NOBLE TOM MADDEN

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is on a mission to weaken China's global network of ports and bring more strategic terminals under Western control, according to three sources familiar with the plan.The drive is part of the most ambitious effort to expand U.S. maritime influence since the 1970s and is designed to address growing fears in Washington that it would be at a disadvantage to China in the event of a conflict.Trump administration officials believe the U.S. commercial shipping fleet is ill-equipped to provide logistical support for the military in time of war and Washington's dependence on foreign ships and ports is excessive, the people said.

A landmark agreement to curb billions of dollars in subsidies contributing to overfishing came into force on Monday, the World Trade Organization said - a move activists hailed as a step towards helping global fish stocks recover.It was the first agreement to take effect at the WTO since 2017 after years of stalled debates and infighting on top of, more recently, a surge in U.S. tariffs that left some critics asking whether the Geneva-based body had a future.The formal ratification by Brazil, Kenya, Tonga and Vietnam on Monday meant the deal, first agreed in 2022, now had the required support of two thirds of members, a WTO spokesperson said.

The United States will be able to use planned defence facilities in Western Australia that are to help deliver nuclear-powered submarines under the trilateral AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday.Australia will spend A$12 billion ($8 billion) to upgrade facilities at the Henderson shipyard near Perth, as part of a 20-year plan to transform it into the maintenance hub for its AUKUS submarine fleet, the government said on Saturday.The AUKUS pact, sealed by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Davie Defense Inc. gives a first glimpse today of the “American Icebreaker Factory” – a planned $1 billion transformation of the historic Gulf Copper shipyard in Galveston, Texas.The American Icebreaker Factory concept was created in collaboration with Florida-based Pearlson, which has led major projects for leading American shipbuilders, including BAE Systems, Austal USA and Fincantieri Marinette.The American Icebreaker Factory project embodies the Trump Administration’s priorities, including the Executive Order on American Maritime Dominance, the SHIPS for America Act, and the creation of the Office of Shipbuilding.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a safety alert Wednesday urging greater awareness and training for land-based firefighters who may be called to fight fires aboard vessels in local ports.The safety alert follows several NTSB investigations into deaths and injuries to firefighters. The NTSB found land-based firefighters often lack the necessary training and familiarity with vessel layouts and fire protection systems to effectively fight in-port vessel fires. They also may be unaware of how to use the structural fire protection built into most commercial vessels.