Week 37 2026: SOMS Navigation Review, Hormuz Tensions Escalate, New Flag State Guidance

Straits of Malacca and Singapore: Navigation and AtoN Under Review

Following August's announcement of a review of Under Keel Clearance (UKC) requirements in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS), Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has issued a mariner questionnaire focused specifically on navigation practices and the use, effectiveness and reliability of Aids to Navigation (AtoN) throughout the SOMS. Mariners with recent SOMS transit experience are encouraged to contribute — this is a direct opportunity to shape a UKC review that will affect passage planning through one of the world's busiest and most constrained waterways.

Flag State Updates

• Australia has released Marine Order 32 (Cargo Handling Equipment) 2016, updated.
• Marshall Islands has released Marine Safety Advisory No. 12-26 — Portable Atmosphere Testing Instruments. This lands the same week as the RMI's own Federal Indiana investigation report (see this week's incident review) — a timely reminder that a gas detector is only as trustworthy as its last calibration.
• United States has released MSIB 06-26 — Commercial Diving, USCG/OSHA Casualty Reporting Requirements, cancelling and superseding MSIB 004-14.

Hormuz and the Gulf: Security Risk Escalating

Industry reporting this week describes attacks in the Strait of Hormuz reaching a wartime high, with Iran reportedly threatening tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini waters in response to US strikes. Vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf should treat current threat assessments as live and volatile, not routine background risk — review voyage-specific security plans (ISPS) and any applicable High Risk Area guidance before transiting.

P&I Club Guidance Highlights

• NorthStandard: Port of Durban updates; ship store list declaration requirements at Argentine customs; heavy fines now being enforced for seabed damage in the Mediterranean (anchoring on protected habitat); strike impacts at the Port of Montevideo.
• Japan P&I Club: a further warning on informal “bartering” with local fishermen in Togo waters.
• The American Club: India's loading requirements for IMSBC Group A cargoes; new PRC reporting measures for ships entering and leaving Chinese ports.
• UK P&I: guidance on pre-load steel surveys.

Other Safety and Compliance Notes

• New Zealand is set to make lifejackets compulsory on small craft.
• India is tightening loading rules for iron ore fines and other IMSBC Group A cargoes.
• The USCG is urging checks on the material condition of ageing fiberglass lifeboats — GRP hulls can degrade in ways that aren't obvious on a routine visual check.
• Machinery failures remain the leading driver of marine hull claims.
• Non-compliant wood packaging continues to put shipments at risk of rejection or delay.
• ReCAAP's weekly piracy report is out, covering the latest incidents across Asian waters.

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Related Reading

• Federal Indiana: The Space Nobody Classified as Dangerous
• MSC.Circ.1578: Abandon Ship Drill Safety Guidelines