USCG Resumes Monitoring of Chinese Research Vessels Entering the Arctic

Covert Maritime Intelligence and Russia’s Shadow Fleet

Published Jul 19, 2026 1:34 PM by CIMSEC

[By Catherine Marie Abbott] It is widely documented that Russia has leveraged various threat vectors to employ coercive and ancillary irregular tactics against allied nations, including the pervasive use of sanctioned shadow fleet vessels. Acting as a threat multiplier through decentralized and opaque ownership structures, these ships have operated in concert with Russian intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance (ISR) assets. Western and Ukrainian intelligence sources note that crew composition varies considerably. Some vessels reportedly operate with supernumerary Russian personnel with documented...

The MASS Code

Published Jul 17, 2026 6:46 PM by Priyatham Sanjeeva Reddy, Ramidi

[By Priyatham Sanjeeva Reddy, Ramidi] On 1 July 2026, the International Code of Safety for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) enters its first operational phase. That date will not suddenly empty bridges or dispatch uncrewed container ships across every ocean. It does, however, mark a decisive change in the autonomous-shipping debate. The industry is moving from asking whether autonomy is technically possible to asking whether it can be governed safely at scale. The International Maritime Organization adopted the non-mandatory MASS...

Great Lakes Boaters Risk Prison or Fines Due to Hoax Distress Calls

Published Jul 17, 2026 6:19 PM by The Maritime Executive

The U.S. Coast Guard is sounding the alarm over the rise of hoax distress calls that are making the agency divert rescue crews and resources to respond instead of directing them to actual emergencies. Having received 187 false distress calls, including three confirmed hoaxes, since the beginning of the year within the Great Lakes District, the agency is now warning of possible fines and jail time for people making the calls and posting on social media. The Coast Guard categorizes...

Bulker seized by Ireland in cocaine smuggling bust

Ireland Finally Gets Rid of Seized Bulker After Three Years and €16M Cost

Published Jul 17, 2026 5:54 PM by The Maritime Executive

Irish officials are happy to see the last of the bulker Mathew as it was towed out of the Port of Cork on Friday afternoon. The notorious vessel was at the center of Ireland’s largest cocaine seizure, but then ended up being a political headache that cost a reported €16 million in maintenance costs and security. The 50,913-dwt vessel was linked to an international smuggling operation. Built in 2001, it changed hands mysteriously in 2023 and made its way from...

Shipping

The MASS Code

Tugs & Salvage

Russia Operating Burned-Out Kerch Ferries as Barges

Ukraine's strategy of denying logistics access to the Crimean peninsula continues to advance on multiple fronts, including the thorough destruction of the ferry service across Kerch Strait, according to Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces. So badly damaged are most of the ferries on the route that Russian operators have resorted to towing burned-out ferry hulls on the short run back and forth across the strait using tugboats. According to the USF unit 414 "Magyar's Birds," capacity on the Kerch crossing is...

Government

USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Sea last week (CENTCOM)

Central Command Settles Into New Battle Rhythm as Reinforcements Arrive

Two weeks ago, when the ceasefire in the Gulf was more or less holding, the Maritime Executive reported that the US Navy was maintaining a forward readiness posture, rotating some assets within theater to give forward deployed units opportunities for rest, resupply and recuperation. The US Air Force was likewise using the relative lull to rotate some forward–deployed units back to continental United States. This force lay-down provided Commander CENTCOM with the immediate means to return fire and to maintain...

Corporate News

ZIM Line and MSC add JAXPORT to Asia Container Service Rotation

[By JAXPORT] The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) welcomes the Sapphire, the first vessel to call Jacksonville as part of the ZCP-Amberjack container service offered by ocean carriers ZIM Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The weekly service strengthens Jacksonville's connections with major container gateways across Asia while providing shippers with expanded access to Latin America, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean through connecting services. The service calls JAXPORT's Blount Island Marine Terminal weekly on the following rotation: Qingdao, Ningbo and Shanghai,...

Cruise Ships

The Eight-Hour Test: How Cruise Ships Complete a Turnaround Day

A cruise ship's turnaround day is often viewed from the passenger side as the end of one holiday and the beginning of another. For the vessel's crew and technical teams, however, it is one of the most demanding operational periods of the entire voyage cycle. Within a compressed window, thousands of passengers disembark, thousands more embark, luggage moves in both directions, provisions arrive, waste is discharged, inspections may take place, fuel or lubricants may be supplied, contractors may board, crew...

