Maritime Law & Regulations News

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) led a large-scale joint customs operation, NOXIA II, successfully targeting shipments suspected of containing illicit cigarettes, waste, drug precursors, and pesticides.The operation led to the coordinated seizure by the participating customs authorities of 149.5 million cigarettes, over 3,000 tonnes of illicit waste, 66.5 kg of pseudoephedrine, 52 tonnes of solid pesticides, and 21,000 liters of liquid pesticides.NOXIA II revealed the use of sophisticated global routes to smuggle cigarettes into the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

A sanctioned liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker made a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer off the coast of Malaysia after picking up a cargo from a Russian export terminal also under Western restrictions, according to two analytics firms.The operation appears to be the first known STS transfer of sanctioned Russian LNG, despite Western efforts to curb Moscow's energy revenues over its war in Ukraine.The LNG tanker Perle, which was sanctioned by the United States in January, had been…

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment, a maritime safety solutions specialist and supplier of high-performance boats, has signed a contract with the Norwegian Customs Service (Tolletaten) to deliver a new fleet of cutting-edge patrol and fast response craft.The new boats will strengthen Tolletaten’s maritime capabilities and support its law enforcement and inspection duties in Norwegian waters.The agreement covers the delivery of four VIKING Norsafe boats including one Marathon S-900, powered by twin 350 HP Mercury engines…

On the afternoon of March 8, a petroleum tanker named Torm Agnes entered the Port of Ensenada on Mexico’s Pacific coast carrying almost 120,000 barrels of diesel.Such a vessel was a rare sight in that port, which mainly hosts cruise liners, luxury yachts and container ships. Ensenada lacks the infrastructure needed to unload cargos of flammable hydrocarbons safely – making what happened later that day odder still.Waves of fuel-hauling trucks rolled up to the dock to cart away much of the Torm Agnes’ load.

Italy's antitrust regulator said on Friday that Shipping Agencies Services (SAS), a unit of maritime group MSC, would drop its acquisition of a 49% stake in ferry operator Moby after the watchdog opened a probe into alleged restriction of competition.Moby, majority-owned by Onorato Armatori group, runs ferries linking Italy's mainland to tourist islands such as Sardinia and Corsica.The Italian authority, which opened an investigation into the acquisition last year, said the deal could have weakened competition on routes where Moby and ferry company Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV), controlled by SAS,

Italy's antitrust regulator said on Friday that Shipping Agencies Services (SAS), a unit of maritime group MSC, would drop its acquisition of a 49% stake in ferry operator Moby after the watchdog opened a probe into alleged restriction of competition.Moby, majority-owned by Onorato Armatori group, runs ferries linking Italy's mainland to tourist islands such as Sardinia and Corsica.The Italian authority, which opened an investigation into the acquisition last year, said the deal could have weakened competition on routes where Moby and ferry company Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV), controlled by SAS, operate.Under the commitments offered by SAS and Moby, SAS will transfer to Onorato Armatori its 49% stake in Moby without consideration, the watchdog said in a statement.Moby will mandate an independ

The Pakistan navy said on Wednesday it seized narcotics worth about $972 million in the North Arabian Sea in an operation with a Saudi-led task force.The navy's YARMOOK ship, operating under the Saudi-led Combined Task Force of the Combined Maritime Forces, carried out the operation, the navy said in a statement.(Reuters - Reporting by Asif Shahzad)

The U.S. military killed five alleged drug smugglers in strikes against two vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday, in an expansion of the Trump administration's use of the armed forces in its counter-narcotics campaign.On Wednesday afternoon, Hegseth said the military attacked a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean and killed two men on Tuesday. It was the first known U.S. military operation in the Pacific since President Donald Trump kicked off a new offensive against the drug trade.Hours later…

Three men who sank a drug-filled luxury sports cruiser in the waters off Western Australia in 2023 have been sentenced to a combined 29 years and six months' imprisonment for their roles in a botched plot to import more than 300kg of cocaine into the state.The men, aged 38, 47 and 51, each pleaded guilty to one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, contrary to section 307.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The 38-year-old was sentenced to nine years and three months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years.

A newly released study by Seafarers' Rights International (SRI) finds that cabotage laws now exist on 85% of the world’s coastlines, are growing in number at an unprecedented pace, and are increasingly essential to national security, economic stability and maritime resilience.The Cabotage Laws of the World (2025) report, commissioned by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), compares nations in their enforcement of cabotage laws, which restrict the waterborne transportation of goods or passengers between two points within the same country to domestic carriers.

Singapore’s Seatrium has received a notice of arbitration from Maersk Offshore Wind’s affiliate, regarding the dispute over the termination of a $475 million contract for a nearly completed wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) originally intended for Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 project in the United States.The arbitration notice, received on October 21, comes just one day after Seatrium Energy (International) (SEI), a subsidiary of Seatrium, informed the buyer that the vessel would be ready for delivery by January 30…

Growing environmental pressures are reviving interest in nuclear propulsion as a potential long-term route to decarbonize shipping, DNV said in a new paper, despite there being no civilian nuclear-powered vessels built for more than four decades.DNV’s latest report, Maritime nuclear propulsion: Technologies, commercial viability, and regulatory challenges for nuclear-powered vessels, highlights how maritime nuclear technologies differ from land-based reactors, and emphasizes the need to address technological…

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has entered into strategic collaboration with Greece-based DYNAMARINe to launch an independent auditing program aimed at improving the safety, transparency and performance of ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operations worldwide.Under the new framework, LR’s auditors will assess STS service providers in line with standards set by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) guidelines, while also reviewing risk data and operational records compiled by DYNAMARINe.

