News from gCaptain

The Port of Los Angeles reported its best single month in its history. In a media briefing, port executive director Gene Seroka announced the port processed 1,042,652 TEUs, 23k TEUs more than the July 2025 record.

A vessel was struck by an unknown projectile 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera in the United Arab Emirates on Friday, causing a fire that has since been extinguished, British navy affiliated agency UKMTO said, citing multiple sources.

The past fortnight has delivered a clear reminder that the industry’s regulatory problem is no longer a shortage of rules. It is the widening distance between what is agreed in London and Brussels and what can actually be demonstrated on deck, in the engine room and in a ship’s emissions data.

Nearly 500,000 barrels a day of oil-refining capacity sit in the projected path of Hurricane Isaias, raising the risk that a US fuel market with no supplies to spare will lose critical output.

For a sign of just how extraordinary oil shipping costs have become, consider this: It’s now more expensive to hire a tanker from the US to China than to launch a rocket into space.

A commercial vessel was struck by a projectile in the Persian Gulf on Friday, sparking a fire onboard in the second reported attack on shipping inside the Gulf in just...

Hurricane Isaias strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane Friday morning, with sustained winds reaching 120 mph as the storm approached the northern Gulf Coast, threatening life-threatening storm surge and...

Shell has agreed to acquire a 30% stake in Equinor’s Bay du Nord offshore oil project in Canada, bringing a new partner into the estimated C$14 billion development as it...

Thordon Bearings has opened a new manufacturing facility as part of its strategic response to robust growth across all business segments and rising demand for its sustainable bearings and seals....

Why Document Verification Is Becoming Essential in Ocean Freight For years, freight audit has focused primarily on the numbers. Was the correct rate applied? Was the fuel surcharge calculated properly? Does the accessorial match the...

A new study from the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping finds that ethanol could become a practical alternative fuel for ships, particularly those already equipped with methanol-capable...

The Houthis struck two airports in Saudi Arabia in the past two days, killing three people and injuring dozens as the Iran-backed militant group intensifies its attacks on the kingdom from Yemen.

(Bloomberg) — Saudi Arabia is in talks with customers to offer oil loadings next year outside the Strait of Hormuz in long-term contracts, formalizing a system the kingdom has been...

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on 22 tankers and dozens of individuals and companies linked to Iran’s oil trade, expanding its campaign to cut off Tehran’s remaining petroleum...

U.S. container imports are finally beginning to slow after an unusually long peak shipping season that stretched through the summer and into early fall, according to the latest Global Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. The slowdown comes after months of stronger-than-expected cargo volumes at major U.S. ports, as retailers continued bringing in merchandise despite tariffs, inflation and higher transportation costs. Ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in August, up 0.4% from July but down 0.7% from a year earlier. August now appears to have been the busiest month of 2026, marking a shift from last month’s forecast that September would take the top spot. “Even with any fluctuations in final data, we’re likely past the busiest part of the year,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for supply chain and customs policy. “The truth is that the peak season started early and was stretched out through the summer and early fall, with the difference from month to month often amounting to little more than a rounding error,” Gold said. The latest forecast puts September imports at 2.28 million TEUs, down from the 2.31 million TEUs projected a month ago. October is expected to ease further to 2.25 million TEUs before volumes fall to 2 million TEUs in November. Despite the expected slowdown, imports are still running well ahead of last year in some months. September volumes are forecast to rise 8.2% year over year, followed by an 8.5% increase in October. The revised outlook follows a peak season that has repeatedly defied expectations. Retailers moved merchandise into the country earlier this year to get ahead of tariff changes and supply chain uncertainty, initially raising expectations that imports would peak early and decline through the summer. Instead, volumes remained elevated, with shipping delays and resilient consumer demand helping extend the traditional peak season. The strength has been evident at individual ports. The Port of Los Angeles recorded its busiest three-month stretch on record during June, July and August, while the Port of Savannah reported a record September earlier this week, handling 504,015 TEUs, up 3.7% from a year earlier. Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said the economic outlook remains mixed, with consumers continuing to spend despite signs of weakening confidence. “Despite this, consumers appear to remain confident and cautious at the same time, with consumer confidence indexes sliding to multi-year lows while consumer spending continues to be robust in the face of increasing inflation,” Hackett said. For the full year, Global Port Tracker now expects imports at major U.S. container ports to reach 25.8 million TEUs, up 1.4% from 25.4 million TEUs in 2025. That is slightly above last month’s forecast of 25.7 million TEUs. Looking ahead, January 2027 imports are forecast at 2.07 million TEUs, down 1.9% year over year, followed by 1.92 million TEUs in February, up 1%. For retailers, the extended shipping season means much of the merchandise needed for the holidays is already in the country, reducing the need for another major import surge before year-end. “Most holiday merchandise has arrived, and the remainder of the year is just a matter of last-minute replenishment and preparation for early 2027,” Gold said.

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production has been shut down as Hurricane Isaias strengthens ahead of an expected landfall along the northern Gulf Coast, prompting widespread evacuations...

(Bloomberg) — Supertankers are racing to the Middle East to cash in on soaring fees for carrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz, exacerbating a global shortage of vessels that...

Tankers are facing a higher risk of attacks and intimidation as they try to get critical shipments through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran issued new warnings it would block routes that it has not authorized, sources said.

TOTE Services has finalized its contract with the U.S. Maritime Administration to oversee construction of a new generation of missile-tracking ships, clearing the way for Hanwha Philly Shipyard to begin...

A chemical tanker was struck by multiple projectiles off the coast of Qatar on Wednesday, with casualties reported among its crew, in the latest attack on commercial shipping as violence...