Ship Universe Weekly Recap

January 17, 2026

This is a full rundown of this week’s coverage on Ship Universe. To get this by email every Saturday, subscribe here.

Ship Universe Weekly

It was a busy week for shipping, with shifting risk and real operational decisions happening fast across multiple regions.

We redesigned the Tools Portal. Ship Universe already includes interactive tools and maritime calculators throughout most of our content, but these tools go deeper (with more in development): Explore the Maritime Tools Portal .

And don’t forget to check out our 2026 in-depth Maritime Calendar for upcoming maritime events, meetings, webinars, and training. Full coverage below.

This Week’s Reports

Jan 16, 2026	Top 30 Maritime Piracy Incidents in 2025 A 2025 piracy reality check across regions: Singapore Strait boardings, West Africa kidnappings, and renewed Somalia-area risk patterns that operators are actively baking into routing, onboard measures, and insurance posture.
Jan 15, 2026	Big 5 Breakdown: Size, Fuel Burn, and Carrying Capacity Modern liner networks are shaped by five physical constraints that drive the entire operating math: size limits, ports/canals, fuel burn, payload, and the capacity tradeoffs behind today’s fleet design.
Jan 14, 2026	Maritime Compliance Penalties Ranked: Fines, Detention, and Off-Hire Exposure Compliance becomes expensive when rules turn into cash events: port holds, forced corrective actions, off-hire exposure, and penalties that can escalate from “paperwork” to schedule damage fast.
Jan 13, 2026	Chartering Tankers: Costs, Risks, and Profits A 2026 tanker chartering playbook focused on the full cost stack: hire, bunkers, port/canal friction, war-risk adders, and carbon-linked costs that can quietly swing voyage economics.
Jan 12, 2026	Top 8 Ways EU ETS Changes Voyage Economics in 2026 EU ETS gets more “real-money” in 2026 as surrender obligations rise and scope expands, changing how owners price voyages, negotiate clauses, and manage carbon exposure on Europe-linked trades.

This Week’s News

Jan 16, 2026	Hengli Heavy’s $1.9bn build-out as shipyard capacity growth pushes deeper into the 2028–2029 cycle A major Chinese shipyard capacity expansion is stretching deeper into the late-decade build cycle, shaping slot availability, pricing power, and delivery timing decisions for owners planning 2028–2029 tonnage.
Jan 16, 2026	HMM Goes Big on Autonomous Navigation HMM moves from trials into fleet-scale deployment by installing Avikus AI-based navigation across 40 vessels, pushing autonomy toward day-to-day ops and raising the bar on bridge workflow, safety cases, and performance expectations.
Jan 16, 2026	Court Orders Put Offshore Wind Back on the Water and Shipping Feels It First Legal decisions are reopening offshore wind timelines right as vessel availability tightens, pulling scarce installation tonnage into time-sensitive windows and reshaping dayrates, schedules, and spillover demand.
Jan 16, 2026	Chornomorsk Berth Strike: Black Sea port-call risk pricing A reported strike impacting port infrastructure and a civilian vessel is sharpening the Black Sea operating lens: crew safety, port-call appetite, and war-risk clauses are turning into real-time voyage pricing inputs.
Jan 15, 2026	Caribbean Compliance Shockwave as U.S. Warrants Target “Dozens” of Venezuela-Linked Tankers, and the Trade Tightens Overnight Compliance friction rises fast as reported warrants and enforcement actions widen the net on Venezuela-linked trading, forcing rerouting, tighter vetting, slower liftings, and higher operational risk adders.
Jan 15, 2026	Maersk puts MECL back through Suez in a structural Red Sea return with real network consequences A service-level routing decision back through Suez shifts the baseline: transit times, network reliability, and risk posture begin to re-normalize, with knock-on impacts for capacity balance and rate pressure.
Jan 15, 2026	Yangzijiang Maritime Loads Up on Forward Tonnage With a 16 Ship Newbuild Slate Forward supply keeps building into the 2028–2029 window as tonnage accumulators expand across bulk and tanker segments, shaping replacement cost signals and long-cycle sentiment.
Jan 15, 2026	Iran Port Approaches Go Cautious: Offshore Holding Builds as Navigation Interference Spikes Offshore holding and interference reports turn “routine arrivals” into higher-friction operations, raising schedule uncertainty, crew workload, and risk management requirements around Iran-linked port approaches.
Jan 14, 2026	Shipping Risk Repriced Across Three Fronts in 48 Hours A stacked shock sequence increases friction per voyage: security, weather disruption, and geopolitical risk are all pushing the same direction, tightening operating margins and increasing delay probability.
Jan 14, 2026	U.S. China Trade Weakness Forces a 2026 Network Reset A sharp demand datapoint is feeding 2026 network planning: weaker U.S.–China flows can accelerate blank sailings, service reshuffles, and capacity discipline as carriers protect yields.
Jan 14, 2026	Asyad’s VLCC trio at Hanwha as forward supply grows, sentiment shifts Another VLCC order cluster strengthens the late-decade delivery pipeline, influencing secondhand sentiment today and shaping the longer-term balance for crude tanker supply and charter duration appetite.
Jan 14, 2026	Warrants, Not Warnings: U.S. Preps a Bigger Vessel-Seizure Wave in Venezuela’s “Grey” Tanker Trade Enforcement shifts from isolated interdictions toward a broader court-driven campaign, increasing the cost of doing business in Venezuela-linked trading and tightening viable tanker supply for the lane.
Jan 13, 2026	Iran frees St. Nikolas quietly as the two-year detention ends without fanfare A low-profile release of a long-detained tanker still carries a broader message for operators: regional risk can pivot quickly, and political holding patterns can end without clear “all-clear” signaling.
Jan 13, 2026	China-Linked VLCCs Hit Reverse: Venezuela-to-Asia Liftings Stall as Risk and Routing Reprice Ship-tracking reversals point to immediate trade friction: risk, routing, and enforcement pressure are re-pricing Venezuela-to-Asia liftings and tightening execution certainty for long-haul crude moves.
Jan 13, 2026	Mercuria Adds More Dry Bulk Muscle in China Another newbuild-linked ordering signal adds forward bulk lift into 2028, reinforcing replacement-cost anchoring and shaping owner expectations for future slot scarcity and pricing.
Jan 12, 2026	Maersk edges back into the Red Sea and completes another Bab el-Mandeb transit Confirmed transits and customer comms show a cautious operational re-entry into the corridor, offering early clues on how quickly services could normalize if risk conditions keep stabilizing.
Jan 12, 2026	Iran Pulls Commercial Shipping Into the Target Picture Escalatory messaging widens perceived exposure for commercial operators: even without a specific incident, the risk premium can shift as insurers, charterers, and masters reassess Hormuz-adjacent transits.
Jan 12, 2026	Venezuela Barrels Back in Play as Traders Line Up Cargoes and Tanker Logistics Rebuild Under Pressure Cargo marketing and logistics rebuilding are happening at the same time as enforcement pressure, increasing operational friction across terminals, lift schedules, and tanker availability for the Atlantic basin.
Jan 12, 2026	Drone Strikes Near Odesa as Merchant-Safety Risk Premium Widens Reported strikes on civilian vessels reinforce that the Black Sea risk premium remains active, influencing port-call decisions, crew safety planning, and the practical cost of war-risk cover.

