Gulf War Forces Antarctic Expedition Firm to Replace Historic Liner

St. Helena transported passengers and cargo till 2018 as the last long-distance RMS vessel and sailing to the remote British outpost in the middle of the South Atlantic (Burgh House photo)

Published Sep 3, 2026 7:04 PM by The Maritime Executive

The start-up Terra Nova Expeditions announced this week that it has been forced to change plans for its inaugural expedition cruise season to Antarctica. The company had planned to bring back the historic liner St. Helena for a new career as an expedition ship, but was forced to replace the ship, creating an uncertain future.

St. Helena, built at the Appledore Shipyard in the UK and commissioned in 1990, provided a vital service to the island of the same name located more than 1,100 miles west of Africa and became one of the last RMS (Royal Mail Ships) in service. She is 344 feet (105 meters) in length and approximately 6,800 gross tons. She plods along at 14 knots, but her service primarily between Cape Town and Saint Helena, and continued to Ascension Island, was vital to maintaining a link to the outside world before there was an airport. The introduction of air service was her death knell, and despite the protests of her loyal following, St. Helena was retired in 2018.

The historic ship cheated the scrappers, finding a repurposing. She was briefly used as a vessel-based armory in the Gulf of Oman and later sold to the car racing group Extreme E, which used her as a transport for materials and cars. The company extensively renovated the ship in 2022, retrofitting her engines, updating her systems, and refurbishing her cabins and public spaces.

Terra Nova Expeditions emerged in 2025, saying they had chartered the quirky little ship and were refitting her to commence Antarctic voyages in 2026-2027. The first voyage was planned for December 2026. 

The company reported this week that St. Helena is currently unable to reposition from the Persian Gulf in a safe and timely manner for the start of the 2026/2027 Antarctic season due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East. According to her AIS transmissions, the ship, which is currently registered in Djibouti, has been caught in the Dubai area and last reported near Port Rashid in the United Arab Emirates. 

Terra Nova Expeditions said it spent several months working to secure an alternate vessel and has been forced to abandon plans for St. Helena and proceed with an alternate ship. It reports it secured a three-year season charter for the vessel that formerly operated as the Expedition and G Expedition, which it will rechristen Terra Nova Adventurer.

 

Terra Nova Adventurer will be a suitable replacement but is not the quirky St. Helena (Terra Nova Expeditions)

 

The replacement ship has a long history as well, and Terra Nova has the advantage of having an extensive history of expedition cruising in Antarctica, the Arctic, and other remote destinations. She had been sailing for the Canadian company G Adventures since being rebuilt for expedition cruising in 2008. The 6,333 gross ton ship started her life as a passenger car ferry in the Baltic, built in 1972. Currently, she appears to be laid up as the Vestland Adventurer, registered in Liberia.

Terra Nova Expeditions says it will undertake a series of enhancements ahead of the vessel’s first season with the company. Alongside new soft furnishings and décor throughout the ship, the project will include the remodeling of the bar and lounge areas and the addition of a Jacuzzi and new sauna on Deck 5. It reports, “The result will combine the vessel’s established expedition credentials with a refreshed onboard experience aligned with Terra Nova Expeditions’ approach to small-ship polar travel. 

The company says that its Antarctic itineraries and expedition program will continue as planned aboard Terra Nova Adventurer. Under the charter, the ship will remain with the company through the 2028/29 season.

The fate of the historic St. Helena, however, appears uncertain at best. 

 

Red Sea Coastal Battles Intensify Raising New Concerns for Shipping

A display of the Iranian arms shipment intercepted on August 22 by National Resistance Forces on its way to the Houthis (NRF)

Published Sep 3, 2026 10:25 AM by The Maritime Executive

Fighting has intensified on most of the border between Houthi forces in Yemen and the areas held by the internationally recognized government (IRG). The scale of fighting is much worse since an informal ceasefire came into force in March 2022, but has not yet returned to full-scale warfare, largely because the Saudi-led coalition has not fully engaged – although most parties are preparing for the worst.

Probably the principal focus of the current fighting is the coastal strip bordering the eastern side of the Red Sea. To the north and south of Hodeida, the coast is held by the Houthis, including Yemen’s second biggest  port in Hodeida itself, plus Ras Isa, and Salif further north – through which aid reaches the country, but also the arms and munitions which the Houthis need to arm their war machine. The IRG holds a small stretch of the coastline leading up to the Saudi border, and then the coastline south of Hodeida down to the Bab el Mandeb and the entrance to the Red Sea. Most of the islands in the Red Sea remain in the hands of the IRG, save those close-in to the Houthi-held coastal strip. By hanging on to the coast south of Hodeida, the IRG makes smuggling of arms to the Houthis difficult, and also inhibits attacks on ships where the Red Sea, at its southern end, is at its narrowest.

