Strait of Hormuz Reopens and Oil Prices Drop, Impacting Federal Reserve Outlook
Reopened Middle East shipping and plummeting oil prices on Friday boosted bets the Federal Reserve may begin cutting interest rates as soon as December, but its policymakers still face a tangled outlook ahead of their April 28-29 meeting.Iran's announced reopening of the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil below $90 a barrel for the first time in more than five weeks, but U.S. central bank officials will now need to assess how much damage the seven-week conflict has done to underlying price trends…
Ships Sailing Through Hormuz Need Prior Coordination with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary GuardCorps
All ships can sail through the Strait of Hormuz but this needs to be coordinated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary GuardCorps (IRGC), a senior Iranian official told Reuters, adding that unfreezing Iranian funds was part of the deal.Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on X that the strait was open after a ceasefire accord was agreed in Lebanon, while U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come "soon"…
PSA Marine Receives 16th Z-Tech 6000 Tug
In 2024, Cheoy Lee Shipyards of Hong Kong delivered the first boat of Robert Allan Ltd.’s new Z-Tech 6000 design, the PSA Gemini, to PSA Marine of Singapore. Less than two years later the 16th and final boat of that contract, the PSA Nebula, has left the shipyard for its home in the Port of Singapore. The various boats of this series are now operating successfully in PSA Marine’s fleet, with seven in Singapore, six in Thailand, one in Peru and two in Panama.
Fincantieri, NCL Launch Cruise Ship Newbuild Ahead of 2027 Delivery
Italy’s Fincantieri and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) have launched the cruise ship Norwegian Aura at the Monfalcone shipyard, marking the start of the vessel’s final outfitting phase ahead of delivery scheduled for spring 2027.With a gross tonnage of about 170,000 tonnes and a length of 344 metres, Norwegian Aura is around 10% larger than previous Prima Plus-class ships Norwegian Aqua and Norwegian Luna.The vessel features 1,976 cabins and can accommodate approximately 3,880 passengers.
Astro Offshore Expands Subsea Capability with New MPSV
Astro Offshore has added a new ultra-deepwater multi-purpose support vessel (MPSV) to its fleet, strengthening its subsea capabilities and expanding into international markets.The vessel, Energy Savannah, which will be renamed Astro Atlas, is a 97-metre DP2 multipurpose support vessel and the largest in the company’s fleet.Equipped with a 150-tonne subsea active heave compensated crane, a 25-tonne secondary crane…
Europe Can Help Clear Mines in Strait of Hormuz, France Says
European countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and France have mine clearance capacity which could help secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz, French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin told French TV station TF1 on Friday."There are capabilities to provide fully supported escort services – that is to say, in no way offensive, of course – for ships to ensure safe passage through the strait; that is what will be debated today in Paris," she added.France and Britain are set to chair on F
Starlink Outage Exposes Pentagon’s Growing Reliance on SpaceX
Last August, U.S. Navy officials carrying out a test of unmanned vessels realized they had hit a single point of failure: Starlink. A global outage across Elon Musk’s satellite network affecting millions of Starlink users had left two dozen unmanned surface vessels bobbing off the California coast, disrupting communications and halting operations for almost an hour.The incident, which involved drones intended to bolster U.S.
Nord Stream Blast: Insurers Seeking to Avoid Payout
The Nord Stream gas pipelines were attacked in 2022 as a direct result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, insurers told a London court on Thursday as they seek to avoid paying out nearly 580 million euros ($684 million) over blasts that hit the pipelines.Nord Stream is suing Lloyd's and Arch Insurance over explosions in September 2022 that ruptured pipelines carrying Russian gas under the Baltic Sea…
Panama Canal Downplays Report of “Line Jumping”
The Panama Canal Authority on Thursday downplayed a report that an LPG vessel paid $4 million to jump the transit queue, saying the result reflected temporary market conditions rather than a fee set by the waterway, as the Iran war drives more traffic to the canal."The recent outcome of an auction awarded to an LPG vessel reflects temporary market shifts and is not the result of a rate set by the Panama Canal…
Wind Power and the Charter Party Challenge
This week, wind-assist company BAR Technologies published an article on LinkedIn titled The Charter Party Challenge, the challenge being how do shipowners reap the benefits of installing wind-assist technology when it is the charterer that usually benefits from lower fuel consumption.Even though there’s around 100 vessels now sailing with wind-assist systems, and that number is expected to double over the next 12 months…
Industry Bodies Call for Harmonized Propulsion Control Changeover Rules
CIMAC, One Sea, the Nautical Institute and INTERCARGO have jointly called on the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) to issue a unified interpretation of class rules governing the changeover of propulsion power control (RPM) between the bridge and the engine control room (ECR).The organizations warn that differing interpretations across classification societies and even between individual projects are leading to inconsistent control hierarchies…
OpenBridge Open-Source Code Library Designed to Boost Shipping Safety
A comprehensive open-source code library has been launched for OpenBridge. This design system is engineered to create safer and more efficient workplaces across the international fleet by standardizing how humans interact with maritime technology.The launch marks the transition of OpenBridge from a design guideline to an open-source ready-to-use code library.OpenBridge is uniquely designed to serve all maritime workplaces.
