East Asia

Eyewitnesses report that a small aircraft crashed into Beijing's tallest tower.

Two bystanders said that an aircraft the size of a car crashed into Beijing’s tallest building CITIC Tower on Friday. Police closed the roads surrounding the skyscraper, and prevented passersby from filming. The?building is a 108 storey skyscraper located in Beijing's central district. The building is the headquarters for the state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group. The site was heavily policed, and some of the approach roads were closed to vehicles. The police prevented some people from taking photos and asked other to delete the ones they had taken as they ushered people away from the building. Two glass panels were damaged
Passenger Transportation Services

There are some flights to the Middle East that have resumed but there is still disruption.
Fertilizer shipments start leaving through the Hormuz Strait

Data showed that after an interim agreement to end the Iran War, the Fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz began to increase. Analysts say, however, it will be some time before they return to their pre-conflict level and bring relief to the market. Before the U.S. launched their war with Israel on February 28, a third or more of the global urea trade -- the most commonly used fertiliser in the world -- and almost half of the seaborne sulphur -- a critical input -- typically passed through the strait. But the near-closure of the crucial waterway during most
Passenger Marine Transportation

After an attack on a ship, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is slowed
China Eastern Airlines will buy 25 Airbus A330 Neo jets worth $9.4 billion

China Eastern Airlines announced on Friday that it will purchase '25 A330 Neo jets from Airbus at a catalogue price of $9.35 billion. The Chinese carrier is expanding its widebody fleet in order to service more international routes. China Eastern said that it would deliver the aircraft in batches between 2029 and 2033 in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The two companies had signed a purchase agreement earlier in the day in Shanghai. The filing stated that the transaction would be used to upgrade and replace the existing aircraft models and supplement the company's?future transportation capacity. The A330neo,
LNG Transportation

ROI-Hormuz oil shock echoes 1973 embargo lessons: Bousso

The Strait of Hormuz is now open to oil and gas, but the 100-day closure of this vital waterway could be the turning point in the global energy market. Arab oil embargo 1973, which was a similar supply shock, provides clues as to where we may be heading. The latest Middle East Crisis tested the limits of the modern energy system. It has evolved in recent decades to a highly connected global market, held together by thousands trading houses, complex pricing systems, and thousands of tankers. The system was remarkably flexible during the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran that
Taiwan's Evergreen claims ship struck by unknown object near Oman

LNG Transportation

Additional oil tankers leaving Hormuz will add to global supply

Shipping data shows that three stranded oil tankers, each carrying 5 million barrels of crude oil, left the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday. Two of them were headed to Asia. The interim agreement between Iran and the U.S. has released more supply?stuck?in the Gulf, which is bringing down?global?prices. Data from LSEG & Kpler revealed that the VL Breeze (flagged South Korean) is a Very Large Carrier, carrying 2,000,000 barrels of Qatari Condensate & Abu Dhabi Crude. It has passed through the strait on its way to Daesan. The supertanker was chartered by South Korean refiner Hyundai Oilbank. The data revealed that...

LNG Transportation

Sources: China plans to build a second LNG terminal in China for Russian cargoes sanctioned by the United States

Three sources familiar with the situation said that China is building a second terminal to import liquefied natural gas from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project. This will expand a route which has relied on only one facility so far. Sources say that the newly constructed Longkou LNG Terminal in eastern China's Shandong Province, operated by state pipeline company PipeChina, will be receiving Arctic LNG 2 cargoes. The move will provide a lifeline for the $21 billion project that is currently under sanctions. It will also help Moscow, as its gas exports have been affected by Europe's decision not to purchase...

LNG Transportation

Bousso: The quest of ROI-Gulf Exporters to bypass Hormuz is reshaping the region.

Middle East oil producers will have to face the consequences. The Iran War exposed the dangers of relying solely on one chokepoint to export vital oil and natural gas. Gulf governments were left with a clear strategy imperative: diversify at all costs. A blockade of Strait of Hormuz by Iran was long viewed as an "event of doomsday". It would never occur. Experts believed it would take a massive military effort, and Tehran would not be willing to choke off its own exports. These assumptions proved to be wildly wrong. Iran used cheap drones, small vessels, and mines to impose...

LNG Transportation

The Hormuz gas shock did not break Europe's market. Martin Vladimirov, Borbala Toth and the time might

The?market for natural gas in Europe has, at least thus far, passed the Hormuz test. The U.S. and Iran peace agreement suggests that the worst shock is over, even though flows may only recover gradually. This should calm supply concerns and focus attention on the pressures that will shape the market over the next few decades. As a result of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz was closed to nearly all trade in liquefied gas. This pushed gas prices in Asia and Europe sharply higher. Although the Strait of Hormuz is expected to be reopened under 'the...

