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On Oct 8, 2026, the USA imposed sanctions on 22 tankers and several individuals and companies linked to Iran’s oil trade. The U.S. Treasury Department designated 17 vessels and their associated companies under Operation Economic Outcast, while the State Department announced sanctions against another five vessels, ten entities and six individuals involved in trading Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products. The sanctions target vessels operating under flags from more than a dozen jurisdictions, with ownership spread across companies registered in the Marshall Islands, Hong Kong, China, the British Virgin Islands and elsewhere. Among the vessels newly designated by Treasury was the 'Shenzen', which allegedly has transported more than 3.5 million barrels of Iranian crude since November 2025. The 'Tina 5' (IMO: 9237761) allegedly transported more than 1.5 million barrels of Iranian crude in August alone. Other vessels targeted in the action have carried naphtha, fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas, methanol and other petrochemical products to markets across Asia and the Middle East. Among them were the 'Starway' (IMO: 9273246), which has transported more than three million barrels of Iranian naphtha since 2025, and the 'King Chain' (IMO: 9277761), which has carried several million barrels of Iranian methanol to China since 2023. The designations also cover the companies behind the vessels, targeting the ownership and operating networks used to move Iranian cargoes through international markets. The department also removed two vessels, the 'Hakuna Matata' (IMO: 9354167) and 'Pinocchio' (IMO: 9400112), from its sanctions list after determining that they had left Iran’s shadow fleet and were sold to operators not subject to sanctions.

The Odisha High Court in India has ordered the repatriation of 23 crew members who were aboard the detained 'Unity' on Oct 6, 2026. The vessel was arrested in May after multiple maritime claims were filed against it, including bunker dues amounting to around $413,000. It is Cameroon-flagged and lists FMTC Ship Charter LLC as its owner. The Odisha High Court ordered the repatriation of the 23 crew members on board since the detention. The court treated the case as one of seafarer abandonment because the crew members’ salaries had not been paid. The court order directed the relevant authorities to arrange the safe disembarkation of all 23 crew members and to arrange for a replacement crew so that the vessel remained properly manned and maintained. The order further directs that these actions preferably be completed within three weeks, with the costs to be recovered from the shipowner or other liable parties. The 23 crew members consisted of 20 Russian nationals, one Kazakh national, and two Egyptian nationals. The Russian Embassy in India had been in talks with the central and regional governments regarding the return of the Russian crew members.

An inspection in Burgas Bay found a small crack in the hull of rhe ' Kairos' about 1.5 metres above the waterline. Divers found no holes below the waterline of the tanker, which was hit by a drone and was anchored in Burgas Bay. Stoyan Dimitrov, head of the "Friends of the Sea – Burgas" association, who took part in the inspection, said that no fuel or lubricants are leaking from the ship. No one had checked the hull below the waterline until start of October, and nothing was known about its condition. The association's divers used their own equipment. The Burgas regional administration and the Burgas Maritime Administration helped. Two teams of divers took part. One checked the anchor, which was lying at a depth of about 35–40 metres, and the anchor chain, about 150–200 metres long, which was resting on the seabed. The divers wanted to see whether the anchor system was damaged, as the ship has stayed in one place for a long time. The second team went around the whole hull, mostly the stern, where the drone hit the tanker, looking for damaged areas. It also checked other parts below the waterline. All the underwater work was filmed. Such checks will go on until a lasting solution is found for the ship. Regional governor Diko Dikov and Anestiev thanked the association and the crew of Maritime Administration rescue boat No. 2. Report with photos: https://burgasmedia.com/amp/news/vodolazi-ne-otkriha-proboyni-pod-vodoliniyata-na-udareniya-ot-dron-tanker-kayros?lang=en

Salvamento Marítimo saved 125 people on the night of Oct 7 from an inflatable boat, about 58 nautical miles northeast of Lanzarote. The alert was received from the boat itself, reporting water ingress and difficulties in navigating. The search involved the collaboration of several merchant vessels. The ' Salvamar Acrux' and 'Salvamar Al Nair' transported the migrants, among th3m 99 men, four women and 22 minors, to Arrecife. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/2108114313986572395

