KOMMANDOR STUART

Taiwan remained on high alert on Wednesday after China staged massive military drills around the island the previous day, keeping its emergency maritime response centre running as it monitored Chinese naval manoeuvres, the coast guard said.The exercises named "Justice Mission 2025" saw China fire dozens of rockets towards Taiwan and deploy a large number of warships and aircraft near the island, in a show of force that drew concern from allies in the region and the west.Beijing announced late on Wednesday the completion of the drills, saying its military would remain on high alert and continue to strengthen their combat-readiness.

If 2025 proved anything for Germany’s shipbuilding and marine equipment sector, it is that the industry retains both resilience and relevance, even amid geopolitical turbulence. According to The Association for Shipbuilding and Marine Technology (VSM), the year closed with strong order activity, renewed investor confidence and a clear signal that German yards and suppliers remain essential to Europe’s maritime industrial base.One of the year’s most tangible confidence boosters came early. In January, the shipyards in Flensburg and Rendsburg found new owners from within the maritime industry just weeks after insolvency proceedings began.

China launched its most extensive war games around Taiwan on Monday to showcase Beijing's ability to cut off the island from outside support in a conflict, testing Taipei's resolve to defend itself and its arsenal of U.S.-made weapons.The Eastern Theatre Command said it had deployed troops, warships, fighter jets and artillery for its "Justice Mission 2025" exercises to encircle the democratically-governed island, conduct live fire and simulated strikes on land and sea targets, and drills to blockade Taiwan's main ports.

Oil prices steadied on the first day of trade in 2026 after registering their biggest annual loss since 2020 as investors weighed oversupply concerns against geopolitical risks including the war in Ukraine and Venezuela exports.Brent crude futures LCOc1 dropped 4 cents on Friday to $60.81 a barrel by 1029 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was down 3 cents at $57.39.Russia and Ukraine traded allegations of attacks on civilians on New Year's Day despite talks overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump that are aimed at bringing an end to the nearly four-year-old war.

On Friday, January 2, 2026, Orsted said  it was challenging the U.S. government's suspension of the lease for its Revolution Wind joint venture and would seek a court injunction against the decision to halt its $5 billion offshore wind project.The Trump administration suspended leases on December 22 for five large offshore wind projects that are under construction off the U.S. East Coast over what it called national security concerns, sending shares of offshore wind companies plunging.The suspension was the latest blow for offshore wind developers that have faced repeated disruptions to their multi-billion-dollar projects under U.S.