The Republic of Gambia has started to clean up its shipping register and is removing tankers whose registration is deemed illegal from the national flag. According to the US data analysis company Windward, this mainly affects ships that have been registered since 2023 via the internationally oriented but privately managed register. The measure is...
At the beginning of December 2025, the Dutch Financial Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) searched several Damen Shipyards offices and employees' private residences as part of a sanctions investigation. Two directors of the company, aged 39 and 60, were arrested and remanded in custody, as reported by the Dutch television programme Nieuwsuur. The subject of the investigation...
The naval aviators are on the rise: admittedly, it reads like a stereotype. But that's the truth. Following the arrival of the first two Boeing P-8A "Poseidon" and the landing of the very first NH90 "Sea Tiger" in December, the naval aviators in Nordholz are continuing to "swap" the entire "flying fleet". Following the budget committee's decision...
Trump's industry scolding and Hegseth's procurement line At the beginning of January 2026, US President Donald Trump made his criticism of the defence company Raytheon (RTX) public in a social media post. Presumably less focussed on the individual case and more as a deliberate example of a broader problem he had identified: delivery capability and priorities. The accusation: wrong industrial priorities (shareholder value), too little...
London - The British Ministry of Defence is preparing to procure up to four floating dry docks for the maintenance of its nuclear-powered submarine fleet. The Ministry has confirmed that the detailed design and procurement process has yet to be finalised before a contract can be awarded. As soon as these requirements are met, the production order can be placed.
The boarding of the Very Large Crude Carrier tanker "Marinera" (VLCC, ex "Bella 1") in the North Atlantic on 7 January 2026 does not mark a routine case of maritime sanctions enforcement, but a borderline case of international regulatory policy. For the first time, a ship registered under the Russian flag was seized by US forces on the high seas - accompanied by intensive NATO reconnaissance and under quiet...
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