Global Scans · Life Below Water · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

• [New] Ocean freight rates in 2026 are expected to remain range-bound, with periodic spikes driven by capacity withdrawals, port congestion, or geopolitical events. iContainers
• [New] The southern Central Asian countries including Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are expected to retain more intense deficits around Sarygamysh Lake through mid-2026. ISCIENCES
• [New] Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have again underscored the vulnerability along the Suez Canal/Red Sea corridor, the principal east-west trade artery. gmfus
• [New] Costa Rica's abundance of rare wildlife brings opportunity to get involved in exclusive conservation efforts accompanied by marine biologists and scientists. Pelorus Travel
• [New] The loss of summer sea ice estimated to occur in the coming decades will worsen impacts to ecosystems, Arctic people, and global climate. Ocean Visions
• [New] Arctic sea ice, which serves an important role in global climate stability through its high albedo, is a system at high risk. Ocean Visions
• [New] Stretching 2,661 miles (4,282 kilometers) long and 383 miles (616 km) wide, the path of annularity - where the 'ring of fire' will be visible - cuts across western Antarctica and skims the Davis Sea coast of the Southern Ocean. Space
• [New] Earth Sciences NZ expects La Nina's lagged influence, which tends to favour warmer-than-average coastal SSTs, to re-emerge, with coupled ocean-atmosphere models indicating a tendency toward above-average SSTs across the February-April period. Insurance Business
• [New] Blank sailings, port congestion, and shifting trade patterns mean that sticking to transit windows and anticipating delays will define successful planning in ocean logistics in 2026. 20Cube Logistics
• [New] Raytheon's tethered drone system represents a scalable, cost-effective counter to the proliferation of unmanned surface vehicle threats targeting vulnerable commercial and logistics vessels in contested waters, particularly addressing gaps in Red Sea shipping security. Drone Warfare
• [New] Ukraine's Marichka underwater drone represents a strategic shift toward persistent subsurface denial capabilities, potentially enabling week-long ambush operations that could render Russian naval movements in the Black Sea prohibitively risky without comprehensive anti-submarine warfare investments. Drone Warfare
• [New] NASA has selected two Earth System Explorers Mission - STRIVE (daily, near-global atmospheric measurements) and EDGE (three-dimensional data on terrestrial ecosystem and glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice) - to be launched by 2030. TerraWatch Space Newsletter
• [New] Microplastics are a growing global concern, with documented effects on marine ecosystems and potential risks to human health. ScienceDaily
• [New] Scientists are aiming to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, with more sustainable fishing practices that guarantee the future of marine life. Yahoo News
• [New] Scientists are working towards protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030 and promoting sustainable fishing practices to mitigate the environmental impact of bottom trawling. Yahoo News
• [New] As sea ice retreats at an accelerated pace - with some projections suggesting the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free during summer as early as 2027 - the legal status of the Northwest Passage has returned to the forefront of Canadian-American tensions. Ronin's Grips
• [New] The Marine Corps will likely pursue enhanced autonomous capabilities, extended endurance variants, and potentially weaponized configurations to transition from pure ISR to strike-reconnaissance roles in distributed maritime operations. Drone Warfare
• [New] Predictive Analysis: Expect rapid proliferation of underwater drone capabilities as Ukraine's Sub Sea Baby success demonstrates vulnerability of moored high-value assets. Drone Warfare
• [New] The Trump deep-sea mining strategy represents a comprehensive approach to critical mineral security that could reshape both domestic industrial capabilities and global resource markets. Discovery Alert
• [New] The Weddell Sea is one of the most extreme and challenging regions in Antarctica, known for its dense, unpredictable pack ice and extreme variability in sea and weather conditions. Cruise Industry News | Cruise News
• [New] Cold air mass from China will bring thunderstorms, drop in temperature, and strong winds to Thailand, with rough seas expected in Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea. null
• [New] Sea conditions in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea will become moderate, with wave heights reaching 2 meters or more, especially in areas with thunderstorms. null

Last updated: 15 February 2026