Since the Iranian Revolution and overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979, the Strait of Hormuz has been a geographic constant as a choke point for which closure has been threatened from time to time but never truly closed. The longstanding assumption of the continued openness of the strait collapsed on February 28, 2026.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would briefly pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran."We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom ...
Norwegian ship designer and builder VARD has secured on order from France’s Orange Marine for two additional cable laying and repair vessels of the VARD 9 03 design, to be built at Colombo Dockyard in Sri Lanka.The vessels will be based on the same design as CS Sophie Germain, delivered to Orange Marine in July 2023.
The U.S. government has filed for court warrants to seize dozens more tankers linked to the Venezuelan oil trade, four sources familiar with the matter said, as Washington consolidates control of oil shipments in and out of the South American country.The U.S. military and Coast Guard have seized five vessels in recent weeks in international waters that were either carrying Venezuelan oil or have
Italian energy contractor Saipem's merger with Norwegian peer Subsea 7 is set to face a full-scale EU antitrust investigation because of competition concerns about the deal, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.The companies announced the deal in February last year to create a leading global player in offshore energy services
ECITB Global has rolled out a suite of new courses designed to help workers operating in confined spaces within the engineering construction industry (ECI) across the world.The international skills body introduced the four new confined space courses in Qatar earlier this year to replace the confined space low and medium-risk courses.
OMS Group has started construction of CS Resilience, the third vessel in its next-generation GREAT-Class fleet, with a first steel cutting ceremony held at CRIST's shipyard in Gdynia, Poland.The milestone marks the start of construction of the cable-laying vessel, which is scheduled to enter service in 2028 and forms part of OMS Group's long-term fleet expansion program.
The Netherlands Coast Guard has appointed Klaasjan Schipper as its new director, succeeding Nicole Kuipers, who led the organization since 2022.Schipper officially assumed the role on June 17 during a handover ceremony in Den Helder, becoming the tenth director in the Coast Guard's history.
Earliest mid-2026, the Netherlands Coastguard will be strengthened with ENFORCER, a Damen FCS 5009 vessel. This vessel will be deployed to ensure the continuity of general coastguard duties in the North Sea. ENFORCER will provide additional support until the new generation of Coastguard ships goes into operation.The duties of the Coastguard have expanded in recent years.
Crowley Stena Marine Solutions, the joint venture between Crowley and Stena Bulk, has received approval from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) to operate the CS Anthem tanker under the Tanker Security Program.The CS Anthem, a U.S.-flagged, 49,990-metric-ton, medium-range tanker, is crewed and managed by Crowley under a bareboat charter through the joint venture.