Founder and Editor, The Maritime Gazette
Maritime journalist, PR and communications specialist
Luke Smout is a maritime journalist, PR and communications specialist, and the Founder and Editor of The Maritime Gazette. He leads the publication’s editorial direction across shipping, ports, vessels, maritime business and public policy, translating complex maritime developments into clear reporting and useful reference coverage for readers in the United Kingdom and internationally.
Luke Smout leads The Maritime Gazette’s editorial standards, reporting development and public-facing maritime communications. The publication uses verifiable factual records, writes in its own editorial voice and corrects material errors transparently.
Luke’s professional focus combines maritime journalism with PR and communications work, with an emphasis on clear public information, sector context and responsible editorial practice.
The charity ship EMERGENCY recovered 50 people from a wooden boat in international waters off Libya on 17 August 2026; seven were found dead and two survivors required urgent medical evacuation, MarineLink reports.
Three mobile harbour cranes have been delivered to the Port of Tartous under DP World’s $800 million investment programme, a move the reporting says should raise cargo-handling capacity by about 40 per cent.
The Port of Auckland has laid the first precast panel slab at Bledisloe North, starting deck laying and entering the final phase of construction on the city’s first big-ship multi-use wharf, Port Technology International reported on 17 August 2026.
CMA CGM Group has appointed Natasha Griffin as chief executive of its North American arm, which will be based in Norfolk, Virginia and oversee the Group’s shipping, logistics, intermodal and supply chain activities.
Industry representatives met at ICTSI’s East Java Multipurpose Terminal in Lamongan to discuss freight development, market access and transport connections to Eastern Indonesia, Port Technology International reported.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance has placed a second battery-electric forklift into service at the East Blair One terminal in Tacoma Harbour, a deployment supported by a $2.63m Washington State Department of Transportation Port Electrification award.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency says its safety bulletins are targeted, time sensitive alerts that can prompt action across the maritime sector.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency describes its safety bulletins as targeted, time-sensitive alerts that can prompt industry action.
Maersk has confirmed the Emergency Fuel Surcharge at the Port of Felixstowe will remain £3.82 per import laden container from 1 September 2026, with a further review scheduled ahead of October, Port Technology International reported on 17 August 2026.
HHLA said earnings before interest and tax fell 35 per cent in the first half of 2026 as automation works at Hamburg terminals and rail network construction coincided with geopolitical and macroeconomic pressures; group container handling fell to 2.95 million TEUs.
Port Technology International reports a 1.9 per cent year‑on‑year fall in combined throughput to 31.1 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, with transhipment activity cited as a key contributor to the decline.
ADM will increase its Scottish port facilities with new storage and berthing at Peel Ports' Port of Greenock, complementing its King George V Dock operations in Glasgow, Port Technology International reported on 17 August 2026.
MarineLink reported on 17 August 2026 that recent wind events and multiple contract expiries at the end of the northern hemisphere summer are tightening the crew supply and offshore support vessel market as owners reposition tonnage for winter and the following summer.
MOBY Robotics, established in 2025, has positioned itself as a new player in subsea swarm autonomous robotics with ambitions to lead in discovery and recovery of seabed minerals, amid a recent acceleration in interest for deep-ocean critical minerals.
ICE Brent traded just below $90 per barrel in early Asian trade on 17 August 2026 as renewed fighting in Lebanon and attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz stoked fears of regional supply disruption, according to Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide.
Malaysian palm oil futures jumped more than 2% to about MYR 4,820 per tonne on 17 August 2026, their strongest level since early April, as sentiment was lifted by firmer edible oils on Dalian and higher imports into India.
The USC Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute has presented its Global Supply Chain Leadership Excellence Award to the Port of Los Angeles and executive director Gene Seroka for leadership during periods of supply‑chain disruption, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide reported on 17 August 2026.
Drawing on a MarineLink Maritime News report of 17 August 2026, this piece outlines how US-based engineers, mariners, fabricators and regulators have made the Gulf of America a long-standing proving ground for offshore energy innovation.
The UK Marine Management Organisation published guidance on the 2025 technical conservation and landing obligation regulations on 13 August 2026, covering rule application, selling undersize fish, reporting and quota management.
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency published guidance on 14 August 2026 explaining how ship security is managed in the UK and how to comply with UK regulations on ship security.
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency published form MSF 4736 on 14 August 2026 to record a mortgage deed with the Register of Shipping and Seamen during ship registration.
Ships from Canada, Spain, Brazil and Argentina departed Naval Station Mayport for UNITAS 2025, a multinational maritime exercise focused on interoperability and partnerships.
British P2000 patrol vessels joined US Navy personnel for a BALTOPS 2025 activity centred on responding to uncrewed surface vessels in the Baltic Sea.
The Maritime Safety Committee has begun a multi-year revision of safety-management guidance, with fatigue and harassment among its priorities.
The European Commission’s first implementation report says it found no general move of container transhipment or maritime services away from the EU, while identifying a possible future debate over smaller vessels.
A new European Union regime has started measuring the greenhouse-gas intensity of energy used by larger ships calling at EU ports, with tighter requirements planned through 2050.
Official 2025 figures show imports rising and exports falling, while deep-sea traffic grew against a decline in short-sea tonnage and units.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s 2025 forum brought shipping figures and policymakers together to examine the future of the UK flag and the rules around new technology.
Horizon Technologies’ radio-frequency satellite is intended to help identify maritime activity when vessels stop transmitting through their Automatic Identification System.
The two ports have formalised work with 28 partners on lower-emission fuels and digital port-call systems, with a 20–30 per cent emissions ambition for 2030.
CMA CGM says its planned investment will span ships, ports, air cargo and research, with a stated target of 10,000 American jobs.
Twenty new container ships will join Maersk's owned fleet between 2028 and 2030, completing the newbuilding element of a renewal plan announced in August 2024.
The group says the next Icon Class vessel is due in 2027, with agreements allowing for a fifth and sixth ship.
Final Department for Transport statistics put UK international cruise passengers at 3.1 million, with Southampton accounting for 2.6 million.
A Department for Transport policy paper sets out a shared ambition for sustained cruise growth, with economic opportunity linked to responsible development.
The Department for Transport published proposals to revise England’s National Policy Statement for Ports, with an emphasis on clearer planning and new energy technologies.
The Port of Los Angeles reported 10.2 million container units in 2025 and set out plans spanning a proposed terminal, a cruise centre and zero-emission equipment.
Singapore handled a record container volume in 2025, with its maritime authority linking the result to a programme of industry collaboration for future readiness.
A new maritime decarbonisation strategy sets interim greenhouse-gas targets and points to hydrogen, electric and ammonia technologies across ships and ports.
Official figures show a smaller UK register at the end of 2025, while the wider Red Ensign Group would have held a stronger combined position by deadweight tonnage.