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Fuel oil from Malaysia PRefChem Refinery is headed to the US for the first time since 2023
Shipping data shows that a fuel oil cargo is heading to the United States from Malaysian company PRefChem for the first time since?2023. This is due to the?disruptions caused by the Iran War?, which are limiting the global supply of refinery feedstocks. The low-sulphur straight-run cargo (LSSR) can be fed to a refinery unit for production of higher-margin products such as gasoline or diesel. According to LSEG and?Kpler data, the last fuel oil shipment from PRefChem was shipped to the U.S. in May 2023. Kpler data shows that the Solomon Sea departed the Vopak Dialog 'Pengerang terminal in August loaded with more than 540,000 barrels LSSR fuel. It is scheduled to arrive in the United States early in September. A source familiar with the matter said that the cargo was headed?to an refinery on the U.S. West Coast. Petronas (owned by the state) did not reply to a comment request. The refinery, PRefChem, in Pengerang produces 300,000 barrels per day. The U.S./Iran conflict has caused a shortage of feedstocks, but margins for refining are strong. U.S. refiners typically import fuel oil from closer regions, such as Mexico or Venezuela. Trade sources say that PRefChem sold fuel oil via recent 'tenders' for the August loading of three cargoes each of 540,000 'barrels? of LSSR atmospheric residual. Ship-tracking data revealed that one cargo was loaded between August 12-13, and the other two were offered for loading on August 21-22 and August 30 and 31, respectively. According to IIR's data, the refinery's atmospheric distillation unit was down from June 21 to July 10. PRefChem produces fuel oil and gasoline sporadically. (Reporting and editing by Tony Munroe, Subhranshu Sahu and Jeslyn Lerh)
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Four people are killed in record-breaking rain at Japan's Narita Airport
Record?rainfall? left thousands of travellers at Tokyo's Narita Airport on Friday, as flooding in the area disrupted transportation and knocked out electricity to homes. At least four people died. In Chiba Prefecture, which is adjacent to?the capital Tokyo and flooded roads and trains during the busiest week of the year, more than 360 millimetres fell in just 24 hours. Four?deaths? have been confirmed by authorities, one of whom is trapped in a submerged car, and another is missing. Soldiers were dispatched in the area to assist with relief efforts. Toshihito kumagai, Chiba governor, told reporters Friday morning that the case presented was "extremely unusual." "I've responded to many disasters in the past, but i've never seen a situation like this." Tokyo Electric Power reported that more than 22,000 homes were still without electricity at 11:00 am (0200 GMT) on Friday. In Chiba, one of Japan's worst-hit areas, hundreds of residents slept under foil blankets in government buildings that served as temporary evacuation centers. A spokesperson for the airport said that the disruption in transport left approximately 7,000 people stranded. All flights are expected to operate normally Friday. Japan Airlines has said that some flights could experience delays, but there are no cancellations expected at this time. According to highway operator NEXCO East, some?major roads in?Chiba are closed, forcing drivers on alternate routes and causing heavy congestion. On Friday morning, several rail services were also suspended, although some trains linking Narita to Tokyo resumed service, helping ease congestion at the international transportation hub. NHK footage showed that hundreds of passengers waited overnight to receive blankets, snacks, and water bottles from airport staff before sleeping in the terminal. NHK reported that an American passenger stranded at the airport with his family said, "We will never forget this trip." (Reporting and editing by Stephen Coates, Hina Suzuki, Mariko Katsumura)
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Brazilian airline Azul cuts capacity in the third quarter, but expects growth thereafter
John Rodgerson, the Chief Executive Officer of Azul Airlines, said that the airline expects to reduce capacity again in the third quarter following recent major cuts. Then it will return to growth for the final three months of the year. Azul reduced its capacity in the second quarter by an unprecedented 10.6% compared to the same period last year, with a reduction of 24.9% in international operations. This was due to the disruptions caused by the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, which pushed up jet fuel prices. Rodgerson said, "The fuel crisis peaked in the second quarter and it is also the weakest quarter for the year." "We cut capacity because we believed it was the right thing to do." The Brazilian carrier is the largest in terms of number cities served. It expects to reduce its capacity by around 4% during the third quarter, before returning to growth by 'the fourth quarter, as it completes its transition to a widebody aircraft. Rodgerson said that he remains optimistic about Brazil's airline market. He cited the resilient demand. He said, "The fundamentals are good in Brazil at the moment and we think we're well-positioned." "Wars and crisis don't last forever." Azul reported a record operating revenue for the second quarter of 4,98 billion reais (960 million dollars), up 0.7% on a year ago. However, core earnings fell 55.4% to 5010.1 million reais as fuel costs per liter soared by 61.8%. The company said that higher fares offset a part of the cost increase. Was it the final result that we desired? "Of course not. Fuel costs rose?by almost 700 million reais?during the third quarter, and we reduced?capacity. This was always going be a quarter of transition," Rodgerson stated, highlighting higher unit revenues and operational improvements.
