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UK delays import ban on jet fuel and diesel derived from Russian crude
The UK announced on Wednesday that it would continue to allow the importation of jet fuel and diesel refined from Russian crude into third-country countries. This ban was first announced in October to help the country deal with the supply problems caused by the Iran War. The decision was criticized by lawmakers in Britain and Ukraine, who claimed that the government had backed down on its promises to stop Moscow from profiting off oil production and using it to fund their war against Ukraine. The Prime Minister Keir starmer said that the measures are part of a larger sanctions package which increases pressure on Moscow. He also stated that allowing the imports to continue is a way to phase in the ban. Starmer said in Britain's Parliament that there was no question of lifting sanctions. The government did not ease the pressure on Moscow. Chris Bryant, the minister of trade and commerce, said that the measures are being taken in light of the Middle East situation. He also stated his intention to suspend the measures - essentially implementing the prohibition - as quickly as possible. The carve-out that comes into effect Wednesday allows Britain to import jet fuel and diesel from third countries, such as India or Turkey, that could?be derived directly from Russian oil. This will allow for additional supplies at a time when prices are rising. In April, airlines warned of a possible summer shortage of jet fuel, but have recently sounded a more optimistic tone about availability. However, many carriers have raised fares or?cut flights. BRITISH LAWMAKERS CHALLENGE A MOVE Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative opposition leader in Parliament, told Starmer that he chose to "buy dirty Russian crude oil" and "that money will fund the killings of Ukrainian soldiers". Senior Labour legislator Emily Thornberry added that Ukraine was "very disappointed". Oleksiy Honcharenko, a Ukrainian opposition lawmaker, told Times Radio the British decision had been "deeply disappointed" and questioned the support of the country. A Volodymyr Zelenskiy adviser said that the Ukrainian President's Office was in "very active contact" with the British government which was clarifying the details. Brent crude traded at $109 per barrel on Wednesday. This is 50% more than it was before the Iran War, due to the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States extended on Monday a waiver of sanctions allowing the purchase of Russian seaborne crude oil in order to help energy-vulnerable nations hit by supply disruptions. The European Commission has criticised Washington for extending the waiver. This is the second extension of a March measure. It warned that it could boost Russia's revenue. Valdis Dombrovskis, EU Economy Commissioner said Tuesday that the EU does not believe this is the right time to reduce pressure on Russia. There are still thousands of sanctions left. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on a large scale in 2022, Britain sanctioned over 3,200 people, businesses, and ships. The British government announced in October that it planned to ban the importation of oil products, such as jet fuel and diesel refined from Russian crude oil in third-country countries. Yvette Cooper, the then-foreign minister, described the measures at the time as a "huge hit" on the war machine of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Rachel Reeves, the finance minister, said that Russian oil was "off the markets". The UK also signed a G7 declaration on Tuesday reaffirming its "unwavering" commitment to impose "severe" costs on Russia. The wider package of sanctions includes restrictions?linked to Russian trade in energy and a ban on uranium and related services. BRITAIN'S CAPACITY GAP Britain now has only four active refineries. This is down from nine refineries in 2000. After the recent closing of the Lindsey Refinery, the combined capacity of these refineries is around one million barrels a day. According to the latest IEA Report, Britain's total product demand for March was 1.35 million barrels a day, with 61% being diesel and jet fuel. Kpler data shows that in 2025 Britain imported 483,000 barrels per day of middle distillates. India, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia accounted for 35%. Dan Tomlinson, junior treasury secretary, also defended this change as "a sensible decision" that would help to ensure the security of supply while helping industry and household. Tomlinson, a BBC reporter, said that Britain continues to "support Ukraine" by providing billions in military equipment as well as through the numerous sanctions still in place. Separately, Britain issued on Tuesday a license until January for the maritime transport of liquefied gas from the Sakhalin-2 project and Yamal project, and related services including shipping, finance and brokerage. Sakhalin-2 in the Far East and Yamal LNG, in the Arctic are two of Russia's biggest gas export projects. Sam Tabahriti, Seher Dareen and Sarah Young in Kiyv, Shadia Nasralla, Olena Hartmarsh and Sarah Young in Kiyv, and Sam Tabahriti, writing. David Goodman, Daniel Wallis and Elizabeth Piper edited the article.
