How U.S. Navy Ships Move From Keel to Commissioning
A guide to the four documented milestones that turn a hull under construction into a commissioned warship, drawn from Naval History and Heritage Command and Naval Sea Systems Command records.
Maritime News
Reporting on collisions, seizures, strait transits, commissioning dates, contract awards and port disruption, dated and attributed to primary sources.
Dhow Hijackings Kept Somali Piracy Active Through 2025 as Global Incidents Rose
The ICC International Maritime Bureau logged 45 incidents worldwide in the first quarter of 2025, and dhows and fishing vessels were hijacked off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden through the year.
Navy Released Its Findings on the USS Gettysburg Friendly-Fire Shootdown of December 2024
USS Gettysburg (CG-64) downed an F/A-18F Super Hornet over the Red Sea on December 21, 2024; the Navy published the strike group investigation findings in December 2025.
The Gerald R. Ford Strike Group Entered Fourth Fleet on November 11, 2025
The Navy announced on November 11, 2025, that USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and its strike group had repositioned from Europe to the U.S. Fourth Fleet area in the Caribbean.
NATO's Baltic Sentry Mission Began Patrolling for Anchor-Dragging Cable Cutters in January 2025
After seven Baltic cable cuts between November 2024 and January 2025, NATO stood up Baltic Sentry with frigates, patrol aircraft, and naval drones to guard undersea infrastructure.
USCGC Healy Confronted Chinese Research Vessels in the U.S. Arctic in September 2025
On September 2, 2025, the Coast Guard sent its polar icebreaker to query the Chinese research vessel JIDI about 265 miles northwest of Utqiagvik, part of a summer of challenges to Chinese survey activity.