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Officials in the US claim that two vessels bound for the US were allegedly compromised by hackers.
The US Coast Guard and FBI boarded two 'commercial vessels' bound for the United States last month in the Gulf of Mexico after receiving a report that hackers had hacked into their 'computer networks. The unusual operation was carried out between August 21 and 24 on two foreign-flagged vessels. It comes at a time when US authorities are grappling with a number of cyber incidents which media reports have linked Iran to since the outbreak conflict between Washington and Tehran. The FBI stated that they boarded both vessels after "receiving indications that the networks of both vessels had been compromised." The Coast Guard, who referred to only the August 21 boarding?said "foreign hackers" were involved, but did not identify them. The Coast Guard was contacted by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency for more information about these incidents. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency "referred" questions to the Coast Guard. Corey Ranslem said his company, Dryad Global (a maritime security group), had confirmed the Liberian flagged VL Prosperity as one of the vessels. According to LSEG ship tracking data and MarineTraffic, the vessel is currently anchored around Galveston, Texas. Liberia’s flag registry didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Mehr, the Iranian news agency, reported that VL Prosperity suffered a "major cyberattack" as it was?transiting across the Strait of Gibraltar on August 20, and that communications were?blocked for 30 hours. Mehr reported, citing an unnamed member of the crew, that hackers also had infiltrated engine-room systems. They reduced the cooling flow, increased engine speed and disabled the ship’s fuel and engine-oil tanks. The Iranian news agency didn't say who they thought was behind the alleged assault. Ranslem says that despite its dramatic effects, a cyberattack on a ship is not difficult to execute. He said, "We expect these attacks to continue in the near future and expand."
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Tariffs cost the FAA $100 million on US air traffic modernization plan
The head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has said that the agency 'expects a cost of about $100 million from tariffs for the government's more than $12.5 billion plan to modernize air traffic control. U.S. Representative 'Rick 'Larsen is a Washington Democrat and ranking member of the FAA committee. He said that FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told lawmakers the tariff cost of $100 million was largely attributed to the air traffic radars they are buying. Larsen said that the tariffs were increasing government costs. Larsen stated, "I have asked them for specific figures and which equipment is affected." "I am not a fan of tariffs. We are trying to modernize the national aerospace system and will have to pay tariffs because of the President's policies. Congress approved $12.5 Billion in funding in the last year for an aging air traffic system, to?boost hiring of controllers and address decades of complaints regarding airport congestion and flight delay. The FAA is asking for at least $10 billion more to complete phase two. A government report released this week revealed that the cost of upgrading telecommunications has increased from $4.75 to $5.91 Billion. Bedford stated that outdated copper wires in telecoms should be replaced before September 2027. Bedford said that two radar suppliers, RTX Collins Aerospace?and Spain's Indra Group, would also be moving their radar production to U.S. locations in Largo and Kansas. He did not specify where the production was moving from. In January, FAA awarded $780,000,000 in contracts to RTX &?Indra for the replacement of?upto 612 ground-based Radars, many of which date to the 1980s. Bedford stated earlier that many radars have exceeded their intended service life, are expensive to maintain, and difficult to support. In March, RTX announced that it would invest $26.5 million to expand its Largo plant, and?Indra revealed it would spend $7.5 million to build the next-generation radars for air traffic surveillance in a Kansas City suburb. Indra also builds next-generation digital audio radios for FAA in Kansas under a separate contract worth $244 million.
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Sources say Shell-led LNG Canada may approve the Phase 2 expansion as early as October.
Three people with knowledge of the project said that partners in the Shell-led LNG Canada Export Project could make a final investment decision for its 'Phase 2 expansion' as soon as next month. The expansion will add 14 million metric tonnes per annum of export capacity for liquefied gas to the Kitimat facility, British Columbia. This effectively doubles the total project capacity, which is now 28 mtpa. The Middle East conflict and disruptions in the Red Sea, as well as the lack of certainty regarding the resumption of flows through the Strait of Hormuz, have prompted LNG buyers to prioritize supply security. This is especially true for those in Asia. LNG Canada is Canada's biggest private sector investment. It's a joint-venture led by Shell, supported by Malaysian Petronas and PetroChina and Korea Gas Corp. The facility, strategically located on Canada's Pacific Coast allows for shorter shipping routes from the US Gulf Coast to Asian markets than US Gulf Coast exporters who must pass through the Panama Canal. "We are continuing to work with our venture partners to explore possible pathways for a Phase 2 expansion. Shell stated in a statement that any decision would be based on factors like affordability and competitiveness, as well as government support and stakeholder requirements. The first phase of the project, which costs?about C$40billion, is designed to generate 14 mtpa from two processing train. The facility shipped its first cargo earlier this year. It is considered a cornerstone in Canada's efforts to become a global LNG exporter.
