OCEAN: U.S. Sanctions & more – 25th Nov 2025

Ahoy from BA! This is the Rorshok Ocean Update from the 25th of November twenty twenty-five. A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in saltwater.

Let’s kick off this edition with U.S. sanctions. The U.S. State Department and the Treasury worked together to intensify sanctions against Iran’s energy trade, extending their reach to include front companies, shipping facilitators, and oil tankers.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control identified a network of front companies and shipping facilitators providing financial support to the Iranian armed forces, along with six vessels registered in Palau, Gambia, and Panama used to ship crude and petroleum products.

The U.S. launched sanction packages against Iran back in February and May, following US President Donald Trump's aggressive actions targeting the Iranian oil trade.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is also further exerting pressure on Venezuela.

The U.S. Navy put the destroyer USS Stockdale in the path of a sanctioned Russian tanker three times this month, preventing the tanker from reaching Venezuela via the Caribbean and forcing it to turn back.

The vessel is flagged in Comoros but is alleged to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet. It is accused of transporting Russian crude and light distillates to Venezuela to support its struggling oil industry.

The tactic is part of the U.S.’s maximum pressure strategy, aimed at cutting off energy revenue to Venezuela.

Apart from sanctions, the U.S. also has some positive conversations with other countries. On Saturday, the 22nd, the Chinese navy said that the U.S. and Chinese militaries held working-level maritime security talks from Tuesday, the 18th, to Thursday, the 20th under the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement in Hawaii.

The two sides exchanged views on current maritime and air security situations and reviewed past naval and air encounters to improve the professionalism and safety of interactions between China's and the U.S.'s front-line naval and air forces.

However, China criticized U.S. freedom-of-navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, labeling them provocative. Meanwhile, the U.S. has been pushing for improved communication with China regarding its military modernization and regional posture.

A follow-up meeting is scheduled for twenty twenty-six.

Let’s turn our focus to shipping incidents. On Wednesday, the 19th, a Turkish-owned tanker reported a poisoning incident.

There were thirteen Russians crew aboard. One died, and two others are in critical condition due to high levels of hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide released from the ship’s slop tank. Some crew members rescued three others with an oxygen tank.

Later, the vessel was anchored in the Sea of Marmara. Turkish authorities have detained the chief officer aboard, and the remaining crew are being evacuated as investigations continue. The leak likely originated from the refrigerated tank during a post-discharge cleaning.

On the same day, a larger passenger-car ferry ran aground while approaching the port on the South Korean coast south of Seoul.

The Korean Coast Guard reported that a first officer on the ferry was distracted by his cell phone while navigating a narrow channel, which caused the vessel to miss a turn and hit an uninhabited island with the bow. Twenty-seven of the over 200 passengers suffered minor injuries and were taken to the hospital.

The first officer and the helmsman are detained on gross negligence charges, facing up to five years in prison if convicted. Authorities are seizing phones for forensic analysis and reviewing voyage data and CCTV footage.

Later this week, on Friday the 21st, a large electrical fire broke out on the Panama-flagged container ship ONE Henry Hudson docked at the Port of Los Angeles.

Over 120 firefighters, police, and customs officers responded, and nearby communities were ordered to stay inside due to concerns over smoke and hazardous materials. No injuries have been reported

The following morning, the fire was largely under control. The Port of Los Angeles lifted work restrictions at other terminals, allowing port operations to resume. The container ship has been towed to an anchorage.

Officials are now assessing the environmental impact of the burning cargo.

In other news, four men have been charged after Australian authorities intercepted over 525 kg of cocaine (about 1,200 pounds), worth about 170 million dollars, floating off the coast of Western Australia.

Among those accused is the Croatian national chief officer of an international livestock carrier, believed to have helped offload the drugs into the ocean. Police also charged a man from Perth and two young men from Sydney with attempting to retrieve the cocaine multiple times.

The Croatian national was remanded in custody. The Perth man and one of the Sydney men were transported to Western Australia and faced up to life imprisonment.

Investigations into the organized crime syndicate are ongoing, and more arrests are expected.

In an update to a story from our previous show, the German international shipping and container transportation company Hapag-Lloyd shared that it has an action plan on the shelf to resume container transits through the Red Sea and Suez Canal once conditions are deemed sufficiently safe. The Hapag-Lloyd CEO said that the period after the Chinese New Year could be the most opportune moment for test sailings.

Meanwhile, Israeli container line Zim is also looking to resume transits, but is waiting for insurance companies to approve coverage for routes via Bab el-Mandeb. The Zim CEO said the change could improve fleet efficiency and reduce costs, but might also result in lower freight rates. Zim was among the first to reroute via the Cape of Good Hope after the Houthis began targeting Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea in November twenty twenty-three.

On another update from last week’s episode, on Friday, the 21st afternoon, the COP30 wrapped up with a deadlock as countries debated over fossil fuels and climate finance.

A draft agreement released in the morning failed to mention coal, oil, or gas, angering nations pushing for a clear roadmap to phase them out. Oil-producing states oppose such commitments, arguing for emissions-reduction technologies instead. Developing countries demand stronger financial pledges from wealthy nations before agreeing to fossil-fuel limits.

On the flip side, a new green shipping fuel alliance was founded this week. On Wednesday, the 19th, the International Green Fuel Alliance was officially launched in Hong Kong. Over thirty companies from ten countries joined as founding members.

The alliance aims to address three major green fuel bottlenecks, including the lack of unified standards, the mismatch between supply and demand, and the absence of financial tools.

It plans to build an information-exchange platform, push for policy and regulatory development, support green fuel demonstration projects, and foster green finance linked with carbon markets.

In terms of marine scientific research, a recent report by the Seafarers Hospital Society argued that seafarer health and well-being should be treated as a strategic business priority rather than a mere welfare concern.

The report highlighted how mental health, financial burden, and retention and recruitment are interconnected pressures on seafarers. Stress from long journeys and extended contracts erodes safety, while training costs and under-compensation exacerbate financial stress.

The researchers call for systemic investment and coordinated action by shipowners, including transparency on pay, better mental health support, and structural reforms to retain talent.

Closing this episode with some interesting findings, new research from the University of St Andrews reveals that coastal waters are acidifying far faster than expected.

Upwelling transports nutrient-rich, acidic deep waters to the surface, while microbial breakdown of sinking organic matter generates carbon dioxide, increasing acidity further. Researchers compared observed ocean acidification rates with those estimated from atmospheric carbon dioxide alone and discovered that the actual rates are significantly higher than predicted.

This accelerated acidification threatens marine ecosystems and the economies that rely on coastal fisheries, calling for urgent action, such as heat pumps and electric vehicles.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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