DOT has opened the FY 2026 BUILD grant competition, with applications due February 24, 2026, while ongoing port and marine highway grants and Washington State’s new Freight System Plan invite broader maritime and freight input.
The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking navigation-focused comments on the proposed I-5 replacement bridge over the Columbia River, especially from operators needing more than 116 feet of vertical clearance, with input due by January 11, 2026.
A merchant ship has fended off armed small craft west of Yemen, the latest Red Sea security scare as traffic through the Suez Canal slowly recovers and authorities warn that regional risks remain far from eliminated.
An NTSB investigation has found that a single loose signal wire aboard the Dali triggered the blackout that led to Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse, exposing major gaps in bridge protection and emergency communication.
Long-term records from Macquarie Island show a 28% jump in rainfall since 1979, hinting that the Southern Ocean may be “sweating” more and reshaping global currents, carbon uptake, and fragile sub-Antarctic ecosystems.
Global trade is set to top $35 trillion in 2025, fueled by seaborne goods and services growth, even as geopolitical fragmentation, shifting shipping patterns, and mounting cost pressures signal a tougher outlook for maritime trade in 2026.
Shoreline cleanup teams are working across West Sussex after the Baltic Klipper lost 16 containers in the Solent, sending fruit and polystyrene onto beaches and into nearby neighborhoods as authorities race to recover remaining boxes.
Nine crewmembers have been kidnapped and one injured from the LPG carrier CGAS Saturn off Equatorial Guinea, underscoring the persistent kidnap-for-ransom piracy threat facing seafarers in the Gulf of Guinea.
As lithium batteries, alternative fuels and automated systems reshape maritime fire risk, experts warn that training and response plans are falling behind—putting the spotlight on the 2026 National Harbor Safety Conference in Seattle.
Bulk carrier Bobic has fended off two attempted pirate attacks in the Bab-el-Mandeb, underscoring persistent security risks as container lines cautiously resume Red Sea and Suez Canal transits with crew safety still under close scrutiny.
