The Maritime Gazette’s complete reporting archive across shipping, ships, ports, cruise, business and maritime policy.
A Memorandum of Understanding between Singapore and Brazil has created a formal framework to develop a green and digital shipping corridor, the two governments’ transport ministers signed the agreement, MarineLink reported on 31 August 2026.
Contecon Manzanillo, the Mexican unit of ICTSI, has received permission to handle vessels with drafts up to 15.5 metres, enabling the Port of Manzanillo to accept ultra large container ships.
With El Niño strengthening and reservoirs shrinking, the Panama Canal faces the prospect of restricted transits and renewed competition for limited passage slots.
MarineLink reported on 31 August 2026 that visible commodity vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to five per day over the weekend of 29–30 August 2026 as companies acted cautiously amid continuing attacks on ships.
A memorandum of understanding signed on 31 August 2026 creates a formal channel for collaboration between the American Great Lakes Ports Association and the Great Lakes Alliance of Shipyards on domestic shipbuilding and commerce.
MarineLink reported that US forces struck two launchers on Iran's Larak Island on Sunday, 30 August 2026, and that a Fox News correspondent cited a US source saying Iran then attacked US forces in Jordan.
A privately owned ferry carrying approximately 270 people capsized off North Cyprus, leaving at least eight dead and 18 missing, MarineLink reported on 31 August 2026.
Shipbroker Gibson tells reports that unplanned outages during the US refinery maintenance season could reduce product tanker cargo availability and increase freight volatility.
A weekly market report from reports shows Capesize rates strengthened as the BCI 5TC rose from $42,105 to $48,399, driven by Atlantic firmness and a recovering Pacific.
A reports market note dated 30 August 2026 recorded a modest strengthening of eastbound VLCC trades and weaker westbound returns, with TC1 rising to WS540 and TC20 falling to $9.24 million.
reports says the shift to methanol, ethanol, ammonia, hydrogen and biofuels is one of the most significant operational changes in shipping’s history and brings new safety considerations.
Freight rates on the east Asia–United States tradelane have inched up this week and remain at their highest since mid‑2022, with congestion at east Asian terminals leaving more than 4.3 million TEU awaiting berths, industry data shows.
A rush of orders for very large crude carriers this year, fuelled by Middle East flows, has driven prices up and concentrated deliveries in 2028–2029, prompting warnings that the market may be at risk of oversupply.
Assessments cited by reports on 30 August 2026 show ARA Rotterdam biofuel barge values rising sharply while conventional VLSFO weakened.
Four shipowners from Sweden, Norway and Canada have jointly ordered four new VINGA-design tankers, advancing Furetank’s series to a total of 26 vessels; the news was announced at the naming of FURE VASA.
The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk index rose 2.5% to 3,186 on Friday, extending a seven-session run and recording its strongest reading since 2 June, with the largest vessel-size segment leading the gains.
Banchero Costa, citing AXS Marine vessel-tracking data, reports that global seaborne iron ore loadings rose 3.5% in 2025 to 1,732.0 million tonnes and that export volumes have remained on an upward trajectory into 2026, sources indicated on 28 August 2026.
A survey of 314 shipowners and C‑suite executives, reported on 28 August 2026, finds maritime leaders increasingly regard Asia and China as the dominant force shaping the future of international shipping.
reports reports that Drewry’s World Container Index fell 1 percent in the week to 27 August 2026; the index remains a principal reference for procurement and index-linked contracts.
A report published on 28 August 2026 examines the extent to which environmental certification, documentary compliance and regulatory readiness have been incorporated into the private-law framework governing ship sales under English law.
The International Maritime organisation says thousands of crew have been unable to disembark since the conflict that began on 28 February 2026, with at least 70 attacks on shipping verified and 19 seafarers killed.
A The report on 28 August 2026 finds that public finance and policy for decarbonising shipping are expanding, yet differing national choices are shaping how fuels, ships and bunkering develop.
The Commercial Court found that a tailored hire-rate mechanism in an LNG time charterparty did not entitle the owner to extra hire after the relative values of the reference indices inverted following the Russia‑Ukraine invasion, according to a report on 28 August 2026.
A memorandum of understanding between global logistics group CMA CGM and infrastructure giant CCCC aims to broaden cooperation on ports, transport services, innovation and the energy transition, according to a report published on 28 August 2026.
Unaudited six‑month figures show Frontline’s strongest ever second quarter, with reported profit of $659.2m and adjusted profit of $580.2m.
