Maritime Vessels Directory

ABS, Polaris Shipping, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and autonomous navigation solutions provider AVIKUS have signed a four-party Concept Study Agreement for the implementation of a Conditional Unmanned Bridge.Under the agreement, the parties will jointly develop an autonomous navigation concept enabling unmanned bridge operation during deep-sea voyages, when defined conditions are met, on one of Polaris Shipping's 325K Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs).The concept is not a fully unmanned operation across the entire voyage. Rather, it is a phased autonomous navigation concept under which the bridge is left unmanned only under specific low-risk conditions, such as open-ocean passage.

Video: British Commandos Intercept Russian Tanker

2 days ago

British commandos boarded and intercepted a sanctioned Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the Channel on Sunday, leading for the first time an operation to disrupt the oil revenue that helps fund Russia's war in Ukraine.The vessel Smyrtos, sailing under a Cameroonian flag, was boarded by Royal Marine Commandos and National Crime Agency (NCA) officials in the early hours on Sunday, with support from Chinook helicopters and other aircraft, a frigate and a minehunter."This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin's war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a post on X.

BRIN Taps Shipbuilder PIRIOU for Research Vessel Pair

5 days ago

The “Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional” (BRIN), Indonesia’s national agency for research and innovation, has commissioned the French shipbuilder PIRIOU to design and build two research vessels:a multimission offshore hydro-oceanographic vessel (ORV – Ocean Going Research Vessel) and a coastal research vessel (CRV – Coastal Research Vessel).The order was signed on June 11, 2026 during a ceremony held in Indonesia, attended by representatives of BRIN, Stéphane BURGAUD, PIRIOU’s Commercial Director, and the project’s institutional partners. Both vessels will be built by PIRIOU VIETNAM, the Group’s industrial subsidiary in Southeast Asia.

Iran Gears Up to Boost Oil Exports

an hour ago

While U.S. President Donald Trump has recently hailed the resumption of oil flows from Gulf allies, Iran, too, appears to be gearing up to resume exports and trading.At least three tankers carrying some five million barrels of Iranian oil have sailed through the U.S. naval blockade this week, shipping data shows, despite the U.S. military saying its operations against Iran-linked shipping will stay in place until Friday.The oil market has focused on a deal to end the Iran war which Trump announced on June 14 and is scheduled to be signed on Friday in Switzerland."The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.

Trump, Modi Discuss Seafarer Safety in Gulf Region

an hour ago

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had held a "very good" conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G7 summit in France and that their two countries were working on trade deals.Trump called Modi a "tough negotiator," and told reporters that he would be going to India "sometime in the future".India has been pressing the United States for months for a Trump trip, potentially as part of a meeting including Japan and Australia.The two leaders' meeting is their first since February 2025, when Modi visited Washington within weeks of Trump returning to the White House, and the two sides agreed to resolve their differences over trade and tariffs.

Maritime Reporter and Engineering News (June 2026)