LNG Transportation

Bousso: Iran's fragile deal with oil offers relief, but there are still risks associated with the Hormuz pipeline.

Energy exporters and buyers will breathe a collective sigh of relief when the U.S. and Iran deal ends months of fighting. The fragile calm could not prevent future flare ups and cast doubt on how quickly or fully the tanker traffic in the crucial waterway will return to normal. Iran and the U.S. announced an agreement late Sunday night to lift the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. This is where?a fifth of the world's oil and LNG passed before the?war broke out on 28 February. After both sides sign the agreement on Friday, it is expected that the Strait...

LNG Transportation

Bousso: Iran's fragile deal with oil offers relief, but there are still risks associated with the Hormuz pipeline.

Energy exporters and buyers will breathe a collective breath of relief when the U.S. and Iran deal ends months of fighting by reopening Strait of Hormuz. The fragile calm could not prevent future outbreaks and it is unclear how soon or fully tanker traffic in the crucial waterway will return to normal. Iran and the U.S. announced an agreement late Sunday night to lift the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. This is where a fifth of the world's oil and LNG flowed through before the February 28th war. Both sides are expected to sign the agreement on Friday. This...

LNG Transportation

Bousso: Reopening of the ROI-Hormuz could be OPEC’s downfall

Saudi Arabia and its neighbouring Gulf producers are likely to cheer the eventual reopening of Strait of Hormuz. However, the ensuing influx of?oil could erode OPEC’s fragile grip on the markets. The Iran conflict and the closing of the crucial waterway, through which nearly one-fifth of the oil and gas in the world flowed prior to the conflict, have dramatically reduced the output of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. This has shifted the centre of gravity of the industry away from the Middle East. Riyadh has limited options to counter?these changes. The re-opening of the strait is not...

LNG Transportation

Bousso: Reopening of the ROI-Hormuz could be OPEC’s downfall

Bousso: The board of ROI-BP snatches victory from the jaws.

BP's second leadership scandal in less than 3 years is the sudden removal of BP Chairman Albert Manifold, who was accused of?misconduct? less than 8 months after he assumed office. BP's board has become a liability because of these repeated leadership failures. Sources close to the 'board' claim that his departure was due to 'aggressive conduct towards BP employees, which became a public issue following a whistleblower report. Manifold was hired by the company to oversee its strategic transformation and restore investor confidence after a disastrous venture into renewables in 2020 under the former CEO Bernard Looney, and Manifold’s predecessor...

The deceptive calm of the oil market will not last.

Physical oil is at the center of the storm, a calm that deceives after the initial panic to deal with the largest oil crisis in human history. The Iran war blow has been softened by the dramatic drop in "China's" purchases and a rise in U.S. Exports. This delicate balance could not last long, as the peak season for demand is approaching. The crude oil market is surprising calm, despite the sudden loss of 20 million barrels of Middle Eastern oil per day, or about a fifth of global supplies, after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz shortly after the...

US LNG ships leave for China following a year-long pause before Trump-Xi Summit

China could receive its 'first direct U.S. liquefied gas shipment to China in over a year' in a possible sign of thawing ties in the energy sector as U.S. president Donald Trump heads this upcoming week to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to LSEG, three vessels left U.S. export LNG plants in Louisiana in the last week. They are expected to arrive in China between mid- and late June. Other LNG tankers left U.S. port and claimed to be heading to China in the last year. However, no LNG tanker has gone directly from the...

The battle for Hormuz could spark the next Iran conflict: Bousso

The Strait of Hormuz is now the main battleground in the Iran conflict. The passage of a few oil and gas tanks in recent days with Tehran's apparent consent, suggests a tacit acceptance of Tehran's control. This signals a dangerous new phase of what is rapidly turning into a Hormuz War. The global energy market has been shook by the near-complete closing of the vital trade artery in Tehran since the joint Israeli and U.S. airstrikes took place on February 28. The sudden loss of 13% of the global oil supply, and a fifth of the liquefied gas flow, has...

Sources say that Apollo, Blackstone, and KKR are competing for Shell's stake in LNG Canada.

