Leader which was believed to be coming from the Tartus base in Syria. Previous reports indicated the ship was being used to remove military equipment as part of the Russian evacuation after the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. In its report, The Times cites satellite images showing military equipment on the dock at Tartus on February 1 when the Baltic Leader docked.

In an exclusive, The Times published pictures of the transit of the corvette and cargo ship during the transit obtained from a fishing boat in the Channel. Men in military fatigues can be seen on the cargo ship and at times the Russians were manning their machine guns.

The operation continued from March 1 through March 3 as the Baltic Leader and the Boikiy made the transit heading toward the North Sea and the Baltic. 

Somerset (left) monitoring Baltic Leader with Boikiy ahead in the Channel mist

The RoRo cargo ship Baltic Leader (7,100 dwt) has become well-known for transporting Russian equipment. In 2022, France briefly detained the vessel for possible sanction violations and later attempted to prosecute the captain of the vessel. There was a dispute over the legal ownership of the vessel which led to the acquittal of the captain in October 2024. At the beginning of this year, the Portuguese reported tracking the vessel as it was inbound for the Mediterranean on another apparent voyage on the “Syrian Express.”

For Somerset, this was the second time this year it was activated to track Russian ships. In January, the Royal Navy reports Somerset along with the patrol ship HMS Tyne tracked the suspected Russian spy ship Yantar. Two weeks ago, HMS Iron Duke, HMS Tyne, and RFA Tideforce monitored five Russian ships. That convoy included three cargo ships that were also transiting from Syria and believed to be bound for a Russian Baltic port.

[By: JAXPORT]

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) announced today that USA Big Mountain Paper Inc. has joined Northeast Florida’s U.S. Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) No. 64 in Jacksonville, Florida.

An FTZ is a federally designated area providing cost-saving options for importers. No. 64 is Florida’s largest FTZ by land area, covering more than 5,000 square miles throughout ten counties in Northeast Florida.

USA Big Mountain Paper Inc. manufactures and distributes environmentally friendly medical products, including bed pads and adult diapers, from its 157,355-square-foot facility near JAXPORT. Through its activation in the FTZ, the company’s warehouse is eligible for FTZ benefits, including the ability to defer, reduce, or eliminate U.S. Customs duties on raw materials imported into the U.S.

“Northeast Florida’s Foreign Trade Zone provides cost advantages for companies to grow their business in Northeast Florida,” said JAXPORT Chief Commercial Officer Robert Peek. “The region’s additional advantages, including fast access to the growing Southeast region and outstanding highway and rail connections, make us an attractive option for businesses of all sizes to establish or grow their operations here, supporting jobs and economic development throughout our region and state.”

Foreign Trade Zones are areas considered outside of U.S. Customs territory for duty purposes. Administered under the supervision of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), FTZ No. 64 operates under the Alternative Site Framework (ASF), which allows warehouses, distribution centers and manufacturers within the service area to utilize FTZ benefits while operating in their existing facilities. For example, an FTZ can be as small as a single room within a building or as large as a warehouse or entire manufacturing plant.

The zone encompasses ten counties in Northeast Florida: Eastern Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties. Any company within this service area that wants to take advantage of FTZ benefits must apply through JAXPORT and receive approval from the federal FTZ Board. The entire application and approval process typically takes less than 60 days.

[By: VIKAND]

VIKAND, a global leader in maritime healthcare solutions, is pleased to announce its support for Mercy Ships, a renowned international non-governmental organisation operating hospital ships that provide free, lifesaving surgeries in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

VIKAND’s expertise will enhance the Mercy Ships volunteer crew onboarding process by delivering its Pre-Employment Medical Examination (PEME) review services and assisting with vaccination requirements, reducing risk and enhancing regulatory compliance.

By engaging VIKAND, Mercy Ships will streamline its application process, allowing internal resources to be allocated elsewhere to support its life-changing work, while also enhancing healthcare operations and strengthening data security.

Mercy Ships relies on a dedicated volunteer workforce representing over 60 nationalities to staff its hospital ships, the Africa Mercy ® and the Global Mercy™. Some volunteer for a few weeks at a time and others for months or even years meaning that over 200 crew members can be rotating through these vessels each month. Ensuring their medical fitness is a vital step in enabling the organisation’s mission to deliver free health care to some of the poorest countries in the world. 

VIKAND has previously supported Mercy Ships by providing its industry-leading medical Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to assist with their onboard crew clinics, which provides care to the volunteer crew. This marks the beginning of a further collaboration, expanding VIKAND’s role in supporting Mercy Ships.

