South-East Asia

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...

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...

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday endorsed the ?political leadership of Myanmar's military chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing as the ?two met in Beijing to ?map out the future development ?of ?bilateral ties. "I'm willing to continue strengthening (our countries' bilateral ties), to carry forward the brotherly relationship between our two nations, and to deepen comprehensive strategic collaboration," Xi said to his Myanmar counterpart according to Chinese state television CCTV. Min Aung Hlaing will be in China until Friday for a 5-day state visit. This is his first trip since he formalised his power after the controversial elections that took place...

The state visit by Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing to China will give him a diplomatic boost, as he seeks to consolidate power in the war torn country after a widely condemned presidential election held at the beginning of the year. Min Aung Hlaing's five-day state visit, which will include a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the highest diplomatic level, comes after he visited India last month and held discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Richard Horsey is the Crisis Group's senior Myanmar advisor. "India did not give him the full honors of a state visit on his...

The state visit by Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing to China will give him a diplomatic boost as he attempts to consolidate power in the war torn country after a widely condemned election at the beginning of the year. Min Aung Hlaing's five-day state visit to China, where he will meet Chinese president Xi Jinping at the highest diplomatic level, comes after a recent official trip to India, during which he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Richard Horsey is the Crisis Group's senior Myanmar advisor. He said: "An official visit by Xi Jinping to Myanmar is a clear signal that...

Two sources confirmed on Tuesday that the U.S. and Thailand were in discussions on a 'new long-term supply' of U.S. produced liquefied?gas. Negotiations have intensified since the U.S./Israeli war against Iran caused damage to LNG production in Qatar, a key LNG exporter. Sources familiar with the talks, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussion, stated that the focus is on a long-term contract between Venture Global (an international energy company) and Thailand's PTT PCL (the state-controlled power company). Sources did not specify the volume or duration of any new LNG contract being discussed but typically they...

The nickel industry in Indonesia is being affected by the soaring sulfur prices due to the continuing closure of "the Strait of Hormuz". The Gulf is the main source of nickel for the world's biggest producer of battery metal. The sulfur squeeze is a new measure that the Indonesian government has introduced to try and control its nickel production. The explosive growth of the country's production will flood the global market, causing prices to plummet in 2024 and 2025. This month, the prospect of a lower Indonesian production and a corresponding change in market balance lifted London Metal Exchange nickel...

The soaring sulfur prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz are beginning to affect?Indonesia’s huge nickel sector. The Gulf is a major input to the world's biggest producer of battery metal. The sulfur squeeze is a new addition to the Indonesian government’s mix of measures to control its nickel production sector. The explosive growth of the country's production flooded the world market, and prices fell?throughout?2024-2025. This month, the prospect of lower Indonesian production and a corresponding change in market balance lifted London Metal Exchange nickel to its highest levels since two years. WAR AND POLITICS The Iran...

The Philippines warned on Thursday of power outages of up to seven hours across two of its main grids due to the intense heat and power plant failures. This was the first serious shortage warning in two years. The National Grid Corporation (NGCP) of?the Philippines issued a'red alert' on?Facebook warning of possible outages up to seven-hours in 32 areas of the Visayas grid, in central Philippines. Outages lasting an hour in nine areas of Luzon, which includes the capital Manila, were also warned. Red alerts are the most severe grid strain and indicate that supply cannot meet demand. The red...

BlackRock's GIP partnered with Singapore's Temasek, Abu Dhabi's L'IMAD and state oil company ADNOC in order to launch a partnership aimed at $30 billion of investment across the 'Gulf' and Central Asia. The partnership will raise both equity and debt capital for investments in greenfields and brownfields infrastructure assets, including those within the energy, transportation and logistic sectors. The firms did not disclose a timeline for fundraising or equity split between the founding partners. The announcement brings together one of the largest alternative asset managers in the world with some of the most active infrastructure investors from the region. BlackRock...

The Iran war has caused the aluminum market to focus on what's not coming through the Strait of Hormuz. There is a?equally important problem: What is not coming in. Gulf Aluminium smelters depend heavily on alumina imports, an intermediate product between bauxite and metal, for their operations. Six smelters are located in the region, but only two refineries produce alumina. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) Al?Taweelah, a plant of Emirates Global Aluminium, was damaged by Iranian missiles. The same reason is causing the smelter to be out of service at the site, and other smelters have reduced their capacity. As shipments...

The Iran War has caused the aluminum market to focus on what isn't?coming out of Strait of Hormuz. There is a second, equally important problem: What is not coming?in. Gulf Aluminium Smelters depend heavily on alumina imports, the intermediate between bauxite (bauxite) and metal to maintain their operations. Six smelters are located in the region, but there are only two alumina refining plants. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) Al Taweelah, one of them, was damaged by iranian missiles. The same reason is causing the smelter to be out of service at the site, and other smelters have reduced their capacity. As...

Authorities?said?that all eight people aboard a helicopter died?when it crashed?in Indonesia's West Kalimantan province?as they tried to recover the bodies and wreckage. Mohammad Syafii said that the Airbus H130 helicopter had lost contact five minutes after it took off from a plantation in Melawi. The location of the crash, or the loss of contact, is in an area of dense?forested terrain with steep hills," Syafii stated. He added that'rescuers found debris believed to be the tail from the helicopter about 3 km (2 miles), west of the point where contact was lost. The cause of the crash is still unknown....