Government Update News

Any shipper paying tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organizations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, is at risk of punitive sanctions, the U.S. Treasury warned on Friday.The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically vital maritime routes, with about 20% of the world’s seaborne crude oil and liquefied ⁠natural gas flows passing through it.Tehran has proposed fees or tolls on vessels passing through the Strait…

“Never before have we witnessed such comprehensive alignment between Republicans and Democrats, industry, and organized labor for rebuilding our great nation’s maritime industry.”Arizona Senator and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy alum Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Representative John Garamendi (D-CA-08) published an op-ed in Fox News highlighting the momentum to rebuild the U.S. declining maritime industry, which poses a serious threat to U.S. national security and the economy. With bipartisan support in Congress and overwhelming backing from maritime leaders…

Momentum around critical minerals in Washington is no longer hypothetical. Policymakers are now focused on practical steps to expand domestic access to the raw materials that underpin national security, advanced manufacturing, and modern energy systems. Ocean minerals are front and center of this conversation and the offshore industry is prepared to play a central role. Congressional attention is growing fast.A House Natural Resources Subcommittee hearing recently examined regulatory barriers to deep-sea mining and how to position American companies to lead…

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said his country maintains a positive relationship with China despite being caught up in a dispute between the Asian superpower and the U.S., and defended Panama's takeover of port contracts held by Hong Kong's CK Hutchison.He spoke at a regular press conference after receiving what he called a "high-level" message from China's government acknowledging that a dispute over the port contracts will be heard by international arbitration courts, and did not constitute an issue between the Panamanian and Chinese governments.The message…

As America’s European allies digest the diplomatic fallout of their spat with the Trump administration over their inaction on Iran, the U.S. Army in Europe has kept pushing forward with its training programme for the year in several nervous nations on NATO’s eastern flank.The next phase of activity, known by the U.S. military as Exercise Sword 26, sees more than 15,000 NATO personnel – more than a third of them American – engage in activities ranging from cyber drills to armoured…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed into law legislation funding Department of Homeland Security agencies including the Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration, ending a partial shutdown that has gripped DHS operations for nearly 11 weeks.The logjam was broken when the Republican-controlled House of Representatives unanimously passed a Senate-approved bill that conservatives had refused to consider over the past month.The House signed off on the legislation as officials warned that current funding was about to run dry…

A U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports has shrunk Tehran's oil exports, stranding a growing stockpile of crude on tankers as Iranian storage sites run out of space, shipping data showed and analysts said.With some vessels switching off tracking systems and U.S. forces turning back Iranian tankers, how much crude Iran is delivering to customers, particularly main customer China, is impossible to measure.Just a handful of carriers carrying Iranian crude have left the Gulf of Oman between April 13-25, oil analytics firm Vortexa said.

Pakistan's Navy will be getting a fleet of advanced Chinese submarines, a statement from the military and a government official said on Thursday, a move to strengthen Islamabad's maritime security as part of a growing defence cooperation with Beijing.The subs are in addition to Chinese-made J10-C fighter jets, which were war-tested for the first time during last year's Pakistan-India conflict.Pakistan and China are longtime allies and their defence cooperation has been enhanced since the conflict erupted.Islamabad says the Chinese-made planes were part of its air assault that downed India's Fr

The European Commission has successfully closed the first round of activities of the Hydrogen Mechanism operated under the EU Energy and Raw Materials Platform. Market participants currently developing hydrogen projects (on both supply and demand side) responded with high engagement, showing great appetite for this new initiative and the development of the hydrogen market.During this first round, the Hydrogen Mechanism gave future producers of hydrogen a transparent and easy way to test demand for their specific projects and find potential offtakers…

The Coast Guard suspended its search for the missing crew members of the cargo vessel Mariana at 10:35 p.m. Tuesday. Missing are five crew members of the cargo vessel Mariana, which reportedly experienced a disabled engine approximately 140 miles northwest of Saipan on April 15.The six crew members aboard the Mariana at the time of the incident were Frederick L. Nosek Jr., Landon Delos Reyes, Jose L. Ramirez, Mohammed A. Rahaman, Chet R. Brochon, and Vincent B. Agulto. U.S. Air Force 31st Rescue Squadron divers have recovered one deceased individual from the overturned vessel.

