Philippine News

June 2 ------ Dutch health authorities and the operators of the expedition cruise ship Hondius confirmed that the ship has completed its deep cleaning and disinfection after the hantavirus outbreak onboard in late April and early May. The ship will return to service on June 13, beginning its planned season of expeditions in the Arctic. “From a public health perspective, there are no longer any obstacles to putting the ship Hondius into operation,” the Rotterdam Municipal Heal

June 2 ------ The U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has released the 2025 U.S. Port State Control (PSC) Annual Report, highlighting 8,999 PSC examinations conducted during the year and a decline in the detention rate. Vessel arrivals, exams, and detentions In 2025, a total of 11,279 individual vessels, from 79 different flag administrations, made 76,351 port calls to the United States. 8,999 PSC exams were conducted. These exam numbers increased over t

June 1 ------ The IMO’s Net-Zero Framework is back on track. A majority of International Maritime Organization member states continue to support the framework - which aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships in line with its 2023 greenhouse gas reduction strategy - despite significant pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Panama and Liberia. The NZF’s supporters have been further vindicated by last week’s landslide vote by the UN General Assembly to adopt t

June 1 ------ RISK4SEA, the SaaS PSC Intelligence platform, has released the May 2026 edition of its PSC Stress Index (PSI), providing a forward-looking assessment of the global Port State Control (PSC) enforcement climate across the Bulker, Tanker, Container and General Cargo segments. The PSI framework, first introduced earlier this year as the industry’s first normalized PSC Climate Indicator, aims to measure whether PSC enforcement conditions are becoming more severe or m

June 1 ------ From activity noted, there are few if any indications from the Gulf region or in the Strait of Hormuz area that a ceasefire or an end to the war is imminent. The blockade of Iranian ships and ports goes on unabated. On May 29. U.S. Central Command reported that US naval forces had disabled Gambian-flagged 71-meter general cargo vessel MV Lianstar (IMO 9072692) in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel ignored repeated warnings that it should not attempt to make for a

June 1 ------ Animal welfare organizations are renewing their push for a total ban on seaborne livestock exports after some 4,000 sheep and goats died off the coast of Oman earlier this month. Maritime intelligence firm Windward reported that the Indian-flagged cargo vessel MSV Haji Ali sank following a suspected drone attack in the volatile Strait of Hormuz region. The 57-meter vessel was traveling from the Port of Berbera in Somalia to the Port of Sharjah in the United Arab

May 31 ------ According to Intermodal’s latest weekly report, El Niño is again becoming a factor for 2026, and its freight impact is likely to be felt mainly through Asian power demand, crop risk and trade-flow shifts. The latest probability set points to El Niño emerging in May–July with an 82% probability and lasting through winter 2026/27 with a 96% probability. The important point for shipping is timing; this is developing into the Northern Hemisphere summer, when Asian p

May 31 ------ The cruise lines are once again turning to revitalization projects as a means of adding excitement and a new buzz around existing ships in their fleets. While some of the work is repairs and maintenance, the projects, however, are also getting bolder and more involved as the lines seek to match the styles of their newest ships or introduce innovations on the older vessels. The revitalization projects had been put on hold during the pandemic, but now the cruise l

May 30 ------ The European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO) has issued a statement highlighting how EU-ETS might be well-intentioned, but in practice it is hurting European ports’ competitiveness. The European Commission is finalizing a proposal to review the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) Directive 2003/87/EC, which was extended to the maritime sector in January 2024, amid growing concern from Europe’s ports over its economic and competitive impact. However, according to

May 30 ------ Two supertankers and one liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker exited the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week with their transponders switched off, and are heading for India and China, shipping data from LSEG and Kpler showed. The vessels joined a number of tankers leaving the Gulf this month, although oil and LNG traffic overall has still been limited. The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Eagle Veracruz, carrying 2 million barrels of crude loaded from Saudi Arabia i

May 29 ------ Since the Iranian Revolution and overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979, the Strait of Hormuz has been a geographic constant as a choke point for which closure has been threatened from time to time but never truly closed. The longstanding assumption of the continued openness of the strait collapsed on February 28, 2026. In the weeks since Iran effectively shut the strait to commercial shipping in response to U.S. and Israeli military strikes and the U

May 29 ------ RISK4SEA has launched ports.risk4sea.com, a dedicated intelligence environment designed to provide the maritime industry with live Port State Control (PSC) intelligence, predictive operational insights and global port-level benchmarking across the evolving PSC landscape. The new intelligence layer provides free access to live PSC intelligence for Bulkers, Tankers, Containers and General Cargo vessels, transforming PSC inspection and detention data into actionabl

May 29 ------ Out at sea, conditions can appear calm and routine. But for the men and women who keep global trade moving, that calm can quickly give way to danger, BIMCO highlights in its latest campaign film. BIMCO’s ongoing “Seafarers Deserve Fair Seas” campaign, seeks to highlight the risks faced by crews at sea and promote fairer treatment and stronger protections. The initiative focuses on raising awareness of issues ranging from unjust imprisonment to exposure to confli

May 29 ------ The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) announced a new three-year partnership agreement with Princess Cruises to significantly expand the cruise line’s presence in Singapore. Officials said the homeporting of three Princess ships would further reinforce the city-state’s role as a leading cruise hub in Asia Pacific. Spanning 2027 through 2030, the collaboration is expected to bring more than 150,000 passengers and deliver meaningful economic benefits across Singapore’

May 28 ------ A new World Maritime University report warns that long working hours at sea remain deeply normalized, exposing a significant gap between regulatory compliance and the real protection of seafarers’ and fishers’ health, safety and rights. The World Maritime University (WMU) has issued a report titled “Charting the distinct rights of sea workers in European waters: A focus on decent working time”, placing the spotlight on one of shipping’s most persistent human ele

May 28 ------ The Chair of the Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Amendment has expressed grave concern over the resurgence of piracy in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, warning that recent attacks show maritime security gains in the region remain fragile. Speaking on behalf of the DCoC/JA Signatory States, the Chair strongly condemned the continued detention of the Republic of Palau-flagged tanker MT HONOUR 25 (IMO 9109735), which has reportedly been held by pirates s

May 28 ------ The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has approved the new safety guidelines for the use of ammonia as fuel on gas carriers, providing a practical framework to manage the associated safety risks, particularly its toxicity and handling requirements. The guidelines were developed through collaboration between Lloyd’s Register (LR), the Belgian Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport (FPS Mobility) and gas shipping operator EXMAR and were approved at

May 28 ------ A week after the expedition cruise ship Hondius reached Rotterdam with a skeleton crew aboard, the operator reports its departure is being delayed for additional cleaning procedures. The company did not specify what additional efforts would be required as it works to ensure the hantavirus has been fully eradicated and the ship is prepared for a return to service. Oceanwide Expeditions, which operates the ship, said that based on inspection findings by the public

May 27 ------ DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook Hydrogen to 2060 report explains why hydrogen won’t be the next LNG. LNG emerged to monetize geographically concentrated natural gas resources and move energy from a small number of exporting regions to distant markets. Hydrogen, by contrast, will be produced in all regions, predicts DNV. As a result, hydrogen systems are shaped primarily by local production, demand patterns, and balancing requirements rather than by global resour

May 27 ------ An oil tanker arrived in Japan marking the first known Japanese-managed vessel to successfully transit the Strait of Hormuz since the onset of the Iran conflict, which has significantly disrupted traffic through the critical energy corridor. The tanker, operated by a subsidiary of major refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co., delivered approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil to Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, equivalent to around 80 percent of the country’s daily co