South-East Asia

Rescuers in the Philippines recovered another 41 charred remains following a ferry fire. The death toll now stands at 76, and 13 people are still unaccounted for. Forensic teams face the difficult task of identifying victims. The painstaking task had already started after 30 bodies were recovered on Friday and brought to Coron Town, where tents were set-up for forensic teams who would process and identify the deceased. As anxious relatives waited for the news, responders wearing protective suits carried black body bags into tents. Anelyn, 37, was one of those victims. Her husband, who was visiting their children in...

Officials said that 172 Indonesians were rescued on Wednesday, after a 'ferry' travelling from Bali to Lombok caught fire in the waters near the island. The'search continues for any missing passengers. Muhammad Hariyadi is the head of local rescue agency. The KM Putri Yasmin left Padangbai Port in Bali to Lembar Port in Lombok, in the province West Nusa Tenggara. Hariyadi said the incident occurred in the Lombok strait at 4:39 am on Wednesday morning (2039 GMT Tuesday). Hariyadi reported that by Wednesday afternoon one Indonesian was confirmed dead, and 172 people had been evacuated from the Lombok Strait to...

Ship-tracking data showed that at least four oil and gasoline tankers had turned back from trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz. This was due to renewed attacks against vessels in this critical waterway, which raised safety & security concerns. After reports of Iran firing missiles on ships in the waterway and damaging a Qatari LNG tanker, as well as a Saudi crude oil tanker, the maritime authorities raised the threat level for transiting vessels from "moderate" to "severe." Data from Kpler and LSEG showed that the three LNG tankers – Al Ghariya Duhail Al Ruwais – were all heading...

Ship tracking data revealed that fewer vessels traversed the Strait of Hormuz Friday than they did earlier in the week. This was hours after an Iranian-operated vessel fired on a Taiwanese ship. U.N.'shipping 'agency temporarily suspended its voluntary scheme for evacuating hundreds of stranded vessels and thousands of seafarers out of the Gulf, after the ship was damaged by the attack near the Omani side. Nevertheless, data from LSEG's and MarineTraffic's ship tracking showed that at least four oil tankers, including three very large crude carrier ships, each of which can carry a maximum 2 million barrels, had entered the...

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...

Iran is also preparing to resume its exports and trade. This comes as U.S. president Donald Trump recently welcomed the return of oil from Gulf allies. Shipping data shows that at least three tankers, each carrying?some 5 million barrels of Iranian crude oil, have passed through the U.S. Naval Blockade in the past week. This is despite the U.S. Military saying it will continue its operations to block Iran-linked ships until Friday. The oil market is focused on the deal that Trump announced on 14 June and which will be signed in Switzerland on Friday. Trump posted on Sunday,?Sunday, that...

The crew of the tanker gathered courage and navigated carefully along the route designated by Iran. They hugged the coast and manoeuvred their massive vessel between island checkpoints in the Strait of Hormuz. Agios Fanourios 1, a 330 metre long vessel, loaded with Iraqi crude and bound for Vietnam had been bottle-?up near the coast of Dubai, since late April. On May 10, the tanker set out for the Strait of Hormuz after an agreement with Iran, overseen by Iraq’s Prime Minister. The Iranian orders to the tanker are part of the complex multi-tiered system that Iran has used for...

Zefyros's manager in Greece confirmed that the tanker was struck by a missile overnight during a ship-to -ship transfer. Benetech Shipping SA reported that the incident took place at Iraq's Umm Qasar Anchorage late Wednesday during a transfer of fuel cargo with the Safesea Vishnu Tanker. All 23 crew members have been accounted for and are safe. The 23 crew members were evacuated and brought to land, according to a statement. SOMO reported that the Safesea Vishnu had been chartered by a company in Iraq contracted with State Organization for the Marketing of Oil. The Zefyros, meanwhile, was loaded with...

Two U.S. officials confirmed on Friday that the U.S. was in the process to seize?the Olina oil tanker near Trinidad in the Caribbean. This is the fifth interdiction of ships in recent weeks, as part of Washington’s efforts in order to control Venezuelan crude exports. According to an industry source who has direct knowledge of the situation, the Olina had sailed previously from Venezuela, and returned to the area. The British maritime risk management company,?Vanguard, said that the vessel's AIS tracker (location) was last active 52days ago in the Venezuelan EEZ to Curacao's northeast. The seizure comes after a long...

LONDON, October 17 - Singapore called on the U.N. Shipping Agency to delay the adoption of a price for carbon on ships to allow time to reach a consensus. This was after the United States, Saudi Arabia and other countries were unable to agree on a deal at the London talks due to strong opposition. Washington and Riyadh - the two world's largest oil producers - have both strongly opposed a price on carbon emissions for shipping in discussions at the International Maritime Organization. The European Union, however, has continued to back the idea. Singapore voted for the carbon tax...

The Greater Sunrise Natural Gas Project has pushed its earliest production start back by?two year to '2034, East Timor’s?petroleum? minister said. This tightens up a timeline that is already plagued with decades of delays. East Timor Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Francis da Costa Monteiro said at the Gastech Conference in Bangkok that production at the multibillion-dollar gas field will begin in 2034-2035. East Timor's Australian partner,?Woodside, forecasted last year that the project would be producing gas between 2032 and 35. This was the first time both parties had announced a timeline. Timor-Leste is the poorest nation in Southeast...