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Officials in the US claim that two vessels bound for the US were allegedly compromised by hackers.
The US Coast Guard and FBI announced on Thursday that they seized two commercial vessels bound to the United States in the Gulf of Mexico after receiving indications hackers had accessed their computer networks. The unusual operation was carried out between August 21 and 24 on two foreign-flagged vessels. It comes at a time when US authorities are grappling with a number of cyber incidents which media reports have attributed to Iran ever since the conflict began between Washington and Tehran. The FBI stated that a joint Coast Guard-FBI boarded both vessels after "indications" that their networks were compromised. The Coast Guard said "foreign cyber-actors" were involved in the August 21 boarding but did not name them. The agencies did not provide any additional details or explain the discrepancies in their accounts. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Corey Ranslem (CEO, Dryad Global) confirmed that the Liberian flagged VL Prosperity was one of the vessels. According to LSEG ship tracking data and MarineTraffic, the vessel is currently anchored around Galveston, Texas. Liberia’s flag registry didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Iran's Mehr News Agency reported that on August 20, VL Prosperity suffered a "major cyberattack" as it transited through the Strait of Gibraltar. Its communications were knocked out for 30 hours. Mehr, citing an unnamed member of the crew, reported that hackers also had infiltrated engine-room system, decreased the cooling flow for the engines, increased the engine speed and disabled the fuel and engine oil?tank. The Iranian news agency didn't say who they thought was behind the alleged assault. Ranslem says that despite its dramatic effects, a cyberattack centered on a ship is not difficult to execute. He said, "We expect these attacks to continue in the near future and expand."
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Boeing 777X will not be delayed by GE Aerospace's GE9X seal issue
GE Aerospace's Chief Financial Officer Rahul Ghai stated on Thursday that he is confident a?durability issue with GE9X engines'?mid-seal?"wouldn't hold up the entry into service of the Boeing 777X next year. In February, the US company announced that it was examining a possible durability issue involving a'seal' in the GE9X. GE announced in April that it had 'identified the cause and was working on a solution. Ghai, speaking at a Morgan Stanley Conference, said that testing had revealed the mid-seal?a part connecting 'the front and'rear sections of engine?was not as durable as GE expected. He said that GE redesigned this part and began shipping GE9X engine fitted with the new sealing to Boeing in third quarter. The company anticipates FAA certification for the redesigned component in the coming months. Ghai stated that GE was "extremely confident" about the redesigned'seal, after a series of internal tests. The design is now being incorporated into engines currently in production. He said the existing seal could be used for the certifications that are in progress, as well as the approvals required before 'Boeing starts ETOPS testing. The FAA is certifying the redesigned seal for production aircraft.
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FAA waives emission rules so Boeing can sell 35 more 777F freighters
Federal Aviation Administration announced on Thursday that it had approved a waiver to the airplane emission rules, allowing Boeing to continue selling 35 more 777F Freighters after 2028. Boeing will be able to continue selling the planes until January 1, 2028 when new emission rules come into effect. This would have prevented the sale of this plane. Boeing had asked for approval in December 2025, citing a strong demand from customers and a delay with the certification of the next-generation aircraft. The 777F remains the only large-widebody freighter currently in production. Its next-generation replacement, the 777-8F (which is expected to enter service around 2029), is still a few years away. Boeing says that without the waiver it would have faced a 'freighter gap' which could have cost U.S. Exports more than $15 billion. The FAA stated that it would give Boeing "flexibility in accommodating uncertainty" regarding the certification timeline for the dedicated freighter aircraft replacement, the 777-8F. BIDEN-ERA EMISSIONS RULES The FAA issued its final rules in February 2024, adopting international standards for reducing carbon pollution by large aircraft flying in U.S. Airspace. This would ban 777F sales starting in 2028. Airplanes that were in service prior to this date are not covered by the rules. Boeing did not respond immediately to a comment request. The planemaker stated earlier that every export of a single 777F aircraft at list price to a foreign client contributes $440 to a positive U.S. trade balance. The company said that without the exemption, more than $15 billion worth of U.S. exported could be lost. The company expects to deliver its first 777-8F aircraft approximately two years after the first delivery date of the 777-9 which is currently set for 2027. Boeing says the 777F is the most fuel-efficient aircraft for the global cargo market, and the only widebody freighter currently in production. Congress passed legislation in 2024 that allows Boeing to continue producing its?767 Freighter in the United States for an additional five years, through 2033, and exempts it from the FAA efficiency regulations taking effect in 2020. FAA previously stated that domestic aircraft are responsible for 9% in transportation emissions, and 2% of the total carbon pollution in the United States. The U.S. announced a climate plan under Biden that aimed to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Aviation sector by 2050. The FAA stated that the 35 aircraft could increase freighter operation by about 2%, and fuel consumption by around 8% compared to global freighter operations for 2024.
