Maritime
Ukraine Is Fighting Russia in Africa
September 25, 2026
Lead AnalysisIran//John Hendricks//September 30, 2026
Iran’s Blacklisted Tankers Are Resurfacing Under Nicaragua’s Flag
Iran-linked ships are using new names and radio codes associated with Nicaragua while still transmitting ship identification numbers on the U.S. sanctions list. The new codes follow a shared pattern, but the records do not confirm official Nicaraguan registration or reveal who issued them.
Read the Analysis →IMAGE //Genmar Companion (IMO 9255933), later listed by Treasury as Ocean Koi, at Skarvikshamnen, Gothenburg, 9 July 2011. Source: Bo Randstedt / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
+ The Latest
China
China
+ Dispatches
- 01Satellite Images Show Fire Damage at Saudi Pipeline Pumping StationSeptember 11, 2026
- 02US Navy tests robotic refueling for unmanned vessels at seaSeptember 8, 2026
- 03Ukraine Strikes St. PetersburgJune 3, 2026
- 04Hormuz Closure Strands Gulf Fertilizer Past the Spring Planting WindowJune 3, 2026
- 05Europe Moved to Block Starlink the Same Day the Pentagon Made It the Backbone of US Military CommsMay 27, 2026
Maritime//September 25, 2026
Ukraine Is Fighting Russia in Africa
Kyiv is using drone expertise to expand its reach from Libya’s coast to northern Mali, while operations against Russia bring diplomatic costs.
John Hendricks
China
Ukraine Keeps Striking Russia’s Antenna Plant While the Main Shahed Factory Buys From China
Alabuga is adding defenses and reportedly assembling Chinese-origin antennas on site, giving the factory an antenna supply route outside Cheboksary.
China
A Chinese Satellite Tied to Iran Passed Near the Jordan Base Days Before the Strike
US officials linked the Jordan strike to imagery from Chinese entities. Global Recon reconstructed four midday passes near the base by a satellite reportedly acquired by Iran. Its role in supplying that imagery remains unconfirmed.
+ Start HereThree investigations that show how this desk works
Three investigations that show how this desk works
Iran
The Magazine Math
The Iran campaign did not empty the Pacific arsenal. It emptied the shelf slowest to restock, and the plan to refill it from another direction runs through a supply line Beijing can shut.
Russia
The Drone Does Not Have to Be Steered
Russia’s advantage on NATO’s eastern flank is not control of every drone. It is the political crisis created when no one can prove why the drone crossed.
Russia
The Same Corridor
Belarus turned its frontier into a multi-use pressure system. Migrants, tunnels, drones, balloons, and saboteurs are different payloads moving through the same operating space.
The analysis, in your inbox.
OSINT and national security analysis from John Hendricks. Free, no noise.
+ More AnalysisAll Analysis →
Iran
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Bypass Is Under Attack
A pipeline strike from Iraq and Houthi pressure on Red Sea shipping expose the limits of Saudi Arabia’s alternative to Hormuz.
September 12, 2026
Iran
The Houthis Are Advancing on the Red Sea’s Southern Exit
Their coastal gains could deepen pressure on Saudi Arabia’s oil bypass, whose cargoes already reroute through Egypt when the strait is too risky.
September 10, 2026
Iran
America Is Sinking Tankers That Also Carry Russian Oil
Three of the eight hulls hit since September 5 sit in a Treasury-listed pool that loads in the Baltic as well as the Gulf.
September 10, 2026
Maritime
The Houthis’ Red Sea War Has a Land Front
The fighting west of Taiz is testing whether Yemen’s government can keep its coastal foothold connected to the interior.
September 9, 2026