Latest News
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Container ship arrives in UK from China via Arctic
The container ship arrived in Britain on Wednesday, after a 'historic voyage' from China via the Arctic. This is part of plans to encourage more ships to use this route as an alternative to the Suez Canal that could be shorter and safer. The Dubai Tower reached Teesport, off the northeast coast of England on August 15 after arriving from eastern China. The Arctic route, which is significantly faster than freighters that go through the Suez Canal or around the Cape Good Hope, is meant to be a start for a regular container service from Europe via the North Sea Route. South Korean container ships are also currently making a similar journey, joining China and Russia as shipping firms test?cargo service along the route. This is more feasible due to the faster melting of Arctic sea-ice. As the U.S. war with Iran continues, the route offers shorter journeys while avoiding?security risk in the Middle East. Weather and sailing conditions can be unpredictable, and the commercial feasibility of this route is not certain.
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Sources say that a fuel storage tank caught on fire during a drone attack in Russia's Novorossiisk
Two industry sources reported on Wednesday that a fuel storage tank caught fire at the Novorossiysk Fuel Terminal during an overnight drone attack?on Russia's Black Sea port city?of Novorossiysk. Telegram Mayor Andrei Kravchenko said that drone debris had fallen on several business premises and near a residence in Novorossiysk. The Novorossiysk Fuel Oil Terminal?did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comment about the?fire? or its impact. Sources claim that a tank at the terminal containing 'oil products' with a volume of approximately '37,000 cubic meters? caught fire. Sources said that repeated Ukrainian drone strikes have caused increased disruptions to oil exports out of Novorossiysk in recent months, which has led to a shortage in tankers available and loading delays. The terminal is capable of handling up to 5,000,000 metric tons?of oil-based products per year or approximately 400,000 to 450,000 tons each month. According to its website, the terminal's storage facilities are able to store a variety of?oil products. The combined capacity is up to 119,000 cubic meters. The terminal can load tankers at two dedicated berths that can accommodate vessels up to 60,000 tonnes deadweight.
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Officials say that Russian drones killed two people at the Ukraine-Moldova border crossing
Officials from Ukraine and Moldova said that Russian drones killed two people when they hit a 'border crossing' between Ukraine and Moldova, in the southern region of Odesa. This was part of Moscow’s campaign to target a trade and logistics route and cause economic damage. Officials in Ukraine said that Russian forces also attacked Kyiv with jet-powered drones overnight and on Wednesday, causing fires, disrupting school and business operations, and causing other damage. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported that nine people had been injured by the attacks in the capital. Oleh Kiper, regional governor of Odesa in southwest Ukraine, said that two civilians died and three were injured during the attack at the Starokozache Border Crossing. The attack on the checkpoint, which is about 1 km away from Moldovan territory and used by thousands of people every day, caused passenger and vehicle traffic to be halted. Moldovan officials confirmed that this was due to the attack. Andriy Demochenko, the spokesman of Ukrainian border guards on national TV, said: "Most probably, Russia wants disrupt logistics routes." The Ukrainian border guards reported that Russia had struck five border crossings over the past few weeks -- four along the border with Moldova and one near its border with Romania, which is a NATO member. This is a worrying trend for Kyiv. It has become more dependent on land routes to export its goods as Russian attacks against its Black Sea ports disrupted massively maritime exports. Ukraine, in turn, has used drones to attack Russian oil terminals, commercial warehouses, and refineries. This was often done deep within Russia. The Russian drone intrusions into the airspace of his country have increased dramatically, according to Prime Minister Vasile Tofan. Tofan wrote in a blog post on X that "17 drones have fallen since August, which is more than 2025." "Russia's war on Ukraine is putting the lives of our citizens in danger." Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said that Ukrainian forces had 'hit a naval base in Russia, an oil terminal and military port facilities, as well as warships with missiles,' and reiterated his call for more international pressure to be applied on Moscow. Zelenskiy, a Telegram user, said that "a response is required - Moscow cannot?go into winter believing it can get by with missile terror and drone terror" without any consequences. "The aggression must be stopped now before it spreads further." After a short pause during the visit of U.S. Peace Negotiators to Moscow and Kyiv, Russia resumed their?near constant air attacks on Kyiv.
