Philippine News

June 19 ------ Iran's Supreme National Security Council said in a statement that the country's Persian Gulf Strait Authority will take measures to issue fast authorizations to ships wanting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as per the memorandum of understanding signed by Tehran and Washington. Measures on mine clearance will be carried out under the Islamabad MoU, though ships are advised to stick to the path and timing allocated by the authority, the statement published

June 19 ------ The return of normal shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could face weeks of delays as maritime authorities work to ensure the waterway is free of potential naval mines following a deal to reopen the strategic passage. Assessments from five Western maritime security sources suggest that mine-clearing operations involving conventional minesweepers and advanced underwater drones could take between 40 and 50 days before insurers, shipowners, and energy c

June 19 ------ The question of whether vessels will be charged a new toll for transiting the Strait of Hormuz remains very much an unresolved issue in U.S.-Iran peace talks. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed both by President Trump in Evian on June 17 and by President Masoud Pezeshkian the next day commits Iran to clearing the strait of mines and obstacles within the next 30 days, and to allowing free transit without tolls until 60 days after the agreed start date.

June 19 ------ The authorities in the Port of Antwerp are trying to determine what caused four containers to fall off a vessel that was being serviced and land on a bunker vessel that was alongside. Luckily, no one was injured in the incident, which happened at the busy container terminal. The COSCO Hope (140,000 dwt), a 13,100 TEU vessel built in 2012 and owned by Seaspan, was docked at the DP World Terminal in the Deurganckdok section of the port. It is the primary containe

June 18 ------ There was evidence on June 16 and 17 that traffic is picking up in the Strait of Hormuz, but it is far from pre-war normals. The movement on June 16 of three Iranian-owned VLCCs, the NITC tankers Diona (IMO 9569695), Hero2 (IMO 9362073) and the Suezmax Sonia I (IMO 9357365) out of the eastern end of the US naval blockade has already been widely reported. Inside the Gulf, in a snapshot of the traffic in the area of Larak Island, which shipping must pass if f

June 18 ------ It's a work in progress. IMO has approved a work plan to build an OCCS regulatory framework, and the E.U. is leaving the door open to future recognition. But as DNV and Carbon Ridge both make clear, the bigger constraints are port-side infrastructure, access to storage, carbon accounting and the economics of getting captured CO2 off the ship and into a verified value chain. The regulation is moving, but it's not finished. At MEPC 83 in April 2025, the IMO app

June 18 ------ More than 130 charities, experts and celebrities including Brian Cox CBE, Alan Cumming OBE, Zoë Wanamaker CBE, and Joanna Lumley DBE, are calling for a ban on live exports. Led by Compassion in World Farming, the global partners from 33 countries including Eurogroup for Animals, Four Paws, Animals International, and World Animal Protection have written to the intergovernmental body for animal health and welfare, WOAH, urging it to end the overcrowding, extrem

June 18 ------ Petitions being heard by courts in India and Baltimore are considering the same issue of how long crewmembers can be detained when they were material witnesses to casualties. Crew from both the MSC Elsa 3, which sank off India in May 2025, and the crew from the containership Dali, which destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March 2024, have been detained as witnesses, with lawyers arguing the men are “marooned” and being held illegally. It is

June 17 ------ Drewry has taken a look at the proposed US–Iran interim agreement and its implications for shipping, concluding that while the deal reduces immediate disruption risks, significant geopolitical and operational uncertainties remain. As explained by Aman Sud, Senior Manager, Gas Shipping, Drewry Maritime Research, Drewry, after nearly 100 days of conflict, the US and Iran agreed on an interim deal. The framework includes removing the blockade of the Strait of Horm

June 17 ------ The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reported a security incident involving a tanker approximately 111 nautical miles southeast of Aden, Yemen. According to the report, the vessel was approached by a small skiff carrying four individuals. The occupants of the skiff were armed and reportedly opened fire on the tanker using a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). No further details on damage or casualties were immediately available. Authorities are

June 17 ------ The shipping industry’s recruitment pipeline has changed less than almost anything else about the business. While vessels have grown more connected and data-driven, the way a shipowner finds and hires a chief engineer or an able seaman often still runs through the same channels it did twenty years ago: a manning agent, a negotiated fee, and an inbox full of PDF CVs that need to be manually sorted, compared, and tracked. For an industry already managing a well-d

June 17 ------ The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published an assessment of the February 2025 tow rope incident onboard the tug Svitzer Avon. At approximately 1954 on 4 February 2025, the UK registered tugs Svitzer Avon and Svitzer Brunel left the lock at Royal Portbury Dock, Bristol, England to meet the car carrier Auto Eco in the King Road approaches to the lock. Auto Eco had a pilot embarked for the entry into port and was to employ both tugs for a shi

June 16 ------ The United States and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding to settle a near four-month war, senior U.S. officials said on Monday, adding that a signing ceremony would take place and shipping traffic in the strait of Hormuz would gradually ramp up. The memorandum of understanding has been signed by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, one U.S. official said. Speaking at a briefing wi

June 16 ------ The incidents of commercial shipping being approached by pirates between Somalia and Yemen are continuing and appearing to get more brazen, with multiple reports of shots fired. One cargo ship said its security guards returned fire for approximately 30 minutes on Sunday with two small boats. The Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean (MSCIO), which was established by the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Atalanta, reported two new incidents on Monday and ano

June 16 ------ A BlueRights training program held at the IMO International Maritime Law Institute in Malta has highlighted one of the most pressing challenges in international law: how to protect people at sea using the existing law of the sea, and maritime and human rights law when legal responsibilities are complex, fragmented and unclear. The two-day training, delivered in May, gave participants a practical understanding of the difficulties involved in using international

June 16 ------ Problems continue to build for the small Turkish cruise ship Gemini, which has been under detention for more than 200 days. A Greek court refused to release the ship last week, while media reports are that the ship is running out of fuel and provisions for the skeleton crew of 25 on board. The ship is also reported to have had its classification certificates withdrawn and is now under a false flag. Built in 1992 in Spain, the Gemini is 19,000 gross tons and was

June 15 ------ The U.S. and Iran have completed a long-awaited agreement to bring an end to the Strait of Hormuz standoff and restart traffic. The new 60-day ceasefire deal was delayed at the last minute after an Israeli strike on Beirut prompted Iran to suspend a much-anticipated signing on Sunday and prepare a counterstrike on Israeli territory instead; the White House offered additional concessions to Iran to ward off that strike, according to Iranian sources, and the deal

June 15 ------ A supply boat sank off Pasir Panjang Terminal in Singapore on the morning of 12 June 2026 following a collision with a landing craft, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Police Coast Guard (PCG), and the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) Marine Division were swiftly activated to the scene, launching coordinated search and rescue operations shortly after the incident was repo

June 15 ------ While bombs are falling in the Middle East, EU Member States continue to export live animals to the region, with the European Commission (EC) refusing to be held accountable, says the Eurogroup for Animals, the French animal welfare organization Welfarm and the German NGO Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF). The organizations have submitted a joint petition to the EC calling for an immediate halt to these transports. Almost 50,000 signatories are calling on the EU

June 15 ------ Royal Caribbean has celebrated the keel-laying of its seventh Oasis Class vessel at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. The soon-to-be-named ship will join the revolutionary Oasis Class lineup in 2028. The vessel follows Oasis of the Seas (2009), Allure of the Seas (2010), Harmony of the Seas (2016), Symphony of the Seas (2018), Wonder of the Seas (2022), and Utopia of the Seas (2024). Source: marinelink.com