Gibson Shipbrokers, cited in reports on 28 August 2026, says the usual October peak in US refinery maintenance, a historical drag on tanker freight, may not be playing out in the customary way this year.
A Clarksons Hellas SnP Weekly, published by reports on 28 August 2026, records an initial spring loss of around 15 million barrels per day, a short reopening in late July and a subsequent third phase.
COSCO SHIPPING Ports reported a 7.9% rise in total throughput for the first half of 2026 to 80,157,047 TEU, while equity throughput increased 7.0% to 24,492,008 TEU; the company’s bulletin also noted slower container throughput at Piraeus.
BW LPG reported record profits and cash flow for the first half of 2026, with Q2 profit attributable to equity holders of US$120 million and elevated time‑charter equivalents, sources indicated on 28 August 2026.
The Department for Transport has published a summary of responses to its Net Zero Ports call for evidence, launched with the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy in March 2025; the UK Chamber of Shipping provided a cautious welcome, sources indicated on 28 August 2026.
The company has adopted MSM as its trading name and moved its Dubai head office to new premises in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, reflecting a name already widely used by staff and partners.
Sources said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that Al-Salam II was struck above the waterline while heading east through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday evening.
Ardmore Shipping has exercised the remaining options under its shipbuilding agreement with Wuhu Shipyard, contracting two further 40,500 dwt Handysize product and chemical tankers and expanding the order to six vessels, according to reports on 28 August 2026.
Sources indicated on 28 August 2026 that DP World converted a diesel RTG to a hybrid diesel-electric system at its Prince Rupert terminal, achieving fuel savings of more than 60 per cent.
Ray‑Mont Logistics, Canadian National Railway and the Prince Rupert Port Authority have opened CANXPORT, a C$750 million export logistics facility at the Port of Prince Rupert intended to expand markets and support thousands of jobs.
reports’s 28 August 2026 regional note expects India’s growth to cool to roughly 7.5% year‑on‑year but says private consumption and exports are supporting the economy and seaborne trade.
MarineLink’s feature argues that the contemporary shipbuilding market rewards both accumulated skill and a willingness to take technical risks, and cites Türkiye’s RMK Marine as an example of that hybrid approach.
Bencros Marine Fenders told delegates at SMM Start-up Night on 28 August 2026 that the carbon saved in its rubber fenders has been independently verified and may be transferred to buyers as certified emission reductions, MarineLink reported.
A MarineLink report dated 28 August 2026 relays Berg Propulsion’s view that retrofitting available technology to conventionally fuelled vessels allows the industry to act on decarbonisation immediately.
reports reports the Baltic Dry Index rose by 79 points to 3,186 on 28 August 2026; the index is compiled by the London-based Baltic Exchange from daily agent surveys and covers coal, grain and iron ore.
Four shipowners from Sweden, Norway and Canada have ordered four VINGA product tankers for delivery in 2028 and 2029, expanding a Furetank-developed series to 26 ships, MarineLink Maritime News reported on 28 August 2026.
A The report on 28 August 2026 outlines a change in industry thinking: BAR Technologies’ chief executive argues that reducing fuel consumption, rather than committing to a particular fuel, offers shipping the strongest protection against price and regulatory risk.
A DNV assessment, published by reports, says a cohesive global regulatory framework from the IMO could push bunker demand for low‑emission fuels to more than five times today’s levels by 2050.
Pole Star Global’s historical tracking records show the Tanzanian-flagged tanker Asana intermittently stopped transmitting on public systems for extended periods, a pattern revealed by reports on 28 August 2026 and noted alongside a recent piracy wave that has left about six ships in pirate hands.
The Clean Shipping Coalition and allied NGOs have warned member states of the International Maritime organisation to resist proposals that could weaken a long negotiated climate compromise known as the Net‑Zero Framework, sources indicated on 28 August 2026.
Sources indicated on 28 August 2026 that Jacob Meldgaard, chief executive of tanker owner Torm, warned markets may be underestimating the risk of a prolonged Iran conflict and the consequent pressure on transits through the Strait of Hormuz and shipping costs.
Freight rates for Pakistan–US trade have risen sharply this year, reaching $7,900 per container in places, as war‑risk insurance and fuel costs climb amid the conflict in Iran.
A national seminar in Port Vila (18–20 August) set out practical next steps for establishing a Maritime Single Window to streamline communications between ships and public authorities, a report said.