In the current clashes, the Houthis seek to expand their coastal strip – to make it easier to smuggle in goods and attack shipping. The IRG, in contrast, led in this area by the murdered President Ali Saleh’s nephew, Major General Tariq Saleh, is intent on regaining Hodeida, to reduce the Houthis’ access to the outside world.

From the number of funerals being held in the Tihama coastal strip from both sides of the conflict, the fighting appears to have been heavy, with large numbers of casualties attributed to the novel use by both sides of camera- and bomb-equipped drones. But as yet, there appears to have been no substantial change to front-line positions or territory held.

The importance to the Houthis of gaining ground in this area has been demonstrated in recent days by the Houthi’s firing of at least six high-value Fateh-110 ballistic missiles from the Ibb and Ta’izz areas at targets in the IRG territory being defended by General Tariq and his National Resistance Forces (NRF), most notably at the harbor facilities in Mocha, Khawkah, and on the Hanish Islands, as well as front-line positions further inland. General Tariq’s forces claim to have fended off an attack by five Houthi speedboats that were aiming to make a landing on Zuqar Island off Khawkah. The Emiratis built an airfield on this island before they left earlier this year precisely because Red Sea commercial traffic could be interdicted by any force holding the island, using speedboats, mines or missiles. The NRF also on August 22 apparently recovered a very clean (hence only recently sown) Iranian Maham-1 sea mine in the Bab-el Mandeb area, together with a bobby-trapped boat. 

 

The Maham-1 sea mine swept by NRF marine forces in the Bab el Mandeb (NRF) 

 

In an alarming development, the NRF reports that on the same busy day, they intercepted a large consignment of Iranian arms destined for the Houthis on board a dhow in the Red Sea. If this is verified, it suggests that the IRGC arms smugglers of Unit 190 can still slip past the US naval blockade in the Gulf of Aden in small dhows. Or more likely, that they have employed their well-practiced flexibility and use of drug-smuggling routes to find arms shipment corridors to the Horn of Africa, and thence by dhow across the Red Sea.

If the pictures published by the NRF are to be believed, the consignment included complete assemblies and components for at least 25 Mandab-2 anti-ship cruise missiles, which are based on the Iranian Noor/Ghadir missile and in turn upon the Chinese C-802. This is a missile with a range of about 180nm, and was probably the missile used by the Houthis to attack the MV Minervagracht (IMO 9571521) in September 2025.

 

Having such range as well as its own independent active radar terminal guidance, a Mandab-2 missile can be fired from high ground inland, threatening both ships in the lower Red Sea and on the Maritime Security Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden, needing only a cue from a Chinese or Russian imagery satellite.

Warfare between tribes and different parties has been endemic in Yemen for centuries. It becomes relevant for the international maritime community when one side appears intent on improving their ability to attack the shipping of external parties in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, hoping to exploit political leverage out of such attacks as the IRGC is attempting to do in the Strait of Hormuz. As yet, general warfare has still not quite resumed, but when and if it does so, the Saudis are well prepared, lessons having been learned from the last round of the contest. While reluctant to get involved in fighting yet again in Yemen, the Saudis know that with the Strait of Hormuz blocked, their gateway to Asia through the Red Sea must at all costs be kept open.

 

Captain and Third Officer Arrested on Negligent Homicide in Turkish Crash

Tanker Alsu was detained by the Coast Guard with the crew remaining aboard (Istanbul Governor's Office)

Published Sep 4, 2026 12:07 PM by The Maritime Executive

Turkish prosecutors have moved quickly since the early Tuesday morning collision between a tanker and a cargo ship, reporting on Friday that a court has charged the master and third officer of the tanker Alsu with negligent homicide. The captain, who was not on the bridge, and the officer who was on watch were arrested late on Thursday for failing to fulfill the navigational safety obligations and take the necessary measures to prevent the collision.

Prosecutors presented the captain, several officers, and crewmembers to the district court in the Silivri region west of Istanbul on Thursday. Four of the crewmembers were released under court supervision while the captain and third officer were arrested. The authorities had detained a total of nine crewmembers after the collision, with only the ship’s cook not detained.

