DeepDraft Conversations

In this DeepDraft episode, we discuss the operational risk behind VLCC ship-to-ship transfer operations. The focus is not just the incident itself, but the margins around it: weather limits, mooring loads, fender arrangements, cargo hose exposure, decision-making and the point where a routine STS operation can start moving towards failure. For seafarers, Masters, tanker officers, marine superinten...

“All fast” is one of those phrases that sounds reassuring at sea. The ships are alongside. The lines are passed. The fenders are working. The cargo hose is connected. It feels like the difficult part is over. But in similar-size VLCC STS, that is not always true. The system keeps changing through the transfer. One vessel is rising. The other is settling. Freeboard changes. Windage changes. Mooring...

This episode covers Hormuz route-control uncertainty, possible fleet-loss exposure after the San Antonio damage case, Gulf of Aden piracy pressure, Baltic LNG boarding risk and hull-performance risk after delayed Gulf waiting. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedeepdraft.substack.com

Two ships can wait in the same Hormuz waters and still leave with very different hull conditions. In this episode, I discuss why one vessel may report slime while another reports barnacles, and why the answer often lies in coating age, idle time, cleaning history and the remaining antifouling margin of the hull. This episode is connected to the latest DeepDraft analysis: https://thedeepdraft.com/2...

https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/06/28/hormuz-exit-control-master-sanctions-risk-june-28-2026/ Hormuz remains open, but commercial passage is no longer behaving like a normal transit. This week’s DeepDraft Weekly Maritime Brief tracks controlled evacuation routing, the EVER LOVELY strike, reduced tanker movement, and the growing link between sanctions enforcement and Master-level accountability. The...

This video discussion is based on my latest DeepDraft article, The Shadow Fleet’s Human Firewall . The shadow fleet is usually discussed through old tankers, weak flags, AIS gaps, doubtful insurance, hidden ownership, and sanctions enforcement. But there is another layer: the crew onboard. The trade may be planned ashore, but when enforcement reaches the vessel, the person physically exposed is of...

The shadow fleet is planned ashore, but the exposure often lands on the bridge. This episode looks at sanctions enforcement, crew risk, shipboard records, and why the Master is becoming the reachable human point in a chain built far beyond his view. Related DeepDraft article: https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/06/22/the-shadow-fleets-human-firewall/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discus...

Full Weekly Brief: https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/06/21/hormuz-permit-control-crew-risk-accountability-june-21-2026/ Hormuz is open in practice, but managed passage has replaced routine transit. This episode covers Gulf STS transfers, Saudi VLCC movements, Iran’s permit-control layer, Black Sea shadow-fleet risk, and the Settebello crew-risk accountability failure. Hormuz is open in practice, but m...

GNSS failure at sea is no longer just a loss-of-signal problem. The harder case is spoofing, where the bridge display remains calm, the ECDIS track appears coherent, and the vessel’s digital systems continue to agree with each other while the underlying position may already be compromised. That is the operational danger. For the Master and OOW, the issue is not whether satellite navigation is usef...

This short DeepDraft video looks at the Settebello case from the seafarer’s side of the gangway. For me, the issue does not start only after the vessel came under suspicion. It starts much earlier, with the way civilian seafarers were recruited, briefed, cleared and sent into a war-risk trade. A signed waiver may close the file for a recruiting agency. It does not remove the risk carried by the ma...

Full article: https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/06/15/settebello-was-not-sacrifice-it-was-a-recruitment-failure/ A DeepDraft Technical Briefing on the Settebello case, civilian seafarer recruitment, sanctions-sensitive trades, blockade exposure, waiver culture and the operational risk that reaches the gangway long before the vessel sails. TheDeepDraft.com This is a public episode. If you would like to...

Full Weekly Brief: https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/06/14/deepdraft-weekly-maritime-brief-june-14-2026-gulf-enforcement-now-meets-underwater-readiness/ Gulf enforcement, Hormuz delay, tanker casualties, Suez cost pressure and hidden biofouling risk are now shaping vessel readiness, crew exposure and charterparty evidence. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscrib...

