Somali piracy disrupts global shipping and trade routes
Somali piracy disrupts global shipping and trade routes
in
International Shipping News
13/05/2026
As ships reroute around Africa to avoid Middle East conflict zones, piracy off Somalia is back. The resurgence is driving up insurance, transit times and security costs, putting new pressure on global supply chains.
It’s been a nightmare two months for global shipping, with the Strait of Hormuz largely shut to commercial traffic and the threat of fresh attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
Now, a third crisis is brewing — a resurgence in Somali piracy.
Even before the latest escalations between the United States, Israel and Iran, around half the vessels bound for Europe from Asia and the Gulf were bypassing the Red Sea and Suez Canal due to earlier strikes by the Iran-backed Houthis.
Faced with the threat of attacks around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow chokepoint between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, major shipping firms opted instead for the long detour around southern Africa.
Thi
America’s Nuclear Shipping Revival Is About More Than Reactors
National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV) under construction at Hanwha Philly Shipyard. Photo courtesy Hanwha Philly Shipyard
America’s Nuclear Shipping Revival Is About More Than Reactors
Paul Morgan
Total Views: 0
May 12, 2026
Sean Duffy’s MARAD initiative may look like another Trump-era energy dominance announcement, but beneath the politics lies a serious industrial question: can the United States build the regulatory, shipyard, insurance and port framework needed to make nuclear-powered merchant ships commercially viable before Asia takes the lead?
By Paul Morgan (gCaptain) – The real story behind the
announcement made by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P.
KR Drives IMO’s Marine Environmental Agenda on Ammonia Effluent Management and NOx Reduction Technology
KR Drives IMO’s Marine Environmental Agenda on Ammonia Effluent Management and NOx Reduction Technology
in
International Shipping News
,
Shipping: Emission Possible
13/05/2026
Korean Register (KR) announced that it is serving as the Coordinator of two International Maritime Organization (IMO) expert groups in key marine environmental areas: ammonia effluent management and response procedures for nitrogen oxides (NOx) reduction strategy failures.
As international pressure to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships intensifies, ammonia-fueled vessels are gaining traction as a zero-carbon alternative to conventional marine fuels. However, ammonia’s high toxicity means that ammonia effluent can be generated during vessel operation, and the absence of internationally agreed management standards continues to create uncertainty across the industry.
To proactively address this regulatory gap, KR established a joint working group in June 2025 in collaboration with the Ministry of Ocean
Iraqi Supertanker Pulls Back From U.S. Hormuz Blockade
Stock Photo: Garry2014 / Shutterstock
Iraqi Supertanker Pulls Back From U.S. Hormuz Blockade
Bloomberg
Total Views: 2
May 12, 2026
By Prejula Prem and Julian Lee (Bloomberg) — The
Strait of Hormuz
remains largely shuttered, with Iran-linked vessels dominating what little traffic is moving across the waterway. An Iraqi supertanker’s rare passage has come to a halt after a retreat from the US naval blockade line.
The Iraqi oil-loaded Agios Fanourios I, which cleared the strait at the weekend, is retracing its route after halting a journey to Vietnam on Monday as it approached the US position.
Hapag-Lloyd Swings to Loss as Strait of Hormuz Chaos and Weather Delays Hit Shipping
Thorsten Schier / Shutterstock.com
Hapag-Lloyd Swings to Loss as Strait of Hormuz Chaos and Weather Delays Hit Shipping
Mike Schuler
Total Views: 0
May 13, 2026
Container shipping giant
Hapag-Lloyd
reported a sharp deterioration in first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, blaming severe weather disruptions and the conflict in the Middle East for rising costs and weaker operational performance as the shipping industry grapples with another volatile year.
The German carrier posted Group EBITDA of $494 million (€422 million) for the first quarter of 2026, down sharply from €1.05 billion a year earlier. Group EBIT swung to a loss of €134 million from a €463 million profit in the same quarter last year, while net profit fell to a loss of €219 million.
Hapag-Lloyd said lower freight rates, severe weather disruptions across Europe and North America, and the effective closure of the
Strait of Hormuz
late in the quarter weighed heavily on results.