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Four people are killed in record-breaking rain at Japan's Narita Airport
On Thursday morning, thousands of passengers were stranded in Tokyo's Narita Airport due to record rainfall. Flooding in the area had disrupted travel and knocked out electricity for homes. At least four people died. In Chiba Prefecture, near the capital Tokyo, more than 360 millimetres rained in just 24 hours, flooding roads and railways, and knocking out electricity to nearly 25,000 homes during one of Japan's most busy holiday weeks. The authorities have confirmed four deaths so far, including one trapped in a submerged vehicle. Soldiers were 'dispatched to assist with relief efforts. Toshihito Kumagai, Chiba governor, told reporters Thursday morning that the situation was "extremely unusual" even compared to Japan's weather history. "I've responded to many disasters, but this is the first time I've seen a situation like this." A spokesperson for the airport said that approximately 7,000 passengers were stranded in Narita due to the transport disruption. All flights are expected to operate "normally" on Thursday. Japan Airlines has said that some flights could experience delays, but there are no cancellations expected at this time. According to NEXCO - East, major highways in Chiba remain closed. This includes routes connecting Narita Airport, one of Japan's most important international transport hubs. On Thursday morning, several rail services were still suspended. However, some trains between Narita and Tokyo resumed service. (Reporting and editing by Mariko Katsumura and Hina Suzuki)
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PJM offers plan to purchase more power for data centres
PJM Interconnection is the largest?U.S. grid operator. Grid operator proposed on Thursday to federal regulators a backstop plan to purchase more?power?generation in order to avoid outages due to the surge of electricity needs for data centers. PJM, the company that manages electricity for 67,000,000 people across a region stretching from Washington, D.C., to Chicago, has filed the proposal at the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, who would need to approve any move by the grid operator. The proposal highlights the growing tension between data center expansion and the ability of the power grid to keep pace. If PJM is unable to close the supply gap, residents and businesses will face a greater number of blackouts. The cost of the new generation may be passed onto consumers with no connection to data?centers. PJM recently held a capacity auction where power prices were capped at $325 per megawatt day. PJM's reliability requirement for meeting projected demand was 6.8 gigawatts short despite the high prices meant to encourage the construction of 'new power plants. This'shortfall raises the risks of grid -blackouts. PJM would like to close this gap with its proposed procurement plan. The results of the plan will be revealed in December. Critics of PJM’s proposal claim that the grid operator has failed to attract billions of dollars for new generating sources to meet the increasing energy demand of data centers. Don Mosier is the chief executive officer of East Kentucky Power Cooperative which provides energy to 1.2 million people and businesses. Mosier's comments appear in a letter sent to the U.S. Energy Department on August 6. PJM's proposals, according to the company, are designed to prevent residential customers from being charged higher energy costs due to the expansion of data centres. PJM also proposed creating a "registry" for data centers, and other large energy consumers that would track their location and electricity usage. PJM suggests that for data centers which do not'supply' their own electricity, it should temporarily cut off the electricity at the?sites during periods of extreme grid stress to prevent