Stay updated with the latest global maritime news, including shipping industry trends, international port developments, crew updates, and key events affecting the world of shipping and seafaring. Your source for timely and reliable maritime industry information.
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has formalized joint control of South Korea’s Sinokor Maritime, confirming its entry into the crude tanker segment, GCaptain reports.
A March 11 filing in Cyprus shows MSC, via its subsidiary SAS Shipping Agencies Services, will share ownership with Sinokor’s founder, Ga-Hyun Chung. The move puts an official structure behind a relationship that had drawn strong market attention.
French shipping giant CMA CGM has taken delivery of its new dual-fuel containership CMA CGM Grand Palais, strengthening its position in high-capacity, low-emission shipping, The Maritime Telegraph reports. The 24,000 TEU vessel marks the final unit in a four-ship series ordered in 2022.
A captain with the Canadian Coast Guard has been dismissed after investigators concluded he intentionally ignored a distress call from a fishing vessel in trouble near Prince Edward Island. The case, reported by The Maritime Telegraph, has raised serious concerns about emergency response procedures at sea.
Australia has banned the bulk carrier Ocean Bright from entering its ports for six months after investigators confirmed the crew had not received wages for two months. The decision highlights strict enforcement of seafarer welfare rules under the Maritime Labour Convention. The Maritime Telegraph reported on the case.
Greek container ship owner Costamare has expanded its newbuilding programme, increasing its series of 3,100 TEU containerships to ten vessels, The Maritime Telegraph reports. The company placed an additional order with Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard, targeting demand for mid-sized ships used in regional and feeder container trades.
Classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and South Korea’s HD Hyundai have launched a joint project to study nuclear propulsion for a 16,000-TEU containership, The Maritime Telegraph reports. The initiative reflects the shipping industry’s growing search for zero-carbon propulsion technologies.
Spanish maritime authorities in the Canary Islands chased down a detained tug that attempted to leave the port of Las Palmas without permission. The tug Sylvia M, which was towing the offshore vessel K-Marine IV, tried to depart despite a standing detention order, reported by Maritime Executive.
A major search and rescue operation is underway off the coast of South Africa after a tugboat sank in rough seas, leaving five crewmembers missing. Two merchant vessels and a fishing boat are assisting the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) in the operation.
Opposition is mounting against Hapag-Lloyd’s $4.2bn takeover offer for ZIM. The proposed acquisition of Israel’s ZIM by Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd now faces union resistance and political scrutiny, reports The Maritime Telegraph.
A fatal cruise ship fire off Singapore claimed the life of one crew member on February 20, The Maritime Telegraph reports. The blaze broke out around 04:00 on deck nine of the Liberia-flagged MV World Legacy, prompting a full-scale emergency response and evacuation.
LNG is no longer a theoretical bridge fuel but a central pillar of shipping’s energy transition, writes Peter Keller, Chairman of Sea-LNG, in an author’s column published by Maritime Executive. For CEOs navigating decarbonization, LNG now represents scale, compliance certainty, and commercial flexibility.
The container fleet of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has surpassed 7.2m TEU in operated capacity, reinforcing its position as the world’s largest liner operator, The Maritime Telegraph reports. The milestone reflects MSC’s sustained fleet expansion and growing influence in global container shipping.
Maersk has placed an order for eight large container vessels with a capacity of around 18,600 TEU each, reinforcing its ongoing fleet renewal strategy and focus on deployment flexibility, The Maritime Telegraph reports.
A commercial chemical tanker has rescued 27 seafarers after a tuna fishing vessel caught fire and sank in the Eastern Pacific, highlighting the lifesaving role of merchant ships in open-ocean rescues, The Maritime Telegraph reports.
The United States has detained one Ukrainian crewmember from the oil tanker Marinera, formerly known as Bella1, following the vessel’s seizure in the North Atlantic, The Maritime Telegraph reports.
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.
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.