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European stocks rise as oil prices fall and yields stabilize after the Fed's hike
European shares rose Thursday, as lower oil prices and a pause in the global bond saleoff lifted risk appetite after the US Federal Reserve announced its much-anticipated interest rate hike. Most regional markets advanced, as the pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.9% to 642.6. Metal mining shares led gains with a jump of 2.1%. BMW, Renault, and Volkswagen all saw gains around 2%. Brent crude prices fell for a second consecutive day, despite reports that Saudi Arabia was offering more cargoes via Oman. Prices remained at or above $100 per barrel. The energy sector in Europe grew by 0.1%. The Fed's first rate hike in three years, which occurred on Wednesday, reinforced expectations that central banks will intensify their efforts to combat inflation. Investors weighed the decision as well as signals for further tightening. Luca Bindelli said that the move yesterday was really to restore, I believe,?Fed credibility. This was due to a decline in?interest rate volatility which hurt sentiment and put pressure on equity values. Investors were also focused on Bank of England which kept rates unchanged while warning of the inflationary pressures that would be intensified by rising energy costs. The UK blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 1.2% on the day, its largest one-day increase in more than two months. The preliminary estimate for inflation in the euro zone was 3.3%. This has been revised down to 3.2%. Ulf Kristersson, Sweden's Prime Minister, announced his resignation after the center-left opposition narrowly won a parliamentary majority on Sunday. Social Democrats led by former prime minister Magdalena Andersson are expected to lead the talks for forming the new government. The benchmark index in Sweden rose by 1.1%. Berentzen, among other stocks, jumped by?19.4% following the German spirits producer's confirmation of its negotiations with New Orleans-based alcohol manufacturer Sazerac regarding a possible takeover bid. Allegro, Poland's largest e-commerce platform, raised its forecasts for?2026 while confirming that the second quarter results exceeded the guidance. This sent its shares to the top of the STOXX 600 leaderboard with a 9.5% increase. Helvetia Baloise gained 5,3% after the Swiss insurance company released results for the first six months of the year. The underlying earnings came in ahead of expectations. Bilfinger's biggest ever one-day decline, down 21.4% after the German industrial service group lowered their 2026 outlook, was recorded. Raiffeisen Bank International dropped 6% after Grizzly Research revealed a short position in the Austrian lender.
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GM increases diesel pickups while rivals switch to hybrids
General Motors has chosen a diesel-powered engine for its next-generation pickup, a departure from the hybrid options offered by rivals. GM will launch in the fourth quarter the first major redesign of its most important vehicles since 2019: the Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks and GMC Sierra pick-up trucks. Together, these two models are the Detroit automaker’s most popular worldwide and generate the majority of its profits. GM announced Thursday that its trucks would offer a diesel engine with improved fuel efficiency. This, along with an option for a larger fuel tank will give them a driving range on the highway of over 900 miles. Ford, Ram, and Stellantis are GM's two main competitors for light-duty trucks. They rely on hybrids in order to get the best fuel economy from their pickups. GM has largely avoided hybrids in the past. Mark Reuss, GM's President said that the 3.0-liter engine is different from adding a hybrid powertrain to an existing one and trying to squeeze the most efficiency out of it. Reuss acknowledged the high diesel prices that topped $6 per litre last week. This was an all-time record. He drew a line between price spikes caused by geopolitical issues and permanent increases. GM, he said, is betting on diesels' superior efficiency in the long term. Ford discontinued its diesel engine in the F-150 early this decade, replacing it with a hybrid version that they said was more fuel efficient and offered better power. A Ford spokesman stated Thursday that "we're going do what's best for F-150 Customers, regardless of what competition says or does." DIESELS GET BETTER MPG BUT CHARGE HIGHER PRICES The redesign of the Silverado Sierra and GM's Silverado unofficially marks a new phase in Detroit's long-running struggle for the pickup truck market. Forecasters predict that Ford will release the next-generation of its F-150 by 2028. GM, Ford, and Stellantis are responsible for over 90% of the sales in this lucrative U.S. pickup market. They compete for bragging rights about performance metrics such as towing capacity and fuel economy. Diesel engines are more fuel efficient than gasoline engines on highways, and this is why most large cargo trucks use diesel engines. The Detroit automakers offer diesel engines in their heavy-duty trucks, like the Ram 2500 and Ford's Super Duty. Their light-duty pickups, however, are different: Ford's F-150 and Silverado/Sierra as well as Ram's 1500. Ford's hybrid four-wheel drive gets an average of 23 miles per gallon, according to the federal rating. GM's four-wheel drive diesel versions of the Silverado & Sierra achieve 24 mpg. The 'federal estimate' shows that because diesel is typically more expensive than gasoline, owners of GM trucks will pay a total of?about $1.050 per annum, based upon 15,000 miles driven. Ram is planning a plug-in hybrid pickup truck with an extended range, which it claims will go 690 miles without stopping. GM said that the redesigned Silverado, and Sierra trucks would have two new V-8 engine designs. These engines will be more powerful and larger than their predecessors and emit less tailpipe pollution.
