Caribbean

European Union

US Boarding of Russian-Flagged VLCC Marinera Marks New Phase in Maritime Sanctions Enforcement

Over the past week, maritime sanctions enforcement took an aggressive new turn when US authorities boarded and treated as stateless the VLCC Marinera registered under Russian flag, following its controversial reflagging. Backed by extensive NATO reconnaissance and shadowed by Russian naval units, this operation demonstrated rising legal, commercial, and security risks associated with global tanker trades.
Black Sea

Major Offshore Deals and Discoveries Shaping Energy Landscape in December 2025

Harbour Energy's $3.2 billion purchase of LLOG marks its entrance into U.S. Gulf deepwater assets, while Shell and INEOS Energy announce their first oil discovery in the Gulf of America. CNOOC launches production from its Xijiang 24 wellhead platform while contracts continue flowing to TechnipFMC, Subsea7, and other companies from Mozambique Australia and beyond -- signalling robust offshore momentum amid expanding Caribbean logistics networks.
Venezuela

Global Maritime Sanctions Increase, Vessel Designations, Seizures, and Enforcement Target Shadow Fleets

From December 6 to 25, 2025, maritime sanctions escalated with Australia designating 45 Russian-linked vessels; EU member states adding 41 vessels to the shadow fleet ban list; the U.S. seizing Venezuelan oil tankers Centuries and Bella 1, Ukraine striking Qendil tanker and Sweden detaining Russian vessel Adler as examples of behavior-based enforcement to disrupt dark fleet operations worldwide. All these actions signify a change towards behavior-based enforcement to effectively dismantle dark fleet operations worldwide.
US Navy

USS Pierre Commissioned as Independence-Class Program Concludes; Regional Naval Tensions Increase

On November 15th 2025 in Panama City Florida, the US Navy commemorated the commissioning of USS Pierre (LCS 38) - the last of the Independence-class littoral combat ships: marking the end of a class perhaps best exemplified by unexpected hiccups or hiccoughs (we still don’t know the correct spelling!) that delayed some ships and contributed to an overall rocky start to a class that eventually served with distinction. As the rest of the Navy prepared to commission Ship #1 in this new class, tensions in the maritime regions simmered as Chinese naval modernization, Russian exercises in Southeast Asia, and Venezuelan mobilization in response to US Carriers in the Caribbean showed how emboldened global powers were willing to be.