Personal effects found ashore in Orkney originated from the crew of the 'Genesis'. A few days after the grounding, a substantial amount of material from her began washing up in Orkney, including some personal effects. The agents for the vessel and crew were keen to see any personal items reunited with their owners. Photos: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DW5MSm8yC/

The 'Volga 4007', with 13 crew members on board, including ten Indian nationals and three citizens of Azerbaijan, was hit by four drones while leaving Novorossiysk on Aug 20, 2026. The superstructure caught fire and burnt out. The crew was evacuated, and wreck was towed to the coast of Trabzon and anchored offshore. The ship was affiliated with Turkish shipping companies. The damaged ship arrived off the coast of Trabzon and anchored in October. The 'Reyhan Sarı' had also been targeted by a drone attack off the coast of Novorossiysk. One crew member lost his life, and two others were injured in that attack. Following the evacuation of the injured, the damaged ship arrived in Trabzon too. Another vessel attacked in the Black Sea was the LPG tanker 'Gas Nero'. A fire broke out at the ship's bow following the attack, and the vessel headed to waters off Trabzon for safety reasons, where it remained anchored for a time. The Ro-Ro ship 'Lider Bordo-Mavi' was also targeted by a drone attack off the coast of Tuapse. A fire broke out on board following the attack, and five crew members were injured. The ship subsequently was towed to the Port of Trabzon. Report with photo: https://www.seanews.com.tr/article/named-volga-4007-attacked-by-drone-mukyj71d

Rescuers recovered three bodies from the 'Filo Jet' from waters off Kyrenia on the afternoon of Oct 7, bringing the total to 26. The body was the 6th recovered since the weekend. Two of the ferry’s original 259 passengers remained unaccounted for, 38 days after the vessel sank shortly after leaving Kyrenia’s new port for the port of Tasucu on Aug 30. A body recovered on Oct 5 had been identified as Orhan Bekret. Work was continued to identify the three bodies recovered last. Search efforts were to proceed with the same determination until all the missing persons have been found. The nine people who were arrested following the sinking, the captain Mustafa Oz, seven crew members and a representative of the ferry’s operating company, Filo Denizcilik, remained in custody and most recently appeared in court on Oct 2. At a previous hearing, the court was told that a crack had appeared on the side of the vessel almost two months before it sank. Photographs recovered from the first mate’s mobile phone indicated that repairs were carried out on June 17. The court heard that Oz and the crew carried out the repairs at a port in Cyprus without informing the Turkish Cypriot authorities, despite Oz and Filo Denizcilik being required to notify them in such circumstances. The repairs took place just 15 days after Istanbul-based ship classification firm Turk Loydu had certified the vessel as seaworthy.

The 'Guardamar Urania' rescued 76 boat people among them eight women and two minors. on the early morning of Oct 9 from a rubber dinghy, and transferred them to Arrecife, where they arrived at approximately 1.20 a.m. LT. The operation was coordinated by the CCS Las Palmas of Salvamento Marítimo. Controllers fromthe CCS Las Palmas also mobilised the 'Salvamar Acrux', which located a precarious boat about seven nautical miles east of Corralejo. It rescued the 60 people aboard and transferred them to the Port of Arrecife, where they arrived at approximately 6 a.m. LT. Photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/2108442616610119836

On the morning of Oct 6, the salvage tug 'Aigaion Pelagos' (IMO: 9477012), assisted by the 'Platytera' (IMO: 9439278), started towing the 'Blue Carrier II' from the coast of Tinos to the ONEX shipyards in Elefsina. The fire has now been fully extinguished, and no new hotspots have been detected. The convoy arrived at Elefsina on the morning of Oct 7. The fire, the cause of which remained unknown, caused extensive damage to the ship’s two upper decks as well as to the vehicles located on them. It had started in a truck located in garage number 4 on Sep 25 at 8.57 a.m., when the ship was sailing 4.5 nautical miles north of Mykonos. Once the ferry was safely moored at the shipyard, the unloading process commenced in order to inspect the ship, investigate the causes of the fire and assess the extent of the damage. Reports with photos and video: https://rodoslivenews24.gr/blue-carrier-2-prosdethike-sta-nafpigeia-elefsinas/?fbclid=Iwb21leAU1ZAdjbGNrBTVkAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHBkb2YFc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEesibHMKPrdgMY7JXva0Pnlv0tFy3cgvRnANCN-VqVNaDh5nc_Lm3zuuLg7XQ_aem_AW_xkPf6_e18xt--a9QlUA https://www.alphatv.gr/koinonia/to-blue-carrier-2-eftase-stin-elefsina/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm3q4RZsWGg&source_ve_path=MjE0Mjgz&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.alphatv.gr%2F

