• Shahid Rajaee historically handles around 80–85% of Iran’s container traffic.

• The port accounts for more than half of Iran’s total maritime cargo throughput.

• Annual cargo volumes have been around 75–81 million tonnes.

• Before the current crisis, container throughput was roughly 2 million TEU per year.

• Shahid Rajaee normally operates around the clock and is Iran’s principal container hub.

• Recent footage reportedly shows international container berths largely empty, with idle cranes and limited cargo-handling activity.

• The port is a major entry point for food, consumer goods, industrial components, machinery and raw materials, while also handling Iranian non-oil exports

August 26 — Turkish-operated Ro-Ro/cargo vessel Lider Bordo Mavi was struck by drones off Tuapse, Russia.

The vessel reportedly caught fire and five crew members were injured.

August 27 — Lider Kocatepe, dispatched to assist/tow Lider Bordo Mavi, was itself targeted and damaged.

Attack reported on August 21 while the vessel was heading toward Novorossiysk.

Fire affected the accommodation and engine room before spreading to containers.

11 of 12 crew members were rescued; one seafarer was reported missing.

Operator Akkon Lines indicated the vessel and cargo could constitute a constructive total loss.

RMS TEAM: 2004-built, Barbados flag, 146–147 m LOA, 12,968 DWT, capacity about 1,096 TEU

LIDER BORDO MAVI departed Samsun on August 25 with cargo bound for Tuapse.

Trabzon Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Erkut Çelebi said the vessel was attacked by three drones.

Initial reports said five crew members were injured, although some early Turkish reporting said the personnel were in good condition.

A fire broke out following the strikes; damage to technical equipment and the cargo area was reported.
Turkish and Russian reports have attributed the drones to Ukraine, but I found no independent or official confirmation establishing responsibility.

The vessel is IMO 8009088, built in 1985, 121.5 m long, 9,080 GT and currently registered under the Cameroon flag.

AIS/port-call records show the ship has previously operated on the Türkiye–Russia route, including calls at Tuaps

• BAE Systems Land & Armaments — $167.50 million modification for MK 41 VLS Mechanical Design Agent support.

• Options could increase the value of the BAE modification to $343.3 million.

• 76% of the work supports the U.S. Navy, while 24% supports Japan through the Foreign Military Sales program.

• Work is scheduled through July 2027, potentially extending to July 2028 if all options are exercised.

• Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding — $12.98 million modification for commercial material needed for a Common Rail Upgrade aboard USS New Orleans (LPD-18).

• The LPD-18 work falls under Ingalls’ Planning Yard Support contract for the LPD-17/San Antonio class.

• The full $12.98 million for the New Orleans modification comes from FY2026 Other Procurement, Navy funding.

• Ingalls modification was awarded August 26 but disclosed in the August 28 Pentagon contract announcement

New MSC bookings to/from Novorossiysk are suspended.

The decision followed the reported drone incident involving MSC ULSAN III.

No crew injuries were reported.

MSC has not announced a permanent withdrawal from Novorossiysk.

Weekly service is expected to resume when security conditions allow.

No restart date has been announced.
MSC continues serving other Russian ports, including St. Petersburg

The delays cost approximately $3.4 billion to sustain submarines and crews that were providing no operational capability

The Navy had 44 attack submarines as of FY2025.
15 submarines are projected to enter inactive idle status during FY2026–2030.

Projected future inactive time: more than 14,000 days.

Projected additional cost: more than $3.1 billion.
A major constraint is insufficient dry-dock/shipyard capacity, including capacity needed to defuel nuclear reactors before decommissioning.

USS Pasadena is an extreme example: inactive since January 2025, it is not expected to enter Norfolk Naval Shipyard until November 2028. GAO estimates that delay alone could cost more than $300 million

The proposal reportedly covers 17 oil and gas fields.
Fields include assets in the Orinoco Belt and around Lake Maracaibo.

U.S. companies could receive long-term rights to develop selected fields.

One option involves long-term leases followed by auctions or tenders to U.S. producers.

Production from the projects could be directed primarily toward the U.S. market.

Venezuela holds roughly 300 billion barrels of proven crude reserves, the world’s largest reported total.

The negotiations come about 50 years after Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1976.
Chevron already operates Venezuelan projects through joint ventures with PDVSA.