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Southwest Airlines will expand its India Global Centre to 1,000 employees, says executive
Southwest Airlines will hire 1,000 people at its newly opened global capability center in India over the next several years, as it builds a hub outside headquarters to build tech capabilities. Southwest Airlines Vice President and Global Director of Innovation (India), Krishna Kallepalli said in an interview that the airline has already hired over a dozen people and plans to increase this number to 200 in the near future. He said that the new office wasn't intended to function as a "traditional back-office hub". He said: "We don't just want to do a shift and lift?and create another office." "We're looking at technology-driven business capabilities." The move comes at a moment when the U.S. Government is trying to encourage hiring domestically, and companies continue to tap India’s engineering talent pools and AI talent. GCCs are no longer low-cost outsource hubs, but rather local offices that support their parent companies in various functions including finance, daily operations, and research and development. Kallepalli stated that "we're starting (with hiring) the core engineering side...?platform, cloud, and network engineering," adding that the next area of roles included data science and machine-learning skills. Southwest has leased 20,000 square foot in?Hyderabad, and can accommodate 200 employees immediately. He didn't give a specific timeline for the expansion of the company to 1,000 employees but said that the company wanted to expand at the "right pragmatic scale". The executive also added that AI is currently driving hiring in India's GCC industry rather than replacing existing jobs. Reporting by Rishika Sadam; Writing by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru, Editing by Janane Venkatraman
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ADNOC CEO: New UAE pipeline bypassing Hormuz is now 50% completed.
Sultan Al Jaber said that the new crude oil pipeline, which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, and was started by the United Arab Emirates?last year, is now?50% completed. Since the U.S. and Israeli strikes in February, Iran has kept the critical waterway for global oil-and-gas supplies closed to all ships except its own. This has sent energy prices and inflation soaring, which has fuelled fears of a recession. Abu Dhabi Media Office announced the existence of the project for the first-time last week. The UAE plans to accelerate the construction of a new oil pipeline via Fujairah in order to double exports by 2027. The media office reported that Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, during a meeting of the executive committee, ordered ADNOC's?West-East Pipeline Project to be expedited. Al Jaber, speaking at a live streamed Atlantic Council event, said, "Today it is already almost 50% completed, and we will accelerate its delivery to 2027." "At the moment, too much energy is still moving through too few chokepoints." Al Jaber stated that the UAE took the decision to invest more than 10 years ago in infrastructure bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, also known as the Habshan-Fujairah Pipeline, is capable of carrying up to 1.8 millions barrels of oil per day. This has proven crucial to the UAE's efforts to maximize exports of Gulf of Oman crude oil from just outside the strait. Al Jaber stated that some ADNOC facilities and infrastructure were directly 'hit' and that the damage assessment was still ongoing. He said that it will take weeks in some cases and months in others to get back to full operational capability.
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US doctor contacts Ebola patient in Uganda heading to Czech hospital
Czech officials confirmed that a U.S. physician?will transfer from Uganda to a hospital in Prague, on Wednesday, after coming into contact with an Ebola-infected patient. Adam Vojtech, the Health Minister, said that the doctor showed no signs of the deadly virus. He would be hospitalised for precautions after a request from the United States. Vojtech said at a press briefing that there was no risk to the public. He said that strict protocols will be followed in the transfer and the patient will be isolated for a period of three weeks. In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 130 deaths are linked to the Ebola outbreak. Cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda. The Faculty Hospital Bulovka, which specializes in infectious diseases in Prague, announced late on Tuesday that the patient would be transported in a isolation unit and expected to arrive Wednesday evening. The U.S. CDC announced on Tuesday that Germany had also accepted a U.S. national who contracted Ebola - in the Democratic Republic of Congo - for treatment. Vojtech stated that the U.S. requested Czech help due to the country's reputation as a leader in infectious diseases. World Health Organization Director General?Tedros Ghebreyesus?declared on Saturday the outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus strain as a public-health emergency of international concern. This was the first time that a WHO director has done this before convening a emergency committee. Experts are concerned by the outbreak because it spread undetected for weeks across an area that was densely populated and ravaged with widespread violence. The outbreak that occurred in eastern Congo between 2018 and 2020 was the second-deadliest ever recorded. It killed almost 2,300 people. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Heavens, Alex Richardson, and Jason Hovet)
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Special Report-Iran consolidates control of Hormuz through island checkpoints and diplomatic deals, as well as sometimes 'fees.'