Three people with knowledge of the situation said that Apollo Global Management is in a fierce battle to buy a large stake from Shell's energy?major, LNG Canada. Three of the largest asset managers in the world, the 'trio', remain as bidders for the Shell auction, which attracted interest from large money managers, infrastructure investors, and other major companies. Several people have said that the deal could be worth more than $10 billion or even $15 billion. The bidding process is confidential, so everyone who spoke to asked that their names not be used. Shell, who announced on Monday a $16.4billion...

Transport Infrastructure

The Gulf markets are gaining ground as caution persists

The major Gulf stock exchanges rose in the early trading on Wednesday, amid signs of progress in U.S.Iran negotiations. However, there was still uncertainty about?the durability? of the agreement. The two countries that concluded the first round of negotiations on Monday in Switzerland gave contradictory accounts of some key elements of the Framework Agreement signed last week for the end of the war. These included financial incentives to Iran, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel's war in Lebanon. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that Iran agreed to nuclear inspections in "infinity" on Tuesday. Tehran denied this concession...

Transport Infrastructure

Andy Home: The ROI-Congo pivots to the west under cover of cobalt control

Cobalt ambitions of the Democratic Republic of Congo are becoming more and more apparent. Export restrictions were used by the world's biggest producer of the strategic metal used in everything from stealth bombers to mobile phones, to "drain" the market and raise prices. Kinshasa, as it gains more control of its cobalt industry, is also trying to lessen its reliance on Chinese operators, and pivot toward the West, particularly the United States. The rebalancing is accompanied by new attempts to integrate the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), a minefield of ethical issues for Western cobalt purchasers, into official sector. MOVING...

Transport Infrastructure

US launches investigation into fatal Tesla crash in Texas home

The U.S. government said Monday that it is investigating the crash of a Tesla Model 3 on June 19, which was using a driver assistance system at the time. It struck a house in Katy, Texas and killed a woman aged 76. Since 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened more than 50 "special crash investigations" into Tesla incidents in which advanced driver assist systems like Autopilot are suspected of being used. About two dozen fatalities have been reported. Separately in March, NHTSA escalated its investigation into 3.2 Million Tesla vehicles equipped with "Full Self Driving" due...

Ground Freight

Exxaro, a South African company, is working on cheaper rail transport to move more manganese.

Exxaro Resources, a South African miner, said Monday that it wants to 'transport more manganese by rail instead of road in order to reduce costs and improve efficiency at its newly-acquired assets. Exxaro CEO Ben Magara stated that the company, along with its competitors, were working together with Transnet, a state-owned firm in freight transport, to increase freight capacity. Transnet is opening up parts of its network for private investment. Exxaro reported that hauling manganese via road costs?37% higher than rail. Exxaro said that logistics costs accounted for 43% for the free-onboard costs of?the bulk minerals. Johan Meyer, Exxaro's head...

Transportation

Bousso: The quest of ROI-Gulf Exporters to bypass Hormuz is reshaping the region.

Middle East oil producers will have to face the consequences. The Iran War exposed the dangers in relying solely on one chokepoint to export vital oil and gas. Gulf governments were left with a clear strategy imperative: diversify at all costs. A blockade by Iran of the Strait of Hormuz was long viewed as an "event of doomsday". It would never occur. Experts believed it would take a massive effort from the military and that Tehran wouldn't be willing to stop its exports. These assumptions were 'proven painfully incorrect. Iran used cheap drones and small vessels to impose a nearly...

Transport Infrastructure

Thailand revives $30 billion coast-to-coast highway to rival Malacca Strait

Chaiyaporn?Arunrasamee, hunched with his nets over the Andaman Sea, is a Thai government official proposing a "Land Bridge", which will ferry goods from ports on either side of the peninsula. Chaiyaporn stated that he did not want the project to be implemented. The Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul revived the project after the war with Iran and the closing of the Hormuz Strait revealed the countries' dependence on strategic maritime chokepoints. Plans envisage a '1 trillion baht logistics corridor ($30.45billion) to provide an alternative route through the Strait of Malacca, which is currently clogged with traffic. The corridor will connect...

Transport Infrastructure

Taiwan claims its delegates were barred from Ocean Conference in Kenya

Taiwan's government claimed that Kenya had banned delegates from Taiwan from attending an international conference in East Africa on oceans. This was due to pressure from China. China considers?democratically-governed?Taiwan to be?its territory and objects to any treatment of Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan's government has rejected Beijing's claims of sovereignty. In a statement posted on X, Tuesday, the 'Ocean Affairs Council', a Taiwan government agency said that visas were revoked for Taiwanese researchers at the last moment. Participants had their passports seized and phones confiscated. Kenyan officials from the foreign ministry and event organizers have not responded to requests...