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Peninsula reports that a seafarer from an oil tanker was killed in an incident near Dubai.
Peninsula, the charterer of the vessel Hercules Star, reported on Wednesday that a seafarer was killed during an incident with the Gibraltar flagged oil products tanker Hercules Star while it was anchored?off Dubai. Peninsula announced in a statement that it confirmed one death, but did not provide any details as to what the cause of death was. "In addition, one crew member is missing and a team of specialists is working to find them." The?other members of the crew are all present." Initial assessments from maritime security sources suggest that the ship may have been struck by a drone. UKMTO, an agency affiliated with the British Navy, said it received a separate report that a vessel was?listing while at anchor 24 nautical miles from Port Rashid in the United Arab Emirates. This "could indicate water intrusion following an attack?from a projectile unknown". According to their assessment, maritime security sources stated that the location was near the Hercules Star. Port officials reported that a tanker containing about 2,000,000 barrels of Iraqi fuel oil, was struck by a drone in Iraqi territorial water on Wednesday.
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Ukraine will survey farmers about winter sowing plans for 2027
The Ukrainian agriculture ministry announced on Wednesday that it would conduct a survey among?farmers to determine their plans for winter?crops sowing for the harvest of 2027 and their capacity for storing?crops?for 2026. The Russian attack on Ukrainian Black Sea port has effectively stopped maritime exports. This leaves farmers unable sell their grain or prepare for and carry out a sowing campaign, primarily for winter Wheat. The?ministry announced that the survey was designed to collect up-to date information about the areas that farmers plan to sow in the fall, the progress made on the final stages of the harvest campaign for 2026, and the crop storage capacity available at agricultural enterprises. Last month, Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said that farmers would reduce the area they sowed for the winter wheat harvest of 2027 because they could not export the wheat harvested. According to the ministry, the risk is that the area that will be sown in 2027 could decrease between 5 and 7 million acres. Ukraine has sown around 20 million hectares (mostly wheat,?corn, and sunflower) of grains and oilseeds in preparation for harvest 2026. The?ministry said that the disruption of grain exports via Black Sea ports could result in a shortage of storage capacity for up to 11 millions tons. The'shortfall' was about?15 millions tons in 2022.
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Haldia Petrochemicals plans to use more LPG in the face of the Iran war threatening feedstock supplies
Haldia Petrochemicals, a company in India, is planning to increase the use of liquefied petroleum gases at its naphtha fueled?cracker by up to 30%. This will help to mitigate supply risks from the Middle East due to the U.S. - Iran 'war. Navanit Narayan said on the sidelines the APPEC Industry Conference that "we are working with Lummus" to retrofit the cracker to allow for LPG flexibility up to 30%. Naphtha & LPG are key feedstocks for petrochemicals that are used in the production of plastics & automotive parts. Narayan stated that "the (naphtha supply) shock from Gulf War was a wake-up call for us. We will have a plan ready at the end of this year." Haldia had term contracts for the supply of naphtha with QatarEnergy and?Kuwait Petroleum Corp. Narayan stated, "We are still working to remove the Qatari volumes." A medium-range tanker can transport up to 35,000 tons of oil products. Narayan stated that the company will source LPG from Indian Oil Petronas Limited, which operates next to a plant at the same site as?HPL. He added, "We also look to import LPG at every possible source." Haldia's ethylene plant in West Bengal, a state in eastern India, has a capacity to process ethylene at a rate of?700,000. It also processes polymers at a rate of?1 million tons per year. It plans to inaugurate a phenol and acetone plant in October. The Chatterjee Group, a private equity firm based in the United States, owns the majority of this company.