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 clearing vessels across the Strait of Hormuz. With Iran now in de ?facto control of the strait, the system can involve government-to-government arrangements, intense vetting by the Iranian government and sometimes fees in exchange for safe passage, has found. The ship's progress in Vietnam, Iraq and Greece was closely monitored by two people, who were interviewed by. The transponder would go dark periodically, but I was still able to sail on the Agios Fenourios. A projectile struck another ship nearby that day and caused a small fire. The Agios Fanourios 1 icon was displayed on screens late May 10. According to an Iranian official, speedboats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stopped the tanker as it passed?Hormuz Island. The IRGC soldiers who were initially letting the ship through the strait now order the ship to stop. The Iranian official stated that there was a suspicion of smuggled goods and they wanted to inspect the vessel. The vessel was given Iranian permission to continue a few hours later. This turned what would normally be a five-hour journey through the Strait into a two day ordeal. One of the people who was monitoring the trip said, "Once we heard that Agios had passed Hormuz we breathed a huge sigh," Eastern Mediterranean Shipping, the manager of the ship, and six other people who knew about the passage confirmed that no payments had been made. Konstantinos Sakellaridis wrote that he had "reasons to believe" that Iranians were oblivious to the transit Agios Fanourios I due to pressure from Iraq and Vietnam. The Iranian government has not responded to requests for comments about the new mechanism, or the voyage of the Agios fanourios I. Iran’s grip on Strait of Hormuz - the conduit for a fifth of global oil supply - has caused the world economy to be in turmoil. In order to reveal how Iran has been consolidating its control over the strategic chokepoint, we interviewed 20 people who had knowledge of this evolving mechanism. These included Asian and European shipping officials and Iranian and Iraqi official, as well as Iranian and Iraqi officials. We also reviewed Iranian documents relating to the vetting procedure and analysed the movements of ships. Together, these documents provide a rare glimpse into the Iranian scheme, in which the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plays a key role. The sensitive nature of the topic made all sources request anonymity. Some details about the Agios fanourios I's journey could not be independently confirmed, but they matched the accounts of multiple maritime officials who were involved in managing the same route and navigating it for cargo ships as well as tankers. According to the U.S. Military, by early May, there were around 1,500 vessels in the Gulf with 22,500 sailors on board. This bottleneck is caused by Iran's ability, from the coast of the Gulf, to hit ships in the strait. The conflict has become the worst energy crisis in history, according to the head of the International Energy Agency. The U.S. Navy responded by imposing a blockade on Iranian ships and their cargo, with a cordon around the Strait. A trickle of ships have made it through the waterway. According to an unpublished analysis from the U.S. company SynMax Intelligence, between April 18 and may 6, less than 60 ships passed through. In the days before the war, 120-140 ships would pass through the strait every day. About half were oil tankers. U.S. laws prohibit American citizens from transacting with the Iranian government. Non-Americans who deal with Iranian entities may also be subject to "secondary sanctions". Many Western governments also maintain their own restrictions and sanctions relating to Iran. The U.S. Treasury Department released a statement May 1 warning about the risks associated with making payments to the Iranian regime or obtaining guarantees from them for safe passage. The new Iranian mechanism includes a tiered system giving preference to ships linked to its allies Russia and China, followed by countries such as India and Pakistan with close ties to Tehran, and then government-to-government agreements that let vessels like the Agios Fanourios I pass, found. The U.S. Department of Treasury responded to questions about the system by saying that it was prepared to take action against foreign companies supporting illicit Iranian trade. It is not possible to determine independently how many ships have used this scheme. Iran said that ships connected to the United States and Israel, who launched aerial attacks against Iran in late-February, may not be allowed to cross the Strait. Two European shipping sources said some vessels that aren't covered by government-to-government deals are paying Iranian authorities