Middle East

About 30 women dressed in matching green dust coats grading sugar snap peas for dinner tables in Europe. The atmosphere in the?facility? is positive, but for the farmers the start of the fresh produce exporting season has been difficult due to an increase in freight costs caused by the Iran War. Kuminda, which aggregates the produce of about 5,000 small farmers, had just finished preparing its first exports of sugar snap peas, and mange tout for this year. RISE IN FREIGHT PRICES Exporters must absorb rising costs, or they risk derailing a recovery of Zimbabwe's horticulture industry. Last year the...

The Indian 'Prime Minister Narendra Modi' will embark on a 'five-nation tour' taking in the United Arab Emirates and Europe from May 15-20. Modi will visit the UAE in May and then travel to the Netherlands and Sweden, Norway, and Italy. Modi's trip comes after he urged a number of measures including a reduction in travel and a decrease in imports, due to a rise in energy prices. Indian shares dropped on Monday and the rupee suffered its biggest drop in over a month, ending at its lowest closing level ever recorded following Modi’s call for austerity. India is a...

Iran has seized the oil tanker Ocean Koi, in the Gulf of Oman, for a 'pretend attempt to disrupt Iran’s oil exports. The?Barbados flagged tanker, it said, was carrying Iranian oil. It also claimed that the tanker "was attempting to disrupt and harm oil exports .... through exploiting regional circumstances". According to state media, the oil tanker was escorted to the southern coast and then handed over to the judiciary authorities. The seizure was made after the?U.S. Iranian and U.S. forces clashed at the Strait of Hormuz which connects?the Gulf of Oman to the Gulf of Oman. Iran has closed...

Maersk reported that the Alliance 'Fairfax', a U.S. flagged vehicle carrier operated by Farrell Lines, left the Gulf on Monday accompanied by U.S. Military assets. U.S. Central Command, or Centcom, said Monday that American forces were actively assisting efforts to restore commercial ship traffic through the Strait?Hormuz. Before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, 20% of world oil was transported through this vital maritime chokepoint. Centcom announced Monday that two merchant ships flying the flag of the United States successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Navy is operating guided-missile destroyers in?the Gulf as part of a project called...

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, (UKMTO),?said Monday that it received a report about a 'cargo vessel' incident which occurred 36?nautical -miles north of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. UKMTO's advisory note stated that the vessel reported an engine room fire, whose cause was not immediately determined. It also noted that all crew members were safe andaccounted for. UKMTO reported that it received a second report about a?another incident' 14 nautical miles west from Mina Saqr in the United Arab Emirates. UKMTO was notified by a third party that "a vessel was on fire." The cause of the fire is...

The United 'Kingdom Maritime - Trade Operations (UKMTO), a government agency, said on saturday that it had received a report about a tanker which was being fired at by "two gunboats connected to Iran's Revolutionary IRGC" located 20 nautical miles north of oman. UKMTO's advisory note stated that the captain of the tanker reported that?the two armed gunboats fired without issuing any radio challenges, adding that the vessel and crew were safe. UKMTO reported that it received a'report of an unknown projectile hitting a container vessel 25 nautical miles north-east of Oman. UKMTO reported that the attack damaged some containers...

Iran's Foreign Minister said that the Strait of Hormuz was now open to all commercial vessels after a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. Quotes from world leaders and the shipping industry on the Iranian declaration. SHIPPING INDUSTRIES: HAPAG-LLOYD Insurance coverage, clear orders?of?the iranian government/military about the exact sea corridor to be used and the sequence of ships leaving) we would prefer to pass through as soon as possible. Insurance coverage, orders from the Iranian government/military regarding the exact sea route to be used, and the order of departure by ships) would make it easier for us to cross the strait. Our...

Iran's Foreign Minister said that the Strait of Hormuz was now open to all commercial vessels following an agreement in Lebanon on a ceasefire. The shipping industry and leaders from around the world have spoken out about the Iranian declaration. SHIPPING INDUSTRIES: MAERSK "We have?taken?note of the announcement. Our priority is the safety of our crews, vessels, and cargo. We have been following the advice of our regional security partners since the beginning of the conflict. The recommendation has so far been to avoid transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. "Any decision on whether to transit the strait is based...

