In the early hours of Friday, June 20, Great Lakes Towing tugs conducted an efficient refloating operation of the foreign-flagged freighter SUNNANVIK, which had become lodged in the narrow mouth of the Cuyahoga River near the East Bank of the Flats.At approximately 12:43 a.m., the 9,000-ton SUNNANVIK became wedged in the canal, temporarily disrupting traffic. The Great Lakes Towing Company responded, dispatching two tugs. NEW YORK navigated by Captain Tim Herrle, arrived on scene around 2:30 a.m.
Iran and Israel accused each other of endangering commercial activity in sea lanes around the Gulf and the Red Sea at the UN's shipping agency on Wednesday, as their military conflict escalated.Iran's delegation told a session of the International Maritime Organization's security committee that Israel had in recent days extended its "unlawful attacks" to include petrochemical and gas infrastructure in Asalouyeh along Iran's Gulf coast.
Jack Tanner Towing Company added the newbuild1368-HP Super Tiger workboat, M/V Miss Hazel, to its fleet. Built by Serodino, Inc. in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the vessel is powered by twin Mitsubishi S6R engines, each delivering 684 horsepower at 1800 RPM. The Miss Hazel will operate primarily around Havana, Illinois, supporting the company’s regional towing operations.The propulsion system includes Twin-Disc MG-5222 gears from Great Lakes Power, 5-inch sleeved shafts, and 52-inch Rice Propulsion four-blade propellers — delivering reliable thrust, maneuverability, and minimal vibration.
TOTE Group announced the expansion of its leadership team. Alex Hofeling, currently President of TOTE Maritime Alaska, is being promoted to the new role of Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). With this transition, Bill Crawford, who served as Vice President of Commercial, is being promoted to President of TOTE Maritime Alaska.Hofeling joined TOTE in 2013. Relocating to TOTE Group’s headquarters in Jacksonville, FL, to serve as CCO, he will oversee the organization’s corporate and commercial strategy as well as marketing efforts across all business units.
The 110th session of the Maritime Safety Committee takes place from June 18-27. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez opened the meeting by highlighting recent maritime casualties as a stark reminder of IMO's role in ensuring safety, security, and environmental protection of shipping, and the importance of implementing IMO regulations.The Secretary-General expressed his sadness at reports of four seafarers unaccounted for in an accident involving the MV Wan Hai 503 off the Indian coast days ago.
Russia signed an investment agreement with Myanmar on Friday that it said could open up new opportunities for Russian energy companies in the south Asian country."We especially note the readiness of the Myanmar side to attract Russian companies to the development of offshore oil and gas fields," Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said after signing the agreement in St Petersburg with Kan Zaw, Myanmar's minister of investment and foreign economic relations.
Yarden Gross, CEO and Co-founder of maritime technology company Orca AI, reflects on the recent tanker collision in the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that as GPS interference becomes more common, ships urgently need AI-based situational awareness to support crews and maintain safe navigation when traditional tools are compromised.The recent collision between the tankers Front Eagle and the Adalynn in the Strait of Hormuz is more than a tragic incident – it’s a stark warning to the maritime industry.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed to mark bilateral cooperation and digital innovation in maritime technologies between German and Latvian public and private sector partners to address challenges in port infrastructure management in the Baltic Sea.The signatories include LMT, the Freeport of Riga, the Port of Hamburg, the Electronic Communications Office of Latvia, the Fleet of Hamburg, and LVR Flote.
Container shipping company Maersk said on Friday it had temporarily paused vessel calls at Israel's Haifa port amid regional tensions.The Danish company said it did not experience any further disruptions to its scheduled operations in the region.Israel has been hitting Iran from the air since last Friday in what it describes as an effort to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and has retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel.
“Every owner’s playbook needs to keep a line of sight on three things—regulation, technology readiness timelines and boundary conditions – and must include the elements needed for a short-, mid- and long game such as energy retrofits, electrification and nuclear.”That was the message from Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman and CEO, to Greece’s foremost shipowners, ship managers, and charterers at the ABS Hellenic National Committee Meeting.“The solution calculus for owners in today’s operating environment is 70% fuel, 15% energy efficiency and 15% performance optimization.
The Dutch city of The Hague will host the NATO summit next week, with tight security in place as it welcomes around 6,000 delegates and world leaders from 32 countries, including U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.The Dutch navy will deploy seven frigates and Belgium will contribute one navy vessel to monitor all activity at sea and in the air during the summit.It is the first time since NATO's founding in 1949, that the Netherlands is hosting a NATO summit.
Libya's internationally recognised government of national unity has objected to Greece's approval of an international tender for hydrocarbon exploration off the island of Crete, saying some of the blocks infringe upon its own maritime zones.The two countries have been trying to mend relations strained by an accord signed in 2019 between the Libyan government and Greece's regional rival Turkey, which mapped out a sea area between them close to the Greek island.