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Daily rates on main tanker routes as compiled by shipbroker Charles R. Weber.

Amid growing fears of a military clash between the United States and Iran, the strategic Strait of Hormuz has swiftly become one of the most dangerous regions on the planet for commercial shipping. Following alleged attacks on two tankers by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps last week, the U.S. and Iran have confirmed the shooting down of a sophisticated American surveillance drone worth an estimated $130 million. As tensions soared in the Persian Gulf this week, a report about a growing threat to shipping in another part of the world ...

The Strait of Hormuz, located in the area where Iran shot down a US military drone, is a strategically important waterway for the world’s oil transits, which lies at the heart of regional tensions. Iran warned on Friday it would “decisively defend its territory” against eventual US retaliation, while the airlines KLM, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines said they were suspending flights over the strait. Some background: – Gateway to the Gulf – The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and is situated ...

Tankers blazing in the Gulf. American warships answering distress calls. Warlike rhetoric sparking fears of a wider conflict. We’ve been here before: 28 years ago, America and Iran came to blows in the same waters. Ships were attacked, crew members killed and injured. Before it was over, an Iranian airliner had been shot out of the sky, by mistake. Could it happen again? The “tanker war” was a moment of high international tension at the end of revolutionary Iran’s eight-year war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. The two sides had been ...

A tax that the United States charges shippers on the value of their cargo upon entering U.S. ports needs to be altered if the domestic maritime industry is going to better compete with trucks and trains, according to second-tier ports. Money collected from the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) is fed into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, a critical account used to keep ports dredged to levels needed to accommodate large ocean-going vessels that carry the nation’s imports and exports . But for imports that are subsequently transloaded onto smaller vessels ...

Head of the General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) Mohab Mamish announced on Sunday that 13 percent of the volume of world trade passes through the Suez Canal. He added that the SCZone includes many investment opportunities in more than 160 projects, pointing to the presence of Brazilian investment in this region supporting investments in the SCZone. The Suez Canal is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia, and is one of the Egyptian government’s main sources of foreign currency. Mamish’s statements came during a session for ...

NEW BUILDING: The newbuilding market has seen limited activity this week in terms of new business to report. The sole contract, which itself

Adani Ports & SEZ is tapping the international debt market to raise up to $1 billion to fund its capex plans and also to retire some of its debt, according to merchant banking sources. The proposed issue has a ‘Baa3’ rating from the global ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service. “Adani Ports is doing a USD issue soon and will be raising $750 million to $1 billion,” merchant banking sources told but refused to share more details like the tenure of the debt or the likely pricing. Source: Hans India

Qatargas on Saturday announced the ‘safe delivery of the largest single cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Marmara LNG Terminal in Turkey. The super-chilled LNG was delivered on board the Q-Flex vessel ‘Al Sheehaniya’, which entered record books as the first ever Q-Flex vessel to call at the recently expanded Marmara LNG Terminal. Qatargas chief executive officer Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani said, ‘The recent expansion of Marmara LNG Terminal allows Qatargas to send the world’s largest LNG vessels to yet another LNG terminal in Turkey. With 14 ...

Despite nagging trade tensions and fears about global growth, Rio’s share price is up 30 per cent in 2019, while the world’s biggest steelmaker has dropped 16 per cent. In the world of metals and mining, sometimes its better to sell the raw product rather than the finished one. This seems to be a lesson for investors who chose to hold shares in ArcelorMittal rather than Rio Tinto Group this year. Despite nagging trade tensions and fears about global growth, Rio is up 30 per cent in 2019, while the ...

Japanese banks are piling into rare Japan-targeted loans from commodity trading giants Bunge and Louis Dreyfus to diversify their international exposure, adding to a run of so-called Ninja loans. New York-based global food and agriculture giant Bunge is raising a US$375m dual-currency five-year financing, while Netherlands-headquartered rival Louis Dreyfus is expected to increase its three-year yen-denominated loan from an original target of ¥30bn (US$277m). Bunge’s Ninja loan and Louis Dreyfus’ Samurai deal provide diversification to both the borrowers and lenders. Ninja loans are deals syndicated in Japan for overseas borrowers ...

Corn prices have been on an epic run. Now, soybeans could soon be catching up. With more rains forecast for the U.S. Midwest, oilseed plantings are under threat and hedge funds are backing away from their bearish wagers. Meanwhile, corn is heading for its best quarterly advance since 2010 and the funds are betting there’s more room to run, raising their net-bullish holdings to the highest in a year. Fields are still flooded, keeping farmers from seeding and threatening yields. Cooler and wetter-than-normal weather remains in the forecast. The U.S. ...

Chicago wheat futures slid for a second session on Monday, with prices under pressure from expectations of abundant global supplies in the coming season amid near record production in the Black Sea region. Corn ticked higher on concerns over wet weather preventing U.S. farmers from planting the crop. FUNDAMENTALS * The Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat contract had fallen 0.4% to $5.28-3/4 a bushel by 0116 GMT, after closing marginally lower on Friday. * Corn added 0.5% to $4.44-1/4 a bushel, while soybeans gained 0.2% to $9.04-1/4 a bushel. ...

OPEC has no choice or alternative other than to continue with the reduction of 1.2 million barrels for another six months. It must work with Russia and have its concurrence. Without such an agreement, the oil prices will hit less than $50 in no time despite the current hot, alarming and hostile situation in the Gulf region. The market is full of oil from almost every corner, and everyone is aware that it is almost impossible to stop the oil fl ow from the Gulf to the world. However, it ...

Market bears are not paying any heed to the bullish signals in Brent crude. Brent prices had a knee-jerk reaction for a few hours to the two attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and, earlier, off the Fujairah coast. Overall, Brent has been in a downward trajectory due to demand concerns from the escalating trade tensions between the US and other countries. “The Middle East tensions could get worse before they get better,” said Vandana Hari, CEO of Vanda Insights. “For the time being, the fear premium ...