This Week’s Signals

Jan 16, 2026	Autonomous Navigation Goes Fleet-Scale HMM’s 40-vessel rollout turns autonomous navigation from “pilot” to operating standard, influencing bridge procedures, incident documentation, and the next wave of owner expectations on safety and efficiency tooling.
Jan 16, 2026	Piracy Baseline Resets Upward 2025 incident data reinforces that frequent “low-to-mid severity” events still change behavior: SOP upgrades, higher onboard measures, tighter routing decisions, and more insurance scrutiny on repeat-exposure lanes.
Jan 15, 2026	US Seizes Sixth Sanctioned Tanker Enforcement isn’t just “headline risk” now, it’s a scheduling variable: interdictions can remove tonnage overnight, raise compliance costs, and tighten viable vessel supply near Venezuela-linked trading.
Jan 15, 2026	Red Sea Routing Optionality Reopens Service-level returns and updated risk signals are reintroducing “Suez as an option,” which can quickly affect transit times, equipment positioning, and rate pressure as networks test normalization.
Jan 14, 2026	Iran Ports “Pause” Shows Up in AIS Offshore holding outside Iranian ports is an early operational tell: waiting time grows, approvals tighten, and ETAs become less reliable for cargo owners and chartering desks.
Jan 14, 2026	China Starts Penalizing Starlink Use in Its Waters Connectivity becomes a compliance issue: penalties for unapproved LEO satcom use can trigger port-state friction, equipment policy changes onboard, and renewed focus on “approved comms” by flag and region.
Jan 13, 2026	Iran Unrest Reprices Gulf Risk Gulf risk premiums can widen quickly when rhetoric escalates: bunker timing, routing buffers, war-risk coverage, and even port-call willingness can shift before any single “flashpoint” event occurs.
Jan 13, 2026	Black Sea War-Risk Repriced Insurance moves fast after attack reports: firmer quotes and faster review cycles translate into real voyage cost changes, tighter clauses, and more cautious scheduling on exposed Black Sea runs.
Jan 13, 2026	Red Sea routing: “test transits” are creeping back in Early “test transits” are the middle ground between avoidance and full return, giving the market a live read on practical security conditions, premiums, and whether reliability improves enough to scale.
Jan 12, 2026	Sanctions Enforcement at Sea Escalation The enforcement environment tightens through identification, interception, and restrictions that spill into insurance, port access, and banking, increasing friction for any trade touching higher-risk counterparties.
Jan 12, 2026	Arctic LNG Winter Shadow Logistics Winter exports depend on a small ice-capable carrier pool plus storage and STS workarounds, creating brittle cadence risk: one delay can ripple into demurrage, missed windows, and congestion at handoff points.
Jan 12, 2026	Baltic Sea Cable Friction Persistent subsea infrastructure incidents keep the region on a higher security footing, adding inspection friction, movement scrutiny, and uncertainty for ships operating near sensitive routes and repair activity.

