Western Europe

Discover Airlines, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, said on Thursday that a temporary fuel shortage could affect its flights to Europe. The airline said that aircraft operating flights to Frankfurt and Munich out of Windhoek were being rerouted through Angola in order to refuel. A spokesperson for the Lufthansa Group said that there was a temporary and local shortage of?fuel at Windhoek International Airport. As reported in local Namibian media, Lufthansa has not responded to the question of whether its cargo freight is also affected by fuel shortages. Namibia Airports Company issued a statement stating that it was aware of fuel...

The Bundesbank stated that the depletion of German rivers is hampering the recovery in Europe's largest economy. The Rhine, and other German rivers are so shallow due to months of dry weather that ships can't be fully loaded. This increases costs and delays transport for cargo owners. The Bundesbank stated that this would likely slow down the recovery of Germany's economy, which will at best grow slightly in this quarter. In its monthly report, the Bundesbank said that "limited transport routes along major rivers and sharply increasing transport costs will likely" significantly impede industrial production and export growth. The Bundesbank's...

South Korea will flag off a container ship bound to Europe via the Arctic on Saturday, testing if a route made possible by melting sea ice is commercially viable. However, the trip requires Russian cooperation, which could cause friction with Western allies. The 'trip' would be South Korea’s first commercial voyage via the Arctic to Europe, if it is successful. It will join China and Russia as the only countries that have run or tested cargo services on this route. PanStar Acro, which will depart from Busan and sail north, will stop at Felixstowe, Britain, Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Gdansk, Poland,...

Lobby groups for port terminals in Brazil have urged government officials to allow the 'dredging' of the Tapajos River. This is a major waterway for grain-exports, which cuts through the Amazon?rainforest. They are concerned that a severe El Nino would make one of Brazil's most important export routes too narrow for barges. Industry data shows that global trading firms such as Bunge Cargill and Louis Dreyfus move 15 million metric tonnes of grain annually along the Tapajos. Brazil is one of the largest corn and soybean suppliers in the world. The Brazilian government, however, has refused to grant the permission?to...

South Korea will launch a container ship bound for Europe via Arctic on Saturday, testing if a route made possible by melting sea ice is commercially viable. However, this could cause friction with Western allies as the journey'requires Russian collaboration. If the trip is successful, it would be South Korea's first commercial voyage via the Arctic to Europe. It would also place South Korea alongside China and Russia as the only countries that have run or tested cargo services on the route. PanStar Acro, which will depart from Busan and sail north, will stop at Felixstowe, Britain, Rotterdam, Netherlands, and...

After the Irish police chief said that young people drove on the wrong side for social media likes, a parliamentary committee asked TikTok how it removed content "that glorifies...?"illegal activity? on Irish roads. Police said that five male teens died in an accident on Sunday, while driving the wrong way on a motorway. Three women and a child were seriously injured in another vehicle, which was travelling to Dublin Airport. Social media has been widely used to share footage purporting to be?taken from the car and other cars engaging in dangerous activities. Alan Kelly, the chair of the committee for...

In an effort to ease the rising cost of living, UK's?competition commissioner?has launched a probe into how British airline Virgin Atlantic and rail and coach ticketing company Trainline show their total prices when customers book tickets. The Competition and Markets Authority announced on Wednesday that it would be launching an investigation into three firms, including one called RED Driving School. This was due to concerns about customers not being shown the full price when purchasing train or coach tickets, holiday packages, or driving lessons. Trainline stated that it has been working with the CMA to improve the transparency of fees...

Ireland's chief of police has warned that some young people drive the wrong way on motorways "for social media likes" after two recent?head-on collisions?near Dublin. Justin Kelly, the Irish police chief, issued the warning after five male teens died in an early Sunday morning crash, injuring a child and three women in another vehicle who were traveling to Dublin Airport. Police said the teenagers were traveling south on a northbound motorway to the southwest of Dublin. Kelly, in a press release about the incident, said that this reckless behavior was sometimes done for social media likes. The Garda Representation Association,...

