Asia

Ayten Bicer felt her daughter, 12, slip from her hand and 'disappear' as a ferry capsized near northern Cyprus on Sunday. At least eight people were killed. Search teams were still looking for survivors Monday in the waters of more than 500 metres (1.640 feet) depth. Her daughter Miray and her 6-year-old Mehmet asaf were two of nearly 20 people who remain missing. "She said, 'Don’t let go.' And I did not let go of my child. I swear, I didn't let her go," Ayten Bicer sobbed. The girl was thrown from her grip when a suitcase fell on her....

Divers joined search teams to search deep waters in search of survivors. Nearly 20 people are still missing after a ferry capsized near Northern Cyprus on Monday, killing at least eight. On Sunday, a double-hulled 'ferry' with 267 people aboard sank and flipped on the seabed just off the port of Kyrenia. The survivors were left clinging onto the overturned hull. The coastguard and passing vessels rescued them. Naif Ezer was one of the anxiously waiting outside the port for news about passengers in the early morning hours on Monday. One of the three friends who were traveling to see...

Satellite imagery and video confirmed that two slicks appeared in Iranian waters. The Caroline Bezengi tanker is currently leaking Russian crude in a marine protected area, creating a massive oil spill that some estimate to be 2,000 square kilometers. The Caroline Bezengi case is not linked to the Iran War. Two new slicks have been detected in the Gulf. Near DOLPHIN SHAPED ISLAND Images from Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites show that a slick is visible near the southern tip Qeshm Island. This large island shaped like a dolphin lies in the Strait of Hormuz, close to Iran's coastline. Wim Zwijnenburg is...

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 four tankers changed their course in the Red Sea Wednesday. Two of them indicated the Suez Canal, after Yemen's Houthi militia warned ships to avoid sailing into Saudi Arabian ports. The Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, declared a naval blocade on Saudi Arabia Monday. This opened a new front in the war between the United States and Iran. It also raised the risk of global energy and trade outside the Gulf. The threat of Houthi hostile action against Saudi Arabia has started to have a general effect on the tanker industry, according to a ship...

Shipping data revealed that the number of tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz dropped to its lowest level in two months in the last day, after renewed strikes between Iran and the U.S.?and attacks against vessels raised safety concerns. Shipping industry sources say that vessels are increasingly turning off their public AIS?transponders. This makes it difficult to count the total number of ships on the waterway. According to Kpler's analysis, based on the data available, oil and gas tanker traffic has fallen to its lowest levels since May 25. In a recent report, ship broker Gibson stated that the world...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Shipping data showed that the number of visible cargo vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to five per day over the weekend as companies remained cautious amid ongoing attacks against ships. Some ships have turned off their automatic identification systems to avoid attacks. Kpler's data shows that weekend traffic was limited to small vessels. The data revealed that two liquefied gas carriers were among the vessels. One of the ships left the Strait via the Iranian route, while the second sailed in the dark and was heading to India. On Friday, fourteen vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz including...

Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin's foreign policy adviser, said that the Russian president?Vladimir Putin would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping?on a side-line?of??the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit?? in Bishkek?, Kyrgyzstan?s capital. Ushakov stated that the leaders will discuss the?planned 2,600-km (1.616-miles) Power of Siberia?2 system, which is expected to transport 50 billion cubic meters (bcm),?of gas a year?to China via Mongolia?from the Arctic Gasfields. Power of Siberia 2 is stalled because of price disagreements, and the pipeline talks have been going on for many years. Putin will also meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan, and he is expected to discuss with him...

Russian traders are transferring Urals crude to very large crude carriers for delivery to Asia via ship-to ships, according traders and LSEG data. This practice is being revived by the stronger Chinese demand, higher freight costs, and increased Russian trade. China is expected to increase its imports of Russian crude oil as the Middle East's conflict causes disruptions in regional supplies. Russia delivers crude oil to China through pipelines that connect its oilfields to Chinese refiners, and via the Pacific port of Kozmino. During the summer, volumes are also transported from Russia's western port via the Red Sea or the...