upwards of $150,000 to secure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Two senior Iranian officials said that security and navigation fees are charged to ships, but the amount varies depending on the cargo. Two senior Iranian officials did not provide specific figures but said that "not all countries pay these fees." Could not independently confirm whether the amount levied against vessels or the total amount flowing into Iranian coffers was accurate. "THE NEW NORMS" Under international maritime law governments are not allowed to charge for the safe passage of a strait. As long as all ships are treated equally, fees can be charged for security or service. Secrets are kept about these payments and the names ship owners who paid Iranian authorities for their vessels to be retrieved, because such payments would violate U.S. sanctions against Iran's government. Could not determine the method of transfer or which Iranian entity received the money. According to two maritime insurance specialists, in addition to being charged, violators will also lose their insurance coverage if they make payments to the IRGC that would benefit it, as?it is a terrorist organization internationally designated. Danny Citrinowicz is a former Israeli Intelligence officer who specializes in Iran research and analyses. Citrinowicz said that the Iranian regime's approval was required to open or close the Straits. He is currently working at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. "Some will pass through due to political alliances. Others will pay a fee, and others will be sent back. "This is the new normal." China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to Iran's findings regarding its new control system, called for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and expressed concern about "future arrangements" for the strait. The statement from the Ministry said that "such arrangements should comply with the law and practice of international law, and take into consideration the legitimate security concerns and demands of coastal states as well as the legitimate claims of regional countries and international community." Checking for affiliation According to three Iranian and one European source, outside of government agreements the process for securing Iranian permission to transit includes a detailed vetting by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran's elite combat force. According to the sources, the IRGC examines a document called an affiliation that is provided by a ship operator or owner and submitted via an intermediary. The European shipping source said that the affiliation check was to determine if there were any connections between the vessel and the U.S. The Guards review documents for about a week, and they may also want to inspect the ship during this time, according to the source. According to documents sent by Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority to sources in the shipping industry, the IRGC requires shipowners to disclose information including the value and origin of the ship's cargo as well as the nationalities of its crew. In recent weeks, the authority was established to tax and approve vessel transits. According to three senior Iranian officials, the vetting of ships is done by Iranian state institutions, including the Ports and Maritime Organization, Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, national shipping organization, and security overseer of Supreme National Security Council. Officials said that the IRGC which oversees Iranian security is also involved in evaluating the vessels. The countries must also contact Iran's Foreign Minister to ask for permission. One of the officials stated that the minister then forwards them to the Supreme National Security Council which includes representatives of Mojtaba Khamenei and the IRGC. The official added that "a decision is made and then communicated to all relevant bodies, including the IRGC," he said. The official added that the IRGC gives the necessary coordinates and instructions for safe passage. According to two sources familiar with the deal, the Iraqi government and its state-owned oil marketer SOMO worked together to negotiate a deal with Iran for the Agios Fanourios I under the supervision then-Iraqi Premier Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Three Iraqi officials from the oil ministry said that they had sent the Iranians the crew and manifest information for the Agios fanourios I before the passage. The Iraqi government has not responded to a question about its arrangements with Iranian officials or details about Agios Fanourios. Other countries have negotiated different agreements. India is one of them. It imports 90% of its oil and 50% of its natural gas. A large portion of this passes