First Two Arctic Security Cutters to be Homeported in Alaska
The U.S. Coast Guard announced that the first two Arctic Security Cutters will be homeported in the State of Alaska. Anticipating delivery of the first Arctic Security Cutters by the end of 2028, the Coast Guard has begun planning to ensure necessary infrastructure and support are in place to receive two icebreakers. Ensuring these vessels are supported by trained and ready crews, and ready homeport facilities including housing…
American Energy LNG Carrier Marks Anniversary with Ops to Puerto Rico
Crowley marked one year of operations of American Energy, the first U.S.-flagged liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier dedicated to serving Puerto Rico. Since its first delivery in March 2025, American Energy has transported more than 2 million cubic meters (approximately 549 million gallons) of U.S.-sourced LNG to Puerto Rico, providing enough energy to power about 1.2 million homes on the island for a year.
The Ocean Map: Illustrated Book Launches for World Ocean Day
To celebrate World Ocean Day 2026, the National Maritime Museum is publishing a new illustrated book, The Ocean Map, and hosting a free festival inviting families to explore the wonders of the ocean.Written by Aimee Mook, ocean expert and Museum curator, the book will be published on June 4, 2026 and presents the ocean as a single, connected system using the Spilhaus projection. It guides readers through deep ocean trenches…
Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp Oil Product Stocks Drop to 12-Year Low
Total oil product stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp refining and storage hub were down 4% on the week to their lowest since 2014, as the war in the Middle East disrupts imports, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed on Thursday.Total stocks stood at 4.72 million metric tons, dropping on declines in naphtha and middle distillate inventories, the data showed. Jet kerosene stocks were down 7.6%…
US Sets Out to Clear Mines from Strait of Hormuz
As the United States embarks on clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz, it could draw on an arsenal of drones, explosive‑laden robots and helicopters to reduce risks, though de‑mining crews could still be vulnerable to Iranian attacks.The U.S. is trying to secure the strait from mines as part of efforts to end Iran's disruption of shipping, which has severely curbed global energy supplies since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran at the end of February.But while the U.S.
Germany Looks to Help Secure Hormuz After Hostilities Subside
Germany is in principle ready to help secure transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz after hostilities end, provided there is a mandate, preferably from the United Nations, and German parliamentary approval, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said."We are still a long way from all of that," Merz told reporters a day before talks in Paris that, he said, would also cover whether U.S. armed forces could participate…
Maritime Recruitment “The Brennan Way”
There is not a corner of the U.S. maritime industry that’s not actively searching for the ‘next generation’, young talent that will effectively power a company’s future. For multi-generational, family owned companies like 4th generation family run business J.F. Brennan Company (Brennan), the importance of effective recruitment and retention cannot be understated. For this edition of Maritime Matters: The MarineLink Podcast…
ABS, UNITED WATERWAYS Collaborate on Coastal, Inland Maritime Training
ABS and UNITED WATERWAYS (UW) have signed a letter of intent to establish a joint venture with River Academy, UW’s training and education subsidiary, to support crew competence and qualification across the European inland barge, river cruise and coastal vessel sectors.The collaboration will enhance workforce readiness as European operators navigate evolving safety and decarbonization requirements in cruise, freight, and ferry shipping.