“The first quarter of 2026 was unsatisfactory for us,
Record $2.25 Billion Settlement Reached in Baltimore Key Bridge Collapse Case
Responders with the Unified Command conduct an overflight assessment of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, March 29, 2024. Unified Command Photo
Record $2.25 Billion Settlement Reached in Baltimore Key Bridge Collapse Case
Mike Schuler
Total Views: 0
May 13, 2026
The State of Maryland has finalized a $2.25 billion settlement with the owner and operator of the containership
Dali
, marking the largest legal recovery in maritime history and a major milestone in the aftermath of the catastrophic
collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge
.
The agreement resolves claims brought by Maryland against Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte. Ltd., the owner and operator of the Singapore-flagged M/V
Dali
, which struck the bridge on March 26, 2024, causing its collapse and killing six construction workers.
The settlement was announced Tuesday by law firm Kelley Drye, which served as assistant counsel for the State of Maryland alongside
Iran-Linked LPG Tanker Sails Past US Navy’s Blockade Line
Navy guided-missile destroyers transit the Strait of Hormuz during heightened tensions with Iran in a photo released by U.S. Photo courtesy CENTCOM.
Iran-Linked LPG Tanker Sails Past US Navy’s Blockade Line
Bloomberg
Total Views: 0
May 13, 2026
By Weilun Soon
May 13, 2026 (Bloomberg) –A liquefied petroleum gas carrier, which has previously ferried Iranian cargoes, has sailed past the blockade boundary announced last month by the US Navy.
Very large gas carrier
Tara Gas
crossed the formal US line — stretching from Oman’s Ras al Hadd to the Iran-Pakistan border — late on Tuesday and is currently sailing in a southeasterly direction in the Arabian Sea, ship-tracking data show.
Since the US declared it would impose a blockade in response to Iran’s tightening grip on the Strait of Hormuz, warships have
intercepted
some vessels well beyond this point, but the line remains a guide for ship captains and owners. At least one oil tanker appears to have
slipped past
altogether.
Shipping across th
Fresh food for seafarers is a strategic imperative for ship owners
Fresh food for seafarers is a strategic imperative for ship owners
in
International Shipping News
13/05/2026
T
he World Maritime University’s Food4Seafarers project has called for systemic reform in how food is provisioned and managed at sea. Across the maritime industry, there is a growing recognition that seafarer wellbeing is a core operational concern. A healthy, balanced diet is increasingly understood as fundamental to crew welfare, safety, and the resilience of the global supply chain.
For years, maritime welfare discussions focused on connectivity, rest hours, and living conditions, often overlooking one of the most basic and influential aspects of life at sea: food.
The food we consume, and its nutritional quality, directly affects how we think, perform and feel.
Smart ships’ are failing to turn data into real intelligence, warns SmartSea
Smart ships’ are failing to turn data into real intelligence, warns SmartSea
in
International Shipping News
13/05/2026
The maritime industry’s push towards “smart shipping” is falling short, with many vessels collecting vast amounts of data but failing to use it effectively, according to maritime technology company, SmartSea.
Despite heavy investment in sensors, AI and onboard connectivity, most ships are already generating significant volumes of operational data. However, much of that information remains underused because it is not being properly harvested, integrated or analysed to support better decision-making onboard or ashore.
Over the past decade, shipowners have deployed a wide range of digital tools, from engine monitoring to voyage optimisation and maintenance systems, but these technologies are rarely designed to work together. The result is a fragmented environment in which valuable data is collected across multiple systems but not combined in a meaningful way, limiting its
UK Leads 40-Nation Defensive Mission to Secure Strait of Hormuz
Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon departs Portsmouth, UK to head to the Eastern Mediterranean to bolster British defenses in the region. Royal Navy Photo
UK Leads 40-Nation Defensive Mission to Secure Strait of Hormuz
Mike Schuler
Total Views: 1473
May 12, 2026
The United Kingdom is significantly expanding its military commitment to securing the
Strait of Hormuz
, announcing Tuesday that it will deploy autonomous mine-hunting systems, counter-drone technology, Typhoon fighter jets, and the Royal Navy destroyer
HMS Dragon
as part of a future multinational maritime security mission.
The announcement came during a virtual summit of defense ministers representing more than 40 nations involved in what British officials described as a “strictly defensive” multinational mission aimed at restoring confidence in commercial shipping through one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.
The mission, led jointly by the UK and France, would become operational “when conditions allow,” acc