through Hormuz. According to an official in the Indian shipping ministry, New Delhi uses its embassy at Tehran to communicate with Iranian authorities including the IRGC, the Iranian navy and other Iranian agencies. These entities vet the ships India wants to leave the Gulf. "Once all is verified, the captain of the ship is given a course to follow and the ship leaves the area under the guidance of the Iran Navy. Officials said that captains were strictly instructed to adhere to the "given route". He added that ships are instructed to turn off location transponders, and to not use satellite communication. An Indian source familiar with the process said that after Iran gives permission, the Indian Navy contacts the shipmasters of Indian flagged vessels in the Gulf directly and provides them with waypoints. The Indian navy told us, too, that you should stop if they ask you to. The source stated that "if they tell you to move you should move," and we have been following these instructions. India's Shipping Ministry announced on May 14 that 13 Indian flagged vessels had cleared the Strait of Hormuz while another 13 remain west of the waterway. India, Russia Pakistan and Vietnam didn't respond to our requests for comments about Iran's control of the Strait. FRAUGHT? According to three Iranians and two sources from the shipping industry, clearing multiple Iranian waypoints is a common requirement for many ships as they leave the Gulf of Aden and enter the Strait of Hormuz. These are often manned by armed personnel. The Agios fanourios I passed through the Iranian military checkpoints in Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Larak. These coordinates were verified using the publicly available location data of the ship and other sources that knew about similar journeys. According to an Iranian official who was familiar with that incident, when the vessel approached Hormuz Island at the mouth of the strait it was briefly halted by the IRGC speedboats. He claimed that there was some information on possible smuggled goods aboard. He said that the information was incorrect. After a short period of confusion, the Agios fanourios I resumed its journey. The Indian shipping industry source stated that a similar chaotic communication was likely the cause of an attack on two Indian flagged ships trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz in the last month. Indian sailors trapped in the Gulf are scared by these incidents. The Indian shipping source said that these ships do not have any armor or other protection. "The bullets penetrate through." He added that the only targets for shooters are the crew quarters. "They cannot shoot at the tanks, because they are carrying flammable liquids." A bulk carrier sailed by an Indian sailor through the Strait of Hormuz. The ship waited for permission from the IRGC before it left the Gulf. The Iranian navy then established contact and instructed the ship to proceed towards Larak Island. The naval officials then ordered the captain of the ship to reveal the details about the ship and display its flag. They began talking with the shipping company. The Iranians asked repeatedly about the crew's nationality. He said that "after a few hours, the IRGC gave the captain a route." The ship, escorted by smaller Iranian navy vessels, was instructed to steer with caution for fear of mines. He said, "It was an incredibly frightening sight." "I cannot even imagine in my wildest fantasies going to sea during a conflict." Even if vessels make it to the other side of the Strait of Hormuz the ordeal may not be over. The Agio Fanourios 1 was caught in the U.S. Navy blockade a day after leaving Iranian waters. The tanker was tethered to a triangle for six days as the American military processed its paperwork. "U.S. "U.S. forces ordered the Malta-flagged ship to turn around in order to enforce the ongoing blockade," Capt. Tim Hawkins is the spokesperson for U.S. Central Command. Sakellaridis said that Vietnam had pressured the United States into letting the ship through. He said there was no reason to stop it in the first place because "the vessel and cargo did not have any Iranian involvement." It is not possible to determine how many ships the Americans have stopped since the blockade began on April 13th. The Agio Fanourios I, which was seized on April 13, was released without explanation on May 16. The ship is loaded with 2,000,000 barrels of crude oil and will be heading to Vietnam. Reporting by Devjyot Sharma in New Delhi, Gavin Finch, Gavin Finch, Gavin Rasheed, Parisa Hafezi, Ahmed Rasheed, in Baghdad. Florence Tan, Jonathan Saul and Nerijus Adomatis contributed additional reporting. Rene Maltezou, Sunil Kataria, Sunil Adomaitis and Florence Tan also provided editing. Lori Hinnant edited the article.
