Prepare for your 2026 sea contract with a concise packing strategy, based on insights from The Maritime Telegraph and Maritime Zone. This practical sea contract checklist helps seafarers get ready efficiently for life offshore.
A fire in the engine room of the Ro-Ro ferry Maria Felisa injured three crew members while the vessel was sailing through the Surigao Strait in the southern Philippines, reports The Maritime Telegraph. The incident forced the ferry to stop mid-voyage and rely on external assistance, highlighting once again the risks faced by seafarers during onboard emergencies.
Two crew members are still missing after the bulk carrier Changxin 198 capsized and sank off the western coast of Hainan Island, underscoring ongoing safety risks for bulk carriers operating in severe weather. The Maritime Telegraph reports that the incident occurred in the Gulf of Tonkin on 31 January 2026.
The shipping industry faces mounting retention and safety risks, Splash 247 reports, after new research from the World Maritime University (WMU) showed that nearly half of seafarers plan to leave the profession within five years – a trend that could deepen global crewing shortages.
Maersk Tankers has taken a practical step toward decarbonisation and fuel efficiency by completing its first wind-assisted propulsion retrofit, as reported by The Maritime Telegraph. The project marks the debut installation of bound4blue’s eSAIL technology on the medium-range tanker Maersk Trieste, under a wider agreement aimed at cutting fuel use and emissions across the fleet.
Seafarer abandonment climbed to an unprecedented level in 2025, leaving 6,223 crew members stranded aboard 410 vessels worldwide, as reported by The Maritime Telegraph. The figures confirm that the problem is no longer episodic, but a persistent and worsening feature of global shipping.
A crew member from the tanker Songa Pearl remains missing after falling overboard in the Elbe estuary, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation that was later suspended. The incident was reported by The Maritime Telegraph.
Russian captain Vladimir Motin faces gross negligent manslaughter charges after the cargo ship Solong collided with the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate near the Humber Estuary on March 10, 2025, causing a fire that engulfed both vessels and leaving one Filipino sailor missing, as reported by Safety4Sea.
French container shipping major CMA CGM is again adjusting its routing strategy, scaling back Suez Canal transits as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East intensify. The move underscores the fragile outlook for the Asia–Europe trade lane, despite earlier expectations of stabilization, The Maritime Telegraph reports.
US forces have seized a seventh oil tanker connected to Venezuelan crude movements, tightening enforcement against sanctioned shipping in the Caribbean. The latest operation, reported by NextShip and confirmed by U.S.
HMM has reached a major agreement with Avikus, the autonomous navigation subsidiary of HD Hyundai, as reported by NextShip, signaling a shift of AI-based ship navigation into full commercial use. The contract, one of the largest in this field, focuses on rapid fleet-wide deployment rather than further trials.
Spain has broken up a large international cocaine smuggling network that exploited global container shipping routes, The Maritime Telegraph reports. Investigators identified three coordinated criminal groups linked to the Balkan Cartel, which moved cocaine from Colombia to Europe by concealing it inside containers on commercial containerships.