The preliminary findings of an expert panel that was assembled after the collision provided the basis for the arrest. According to Turkish media reports, the tanker Alsu was in command of a junior third officer who had just joined the vessel and was standing his first watch aboard the tanker. They asserted that he was unfamiliar with the ship’s navigation equipment. Some media reports said a trainee was acting as lookout, while others said there was no helmsman or lookout.

The report cites multiple issues with both vessels. The cargo ship Tugberk Imamoglu was not transmitting an AIS signal. It is unclear if the system was malfunctioning, and the expert panel said the loading condition of the cargo ship should be examined. The ship, which was carrying a cargo of 4,199 tons of rolled steel, is thought to have capsized and sunk within 10 minutes of the collision.

The captain of the Alsu was asleep and, in his testimony, said he awoke after the collision and went to find out what had happened. He is being charged for failing to fulfill his duty of supervision and oversight of navigation safety.

The junior third officer is charged with failing to take necessary measures to prevent the collision. Media reports indicate that about five minutes before the collision, the two ships spoke with each other, setting conditions for passing. Prosecutors said they would be listening to the recording of the conversation, and they have also ordered preservation of the navigation records and other information.

Alcohol tests were conducted, and the media accounts said they were negative. Full blood tests had also been ordered.

The 10 crewmembers from the cargo ship remain missing despite an extensive search and rescue operation. The Turkish Navy reported on Friday that its vessel TCG Akin has located the wreck of the cargo ship. No additional details were provided on its location, depth, or condition. Reports had said the depth in the area is about 900 meters (2,950 feet).

 

IMO Concludes Next Round of Net-Zero Discussions Still Divided

Nearly 1,200 participants registered for the IMO's Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships (IMO)

Published Sep 4, 2026 4:02 PM by The Maritime Executive

The International Maritime Organization completed its next working group session discussing efforts to reach a decarbonization approach still largely divided, and is now aiming for a potential resolution by the end of 2026. Optimists are noticing a productive discussion and less political maneuvering and backstabbing, but the United States and others continued their opposition to the Net Zero Framework, and key issues were deferred to more intersessional discussions or a consequential series of three sessions in late November and early December 2026.

The session came against a backdrop where climate scientists assert that the evidence of the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions is building. Europe and many other parts of the world suffered through a blistering summer of heatwaves, and Nepal is still reeling from what appears to have been a major glacier collapse leading to catastrophic flooding. The United Nations released scientific reports saying the globe would exceed the previously ascribed goal to limit the increase to 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above mid-19th century temperatures, and likely more harsh consequences.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, and primarily other oil-producing states, continued their opposition in the IMO discussions that emerged and led to the deferral of adoption votes. They continue to push to scrap key elements of the Net Zero Framework or call for additions such as different fuels and more pathways. The proposed GCG Fund remains one element of strong opposition even with proposed changes and a renaming.

Other states put forward yet different approaches, such as Liberia, which wants to tie in the availability and affordability of cleaner fuels to the structure. Japan proposed replacing the pricing structure with shipowner-directed contributions, but according to observers in the closed-door sessions, that was “robustly rejected.”

Smaller and island nations continue to push for stricter requirements while many of the individual issues remained open to discussion. Researchers at UCL Energy Institute noted likely efforts to soften the initial Global Fuel Intensity pathway in the NZF as well as broad debate on issues such as pooling and transfer of credits. China put forward a proposal that includes reward payments and could form a single transaction, which was reported to receive broad support.

Observers are saying that it appears at least two-thirds of the states are supporting the approach of a centralized pricing and collection system that also rewards early adopters. At the end of the four days of meetings, it seemed that despite the continued block of opposition, overall, there is no significant support for an alternative to adopting the Net-Zero Framework. 

“Whilst there are many positives to take away,” Dr. Tristan Smith, Professor of Energy and Transport at UCL Shipping and Oceans Research Group, said, “there remains high uncertainty in the extent that both industry’s transition and low-income countries' transitions will be supported. There remains high risk that in the effort to find a creative way forwards, the equilibrium between these two aspects, that enabled the NZF in the first place, is lost to the detriment of the outcome overall.”

The IMO in its official summary also seeks to highlight that there was strong participation, over 1,200 registered for the intersessional working group, and that there was a “genuine willingness within the group to make concrete further progress.” However, while there might have been a hope to come toward a finalized text, they instead spent the four days debating and discussing and were also forced to defer some elements to the next sessions. The lifecycle framework, for example, was not considered and was delayed to the next session.