Ukrainian forces continue to strike at Russian energy infrastructure, as well as other sites. Kyiv claims that this is part of an effort to deny Russia resources for funding its military. The following is a list of recent attacks, starting with the latest. NORSI Ukrainian drones attacked NORSI this week, Russia's 4th largest oil refinery owned by Lukoil. The crude oil processing was suspended on August 26. NORSI is Russia's second largest gasoline producer. It can process?15,000,000 metric tons per year. NOVOSHAKHTINSK A drone from Ukraine damaged the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, located in southern Rostov Region of Russia. The governor...

Ukraine's grain sales have plummeted?this week after Russian attacks effectively shut down its Black Sea ports.?Rail and river routes are unable to compensate for the lost capacity. Ukrzaliznytsia, the state railway operator, said that grain exports have been reduced by 60% compared to the same period in August last year. It said that the volume consisted of 170,000 tons delivered to Ukraine's Danube port and 343,200 tonnes transported to the western border crossings. After Russian attacks effectively blocked Ukraine's Black Sea port, which handled?90% grain exports, shipments have been rerouted via Danube ports, and border crossings to European countries. These...

Three industry sources said that the?Ukrainian drone 'attack' on Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region caused a halt to?crude oil?processing at NORSI, Russia’s second largest?gasoline producer and fourth-largest refinery. A drone attack by Ukraine on the Russian region of Nizhny Novgorod on August 26 damaged an unspecified industrial building, according to local governor Gleb Nikitin. Lukoil - the owner of 'the refinery' - did not respond immediately to a'request for comment. Sources said that the drone attack had damaged a number of?processing units and inter-unit infrastructure, as well as general?plant equipment. The sources were unable to estimate how long it would be...

A spokesperson for PCK Schwedt in Germany said that the refinery is still running at around 80% of its capacity, despite the loss of Kazakh crude oil. Alternative imports through Poland's Gdansk Port have fully compensated for what was lost, according to a statement on Wednesday. Russia has stopped supplying Kazakh crude oil to Germany via the Druzhba Pipeline as of?May 1. This is a serious blow to the refinery that supplies the majority of fuel to Berlin and relies on Kazakhstan for 17%. PCK's?currently? supplied via?routes through Rostock and Gdansk allows it to maintain the operating levels reached when...

Four sources who have direct knowledge of the issue said that at least three Indian refineries?and one global energy giant plan to stop using ships on Iran's blacklist for transfers between ships, including ship-to-ship, because they are concerned about security. Tehran announced Sunday that it had compiled a "blacklist" of 45 vessels which, according to the Iranian government, have violated its rules when crossing the Strait of Hormuz. It also said that any vessel transferring cargo with these ships would be subjected to action. This is a further escalation of its threats regarding the vital waterway in the global energy...

Adani Energy Solutions, an Indian conglomerate, announced on Wednesday that it had won a transmission project worth $492.62 million (47 billion rupees) in Maharashtra. This is a major boost to the company's efforts to expand its clean-energy infrastructure. The company stated that the project would deliver up to 4,500MW of renewable energy and storage power within 36 months. The company will be able to add a total of?562 circuit kilometers of transmission lines, and 9,000 mMVA of capacity for transformation. India is racing to build the transmission networks needed to reach its target of 500 GW non-fossil power capacity by...

Three trade sources reported that freight rates for tanker shipments of Russia's flagship Urals oil from western ports to India - the grade's primary market - have risen in August due to a'strong demand' for vessels as well as mounting security risks relating to transporting Russian oil. Shipping costs are increasing, which is hurting the revenues of Russian oil producers who already face Western sanctions as well as a challenging geopolitical climate. Conflict in the Middle East has also impacted global shipping routes, which have boosted freight markets. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important chokepoints in...

Three industry sources have confirmed that Russia will extend its diesel export ban until September due to the?fuel shortages on the domestic market. Three industry sources told us that the extension of the ban to the end of this year was also being discussed. The Russian Energy Ministry did not reply to a comment request. The ban was introduced by Russia from July 8 until July 31, as part of a package of measures designed to support the domestic market. It was later extended to fuel producers up to August 31. Russia has also banned the export of motor gasoline...

The CEO of TotalEnergies, a French oil company, said that the company will continue to invest in the Middle East in spite of the Iran conflict. This was revealed at a conference on energy in Norway. Patrick Pouyanne previously said that it was important to fund alternate pipelines in order for oil to leave Middle East, given the paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Pouyanne stated at the ONS Conference that "we are today the largest traders of oil from Iraq or Qatar... it is clear to me that a certain amount equity needs...