China and the Philippines gave conflicting versions on Wednesday of a maritime confrontation around a contested shoal in the South China Sea, the latest row in a longstanding dispute between the neighbours.Chinese coast guard vessels fired water cannons and side-swiped a Manila fisheries bureau boat on the way to deliver supplies to Filipino fishermen in the area
Satellite images obtained by Reuters on Thursday show a build-up of Chinese civilian vessels near contested Thitu Island, Manila's key outpost in the South China Sea, but a senior Philippine navy officer said they are "not a cause for concern".One of the images taken by Maxar Technologies on Monday and reviewed by Reuters shows about 60 vessels, some within 2 nautical miles of Thitu
Sweden is asking a Chinese vessel to return to Swedish waters to help facilitate the Nordic country's investigation into recent breaches of undersea fibre-optic cables in the Baltic Sea, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday.Two subsea cables, one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania, were damaged in less than 24 hours on Nov.
Two undersea fibre-optic communications cables in the Baltic Sea, including one linking Finland and Germany, were severed, raising suspicions of sabotage by bad actors, countries and companies involved said on Monday.The episode recalled other incidents in the same waterway that authorities have probed as potentially malicious including damage to a gas pipeline and undersea cables last year and
China is stepping up pressure on the Philippines to concede its sovereign rights in the South China Sea, Manila's Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday after meeting his Australian counterpart in Canberra.The fifth such meeting since August 2023 reflects growing security ties between the countries
A.P. Moller-Maersk expects strong demand for shipping goods around the globe to continue in the coming months, though does not expect to resume sailing through the Suez Canal until "well into 2025".Attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants have disrupted a shipping route vital to east-west trade
Yemen's Houthis said on Monday that they targeted three ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, attacks they called part of their efforts to enforce a naval blockade on Israel.Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised address the vessels were targeted for attempting to approach ports bound for Israel.
A Ukrainian sabotage operation has damaged a Russian minesweeping vessel in Russia's Kaliningrad region and put it out of action, Ukraine's military spy agency said on Monday.The spy agency, known by the acronym GUR, said it was the second attack it has carried out on a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea this year.
Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku has floated out Star of the Seas, the second Icon-class cruise ship for U.S. cruise giant Royal Caribbean.The float out was celebrated at the Turku, Finland shipyard with an event that included the firing of a ceremonial cannon. The dry dock gates were opened, and the dry dock—measuring 16 meters deep, 80 meters wide and 365 meters long—was filled with water
The cost of insuring a ship through the Red Sea has more than doubled since the start of September and some underwriters are pausing cover as the risk of attack from Yemen's Houthis on commercial vessels increases, industry sources said.The Iran-backed Houthis first launched aerial drone and missile strikes on the waterway in November.
Ukrainian sea drones damaged a Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship off occupied Crimea, Ukrainian military intelligence said on Tuesday.The intelligence agency said on Telegram messaging app that its special unit Group 13 attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Sergey Kotov near the Kerch Strait.
Grain ships originating from the Black Sea or bound for Iran are about the only ones still sailing through the Red Sea as Houthi militants continue to attack vessels in the area, analysts said on Friday.The attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis have disrupted global shipping since November and forced firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.