Russia has added four LNG carriers to its fleet, LSEG ship-tracking data and the Russian ship register showed on Wednesday, which could help the country to increase its market share ahead of an EU ban on Russian gas imports.The European Union in January gave its final approval to a ban on Russian gas imports by late 2027.The bloc has also imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its war on Ukraine. The sanctions have limited Russia's access to the vessels it needs to gain a…

Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran's ports with U.S. oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. president urged Tehran to 'get smart soon' and sign a deal.The talks with oil executives on Tuesday followed days of deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the U.S. to try to squeeze Iran's oil exports with a naval blockade to try to force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.Trump…

A long-running dispute over container detention charges between Evergreen and a U.S. trucking company has been resolved, with a federal appeals court siding squarely with the regulator and reinforcing limits on when carriers can impose such fees.In a decision issued April 28, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a petition by Evergreen Shipping Agency (America) Corp. and upheld a ruling by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) that certain detention charges were unreasonable.The case stems from a 2020 shipment handled for Yamaha Motor Co.…

"The Iran war and the resulting disruptions to ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz have increased uncertainty for both the global economy and the dry bulk market. Around 4% of dry bulk cargoes and tonne mile demand typically sail through the strait and at present, and around 210 ships, equivalent to roughly 1% of the dry bulk fleet, are currently trapped in the Persian Gulf,” says Filipe Gouveia, Shipping Analysis Manager at BIMCO.Given the high uncertainty over when transits may resume, we present two forecast scenarios.

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a major fire at a Russian oil refinery in the city of Tuapse on Tuesday, officials said, in what President Vladimir Putin described as evidence of increased Ukrainian attacks on civilian targets.It was the third attack on the Black Sea port in less than two weeks.Ukraine's military confirmed it had carried out the strike, the latest in a series designed to disrupt Russia's oil industry and slash revenue that helps Moscow fund the war in Ukraine.Putin…

A joint letter organized by the American Biofuels Maritime Initiative (ABMI) has been sent to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of this week's negotiations at the IMO MEPC 84 meeting in London. The effort is aimed at ensuring that global maritime decarbonization also translates into durable new demand for American biofuels and additional income streams for U.S. farmers and rural communities.In the ABMI letter, leading biofuel and agricultural stakeholders urge the Trump administration to champion a global maritime fuels framework that is technology‑neutral…

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Laura DiBella joined the U.S. delegation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) this week for the 84th session of the Maritime Environmental Protection Committee in London. As part of the delegation, Chairman DiBella is reinforcing the U.S.’s opposition to the IMO Net-Zero Framework (NZF). The NZF is, plainly, an unnecessary tax on U.S. shippers and vessels operating in international waters. The NZF would cost the maritime industry billions of dollars annually. As the largest consumer of imported goods, these costs will be directly passed onto U.S. consumers.The FMC is invested in the protection of U.S.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez opened the 84th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 84), urging Member States to find convergence and make meaningful progress on the IMO Net-Zero Framework to cut global shipping emissions and set an example of effective multilateralism.His opening remarks:"Good morning, distinguished delegates, welcome to the 84th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee.Situation in the Strait of Hormuz“Before turning to the work of this session…

An LNG tanker managed by UAE's ADNOC has crossed the Strait of Hormuz and appears to be near India, ship-tracking data showed on Monday.If confirmed, this will be the first loaded LNG tanker to cross the strait since the Iran war started on February 28. Adnoc did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.The 136,357-cubic-meter tanker, which is managed by Adnoc Logistics & Services and was last seen in the Gulf on March 30, has shown up off the west coast of India…

President Donald Trump granted a 90-day extension to a shipping waiver that makes it easier to move oil, fuel and fertilizer around the United States, the White House said on Friday, the latest effort to curb rising energy costs linked to the war with Iran.The move reflects a broader push by the White House to dampen politically sensitive fuel price spikes ahead of November’s midterm elections, where affordability is expected to be a defining issue for voters. Recent polling shows…

President Donald Trump's administration said on Monday that it had reached a deal to end two more U.S. offshore wind leases in exchange for $885 million in pledged investments in domestic fossil fuels.The projects, one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific, are managed by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between France's ENGIE and Portugal's EDP Renewables.The announcement comes a month after French energy giant TotalEnergies reached a similar agreement with the Interior Department to redirect $1 billion from offshore wind leases to U.S. oil and gas production.

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has called on all member states to support efforts to address the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, where around 20,000 seafarers remain trapped and unable to leave.In an informal briefing to member states and industry representatives, Dominguez confirmed that several vessels had been seized and detained in the region over the past few days. He urged maximum caution, considering potential mines present throughout the Strait and threat of further attacks on ships. “My call is to release the seafarers because they are not at fault,” he said.

U.S. Central Command said it intercepted a merchant vessel trying to get through the blockade of Iran on Saturday.The ship, identified as the Sevan, was part of a 19-vessel "shadow fleet" transporting Iranian oil and gas products to foreign markets, the U.S. military said.Central Command said it was intercepted in the Arabian Sea by a U.S. Navy helicopter from the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney and was "currently complying with U.S. military direction to turn back to Iran under escort."The “shadow fleet” vessels have been sanctioned by the U.S.