Salvamento Marítimo saved 125 people on the night of Oct 7 from an inflatable boat, about 58 nautical miles northeast of Lanzarote. The alert was received from the boat itself, reporting water ingress and difficulties in navigating. The search involved the collaboration of several merchant vessels. The 'Salvamar Acrux' and 'Salvamar Al Nair' transported the migrants, among th3m 99 men, four women and 22 minors, to Arrecife. Also on Oct 7, the 'Salvamar al Nair' assisted a rubber boat with 78 people, among them 64 adults, 12 women, and two minors, of Sub-Saharan origin, all of them in apparent good health, 78 nautical miles northeast of Lanzarote. They were transferred to Arrecife. The response was coordinated by the CCS Las Palmas of Salvamento Marítimo. Reports with photo and video: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/2108114313986572395 https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/2108219390898376733

The SAR helicopter Helimer 402 has evacuated an 82-year-old British passenger from the 'Celebrity Apex', enroute from Southampton, UK, to Leixoes, on Oct 8. As the ship was saili g 425 kilometres off the Spanish coast, the CCS Fisterra of Salvamento Marítimo has coordinated the operation to be carried out at a closer point, 333 kilometres away. The patient was hoisted aboard and transferred to Alvedro for further medical treatment.

A formal submission has been made to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague regarding the attack carried out on the 'Reyhan Sarı' in the Black Sea on July 22, which resulted in the death of the Turkish boatswain Savaş Çakar, 54. Attorney Nuri Koray Kurun, Founding Partner of the Memişoğlu Kurun Law Firm, stated that an application had been filed with the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, and that evidence had been submitted. Kurun said that the investigations had revealed that the ship had been struck by a cluster bomb, which pierced the outer plating of the living quarters, before detonating inside and scattering hundreds of projectiles throughout the area. Kurun also noted that this type of munition is typically used for warships. The ship was repaired in Tuzla from Aug 5 until Sep 11. It then headed to the Russian port Ust- Luga with an ETA as of Oct 8. Report with photos: https://www.haberdenizde.com/denizde-gundem/ukrayna-laheyde-sanik-sandalyesinde/

The 'Skipanes', operated by Smyril Line, arrived at a shipyard in Hong Kong on Sep 19 in order to undergo extensive repairs following the engine room fire on Sep 2, enroute from from China to the Faroe Islands. At the time of the incident, the vessel was carrying a substantial payload, including approximately 900 electric vehicles. The fire was localised to the engine room and could be extinguished rapidly by the crew, thanks to the effiency of the ship's onboard fire suppression systems and the crew's emergency response training. There were no injuries reported among the 23 crew members. Following the successful containment of the blaze, the 'Skipanes' diverted to Xiamen for initial inspections and damage assessments. The vessel left the port on Sep 16 and headed to Hong Kong, where shipyard facilities can handle the complex structural and mechanical repairs required. The repair work was anticipated to take between six and eight weeks, depending on the availability of specific replacement parts and the complexity of the engine room reconstruction.

One day after DFDS took possession of the 'Volcán de Tamasite' on Oct 6, 2026, the ferry has been renamed 'Marhaba Seaways'. For the time being, the ship continued to fly the Spanish flag. The handover of the vessel by representatives of the Armas Trasmediterránea Group took place in the port of Algeciras. Built at the Barreras Shipyard and in service since 2004, the ferry “Volcán de Tamasite” marked a new chapter in the history of Naviera Armas.

