08 MAR 2026 Reports broke in the Indian media late on Friday, March 6, that the country has quietly been harboring an Iranian vessel this week after it made an urgent request to enter an Indian port. Off-the-record comments from a government spokesperson assert that the request was made just …
Read More »RUSSIA ACCUSES UKRAINE OF ATTACK AS GAS CARRIER SINKS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
07 MAR 2026 Russia’s Ministry of Transportation issued a statement condemning Ukraine and calling the attack on the gas carrier Arctic Metgas on Tuesday, March 3, terrorism. Its statement came as the Libyan Ports and Maritime Transport Authority reported the vessel had sunk overnight. Officials in Malta had confirmed the …
Read More »BELGIUM FINES SANCTIONED TANKER €10M AND DETAINS IT FOR SAFETY VIOLATIONS
07 MAR 2026 Belgium announced during a press briefing on Tuesday, March 3, that it has completed its inspection of the tanker Ethera, which it detained overnight on Saturday as it was sailing along the coast and brought into port. They confirmed that the vessel was sailing under a false …
Read More »FRANCE ARRESTS GREENPEACE PROTESTORS BLOCKING ARRIVAL OF CARGO SHIP
06 MAR 2026 Activists from the group Greenpeace France took to kayaks and Zodiacs on Monday morning, March 2, while others chained themselves to a lock gate in Dunkirk to block the arrival of a cargo ship, they said was carrying uranium. French police ended the protest and took four …
Read More »IRAN THREATENS TO SET SHIPS “ON FIRE” IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
05 MAR 2026 Iran’s senior leadership has announced a full shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to “set on fire” any vessels passing the blockade. Multiple leading P&I clubs have announced that they are suspending war risk insurance for transits of the strait effectively making the risk exposure too …
Read More »WHAT WOULD CLOSURE OF THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ MEAN FOR SHIPPING?
04 MAR 2026 The reported sinking of several Iranian warships by US missiles in the Gulf of Oman serves as a reminder of the maritime aspect of the conflict which began February 28 with a barrage of Israeli and American missiles targeting Iran. Two other vessels, believed to be tankers, have also …
Read More »CHOKEPOINTS UNDER PRESSURE: WHEN GEOGRAPHY AND CONFLICT STRAIN THE ARTERIES OF GLOBAL TRADE
03 MAR 2026 There are moments when geopolitics feels distant from daily life. This is not one of them. With confirmed US–Israeli strikes on Iran, renewed Houthi threat signalling in the Red Sea, and elevated instability across parts of the North Arabian Sea and Pakistan’s coastal flank, as well as …
Read More »WORLD LEADERS CALL FOR RESTRAINT AFTER STRIKES ON IRAN
02 MAR 2026 IMO CALLS ON STATES AND SHIPOWNERS TO PRIORITIZE THE SAFETY OF SEAFARERS Following multiple Iranian attacks on shipping, resulting in seafarer injuries and at least one shipboard fatality, IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez called for restraint and a cessation of the targeting of merchant vessels. “No attack …
Read More »CAPTAIN MOLLY KOOL, MARITIME TRAILBLAZER
02 MAR 2026 A Canadian woman was the first North American female ship’s captain. Her name was Myrtle “Molly” Kool. She obtained her Master’s papers in 1939 when she was just 23 years old. The Washington Daily News wrote about her accomplishment on July 4, 1939 in an article entitled …
Read More »FROM SEA TO SKY, SATELLITE SERVICE PROVIDERS LIFT THE MARITIME INDUSTRY INTO THE NEW SPACE AGE
01 MAR 2026 Nestled within the aptly named Post Office Bay on Galapagos’ Floreana Island sits a relic of analog communication. A barrel beckons visitors to pitch in their unstamped postcards in the hopes that a passer-by bound for the addressed location retrieves the epistle and ferries it to its …
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