Maritime Law & Regulations News

After disembarking more than 200 passengers who had paid tens of thousands of dollars to live on board for years, the Villa Vie Odyssey cruise ship departed Cambodia early on Wednesday.Last week, the vessel's owner, Florida-based Villa Vie Residences, suspended operations and forced passengers off the ship at the port town of Sihanoukville, saying ‌fuel price increases from the Iran war had made operations prohibitively expensive.The ship left with no passengers and around 50 crew, according to Taing Sochitkrishna, head of the Sihanoukville tourism department.

After seven strikes on cargo ships near NATO members Romania and Bulgaria last month, the US-led military alliance said it would deploy maritime patrol aircraft, radars and drones to bolster its eastern flank in the Black Sea.Three days later, on October 23, another ship was struck just outside Romanian waters. And last week a Greek container ship was sunk by naval drones in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.Unabating attacks show how the escalating maritime war between Russia…

After seven strikes on cargo ships near NATO members Romania and Bulgaria last month, the US-led military alliance said it would deploy maritime patrol aircraft, radars and drones to bolster its eastern flank in the Black Sea.Three days later, on October 23, another ship was struck just outside Romanian waters. And last week a Greek container ship was sunk by naval drones in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.Unabating attacks show how the escalating maritime war between Russia and Ukraine is expanding into a major challenge for NATO in the Black Sea that has left littoral member states such as Romania and Bulgaria exposed.Military analysts said they had little doubt that these were Russian attacks.

MacGregor reported record profitability in the third quarter of 2026 as new orders more than doubled to $340 million (€305.4 million), driven by strong demand across all its divisions.Orders increased 126% from $150 million (€135 million) in the same quarter last year, lifting the company's order book to $1.49 billion (€1.34 billion) at the end of September, compared with $1.11 billion (€998.6 million) a year earlier.Quarterly revenue rose 1% to $218.7 million (€196.5 million)…

Big Oil is reaping near record cash windfalls from the eight-month-old Iran war, but Western energy producers’ reluctance to ramp up spending reveals persistent doubts about the industry’s long-term outlook.BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell and TotalEnergies reported combined net profits of $56 billion in the third quarter, driven by surging oil and gas prices, record-high refining margins and strong trading results.BP posted its highest quarterly profit ever, $8.5 billion, as earnings from its refining business rose tenfold from a year earlier.

StormGeo, part of Alfa Laval, has acquired Portchain, a provider of berth alignment software connecting terminals and carriers through shared, real-time port call data. The acquisition adds port call coordination to StormGeo’s Voyage Intelligence, creating the foundation for a new approach to Just-in-Time voyage optimization at scale. The goal is to connect decisions about route and speed with the latest information on berth availability and terminal plans, helping operators respond…

General Dynamics reported $98.8 billion in new orders in the third quarter of 2026, driven by major submarine contracts, while revenue rose 12.9% year-on-year to $14.6 billion, the company announced on October 30.The aerospace and defense company's total backlog reached $220.3 billion at the end of the quarter, with an additional $50.4 billion in estimated potential contract value, bringing its total estimated contract value to $270.7 billion.Orders across its defense segments totaled $93.8 billion…

Dutch geological data specialist Fugro said on Friday that Iran war-linked disruptions had dented its earnings by €25 million ($28 million) this year, including €10 million in the third quarter alone, while GPS jamming and restrictions on vessel movements continued to hamper Gulf offshore operations.Some clients in the region have altered project plans and, in some cases, used their own vessels for work that would otherwise have been contracted to Fugro, CEO Mark Heine told Reuters."We have work…

Boluda Shipping and Samskip have signed an agreement under which Boluda Shipping will acquire Samskip. The acquisition will pave the way for Europe’s most comprehensive short-sea shipping network, connecting Northern Europe with the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands and West Africa.Boluda brings maritime heritage, a strong position in towage, an established container shipping business and expertise in port logistics, while Samskip contributes its established position in Northern Europe…

GE Vernova Inc. announced that it will acquire Trench Group, a provider of high-voltage grid equipment, from investment firm Triton Partners. The deal will create scale across GE Vernova’s Electrification product lines, expanding its capabilities to better serve customers with integrated solutions that meet demand for grid modernization, energy security, and electrification technologies. By vertically integrating an existing supplier with a complementary product portfolio, the acquisition will directly enhance GE Vernova’s two largest Electrification businesses…

The Swedish industrial Group Stena AB, owner of ferry operator Stena Line, has entered into an agreement to acquire the Norwegian shipping company Color Line, subject to regulatory approval. The transaction will bring together two companies with complementary operations in European passenger and freight transport, creating added value and benefits for both companies’ customers.Following completion, Stena intends for Color Line to continue as a separate, independent business and brand, with local management in Norway and Norwegian-registered ships.

The Chouest Group and the founders of Horizon Maritime Services have announced a strategic partnership that includes the acquisition of the Canadian offshore and marine services company from CFFI and its lender, HPS.The transaction expands the Louisiana-based Chouest Group's presence in Canada, combining its global offshore support fleet, subsea services, shipbuilding, engineering and marine technology capabilities with Horizon Maritime's established operations across Canada's Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic regions.Based in St.

Crewsure Insurance Services Limited (Crewsure) has announced the launch of Crewsure Energy, a new program that brings together traditional employee benefits with specialist Crisis Response protection, designed for companies employing personnel working in the international energy and offshore sectors.The launch represents an expansion for Crewsure, as the company already provides specialist MLC crew benefits for personnel working aboard drilling ships and other maritime assets.