Transport Infrastructure

Is the Iran War just an energy shock or a turning-point? Russell

Loss of?barrels, and increased prices are already signs that the Iran war has disrupted global crude oil and gas markets. With a U.S. peace deal with Iran expected to reopen Strait of Hormuz in the near future, it's time to assess whether this was a 'watershed moment or just another blip. Consider two precedents. Volkswagen's "Dieselgate", a scandal in 2015 over rigged emission tests, seemed innocent at first. But it signaled the end of diesel cars for passenger vehicles and the rise?of electric vehicle (EVs). The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine sparked a dramatic rise in energy prices. However, the...

Transport Infrastructure

Native Taiwanese paddle to the Philippines to reconnect a long-lost route

A group of native Taiwanese paddled to the Philippines in a wooden canoe that they built themselves, revitalizing a route that had been dormant for hundreds of years and reestablishing a cultural connection. The indigenous Batanes Islands, located north of Luzon in the Philippines, are also closely related to Taiwan's Orchid island. The 20-seater canoe named Ovayan, or "Golden Friendship", was built by six communities in Orchid Island, as part of an official project. It will take 24 hours to complete the trip, with 60 people rotating between support ships and taking turns rowing. Maraos is the chairperson of Taiwan’s...

Transport Infrastructure

Bousso: Reopening of the ROI-Hormuz could be OPEC’s downfall

Saudi Arabia and its neighbours in the Gulf will celebrate the eventual reopening of Strait of Hormuz. But the ensuing oil flood could erode OPEC’s fragile grip on the markets. The Iran War and the closing of the vital waterway, through which nearly one fifth of world oil and gas passed before the conflict, have dramatically reduced the output of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and shifted the industry's center of gravity away. Riyadh has limited options to counter these changes. The strait is not expected to reopen anytime soon, and it's unclear what the conditions will be. Iran...

Transport Infrastructure

Three more LNG tanks leave Strait of Hormuz

Ship-tracking data showed that three more liquefied gas tankers left the Strait of Hormuz without their transponders and were heading to destinations in 'Asia. However, it is unclear when exactly they made this 'transit. The United States and Iran exchanged air attacks on Thursday for the second day in a row, with U.S. president Donald Trump threatening further?strikes until Tehran accepts a peace agreement and Washington claiming it 'fired on an Iranian oil vessel. QatarEnergy-controlled tankers Lebrethah (left) and?Rasheeda (right) were last spotted west of the Strait on June 1, and April 30, respectively. They carried?cargoes that had been loaded...

Transport Infrastructure

Vietnam's Vingroup pushes ahead with the 'world's biggest stadium' despite doubts about demand

Vingroup, a Vietnamese company, is speeding up construction of the world's biggest stadium in Hanoi. They are betting that future demand will make the 135,000-seat venue financially viable. A Vingroup representative said during a recent site visit that thousands of workers work around the clock on the site located about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles south of the central Hanoi) to finish the venue by the end of July 2027. The completion date is a year earlier than the original plan announced in December. Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest company by market capitalisation and working on a number of projects including a high-speed...

Passenger Marine Transportation

Gulf oil tanker prices nearly double as Middle East producers increase exports

Shipping data and sources indicate that oil tanker operators have made record profits this week after almost doubling the cost of hiring vessels to travel through the Strait of Hormuz or the wider Gulf region. This is due to the increasing demand for the waterway as it slowly begins to pick up. The strait's traffic has been relatively low since Iran lifted the effective blockade after agreeing on a 60-day truce with the U.S. last week. Meanwhile, talks are continuing to reach a permanent agreement to end the war. The number of vessels passing through Hormuz has dropped to a...

Passenger Marine Transportation

Qatar brings LNG tankers into Hormuz despite shipping slowdown

Shipping data revealed that four liquefied?gas tanks controlled by Qatar headed into the Strait of Hormuz despite a drop in?ship traffic following Iran's announcement over the weekend that the waterway had been closed again. Shiptracking data by analytics firm Kpler revealed that the tankers - Wadi Al Sadd, Mekaines Al Sadd, and Mesaimeer – entered the strait via Iran for the first since the U.S./Israeli war against Iran began. QatarEnergy's LNG exports, which have been severely curtailed since the beginning of the war on February 28, didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. LSEG data shows that the dry...

Passenger Marine Transportation

Although there are questions about Iran's transit conditions, oil shipments to Hormuz have increased.

