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.
GT Wings has introduced the AirWing™S, a compact and lightweight Jet Sail intended to reduce emissions from smaller commercial vessels and broaden the manufacturer's product reach, according to reports on 16 October 2026.
Follow Luke Smout’s latest Gazette reporting alongside the connected archive of maritime coverage below.
Read this reportThe tenth Hong Kong Maritime Week will take place from 15 to 21 November 2026, convening international maritime professionals to address trade shifts, decarbonisation and financing challenges.
MarineLink reported on 16 October 2026 that Zamil Offshore has commissioned IncatCrowther and Lita Ocean to design, construct and deliver a fourth 60‑metre ABS‑Classed monohull Fast Support Intervention Vessel.
All American Marine has launched M/V North Star, the second high-speed, long-range eco-tour vessel built for Phillips Cruises & Tours; like sistership Chugach Express, she will operate from Whittier, Alaska, the report dated 16 October 2026 states.
First estimates show the euro area ran a €16.1bn deficit in goods trade with the rest of the world in August 2026, a marked widening from August 2025, sources report.
DP World has brought 55 battery-electric yard tractors into service at its Busan terminal in South Korea, replacing LNG equipment and representing about 36 per cent of the site's 154-yard-tractor fleet, a report dated 16 October 2026 states.
Havila Shipping ASA has reached three-year firm charter agreements for the PSVs Havila Fanø and Havila Herøy with Neo Next + Energy E&P UK Limited, each contract running until September 2029 with three one-year options thereafter.
MarineLink reported on 16 October 2026 that Fincantieri is integrating advanced robotics, Physical AI and next‑generation automation to improve efficiency and safety in its shipyards.
A.P. Moller Capital will acquire 100% of Singapore-based Portek International from Mitsui & Co., the maritime news site sources indicated on 16 October 2026.
Skills England will keep five apprenticeship standards used across the maritime sector after industry submissions, a decision the UK Chamber of Shipping has welcomed.
AVS Global Ship Supply has developed AVS+, a digital platform intended to consolidate ordering, expenditure, inventory and operational records to give ship managers greater visibility and control over vessel procurement, sources indicated on 16 October 2026.
A The report dated 16 October 2026 says HD Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding has expanded output as it celebrates 30 years, having grown from a repair yard opened in 1996 to a major newbuilding hub that accounts for roughly 70 per cent of Vietnam’s ship orders.
The jointly developed route optimisation system OSR‑OW will be placed into commercial service aboard eight large bulk carriers under a three‑year agreement between Weathernews, HD Hyundai Marine Solution and H‑Line Shipping.
Sources report a 0.9% year-on-year rise in Rotterdam throughput in the first nine months of 2026, taking volumes to 323.2 million tonnes and attributing the gain to higher flows of coal, other dry bulk, crude oil and mineral oil products.
Sources published VHBS's week 42 ConTex assessment on 16 October 2026, characterising the container time-charter market as "unchanged firm" with rates moving sideways and noting a political crisis that has raised interest.
At the United Nations, India condemned strikes on merchant shipping as "legally and morally indefensible," called for the protection of seafarers including Indian nationals, and highlighted the need to safeguard the Bab al‑Mandab Strait, sources indicated on 16 October 2026.
A The report dated 16 October 2026 said Brent crude prices remained elevated as oil tankers and other commercial vessels faced attacks while transiting the Strait of Hormuz; a UKMTO notice described a containership sustaining minor damage.
Best Oasis Limited told reports on 16 October 2026 that the Indian ship recycling market strengthened over the week, a move the report attributed to appreciation of the Indian rupee.
Sources published Advanced Shipping & Trading S.A.'s week 42 market report on 16 October 2026, recording the Capesize vessel Golden Myrtalia as committed to Norwegian interests at USD 40 million.
reports's short guide published on 16 October 2026 defines a port call and outlines how vessels, authorities, agents and analysts view the same event differently.
Sources indicated on 16 October 2026 that Affinity Research LLP had observed a softening in sentiment for very large crude carriers after a week that started positively.
Drewry’s benchmark World Container Index rose 3% in the week covered by its 15 October 2026 assessment, the change reported on 16 October 2026.
Sources indicated on 16 October 2026 that a growing range of alternative fuels, from LNG and methanol to B24 biofuel, LBM, ethanol and ammonia, was bunkered at major ports this week, sometimes with several fuels handled in one call.
The dry-bulk retreat gathered pace in Week 42, with a steep fall in the Baltic Dry Index led by Capesizes, while recycling price indications across four destinations stayed unchanged, sources indicated on 16 October 2026.
Select rate rises and rotation changes by major container lines, plus a phased return to Suez, are already shortening India–US East Coast sailings and reshaping services into the Americas.
The Baltic Exchange’s measure of dry bulk freight fell about 1.3% to 2,515 points on 16 October 2026, marking a tenth consecutive daily decline and the index's lowest level since 30 June, a report said.
A Drewry opinion piece published by reports on 16 October 2026 examines record-low schedule adherence and accumulated port congestion during the 2026 peak season, drawing lessons intended for shippers, forwarders, carriers and ports.
The Court of Appeal has made clear that proceedings brought solely to obtain security for a maritime claim do not, by themselves, preserve the underlying claim from limitation, a The report of 16 October 2026 explains.
Xeneta’s weekly report, published via reports on 16 October 2026, records a rapid reintroduction of container capacity to the Red Sea corridor, with offered slots shown to have doubled in six weeks.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has offered up to S$250,000 per vessel under a new Early Adopter Scheme to help harbour craft operators transition to electric propulsion, a move endorsed by Pacific Environment and reported.
Romanian authorities launched search and rescue operations in the Black Sea after two chemical tankers were reported on fire, with seven crew missing from the later incident, a The report dated 16 October 2026 states.
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has published its corporate business plan for 2026 to 2027; the report is dated 16 October 2026 and titled 'Corporate report: MCA Business Plan 2026 to 2027'.
MarineLink reported that AMS Barging has christened the 135-metre, 9,000 m³ diesel-electric, methanol-ready tanker Felicitas on Noordereiland in Rotterdam, with Liv and Julie, daughters of co-owner Igor Jansen, performing the naming.
MarineLink reports that Anglo‑Eastern supported the development and preparation of CMB.TECH’s Mineral Europa, a 210,000 dwt Newcastlemax built by CSSC Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding and described as the world’s first ammonia‑fuelled dry bulk carrier, which has now entered service.
Steerprop will provide its next‑generation contra‑rotating propeller technology for a 95‑metre ferry being built for the Estonian State Fleet at Poland’s CRIST SA, according to published reporting.
At a meeting reported on 16 October 2026, BIMCO’s Dry Bulk Cargo Network identified three persistent hazards, contaminated scrap metal fires, the transfer of fumigation work to ship crews, and fatalities in enclosed spaces, and urged clearer cargo information and stronger charter party terms.
Sources report that the SMAP mechanism in the EU Emissions Trading System could mobilise about €15 billion between 2028 and 2040 to encourage the maritime sector’s shift to clean fuels and strengthen Europe’s industrial role.
MarineLink reports that regulatory uncertainty at the IMO has led many shipowners to delay commitments to low‑carbon fuels this year, with some opting for carbon credits as a temporary compliance route.
New Delhi has asked both Moscow and Kyiv to give assurances that merchant vessels will not be attacked in Black Sea waters, warning of risks to Indian crews and to food and energy flows.
reports says the priority for tracking has moved from locating boxes to forecasting arrivals and quantifying delay costs, a shift that reshapes priorities for shippers, forwarders and terminals.
