The Maritime Executive, Author at Cidny Gate

Coast Guard’s Heavy Icebreaker Returns from Antarctica, Marking 50 Years

The Maritime Executive — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 23:59:30 +0000

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star returned to her home port of Seattle last week, wrapping up her annual deployment to Antarctica. This year was special, for in addition to supporting the resupply mission and scientific research, the vessel marked 50 years in service. Through extensive overhauls and regular maintenance, she continues to play a critical role as the U.S.’s only heavy icebreaker and must remain active until at least 2030, when the first of the new vessels is now scheduled for delivery.

Polar Star departed Seattle on November 20 and returned to Seattle on April 13. It was a 146-day Antarctic deployment that saw her travel more than 20,000 nautical miles. She makes stops in New Zealand en route, and this year she spent a total of 62 days in Antarctic waters. Polar Star conducted multiple mission sets before departing the Antarctic region on March 8.

One of her key roles is supporting Operation Deep Freeze, the annual resupply missions to the U.S.’s McMurdo Station. This year, she was called on to establish a seven-mile-long channel through fast ice up to eight feet thick and escorted a fuel tanker and container vessel through the ice in McMurdo Sound as part of the resupply mission. Polar Star also escorted a tug with the 330-foot-long NSF…

Little Change at Strait of Hormuz After Trump’s 48-Hour Threat

The Maritime Executive — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 21:26:00 +0000

President Donald Trump has given the Iranian government until Monday evening to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which he has said that the U.S. does not need. If Iran does not do so, Trump said, the U.S. will destroy Iran’s electrical power plants. The threat is unlikely to affect the choices of Iran’s new hardline leadership, multiple analysts assess.

For its part, Iran claims that the Strait is already open – for the right ships. A trickle of tonnage is getting past, according to tracking services, most of it using an Iranian-controlled lane past Qeshm and Larak. Iranian state media claims that negotiations are under way with multiple nations on the terms of passage, including India and China. Iran’s own tankers continue to load and transit, facilitated by the U.S. decision to allow free passage for Iranian vessels and (as of Friday) to lift sanctions on Iranian oil.

Iran’s Kharg Island as seen **today** by the @CopernicusEU Sentinel-2 satellite.

Iran is loading multiple tankers, exporting oil and making $$$ — now, with the help of the White House.

The idea that Trump admin is using Iranian oil barrels against Iran is simply ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/nHsH21QD6w

— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) March 22, 2026

Iran has refused to comply with Trump’s 48-hour…

Austal Finalizes Large Contract to Build Australia’s Landing Craft Heavy

The Maritime Executive — Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:48:51 +0000

Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia highlighted the announcement by the government’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, and Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, as the finalization of a large contract to build the country’s new Landing Craft Heavy (LCH) vessels. It was expecting to sign the contract, valued at approximately A$4 billion (US$2.8 billion), later on Friday while highlighting it was the second major contract for the company under its Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement (SSA) with Australia.

The Australian Government confirmed the selection of Damen’s Landing Ship Transport 100 (LST100) as its preferred design for the Australian Defence Force’s Landing Craft Heavy project in November 2024, with the vessels to be built by Austal. The design calls for an approximately 100-meter (330-foot) long vessel with approximately 3,900 to 4,000 tonnes displacement. It will have a capacity for over 200 soldiers, plus six Abrams tanks or nine Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicles.

Construction of the Landing Craft Heavy vessels will be undertaken using Austal facilities and the Common User Facility at Henderson in Western Australia. Construction is scheduled to commence in 2026, with the eighth and final vessel scheduled for…

Amsterdam Government Calls for Banning Ocean Cruise Ships by 2035

The Maritime Executive — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:43:55 +0000

After agreeing to limit and then relocate cruise ships out of the center of the Dutch city, members of Amsterdam’s coalition government, including the mayor and some aldermen, are now saying it would be more cost-effective to simply eliminate cruise ships. On Wednesday, January 21, they floated a plan to phase out all port calls by ocean-going cruise ships by 2035, while maintaining a smaller number of river cruise ship calls.

Concerns about pollution and overtourism have been growing in Amsterdam for nearly a decade. Cruise ships have typically berthed in the heart of the city, and as pointed out by industry officials, that makes them a more prominent target for critics. The environmental activists and now alderman in the coalition government are saying large cruise ships are highly polluting, emitting large amounts of CO2, particulate matter, and nitrogen. Of course, this ignores the EU’s low-sulfur fuel regulations and the cruise industry’s wide adoption of emission scrubbers even before the EU regulations mandating the use of shore power starting in 2030, at the EU’s main ports.

The move to ban cruise ships in Amsterdam gained momentum in 2023 and 2024, leading to a proposed solution. The agreement had called for limiting cruise ships starting in 2026…

Ukraine Intensifies Strikes on Oil Operations in Black Sea and Caspian

The Maritime Executive — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 23:49:41 +0000

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Unit and Special Operations Forces revealed the latest round of drone strikes on Russia’s oil operations. The Defense Intelligence Unit also confirmed the obvious that Ukraine has intensified its assault on the oil sector to cut off badly needed revenues for Russia.

On the night of December 22, the Defense Intelligence Unit confirmed strikes on the strategic port of Taman, which lies off the Kerch Strait on the peninsula between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It is a critical transshipment port for Russia used to maintain operations in oil, products, liquified gas, ammonia fertilizer, grains, and other cargoes.

The DIU said the attack was staged with drones targeting the Taman transshipment complex operated by Tamanneftegaz. While claiming to have destroyed 23 drones over the Black Sea, Russian officials also confirmed fires at the port complex.

Ukraine’s GenStaff confirmed the attack on the oil terminal:

“It is known that a pipeline, 2 piers, and 2 vessels were damaged, and that a fire broke out over an area of more than 1,000 m², with at least one vessel affected by the blaze.”https://t.co/Eelrhq7VXh

????Supernova+ pic.twitter.com/SFoNPPr08X

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) December 22, 2025

The…