“Having served with Mercy Ships for over 21 years both at sea and ashore, I am excited to have our teams at VIKAND supporting their volunteer crew onboarding process with PEME review solutions,” commented Russ Holmes, Vice President of Key PartnerSHIPS at VIKAND. “This support will allow Mercy Ships to reduce risk, provide a seamless application process for their volunteer crew, and allow them to allocate resources elsewhere that otherwise managed this process previously.”

Mercy Ships has long been respected in the maritime industry, serving as the charity of choice for CLIA, Seatrade, MSC, and the MSC Foundation. This collaboration underscores the commitment of Mercy Ships to optimising its volunteer experience while upholding the highest medical and operational standards.

Mercy Ships Organizational Project Manager Chantal Ilae added: “We are delighted to have the support of VIKAND in strengthening our medical review and vaccination verification process. Their expertise will not only ensure a smoother experience for volunteer crew members but also reinforce our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of medical care, data security, and compliance. This collaboration allows us to focus more of our resources on delivering free healthcare to those who are in desperate need.”

Just as the Biden administration's tanker sanctions are beginning to affect Russian oil exports, the Trump White House has begun looking at options to lift U.S. restrictions on Russian entities, according to Reuters. The State Department and Treasury Department have been asked to draft a list of measures for potentially easing stringent U.S. sanctions, which have been the most effective tools of economic persuasion that the West has deployed against Moscow.

The news aligns with a personal falling-out between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which burst into public view with a contentious news conference at the White House on Friday. After a heated exchange with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, Zelensky was asked to leave the building. Trump subsequently announced a suspension of all military aid to Ukraine, a profound blow for Ukraine's front-line forces. 

Sources close to the White House told Reuters that the sanctions relief measures under consideration would be for individual Russian citizens and companies. Ukraine's government responded with a call for the White House to wait for more progress in peace talks, in order to maintain leverage to bring an end to the invasion. However, Russia has indicated that negotiations over Ukraine are only part of the discussion with the Trump administration: the bilateral talks also cover something else - "normalizing" relations between Moscow and Washington.

"Of course, if we are talking about normalizing bilateral relations, then [Russian interests] need to be freed from this negative burden of so-called sanctions," said Dmitri Petrov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin. "It is probably too early to talk about anything [being lifted] . . . we have not heard any official statements."

Current U.S. sanctions include significant restrictions on Russia's energy sector and its tankers. The previous administration's effort to target Russia-linked "shadow fleet" of aging tankers has forced Russian Urals exporters to drop their prices below $60 per barrel for the first time in more than a year, and tanker rates from Russian loading ports have soared. 

It is rare that maritime interests get billing in a joint addreses to Congress, one of the most-watched formal policy speeches that a U.S. president gets to deliver. On Tuesday, though, President Donald Trump took time to call for a reinvigorated American shipbuilding industry, and pledged new support for both commercial and naval yards. 

"To boost our defense industrial base we are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding. And for that purpose, I am announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House that offers special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America where it belongs," Trump said. "We used it to make so many ships. We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge impact."

The announcement is the first mention of the new shipbuilding office. That function has historically been housed in the Maritime Administration and in Naval Sea Systems Command, and Trump did not provide further details. However, the news met with strong approval from America's shipbuilders: the industry's main trade association called for enhanced cooperation between industry and government to create a consistent demand signal for shipyards.  

"We applaud the creation of the White House Office of Shipbuilding, and the entire shipyard industrial base not only stands at the ready to work with the new Office of U.S. Shipbuilding, but we are also ready to answer the call to design and build America’s commercial and military fleets," said Matthew Paxton, President of the Shipbuilders Council of America. "By fully utilizing the existing domestic shipyard capacity, the shipyard industrial base can meet the growing demands of national defense, restore American competitiveness, and create thousands of skilled jobs."

The U.S. Navy's growing problems with the shipbuilding industrial base - particularly supply chain delays and workforce shortages - have raised the industry's profile in Washington. The previous Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, put a spotlight on shipyard delays and sought foreign investment from South Korea's Big Three yards in the hope that their high-tech methods could help right the ship. In the Senate, Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) - a longtime advocate for growing the fleet - recently warned that "just about every major U.S. shipbuilding program is behind schedule, over budget or irreparably off track."

In his speech Tuesday, Trump also emphasized his administration's efforts to restore more American influence over the Panama Canal, and noted a newly-concluded deal that handed control of the container terminals on either side of the waterway to an American hedge fund. 

"My administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it. Just today a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal and a couple other canals," Trump said. 