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EU selects tungsten and rare earths as first stockpiles to curb China's dependence
Three sources familiar with the issue said that?tungsten and rare earths, as well as gallium, were shortlisted for the first joint stockpile of critical minerals to reduce reliance on China. One of the sources, and a third source, said that the EU was also in talks with major ports, including Rotterdam, the largest port in the Netherlands. They are looking at storing the minerals there. This is one of the most concrete measures taken by the EU to protect its economy against Beijing's dominance over the production of critical minerals, which are vital to defence, semiconductors, and energy transition. They are also often used to leverage trade disputes with Western countries. Western allies - including the United States - are racing to stockpile their own minerals after Beijing's export restrictions sent shockwaves through the global economy. One source said that graphite and germanium were expected to be the final mixture, while two sources said that magnesium was on the list of?priority materials. The majority of minerals considered, with the exception of magnesium, are on NATO's 12 essential elements for the defence industry. Metals are also essential for aircraft, cars, semiconductors, smartphones and renewable energy infrastructure, including wind turbines. The European Commission announced its stockpile project in December. In working groups headed by Germany, France, and Italy, ten EU countries are participating in the planning. France's G7 presidency has prioritized diversifying vital mineral?supplies, while the EU is also in parallel discussions to establish a permanent secretaryate so that the?work continues beyond rotating presidencies. Adolfo Uroso, Italy's Industry minister, said that EU officials visited Porto Marghera in Venice on Tuesday to evaluate its viability as a hub for storage. Urso has previously stated that the larger port of Trieste is also in the running to become a Mediterranean hub. A spokesperson for Port of Rotterdam declined to comment immediately. A spokesperson from the European Commission declined comment. Reporting by Julia Payne, Pratima Dasai and Bernadettebaum. Editing by Bernadettebaum.
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Sources say that the freight rates for Russia's Urals are weakened due to an oversupply of tons.
Sources in shipping and trade said that freight rates for tanker shipments from Russia's western port to India dropped in mid-May because of seasonal factors, a large supply?of shadow flotte vessels and global shifts in shipping. The blockade of Strait of Hormuz is still in place. Meanwhile, the shift of tankers to the Atlantic has a negative impact on the rates in Europe as ships who previously worked in the Gulf relocate. Lower freight rates support higher netbacks of Russian?oil imports. Estimates suggest that the latest reduction in freight rates could boost?Urals price by $3 to $7 per barrel on a FOB basis. The demand for Urals remains high in India, its largest market, despite the fact that U.S. The restart of the Nayara refining plant after maintenance and waivers are two examples. Washington extended a 30-day waiver of sanctions on May 18, allowing the purchase of Russian oil that is already in sea to help energy-vulnerable nations affected by the Iran conflict. Sources claim that the cost to ship Aframax cargoes to India from Primorsk has dropped to $13 million. This is a significant drop compared to late April and early May when it was more than 18 million dollars. The freight?for Suezmax?tankers travelling the same route is about $16million per voyage. Costs of shipping Urals from the Black Sea port Novorossiisk, to India on Suezmax tanks have dropped to $18million. They were previously $20-21million. According to traders, LSEG, and calculations, the export and transit of oil from?Russian's western port increased?by about 150,000 barrels a day or 9% in the first two week of May compared with April. (Reporting and editing by Kirsten Doovan)
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Six million barrels of crude are pumped out of the Strait of Hormuz by tankers
