Philippine News

November 6 ------ Officials in the Philippines are trying to understand how containers with radioactive dust were exported and now what to do with them since they have been sent back to the country. The Philippines is demanding that one of the country’s steel producers take responsibility for the cargo, while the company denies involvement and says only the government has the ability to handle the contaminated cargo. The case has intensified, according to a report from Bloomb

November 6 ------ Eight months after going public with plans to launch a resident cruise line called Crescent Seas, the company has relinquished charter agreements with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) for two cruise ships, instead saying it is focusing on plans for a newbuild. It becomes the latest in a series of efforts that tried but failed in concepts to convert existing cruise ships into residences at sea. “In the six months since launching Crescent Seas, the brand

November 5 ------ Last week at the annual IISS Manama Dialogues in Bahrain, Cyprus' foreign minister warned that the security situation around the waters bordering Yemen is on the brink of worsening significantly. Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos observed that Cyprus, besides being located astride major global shipping routes and being closer to Yemen than to Brussels, Cyprus "has the eleventh largest commercial fleet in the world and the third biggest in the EU . . . [an

November 5 ------ The International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) and the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO) have formed a partnership to reinforce collaboration between the dry bulk shipping and marine fuels communities, with a focus on decarbonization, safety, and quality. The two organizations entered into a reciprocal membership agreement to formalize their working relationship, underscoring the shared commitment to advancing safe, efficie

November 5 ------ Philippine officials are reporting that there were no injuries as two ferries made contact early on Tuesday, November 4, in an apparent docking accident. The Coast Guard believes it was due to the rough weather, as one of the strongest typhoons of the season was passing through the central Philippines. The passenger car RoRo ferry Maria Rebecca was arriving at Jolo, an island in the southern Philippines, on Tuesday morning. Built in 1972, the 748 gross ton f

November 5 ------ Vietnamese officials report efforts are underway to secure a larger dry bulk carrier that was damaged in a grounding a week ago. The goal is to secure the vessel ahead of a strong approach typhoon. The Star Bueno (178,978 dwt) was arriving from South Africa, carrying a load of iron ore and waiting for its berth on October 25. The area was overtaken by a strong monsoon with winds and waves which washed through the anchorage. The vessel dragged anchor and, eve

November 4 ------ A product tanker operated by Stolt Tankers sailing near the coast of Somalia is reporting shots fired and a possible boarding attempt. It is the latest in a series of suspicious activities being reported in the past few days, increasing fears of renewed piracy in the region. Several security consultancies reported the incident, which was later confirmed by Stolt as well as the UK and EU forces in the region. The tanker Stolt Sagaland (44,000 dwt) was underwa

November 4 ------ The Clean Arctic Alliance has welcomed the Nordic Council’s adoption of a resolution concerning polar fuels, which calls on Nordic governments to craft and implement a regulation that would mandate the application of cleaner, marine fuels that could cut black carbon emissions whilst operating in the Arctic region. The Nordic Council had adopted the resolution, which called on the UN’s shipping body International Maritime Organization (IMO) specifically to cr

November 4 ------ The White House issued its fact sheet detailing the scope of the agreements reached with China during the meeting between the two countries’ presidents and discussions among the staff to make the agreements actionable. As reported last week, the U.S. and China will suspend the special port fees introduced against each other’s ships, as well start large agricultural shipments to China. The United States confirmed it will suspend, starting on November 10, for

November 4 ------ Satellite imaging of the loading terminal at Tuapse, Russia confirms that oil was spilled after the Ukrainian attack last weekend. The strike was a rare example of a Ukrainian attempt to target foreign-flag merchant tankers; historically it has limited its efforts to Russian-flagged vessels and shoreside infrastructure. The Telegram channel Dosye Shpiona ("Spy Dossier") - often cited by Russian military analysts - claimed that the prolonged, large-scale atta

November 3 ------ The Mission to Seafarers released its latest edition of the Seafarers Happiness Index, and it shows that after a period of encouraging improvement earlier this year, perception of working and living conditions at sea has taken a turn for the worse. With most indicators that define the lives of seafarers on a decline, the index shows that the average happiness level has plunged to 7.05 out of 10 in the third quarter of 2025. This is a sharp decline from 7.54

November 3 ------ Debate over whether the Hong Kong Convention’s (HKC) flag-state International Ready for Recycling Certificate (IRRC) can substitute for the Basel Convention’s Prior Informed Consent (PIC) goes to the heart of how the world manages end-of-life ships. Proponents claim the HKC delivers equivalent level of environmental protection through HKC compliant yards, Inventories of Hazardous Materials (IHM), and Ship Recycling Plans (SRP) tailored to vessels followed by

November 3 ------ Dutch maritime solar innovator Wattlab has delivered a seaworthy solar energy system for a diesel-electric vessel owned by compatriot shortsea shipping company Vertom. After two successful pilots with Wattlab in three years, Vertom chose to outfit its latest coaster with 79 kWp of installed solar power – the first seagoing vessel to do so. The 7,280-dwt diesel-electric multipurpose cargo vessel MV Vertom Tula was delivered earlier this year. As explained, th

November 3 ------ The U.S. military has eliminated another suspected drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean, neutralizing a suspected cocaine shipment and three vessel operators. The 15th strike brings the number of suspected narco-traffickers eliminated using lethal force to more than 60 individuals. "This vessel—like every other—was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying nar

November 2 ------ The never-ending controversy over commercial ships' threats to endangered whales and other species in the Californian waters has flared up again after conservationist groups sued the Trump administration for failure to protect the mammals. With reports showing that at least 10 gray whales have been killed by probable ship strikes in the San Francisco Bay Area so far this year, while several more whales have died from undetermined causes, the Center for Biolo

November 2 ------ The energy sector is often front and center when the discussion revolves around breakbulk and heavy-lift cargoes. Windmills, on land or anchored to the ocean floor, have been all the rage for the past several years. And why not? Energy makes the world go around - whether it's green or liquid gold. Dry bulk is another sector critical to our developing society. However, dry bulk products, like breakbulk cargoes, would not be available or accessible were it no

November 1 ------ More than 80 percent of the world’s goods, measured by volume, are transported by ship. This transport accounts for three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). “Many people probably think that we can simply switch fuel types or perhaps completely electrify these large ships, but as of today, technology has not come that far. The battery packs alone would have to take the place of all the goods that wo

November 1 ------ Antwerp's giant container port is notorious for cocaine smuggling, and for all of the ills that go with it - gangs, violence, bribery, and corruption. These vices have seeped out into the surrounding community for years and have gotten so bad that one investigator warns that the city could turn into a "narco-state" - an economy dominated by the illicit influence of traffickers and lacking the rule of law. In an open letter published Monday on the website o

October 31 ------ The Seafarer Happiness Index (SHI) report for Q3 2025 from the Mission to Seafarers does not make particularly comfortable reading with deep-rooted challenges surfacing across the profession. Overall, the index fell to 7.05 out of 10 in the third quarter from 7.54 in the second quarter of the year, with growing dissatisfaction from seafarers across almost all key metrics that the index measures. “The data paints a particularly alarming picture: nearly every

October 31 ------ AI is now a boardroom priority in maritime, but ambition hasn’t yet turned into readiness. New industry research reveals a striking disconnect in maritime AI adoption. While 82 percent of maritime professionals believe AI can improve efficiency, only 23 percent of companies are training staff to use it. Even more telling, 81percent are running pilots, but only 11 percent have policies and guardrails needed to scale. These were among the headlines from "Beyo