Over the past week, the United States increased maritime sanctions against Russia-linked oil trade, targeting three entities and vessels for violating price caps and seizing multiple tankers including Marinera and Olina as part of high seas operations against Venezuelan oil enforcement efforts. These actions demonstrate intensified interdiction efforts.
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.
Recent Ukrainian naval drone attacks against Russian shadow fleet tankers on route to Novorossiysk has caused severe delays for oil tankers traveling through the Turkish Straits; war risk insurance premiums have tripled - reaching between 0.5-7.75% of vessel value - with the International Maritime Organization strongly advocating mariner protection as military actions worsen commercial shipping disruptions.
Accidents involving at least one vessel colliding and running aground, in the South China Sea, Strait of Hormuz, the Black Sea and near Singapore show how the risks of maritime accidents is rising amid tensions and tricky situations in crowded conduits. Warships, oiler and ferries have been involved, leading to death, pollution and delays that provoke calls for better traffic management and vigilance.
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.