8 Vessel Upgrades With the Fastest Payback in 2026
Shipping margins tighten fast when fuel and carbon costs move. If you’re ranking 2026 upgrades by “how quickly does this pay itself back,” start with changes that cut drag and restore propeller efficiency. The...
Novorossiysk Drone Barrage Pauses Exports and Jolts Oil
A large overnight drone attack hit Russia’s Black Sea hub of Novorossiysk on Nov 14, damaging an oil depot and a vessel and prompting a temporary halt to oil exports as pipeline operator Transneft...
US–Korea Shipbuilding Plan Points ~$150B at American Yards
Talks between Washington and Seoul outline a framework where South Korean industry would channel about $150 billion into U.S. shipbuilding as part of a broader investment package tied to trade concessions. Public briefings describe...
Hormuz Flashpoint: Iran seizes Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Talara
Iranian small boats intercepted the Talara while it transited the Strait of Hormuz from the UAE toward Singapore, diverting the ship into Iranian waters; the vessel’s manager reported loss of contact, UKMTO pointed to...
The New Maritime Insurance Stack: War-Risk, Cyber and Parametric Weather. What you need to know in Under 5 Minutes
Modern voyage risk is a stack, not a single policy. Detours, cyber events, and severe weather hit cashflow in different ways, so smart operators layer war-risk, cyber, and parametric covers to keep routes, systems,...
CMA CGM moves to Buy 20% of Hamburg’s CTH
CMA CGM has signed a term sheet to acquire a 20% stake in Eurogate’s Container Terminal Hamburg (CTH), with closing targeted in the first half of 2026 subject to regulatory approvals. The deal aligns...
Hai An Upsizes: Vietnam Carrier Books 3,000-TEU Newbuilds at Yangzijiang
Vietnam’s Hai An Lines is moving up the size ladder with firm orders for two 3,000-TEU container ships at Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding, with market reports indicating options that could lift the series to...
Simandou Is Live: West Africa ore corridors set to rewire capesize trades
Guinea has formally launched the Simandou iron ore project, with partners marking start of operations this week and first shipments slated around mid to late November 2025. The integrated mine-rail-port system spans 600+ km...
Where Detours Inflate Bunker Bills Right Now
Detours are no longer the exception. On several big trades the long way has become the plan, and every extra mile turns into real money. Longer passages mean more VLSFO burned, more charter days,...
Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach Lock In Zero-Emissions Plan: fines, phases and shore-power reality
The two busiest U.S. container ports have agreed with Southern California air regulators on a binding roadmap to plan and build zero-emissions infrastructure. The air district approved the deal on Nov 7, the Long...
UK Has Moved to Block Services for Russian LNG in 2026
The UK has confirmed it will phase in a ban on UK maritime services that enable exports of Russian LNG during 2026, coordinating timing with Europe. This targets the plumbing behind cargoes, shipping, broking,...
Red Sea Lull With Risk Still Live
Yemen’s Houthi movement has signaled a halt to Red Sea attacks and said its declared blockade of Israeli ports has ended. Lines and insurers are not rushing back. Advisers urge caution, war-risk pricing remains...
10 Ways AI Is Quietly Changing Voyage Planning
AI has already slipped into voyage planning screens in ways that most crews and even some shore teams barely notice. Behind the scenes it is quietly steering routes, nudging speeds, reshuffling port calls and...
Flatline October For U.S. Box Imports Signals Cautious Peak Season
U.S. container imports barely moved in October, with volumes holding at roughly 2.31 million TEU, just a 0.1 percent slip from September and about 7.5 percent below last year’s October level. Importers look to...
Steel Slump: Cheap Scrap Is Slowing Ship Recycling
Cash buyer reports and market notes in November 2025 paint a rough picture for scrapyards. Steel plate values at key South Asian recycling hubs have slipped below 400 dollars per light displacement ton in...
