Oil Climbs as Hormuz Transit Plan Raises Fresh Concerns
Oil extended gains on Friday amid further concerns around the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran, working with Oman, suggested banning vessels deemed hostile from the strait and heavily fining those which violated the proposed rules.Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 85 cents, or 1.03%, at $83.34 a barrel by 0634 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 rose 52 cents, or 0.67%, to $77.81.Oil futures settled up more than $3 a barrel on Thursday as Iran reviewed a bill to ban U.S.
ADNOC L&S Acquires 11 Vessels in $1.3B Fleet Expansion Deal
ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S) has agreed to acquire 11 tankers for approximately $1.3 billion, expanding its crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shipping capacity to support ADNOC Group's growing production, trading and export activities.The acquisition comprises five very large gas carriers (VLGCs) and six very large crude carriers (VLCCs). Nine vessels - six VLCCs and three VLGCs…
APA Releases Statement Regarding Yangze 7, Miss Piggy Collission
The American Pilots' Association (APA) issued the following statement regarding the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) final report on the July 19, 2024, collision of the YANGZE 7 and the towboat MISS PEGGY in the Houston Ship Channel:"The American Pilots' Association (APA) takes the findings and recommendations of this NTSB investigation very seriously and finds some of the details surrounding this tragic accident deeply troubling.
Path Robotics, GrayMatter Robotics Sign Production Agreements With HII
HII announced long-term performance-based production agreements with High-Yield Production Robotics (HYPR) team members GrayMatter Robotics and Path Robotics. The signed agreements are designed to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced physical AI automation across U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs, including aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, amphibious ships, future frigates and unmanned surface vessels.Under the agreements…
Nick Primrose Joins Jones Walker as Special Counsel
Jones Walker LLP welcomed Nick Primrose as special counsel in the Government Relations Practice Group in the firm’s Tallahassee office. Nick works with businesses, public agencies, and industry organizations whose success depends on effective engagement with federal, state, and local governments. He helps clients monitor legislative and regulatory developments, assess legal and policy risk, engage decision-makers…
Pioneer Consulting to Support FISH West 2 Submarine Cable System
Pioneer Consulting, the submarine fiber optic telecommunications consulting and project management company, is currently under contract with Cordova Telecom Cooperative, Inc. (CTC) to supervise the engineering and design phase of its planned FISH West 2 submarine cable system. Part of CTC’s “Fiber Internet Serving Homes” (FISH) projects, FISH West 2 will connect the Alaskan cities of Seward and Homer, with branching units to Seldovia, Port Graham, and Nanwalek.
SDHI to Build Four Svitzer Tugs
Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Limited (SDHI), India’s largest shipbuilding and heavy engineering company, has secured a contract from Denmark-based towage operator Svitzer A/S to construct four advanced TRAnsverse 3200 tugs. Deliveries for the order are scheduled to commence in early 2028. The vessels will be constructed to Bureau Veritas class.Co-developed by naval architects Robert Allan Ltd.
Cheniere Energy Increase Annual Profit on Strong LNG Demand
Cheniere Energy raised its forecast for annual core profit on Thursday after beating quarterly expectations on robust demand for liquefied natural gas, sending its shares up 4% in premarket trading.The U.S. has further solidified its position as the world's largest exporter of LNG after President Donald Trump lifted a moratorium on new export permits upon taking office last year.The country shipped 15 billion cubic feet per day of the supercooled fuel in 2025, according to the U.S.
RWE, Trump Reach $1.22b agreement to Cancel Offshore Wind Leases
German energy company RWE said on Thursday that it had reached a $1.22 billion agreement with the Trump administration to cancel three offshore wind leases in U.S. waters and to direct the funds to LNG and natural gas power plant projects.The arrangement is the fifth, and largest, the administration has entered into this year as part of its wide-ranging effort to stop development of U.S. offshore wind projects, which U.S. President Donald Trump regards as costly and ugly.
Shipping Industry Pushes Back Against Proposed Hormuz Passage Deal
A proposed deal between Iran and Oman that would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz is not easily workable due to U.S. sanctions and restrictive insurance clauses on any payments, four industry sources said.Until U.S.-Israeli airstrikes at the end of February unleashed war in Iran, the narrow waterway between the Gulf and the Indian Ocean was the main route for about a fifth of world oil supplies and other vital goods.
