Philippine News

October 19 ------ Shipowners are starting to reveal some of the steps that are being taken to avoid the port fees instituted by the U.S. and China this week, targeting ships built, owned, or operated by companies in the respective countries. The steps come as the industry also flagged the uncertainties in the programs and continues to seek guidance from the respective authorities on how elements, especially ownership, will be interpreted. There had been reports that some of t

October 19 ------ The regional prefect for Alpes-Maritimes has finalized rules to manage future large cruise ship calls after the local authorities had attempted to take matters into their own hands. The prefects announced the proposed rules which will govern areas ranging from the Bay of Cannes and the popular ports of Cannes, Nice, and Villefranche. The regional prefect of the Ales-Maritimes, Laurent Hottiaux, and the Maritime Prefect for the Mediterranean, Christophe Lucas

October 18 ------ Faced with increasing financial pressures and a competitive workplace, a growing number of seafarers are exaggerating their work experience or downright falsifying their resumes to secure jobs on tankers, warns international crewing service provider Danica. The group is calling for closer collaboration between authorities, training centers, and manning agencies to address the problem while also warning shipowners and operators to work only with reputable cre

October 18 ------ By 2050, the world has pledged to reach net zero. For shipping - a sector responsible for moving 90% of global trade - the clock is ticking loudly. This week’s meeting at the IMO, aptly titled “Extraordinary Session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC)” will likely adopt the widely anticipated GFI (Greenhouse Fuel Index), ensuring clarity and alignment of parties. But it still won’t be enough. Before combustion engines were invented, shippin

October 17 ------ The American Association of Port Authorities quickly responded to last week’s proposed revisions by the U.S. Trade Representative to the port fee program. It said the new tariffs will only serve to delay port modernization and expansion in the United States without encouraging the reshoring of equipment manufacturing. AAPA, which represents public port authorities, has been fighting the proposed fees on Chinese-manufactured cranes since the accusations first

October 17 ------ In the midst of high-stakes negotiations over the future of IMO's emissions rules, Cyprus' influential shipowners have publicly joined the side of the "nays" on the Net Zero Framework. In a statement, the Cyprus Union of Shipowners (CUS) called for the Cypriot government and other EU member states to vote against the proposal to allow more time for talks aimed at consensus. "As currently drafted, the NZF poses a serious threat to European shipping, economy,

October 17 ------ Reports indicate a search effort was underway after a crew transfer vessel capsized in the outer anchorage off the port of Beira, Mozambique. Details are incomplete, but seven people appear to be missing, with three others injured, and some have possibly succumbed after recovering from the water. The reports indicate that there was a total of 21 people aboard the transfer vessel, which was coming from the port to the Marshall Island-flagged product tanker Se

October 17 ------ Norwegian and Swedish authorities had a bit of a fright overnight when a short-sea cargo ship grounded under a vital roadway bridge linking the two countries. There was no damage to the bridge, and the vessel was refloated without injury to the crew or pollution. The vessel Hagland Captain (4,699 dwt) was transiting the inland route with a load of timber. At approximately 0100 local time, the vessel was encountering heavy fog when the area of the Svinesund B

October 16 ------ The merchant shipping industry continues to face the threats of piracy and armed robberies, but the ICC International Maritime Bureau, in its latest report, also points to progress, including the arrest of two gangs that were terrorizing the area around the Singapore Strait. With a slight increase in activity and areas of higher concern, the group says it must reinforce the need for vigilance and that there is no room for complacency. The ICC International M

October 16 ------ China’s reciprocal port fee program launched yesterday and is having an immediate impact as carriers report they are diverting ships, and others are receiving hefty bills. China continues its attacks in the media as it calls on the U.S. to meet it halfway in the current trade talks. Carriers Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd were the first to react, announcing “temporary changes” for two U.S.-flagged vessels on Asian routes. Maersk writes in a customer advisory, “We wi

October 16 ------ For reasons not yet apparent, Iranian flagged tankers have turned their AIS transmitters back on. For the past seven years, since 2018 when the United States re-imposed sanctions, most Iranian-flagged tankers have travelled the seas with their AIS transmitters turned off in a bid to disguise sanctions-breaking traffic. The phenomenon has been reported independently by several AIS signal aggregators, and is visible in location plots provided by VesselFinder.c

October 16 ------ Japan-based Shin-Nippon Kaiyosha (SNK), a NYK Group company, has obtained third-party certification for the environmental value representing the quantified greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduced through ammonia-fueled tugboat Sakigake‘s towage services. This certified environmental value can be allocated to purchasers through the book & claim method and is expected to contribute to the reduction of Scope 3 emissions by transportation service users in the fut

October 15 ------ Twenty green fuel producers have called on delegates of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to seize a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to set shipping on a sustainable pathway. At this week’s extraordinary session, leaders will come together in London to discuss the adoption of the IMO’s Net Zero Framework (NZF) that was agreed in April earlier this year. A final vote is expected on Thursday or Friday. The group of companies, including the likes

October 15 ------ Libya's trans-migration industry has been marked by violence for years, and stories of militia-led abuses against foreigners are commonplace. The Libyan Coast Guard is an umbrella group for the same militias, and its primary mission is in retrieving maritime migrants who have paid smugglers for passage to Europe. The business model is subsidized: the European Union underwrites the operating costs of the coast guard, and the migrants are typically imprisoned

October 15 ------ The Bulgarian Navy coordinated the rescue of 10 seafarers from a Ukrainian cargo ship that sank in the Black Sea on October 12. Fears that the ship might have struck a mine, however, were dispelled by the Bulgarians, who said the incident was due to “structural weaknesses” which was supported by a poor maintenance record for the vessel. The cargo ship Eileen (3,00 dwt) issued a distress call midday on Sunday, October 12, reporting that the vessel was taking

October 15 ------ The sailing tour vessel Marigalante has gone down off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, its home port since the 1990s. The landmark local attraction fell victim to flooding and a failed bilge pump, according to the operator. Marigalante was a replica of Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria, and was built in 1987 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his voyage of discovery. It had been in Puerto Vallarta for more than three decades and was a well-known fixture on

October 14 ------ The Trump administration is threatening to deploy some of its biggest legal penalties against countries that back the Marine Environment Protection Committee's draft CO2 emissions regulations, which are up for a final vote this week. Promoting the "activist-driven climate policies" in the IMO Net Zero Framework could result in sanctions, tariffs, port fees or crew visa restrictions, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy wa

October 14 ------ Beijing is set to levy steep port service fees on United States (U.S.)-owned, -operated and -built vessels as well as American shipowners, following Washington’s measures targeting China’s maritime, logistics and shipbuilding sectors. As disclosed by the Chinese Ministry of Transport, starting from October 14, 2025, additional port fees will be imposed in accordance with the East Asian nation’s “Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on International

October 14 ------ The lashers working in the Port of Rotterdam who handle containers were ordered back to work for the next four days. A court found with a coalition of their employers and businesses that argued the strike was having a disproportionate impact and could threaten supply chains. The workers have been on strike since last Wednesday, October 8, and on Friday, extended their strike indefinitely. A spokesperson for the Port of Rotterdam told The Maritime Executive t

October 14 ------ A crewmember suffered a serious fall aboard a boxship at the port of Algeciras, necessitating a high-angle rescue operation. At about 0830 in the morning, Algeciras' maritime rescue coordination center received a request for emergency assistance from the container ship Leto. A crewmember had fallen about 16 feet into the hold. A helicopter medevac was ruled out because cargo above the hold made the operation too difficult. Instead, Salvamento Maritimo dispat