[By Resolve Marine]

Resolve Marine, a global leader in innovative marine solutions, today announced that the company will merge operations, equipment and personnel with the marine division of Construction Solutions International, expanding Resolve Marine Service Centers in the U.S. Gulf region. Construction Solutions International is a leading regional provider of industrial marine and commercial diving services and supports industries across the Theodore Industrial Canal and West Mobile, Alabama. Founded in 1984 by Jerry W. Bailey Jr., the transaction includes cranes, barges, equipment, the M/V Enterprise, a 64-foot shallow draft river tugboat, her captain and three skilled workers. Bailey will continue his role with Resolve Marine supporting business development efforts.

Construction Solutions International will be folded into Marine Service Centers led by A.W. McAfee, Director Marine Service Centers. The merger closed on February 25, 2025; terms were not disclosed.

Adam Buffington, Manager, Marine Service Centers, Gulf Coast said, “At the outset of being established as a new division within Resolve Marine, it is exciting to add skilled personnel, equipment and a tow vessel to serve an expanding regional customer base. Our team now totals 21, all with expertise to support growing demand for diving services and vessel inspections, marine construction, and industrial solutions - for dock owners and others needing dredging, repair, and demolition services - and marine salvage, emergency, and environmental response.

Japan’s Mitsui Ocean Cruises reports it has purchased a second, small luxury cruise ship from Carnival Corporation’s Seabourn Cruise Line as it seeks to expand its domestic cruise operations. The shipping major best known for its bulker operations announced plans in 2023 to diversify its business with an expansion of its cruise line which was operating a single ship.

The Seabourn Sojourn (32,477 gross tons) was delivered to MOL on February 28 and immediately chartered back to Seabourn to complete its published itineraries. After a scheduled world cruise ending on May 15, 2026, the ship will be handed over to Mitsui Ocean Cruises which says it will be refurbished and positioned into the short to medium length cruises in the domestic Japanese market. Details on the name and refurbishment will be announced at a later date.

“The purchase of this vessel brings forward the company's plans to expand its cruise business, ahead of the launch of two new ships,” MOL said announcing the second cruise ship acquisition. The company in 2023 mapped a strategy calling for building new cruise ships and now says the second acquisition “will begin operations prior to the new vessels in order to provide Mitsui Ocean Cruises' services to customers as soon as possible.”

The new cruise line was launched in December 2024 with the former Seabourn Odyssey which was acquired in March 2023 and chartered to Seabourn to complete its itineraries. The ship renamed Mitsui Ocean Fiji entered service at the end of last year with MOL saying it would also serve the international market. The company just announced the opening of a North American sales organization for the ship.

“We launched Mitsui Ocean Fuji in December 2024 and are very pleased with the guest reaction to the ship and onboard product,” said Tsunemichi Mukai, President of Mitsui Ocean Cruises. “While all new cruise ships take a little time to settle in, the experience on Mitsui Ocean Fuji is continuously improving, and we are now extremely confident these two ships are the most suitable vessels to expand our cruise business.”

The sister ships were built by Italy’s T. Marriott entering service in 2009 and 2010. They were considered an advancement in the luxury market with accommodations for just 458 passengers. They measure 649 feet (198 meters) with 229 passenger suites.

The sale of the second ship by Carnival Corporation comes as it is focusing on its larger brands and building new mega-ships. Seabourn introduced two luxury ships for expeditions built in 2022 and 2023 but will be overall downsized after delivering its second cruise ship to MOL. The line has a third sister to the two sold to MOL plus two slightly larger 600-passenger versions as well as the expedition ships.

MOL reports Japanese will be the official language aboard the second ship while saying its size will permit it to reach a variety of ports including in the Seto Inland Sea and remote islands in Okinawa and Hokkaido. It also looks to leverage its experience operating the sister ship to immediately offer enhanced services aboard the ship when it enters service in late 2026. 

Mitsui Ocean Cruises says the announced cruises of the Mitsui Ocean Fiji and its older cruise ship Nippon Maru will not be affected by the purchase. The Mitsui Ocean Fiji will continue to focus on medium to longer term cruises which will include international fly-cruises. All its cruises will call at a minimum of one international port. Nippon Maru mostly operates in the domestic market but has also offered longer international cruises.

MOL’s expansion in the cruise sector comes as NYK is also preparing for the launch of its second cruise ship. Asuka III was recently floated out at Meyer Werft in Germany and departed the yard on Sunday, March 2 arriving in Eemshaven, Netherlands yesterday to prepare for sea trials and delivery. She is due to enter service in July from Japan as an addition to the older Asuka II. 

Japan’s Ryobi Holdings, a diversified company that includes operations in transportation and tourism, also announced plans at the end of 2023 to enter the cruise market. It ordered a luxury, yacht cruise ship to be built in Portugal for delivery in 2027.