Summarizing where things stand, UCL concludes that “several key aspects of the negotiation are wide-open and didn’t narrow this week.” It sees as a core question the level of the early transition, how soft it is, and the regulatory tools and support for businesses to manage the changes. It expects the draft documents will evolve more informally and warns, “There could well be twists to come as different concepts are merged together to find common ground.”

The official IMO timeline calls for the intersessional working group to reconvene November 23 for a week of discussions. The following week, MEPC 85 runs from November 30 to December 4, and the extraordinary sessions adjourned in October 2025 resumes on Dember 4, assuming MEPC 85 produces conclusions.

 

Japan Announces First Tranche, $3.8B Investment in Shipbuilders

Imabari Shipbuilding is among the first shipbuilders to receive grants from the Japanese government as part of an effort to grow the industry (Imabari file photo)

Published Sep 4, 2026 6:56 PM by The Maritime Executive

Japan’s Minister of Transport unveiled the government’s first investments in the shipbuilding industry as part of an ambitious plan to dramatically expand the industry. Minister Yasuyuki Kaneko highlighted that shipbuilding is one of 17 priority areas in the government’s growth strategy.

Once one of the leaders in shipbuilding, Japan’s market share has declined dramatically as lower-cost competition emerged in South Korea and China. For 2025, the Japan Ship Exporters’ Association (JSEA) reported total orders of 186 ships totaling just under 9 million gross, which was down 16.5 percent versus 2024. It delivered 191 ships for export, totaling 8.32 million gross tons. Its market share was approximately 9 percent of the global orders.

“The revitalization of Japan's shipbuilding industry is finally getting underway,” said Kaneko speaking with the press on Friday. 

The government’s goal is to double Japan’s shipbuilding volume by 2035. He highlighted that the program will be rolled out in several phases with a total investment of approximately 1 trillion yen ($6.4 billion) coming from a combination of public and private partnerships. The Japanese shipbuilding industry had outlined to the government the critical need for investments, saying it would require government support to reclaim a portion of its lost business.

The first three investments are going to Imabari Shipbuilding, Japan Marine United Corp. and Namura Shipbuilding. The total value is 600 billion yen ($3.8 billion), with the government contributing nearly $1.4 billion.  Japan’s JiJi Press reports that Imabari and its subsidiary Tadotsu Shipyard will receive the largest portion, approximately 114 billion yen ($729 million) in government subsidies. JMU will receive a maximum of 49.4 billion yen ($316 million), while Namura and its subsidiary Hakodate Dock Co. will also get up to 49.9 billion yen.

The companies are meant to use the investment to expand and modernize their plants. One of the focuses is developing advanced technologies for the next generation of advanced ocean shipping.

“These three cases represent just a small portion of the numerous investment plans submitted by various businesses, essentially the first phase,” said Kaneko.

 

Japan Plans to Equip Submarines with Hypersonic Missiles

 The launch in Kobe of the sixth Taigei Class submarine JS S?gei (SS-518) in October 2025 (JMSDF)

Published Sep 4, 2026 2:31 PM by The Maritime Executive

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has presented a preliminary fiscal year 2027 defense budget request to the Diet, the Japanese parliament, which includes reference to an intention to equip Japanese forces with an “underwater-launched,” “high-survivability missile” which can be launched “at an early stage and at long range.” The ambiguous language opens up two possibilities: either a vertically-launched hypersonic ballistic missile, or a torpedo-tube-launched scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile. The key common features of both these types of hypersonic missile systems are their very high speed over long range, giving the target little time to react or evade, as well as the ability to maneuver in flight so as to complicate any attempt to track and intercept the warhead or warheads.

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, Japan’s Navy, has neither the necessary submarines nor hypersonic missiles in service yet, so the budget intent is likely to have a long gestation before the capability can be delivered. The Asia Times notes that Japan has previously described development work on both types of system: the Type 25 hyper-velocity gliding projectile system, with its Block 2B version having a planned range of 1,620nm “at Mach 5 and faster,” and a less advanced project to build a scramjet-powered hypersonic cruise missile.