US Will Import Highest Quantity of Middle Eastern Crude Since Start of War
U.S. imports of Middle Eastern crude are set to hit about 600,000 barrels per day in August, the highest since the Iran war began, as a brief opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the rerouting of Saudi oil through the Suez Canal pushed barrels toward American ports, ship-tracking data showed.Nearly a dozen ships loaded with Middle Eastern crude were headed to U.S. ports as American refiners and traders…
SMM 2026 Launches Energy Efficiency Hub
The maritime industry faces the dual challenge of reducing emissions while remaining economically competitive. As a result, energy efficiency is becoming one of the key drivers of the sector's transformation.Against this backdrop, SMM will launch the Energy Efficiency Hub, a dedicated exhibition area focusing exclusively on energy efficiency, September 1-4, 2026. Under the motto "Efficiency First: Powering the Future of Shipping…
Food for Peace Program Begins Wheat Shipment to Kenya
The Transportation Institute (TI), representing U.S.-flag American shipping companies, joined farmers, millers, longshoremen, merchant mariners, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the World Food Programme (WFP) at the Port of New Orleans to mark the latest Food for Peace shipment of grain bound for Kenya. The U.S.-flagged LIBERTY GRACE loaded 28,420 metric tons of Louisiana Rice in New Orleans.
Travis Richardson Appointed as Phoenix International Holdings Hawai’i Manager
Phoenix International Holdings, Inc., announced the appointment of Travis Richardson as Hawai’i Area Manager.Richardson returns to Phoenix after his previous tenure from 2014 to 2019, where he led commercial diving operations, underwater ship repair projects, and regional business activities throughout the Pacific. His return brings nearly three decades of experience in diving, salvage, underwater construction…
Gulf Hypoxic Zone Found to Be Smaller Than Expected
NOAA-supported scientists announced that this year’s Gulf of America hypoxic zone is approximately 1,332 square miles, making it the 2nd smallest zone on record in 40 years of measurement. Hypoxic areas, also called “dead zones,” are areas with little to no oxygen in the water, which can negatively impact fish, shellfish, corals and aquatic plants by making critical habitat unavailable to bottom species.
Shipping Companies Release Joint Letter Regarding Strait of Hormuz Fees
An international group of shipping trade associations has sent a letter to UN Secretary General, António Guterres and IMO Secretary General, Arsenio Dominguez, calling for no compulsory tolls or charges to be introduced in the Strait of Hormuz and beyond. The letter is as follows:Dear Secretaries General,We are writing to you to reiterate our concerns regarding the potential imposition of tolls or…
Gulf Oil Exports Stabilize in July
Gulf countries' crude oil and condensate exports were largely steady in July and remained about 40% below pre-war levels, shipping data showed, with signs of a slowdown emerging in the second half of the month as fighting in the region intensified again.The relatively stable export levels have helped ease concerns about a sharper supply disruption and offset a drawdown in global oil inventories.However…
OPA '90 and Deepwater Horizon: A Law That Worked Better than Anyone Could Have Imagined
A few months ago, I authored an article for Marine News focused on just one of the many successful features of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (“OPA 90,” Pub. L. No. 101-380 (1990)) — Alaska’s regional citizen advisory councils (RCACs). The Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet RCACs were established under OPA 90 to work with oil and gas industry interests on behalf of the surrounding communities to ensure safe operations and community buy-in.
The Potential Benefits of a Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council for Our Gulf Coast Energy Industry
When the EXXON VALDEZ ran aground in Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989, it was an action-forcing event that led to what was the most substantial overhaul of our federal oil spill prevention, preparedness, and response regime in the Nation’s history. But the event that really got policymakers and experts started thinking about such a sweeping re-rack of federal law actually occurred a decade earlier…
Iran, Oman Agree on Coordinates of Hormuz Route
Iran and Oman have reached an understanding on the geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, and a joint announcement is being finalised, provided certain third parties did not interfere, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday.Baghaei added that any such agreement between Iran and Oman would not, by itself, guarantee security in the strategic…
