‘We Need to Get This Done’: Lawmakers, Labor and Industry Renew Push for SHIPS for America Act
John Garamendi speaks outside the U.S. Capitol during a press conference with lawmakers, labor leaders and maritime industry representatives urging passage of the SHIPS for America Act, legislation aimed at revitalizing U.S. shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base.
‘We Need to Get This Done’: Lawmakers, Labor and Industry Renew Push for SHIPS for America Act
Mike Schuler
Total Views: 0
April 23, 2026
Backers of the SHIPS for America Act mounted a renewed push Wednesday to move sweeping maritime legislation through Congress, with lawmakers, labor leaders and shipbuilding executives portraying the bill as the centerpiece of a growing bipartisan effort to rebuild America’s commercial maritime capacity and industrial base.
At a Capitol Hill press conference following a joint House hearing on revitalizing shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base, Reps. John Garamendi and Trent Kelly urged Congress to capitalize on what they described as rare political momentum behind maritime pol
Ship operators face rising compliance
Ship operators face rising compliance
in
International Shipping News
23/04/2026
SmartSea has warned that maritime operators are coming under growing pressure as EU ETS, NIS2 and evolving IMO requirements force shipowners and managers to treat compliance as an operational discipline rather than a reporting exercise. What was once handled across separate technical, compliance and commercial functions is now directly affecting voyage economics, fuel strategy, emissions reporting, cyber resilience and day-to-day fleet performance.
As regulatory obligations multiply and scrutiny intensifies, operators relying on fragmented systems and disconnected operational data face higher costs, slower decision-making and greater risk of non-compliance.
Kris Vedat, CEO of SmartSea, said:
“Shipping can no longer afford to treat compliance as something that sits outside operations. When regulation, fuel costs, emissions exposure and vessel performance are all moving at once, operators need clear visibilit
U.S. Boards Sanctioned ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tanker in Indian Ocean as Enforcement Push Expands
forces board the sanctioned stateless tanker Majestic X in the Indian Ocean during a maritime interdiction operation on April 23, 2026. The vessel, formerly known as Phonix, has been linked to Iran’s shadow oil trade. Boards Sanctioned ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tanker in Indian Ocean as Enforcement Push Expands
Mike Schuler
Total Views: 1
April 23, 2026
The U.S.
BIMCO Warns Hormuz Reopening Hinges on Mine Clearance as Trump Orders Sweep Surge
Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began setting conditions for clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, April 11, as two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers conducted operations. Central Command Photo
BIMCO Warns Hormuz Reopening Hinges on Mine Clearance as Trump Orders Sweep Surge
Mike Schuler
Total Views: 0
April 23, 2026
Fresh warnings from the world’s largest shipping association are underscoring how far the Strait of Hormuz remains from normal, even as new comments from President Donald Trump pointed to a potentially intensified U.S.
Iran fires on 3 ships in the Strait of Hormuz, complicating efforts to resume US-Iran talks
Iran fires on 3 ships in the Strait of Hormuz, complicating efforts to resume US-Iran talks
in
International Shipping News
22/04/2026
Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, intensifying its assault on shipping in the waterway crucial to global energy supplies and complicating already faltering efforts to bring the United States and Iran together for talks to end the war.
The attacks were carried out by the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, according to Iranian media, which reported that the force seized two of the ships and was bringing them to Iran.
That amounted to an escalation by Iran’s leaders, who appear poised to drive a harder bargain with American negotiators after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would indefinitely extend the ceasefire with Iran that had been due to expire Wednesday.
Despite the extension, Trump also seemed to dig in, saying the U.S. would continue to blockade Iranian ports.
That set the stage for continued disruption to traffic i
Ship Seizures Mark New Phase in Iran’s De Facto Control of Hormuz
A view of Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska as the U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer USS Spruance conducts its interception in a location given as the north Arabian Sea, in this screen capture from a video released April 19, 2026. CENTCOM/Handout via REUTERS
Ship Seizures Mark New Phase in Iran’s De Facto Control of Hormuz
Mike Schuler
Total Views: 0
April 22, 2026
Iran’s
reported seizure of two merchant ships
in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday may mark a significant shift in the crisis gripping one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints, signaling a move from implied control over commercial traffic toward overt enforcement.
The escalation came less than a day after President Donald Trump
extended a conditional ceasefire
with Iran while maintaining a U.S.
One Dead Recovered From Capsized Mariana as Search Continues for Five Missing Crew
Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane crew assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point flies over an overturned vessel offshore Saipan, April 18, 2026. The Coast Guard and partners are searching for a 145-foot missing vessel, the Mariana, that experienced an engine failure April 15, 2026. Coast Guard photo Courtesy Air Station Barbers Point)
One Dead Recovered From Capsized Mariana as Search Continues for Five Missing Crew
Mike Schuler
Total Views: 0
April 22, 2026
The search for six missing mariners aboard the overturned US-flagged cargo ship
Mariana
took a grim turn Monday after divers recovered one deceased crew member from inside the wreck, even as U.S.
Interview: America’s Oil Surge Is Pulling Tankers West — and Reshaping Global Trade
Photo: Shutterstock/Sven Hansche
Interview: America’s Oil Surge Is Pulling Tankers West — and Reshaping Global Trade
Lori Ann LaRocco
Total Views: 0
April 22, 2026
The United States continues to export record amounts of oil. black gold shows no signs of lessening. The long line of tankers dotting the ocean shows the incoming demand.
Easterly Clear Ocean has nine chemical tankers participating in this energy boom.
Asian Shipowners to Cross Hormuz Before Western Firms, Executives Say
Luojiashan tanker sits anchored in Muscat, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Muscat, Oman, March 7, 2026. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Asian Shipowners to Cross Hormuz Before Western Firms, Executives Say
Reuters
Total Views: 0
April 22, 2026
LAUSANNE, April 22 (Reuters) – Asian ship owners might begin to sail through the
Strait of Hormuz
soon amid a fragile U.S.-Iran
ceasefire
as they have a higher risk tolerance and can manage paying tolls unlike sanctions-complying Western firms, shipping executives said at the FT Commodities Global Summit on Wednesday.
Hundreds of tankers and other ships have been stuck inside the Middle East Gulf unable to cross the strait since the end of February, hitting global oil and liquefied gas supply in the world’s largest ever energy supply disruption.
Some tankers and cargo ships managed to escape the Gulf last Saturday, but Iran quickly pulled the plug on the move by firing shots and telling other vessel
Iran Menaces Hormuz as Its Own Oil Tankers Test US Blockade
Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, April 18, 2026. REUTERS
Iran Menaces Hormuz as Its Own Oil Tankers Test US Blockade
Bloomberg
Total Views: 0
April 22, 2026
By Weilun Soon and Rakteem Katakey (Bloomberg) — Iranian gunboats fired on commercial ships in the
Strait of Hormuz
on Wednesday as Tehran maintained its grip on the vital energy channel, while two of its own oil supertankers tested a US blockade.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations, a naval liaison with the shipping industry, said on X that a cargo ship and a container ship came under fire in the waterway. Meanwhile, analytics firm Vortexa said Iran moved supertankers into the Arabian Sea, an area where the US has sought to block Iranian shipping.Play Video
Iranian state TV reported later that the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had seized two ships — identified as the
MSC Francesca
and
Epaminondas
— in Hormuz and brought them to shore for inspection.