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CMA CGM Container Ship Hit in Strait of Hormuz injures crew
French shipping group CMA CGM announced on Wednesday that the San Antonio was the 'target of an attack' while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The incident resulted in injuries to crew members as well as damage to the vessel. CMA CGM reported that the incident occurred on Tuesday. It is the latest disruption to the vital shipping route during the Middle East conflict. The Middle East conflict has caused hundreds of vessels to be blocked and 20% of the global oil trade virtually halted. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, announced on Tuesday that he will temporarily halt an?operation? to help escort vessels through the Strait?of Hormuz. He cited "great progress?"?towards a comprehensive deal with Iran. CMA CGM confirmed that injured crew members of the San Antonio were evacuated and receiving medical treatment. It declined to make any further comments on the incident. CMA CGM reported last month that warning shots were fired in the strait at one of their vessels, but no crew members were injured. French company, 'the 'third-largest container shipper in the world,' has revealed that 14 of their vessels were stranded at the Gulf when a U.S./Israeli war began with Iran. CMA CGM Kribi was the only ship to leave the Strait of Hormuz in April. According to shipping data, the destination of the Maltese flagged?San Antonio is Mundra in India.
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South Africa reports two cases of hantavirus that spreads from person to person linked to a ship
South Africa identified the Andes strain hantavirus which is a virus that spreads from person to person, in two people who?came?off of a cruise ship affected by an outbreak. The Spanish government granted permission to the MV Hondius to dock at the Canary Islands on Wednesday. According to the presentation, tests performed by South Africa's NICD (National Institute for Communicable Diseases) showed that an Andes strain caused infection in a Dutchwoman who died in Johannesburg and a British Man who is still hospitalized. Both became ill while on board the ship. It said that "this is the only strain known to cause transmission from human to human, but such transmission is extremely rare, and, as stated earlier, it only occurs due to very close contact." The most common way to transmit hantavirus is through contact with infected rodents, their urine, saliva or droppings. Reporting by Sfundo parakozov, Writing by Nellie peyton, Editing by Tim Cocks & Andrew Heavens
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Coast guard rescues crew after cargo ship sinks near Greece
A Greek coast guard official confirmed that Greece has rescued the nine crew members of a cargo ship, eight Turkish and one Azerbaijani. The ship hit rocks early Wednesday morning and sank near Andros. Officials from the Coast Guard said that the Vanuatu flagged freighter was headed for Ukraine with hundreds of tons of soda aboard when it sank near Andros. Marine Traffic's ship tracker did not reveal what caused the cargo vessel to run aground. Unnamed Greek officials from the shipping ministry said that there are no visible signs of contamination, but two vessels carrying anti-pollution gear and two others with coast guards will deploy a sea barrier. The coast guard official confirmed that two crew members had been rescued from the sea, and seven others from a rocky area of Andros. He added that all were taken to the island clinic "in good health". Official: The captain of the?ship said that all crew members were accounted for. (Reporting and editing by Kate Mayberry, Alexander Smith and Kate Mayberry; Additional reporting by Yannis Souiotis)
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All crew members safe after cargo ship sinks near Greece, says coast guard
The Greek coast guard reported that all nine crew members were rescued from a cargo vessel which sank and ran aground early Wednesday morning off the island of Andros. A Greek coastguard official told? The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to speak with the media. The official said that two crew members had been rescued from the water and seven others from a rocky area of Andros. The cause of the accident was not immediately apparent. The?official reported that the captain of the ship confirmed there were no other crew members missing. The coast guard said that there were no visible signs indicating pollution by the ship, but they would 'deploy an anti-pollution sea barrier as a precaution. (Reporting and editing by Kate Mayberry; Angeliki Koutantou)
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Maguire: Europe's solar surplus hurls the power system into a new, difficult transition phase