On the night of Oct 8, 2026, the 'Can D' suffered an engine failure in front of the Pendik Naval Shipyard, en route to the Tuzla shipyards region. Under the coordination of the İzmit Ship Traffic Services Center, the supply tanker was taken i towed by the tug 'Şark' (IMO: 8356247) and secured at the Gemtiş Shipyard. Video: https://x.com/kiyiemniyet/status/2108277245382943145/video/1

After the attacks on the 'Alfa Watan' and 'Able', the Bulgarian security services were investigating whether the drones that struck the two ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea were of Russian or Ukrainian origin. In this regard, Bulgaria has requested assistance from international organisations to examine the 'Alfa Watan' with an underwater drone. The ship had a Syrian crew and was transporting wheat. It sank within approximately three minutes. This meant that it either suffered extensive damage from the impact or was carrying an explosive cargo. He hopes that the 'Able', which had remained afloat as of Oct 7 despite severe damages, could also be examined as soon as possible. Partner countries were asked to provide information and satellite images of the incident area. The National Security Consultative Council called on both countries involved in the war to refrain from attacks on merchant ships. Asked whether drones were involved, one sailor of the crew said it wasn't a drone and that the blast came from under the water. Another crew member said the drone came from below, a third said sea drones hit them, and a fourth denied the ship was hit by any unmanned aircraft. A Turkish sailor thought that the Russians dropped an underwater bomb that sparked the fire. He believed the bomb was Russian because the ship was carrying Ukrainian cargo.

On Oct 7, a cayuco was located 7.7 nautical miles south of La Restinga. It was accompanied by the 'Salvamar Diphda' to the port, where 79 people disembarked, among them two women and three minors. The response was coordinated by the CCS Tenerife of Salvamento Marítimo.

After the attacks on the 'Alfa Watan' and 'Able', the Bulgarian security services were investigating whether the drones that struck the two ships in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea were of Russian or Ukrainian origin. In this regard, Bulgaria has requested assistance from international organisations to examine the 'Alfa Watan' with an underwater drone. The ship had a mainly Syrian crew and was transporting wheat. It sank within approximately three minutes. This meant that it either suffered extensive damage from the impact or was carrying an explosive cargo. It was hoped that the 'Able', which had remained afloat as of Oct 7 despite severe damages, could also be examined as soon as possible. Partner countries were asked to provide information and satellite images of the incident area. The National Security Consultative Council called on both countries involved in the war to refrain from attacks on merchant ships. The Syrian Seafarers' Union appealed for assistance in contacting a family member of Mahmoud Abdel-Aati, an Egyptian sailor missing since the loss of the 'Alfa Watan'. The Syrian General Authority for Ports and Customs called on the International Maritime Organization and Bulgarian authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the sinking of the 'Alfa Watan' and demanded clarification regarding the reasons for halting search and rescue operations for its missing crew.

On Oct 5, 2026, the 'Aviva', carrying a cargo of rapeseed oil, was damaged by a Russian drone strike in the port of Ismajil. A fire broke out in the vessel’s superstructure, resulting in the death of ship's chief Doğukan Aktan. Seven other civilian seafarers were injured in the attack. Russia’s deliberate strikes on civilian shipping and port infrastructure were constituting a gross violation of international law and pose a threat to global food security. On Oct 5, Russian drones attacked a civilian vessel flying the Turkish flag that was transporting corn in the neutral waters of the Black Sea. The ship’s captain was killed in the strike, and one other person is missing. On Oct 3, a motorman was killed as a result of a Russian strike on a civilian cargo ship flying the Liberian flag in one of the ports of the Odesa region. Three other crew members were injured. Rescue workers evacuated 13 sailors from board.

The Smyril Line has chartered CLdN's 'Maxine' in order to maintain the Rotterdam–Faroe Islands–Iceland service until the Smyril Line's two newbuildings had arrived from China. The Smyril Line was using the CLdN-owned Distriport terminal in Rotterdam's Brittanniëhaven. The 'Maxine' is largest single-screw vessel ever to enter the port of Þorlákshöfn. Smyril Line has suffered a series of setbacks with its two newbuildings. First, the 'Akranes' had a shaft generator failure during sea trials. The 'Skipanes' suffered an engine room fire shortly after leaving China on her maiden voyage. She initially returned to Xiamen and then berthed at a Hong Kong shipyard, where the engine room was to be cleaned and repaired. Meanwhile, the 'Akranes' has completed her sea trials and will be delivered imminently.