The latest attack submarine that Japan is deploying is the Taigei Class, which is equipped with 6 533 mm torpedo tubes and thus can already launch subsonic cruise missiles such as the Harpoon UGM-84. Japan has up to now commissioned five Taigei Class submarines, the latest being JS Ch?gei (SS-517), which was launched in March 2026. The Taigei Class was designed from the start to be an operational test bed for the development of new and improved technologies, and each succeeding launch is of an upgraded variant. Incorporating vertical-launch tubes into the Taigei profile is probably a stretch too far however, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have been working on a new design for a diesel-electric attack submarine since December 2023. Notwithstanding Japan’s constitutional limitations, the Japanese Defense Minister Shinjir? Koizumi has openly discussed the need for Japan to have nuclear-powered submarines, which if adopted would mean the future design with vertical launch tubes would conceptually look very similar to that being developed by AUKUS.

 

Kim Jong Un inspects an 8,700-ton submarine under construction, December 2025 (Korean Central News Agency)
 

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was elected with an unusual super-majority on a platform for radically strengthening Japan’s defense posture, being faced with rising threats from China, Russia and North Korea. The drive for submarine-launched hypersonic weapons has particular relevance to the threat posed by North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal – and the likelihood that North Koreas is attempting to develop a submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missile threat. 

North Korea’s Dear Leader Kim Jong Un has already been seen inspecting an 8,700-ton submarine under construction, with analysts unclear whether it is nuclear-powered or has vertically-launching missile tubes in the dorsal fin which looks large enough for the purpose. There is concern in Japan and South Korea that assistance in developing this capability has been the price paid by Russia for North Korean help in the war against Ukraine, cooperation that could end up with North Korea being able to launch a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead from a long-range nuclear-powered submarine.

 

Navigation Warning After Ship Loses 46 Containers in Philippine Waters

Interisland containership lost 46 boxes at sean and then one more in the Manila anchorage (Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp. )

Published Sep 4, 2026 5:23 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Philippine Coast Guard issued a navigational warning for one of its busy shipping lanes after a containership lost 46 boxes overboard in the Batangas region. Surveys were underway to find the containers, while pictures showed that at least one has washed ashore.

The interisland containership Span Asia 39 (8,300 dwt) reported the container loss around 11:00 a.m. local time on September 3 while it was approximately 1.5 nautical miles offshore near Hamilo Point. Built in 2006, the 115-meter (377-foot) ship, which has a capacity of 564 TEU, was acquired by Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp. The company called the ship a "game changer" with a speed of 15 knots for the Manila-Cebu-CDO-Cebu-Manila route.

 

At least one container washed ashore while the Coast Guard is searching for others in the shipping lane (PCG)

 

The ship reported that it encountered rough sea conditions accompanied by heavy and continuous rolling on Thursday morning. As a result, the container lashings loosened. It said that 30 of its 20-foot containers, 11 of its 40-foot containers, and five open containers went overboard. The ship said the containers were empty. It had departed from Davao International Container Terminal on August 31 with 332 containers onboard.

The ship proceeded into the North Manila Anchorage, but while maneuvering there Thursday afternoon, it reported another container fell overboard. This one was reported to have sunk.

The Coast Guard dispatched CGS Cavite to the area where the containers were lost, and it deployed a drone. BRP Malapascua, the multi-purpose response vessel, was also proceeding to the area. It will be aiding in the search and drift-tracking as they look for any other boxes that might still be afloat.

 

UK Confirms Sale of HMS Bulwark to Brazilian Navy

Bulwark, once flagship of the fleet, arriving in Gibraltar (Royal Navy)

Published Sep 4, 2026 6:16 PM by The Maritime Executive

A United Kingdom navy ship that was instrumental in the evacuation of civilians from Beirut in 2006 and active from 2005 to 2016 is ending its service with the Royal Navy. The Ministry of Defence confirmed the long-rumored transfer of HMS Bulwark to Brazil.

The HMS Bulwark (L15) is one of two Albion Class amphibious assault ships whose fate has been the subject of speculation. Both ships have been out of service for years, undergoing life-extension overhauls with the British government committing significant investments in their upgrade program.

For Bulwark, which was commissioned in 2005, the government has spent a total of $100 million on her midlife upgrade project that is nearing completion. The revitalization program has involved the modernization of its command and control systems, upgrades to communications equipment, and a full overhaul of its propulsion and power generation systems. The aim was to extend her operational service life by another two decades.

