seafarertimes.com ~ Maritime News for Filipino Seafarers

Trump: US 'destroyed' an Iranian drone
https://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/07/18/trump-us-destroyed-ir...

President Donald Trump says a US ship "destroyed" an Iranian drone after it came within 1,000 yards of the USS Boxer and ignored "multiple calls to stand down."
Source: CNN

Iran ‘seizes foreign oil tanker’ with 12 crew on board
Richard Hall https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-oil-tanker-gul...

Tensions between Tehran and the UK are rising after a series of run-ins in the Gulf

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has seized a “foreign” tanker with 12 people on board in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing the crew of smuggling oil.

U.S. Demands Iran Release Foreign Ship, Crew Seized This Week
Nick Wadhams and Arsalan Shahla July 18, 2019 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-18/iran-forces-seize-for...

The U.S. condemned Iranian naval activity in the Persian Gulf and demanded the Islamic Republic release a small tanker and its crew that its forces seized earlier this week as tensions in the Persian Gulf remain high.

Global shipping industry most exposed” to low carbon energy shift
18/07/2019

Rapid decarbonisation of global energy supplies will have radical implications for the global shipping industry, detailed in a new report from MSI. Vessel selection will be critical, requiring divestment from sectors with the greatest exposure to fossil fuels.

Modernized maritime industry transports cyberthreats to sea
Chris Dimitriadis July 18, 2019

Attackers are equally capable of wreaking havoc whether their target is based on land or sea. Considering that more than 70 percent of the earth is covered by water, and an expanding attack surface for the vessels journeying across those waters, and cybercriminals have no shortage of maritime targets that they can aim to exploit.

Will ships without sailors be the future of trade?
Stav Dimitropoulos 16 July 2019

On 7 May, customs officers in Ostend, Belgium, received a box of oysters from the UK.

The molluscs had been caught in Essex and transported to Belgium on a 12m (39ft) aluminium-hulled vessel, which traversed the English Channel with no humans on board.

It was the world's first unmanned commercial shipping operation.

Cargill takes action in China as African swine fever shows no sign of abating
Sam Chambers July 16th, 2019 https://splash247.com/cargill-takes-action-in-china-as-african-swine-fev...

The raging African swine fever that has already seen hundreds of thousands of China’s pigs culled shows no sign of abating with dry bulk supply chains facing changing global trading patterns on the back of the deadly disease that is now spreading across other parts of the globe.

Why Oil Tankers In The Middle East Shouldn’t Hire Mercenaries
ZeroHedge - Jul 15, 2019

Could a private, Blackwater-type private security firm fire the first shot in the gulf which sees Iran and the United States stumble toward a WWIII scenario? That's what has maritime industry analysts which advise shipping companies operating in the Middle East region concerned amid the latest soaring tensions, per a new Reuters report:

Iran Says It Aided Oil Tanker, Amid Reports of Missing U.A.E. Ship
Megan Specia July 17, 2019

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has said that security forces recently came to the aid of a foreign oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, hours after reports that Iran might have seized a tanker from the United Arab Emirates in the area.

East China’s Shandong in full sail as marine economy powerhouse
18/07/2019 https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/east-chinas-shandong-in-full-sail-a...

East China’s Shandong Province is giving full play to its advantages in developing the marine economy as it switches gear to new growth drivers, provincial officials said.