rolling blackouts. PJM stated that it does not have the power to cut off the electricity to these sites and would need the cooperation of each state government. The rapid growth of data centers has become a political headache for PJM, which includes Virginia, the home of the largest data center collection in the world. Residents are becoming increasingly concerned about the costs of powering data centers they consider noisy and intrusive. (Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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Derailment of UK passenger train in southeast England causes 11 injuries
The British Transport Police said that the derailment?of a passenger train near Lewes station in southeast England?on?Thursday?left?two people with serious injuries and nine other persons with less severe injuries. British Transport Police reported that three carriages of the train rolled onto their side after the incident was reported at 3:44 pm local time. The police reported that a number of passengers were trapped at first but they have now been safely evacuated. At the scene, emergency services including Sussex Police, local fire, ambulance and rescue?teams and Sussex Police responded. Some of the injured were treated on site while others were transported to local hospitals. No immediate reports have been made of any injuries. In a press release, Assistant Chief Constable Ian Drummond-Smith said: "We have declared a major accident and an emergency response is ongoing at the scene. All passengers on the train are now safely evacuated from the service." He said that authorities are supporting the Rail Accident Investigation Branch's efforts to determine the cause of the derailment. In a recent post on 'X, Heidi Alexander, the Transport Minister said that the Government was 'working quickly with the rail industry to help passengers. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Heavens and David Goodman, and Aurora Ellis.)
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US revises Jones Act compliance rules and extends waiver of 90-day Jones Act.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security approved a second 90-day extension to a Jones Act waiver originally issued on March 17, 2026. This will allow certain cargoes covered by the Jones Act to continue moving between U.S. port on foreign flagged vessels under specified conditions. The waiver will begin on August 17, 2026 at 12 a.m. The CBP guidance stated that the waiver will begin on August 17, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. ET. CBP stated that any product covered must be loaded onto a vessel by 11:59 pm ET on November 15, 2026. ET, November 15, 2026. The agency also released a list of updated potentially covered products on August 17. CBP stated that "this?guidance serves as a notice of significant changes to the waiver requests process." Before a voyage starts, parties wishing to use a vessel flying a foreign flag under the waiver must submit a "vessel availabilty request" to the Department of War(DOW), Maritime Administration(MARAD) and CBP. CBP stated that the request must include information such as the vessel owner, the date of the voyage, the ports of loading and discharging, the cargo description, the frequency of shipment, the identity of the vessel, etc. MARAD will conduct a survey to determine if a U.S. vessel with coastwise qualifications is available for the transport. DOW will then decide if the waiver is applicable to the proposed trip based on the survey results. CBP said that the trade?community member initiating the request would contact the appropriate carriers to arrange transport. Carriers who operate foreign-flagged ships under the waiver must submit voyage information to CBP, and MARAD post-voyage report within 10 days after the completion of the voyage. This includes cargo details and the justification for waiver.
