Asia

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...

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command announced on Friday that U.S. forces had seized the stateless sanctioned oil tanker Davina in the Indian Ocean overnight. Washington has placed a sea blockade against Iran, while Tehran has fired at ships to stop them from?sailing? through the Strait of Hormuz and entering the Middle East Gulf. In recent months, U.S. forces intercepted "multiple commercial and petroleum tankers" in the Indian Ocean. Indo-Pacific Command posted on X that "we will continue to enforce global maritime law to?disrupt illegal networks and 'interdict vessels providing materials support to Iran wherever they operate". According to data from ship...

The CEO of the world's largest ship recycler said that Dubai-based GMS won approval from the U.S. Government to scrap four containers ships which were subject to?Iran related sanctions. This could pave the way for Washington to reduce its shadow fleet?of?such vessels. The fact that hundreds of ships are not insured or complying with environmental safety standards has helped Iran and Russia to circumvent sanctions. They also pose a risk of fuel spills and oil leaks along busy sea routes. A mechanism approved for scrapping these vessels can be used to encourage their removal from circulation. This will reduce environmental...

Data showed that a Chinese-operated ship was "among the few" to cross the Strait 'Hormuz? in the last 24 hours. This comes as the uncertainty about reopening this critical waterway grows, with the talks between the U.S.A. and Iran at a standstill. Prior to the start of the war against Iran on February 28, the average daily shipping through the strait was 125-140 passages. As a result of the conflict, 20,000 sailors are still stranded on hundreds of ships in the?Gulf. According to an analysis based on ship tracking data, there were 10 ships per day that entered and left...

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...

Europe faces a winter of alarming fragility in its energy supply as conflicts in the Middle East, Russia and the United States tighten the global markets for heating oil and liquefied gas. According to official statistics, heating oil and natural gas are the two main fuels used in Europe for residential heating. Gas accounts for approximately 30% of heating demand, while oil is responsible for 10%. Both fuel markets are under extreme strain after years of energy shocks. Gas vulnerability in the region is largely a result of the dramatic change in its energy mix that has occurred since Russia's...

Iran will cease its attacks as long the United States also does,?a senior Iranian official said on Sunday. The United States has paused its bombing campaign after President Donald Trump's advisors informed him that they had run out of targets. They also expressed concern about the depletion of the U.S. weapons arsenal. The Pentagon ended the airstrikes against Iran after 13 nights. No U.S. strikes were reported for Saturday or Sunday. Iran has held off its attacks on the neighbouring countries of U.S. bases for two days. It had followed each night's U.S. airstrikes with its own strikes. An anonymous...

Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned on Saturday an attack by Ukraine on a commercial Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea. It said that a resulting explosion killed one sailor and injured another. Throughout the Ukraine war, Kyiv had to combat drones designed by Iran that were deployed by Moscow. Kyiv offers its drone intercepting expertise to Middle East countries that have been hit by?Iran. Tehran called the attack on the Iranian vessel an act of aggression, and said it would defend national security and interests. It also accused Kyiv of trying to escalate the conflict in Ukraine. The Iranian denial coincided...

Yemen's Houthi militants, who are aligned with Iran, fired on Saudi oil facilities in two ports along the Red Sea Coast on Saturday. However, the U.S. did not launch air strikes against Iran for the first time in two weeks. Washington did not explain why it abruptly stopped a 13-night streak of escalating attacks in retaliation of Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz after an interim agreement to end hostilities failed. Hossein Kirmanpour, spokesperson for the Health Ministry, said on X: "It appears that our dear Iran enjoyed a peaceful sleep last night." No reports were made...

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, was quoted on Saturday as saying that the suspected Ukrainian attacks on facilities connected to 'Kazakhstan Caspian Pipeline Consortium' amounted "energy terrorism", aimed at Kazakhstan and Russia. Kazakhstan announced on Thursday that it had cut oil production after suspected Ukrainian drone strikes forced the CPC-operated Black Sea export terminal to close. Peskov was quoted by RIA as saying: "This is clear energy (terrorism), this is what they are doing in 'the Black Sea, in 'the Sea of Azov". These are terrorist acts, international terrorist acts, which could be extremely dangerous. RIA reported that he said the...

Greek security sources said that air defence systems in Saudi Arabia intercepted on Saturday two ballistic missiles fired from Yemen, which were aimed at oil refineries in Yanbu. This was as Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis traded fire in the new front of the Iran War. The coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen announced late on Friday that it had hit Houthi military bases in the port of Hodeidah in connection with attacks against shipping by the group. This group has declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia. Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi group, said...

Kuwait?Petroleum Corporation has announced a deal worth $16?billion for its crude oil pipeline?network. The consortium includes global?funds Blackstone Brookfield and KKR. The largest foreign direct investment ever made in the history of the country. Kuwait Oil Company, a unit of KPC, is establishing a joint-venture with three U.S. investors in a lease-and-leaseback structure over a 20-year period that includes a tariff based on volume, KPC said in a press release. The deal is part of an effort by Gulf State oil companies and investors to attract foreign capital and raise funds through infrastructure assets, in order to finance domestic investment...

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...

Two industry sources reported on Thursday that oil production in Kazakhstan has decreased?since?the closure?of a Black Sea Terminal, which serves as a main outlet for the nation's crude shipments. The terminal was also recently targeted by drone strikes. Tengiz, Kazakhstan's biggest oilfield, is the field where the decline was most pronounced. Sources claim that the production there has more than halved to 406,000 barrels a day on Wednesday, from an average of 925,000 bpd in July. According to a source, the average oil and gas condensate production in Kazakhstan fell on Wednesday from 2.07 million bpd to 1.63 millions bpd....

Enagas, the Spanish gas grid operator, announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to purchase a 20% stake from 'Osaka Gas in eastern Spain's 'Saggas' regasification plant. It also reported first-half earnings, which it claimed kept it on track to meet its 2026 forecasts. The company announced that it would pay EUR31,000,000 ($35,000,000) for a stake in the Sagunto plant, located in the Valencia region. This plant has a storage capacity of 600,000.000 cubic meters and a regasification capability of 1.1 million normal cubic metres an hour. This is equal to 18% of Spain's total and 15% of its total....

Three industry sources confirmed that the 'Caspian Pipeline Consortium' has stopped receiving oil from Kazakhstan, after suspending loadings Monday due to attacks against oil tankers at their Black Sea terminal. On Tuesday, two sources also stated that the oil tanks at the terminal were full. CPC, the company that accounts for 80% oil exports out of?Kazakhstan declined to comment. CPC announced on Monday that the oil loadings at Black Sea port had been suspended following a drone strike on tankers. Russia accused Ukraine of targeting CPC tanks as part of their "ambition to destabilise global oil markets". Ukraine has not...

Three industry sources reported on Tuesday that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium has ceased receiving oil from Kazakhstan after the suspension of 'loadings' due to a sabotage attack against 'oil tankers? at its Black Sea Terminal. Two sources said that the oil?reservoirs are also full at the terminal. CPC, the company that accounts for 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports, declined to comment. CPC announced on Monday that oil loads were'suspended' at the Black Sea Port following a ukranian drone attack against tankers. Chevron continues its monitoring of the situation at CPC. Safety and security for personnel are our highest priority. Chevron's...