Malaysian palm futures jumped on Monday, supported by higher crude prices and rival soy prices in the Chicago market. By midday, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange was up 62 Ringgit or 1.29% at 4,876 Ringgit ($1,198.03). A Kuala Lumpur-based trader stated that "Today's FCPO is holding firm due to the strong crude oil and the?anticipation for better demand in the future for bio-diesel use." Oil prices rose by more than 3% Monday after Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and Iranian attacks against ships in the Gulf compounded concerns about supply 'following the closing of a...

An official said on Monday that more than 600 Indonesian rescuers are searching for 129 people still missing, after a passenger vessel capsized in the Java Sea at the weekend. The death toll remains the same, at six. Rescue agency reported that the Virgo transport 8 ship, which was carrying 243 passengers, went missing early Sunday morning due to bad weather. The authorities have rescued 108 passengers from the ship that was traveling from Surabaya, East Java, to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. We have been searching for the missing ever since early morning. "We are deploying around 12 ships and 622...

Air India, which is owned by Singapore Airlines and the Tata Group, named Tewolde Gebremariam its new CEO. This comes at a time of great challenges for Air India. From record losses to safety lapses, they have been under intense scrutiny from regulators. Here are the major challenges that former Ethiopian Airlines CEO,?Mr.?Mahmoud?Al-Ghani?faced: SAFETY & COMPLIANCE The Air India Boeing 787 crash in Ahmedabad, June 2025 that killed 260 people has increased scrutiny on the airline's safety culture and operations. Indian regulators have reprimanded Air India over lapses, including the operation of an Airbus A320 in multiple flights without having...

Air India appointed former Ethiopian Airlines Chief Tewolde Gebremariam to its 'CEO' post on Wednesday. The Indian airline is currently struggling with persistent losses, and increased regulatory scrutiny after a fatal crash last year. Gebremariam succeeds New Zealander Campbell Wilson. Wilson was a former Singapore Airlines executive who was appointed in 2022 as the new leader of Air 'India after it had suffered years of decline under state ownership. Air India reported that Wilson had informed Chairman N Chandrasekaran of his intention to step down in this year 2024. The 'Tata Group owned airline is suffering heavy losses, not only...

Officials in Indonesia continue to search for the 28 people who are still missing after a ferry caught on fire near?Indonesia?s Madura Island, according to an official. Authorities had reported that the KM Mutiara Sentosa, which was carrying 271 'passengers', was traveling from Indonesia's second-largest?city of Surabaya in East Java province, to Makassar in South Sulawesi when it caught fire. Madura Island is located just off the northeastern coast Java. Arman Asmara, Director of Marine and Air Affairs at East Java Police, said that 28 of the 271 people on board remain missing. Five confirmed deaths and 238 were rescued....

U.S. rockets?hit targets in Iran on Friday, after President Donald Trump promised "major punishment" to Tehran and its Houthi ally in Yemen for extending Middle East war into a'second major shipping chokepoint at the mouth of Red Sea. The 'Iranian Armed Forces' responded two weeks after an interim ceasefire meant to end war collapsed by firing on U.S. bases and warning the people of neighbouring Arab nations that they could strike non-military structures used by U.S. personnel. The Houthis who control the northern and western parts of Yemen have announced a blockade of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has diverted millions...

UOB Private Bank (the wealth management arm of United Overseas Bank in Singapore) has appointed Judy Chan as managing director for Hong Kong. This appointment will take effect July 2026. The following is more information about the statement: Chan will report to Chew Mun Yew as the head of private banking for the group. She will oversee the local private banking team and lead the bank's work in Hong Kong with wealthy clients. Chan has over 30 years' experience in private and commercial banking. She has been in senior positions?managing teams, growing business?in key markets and advising on wealth planning...

Telstra CEO Vicki. Brady said on Friday that the outage last week at Australia's biggest telecoms.firm was probably caused by a.missed software update and an undocumented.design change.on a network.time-keeping.device. Last Wednesday's outage was the latest of a series that has hit Australia's telecoms sector in the last few years. It cut off phone service for thousands of customers and disrupted wireless payment systems. Optus, Australia's second largest telecoms company, experienced a?13 hour disruption in emergency call services, which may have led to four deaths. This was followed by a cyberattack in 2022 that exposed the personal information of millions of...

Trafigura has "walked away" from a proposed 2,050 megawatt transmission line that would have transported surplus hydropower in Angola to copper mines and cobalt deposits in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to two sources who are directly involved. This is one of three private-backed transmission projects, worth billions, that aim to supply electricity from Angola – which has an abundance of stranded hydropower – to vital minerals operations in neighbouring countries facing power shortages. Trafigura signed a non-binding agreement in July 2024 with the Angolan Government and engineering firm ProMarks to conduct feasibility studies. One industry source...

The lawyer for the three Thai sailors said that the?Labour Court of Thailand accepted on Friday a 'petition by the Thai sailors seeking damages after a fatal attack on their cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran in March. The petition seen by seeks at least one million baht ($30,000), per sailor, from companies and agencies connected to Precious shipping, the vessel's owner, and its captain. Kunpat Singhathong, their lawyer, told reporters that the sailors had accused?their employer of taking them to dangerous areas and putting their lives in danger. They also...

The lawyer for the three Thai sailors said that the Labour Court of Thailand accepted their petition on Friday, seeking damages following a deadly attack on their cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran in March. The petition seen by seeks at least one million baht ($30,000), per sailor, from companies and agencies connected to Precious shipping, the vessel's owner, and its captain. Kunpat 'Singhathong, their lawyer, told reporters that the sailors had accused their employers taking them to dangerous areas and putting their life at risk. They also claimed their employers...