Moored

Little walk around on the bridge

Being on a ULCS of 400m makes 271m ships look small. (Passing CMA CGM Tokyo)

Inbound with Damietta Express. ULCS 400m 23.500 teu

Full outbound trip down The Scheldt River. From departure Deurganckdock, Antwerp, Belgium to Vlissingen, Netherlands, on a quiet Friday morning

Steering the vessel with a small joystick

On a roundabout in the Port of Antwerp, you can find a replica of a medieval tread wheel crane used for loading and unloading ships. It was powered by "human hamsters"

Disembarking a 366m VLCS on Flushing Roads

Last 5 miles of arrival with a 275m long container vessel. Swinging over PS at the entrance of Deurganckdock, backing up for almost 1.5 nautical miles, and mooring SB with 4&2 F&A. Assisted by 2 tugs.

Pilots specialise in close quarter situations and ship interactions

Pilot dinner

When Houthi rebels captured the car carrier Galaxy Leader in 2023, the vessel and crew were taken to a sheltered bay in Yemen, where they were detained and forced to await the end of hostilities in the Red Sea. The crew were finally released in January 2025.

On the approaches to the port of Antwerp, Belgium, we must continuously investigate ship interaction (the hydrodynamic influence from one ship to another) to ensure safe passage.

Clusterf*ck www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...

Just a tiny bit to port would have helped...

Yesterday I was on standby to feature on the TV show #tafelvangert to talk about ships and rats. At the last minute, I was cancelled due to the Flemish government's budget agreement. I still think rats and ships are more interesting... 😋

1/x Historically, ships have played a significant role in the global transmission of infectious disease. Some of the earliest recorded evidence of attempts to control human disease transmission via ships dates to the 14th century, (a small 🧵) www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-even...

MSC first container line to operate 1000 vessels. www.seatrade-maritime.com/containers/m...

What the actual f*ck ... seriously... wtf

My contribution to the VRT Podcast "Het Kwartier" with regards to rodents on ships (in Dutch) www.vrt.be/vrtmax/podca...

1/x Two cases of hantavirus have been confirmed after three people died and a UK national was left seriously ill following a suspected outbreak on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. What are the requirements for carrying a doctor on board? a small 🧵 www.cruisehive.com/three-passen...

I feel the US is just making sh*t up with regard to the ROE. It looks more like improvisation then a well thought out maritime strategy. Ad Hoc ROEs...

US to start guiding ships through Strait of Hormuz A US official told CNN that the effort is not an escort mission. A senior Iranian official warned the plan violates the ceasefire. www.cnn.com/2026/05/04/w...

Europe invented the principle of "Mare Liberum", the "The Free Sea" in 1609 (check Hugo Grotius) as the basis for global trade and the resulting prosperity that is guaranteed by those free seas. Time to remember that and act upon it to safeguard our prosperity.

Free passage is fading: Europe needs a navy The sea lanes Europe took for granted are gone. How will it respond? www.euractiv.com/opinion/free...

That's looking just fine and dandy...

Iranian officials are reporting that the U.S. released six crewmembers from one of the vessels that had been boarded and commandeered since the start of the blockade on Iran. maritime-executive.com/article/u-s-...

Please read this from Capt. Alexandros Lignos. I have included the link to the full article. I have included screenshot in case you don't have LinkedIn: "Navigation Manuals or Body bags?" www.linkedin.com/posts/captai...

Nu dat we toch aan het nationaliseren slaan.... hear me out...

1/x Marine insurer Skuld has issued an advisory warning members of a pattern of on-spec but potentially problematic fuel being bunkered across Asia, particularly in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Why? a small 🧵 splash247.com/tainted-bunk...

Ukraine is continuing its efforts targeting Russia’s oil revenues with reports of new attacks on a tanker in the Black Sea as well as infrastructure deep inside Russia. maritime-executive.com/article/ukra...

People need to realize there is a difference between pipeline capacity and the capacity for loading ships at the end of that pipeline. It's great to have a 7Mbpd capacity pipeline going to the the port of Yanbu in the Red Sea, but Yanbu "only" has a 4.5Mbpd ship loading capacity.

The @imohq.bsky.social secretary-general spoke with a #seafarer stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. His account of the stress and uncertainty he faced is a powerful reminder of the human impact on those at sea. Watch the conversation 👇 youtu.be/uZsKPE0c7Gc?...

In what is thought to be the fifth confirmed piracy incident in just over a week, a tanker far out to sea is reporting it was approached but able to evade boarding by a suspected pirate action group. maritime-executive.com/article/tank...

SWATH (Small-Waterplane-Area Twin Hull) pilot vessel at Wandelaar Pilot station, Belgium.

Relief and joy were palpable after rescue workers tugged and guided a humpback whale stranded off Germany's Baltic coast into a floating tank within a barge that will later be pulled out to the North Sea. (

From Ottawa to Tokyo, it surely has not escaped the world’s attention that it is the United States, not Iran, that is the reigning world champion when it comes to the cynical and self-serving weaponization of trade and trade relations. thedispatch.com/article/trum...

True...

Goed dat ze voor die functie rekruteren. Verloning zal er voor zorgen dat je iemand zal aanwerven die kennis heeft van wat maritieme zaken, maar zeker geen expert met een paar jaren ervaring ... werkenvoor.be/nl/jobs/ang2...

Thoughts?

Little fender bender and a small leak

Fuel is so expensive that America's shrimpers can't afford to work. The surge in diesel prices since the Iran war make it almost impossible to turn a profit, shrimp boat captains told NBC News: "The industry is going to disappear." www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Somali piracy is back in the spotlight after four attacks in as many days, including two vessel hijackings, prompting authorities to raise the threat level for the region and warn commercial shipping to exercise extreme caution. splash247.com/piracy-resur...

Pirates seize another vessel off Somali coast as threat level increased www.bbc.com/news/article...

1/x In the past few years, there has been a lot of hype about the growing ship traffic along the Arctic routes. Credit insurance firm Coface said that the commercial impact of Arctic shipping routes is likely to remain marginal within the next five years. (check link) t.co/ZPdgsMhSL1

The Pentagon on Friday, during a press briefing on the conflict with Iran, vowed to expand the blockade on shipping while saying it was becoming more effective and stronger. maritime-executive.com/article/iran...

The Horn of Africa, embracing Eritrea with its Red Sea coastline, Djibouti and the component parts of what used to be Somalia, is in a state of flux, buffeted by the changing political situation in the neighborhood. maritime-executive.com maritime-executive.com/editorials/c...

I don't believe it... actually, I don't believe there are any mines in Hormuz... www.axios.com/2026/04/23/i...