Shipping News

The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until seven Iranian conditions set out in a June interim agreement with the US are met, state media reported Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as saying on Sunday.Iran presented a proposal during the UN General Assembly under which the Strait of Hormuz waterway could be reopened and normal maritime passage restored within seven days if the conditions were met, with the US replying to this proposal last week via Qatari intermediaries."The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely clear and firm…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines' MOL Ocean Bulk has signed a 25-year contract with Vale International to transport iron ore using two 210,000-tonne ore carriers equipped with tri-fuel propulsion systems capable of running on ethanol, methanol and conventional heavy fuel oil.The vessels, described as the world's first ore carriers of their size with the tri-fuel propulsion system, are scheduled for delivery in 2030 and will primarily transport Vale's iron ore from Brazil to destinations worldwide…

Three Liberian-flagged oil tankers were struck by unknown projectiles when transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, shipping intelligence service Marisks said.The vessels had been moving through the strait with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection, Marisks said in a report late on Wednesday.Oil products tanker Al Ruwais was last seen as having conducted a ship-to-ship transfer off Sohar, Oman, in late September to discharge its diesel cargo, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.Very large crude carrier Mersin Prosperity also made a ship-to-ship t

A nuclear-powered liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier could cost about 2.5 times as much to build as a conventional vessel but substantially reduce fuel costs over its operating life, according to a joint study involving ABS, Blossom Energy and a global shipping company.Presented at Gastech 2026, the study assessed a 174,000-cubic-metre LNG carrier equipped with a 20-25 MWe high-temperature gas-cooled reactor being developed by Blossom Energy.The study compared the vessel's arrangement…

Somali pirates killed five crew members of the hijacked MT Honour 25 petroleum products tanker before it was rescued by security forces, Somalia's semi-autonomous state of Puntland said on Tuesday.Puntland's authorities said they also rescued a second vessel on Tuesday that had been hijacked in May.The deaths aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade.The ship with 17 crew members was seized by pirates in April during a resurgence of Somali piracy that experts have attributed…

Ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman for Middle Eastern oil from inside the Strait of Hormuz have reached their limits after Saudi Arabia diverted exports from the Red Sea, adding to shipments from other producers, trade sources and analysts said.The increasing amount of Saudi exports this month requires more supertankers to shuttle crude through Hormuz to conduct cargo transfers, they said. That has reduced ship availability, raising shipping costs and increasing the time…

Crude oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz reached 33.7 million barrels so far in the week starting September 20, preliminary ship-tracking data from Kpler showed on Friday, putting exports roughly on track with the previous week's levels.The traffic comprised 19 tankers, of which 17 are very large crude carriers (VLCCs) that can carry 2 million barrels of oil, the data showed. Most of the tankers are laden with crude from Saudi Arabia, followed by Iraq.For the full previous week…

Ten commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, up from seven a day earlier and below the 10-day moving average of about 17, preliminary shipping data showed on Thursday.Nine vessels entered the strait, including Supramax ships carrying metals, grain and other dry bulk cargoes, as well as an empty very large gas carrier.

Baltic Exchange announced that both SGX and European Energy Exchange (EEX) are now offering new Baltic Handysize futures contracts, providing market participants with dedicated tools to manage their exposure to the Atlantic and Pacific Handysize basin.The new freight forward agreements (FFAs) are two baskets of Baltic Exchange's handysize timecharter averages made from four Atlantic routes and three Pacific routes, providing forward contracts specific to the basin. The baskets center on physical contracts for vessels that are highly active on corridors for minor bulks…

ABS and lomarlabs have signed a Master Research Collaboration Agreement (MRCA) to explore technologies from early-stage technology companies that aim to reduce emissions, increase fuel efficiency and automate operations in the maritime industry.The MRCA establishes a framework for both organizations to share expertise and advisory services to engage with the startups to support research, development and testing of novel solutions for maritime applications.The first project under…

Global oil trading firms Vitol and Trafigura are pushing for steeper discounts on Venezuelan crude oil as rising freight rates shrink their margins, five sources familiar with the matter said.The two merchant houses have been among the biggest winners in a race to control Venezuela's crude flows since the US captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in January and began pushing to reactivate the country's oil sector.They now sell and ship more than half of the OPEC member's exports…

Hong Kong-based Jinhui Shipping and Transportation has ordered two 64,500-dwt bulk carriers from Jiangmen Nanyang Ship Engineering for a combined $71.4 million as part of a fleet renewal and expansion program.Two wholly owned Jinhui subsidiaries signed separate shipbuilding contracts on September 21, each valued at $35.7 million.The first vessel is scheduled for delivery by August 31, 2029, followed by the second by September 30, 2029. Both ships will be built to the same specifications.Jinhui…

A tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an unknown projectile, leaving two crew members with minor injuries, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.Military authorities informed UKMTO on September 21, 2026, that the tanker was conducting an inbound transit when it was hit.The vessel remained under its own power and was continuing to its next port of call, according to UKMTO.No environmental impact had been reported following the incident.Authorities are investigating the incident…

Trafigura has established Volare Shipping as a dedicated oil tanker owner with six Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) operating and eight newbuilds on order, and plans to raise about $500 million before listing the company in Oslo.Volare's eight newbuild VLCCs are scheduled for progressive delivery between 2026 and October 2028, taking its fleet to 14 vessels. Trafigura's global shipping business will commercially manage the fleet.Volare is contemplating a private placement of about $500 million that would fully fund its existing newbuilding program…

A new shuttling system is reshaping the Middle East oil market, as producers seek to keep exports flowing despite the escalating regional conflict. The question now is whether this complex, expensive process is a stopgap measure or the global energy market’s new normal.Several miles off Oman's coast, south of the Strait of Hormuz, rows of tankers lie at anchor. Many sit alongside each other, connected by ropes and hoses as they transfer crude from one vessel to another, creating…

A total of 17 commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on the weekend, down from 37 a week earlier, shipping data showed on Monday, as tension in the Gulf persisted with the US and Iran in stalemate.Visible traffic through the strait, the conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the war, has dwindled to a trickle. However, Middle Eastern producers continue to export oil on tankers travelling with their transponders off.Among trackable ships…

Shipowners have already ordered more than twice as many supertankers this year as in all of 2025, a buying spree worth over $20 billion that is the biggest for at least 25 years, as the US-Iran war redraws trade routes and boosts demand for long-haul crude shipments.Data from Signal Group, a shipping analytics platform, show 217 Very Large Crude Carriers ordered so far in 2026, against 93 last year. Allied Shipbroking recorded 164 VLCC orders, up from 83. A VLCC carries about…

SGMF has published its latest Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on methanol as a marine fuel, highlighting the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential of renewable and synthetic methanol production pathways.The study evaluates 15 methanol production pathways and finds that methanol produced using renewable energy sources can deliver substantial emissions reductions.The publication follows SGMF's third edition LNG Life Cycle Assessment, released earlier this year, and its inaugural ammonia LCA, published in 2024.

Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz remained in the single digits at four on Tuesday, down from seven a day earlier, preliminary shipping data showed on Wednesday, falling well short of the 10-day average of 18.The drop in traffic through the waterway that handled one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply before the Iran war comes after attacks in the region intensified.Of the total on Tuesday, two ships were exiting and two were entering, according…

Shipping group Maersk said on Monday that four more of its joint container services with Germany's Hapag-Lloyd will resume sailings through the Suez Canal, as they gradually return to using the shortcut between Asia and Europe.The Asia-Europe trade corridor through the Suez Canal was abandoned by most shippers earlier this decade after attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthis, forcing ships to take the much longer trip around Africa."The Suez Canal is a vital maritime corridor between East and West and a key driver of efficient global supply chains," Denmark's Maersk said in a statement."By t

Starting in February and continuing into September 2026, the Antwerp office of COLI Group completed four project cargo shipments for their clients, end-clients, suppliers and partners in eight countries, including a used mobile crane, an industrial compressor, a metro railcar and a set of 90-tonne generators.The projects were as follows:COLI Antwerp moved a used Liebherr mobile crane from the Dutch village of Geertruidenberg, the Netherlands, to the port of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire…

XRG, ADNOC and SEFE have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore wider cooperation across the natural gas and LNG value chain, including supply, infrastructure and shipping opportunities aimed at Germany and the wider European market.The agreement covers potential cooperation in four areas: security of supply, market development and growth, supply chain resilience, and portfolio and shipping optimization.The companies will explore combining ADNOC's UAE-based supply and XRG's international supply sources with SEFE's market presence…

Saudi Arabia has shut down its East-West pipeline, after the vital oil conduit came under aerial attack in the widening Middle East war, threatening to send energy prices even higher.The world’s largest crude oil exporter said it temporarily closed the pipeline as a precaution after a drone attack that both Baghdad and Riyadh said had originated in Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias operate. Iraq dismissed a military commander on Saturday in response to the attack.The 1,200-km…