Maritime News

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