Solar power has been a major success story in Europe. Even the most ardent clean energy advocates now recognize that there is a limit to what can be good. Solar power capacity in Europe has grown faster than any other source of power in the past decade. It has risen by 115% in just a few years, and has triggered a doubled supply of solar-powered electricity flowing through regional grids. The rapid growth has had a number of?complicated side effects. Solar power is not only replacing fossil fuels, but also increasing steadily. It's changing the way electricity prices in Europe behave and how power markets work. In order to deal with this disruptive solar flood, Europe’s power companies must now shift their focus from adding capacity to integrating the networks, building storage capacities and operating complex markets in order to ensure that the overall system is fit for purpose for Europe’s energy consumers. SATURATION OF SYSTEMS? According to LSEG's data, solar assets in Germany – Europe's largest economy and biggest solar producer – generated a quarter of all utility-supplied electricity in April. This is a record high percentage of that month’s utility mix. Solar's share in Germany's electricity markets will continue to grow, as the peak solar radiation season still lies ahead. This will place increasing pressure on network managers, who must adjust output from other power sources to balance systems needs. The power firms can reduce the output of fossil fuel plants to accommodate solar energy, saving money and reducing emissions. The upswell of solar power during the sunniest times of the day is so extreme that it can make it impossible to maintain system stability by reducing the alternate sources, especially where the baseload generation is slow to adapt. The market is also distorted by subsidy structures which encourage renewables to remain online regardless of the price. Negative power prices can be triggered, which may temporarily benefit some consumers of power but can have a negative impact on the balance sheets of almost all power producers. The tendency of power prices to fall during sunny periods is a fundamental change in the economics of the power market: instead of being paid to generate power, generators must pay the market for it. DEEP RESISTANCE DAMAGE These negative price periods are not just a temporary inconvenience. The long periods of very low or negative prices reduce the earnings of all electricity generators and also increase costs for those who operate dispatchable power stations powered by coal or gas. Climate watchdogs had previously "celebrated" the regular shut-downs of coal-fired power plants during periods when renewable energy supplies were high, on the basis that less fossil fuel production equals lower emissions in the power sector. The frequent ramping up of coal plants, often on short notice as in the case of solar output dropping during cloudy periods, can lead to lower efficiency and more emissions per unit power produced compared with plants that are kept running at a constant level. The operators' costs are also increased by frequent and expensive plant maintenance due to the regular fluctuations in output. The combination of lower revenue and higher costs makes it difficult for power companies to meet debt service agreements, or obtain additional credit for grid upgrades or expansions. Price volatility and increased system stress are also a result of the wear and tear that occurs on generation systems due to frantic fluctuations in clean fuel and fossil fuel production. This makes them more vulnerable to power outages and cost increases. COMPLICATED FIX It will take many years to integrate the flexibility and resilience necessary into Europe's electricity networks, so they can cope with the ebbs of renewable energy. Battery capacity must be increased massively to store the excess solar energy generated in the middle of the afternoon. According to Solar Power Europe, the capacity of Europe's utility scale batteries has grown exponentially in recent years. By 2025, it is estimated that 15 gigawatt-hours will be added. Battery capacity will need to be increased across a range of time scales, from those able to dispatch power in milliseconds up to those able to plug supply shortages for days. It will be necessary to upgrade grid equipment across the entire electricity supply chain. Tens of thousands of inverters, and other components are needed to increase grid-forming strength and to manage frequency and voltage. To stitch together a modern grid, utilities and planners will also need to coordinate in unprecedented ways to ensure that the new transformers and transmission lines are installed on time. Add to that software upgrades that allow power flows to be changed in milliseconds, and market incentives which drive real-time changes in power usage by key consumers. You have one of the most difficult power system upgrades undertaken. Massive and extensive upgrades will be needed if Europe wants to successfully transition from an outdated power system heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels to one that is cleaner and more independent. If done successfully, these upgrades will position the region to enter a new phase in economic growth. This will be underpinned by an increasingly reliable and clean grid powered by renewable energy sources that are cheap and easy to produce. These include the solar and wind farms located within the region. These are the opinions of the columnist, an author for. 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Lufthansa Q1 loss narrows, keeps 2026 outlook despite fuel hit
Lufthansa announced better than expected 'first quarter results' on Wednesday. Strategic hedging allowed the airline to avoid the impact of increasing jet fuel prices. The group reported a adjusted?operating?loss of 612 millions euros ($717 million) for the period January-March, compared with a projected loss of $659 million by an?Lufthansa analyst poll. This is an improvement from the 722 million euro adjusted operating loss in the same time period last year. Lufthansa has said that the Middle East crisis is driving up the price of kerosene, but also increasing demand as travellers reroute via their hubs. The company maintained that it would earn a significantly higher adjusted operating income in '2026 than the 1,96?billion euro profit earned 'in 2025, despite the increased uncertainty. ($1 = $0.8534 euros)