Full article link → https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/06/08/the-barnacle-problem-waiting-behind-hormuz/ Long Gulf delays can turn biofouling into speed loss, fuel penalty, cooling risk, and charter-party exposure. The ship may be ready on paper, but the underwater condition may tell a different story. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to b...

Ships delayed around Hormuz may start moving again, but their underwater condition may not match the clean-hull assumptions still sitting in the paperwork. In this DeepDraft technical briefing, Capt. Raghu Sharma looks at what prolonged warm-water anchorage can do to hull resistance, propeller response, sea chest condition, cooling-water margin, fuel burn, and charter-party evidence before vessels...

Gulf security risk, selective Hormuz movement, northern Gulf attacks and MSC 111 compliance changes now require stronger voyage control and 2028 fleet preparation. https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/06/07/gulf-security-risk-msc-111-compliance-june-7-2026/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thedeepdraft.substack.com

Crude oil has been declared finished many times. But ships are still loading it. Refineries are still running it. States are still securing it. Charterers are still moving it. And tanker routes still show where the real energy system is alive. This DeepDraft video looks at the difference between energy transition and energy addition. For maritime professionals, that distinction matters. A new ener...

MSC 111 is not just another IMO meeting summary. It sets a practical 2028 compliance window across GMDSS, VDES, Remote Inspection Techniques, free-fall lifeboat testing, IP Code assumptions, Load Line guard rails, IMDG Code 43-26, alternative fuels and the MASS Code. This DeepDraft video briefing looks at the operational meaning behind the regulation: how ships, Masters, managers, superintendents...

A technical DeepDraft briefing on MSC 111 and the 2028 IMO compliance window affecting GMDSS, VDES, Remote Inspection Techniques, lifeboat testing, IP Code assumptions, Load Line guard rails, IMDG Code 43-26, alternative fuels and the MASS Code. Full analysis: https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/06/01/msc-111-2028-imo-compliance-shift/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with oth...

Full Weekly Brief: https://thedeepdraft.com/2026/05/31/deepdraft-weekly-maritime-brief-may-31-2026-hormuz-reopening-still-runs-through-owner-insurer-and-bridge-approval/ Hormuz has shifted from closure pressure into a controlled reopening test, but transit still depends on owner consent, insurance cover, mine risk, toll refusal and bridge-level voyage authority. This episode also covers Malacca wa...

A ship may have a pilot on board. A senior officer may have the conn. The manoeuvring orders may be coming fast. But the Master’s authority and responsibility do not disappear just because the handling of the ship has been delegated. This short video revisits one of DeepDraft’s earlier articles on the operational reality behind command, conn, pilotage, delegation and accountability on the bridge....

What really happens when a global maritime chokepoint is threatened? The industry often asks if ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but the better question is what happens before they even try. In this episode, we break down the cascading effects of geopolitical disruptions on the global shipping industry. We explore how a disrupted sea lane doesn't just delay vessels, it completely c...

Hormuz remains permissioned, with controlled routing, boarding risk and sanctions exposure still affecting commercial movement. MEPC 84 adds a separate compliance signal through the North-East Atlantic ECA, turning a new chart boundary into fuel planning, records and PSC exposure. Read the full DeepDraft Weekly Maritime Brief at TheDeepDraft.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discu...

Starting January 1, 2026, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is banning firefighting foams containing PFOS, a toxic "forever chemical" on all ships worldwide. But is the maritime industry actually ready for the alternatives? In this episode, we dive deep into the tension between protecting the marine environment and ensuring shipboard fire safety. For decades, PFOS-based foams...

In pilotage waters, one misunderstood word can blur the line between advice and authority. This DeepDraft video looks at the common claim that a pilot “has the Conn” during pilotage. In merchant shipping, that phrase creates more confusion than clarity. The pilot advises. The Master commands. The Officer of the Watch executes under the Master’s authority. That distinction is not academic. It affec...

A short DeepDraft technical briefing on what MEPC 84 actually changed for ships. The IMO Net-Zero Framework remains unresolved, but the North-East Atlantic ECA is moving toward enforcement from 2028. For Masters, Chief Engineers and operators, the issue is practical: fuel planning, changeover timing, tank segregation, MARPOL samples, engine-room records and Port State Control exposure. Full analys...