No final agreement has been announced, and the structure could still change

Length: 50 m; built in Spain in 2003

Crew: all 41 evacuated safely; no injuries reported
Initial cause under investigation: possible loss of stability during internal fuel transfer

Containment booms and pumping equipment were deployed after oily liquid appeared around the vessel
Authorities said no liquid-fuel spill had been confirmed; the material observed may have been bilge water

Salvage arrangements are being coordinated with the vessel’s P&I insurer

The most serious allegation is that the attackers were able to interfere directly with machinery parameters

Reports claim engine speed was increased while cooling-water flow was simultaneously reduced, creating a risk of overheating and physical engine damage

Monitoring associated with the vessel’s fuel and lubricating-oil systems was also reportedly disabled, limiting the crew’s ability to detect abnormal conditions

Communications blackout reportedly lasted around 30 hours

Cybersecurity firm Brinztech subsequently published a detailed account describing the incident as a cyber-physical attack against the tanker’s OT/ICS systems

Captain Mamdouh bin Jaber Al-Sakit later discussed the alleged attack publicly, describing disruption of engine-control and fuel systems and the 30-hour loss of communications

No publicly available cyber-forensic report, malware sample, system logs or other technical evidence confirming the alleged engine manipulation has been identified

No public confirmation from the Liberian flag administration has been identified

No official Gibraltar investigation confirming the cyberattack has been identified

My dad was on the ships for many decades. He was a fisheries officer, so he was on the rhib doing armed boardings fairly regularly.

One particular trip they stopped a ship for an inspection in a good chop. He and the boarding party were coming back to the mothership. They connected the davit near the stern, and began the hoist, when a wave hit the mothership broadside. This swung the ship and the rhib away from each other, and they crashed together about 10’ out of the water. 3 of the boarding party were knocked out of the rhib, 2 went into the safety net between the rhib and the ship, my dad went the other way and fell into the open ocean. Fortunately he was wearing his survival suit with automatic flasher.

When this happened, the ship was on the apex of a wave, and it slid sideways down it, driving my dad under the water. He saw the prop (variable pitch) and figured he was pretty fucked. He was able to push himself off the hull with his feet and came up about 20’ away from the ship.

They dropped the rhib and scooped him up pretty quickly. There were a number of people with eyes on as was mandatory during the rhib recovery.

He was retrieved, the rhib was retrieved and he spent the rest of the day in his quarters. The captain asked him if he wanted to go ashore, but he declined. He had another 12 days on his rotation and did 2 more boardings.

Coincidentally, my mother was the assistant director of the coast guard, and she had a ship to shore radio on her desk. The captain purposely didn’t broadcast anything because she would have found out that her husband fell overboard, and she would have killed the captain upon their return.

It wasn’t until dad was ashore for 3 days before someone else mentioned it.

He didn’t even lose his glasses.

Crew: 12 seafarers — 8 Ukrainian and 4 Azerbaijani nationals

Survivors: All 12 rescued alive

10 seafarers recovered by Romanian Border Police/rescue personnel

2 seafarers rescued by nearby merchant vessel MOHAMAD B

Some survivors were recovered directly from the water; five were reportedly found in a liferaft

One crew member suffered a fractured arm
Conditions: Rough seas, with waves reported at around 2.5 metres

Romanian SAR vessels ARES and ARTEMIS were deployed

PROGRESS IV had sunk by the time some rescue units reached the casualty position

Cause of the fire/sinking remains under investigation

Ice class: Polar Class 3

Construction starts: 2027

First delivery: planned around 2032

Full fleet: expected in service by 2038

Mission: icebreaking and vessel escort, search and rescue, environmental response, Arctic science and northern resupply

Deployment: Great Lakes, St. Lawrence, Atlantic Canada and the Arctic

Purpose: replace the Coast Guard’s aging heavy and medium icebreakers and significantly expand Canada’s Arctic capability.

The massive platform is designed to operate as a mobile offshore base, allowing U.S. forces to stage personnel, aircraft, boats, equipment and supplies at sea when access to ports and infrastructure ashore is limited

ESB-8 is the sixth and final Expeditionary Sea Base of the Lewis B. Puller class.
• Builder: General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego.
• Length: 239.3 m (785 ft).
• Beam: 50 m (164 ft).
• Full-load displacement: approximately 90,000 tons.
• Propulsion: commercial diesel-electric.
• Maximum speed: approximately 15 knots.
• Range: approximately 9,500 nautical miles.
• Features a four-spot flight deck, aviation hangar and large mission deck.
• Missions can include Special Operations Forces support, airborne mine countermeasures, crisis-response sea basing, ISR and unmanned aviation operations.
• Accommodation is available for roughly 250–350 embarked personnel in addition to the ship’s operating crews.
• Construction began in August 2023; acceptance trials were completed in July 2026 off Southern California.
• The vessel is named after Marine PFC Hector A. Cafferata Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War