Dreigende humanitaire crisis op zee: twintigduizend zeelui komen langzaam zonder drinkwater te zitten www.ad.nl/buitenland/d...

Belgium will re-open the naval base Fort Sint Marie on the left bank of the Scheldt River, near Kallo, to house the Marine Infantry Units. This is part of an increased awareness in port infrastructure protection. www.hln.be/beveren-krui...

Alternative use of pilot ladder. SOLAS / ISM has left the chat. Paint can dry and harden on the manila ropes, making them brittle and prone to snapping under the dynamic load of a pilot's weight.

I'm glad I could have some media attention for the merchant navy crews stuck in a war zone without food and water. Navigate Necesse Est. Thank you @vrtnws.be @radio1vrt.bsky.social www.vrt.be/vrtmax/luist...

USNS Mercy arrived in Portland for her extensive drydock at Vigor Shipyard. I guess Greenland was too much to ask for.

1. US bombs Iran 2. Global oil trade collapses 3. Iran is needed to save global oil supplies??? I know what would maintain global oil supplies: open the freakin' Strait of Hormuz for all the ships that are stuck!!!

Belgium is currently patting itself on the back for 'increasing Navy capability.' In reality, we simply managed to get a government-owned vessel back to sea after it was detained for two years, by that same government, due to safety and labor violations. Delusional....

➡️The toll Iran is charging for safe Hormuz passage is $2million. ➡️ India, Pakistan, Iraq, Malaysia and China are in direct talks with Tehran, coordinating vessel transits via an emerging IRGC-run registration and vetting system www.lloydslist.com/LL1156656/Ir...

Does Iran have the legal right to create checkpoints in the Strait of Hormuz? According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, they do not. However, Iran signed but never ratified UNCLOS 1982, similar to the United States. As a result, Iran reverts to UNCLOS 1958.

Belgium? www.gov.uk/government/n...

For the Dutch followers. Tonight I'll be a guest at the late evening talk show Pauw & De Wit to talk about Hormuz

"Straight"?? Ffs gcaptain.com/trump-floats...

I think the US is not bothered about Hormuz. But what about Global Oil prices you say? Why should the US care? It's using It's own LNG and WTI prices are already diverging downwards from BRENT crude oil prices.

Ok HuMO... tof en zo, maar dat is wel geen foto van mij...

Stephen Colbert shares the joy of MarineTraffic

The judicial seizure of the shadow vessel Ethera was lifted at the request of the Federal Prosecutor's Office. If this means bail has been posted remains to be seen. "The criminal preliminary investigation is in its final phase," a spokesperson added. vrtnws.be/p.WkBOLw3pK

The new MCMV platform from Belgium and the Netherlands, once operational at the end of the year, will be the best platform in the world. www.fpri.org/article/2026...

Let the Star Trek academy figure it out

Europe, when asked to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

En voor de Belgen... morgen ben ik te gast bij de Tafel van Gert

My contribution to a podcast from the Dutch NPO radio. www.nporadio1.nl/podcasts/de-...

The Littoral Combat Ships USS Tulsa and Santa Barbara, which were assigned rotationally to the Middle East and were supposed to be the US Navy’s mine countermeasures platforms in that region, are now in Penang, Malaysia. So out of 3 MCM platforms 2 are not in the Persian Gulf region... wtf...

Boarding a small tanker with a cargo of just over 9,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid, bound for Ruisbroek, Belgium. Although I'm licensed for the passage upriver from the city of Antwerp towards Wintam, we will change pilot in front of the city.

The MSC Baltic III ran aground on February 15, 2025. ​The vessel hit the rocky coastline of Cedar Cove (also referred to as Wild Cove), located near Lark Harbour on the west coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Taxi has arrived

A lot of people in commercial shipping expressing admiration for Greek shipowner George Prokopiou for running his tankers through Hormuz. I just hope the crews on board his ships had a choice as well. And not a theoretical choice, but a real one.

