Maritime News

November 9 ------ The U.S. Coast Guard has achieved a new record for cocaine seizures in a fiscal year, capturing more than 225 tons in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations between October 2024 and October 2025. The achievement is a testament to heightened patrol operations in the region, as well as the continued boom in cocaine production in Columbia and other countries of origin. Colombia alone manufactured an estimated 1,800 tons of cocaine in 2022, and output has

November 9 ------ A new study among the providers of shore services for seafarers confirmed the concerns over the decline in access to shore leave and the time spent ashore by seafarers. Shore leave has been repeatedly identified as one of the concerns for seafarers, as experts cite the importance of shore time to crew welfare. A survey of seafarers in May 2024 published by the World Maritime University highlighted the concern, one that has been repeated in the recent edition

November 8 ------ The Suez Canal Authority is continuing its outreach to the shipping industry as it reported its first significant increases in transit volume since the start of the regional crisis in late 2023. They reported the highest monthly rate of returning vessels in October since the beginning of the war in the Middle East. News of the improvement was shared as the Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Admiral Ossama Rabiee, hosted a meeting of the representatives fr

November 8 ------ Foreign relief efforts are beginning to flood into Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, bringing aid for thousands of people affected by the category five storm. The powerful storm has shut down the nation's tourism industry, and the cost of the physical damage alone is believed to equal about one-third of Jamaica's annual domestic product. The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Trent arrived off Falmouth, Jamaica on November 4 to deliver a company of disast

November 7 ------ A piracy incident is ongoing off the coast of Somalia after the Greek-owned product tanker Hellas Aphrodite reported it had been attacked and boarded. The incident comes just days after a failed boarding on another tanker and is raising concerns over a resurgence of the pirates after 18 months since they boarded another large cargo ship. The manager of the vessel, Latsco Shipping, confirmed the incident and said the crew was accounted for and that they remai

November 7 ------ Hydrogen Solutions (HYDS) has reached final investment decisions (FIDs) for its two green hydrogen production projects, HyFuel and Kaupanes Hydrogen, advancing them into the construction phase. HYDS revealed FIDs on November 5, stating that this development represents “significant progress in scaling competitive green hydrogen supply and enabling zero emission solutions in segments where direct electrification is not sufficient”. The HyFuel project is owned

November 7 ------ Despite reporting better than expected third quarter results and narrowing the range for its yearly income estimate, investor concerns continue to grow on the container shipping segment as Maersk pointed to continuing issues. While it reported strong quarterly results, it was the underlying issues around freight rates that raised the greatest concern for Maersk and the industry more broadly. Among the first of the large, publicly traded container carriers to

November 7 ------ Lloyd’s Register (LR), in collaboration with COSCO Shipping Group, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the University of Southampton, has launched a new center for developing and testing zero-carbon and intelligent-ship technologies. Named the International Maritime Future Technologies Innovation Centre, this virtual center aims to advance research and development in low- and zero-carbon maritime technologies, intelligent ship systems, and digital innovation.