OCEAN: Ukraine’s Attack on Novorossiysk & more – 18th Nov 2025

Ahoy from BA! This is the Rorshok Ocean Update from the 11th 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 the Russo-Ukrainian War. On Friday, the 14th, Ukrainian forces launched a missile and drone attack on Russia’s Black Sea port in Novorossiysk to weaken Russia’s ability to finance the war.

The attack was one of the biggest on Russian oil-exporting infrastructure since August.

The attack damaged two berths, causing a temporary shutdown of oil exports, estimated at 2.2 million barrels per day, or about 2% of global supply. As a result, global oil prices increased by over 2% due to supply concerns following the attack.

This attack had also hit a docked ship, apartment buildings, and an oil depot, and three crew members of a docked vessel were wounded.

To support Ukraine, the UK government announced on Tuesday, the 11th, that British-based firms will be banned from providing shipping and insurance services for exports of Russian liquefied natural gas or LNG.

This aims to cut Russia’s revenue streams to help Ukraine in its war against Russia. The UK said the ban will be phased in during twenty twenty-six in coordination with European allies.

The UK also gave Ukraine about 17.5 million dollars to help with the country’s energy infrastructure and assist people facing heating and power shortages this winter.

The European Union also approved new sanctions against Russia in October, which will start banning Russian LNG imports on the 1st of January twenty twenty-seven.

Also on Tuesday, the 11th, the U.S. Navy’s newest and largest carrier group, Gerald Ford, entered the Caribbean Sea.

U.S. President Donald Trump arranged for the deployment last month, adding to the existing eight warships, a nuclear submarine, and F-35 aircraft already present in the Caribbean.

The U.S. government stated that this action aims to disrupt drug trafficking and weaken and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations.

However, Venezuela views the escalation as a potential threat of intervention and regime change, prompting it to mobilize ground, sea, air, and missile forces.

Since we mentioned drugs, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency of Nigeria or NDLEA published a statement about the discovery of 1,000 kg (2,205 pounds) of cocaine, worth about 235 million dollars, inside an empty container at Tincan Port in Lagos.

Terminal operators alerted port security and the NDLEA, which formally took custody of the cargo after tests confirmed the substance was cocaine.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the UK's National Crime Agency collaborated on the investigation. The Nigerian government emphasized the need for global cooperation to dismantle the trafficking network’s leadership and stop similar consignments.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the 15th, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in Gulf waters for allegedly carrying unauthorized petrochemical cargo.

The vessel had been sailing off the United Arab Emirates’ coast through the Indian Ocean en route to Singapore with a cargo of high-sulfur gasoil. Iranian forces intercepted the tanker and redirected it into Iranian territorial waters.

This incident was Iran's first reported seizure of a tanker since the Israeli-U.S. attacks on Iran in June. The U.S. Navy is actively monitoring the situation, and the ship’s management company says it has lost contact with the vessel.

6) Speaking of Iran, the country is experiencing another drought — now six years in a row. Reservoirs supplying water to the capital Tehran and other cities, are at only 5% capacity.

President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that the government may implement water restrictions if rainfall does not return by early December, and the capital could potentially need to be evacuated in a worst-case scenario.

The current situation results from decades of overconsumption, an inefficient agricultural sector, and excessive dam construction. The Iranian government is worried that a water crisis could turn into a political issue and lead to unrest.

Apart from the cut-off water option, Iran was using cloud-seeding technology in an effort to increase rainfall.

In other news, tensions between China and Japan have intensified. On Sunday, the 16th, China Coast Guard ships conducted a rights enforcement patrol through waters around the disputed Japanese Senkaku Islands or Chinese Diaoyu Islands.

The rights enforcement patrol was the result of Sanae Takaichi, the Japanese Prime Minister’s warning, saying that a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan might provoke a military reaction from Japan.

Chinese officials argue this patrol was lawfully intended to uphold its maritime claims. China also advised its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan, and Chinese airlines announced that tickets to Japan could be refunded or altered at no cost.

Japan has lodged diplomatic protests.

The Maldives’ boundary challenge doesn’t come from another country, but from nature. Researchers from the University of Plymouth and Deltares, a not-for-profit applied research institute of the Netherlands, used the computer models to accurately simulate the twenty twenty-two twenty-island flooding.

Research also shows that by twenty fifty, rare extreme floods caused by distant swells and high tide may occur every two to three years due to rising sea levels. However, waves can deposit coral sand and rubble on islands, raising their elevation and improving flood resistance.

Scientists urge the Maldives and other low-lying island nations to quickly identify, assess, and implement adaptation strategies to avoid future flooding impacts.

In an update to the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP30, which we mentioned on our last show, fifty Indigenous protesters from the Munduruku people of the Amazon blocked the main entrance of the summit in Belém, Brazil, on Friday, the 14th.

The demonstrators wanted to meet Brazil’s President and expressed deep frustration over ongoing land invasions, deforestation, oil exploration, logging, and the privatization of rivers. However, the group was unable to speak with Lula and instead held further discussions with the COP President.

The protests highlight broader frustration with environmental exploitation and the absence of genuine inclusion in climate negotiations.

How will the Houthis' Red Sea stand-down impact shipping? The Houthis militia in Yemen announced a pause in attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea earlier this month, which could cause ocean freight rates to plunge.

The Red Sea disruptions had forced many ships to reroute around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding time and cost. If the Red Sea route reopens fully, many carriers would return to Suez, potentially driving global spot freight rates down by up to 25% in twenty twenty-six.

However, insurers and carriers remain cautious until risks are clearly reduced.

Shifting to marine scientific research, on Thursday, the 13th, Vancouver Shipyards Seaspan delivered an eighty-eight-meter (290-feet) Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel to the Canadian Coast Guard under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.

As the largest dedicated science vessel in Canada, this ship can carry thirty-four crew members and twenty-six scientists, operate for up to six weeks at sea, and travel over 6,000 nautical miles (around 11,100 kilometres), and has the equipment to support search and rescue operations and environmental response.

The vessel represents a significant milestone in the Canadian Coast Guard’s fleet modernization and will act as a world-class platform for essential oceanographic research, environmental response, and search-and-rescue missions.

And to close this edition, a new study by the University of Asia and the Pacific and the Association of Licensed Manning Agencies found that the Philippine seafaring industry contributed seventeen billion dollars to the economy in twenty twenty-four.

The sector directly supports nearly 400,000 jobs and contributes about 4% of the country’s GDP. Shipowners spent 923.3 million dollars in the Philippines, while seafarers sent 5.6 billion dollars home in remittances. This income helped generate 2.5 billion dollars in household income, along with significant ripple effects across logistics, training, insurance, and maritime services.

The study highlights that policy instability, skill gaps, or declining global confidence in Filipino mariners could jeopardize this economic engine.

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

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