Category Archives: Merchant Marine

Coast Guard Rolls Out New Cyber Strategy

Coast Guard Rolls Out New Cyber Strategy

Coast Guard commandant Adm. Paul Zunkuft

Coast Guard commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft

The commandant of the Coast Guard says cyber “is going to be a domain as natural as breathing” that offers a host of challenges to the private and public sector, and the first step in meeting those challenges is understanding “the need to defend your cyber space.” Read More

Iran Releases Maersk Tigris

Iran Releases Maersk Tigris

An undated image of M/V Maersk Tigris

An undated image of M/V Maersk Tigris

The Iranian government released merchant ship M/V Maersk Tigris after being detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) in the Strait of Hormuz on April 28, both the Iranian government and the Maersk shipping company annouced on Thursday. Read More

U.S. Navy Ships Will Accompany American Merchant Ships Through Strait of Hormuz to Prevent IRGCN Harassment

U.S. Navy Ships Will Accompany American Merchant Ships Through Strait of Hormuz to Prevent IRGCN Harassment

120820-N-YF306-284 GULF OF ADEN (Aug. 20, 2012) The guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) approaches the Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier M/V Belde in response to a medical-related distress call issued by the vessel. Winston S. Churchill is assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 150, conducting counter-terrorism and maritime security operations in the Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Red Sea and Indian Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Chase/Released)

Guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) approaches M/V Belde in the Gulf of Aden in 2012. US Navy Photo

Following the Tuesday seizure of the M/V Maersk Tigris, U.S. Navy warships will now accompany American flagged merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz to prevent harassment Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy patrol boats, a U.S. defense official told USNI News on Thursday. Read More

Delegation Calls for More Philippine Merchant Marine Officers, Help from U.S.

Delegation Calls for More Philippine Merchant Marine Officers, Help from U.S.

An undated photo pf President of the The Philippines Benigno Aquino visiting a bridge simulator at the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy

An undated photo pf President of the The Philippines Benigno Aquino visiting a bridge simulator at the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy

As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was preparing to speak before a joint session of Congress on expanding trade in the Pacific, a delegation of legislators and businessmen from the Philippine maritime industry were meeting with transportation officials and would later meet with their American counterparts to find means to better educate their ratings and put more officers aboard the world’s merchant fleet. Read More

From the East India Company to Disney to the Cola Wars: A Brief Collection of Non-State Navies

From the East India Company to Disney to the Cola Wars: A Brief Collection of Non-State Navies

Ships on the high seas can largely be split between two major caregories, merchant ships that connect countries through commerce and national navies formed to ensure that trade continues to flow.

However, in the margins between those two broad groups are fleets that have sought to influence international policy and politics independent of a national flag — non-state navies. Read More

Iran Seizes Marshall Islands Ship Maersk Tigris; U.S. Destroyer On Station

Iran Seizes Marshall Islands Ship Maersk Tigris; U.S. Destroyer On Station

An updated photo of Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy patrol vessels. FARS News Photo

An updated photo of Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy patrol vessels. FARS News Photo

Iranian navy vessels shot at a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz and directed it further into Iranian territorial waters, the Pentagon confirmed. U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) has sent aircraft to observe and directed USS Farragut (DDG-99) to monitor the situation.
Read More

Ship Used to Destroy Syria’s Chemical Weapons Returns to U.S.

Ship Used to Destroy Syria’s Chemical Weapons Returns to U.S.

A helicopter approaches the container ship MV Cape Ray (T-AKR 9679) in the Mediterranean Sea to drop off cargo Aug. 4, 2014. US Navy Photo

A helicopter approaches the container ship MV Cape Ray (T-AKR 9679) in the Mediterranean Sea to drop off cargo Aug. 4, 2014. US Navy Photo

The ship put into swift service to destroy the chemical weapons of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has returned to Norfolk, Va. after eight months at sea, an official at the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More