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Lufthansa Q1 loss narrows, keeps 2026 outlook despite $2 billion fuel hit
Lufthansa reported ?better-than-expected first-quarter results on Wednesday and maintained ?its outlook for the year as strategic hedging helped the ?airline sidestep the ?impact of a war-driven ?rise ?in jet fuel prices, while labour disruptions were kept largely under control. The group said that the spiking prices of jet fuel would add an extra 1.7 billion euro ($1.99 billion), to its fuel bill. However, it added that they were in a position to minimize this negative impact. The Middle East crisis is causing a surge in demand for Lufthansa hubs as travelers reroute to them. Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive of Lufthansa, said in a statement that "we are resilient in our capacity to absorb these effects." European airlines will be shielded from the initial impact of a jet fuel price shock caused by the U.S./Israeli war against Iran in the first three months of this year. However, many, including Air France-KLM have revised their forecasts for the rest of the year, as jet fuel is expected to remain high. Lufthansa has reported an adjusted operating loss in the period January-March of 612 millions euros ($717) compared to a loss projected by a poll of analysts compiled by the company of 659 million euros. This is a?improvement over the?adjusted loss of 722 millions euros for the same period in last year. It maintained that despite the increased uncertainty, it expected a higher operating profit in 2026 than its 2025 figure of 1.96 billion euro. The Group said it would offset the additional financial burden in the next quarters by increasing revenue from ticket sales and implementing a better network plan, as well as taking further cost-savings measures. Reporting by Joanna Plucinska, Editing by Kirstiknolle and Muralikumar Aantharaman
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South Korea's HMM claims that the ship which was set on fire in the Strait of Hormuz will be towed from Dubai
HMM, a South Korean shipper, said that it had secured a vessel capable of towing a bulk carrier operated by it to a port located in Dubai after an?explosion? and a fire damaged the ship. The U.S. president Donald Trump blamed it on an Iranian attack. Meanwhile, the South Korean Foreign Ministry stated that the cause of fire could only be confirmed after the vessel is towed to port and examined. HMM?said that in a text, the vessel would?arrive at Dubai either on Friday morning or Thursday evening Seoul time. The Panamanian flagged ship HMM 'Namu' suffered an explosion on Monday evening and caught fire. According to the company, all 24 crew members were still on board when the fire was extinguished. In a social media post, Trump claimed that Iran had fired shots on a Korean-operated vessel and other targets when the U.S. launched its operation to reopen the strait. He encouraged South Korea to get involved. In normal times, about a fifth (or more) of the world's oil or liquefied natural gas passes through this waterway. South Korea is wary of becoming directly involved in the Middle East conflict. However, the Blue House announced on Tuesday that it was reviewing Trump’s suggestion to have Seoul take part in the plan to open up the navigation. Later, Trump said that he would "briefly" halt the operation in order to help escort vessels through the strategic waterway. He cited "great progress" towards a comprehensive deal with Iran. (Reporting and editing by Heejin kim)
Fuel theft, violence siphoning $215 million from Ecuador oil industry
O rganized criminal offense groups in Ecuador are significantly stealing fuel from staterun oil business Petroecuador to support drug trafficking operations, leading to numerous millions in lost earnings for the nation's leading market, the business and authorities said.
Crooks take fuel, diesel and other fuel by tapping state-owned fuel pipelines for usage in making cocaine and transporting drugs. They are mounting more violent attacks on oil fields, swiping copper cabling and extorting and beating up workers, the company and its union state. Petroecuador informed Reuters that fuel theft caused $215.1. million in cumulative losses throughout 2022, 2023 and through. October 2024 and that prohibited taps have actually grown from 32 in 2022 to. 773 through October.
While the theft represents a portion of the $7.5 billion in. national earnings supplied by Petroecuador, equivalent to almost a. quarter of the budget, officials are concerned by the boost to. drug trafficking offered by the fuel and the influence on. beleaguered public coffers.
Ecuadorean authorities have not given an overall price quote. for drug trafficking incomes for crime groups in the country.
The nation has 1,655 kilometers (1,030 miles) of. state-controlled fuel pipelines, which snake along its Pacific. coast and through remote Amazon areas, where communities have. protested the market.
Reuters witnesses saw a minimum of 9 illegal taps within a. 25-meter area of the Esmeraldas-Santo Domingo fuel pipeline,. among eleven such pipelines which move fuel in the Andean. nation, throughout a late November visit.
At least 136 taps - homemade valves fashioned by lawbreakers -. have been discovered on the pipeline this year through October,. totaling losses of some $17 million from this 166-kilometer. ( 103-mile) area of pipeline alone.
Finding and getting rid of the valves is a time-consuming and. costly process, and the valves likewise risk fuel spills.
