US Says It Hit Colombian Rebel Vessel
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…
US Strike Kills Six Off Venezuela, Trump Says
A U.S. strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela on Tuesday killed six suspected drug traffickers, President Donald Trump said, the latest such operation in recent weeks as the U.S. builds up military forces in the region.The strike is the most recent example of Trump's efforts to use U.S. military power in new, and often legally contentious, ways, from deploying active-duty U.S. troops in Los Angeles to carrying out counter-terrorism strikes against drug trafficking suspects.In a post on Truth Social…
USTR and China Yet to Discuss New Export Controls by Phone
Trade Representative Jamison Greer said on Sunday that the U.S. reached out to China for a phone call following an announcement that it was expanding its rare earths export controls but Beijing deferred, while China accused the U.S. of what it called "double standards.""I can tell you that we were not notified, and quickly, as soon as we found out from public sources, we reached out to the Chinese to have a phone call, and they deferred," Greer told Fox News' "Sunday Briefing," while calling China's move "a power grab."U.S.
Trump Seals Icebreaker Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump and Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb sealed an agreement on Thursday for the U.S. Coast Guard to acquire up to 11 icebreaker ships to bolster U.S. national security in the Arctic.Trump and Stubb have established friendly ties since Trump regained power in January, and the two met in March at the president's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and played a round of golf.The two leaders approved a memorandum of understanding on icebreaker cooperation that is intended to lay the foundation for commercial agreements between the U.S.
Determining Trump's China-Linked Port Fees is Shipowners’ Responsibility
The U.S. is one week away from imposing port fees on certain vessels with links to China, a move expected to cost the top 10 carriers $3.2 billion next year as President Donald Trump seeks to address China's growing dominance on the high seas."While some observers believe the October 14 deadline may be extended — or even scrapped — as part of broader negotiations, the uncertainty has already unsettled carriers, adding another layer of geopolitical risk to fleet deployment strategies…
Shell Exec Says Trump Halting Wind Projects is Harmful
The decision by President Donald Trump administration to halt fully permitted offshore wind energy projects is "very damaging" to investment, President of Shell U.S. Colette Hirstius told the Financial Times in a report published on Sunday.The executive told the newspaper that energy projects with proper permits should be allowed to continue and warned the political pendulum in the U.S. could eventually swing back against the oil and gas sector."I think uncertainty in the regulatory environment is very damaging.
Russia Condemns US Boat Strikes off Venezuela
U.S. forces hit another vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, adding that the U.S. would also start looking at drug trafficking occurring on land.Trump made the comment during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk, next to the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. It was not immediately clear if he was referencing a strike announced Friday by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth."In recent weeks, the Navy has supported our mission to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water ...
US to Revoke Approval for New England Wind Project
President Donald Trump's administration plans to revoke federal approval of Avangrid's planned New England Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, according to a court filing on Wednesday.The legal maneuver is the latest move by U.S. authorities to stymie development of offshore wind energy, which Trump has called ugly, expensive, and unreliable. Last week, the administration also said it was reconsidering approval of SouthCoast Wind, another planned Massachusetts project.In recent weeks…
Asia to Take More US LNG ... but is it Enough to Placate Trump?
There are early signs that some Asian countries are stepping up their imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) as part of trade deals with President Donald Trump.Asia's imports of the super-chilled fuel are on track to hit an eight-month high of 2.01 million metric tons in August, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler.But of far more importance is the Kpler estimate that Asia's LNG imports from the United States will surge to 3.61 million tons in October, which…
Shipbuilding is a Leverage Point in South Korea's Trump Tariff Negotiations
South Korea and the United States havehttps://www.marinelink.com/news/hanwha-build-usflagged-lng-carrier-528214 been discussing a shipbuilding tie-up that could include investments to modernize U.S. shipyards and more help to repair the U.S. naval fleet as Seoul seeks better tariff terms, government and industry sources said.U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made revitalizing the aging U.S. shipbuilding industry a priority to keep up with China, has repeatedly raised the idea…
White House Shipbuilding Initiatives Loose Steam with NSC Departures
Two senior officials at the White House National Security Council have left their roles in recent days, according to two sources familiar with the moves, the latest departures for a body that has been cut sharply in recent months.Ian Bennitt, the senior director for maritime and industrial capacity, and Brian McCormack, the NSC's chief of staff, both departed last week, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel moves.Bennitt is expected to leave for the private sector…
Admiral Caudle Nomiated to be US Navy CNO
Admiral Daryl L. Caudle has been nominated by President Donald Trump to be the next Chief of Naval Operations, more than three months after Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead the U.S. Navy, was fired in President Trump's purge of military leadership following his inauguration.The Senate Armed Services Committee received Adm. Caudle's the nomination on June 17, 2025.Adm. Caudle - currently Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command - is a native of Winston-Salem, North…
Japanese Shipbuilding Cooperation: A Potential U.S. Tariff Bargaining Chip
Japan's Ishiba signals increasing corn imports as part of US trade talksJapanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on signalled that increasing corn imports from the U.S. would be among options in trade negotiations with Washington, but warned Japan would never sacrifice its agriculture industry to win lower auto tariffs.Japan has made little headway in two rounds of trade talks with the U.S. as it seeks exemptions from U.S. tariffs, including a crippling 25% tariff on its mainstay automobiles.During the first round of talks last month, U.S.
Shipbuilding Plan Could Undermine U.S. Operators, Industry Execs say
A Trump administration proposal aimed at reviving the U.S. shipbuilding industry may backfire by imposing steep fees on China-linked vessels—penalties that industry leaders say would hurt American ship operators and ports rather than help them, industry executives said at U.S. Trade Representative hearings on Monday.At issue are proposed, stacking fees on China-built vessels that could top $3 million per U.S. port call. The Trump administration says the fees would curb China's growing commercial and military dominance on the high seas and promote domestically built vessels. U.S.
Trump 2.0: "Gulf of America" & Taking Back the Canal
President Donald Trump vowed again that the United States would take back the Panama Canal as he delivered an inauguration speech in which he invoked the 19th century expansionist doctrine of "Manifest Destiny."Doubling down on his pre-inauguration threat to reimpose U.S. control over the canal, Trump again accused Panama of breaking the promises it made for the final transfer of the strategic waterway in 1999 and of ceding its operation to China - claims that the Panamanian government has vehemently denied."We didn't give it to China.