Instead of returning the landing platform dock ship to service with the Royal Navy, the UK’s Defense Ministry has now ended the speculation by confirming she is being sold to the Brazilian Navy. While the government did not reveal the price at which the ship was sold, reports indicate it was sold at only $26 million. The same fate is likely to befall her sister ship, Albion, which remains moored at the Devonport naval base pending disposal.

The MoD asserts the disposal of the two ships was part of the government’s plan to modernize navy ships. It highlights the effort to transition to a hybrid Navy, which it says will be anchored by a £1.5 billion ($2 billion) Defense Investment Plan.

A new £2.4 billion ($3.2 billion) deal has since been signed in partnership with the Netherlands for construction of a fleet of eight next-generation amphibious transport ships that will replace the capability provided by the Albion class. At 160 meters (525 feet) in length and displacing 15,000 tonnes, the new vessels will be capable of transporting troops, vehicles and equipment, including drones, wherever they are needed. 

 

Bulwark passing her sister Albion in December 2016 when she ended active service (Royal Navy)

 

Bulwark, which is 176 meters (577 feet) long, displaces 18,500 tonnes, and has capacity for 700 military personnel, is being sold after an illustrious service with the Royal Navy. The ship’s core roles were amphibious deployments, humanitarian missions, and multinational exercises. It is credited for her role in Operation Highbrow that involved the evacuation of British citizens during the 2006 Lebanon crisis. Other critical missions included providing maritime security for the Sailing Regatta at the London 2012 Olympics and counter-piracy operations in the Horn of Africa. Bulwark was also involved in various naval exercises and served as the Royal Navy’s Fleet Flagship between 2011 and 2015.

“HMS Bulwark served this country and our allies with distinction for over two decades, and I’m pleased that she will continue her story in Brazilian service, with a nation that has long stood alongside us as a defense partner,” said Lord Coaker, UK Minister of State for Defense.

The ship was ordered to stand down at the end of 2016, entering a period of Extended Readiness scheduled to run until 2021. For the next two years, until 2023, she was scheduled to undergo her overhaul and modernization. Critics now question the investments in the ships, which have never returned to service.

When she enters service with the Brazilian Navy, the ship is expected to be primarily deployed in operations in the Blue Amazon region, where she will be useful for a wide variety of both military and humanitarian aid operations supporting the civil community.

This is not the first time the UK has sold naval hardware to Brazil. The multipurpose aircraft carrier, NAM Atlântico (A140), which is the flagship and largest warship in the Brazilian Navy, was acquired from the UK at a cost of $84 million in 2018.

 

COSCO Calls Allegations of “Intelligence Collection” False and Unfounded

Vessels from COSCO and its subsidiary OOCL dock in the Port of Long Beach

Published Sep 4, 2026 1:42 PM by The Maritime Executive

COSCO Shipping issued a strongly worded statement saying it “firmly opposes” false and unfounded claims by “certain media” alleging its ships have hidden equipment for the purpose of intelligence collection. Its strong statement followed a similarly strong response to Reuters from the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., after it ran a story saying two unnamed senior Trump administration officials made the allegations.

The state-owned shipping company said it strongly opposed any acts that try to “undermine our corporate brand and hinder our global operations through dissemination of false or misleading information.” It cited its legal rights to protect its reputation and business interests.

A shipping major, COSCO has grown rapidly and continues to place large orders for new ships. It ranks as the world’s fourth-largest container carrier with 566 ships and a capacity of over 3.6 million TEU, according to AlphaLiner. COSCO also has operations in dry bulk and tankers.

In an exclusive story released by Reuters on September 1, unnamed Trump administration officials reported that COSCO ships have concealed equipment to intercept military communications near the coastline. They asserted that the data collection effort was being done for the Chinese government to collect communication signals from vessels and aircraft operating across Europe, North America, and Asia. The article asserts that the information permits the Chinese to monitor key shipping lanes and maritime routes crucial for trade and military navigation.

The officials, Reuters reports, asserted the COSCO vessels have “’sophisticated signals intelligence collection platforms,’ not routine communications hardware.”

COSCO responded by saying, “All communication, navigation, safety and operational equipment installed on our vessels is used solely for legitimate commercial purposes, including navigation safety, ship-to-shore communications and emergency response. None of the equipment on board our vessels is used for intercepting military communications or gathering intelligence as alleged in the report.”

It is not the first time the U.S. has asserted that COSCO has ties with the Chinese military. The U.S. Department of Defense, on its annual listing of companies linked to China’s military, added COSCO Shipping and two of its subsidiaries, as well as other companies including the Chinese oil company CNOOC, to the designation in January 2025. It is largely a symbolic move but could be used to urge companies not to do business with the Chinese companies.