Ports

U.S. Intensifies Attacks on Iranian Ports on Sixth Day of Bombing Campaign

U.S. Central Command is confirming that it undertook a sixth consecutive night of bombings targeting infrastructure in Iran. It reported attacks on the southern port complex of Chah Bahar Shahid Kalantari, while other reports also said the U.S. has increased attacks in and around Bandar Abbas. Iran has been cooperating with India for the past 20 years on the operation of Chah Bahar Shahid Kalantari as a regional center. It was also used to open overland trade routes into Afghanistan....

Shipping

The MASS Code

Tugs & Salvage

Russia Operating Burned-Out Kerch Ferries as Barges

Government

Central Command Settles Into New Battle Rhythm as Reinforcements Arrive

Corporate News

ZIM Line and MSC add JAXPORT to Asia Container Service Rotation

Cruise Ships

The Eight-Hour Test: How Cruise Ships Complete a Turnaround Day

Ports

U.S. Intensifies Attacks on Iranian Ports on Sixth Day of Bombing Campaign

Offshore

Sweden Permits Two Offshore Wind Farms, Denies 11 Due to Defense Concerns

While saying that Sweden needs to develop new power sources and critically green power to remain competitive, the government had nonetheless decided to deny 11 pending applications. It was the latest move by the government, which also denied 13 applications in 2024, citing defense concerns. “The government assesses that the applied for activities would, among other things, have an unacceptable impact on our defense capabilities,” said the Ministry of Climate and Enterprise. “However, the decisions do not mean that the...

Shipbuilding

Interview: Joey D'Isernia, CEO & Chairman, Eastern Shipbuilding Group

Welcome, Joey, and congratulations on 50 years of shipbuilding excellence! Are there celebrations planned? Oh yes, a whole year's worth! We've built it into all our various employee and community engagement events – company picnic, charity fishing tournament, employee appreciation lunches, end-of-summer celebration where we rent out an entire waterpark for our employees and their families. We like to stay close to our employees and engage with them, and we're highlighting our 50th anniversary in that manner and it's kind...

Environment

Proving Phase

For years, ammonia has held a strange place in shipping's transition – promising, commercially uncertain, operationally uncomfortable. It carries no carbon atoms, can be made from renewable hydrogen and nitrogen, and may eventually serve deep-sea trade routes that batteries cannot reach. But it's also toxic, corrosive, and unforgiving. "Ammonia slip," where unburned ammonia escapes through combustion or exhaust, is a real concern when injection timing and combustion pressure are poorly controlled. The question is no longer whether ammonia can work....

Business

JPMorganChase Provides $24M to Strengthen Philadelphia’s Naval Shipbuilding

Leading U.S. investment firm JPMorganChase will provide $24 million to help strengthen Philadelphia’s shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing sector. The combination of loans, investments, and philanthropic grants comes as the Trump administration continues to struggle with its plan to revitalize the American merchant marine and naval shipbuilding capacity. The program was announced by well-known CEO Jamie Dimon, reporting that the company will make $18 million in investments and loans, and provide $6 million in philanthropic grants. He said the focus is...

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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USCG Resumes Monitoring of Chinese Research Vessels Entering the Arctic

Covert Maritime Intelligence and Russia’s Shadow Fleet

The MASS Code

Great Lakes Boaters Risk Prison or Fines Due to Hoax Distress Calls

Ireland Finally Gets Rid of Seized Bulker After Three Years and €16M Cost

The MASS Code

Russia Operating Burned-Out Kerch Ferries as Barges

Central Command Settles Into New Battle Rhythm as Reinforcements Arrive

ZIM Line and MSC add JAXPORT to Asia Container Service Rotation

The Eight-Hour Test: How Cruise Ships Complete a Turnaround Day

U.S. Intensifies Attacks on Iranian Ports on Sixth Day of Bombing Campaign

The Hidden Operational Value in Your Emissions Data

New Reality of Tanker Ops: Why Onboard Blending and Cargo Control Matter

New Digital Platform Connects Shipowners Directly With Seafarers

The MASS Code

Russia Operating Burned-Out Kerch Ferries as Barges

Central Command Settles Into New Battle Rhythm as Reinforcements Arrive

ZIM Line and MSC add JAXPORT to Asia Container Service Rotation

The Eight-Hour Test: How Cruise Ships Complete a Turnaround Day

U.S. Intensifies Attacks on Iranian Ports on Sixth Day of Bombing Campaign

Sweden Permits Two Offshore Wind Farms, Denies 11 Due to Defense Concerns

Interview: Joey D'Isernia, CEO & Chairman, Eastern Shipbuilding Group

Proving Phase

JPMorganChase Provides $24M to Strengthen Philadelphia’s Naval Shipbuilding

Maritime Industry Conferences and Events

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Maritime Industry Conferences and Events