Maritime Events
Morning Watch — today

The brief · Saturday, 31 October 2026

Limpet mine attack on tanker in Hormuz signals a new threat to Gulf shipping

  1. 01Safety & incidents

    Tanker disabled by limpet mines in Strait of Hormuz

    Maritime sources say a small boat fixed two explosive devices to a tanker's hull, starting an engine room fire and briefly disabling it. They call it the first successful use of such explosives there since the US war with Iran began in February. One outlet instead describes a boat with explosives ramming a tanker. Oman evacuated a tanker crew.

  2. 02Ports & containers

    Dockworkers in 113 ports stage coordinated anti-war action

    More than 25 unions across 22 countries held strikes and protests on Friday, refusing to handle arms shipments to Israel. They also cited seafarer deaths in conflicts from the Gulf to the Black Sea and called for pay rises. Cargo operations and ferry services were disrupted in several countries, and organisers described it as the largest coordinated port action yet.

  3. 03Markets & finance

    VLCC rates climb as Suezmax sales and Saudi loadings rise

    Affinity reports that VLCC rates rose again this week. Suezmax sales so far this year are up 35% to 124 vessels. Nine VLCCs loaded at Saudi Gulf terminals on Wednesday, the highest level since February. The Baltic Exchange received two whistleblower claims of attempted manipulation of the benchmark tanker rate, according to documents from its legal dispute with Mercuria.

  4. 04Ports & containers

    LA/Long Beach strike deadline pushed back to 4 November

    The Pacific Maritime Association says talks with ILWU Local 26, representing about 250 security workers, will continue with federal mediation. The union's reach is a concern because 35,688 containers are already waiting for rail service. Bridge construction and strong import volumes are also slowing rail and freight movements at the port complex.

  5. 05Safety & incidents

    Greek boxship sinks in Black Sea as war risk charges rise

    A Greek container ship sailing from Israel to Romania with 421 containers sank after a drone attack in the western Black Sea. CMA CGM will apply a war risk surcharge of US$35 per TEU on Black Sea cargo from 9 November. The Joint War Committee listed the area as a war risk zone on 16 September.

  6. 06Markets & finance

    Transpacific spot rates slide as East-West capacity peaks

    Drewry's transpacific eastbound spot rate had its steepest weekly fall since June 2025 now that peak season has ended. Analysts say carriers' November rate increases are unlikely to hold as demand flattens. Sea-Intelligence reports that capacity deployed on the main East-West lanes has reached unprecedented levels in October and November.

  7. 07Cyprus & East Med

    Cyprus: port protests and new marine sciences school

    Dockworkers at Limassol and Larnaca joined Friday's international day of action against the war in Gaza. Also in Larnaca, President Nikos Christodoulides attended the foundation stone ceremony for the Cyprus University of Technology's new school of marine sciences. He pledged further investment in higher education, research and innovation.

Written by Maritime AI at 06:31 Cyprus time from 250 headlines and their outlets’ own summaries. It can get things wrong — read the original articles before you rely on anything here.