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UAE claims Iran attacked two ADNOC ships in Strait of Hormuz, but there were no injuries
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company reported that two of its vessels were attacked Thursday evening while they transited the Strait of Hormuz. No injuries were reported. This was the second incident in which ADNOC vessels were involved in less than one week. The UAE condemned an alleged Iranian attack against a vessel associated with the state oil company on Saturday as it crossed the strait. According to WAM, the state news agency of the UAE, ADNOC has confirmed that the situation is under control. The UAE Foreign Ministry condemned a "hostile Iranian assault" on the two ADNOC ships. The UAE Foreign Ministry said that Iran's Revolutionary Guards committed "acts piracy" in targeting commercial shipping, and using the Strait of Hormuz as a means of economic pressure or extortion. This posed a threat to regional stability and global energy safety. WAM and the Foreign Ministry did not provide any details on the ships, their cargo or any possible damage. There were no reported injuries. The IRGC or Iran's Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment. Before the conflict, a fifth (or more) of the world's oil & liquefied gas was transported through the narrow waterway that connects Oman to Iran. Shipping has been disrupted repeatedly since the U.S. and Israel war against Iran began on February '28. This has increased freight rates, and raised security concerns. Iran's Revolutionary?Guards had previously threatened to take action against vessels that transited the strait if their crews were linked with Tehran's enemies or failed to?obey Iranian directives. ADNOC stated on Friday that it had been'significantly affected' by unprovoked attacks against its personnel and assets. It continued to meet customer demands in an "exceptionally difficult environment." ADNOC is Abu Dhabi's state oil company. It is the largest energy producer in the world and exports crude, natural gas, and refined products to countries around. Reporting by Enas Alashray and Eman Aboushassira, Editing by Chris Reese and Rod Nickel
China is the main route for foreign cars to enter Russia, avoiding Ukraine's war sanctions
According to five people who are involved in the trade, registration data and interviews revealed that tens of thousands cars were being exported to Russia from China under gray-market schemes. These schemes often bypass Western and Asian government sanctions and the commitments made by automakers to leave the Russian market.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in?2022, the sanctions and pledges were made. The trade of these cars, from Toyotas to Mazdas and German luxury models, continues to thrive partly because informal networks allow Russian dealers to order the vehicles through Chinese intermediaries. This is shown by interviews and data collected by Russian research firm Autostat.
According to data and sources, the majority of vehicles are either made in China (where many international brands work with local partners) or they are shipped through China after being manufactured somewhere else. The number of zero-mileage used vehicles is increasing. These are new cars that dealers and traders register as "sold in China" before reclassifying them as used. This practice was highlighted last year as a sign of China's hypercompetitive and highly subsidised car market. It allows automakers and dealers inflate their sales figures, collect subsidies, and export surplus cars. Zhang Ai Jun is a former car trader in Sichuan who said that traders moving European, Japanese, and South Korean brands from China to Russia would classify the cars as "used" to avoid having to obtain automaker approval to sell them to Russia. She said, "This is a way to export more easily." In China, zero-mileage cars are heavily discounted. In Russia, however, these cars are sold at prices that are similar to those of never-registered brand new vehicles, according to documents and dealer quotes.
It is the first news outlet to report on the Autostat data. This includes China becoming the main conduit for foreign cars to enter Russia, and automakers avoiding Russia sales restrictions by classifying their new vehicles as used. Dmitry Zazulin is the sales director of Panavto-Zapad in Moscow. He said that many customers are interested in buying and driving cars from Western brands such as Mercedes. "At the moment, however, we are only able to bring them into the country through parallel channels," said Dmitry Zazulin, sales director at Panavto-Zapad in Moscow.
Mercedes-Benz said it prohibits sales to Russia. BMW, Volkswagen, and other automakers in regions that impose sanctions also stated they are working to prevent unauthorised exports. This includes through dealer training and contractual clauses. Mercedes, BMW and other automakers from regions imposing sanctions said they prohibit sales to Russia and are doing their best to prevent unauthorized exports. This includes through training and contractual clauses with dealers.
BMW has instructed its China retail operation "to oppose any possible vehicle exports to Russia." It added that if cars do enter Russia, they will be gray-market imports and "this is outside of our spheres of influence – as well as against our wishes."
The Russian dealer who only wanted to be identified as Vladimir said that his Vladivostok dealership does not stock restricted foreign vehicles, but instead buys them from Chinese traders one by one in order to fulfill customer orders. He said that there are many middlemen. This dealer knows this one, that dealer knows that other one and so on.
DATA REVEALS SCALE of TRADE
Autostat's data shows that sales are in the thousands. Autostat's data shows that imports from China are increasing in number and represent a larger share of vehicles imported from Western or Japanese brands registered in Russia.
