Week 39 2026: Gas Detection Failures, UK ETS Arrives, and Two Fatal Hong Kong Notices

Flag State Regulations and Guidance

• The Bahamas — Safety Alert 26-03 on allergies and anaphylaxis onboard, plus two information notices covering archipelagic baselines and recurring detainable Port State Control deficiencies.
• Liberia — reissued its Maritime Cyber Risk Management in Safety Management Systems advisory alongside a new Marine Security Bulletin on a cybersecurity incident pattern in the Atlantic — see our separate roundup on the tanker cyberattack pattern for the full picture. Liberia also updated its invalid-extensions-of-certification advisory and its container loss/drift reporting requirements.
• Hong Kong — four Merchant Shipping Information Notices this week, including a fatal accident inside a cargo hold aboard a bulk carrier (MSIN 9/2026) and fatal malaria cases aboard Hong Kong-registered ships (MSIN 10/2026). Neither notice has enough public detail yet for a full case-study treatment — we'll follow up if MSIU or a fuller report becomes available.
• US — three new Marine Safety Alerts worth flagging: 13-26 on systemic failures in gas detection practices, 14-26 on gangway inspection, maintenance and operational safety, and 15-26 on the hazards of retractable pilot houses on towing vessels.
• Malta — MS Notice 118 Rev.2, updated guidelines on issuing a Maltese Seaman Record Book.

Class Society and P&I Club Guidance Worth Flagging

• ABS released its own note on hidden hazards from systemic gas detection failures — the same topic as the US Marine Safety Alert above, from an independent source in the same week, which is usually a sign the underlying issue is genuinely widespread rather than a single-vessel event.
• Britannia published guidance on ISO 8217 marine fuel specifications and what they actually mean for engine performance — timely with ongoing fuel-quality variability across bunkering regions.
• Steamship Mutual released a Safe Ports and Berths FAQ, addressing a recurring charterparty dispute area.
• Skuld published guidance on the UK Emissions Trading Scheme's arrival for shipping — a genuinely new compliance obligation for operators and charterers, not a restatement of EU ETS.
• West flagged off-spec bunker trends in its latest Neptune Bunker Information Update — worth checking against your own recent bunker deliveries.
• NorthStandard covered four separate Brazil-specific regulatory changes this week (inland navigation framework, biofouling, ballast water, port operational limits) — relevant primarily to operators trading into Brazilian ports.

Developing Story We're Watching

Singapore's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre reported that all 25 crew of the MSC container ship MSC Hermes III abandoned ship on 22 September, about 160nm east of Vietnam, and were recovered safely by another vessel with no injuries reported. No cause has been confirmed yet. Per our standing practice on developing incidents, we'll hold off on a full write-up until an investigation body publishes findings.

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Related Reading

• Scot Stuttgart: The Checklist Said Isolated
• Stena Estrid: 500 Tonnes of Flooding, Zero Injuries
• A String of Suspected Tanker Cyberattacks