PATROLS, DRONES DEPLOYED
Murders, drug trafficking, gun smuggling and other criminal activities. blamed by the government on local gangs connected to Mexican. cartels, the Albanian mafia and others, have actually skyrocketed over the. past five years in previously-peaceful Ecuador.
The violence has been shown most dramatically by the. assassination of a governmental prospect and the on-air. invasion of a television studio by an armed gang.
The attacks on the energy sector underline the challenges. facing President Daniel Noboa, who promised security. improvements during his 2023 election project and is up for. re-election in February 2025.
His administration, which did not react to Reuters. concerns about fuel theft, has said it has actually increased military. security of oil installations, including night patrols, and. authorized making use of drones to monitor fuel pipelines, which. are different from the nation's two crude pipelines.
Petroecuador validated the federal government's implementation of the. patrols and the drones to Reuters. It is trying to find brand-new. innovation to spot taps more quickly, and at the possibility. of a joint command center with authorities and other entities to. speed action.
ANATOMY OF A FUEL BREAK-IN
Police, mentioning their intelligence work, allege a few of the. taken fuel is used by regional lawbreakers to make precursor. chemicals they sell to gangs producing cocaine in surrounding. Colombia. The gasoline is also utilized in high-speed boats which. relocation drugs north to Mexico and Central America through the Pacific,. they stated.
For the increase in patrols and other procedures to be. effective, there should be judicial changes, said Lieutenant. Colonel Hugo Amores, the head of the police hydrocarbon criminal activities. system.
Legal reforms are required because if we don't have. powerful laws, the work of the cops and the armed forces is a. joke, Amores stated. It's like a revolving door where we take in. detainees and they head out the opposite.
Fuel crimes can lead to sentences of in between 2 months and. five years, while arranged criminal offense charges can gather ten years. and murder sentences of approximately 26 years.
More than 90% of fuel pipelines are underground, so. wrongdoers dig around a meter to buried tubing, tapping and. linking it to press hoses, which bring fuel to illegal. tanker trucks or storage swimming pools concealed on personal property.
Petroecuador specialists typically need to improvise when it. pertains to repairs, the business told Reuters during its see. Eliminating the homemade taps can cause spills or need pumping. to be halted, so rather service technicians encase the taps in a metal. cylinder, preventing the valves from being reconnected to tubes,. a process that uses up to five hours.
If taps have triggered a spill, pumping is halted and clean-up. and repair efforts can take up to 12 hours, specialists stated.
Sometimes approximately five taps are reported daily across. various pipelines. Pumping on the Santo Domingo-Pascuales jet. fuel pipeline is presently stopped due to the fact that it was overrun with. taps.
The authorities have taken 18 storage pools utilized for saving. taken fuel and diesel this year up until now, mostly in the. Amazon.
Fuel theft has a systemic worth ... it's fundamental to the. profitability of criminal companies in Ecuador, Ecuadorean. Organized Crime Observatory Director Renato Rivera stated.
Fuel pipelines in the provinces of Guayas, Santa Elena,. Manabi and Esmeraldas, likewise major hubs for drug transport to the. U.S., suffer the most from taps, according to Amores'. hydrocarbons criminal offenses unit.
About 30,000 gallons of taken fuel - equivalent to 3. tanker trucks - are moved clandestinely around the nation each. day, he stated.
BURGLARY ROUTES
The volume of taken fuel seized by authorities increased. more than 77% over the past year and in November the army. reported it had actually seized an illegal refinery in Amazonian province. Sucumbios which had capacity to produce 10,000 gallons of. fuel weekly for use in drug production.
There are more controls, Amores said, describing the. boost in military presence at oil installations, but there. is likewise more crime.
The entire (judicial) system in relation to hydrocarbons. trafficking is concentrated on immediacy, on people captured in. the act and not on the networks of criminal groups that are. behind the crime, stated security expert Rivera. That's why the. outcomes are so minimal.
The hydrocarbons crimes unit has actually determined at least four. fuel smuggling paths along the border with Colombia and Peru.
Theft of copper wiring from oil facilities is not linked. to drug production, but has triggered $4 million in losses this. year and a dip of 1% in output over nine months, Petroecuador. stated.
Petroecuador workers and professionals in some provinces are. being extorted - getting demands for money and risks if they. refuse to pay - stated union head Jipson Martinez. In Esmeraldas province, home to Ecuador's biggest refinery,. an estimated 25% to 30% of 700 workers have been extorted, said. Martinez, who himself was required to leave the province after. declining to pay extortion, leading bad guys to try to bomb his. house in late 2022.
We are helpless, Martinez stated.
(source: Reuters)