The United States and Iran signed a ceasefire agreement on Friday, and Gulf producers are preparing to increase exports in spite of concerns about the conditions set by Tehran. Washington and Tehran have released the text for an interim agreement that was signed on Wednesday, to end the conflict. Donald Trump has warned that he will resume his attacks and "target Iranian officials" if the commitments made are not kept. MarineTraffic reports that at least four tankers with crude oil, oil products, and liquefied gas headed for Iraqi Gulf port entered the strait Friday. After being delayed by war, a...

Passenger Transportation Services

Fuel relief from the Iran deal may keep airline ticket prices high.

Oil prices are expected to fall after the interim U.S. Iran peace agreement, but it is unlikely that passengers will see any immediate relief. Carriers may be able to maintain fares above those of pre-war. The U.S. market is the most obvious example. Fuel costs have risen this year, but fare increases are still behind. Domestic seat growth is also limited. This gives airlines the opportunity to use lower fuel costs to rebuild margins, rather than reverse recent price hikes. U.S. Jet Fuel Spot Prices were $2.85 per gallon on 17th June, down from a high of $4.88 in early...

AirAsia X CEO: Prices for jet fuel have fallen since June 15, resulting in a reduction of fares.

Bo Lingam said that the CEO of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia?X, has announced a 5% reduction in fares since June 15. The airline will continue to monitor the situation on a weekly basis as jet fuel prices fall, he added. As the U.S. - Iran war wreaked havoc on travel around the world, the airline has used the last three months to reduce underperforming flights, shift the demand, and renegotiate all contracts with vendors and lessors. Lingam said to reporters that they were still renegotiating and restructuring all of their contracts. He added that "week by week we will be...

Iran claims to have closed the Strait of Hormuz again

After Iran announced that it had "again" closed the Strait of Hormuz, citing Israel and the United States, the number of ships passing through this waterway dropped sharply. Shipping data revealed that there were 'violations' of the interim peace agreement. Kpler data showed that five vessels crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on Sunday, down from 26 ships seen a day before. Three Very Large Crude Carriers, each carrying 2,000,000 barrels of Saudi crude oil and fuel oil, were among the vessels. One of them was headed to Japan. Data may exclude vessels who turn off their transponders when travelling through...

There are some flights to the Middle East that have resumed but there is still disruption.

Several airlines have resumed flights to certain parts of the Middle East, as diplomatic efforts intensify to resolve the conflict that erupted after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iran. However, many other carriers continue to suspend flights, causing global travel disruptions. The following is an alphabetical update of the flight status for airlines: AEGEAN AIRLINES The largest airline in Greece has cancelled flights between Thessaloniki and Tel Aviv until the 26th of June. Flights from?Dubai to Erbil,?Baghdad and?Baghdad are all cancelled until September 30. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until the...

Data shows that three supertankers with Saudi flags sail through Hormuz following the signing of Iran deal

Data from a ship tracking system showed that three supertankers flying the Saudi flag with?six millions barrels of crude aboard sailed through 'Strait of Hormuz' hours after U.S. president Donald Trump had signed a deal with Iran to end their war. On Thursday, other tankers revealed their positions as they sailed through the Strait via public ship tracking after weeks when ships had concealed their voyages while crossing the waterway. According to an analysis of shipping movements, the departures from Saudi ports represented the largest departures through the Strait in recent weeks. Analysis of shipping movements. Saudi Arabia has used...

There are some flights to the Middle East that have resumed but there is still disruption.

Some airlines have resumed flights to certain parts of the Middle East, as diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict that followed the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran gain momentum. However, many carriers continue to suspend flights, causing global travel disruptions. The following is a list of the current status of flights by alphabetical order. AEGEAN AIRLINES Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights were cancelled by Greece's largest airline until June 26. Dubai flights are cancelled until August 31. Erbil and Baghdad flights until September 30. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has canceled flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until the 28th of June. AIR...

Passenger Ground & Sea Transportation

UN agency reports that ships are already sailing through Hormuz as part of the UN evacuation scheme

A spokesperson for the U.N. shipping agency said that ships have already passed through 'the Strait of Hormuz' under a newly-launched evacuation scheme. A spokesperson for the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a U.N. agency, said that "ships have already started to pass under the plan." He declined to give any 'details' on the ships that had passed. LSEG's ship tracking data revealed on Wednesday that two dry -bulk ships, and one cargo -ship, have sailed through Hormuz in the past 12 hours. According to LSEG & MarineTraffic'ship tracking data' based on an analysis of ship movement, at least 35 commercial...