Electric Cranes Hit the Baltic as Palfinger’s Polish Wind Deal Points to All-Electric Decks
Palfinger Marine has secured a contract to supply fully electric offshore jib cranes for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms in the Polish Baltic, a 1.44 GW project developed by Equinor...
The Great Green Fuel Race in 2026: LNG, Methanol, Ammonia and the Nuclear Option
Shipping’s green fuel race in 2026 is not a clean sprint. LNG, methanol, ammonia and even nuclear are all lining up on the start line, but they are running very different races. Regulations are...
Red Sea, Suez And Hormuz: Chokepoint Risks, Cape Detours Impacting P&L
After two years of disruption, shipowners are now juggling a mixed picture at the key Middle East chokepoints. The Red Sea and Suez are seeing a clear rebound in traffic, even though Houthi attacks...
Tuapse Under Siege As Drone Strikes Choke Black Sea Fuel Exports
Repeated Ukrainian drone strikes have shut down Russia’s fuel export hub at Tuapse, one of Moscow’s main oil outlets on the Black Sea. A major attack damaged terminal infrastructure and at least one merchant...
Bunker Playbook: Lock In or Ride the Spot in 2026
The bunker plan you choose in 2026 will move more money than any single retrofit. Rules tighten, alternative fuels spread, and spreads keep shifting by port. Start with the few signals that actually move...
Volumes Up as Maersk Warns on Rate Pressure
Maersk said global container volumes are rising, and it lifted the lower end of its full-year 2025 profit outlook. Third-quarter results beat expectations on revenue and EBITDA, helped by stronger China-led exports, but average...
Somali Pirates Board Hellas Aphrodite In Deepwater Attack
A Malta-flagged product tanker named Hellas Aphrodite was boarded by armed pirates on November 6, 2025, roughly 549 to 560 nautical miles off central Somalia while sailing gasoline from Sikka, India to Durban, South...
US and China Agree to Pause Port Fees and Crane Tariffs
Washington and Beijing are stepping back from a costly fee fight. The United States will suspend for one year, starting November 10, 2025, the Section 301 port entry fees aimed at China and the...
Sails vs ALS on Ships: Which Wins for ROI?
Two groundbreaking technologies are reshaping ship budgets in 2026. Both with one simple goal, to save fuel. One spreads a cushion of bubbles under the hull to cut friction. The other captures wind with...
EU Carbon Rules Start Hitting Voyage P&L
Shipping’s inclusion in the EU Emissions Trading System has moved from theory to cash impact. For 2024 emissions, companies must surrender allowances by September 30, 2025, covering 40% this cycle, rising to 70% for...
Sanctions are Parking Barrels at Sea, Tightening Tanker Supply
Sanctions are turning tankers into temporary storage, and traders say it’s now visible at record scale. At ADIPEC this week, Gunvor’s chief executive said “oil on the water” has surged to unprecedented levels as...
In-Water Hull Cleaning: 12 Proven Ways Shipowners Cut Fuel and Costs
Fuel drag from slime is quiet but expensive. The fastest win you can buy without a yard stay is in-water cleaning that captures the waste so you can use it in more ports. Done...
Maersk Adds LNG Megamax Capacity in China, Options Touted
Trade-press reports indicate Maersk has placed an order in China for a fresh tranche of 18,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel containerships, with options said to be under discussion. The move continues its 2024–25 fleet renewal toward...
Sanctions Squeeze as Russian Crude Flows Jolt Tanker Math
U.S. sanctions tightened in late October have begun to bite. Indian refiners paused new Russian oil orders, at least one India-bound tanker turned around in the Baltic, and a naphtha cargo stalled off India...
C-Leanship: ROV Hull Cleaning that Quickly Cuts Fuel and Downtime
Biofouling is a quiet tax on every voyage, and C-Leanship’s pitch is to remove it without blowing the schedule. They deploy ROVs to inspect and clean hulls and propellers during port calls or at...