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The tanker shipping company Stena Bulk announced that the 'Stena Imperator' has been officially registered under the Swedish flag. This followed the reflagging of the Suezmax tanker 'Stena Superior' in Shenzhen in September 2026. These were the fourth and fifth reflaggings completed under the program Stena Bulk announced in July 2025 to bring vessels into the Swedish Register of Shipping. The 'Stena Imperator's reflagging was completed on Oct 11 in San Francisco. The product and chemical tanker was built by the Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (GSI) and delivered in 2017. It was the first vessel of Stena Bulk's IMOIIMAX design to join the programme, which was designed to strengthen Sweden's maritime sector and its competitiveness as a flag state, support the country's national preparedness and strategic resilience, and create opportunities for Swedish seafarers. It followed recent reforms that have made the Swedish register more competitive, including the removal of stamp duty, a competitive tonnage tax and an improved Ship Register. Report with photo: https://www.marinelink.com/news/stena-bulk-registers-fourth-fifth-vessels-543622

The 'Sea Owl 1', which has been moored outside Trelleborg since March 12, was allowed to leave its anchorage in pos. 55° 17' N 013° 04' E, and sail on, after the Swedish Transport Agency decided to lift the sailing ban on Oct 12. The tanker has now been flagged in Equatorial Guinea. The ship was seized due to lack of seaworthiness and a violation of maritime law as it did not have a flag state at the time, by flying a false flag in the Comoros. In May, the vessel stated that it had reflagged to Cameroon, which also turned out to be a false statement. The Swedish Transport Agency now confirmed that the vessel has been registered in Equatorial Guinea's ship register. Flying a false flag, twice in addition, was playing a major role in the safety of shipping lanes and along the coasts, according to the Coast Guard's Deputy Chief of Operations, Daniel Stenling. The 'Sea Owl 1' was on the EU sanctions list but is not suspected of any sanctions violations. Two captains on board have been investigated in several rounds for various crimes, including using a false document. All preliminary investigations have been closed. The tanker left the anchorage off Trelleborg on Oct 12 and headed towards the Baltic Sea with the status "for orders". The 'Caffa', which was boarded on March 6, has been seized by the Police Authority and remained berthed in the port of Trelleborg. Another vessel, ther 'Jin Hui', has been anchored on Trelleboard roads since May 3 with a sailing ban. The Coast Guard continued to cooperate closely with the Swedish Transport Agency and the Police Authority.

The 'Merna 2' was forced to enter the Port of Ostend on Sep 22, 2026, following an inspection that revealed a series of deficiencies on board. The Port of Ostend was currently hosting the ship, which did not comply with regulations. In 2025, it also spent a considerable amount of time in detention in Antwerp. It was not known when the ship would be allowed to sail again, and it remained stationary as of Oct 13. Report with photos: https://focus-wtv.be/nieuws/groot-roll-on-roll-off-schip-merna-2-al-bijna-20-dagen-aan-de-ketting

The 'Sarocha Naree' was detained in Port Kembla, New South Wales, on Oct 9, 2026, with one defiency: 15150 - ISM - ISM (no responsibility of RO). The ship was released again on Oct 12.

South Korea has completed its first commercial round trip to Europe via the Arctic alternative shipping route with the 'PanStar Acro', which docked in the port of Busanon Oct 11, 2026, after the 50-day test voyage. The voyage took slightly longer than the planned 45 days. The freighter had departed Busan on Aug 22 with significantly fewer containers than its intended capacity for the test voyage through the so-called Northeast Passage. Later, the ship, carrying cargo including chemicals and used cars, stopped in Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Gdansk. With this test voyage, the South Korean government had assessed the feasibility of the Arctic route for commercial shipping. Seoul was aiming to establish the Arctic Passage as a new trade route in the long term and develop Busan into an international logistics hub.