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) has named the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Ørsted the winners of the 2026 NOIA Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) Excellence Awards. ABS is the winner of the Service, Supply & Support category, while Ørsted is the inaugural winner of the new Operators & Developers category.The NOIA ESG Excellence Award recognizes companies whose actions, design, or influence advance the ideals embodied by the NOIA ESG Principles.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and OMERS have agreed to sell their combined 63.9% stake in Associated British Ports (ABP) to a fund managed by IFM Investors, in a deal expected to close in the first half of 2027.Under the agreement announced on October 21, CPP Investments will sell its entire 33.9% holding, while OMERS will dispose of its 30% stake in the UK ports operator.IFM Investors is a global asset manager, founded and owned by Australian pension funds and the UK pension fund…

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has conducted a targeted enforcement operation code named Operation Sea Guardian in order to enforce compliance with maritime regulations in Nigeria waters.The operation, which focused on vessels of interest identified through intelligence and surveillance profiling, led to the arrest and detention of several vessels for nonconformity including MT HOLMES, MT FUJAIRAH ENERGY, JS GRATITUDE, MT BORA within the Lagos maritime domain.

Sometime back in the fall of 2025, I was contacted by a prominent national television, radio, and print news reporter with a surprising (but understandable under the circumstances) request for background information to inform her reporting. She was working on a story covering the numerous lethal military strikes on alleged drug trafficking speedboats (lanchas) in international waters and the waters of Central and South American countries that we all were seeing and hearing about in the news. The reporter’s core question for me?

Rescuers were searching for seven missing crew on Thursday from one of two chemical tankers that caught fire overnight inside Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea, after Russian drones strayed into Romanian airspace, Romanian officials said.Romanian officials stopped short of explicitly linking the fires onboard the ships to the Russian drones. But the incidents follow drone strikes on at least five other cargo ships near the coasts of Romania and neighbouring fellow NATO member Bulgaria over the past 10 days.

Rescuers were searching for seven missing crew on Thursday from one of two chemical tankers that caught fire overnight inside Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea, after Russian drones strayed into Romanian airspace, Romanian officials said.Romanian officials stopped short of explicitly linking the fires onboard the ships to the Russian drones. But the incidents follow drone strikes on at least five other cargo ships near the coasts of Romania and neighbouring fellow NATO member Bulgaria over the past 10 days. At least 23 sailors were lost from those strikes, which unlike the latest incidents took place just outside NATO's territorial waters.The two ships hit overnight were both anchored in the Black Sea near the mouth of the canal leading into the Danube River…

JPMorganChase has added two senior leaders to support shipbuilding and maritime efforts within its Security and Resiliency Initiative (SRI), the firm's $1.5 trillion, 10-year effort focused on strengthening industries critical to economic and national security. Chryssa Rask has joined the firm to lead SRI's shipbuilding efforts and support its broader work across supply chain and advanced manufacturing. Most recently, she was an investor with Cerberus Capital Management's Supply Chain Fund, where she focused on companies and technologies that strengthen supply-chain resilience and U.S.

A Ukrainian ex-military officer goes on trial in Germany on Wednesday, accused of organising the secret operation that blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022, severing western Europe from the biggest source of Russian natural gas.The suspect, identified under German privacy rules only as Serhii K., is accused of leading a group of Ukrainian agents including divers and an explosives expert to mount one of the biggest infrastructure sabotage operations of modern…

The US imposed fresh sanctions on Iran on Thursday, targeting individuals, networks and 17 vessels for transporting Iranian crude, oil products and petrochemicals, the Treasury Department said, as Washington stepped up economic pressure on Tehran.The sanctions are part of the department's "Operation Economic Outcast," which aims to cut Iran's funding for the war with the US, missile construction, cyberattacks and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC."Today's action represents…

In a spare few minutes I took a quick look at the U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation Report: Small Modular Reactor Technologies for Maritime Applications of May 19, 2026.As near as I can figure, it focuses on two major concerns with regard to the use of SMRs in commercial ships:1. Insurance obstacles and2. Possible adverse reactions by the public to nuclear commercial ships.That is weird to me, since my major concern would be that it is taking way too long to simply build a commercial ship with an SMR as its power source.

As the conflict between the United States and Iran continues its seemingly never-ending dance between smolder and blaze, the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz has captured the attention of maritime businesses seeking relief from the current turmoil and insight into the next geopolitical upheaval. Assuming current trends continue, international relations also appear to be moving toward more protectionist, nation-focused trade policies and away from the previous paradigm of globalism.

Evac Group, a provider of integrated water, waste and wastewater management solutions, as well as corrosion protection and marine growth prevention systems for the marine, offshore and land-based construction industries, announced the acquisition of WatMan Engineering, a Finnish specialist in water treatment solutions with a strong focus on marine desalination.Founded in 1995, WatMan Engineering is a recognized supplier of water treatment systems, particularly desalination units for vessels such as cruise ships.

Somali pirates killed five crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum products tanker before it was rescued by security forces, Somalia's semi-autonomous state of Puntland said on Tuesday.Puntland's authorities said they also rescued a second vessel on Tuesday that had been hijacked in May.The deaths aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade.The ship with 17 crew members was seized by pirates in April during a resurgence of Somali piracy that experts have attributed…

All 25 crew members of the Liberia-registered container vessel MSC HERMES III were rescued after abandoning the ship in a lifeboat about 300 km east of Vietnam, Singapore's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) said.MRCC Singapore received a distress alert at about 8:45 a.m. Singapore time on September 22 while the vessel was within Singapore's Maritime Search and Rescue Region.It immediately broadcast a request for nearby vessels to provide assistance, with three vessels responding.MSC RUBY subsequently recovered all 25 crew members from the lifeboat.