Shipping data from LSEG and Kpler revealed that three supertankers crossed the 'Strait of Hormuz' on Wednesday, carrying oil bound for Asian market after waiting for more than two month in the Gulf with?6 millions barrels of Middle East Crude on?board. Another was entering. These'ships' are among the few supertankers that have left the Gulf via a transit route Iran has instructed ships to use. The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, which began on 28 February, has significantly curtailed shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is the route through which approximately one-fifth of world oil and energy flows. Data showed that the South Korean flagged Very Large Crude Carrier Universal Winner was leaving the Strait of Hormuz after two Chinese tankers left on Wednesday. Kpler data shows the tanker is heading to Ulsan where the country's biggest refiner SK Energy, located, will discharge its cargo on Wednesday. SK Energy refused to comment. HMM, owner and manager of the VLCC could not be reached immediately for comment. Shipping Risks 20,000 seafarers are still stranded in the Gulf on hundreds of ships. According to an analysis of ship tracking data, the number of vessels entering and leaving the Strait has been around 10 on average in the last few days. This includes cargo ships and other vessels such as chemical and liquid petroleum tankers. Crude oil?tankers represent a very small percentage of the total traffic. According to satellite data and Kpler data analysis by data analytics specialists SynMax, around 10 ships have crossed the Strait in the last 24 hours. This includes small cargo ships as well as a chemical tanker that has entered the Gulf. In a Tuesday note, the U.S. Navy's Joint Maritime Information Center stated that "the operating environment is still high-risk based on recent attacks against ships in the region." In the past 48 hours, Iranian units have displayed a number of instances where they have acted aggressively and assertively. On Wednesday, shipping industry associations issued new guidelines for ships that want to navigate through the Strait. They cited multiple navigational hazards including the possibility of being attacked by drones or mines, but also the unpredictable traffic congestion, and the "reduced oversight" of the military. The associations stated in their guidance that "Hundreds of vessels are still unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. If navigation conditions return to normal, then the movement of these vessels in the Strait may pose a significant navigational risk." CHINESE TANKERS Data showed that the Chinese VLCC Yuan Gu?Yang had loaded 2,000,000 barrels of Basrah crude from Iraq on February 27, just a day prior to the start of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. According to data, the vessel chartered by Unipec - the trading arm of Asia's biggest refiner Sinopec - which left the strait on Wednesday is expected to arrive at Shuidong Port in southern Guangdong Province on June 4, to discharge its cargo. The data showed that Ocean Lily, a Hong Kong-flagged VLCC, loaded 1,000,000 barrels of each Qatari al-Shaheen crude and Iraqi basrah between late February to early March. The ship, owned by Chinese giant Sinochem, will arrive at Quanzhou Port, in eastern Fujian Province, on June 5, to unload its cargo. Sinopec and Sinochem, who own and manage Yuan Gui Yang did not immediately respond to comment requests. VLCC Yuan Hua Hu, which was carrying 2 million barrels iraqi oil, left the strait last week and headed for Zhoushan Port in eastern China. LSEG data shows that the VLCC Grand Lady, flying the Cypriot flag, entered the Strait of Hormuz without its transponder. LSEG data shows that the empty tanker has been anchored near Dubai. Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, the tanker's manager, could not be reached immediately for comment.
Germany invests in shelters for everyday use, moving away from Cold War bunkers
On 'Wednesday', the German government approved a Civil Defense Plan that will move away from Cold War bunkers and towards everyday locations such as underground parking lots, tunnels and subway stations.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in 2022, the debate over civil defense has intensified in Europe. Germany also increased its military spending.
The Interior Ministry stated that the plan was partially funded by a special debt-free fund approved last year.
According to the government's plan, Germany has 579 shelters for 480,000 people. Many of these haven't been used since the Cold War.
The government plans to spend EUR10 billion ($12billion) on civil defence, as part of a larger?military expenditure drive.
The money will go towards buying more than 1,000 vehicles, protective suits, and upgrading the mass alert system.
The Interior Ministry plans to also install a central unit for coordinating?work between public entities.
Alexander Dobrindt, Interior Minister, said: "This concept, which never worked in the 1980s, must be discarded today's modern environment of security". He said that the new plan is aimed at improving protection for people in their homes, and providing quicker access to "safe places" in public spaces.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stated that the plan was based upon lessons learned from Ukraine where an app warns citizens of possible attacks and urges them to seek shelter. Pistorius stated that "we can't expect to provide shelter for 80 million Germans". (Reporting and writing by Markus Wacket; editing by Kirstiknolle).
(source: Reuters)