The Russian authorities quickly cleaned up the damage caused by an attack from a Ukrainian drone that sparked a fire in Ust-Luga on Friday, a major hub for oil exports. Ukraine has struck targets in Russia, including ports, refineries, and commercial warehouses in an effort to raise the cost for Moscow to continue the full-scale conflict it launched in 2022. Drozdenko wrote on the Russian messaging service MAX that "all the consequences of the attack at the port of Ust-Luga?have been cleared." "There were not any casualties." He did not provide any further information. Drozdenko had earlier claimed that more...

Officials said that a blast occurred at a storage area for 'petroleum' products in the?Port of Rotterdam,?the Netherlands, on Thursday. One person was killed and several others were injured. The cause is unknown. Gunvor, a major trading company in energy commodities, said that an "incident occurred"?during the maintenance of a storage tank. Police spokesperson said that no immediate signs of sabotage were present and?that the investigation was looking at all possibilities. Rotterdam, Europe's biggest port, is home to?oil refining facilities?,?liquefied gas terminals? and?multiple chemical plants? Shell, Exxon 'Mobil, BP, and Gunvor Energy, among others, are energy giants that operate at...

German police confirmed on Thursday that they were evacuating nearby buildings to allow the explosive item, found on rail tracks in 'the 'Bavarian town Treuchtlingen, to be safely moved. Bavarian police announced on X they were clearing buildings in the area as a precaution. A spokesperson?added two to three homes are being evacuated in order for the object to be moved. The object was discovered in the southern area of 'the Bavarian City. Police also stated on X that experts are analyzing X-rays of the object. The robot is lifting the object to allow for further examinations, it stated. Bild...

Oil prices eased Thursday, after a week of gains, as the focus shifted to the 'expected' lowering of global oil demand in this year. Meanwhile, there were no signs of progress towards opening up of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent futures fell 42 cents or 0.47% to $88.56 per barrel at 0405 GMT. U.S., erasing gains over the six previous sessions. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), which had been rising over the previous five sessions, fell by 55 cents or 0.66% to $82.72. On?Wednesday, a senior Iranian source stated that there was no progress made in the talks to revive...

Investigators of rail accidents said that on Wednesday, a track 'irregularity' was visible in?CCTV pictures taken just before a passenger train derailment that occurred last week in England that resulted in two serious injuries. Rail Accident Investigation Branch stated that "a track geometry irregularity was present on the immediate approach to the derailment point, before the accident occurred." There was evidence of previous track maintenance in this area. The accident near Lewes, in southern England, occurred during a sustained period of high temperatures in Britain. The investigation will include factors such as the effectiveness of hot weather mitigation, and the...

German prosecutors announced Wednesday that a second suspect?accused? of participating in the '2022 Nord Stream blasts?has been arrested in Croatia & will be 'extradited?to Germany. The federal prosecutor's office in its statement identified the Ukrainian as Vladimir Z. and added that local police officers who were acting on an European arrest warrant arrested him at the Croatian seaside city of Pula. In July, prosecutors had filed criminal charges against a second Ukrainian, Serhii, who was a former army officer, for his involvement in the explosions. They accused him of acting on behalf of Ukrainian government entities. Prosecutors alleged in their?statement...

Oil market behavior is becoming more and more like a permanent reality. It's not just a temporary shock. The hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough are fading nearly six months after the war broke out between the U.S. The interim ceasefire that was agreed upon on June 17 is now effectively over, the 60 day negotiating period is finished, and neither Washington or Tehran appear willing to compromise about the future of Strait of Hormuz. Both sides have instead dug in. Iran warned that tensions would escalate if Washington did not fully implement the interim peace agreement within weeks. An Iranian...

Open Interest (ROI), every Friday, distills the previous five days' financial week into five charts that highlight the most important trends, surprises, and overlooked moves. 1. HORMUZ REALISTIC CHECK CLYDE RUSSEL, 'ROI Asia Commodities and Energy'?Columnist : Middle East crude exports, including?flows across the Strait of Hormuz?, have been depressed this summer, say commodity analysts Kpler. The data is in line with other vessel tracking companies but it stands in stark contrast to the claims made by U.S. Energy Sec. Chris Wright this week that 15 million barrels of crude oil per day were leaving the region. This includes 9...