This Week's Tech Guides

Jan 16, 2026	AI ETA Prediction for Ships: 2026 Guide ETA accuracy is where delays quietly turn into real cost: berth plans, pilots, yard moves, trucking windows, and customer ETAs all cascade from the same timestamp. This guide breaks down what modern AI ETA actually improves, where it fails, and how operators measure “real value.”
Jan 15, 2026	AI Collision Avoidance for Ships: 2026 Guide Collision avoidance AI is about consistency under fatigue and complexity: early detection, correct classification, sensor fusion, and COLREG-aware recommendations. This guide focuses on practical bridge integration, false-positive management, and how teams document AI-assisted decisions.
Jan 14, 2026	AI Machine Vision on Ships: 2026 Guide Machine vision is shifting from “cameras on board” to a real operating layer: small-target detection, floating object alerts, close-quarters support, and better watchkeeping coverage. This guide explains where it helps most (and how teams avoid over-trusting it).
Jan 13, 2026	Cable Management Systems for Ships (CMS): 2026 Guide CMS is the “last 30 meters” that makes shore power realistic. This guide explains why the slow part is rarely the electrical spec, it’s the handling, safety, and turnaround time of connecting heavy high-voltage cables in real terminal conditions.
Jan 12, 2026	Ship Engine Monitoring Systems (EMS) Guide: 2026 Update EMS tools are becoming core operations systems, not just dashboards. This update covers what’s actually changing in 2026: cleaner data, better remote diagnostics, and earlier warning on failure modes that drive off-hire, claims, and fuel inefficiency.

This Week's Company Spotlights

Jan 16, 2026	Orca AI Review: A Digital Lookout for Real-world Risk Orca AI is built for the “digital watchkeeper” role on a modern bridge: 24/7 camera + sensor awareness, target classification, and event capture that helps teams reduce near-miss exposure and build clearer evidence trails for operations and safety reviews.
Jan 15, 2026	Trelleborg Marine & Infrastructure Review: Quiet hardware that protects ships and berths Trelleborg Marine & Infrastructure sits at the “port protection layer” of shipping: fenders, mooring and docking systems, navigation aids, and sealing solutions that reduce berthing risk, asset wear, and unplanned downtime at terminals.
Jan 14, 2026	NAVTOR Review: Turning bridge admin into fleet intelligence NAVTOR connects charts, routes, performance and digital logs into a shared bridge-to-shore ecosystem so vessel teams and operations teams work from the same navigational and compliance picture, with fewer manual handoffs.
Jan 13, 2026	CargoKite Review: Wind-first shipping, built as a new ship class CargoKite is pushing a “wind-first” ship concept using large kites as primary propulsion for smaller cargo units, aiming for lower fuel dependency and a different operating model than traditional main-engine-first designs.
Jan 12, 2026	XMAR Review: Bunker buying, with transparency and proof XMAR targets one of shipping’s most expensive “quiet frictions”: bunker procurement that still runs through scattered quotes and manual follow-ups. Their workflow is designed to make pricing, supplier selection, and documentation easier to audit and repeat.

This Week's Event Coverage

Jan 16, 2026	Intermodal Europe 2026 Review Intermodal Europe 2026 is a container-industry meet-up built for real procurement conversations: equipment owners, lessors, manufacturers, tech providers, and operators comparing boxes, monitoring, M&R, leasing structures, repositioning workflows, and the details that decide deals.
Jan 15, 2026	TOC Americas 2026 TOC Americas 2026 shifts the terminal conversation to Cartagena, with a heavy focus on practical operator realities: productivity, yard flow, automation, equipment, digitalization, and the decisions that shape service reliability across the Americas.
Jan 14, 2026	Breakbulk Americas 2026 Review Breakbulk Americas 2026 is Houston’s project-cargo week where routing, heavy-lift capacity, and execution planning get discussed without the fluff. Expect real conversations around OOG moves, port handling, lift plans, and the tight spots that make or break schedules.
Jan 13, 2026	SMM 2026 Review: Hamburg’s ship tech week that sets agendas SMM 2026 is Hamburg’s biggest marine technology week: owners, yards, class, OEMs, and solution providers comparing what is install-ready, what is scaling, and what is still “powerpoint.” A strong read for capex planning and vendor shortlists.
Jan 12, 2026	Navalshore 2026 (Marintec South America) Navalshore 2026 is Rio’s major maritime week for Latin America, bringing together yards, offshore operators, ports, and suppliers. It’s a practical temperature check on what the region is investing in, maintaining, and expanding right now.

By the ShipUniverse Editorial Team — About Us | Contact