Bousso: The exodus of oil from the Hormuz region sets up a chaotic rebalancing.
The price of crude oil may have returned to levels seen prior to the Iran War, but the surge of?oil exported from the Middle East after the reopening of Strait of Hormuz has created a market chaos that could take several months to settle. Brent crude prices have fallen steeply to levels seen before the Iran war, around $73 per barrel, following the U.S./Iran interim agreement. At first glance, this might suggest that business is back to normal in the world's largest oil and gas hub. The conflict had effectively paralyzed the narrow?waterway that once carried a fifth or more of global oil and natural gas for over 100 days.
The market may appear to be orderly, but it is not. What appears to be normal is actually a system that's trying to reboot itself all at once. There's a race to free trapped volumes. In recent days, dozens of tankers that were stranded in the Gulf during the conflict have been rushing to leave. U.S. Energy Sec. Chris Wright stated that flows briefly exceeded the pre-war level of approximately 20 million barrels per daily, but ship-tracking data shows overall traffic is still far below the roughly 125 crossings per day seen before the war. During transit, some vessels seem to disable tracking systems. This further clouds the picture.
Undoubtedly, the Middle East oil market is growing.
Clearing outbound cargo is just half of the equation.
Inbound tankers are required to load crude oil in storage on land, an important step to allow producers to restart the fields and refineries that were closed during the war. The recovery of supply will not be possible without this inflow.
This dynamic is especially acute for producers such as Kuwait and Iraq. Bahrain, Qatar and Bahrain have very few, if not any, alternative export routes. This constraint is expected to be temporary. Rystad Energy, a consultancy firm, estimates that the Gulf region's production was shut down by the middle of June from 11.7 millions bpd just three weeks before. By mid-June the figure had dropped to 9.6million bpd. The region is now expected to reach pre-war levels by December. Iran is a factor that may be even more important in affecting the outlook for supply. Iran is expected to rapidly ramp up its oil production following the U.S. lifting most sanctions that restricted Iran's oil sales and exports.
Rystad estimates that Iran's oil production could rise to 3.3 million barrels per day by the end of the year, above levels seen before conflict, if sanctions are lifted. A flood of oil is likely to reach the markets, regardless of logistics.
From SHORTAGE to GLUT
This surge runs headlong into a weak short-term market. The refineries in Asia, Europe and North America have already secured a large portion of their crude oil supplies for the months of July and August. This leaves extra barrels without a place to go. The only option for many tankers is to stay at sea and effectively turn into floating storage, keeping the barrels off of the market for several weeks. After experiencing the biggest oil supply shock ever, the market could soon face the reverse problem. Investors appear to have priced in a "mini glut" for the short term. Last week, Brent futures for August traded below September contracts, resulting in a new market structure known as contango. This was the first time this has happened since the beginning of the war on February 28. This contango may persist for several more weeks, as the oil backlog in the Gulf is slowly cleared. It is unlikely that this contango will last. Once the flow of crude oil returns to normal, the market needs enormous quantities to meet the recovering demand in Asia as well as replenish inventories all over the world.
Do you think that supply and demand can easily be brought back to balance? Most likely not. According to the International Energy Agency, while global supply is predicted to drop by 3.9 millions bpd by 2026, they expect it to rebound by approximately 8 million bpd by 2027, to 110.3 million.
The demand, on the other hand, is expected recover much more modestly. This could create a surplus of approximately 5 million bpd in 2019.
The physical constraints on the oil supply chain may prevent this scenario from occurring, but given the size of the possible supply-demand mismatch, the market is in for a bumpy ride.
LINGGERING RISKS
Exports are booming, but concerns over the future of the Strait of Hormuz have already returned.
The U.S. and Iran interim agreement stipulates that transit along the waterway will be free of charge for 60 days while Tehran negotiates a long-term framework with Oman to regulate traffic. This temporary agreement leaves a lot of room for uncertainty. In recent days, Iranian forces shot at a Taiwanese ship transiting the Strait, triggering a round tit-for -tat with the United States. These incidents were less an escalation and more a sign that Tehran wants to assert its power through the newly formed Persian Gulf Strait Authority.
Although the Gulf traffic quickly resumed after the incident many shipowners, and charterers will likely remain cautious about sending vessels back there.
This caution is already reflected in the flows. According to LSEG, for every four tankers that left the region in the last week, only 'one' entered. This is far below levels seen before war.
The markets seem to have brushed aside concerns about political risks, logistical issues or long-term changes in the area. After months of disruption, it is unlikely that the road to equilibrium will be easy. This suggests that today's optimism in the market might be exaggerated.
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(source: Reuters)