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board reported on Thursday that bird remains were discovered in the 'engine' of a Ryanair Boeing 737 NG where a 'passenger' was partially sucked out through a broken window in July. The NTSB investigates the incident in which a piece from the engine of the plane broke and smashed a window. The plane was headed for Germany when it lost pressure, forcing the pilot to land in an emergency. In its preliminary report on the July 10 incident, the NTSB stated that there were four suspected bird strikes against the No. 2 engine of the...

Multiple trade sources confirmed that 'Indian state-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp. bought 4 million barrels of Middle Eastern crude in a spot auction on Thursday. They said that the refiner bought 2 million?barrels? of Murban crude? from BP and another?1million barrels? of Murban?from PetroChina, as well as 1 million barrels?of Oman crude?from Trafigura. Both grades are?loaded from outside of the Strait of Hormuz. Two of the people said that Murban's delivered price was $7 per barrel higher than Brent's contract date, and Oman's delivered price was $4 to $5 per barrel. Arrival of the oil is expected to be around...

The National Energy System Operator of Britain has cancelled a?earlier?electricity?margin?notice for Wednesday evening, which had asked participants in the market to make additional generation capacity during the solar eclipse. * NESO announced that it has canceled its notice 'for the period between 1700 GMT and?1900 GMT. It had originally expected a?system margin shortfall? of 1,200 megawatts compared to the?amount they would like to have available. According to a NESO spokesperson, the notice was issued to customers as a precautionary step due to the'solar eclipse'. There is no risk for the customer's electricity supply. Grid operators across Europe are preparing for...

E.ON CEO?Says?On Wednesday that critical energy?grids can't be protected from outside threats like drones. This comes a week after an incident with drones at one of Germany’s airports raised the issue of increased risks for critical infrastructure. Leonhard Birnbaum, after presenting the first-half results, said: "At this time we cannot secure any airports in Germany. Not even the major ones." How could I tell you we have our distribution network, which is spread out across the country, in control? The CEO of E.ON - Europe's largest energy grid operator - made the comments after an explosive drone was discovered last...

Ukrainian forces have intensified their strikes against Russian energy infrastructure, among other targets. Kyiv claims that this is part of an effort to deny Russia the resources it needs to fund its military. Here is a list of recent attacks and their impact, starting with the latest: ORSK On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military announced that it had attacked the Orsknefteorgsintez refinery located in Orsk. Orsk is the second largest city in Orenburg and an important industrial center. The refinery has a design capacity of around 6 million tons of oil per annum. ZapSibNeftekhim Ukraine’s special forces announced on August 10...

The 'federal association of German inland saftey (BDB) warned on Monday that low water levels could halt cargo traffic this week along a critical stretch of the Rhine, effectively dividing the vital?waterway in two zones. BDB managing director Jens Schwanen said to the Rheinische Post that water levels at Germany’s Kaub gauge station, which is a major bottleneck in Rhine navigation, were forecast to fall into single digits, for the first time, due to a lack of rain. Kaub is located south of Koblenz, at the lowest point of the Middle Rhine. He said that commercial?shipping would no longer be...

?The U.S. Senate voted Friday to confirm a Serco senior vice-president, David Cummins, as head of the 'Transportation Security Administration, in response to the 'Trump administration's push to privatize screeners at smaller airports. Cummins, along with dozens of nominees, were confirmed by a vote of 51-47. These included members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Transportation Safety Board, as well as Christopher Phelan, who will chair the Whitehouse Council of Economic Advisors, and Cameron Hamilton, who will head the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In April, President Donald Trump proposed cutting 9,400 employees and $1.5 billion or 20%...

The Norwegian government presented plans on Friday to 'cut red tape' and'shorten the processing of applications for new onshore wind plants and transmission lines. This is in response to concerns that a slow buildout over recent years might impede economic activity. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said at a press briefing that the Labour Party government hopes to reduce grid development time by half through a simplified application process and by removing bureaucratic barriers. Stoere stated that "A faster development of more'renewable energy and electricity grids are crucial to cutting emissions, boosting employment and protecting?existing companies and jobs." Terje Aasland,...