The allegations come as the Trump administration continues to seek to challenge China. Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping, however, are also scheduled for a summit in Washington, D.C., this month after the two leaders met in China in May 2026.

It is also the latest in a series of assertions of Chinese spying. In 2023 and 2024, there were repeated allegations that the large Chinese-manufactured cargo cranes used in ports around the world could collect information or “call home.” Multiple groups dismissed the claims, but it led to a renewed effort to reshore crane manufacturing capabilities in the United States. The Trump administration included the Chinese-manufactured cranes on its tariff lists, along with an effort to charge fees for Chinese-built or operated ships calling in U.S. ports. 

 

GAO Critical of US Navy Saying Submarines Are Idle Due to Shipyard Logjam

GAO says backlog means submarines are idle too long or cannot be decommissioned (USN)

Published Sep 4, 2026 7:26 PM by The Maritime Executive

Too many of the U.S. Navy's attack submarines are sitting idle across shipyards awaiting maintenance and decommissioning, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report highlights the challenges, saying it is impacting operational readiness and costing billions of dollars in lost productivity.

GAO is once again putting the U.S. Navy in the spotlight with its latest audit report focusing on attack submarines. It asserts that over the past decade, idle time has become the “buzzword” owing to submarines' inability to secure yard space for maintenance. For boats that have reached end of life and are awaiting decommissioning, it similarly asserts that shipyards are unable to start the process due to lack of capacity.

In the report, GAO is highlighting that the Navy has lost more than 15,000 operational days due to maintenance delays and idle time on active submarines over the last 10 years. The delays have resulted in an estimated $3.4 billion in costs to sustain crews and submarines that provided no operational capability. Another $3.1 billion is being swallowed due to decommissioning delays.

The U.S. Navy operates a fleet of 44 attack submarines. The 20 Los Angeles class and 24 Virginia class boats typically enter an extensive depot maintenance period, often lasting 24 to 36 months at a certain period during their life cycle.

Currently, the four public naval shipyards, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Puget Sound, and Pearl Harbor, as well as two private yards, General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries, are responsible not only for building new submarines but also for providing depot maintenance and decommissioning work for the 44 boats.

The shipyards are operating under extreme pressure, a reality that has seen the Navy’s submarine maintenance backlog persist since 2008, the outcome of which is 15,000 operational days being lost and $3.4 billion wasted, say the GAO, due to the shipyards' inability to undertake the maintenance. The situation has gotten worse over the past decade, with the Navy only managing to complete about 11 percent of depot maintenance on time at public yards.

The Navy’s predicament is being exacerbated by submarines awaiting decommissioning that must sit idle because shipyards cannot commence the process, which includes availing dry docking capacity to defuel the boats' nuclear reactors. On this, the U.S is performing spectacularly poorly, with the situation only bound to worsen, says the GAO. Over the past five years, the Navy incurred 2,216 days of idle time on seven submarines awaiting decommissioning, with costs amounting to more than $480 million.

GAO is highlighting that without mitigation, 15 submarines are expected to enter inactive idle time over the next four years. Over the period, the Navy is set to incur more than 14,000 days of inactive idle time and $3.1 billion in costs.

The Los Angeles-class submarine USS Pasadena (SSN-752) is currently a poster child of the quagmire facing the Navy in terms of decommissioning. The boat entered inactive idle status in January last year and is not expected to be moved into Norfolk Naval for decommissioning until November 2028, whopping 1,414 days, due to shipyard capacity constraints. Though idle, the sub remains fully crewed. For the four years it will remain in inactive idle status, Pasadena is expected to incur $300 million in costs.

“The U.S. Navy has not fully evaluated alternative options to more efficiently decommission attack submarines and develop and implement an inactivation plan that could allow them to reduce inactive idle time for crews and save billions,” stated GAO.

The report, which is prepared for Congress, seeks to explore the extent to which the U.S. Navy has effectively maintained its attack submarine fleet and what it is doing to mitigate challenges. Apart from maintenance and decommissioning, the report also shows the Navy is grappling with delays in the building of new boats, the effect of which is fewer boats for deployment.  

Construction of the new Virginia-class submarines is a case in point. As of June 2025, only one boat is being built per year against a target of two. Though the Navy received delivery of two boats of the class last year, both were over three years late.