Data shows that the number of these vehicles produced in China has doubled since 2023. Autostat reports that they now make up nearly half of all the vehicles made in countries that impose sanctions and sold in Russia by 2025. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 more than 700,000.000 vehicles have been sold in Russia by all these foreign brands.
Autostat data shows that Russians purchased more Toyotas than any other foreign brand, except for Chinese. The automaker, however, said that it would stop sending new cars to Russia in 2022. "Toyota doesn't export new vehicles into Russia," said the company without addressing Autostat figures. Mazda, who also had a significant number of sales, made the same statement and said that any Mazdas that were sold in Russia, "were resold by third parties outside Mazda's control."
Sebastiaan Bennink is a sanctions specialist at the European law firm Bennink Dunin-Wasowicz. He said that restricted products often find their way into Russia, even though industry players try to stop them.
Bennink says that there are so many ways of skirting sanctions, it is "almost impossible" to stop certain cars from reaching Russia.
Autostat's statistics, which show that China is the major route for vehicles to reach Russia, could not determine the other routes.
According to the German economy ministry, customs authorities investigate violations of sanctions regularly and work with counterparts from other EU countries in order to implement measures.
The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has said that automakers and exporters are bound to its sanctions rules. However, it declined to comment on trade of Japanese vehicles between China and Russia.
The South Korean trade ministry stated that it has taken steps to stop the circumvention of export control and has cracked down on indirect car exports to Russia. China's Commerce Ministry and Russia's Industry and Trade ministry did not respond to requests for comments. Both countries have stated that they oppose unilateral sanction and consider them illegal.
RUSSIA SALE OF FOREIGN BRAND, CHINA MADE CARS SOAR
All of the major automotive sanctioning bodies, including the European Union, United States, South Korea, and Japan, have imposed similar sanctions. The sanctions generally prohibit the sale of cars above a certain cost or with larger engines in Russia, as well as?all EVs' and hybrids. These automakers also committed to ending or severely restricting their Russia business.
Autostat data show that these efforts have reduced the Russian sales of vehicles in regions subject to sanctions from over one million in 2020 to just one-eighth.
The data show that sales of German and Japanese-made cars made in China are on the rise. Some industry analysts attribute this trend to an increase in exports for zero-mileage cars.
Some industry data sets do not include these vehicles; GlobalData, for example, did not report any official new-car purchases of German brands this year in Russia. Autostat's data captures the sales, because it is based on registrations of new cars in Russia. Imported vehicles with zero miles are treated as new, regardless of whether or not they were registered in China.
Autostat's data shows that in Russia, nearly 30,000 Toyotas were bought last year. Nearly 24,000 were manufactured in China. Mazda sold nearly 7,000 cars during the same time period, with almost all of them being made in China. According to two China auto-retailers, Toyota hybrids are the most popular Japanese brands in Russia.
GERMAN LUXURY SUVS SLIP THROUGH GRAY-MARKET CHANNELS
German cars are also highly prized. Autostat data showed that nearly 47,000 new BMWs, Mercedes, Volkswagen Group vehicles including Audi, Porsche, and Skoda were registered in Russia during the last year.
The data shows that more than 20,000 vehicles were made in China. According to industry analysts and a person involved in the importation of vehicles into Russia, many passed through China en route to Russia. Vladimir, a Russian car dealer, stated that most foreign cars are imported via China, regardless of their origin.
According to Felipe Munoz of the Car Industry Analysis platform, the Mercedes G-class is a popular model among Russian elites. This boxy off-road car can be purchased for 120,000 Euros, which is about $142,700. It's only made in Austria.
The shipping documents of dozens of German luxury SUVs imported from China to Russia, including the Mercedes GLC 300 or the BMW X1 xDrive25 were also reviewed.
Munoz stated that "given the growth in trade between Russia, China and Germany in recent years, it's obvious to conclude many of these cars imported from Germany end in Russia."
(source: Reuters)