Iran's Foreign Minister said that the Strait of Hormuz was now open to all commercial vessels after a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. The shipping industry and other world leaders have weighed in on the Iranian Declaration. SHIPPING INDUSTRIES: KNUT ARILD HARIDE, CEO of the Norwegian Shipowners' Association "If this is a step in the right direction, then it is a positive development. The situation is still unresolved. There are many outstanding questions, such as those related to sea mines and the Iranian conditions. Before any transit can take place, these aspects must be clarified. SPOKESPERSON OF HAPAG-LLOYD SHIPMENT COMPANY "We're...

Tel Aviv's share indexes reached all-time peaks - and the Israeli shekel rose - to a 30-year high - against the dollar on Friday, on the apparent hope that the U.S.-Iran talks scheduled for Saturday would maintain a ceasefire. The blue-chip Tel Aviv index and the broader TA-125 closed higher by 1.9%, extending to over 6% gains since the U.S. and Israel led air war began in February '28. The?shekel rose 0.7% against the dollar, reaching a rate 3.031 - its highest level since October 1995. Israel and Hezbollah traded fire in Lebanon, and the Strait of Hormuz was closed....

Data from LSEG/Kpler showed that an oil 'tanker' loaded with Iraqi crude was seen transiting the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast a few days after Iran announced Iraq was exempted from any restrictions on transiting this vital -sea route. Kpler data shows that the Ocean Thunder loaded approximately 1 million barrels of Basrah heavy crude on March 2. It is expected to "discharge" its cargo in Pengerang, Malaysia by mid-April. Iran closed the Strait after U.S. airstrikes and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February escalated a conflict. Later, it said that vessels without U.S. and Israeli connections...

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said a tanker'struck off Qatar' was hit by two projectiles. One exploded and the other remained unexploded inside the engine room. The tanker was hit about 17 nautical miles (31km) north of Qatar’s industrial hub?Ras Laffan, causing damage to the vessel above the waterline. The crew were safe and there were no reported environmental impacts. UKMTO stated that it could not confirm the origin of the projectiles, and investigations were still ongoing. The incident occurs as a result of 'growing threats to maritime travel in the wake of the U.S. - Israel conflict with...

The lifting of?some customs sanctions on Armenia by the Turkish government on Wednesday is a sign that the strained ties between the two nations are finally being normalised. The Turkish government closed its border with Azerbaijan and stopped direct trade in 1993 to support its close ally Azerbaijan during the Nagorno Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Since then, the neighbours have not had formal diplomatic relations due to a deep-seated historical 'hostility' stemming from World War One and the Ottomans' mass killing of Armenians. This was considered genocide in Armenia and many other countries. In a statement released on...

Iran's top environment official stated on 'Tuesday' that the suspected oil spill in the Gulf near Iran’s Kharg Island was likely caused by a tanker dumping waste water, and not an oil leak. Satellite imagery shows a suspected oil spill that covers dozens of square kilometers of sea near Iran’s main oil hub, Kharg Island. Images from Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites on May 6-8 showed a likely spill, which appeared as a gray and white slick. State media reported that?Iranian vice-president Shina Ansari stated: "Our results of monitoring show that the spill was caused by ballast water discharged from...

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser?warned? on Monday that disruptions to oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz could 'delay the return of the market to normal?until?2027. The oil market will take longer to stabilize and rebalance the longer supply disruptions persist, even if they continue for a few weeks longer. Nasser said this to analysts during a conference call discussing the company's results for the first quarter, which were announced on Sunday. These results exceeded expectations. If the current situation persists until mid-June 2027, Nasser said. It has been said that the impact of the Iran War, including the closure...

Ebba busch, the Energy Minister of Sweden, said that plans to build a new power cable for Denmark will be put on hold. She also stated that Sweden disagreed with the proposal made by the European Commission on how the revenues generated from electricity congestion fees should be used. Sweden has threatened to limit electricity exports this year to its neighbours until the European Commission resolves their disagreements over the use national funds to fund EU energy projects. Sweden expects to charge Denmark, Finland, and Germany 130 billion Swedish crowns (14.11 billion dollars) for the excess power it exports from...

Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy, said that Turkey was looking to extend the 'liquefied gas (LNG), agreement with Algeria before it expires in September 2027. He added that some of the LNG could be transported into southeastern Europe. The first gas supply contract was signed in 1988 by the Turkish state energy company Botas with Algerian state oil & gas company Sonatrach. It has been repeatedly extended since then. "We hope to conclude a new agreement this year." "Our current agreement expires September 2027. We aim to renew it," Bayraktar said after the meeting between the Turkish and Algerian leaders...

Authorities said that a fire broke out in a?major UAE zone of the oil industry on Monday following a?drone attack from Iran. The Gulf?state's?military intercepted separately three?Iranian?missiles over its?waters?and a forth crashed into the ocean. The Fujairah Media Office released a statement saying that civil defence teams were immediately deployed to contain the fire at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. Three Indian citizens were also moderately injured and were taken to hospital. The UAE defence minister said on X, that their forces intercepted 3 missiles. A fourth fell into the sea. Iranian news agencies reported that the Revolutionary Guards Navy...

The TurkStream pipeline, which is operated by the Russian energy giant Gazprom, has reduced its average daily natural gas?gas?supplies into Europe from 41 million cubic meters to 41 millions cubic metres in April compared to a year ago. Prices rose sharply after shortages arose from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a conduit that carried a fifth of global oil and gas. Turkey is the only route through which Russian gas can be transported to Europe. This is because Ukraine did not extend its five-year agreement with Moscow, which expired in January 2025. According to calculations based on...

The U.S. Treasury warned that any shipper who pays tolls for the Strait of Hormuz to Iran, or makes charitable donations to groups such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society is subject to punitive sanctions. About 20% of all crude oil and natural gas transported by sea passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has proposed to charge fees or tolls for vessels that pass through the Strait as part of its proposals to end war with Israel and the United States. According to the advisory from Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. knows that Iran is...

The U.S. Treasury warned that any shippers who pay tolls to?Iran to pass through the Strait?of Hormuz or make charitable donations to groups such as the Iranian?Red Crescent Society are?at?risk? of sanctions. About 20% of all crude oil and LNG flows in the world pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has proposed to charge a fee or toll on vessels that pass through the Strait as part of its proposals to end the conflict with Israel and the United States. The advisory from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury stated that U.S. The U.S. is aware...

By limiting Gulf exports, the war with Iran has increased prices for natural gas traded globally. Gas is so plentiful in West Texas that some producers have to pay for it to be taken away. Iran's attacks against Gulf energy producers and the?war have stopped 20% of the global supply of?liquefied?natural?gas. The Qatari LNG plants have been damaged, and tankers are unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz at the Gulf's entrance because of Iranian threats of firing on them. The global gas market has been split by the crisis: import-dependent countries in Europe and Asia are scrambling to...

Iraq began work on a 'oil pipeline connecting Basra and Haditha with a capacity of 2.5m barrels a day, according to the'state news agency, citing the Oil Ministry, in an effort to expand the export routes for the OPEC producer. The ministry stated that the project has received a budget of $1.5 billion, but its speed will be determined by the amount of additional funding. A spokesperson for the ministry said that the 700-kilometre pipeline (435-miles) will be used to transport crude oil via multiple routes including Syria's Baniyas and Turkey's Ceyhan, as well as Jordan's Aqaba. It will also...

By limiting Gulf exports, the war with Iran has increased?prices for natural gas traded globally. Gas is so plentiful in West Texas that some producers have to pay for it to be?taken out. Iran's attacks against Gulf?energy companies and the war have halted 20 percent of global liquefied gas (LNG). The Qatari LNG plants have been damaged and tankers are unable to cross the Strait of Hormuz at the Gulf's entrance because of Iranian threats. The global gas market has been split by the crisis: import-dependent countries in Europe and Asia are scrambling to find scarce supplies while the United...