U.S. forces attacked a vessel associated with a Colombian leftist rebel group, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday, the same day President Donald Trump called Colombian President Gustavo Petro an "illegal drug leader" and said payments to the South American nation would cease.Trump's comments marked a new low in relations between Bogota and Washington, which have frayed since Trump returned to office in January and since his administration launched a series of strikes…

China's sanctions on U.S.-linked units of shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean threaten to impact ambitious plans for shipbuilding cooperation between Seoul and Washington by disrupting supplies of Chinese equipment and materials, officials in Seoul said on Friday.Beijing announced the sanctions on Tuesday as the U.S. and China began charging additional port fees on each other's vessels, in the latest exchange in a protracted trade war ahead of a planned meeting of the two countries' leaders.South…

Britain targeted Russia's two largest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, and 44 shadow fleet tankers on Wednesday in what it described as a new bid to tighten energy sanctions and choke off Kremlin revenues.Lukoil and Rosneft were designated under Britain's Russia sanctions laws for what London described as their role in supporting the Russian government. They are subject to an asset freeze, director disqualification, transport restrictions, and a ban on British trust services.The two companies were considered strategically significant to the Kremlin…

China's sanctions against five U.S.-linked affiliates of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean are seen as a warning gesture without immediate impact, and Beijing is unlikely to gain much by expanding them, analysts said on Wednesday.The move, announced on Tuesday when the U.S. and China began charging additional port fees targeting each other's vessels, comes ahead of an expected meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in late October to resolve…

China announced sanctions on Tuesday against five U.S.-linked subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean amid trade tensions between the world's two largest economies, sending the company's shares sharply lower.The move, announced by the Chinese commerce ministry, comes on the day that China and the U.S. implement additional port fees targeting each others' vessels, although China has exempted ships it built.Organisations and individuals within China are prohibited from engaging in any transactions…

The U.S. and China on Tuesday began charging additional port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil, making the high seas a key front in the trade war between the world's two largest economies.A return to an all-out trade war appeared imminent last week, after China announced a major expansion of its rare earths export controls and President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to triple digits.But after the weekend…

The latest U.S. sanctions on a major Chinese crude oil terminal have forced refining group Sinopec to divert a supertanker and ask some plants to cut crude processing rates, according to ship tracking data and Chinese consultancies.A supertanker carrying oil to the Chinese port of Rizhao in Shandong province changed its destination over the weekend after the U.S. imposed sanctions on an import terminal at the port on Friday, LSEG data showed.Shortly after the U.S. announcement…

The United States Trade Representative's office said on Friday it would modify certain maritime-related fees for foreign-built vehicle carriers and liquefied natural gas vessels ahead of port fees on China-linked ships slated to go into effect next week.USTR said in a statement that fees on operators of foreign-built vehicle carriers would be $46 per net ton, effective on October 14. That is below a fee of $150 per net ton originally proposed in April, seen by the industry as prohibitive…

The International Maritime Organization will meet this week to formally decide whether to impose a carbon emissions price on global shipping, a move supported by an EU-led bloc including Britain, China and Japan but strongly opposed by the U.S.The IMO struck a preliminary deal to charge the global shipping industry for emissions in April after the U.S. pulled out of associated talks, prompting Washington to threaten "reciprocal measures" against any fees charged on U.S. ships.The…

Vessels owned or operated by U.S. firms and individuals - or those built in the United States or that fly the U.S. flag - will be charged additional port fees per voyage starting on October 14, China's transport ministry said.The fees are a counter-measure against upcoming U.S. port fees on Chinese ships, the ministry said on Friday.Also starting on October 14, ships built in China - or operated or owned by Chinese entities - will need to pay a fee at their first port of call in the United States.

Leading international maritime associations and organisations have reiterated their strong support for the adoption of the “Net-Zero Framework” at the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee next week (October 14-17) by the world’s governments at the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO). The global industry remains committed to working collaboratively with IMO Member States to successfully implement this regulatory package for achieving net zero GHG emissions by or close to 2050…

Spanish-based Molgas Energy Group, backed by infrastructure investor InfraVia, has finalized the full acquisition of Titan Energy Holding, parent company of Dutch liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker supplier Titan Clean Fuels.The transaction, which follows Molgas’ initial 45% minority stake, marks a major step forward in the group’s strategic growth in the clean marine fuels sector.Titan is an independent supplier of liquefied biomethane (LBM/bio-LNG) and LNG, serving both maritime and industrial customers.Its fleet of small-scale bunkering vessels operates across key global markets…

German defense technology company Helsing has started a process of acquiring Blue Ocean, an Australian-based ocean technology company that designs, develops, and operates autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).The acquisition will integrate Blue Ocean’s hardware and manufacturing capabilities with Helsing’s Artificial Intelligence (AI), integrating Blue Ocean’s team and operations into Helsing, with operations continuing in the UK and Australia.Together, Helsing and Blue Ocean…

A crew member of the Dutch cargo ship that was attacked by Houthis in the Gulf of Aden last week has died of his injuries, the vessel's Amsterdam-based operator Spliethoff said in a statement Monday evening.The company did not release further details about the deceased crew member, but a spokesperson told a Dutch broadcaster they were Filipino.The vessel, Minervagracht, was in international waters in the Gulf of Aden when it was struck by an explosive device that inflicted substantial damage and started a fire on the ship.

The World Bank said on Tuesday higher tariffs on Indian goods exported to the U.S. would be a drag on South Asia's economic growth rate in 2026, even as it remains shielded in the current year by government spending.The World Bank said growth in South Asia was expected to slow sharply to 5.8% in 2026 from its projection of 6.6% for 2025. Its forecast for the region comprises India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives."For 2026, the forecast has been downgraded…