The STS Dar Mlodziezy taking her pilot, inbound for Antwerp, to embark 1st year cadets of the Antwerp Maritime Academy for their sea training.

Today the 1st year students of the Antwerp Maritime Academy left for their first training cruise at sea on board the STS Dar Mlodziezy where they will receive practical shipboard training.

Time-lapse of the last 2hr and 12min of my upriver trip with MT Hafnia Neso - AFRAMAX tanker - fully loaded with gasoil.

Moored in the lock. With some Vaseline, the tugs can get out as well...

Inbound Antwerp with a loaded tanker. Cargo: 102,747 tonnes of gasoil. Draught 14.7m loa 250m breadth 44m. 4 tugboat job as the largest lock is out of service for maintenance and we have to go to a slightly smaller one. (would use 3 otherwise)

In case the US DeptofWar and The WhiteHouse didn't get the memo yet. Their war on Iran has evolved into "the War to reopen Hormuz" about 4 days ago....

So since the war in Iran started, none of the Belgian labour organizations (BTB-ABVV, ACV-koopvaardij, and ACLVB-koopvaardij) have even mentioned Belgian seafarers in the Gulf.

Dutch shipowners have been refusing to recognize the Persian Gulf as a war zone for well over a week. It has been agreed in the seafarers' collective labor agreement that they should receive double pay when sailing through a war zone. www.transport-online.nl/120635/vakbo...

My quick interview (in Dutch) on VRT Radio 1 explaining the basics about mines and how it affects merchant navy ships. Also a little bit about the Convention relative to the Laying of Automatic Submarine Contact Mines. The Hague, 18 October 1907. www.vrt.be/vrtmax/luist...

Not sure how to put the 4 videos on 1 screen. Hope this works for you. I did clean the lens halfway through. Anyway. Arrival with MSC Lauren (366m) in Antwerp. Oh, and my battery ran out. Not my best day today.

At least we have breakfast....

Inbound with MSC Lauren. Wind force 7, gusts up to 9. Received a little booboo when my leg was trapped between pilot boat and ladder

"Trump administration underestimated Iran war’s impact on Strait of Hormuz" ... Oh really? Hadn't noticed that... 😒🙄 www.cnn.com/2026/03/12/p...

Nighttime job...

Sweden Arrests Crewmember from Stateless Cargo Ship. The Coast Guard said one crewmember was arrested and taken ashore for what it called a “serious crime,” without providing details on the person’s position aboard the ship or nationality. maritime-executive.com/article/swed...

The WaPo has suggested that 2 vessels owned by Iranian Shipping Lines (IRISL) have left the port of Gaolan, China, destined for Bandar Abbas and potentially laden with sodium perchlorate,a chemical used for manufacturing solid fuel for ballistic missiles maritime-executive.com/article/two-...

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC that the U.S. Navy is not ready to begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. The Navy might be in a position to start escorting tankers by the end of the month. www.cnbc.com/2026/03/12/e...

In a notice issued Thursday, the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) announced that Norwegian-flagged vessels are no longer permitted to enter the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz until further notice. gcaptain.com/norway-bars-...

"Seafarers don’t need to prove courage by sailing into preventable danger. They’ve already been proving it quietly for years. Mr. President, seafarers don’t need guts. They live on guts. splash247.com/respect-the-...

The firefighting tugs and fireboats have a dangerous job. During the tanker wars of the 80ies several tugs and tug crews perished due to exploding cargo and sometimes unexploded ordnance, suddenly detonating

Footage shared by a merchant shipping Facebook page (เรือสินค้าระหว่างประเทศ – พาณิชย์นาวี) shows the moment the Thai cargo ship Mayuree Naree came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, with crew members scrambling for safety before they were later rescued by authorities in Oman.

A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned tanker and Marshall Is-flagged, American-owned tanker have probably been struck by an Iranian USV off the coast of Iraq

3rd engineer from the Thai vessel Mayuree Naree, a bulk carrier. ​The attack occurred on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, as the ship was transiting the strait en route from Khalifa Port (UAE) to Kandla (India).