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Kremlin: cheaper Russian gas can ease Europe's pain amid rising costs
On Wednesday, the Kremlin said that European countries were paying a high price for avoiding Russian gas due to rising energy prices and could instead be purchasing cheaper supplies from Moscow. The war in Iran has caused European gas prices to soar. They reached their highest level since the end of 2022 when the Ukraine conflict forced Europe to cut imports?of Russian pipe gas. Last week, the benchmark European gas price climbed to EUR75 a megawatt-hour. This is more than double what it was a year earlier. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said that Europe hurt itself by purchasing expensive?gas at the spot market rather than opting for cheaper Russian alternatives. "Europeans are well advised to look for cheaper energy sources. "Russian gas, whether it is piped or liquefied, would have been a more affordable option for them long ago, even though LNG is always priced at the spot market," he said to reporters in a daily call. Gas Infrastructure Europe has reported that Europe's gas storage is 67% full compared to nearly 80% last year. HSBC predicts European inventories to reach 73% on November 1, the lowest level since data collection began. According to calculations, the Russian pipeline gas exports into Europe dropped by 44% to 18 billion cubic meters last year, the lowest level since the mid-1970s, after the closure the Ukrainian transit route. calculations. In 2018 and 2019, Russian pipeline gas exports into Europe reached a peak of around 180 bcm annually. The explosions that occurred in 2022 on the 'Nord Stream' undersea pipelines also reduced Russian gas shipments to Europe. Unharmed is one leg of Nord Stream 2's pipeline in the Baltic Sea. Nord Stream is a natural product that Europeans could have used long ago, if they had used common sense. Peskov stated that one of the strings is still intact and functional, and could be put back into service very quickly.
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Dutch public transport stopped by strike over welfare cuts
A nationwide strike on Wednesday against the government's proposal to cut welfare spending halted public transport in The Netherlands. A 24-hour strike affected train services in the entire country, including international trains to Belgium, Germany France and Britain. The strike was organised by the unions against plans to reduce welfare spending up to EUR6.5billion ($7.6billion) annually, mainly through limiting unemployment benefits. The strike is a further obstacle to the centre-right minorities government that was installed in this year's parliament. The coalition is in need of outside support, as it lacks a majority. The opposition's leading left-wing Pro Party has joined the unions to demand that any proposals for welfare cuts be removed from the table. To gain support, the government has already backed down from a plan that would have raised retirement age. Last week it also agreed to soften some other proposals. The Pro party, however, has stated that this is likely not enough and will be requiring 'further negotiation after the official presentation of government budget on 15 September.
Official: Kuwait Petroleum offers refined fuels and oil outside of Hormuz for buyers
A company official announced on Wednesday that Kuwait Petroleum Corp offers its customers the option to transfer their crude oil and petroleum product outside of the Strait of Hormuz for safe transportation to final destinations.
Khaled Al-Sabah is the managing director for international marketing at KPC. He spoke at the APPEC conference.
He said that buyers and shipping firms are avoiding cargoes lifted from?ports within the strait because of the risks associated with the U.S. - Iran war.
The crude oil from other Middle Eastern producers, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is also available for sale at ports outside of the Strait.
Emad A. M. Al-Kandari is the deputy managing director of KPC's international marketing. He said that when it was safe to do so, they would pass some ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Documents reviewed by revealed that the company offered to deliver naphtha from ships in a few?tenders held in August and September.
Market sources said that some of its cargoes sold at a premium of up to $60 per metric tonne to Japan's quoted prices on a?delivered?basis.
KPC offered free naphtha before the U.S./Iran War began. In June, it resumed its cargo?offers for the first since the war began in February.
Data from the shiptracker Kpler revealed that Kuwait exported an average of 200,000 barrels of naphtha per day in the first two months of 2018. This dropped to zero by April. In the last two month, its exports have remained at half pre-war levels.
(source: Reuters)