Asia News

Vard has delivered Dong Fang Offshore's first newbuild, the Orient Inspirer service operation vessel (SOV), two months ahead of schedule, while the company has approved an order for another vessel from the Norwegian shipbuilder valued at up to $86 million.The Orient Inspirer, previously known as newbuild NB 987, was delivered from Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam following a ceremony on September 16 and is expected to arrive in Taiwan by the end of September.The vessel will be reflagged…

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…

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…

Yangzijiang Maritime Development has ordered 24 vessels from various Chinese shipyards for delivery between 2028 and 2030, expanding its newbuild portfolio across bulk carriers, chemical and product tankers and large oil tankers.The new orders comprise six 64,500-dwt bulk carriers, six 49,800-dwt product oil and chemical tankers, four 28,000-dwt stainless steel chemical tankers, four 29,000-dwt stainless steel chemical tankers and four 319,000-dwt oil tankers.The bulk carriers and 319…

Oil prices fell 2% on Friday, extending losses for a third straight session as easing concerns over Saudi supply disruptions outweighed anxiety about a widening of conflict across the Middle East.Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell by $2.14, or 2%, to $102.68 a barrel by 0806 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 futures fell $1.83, or 1.8%, to $100.08.Benchmark Brent prices are on track for their first weekly loss in three.Immediate concerns over supply tightness have been eased by a combination of Saudi Arabia loading more crude via Oman…

Argentina's government has presented a bill to crack down on companies operating in the Falkland Islands, potentially escalating tensions with the United Kingdom over the territory that is controlled by Britain but claimed by Argentina.The proposal introduced on Thursday toughens sanctions on companies and people who unlawfully participate in activities in the Falklands and in Argentina's maritime spaces and continental shelf in "any type of activity aimed at the utilization of…

Global LNG prices could shoot higher this winter as Europe holds its lowest stocks in years and North Asian buyers face increased competition with the Strait of Hormuz still closed, executives said at an industry conference this week.Europe will enter this winter more vulnerable than usual amid storage levels that are lower than last year, industry executives and analysts said at Gastech in Bangkok.At the same time, the war on Iran has prevented Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from shipping liquefied natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz…

Oil prices settled $3 higher on Tuesday after shipping industry sources said crude loadings at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea export hub of Yanbu had been suspended and Riyadh had canceled some cargo deliveries to European customers, deepening concerns that disruptions to a critical oil-export route could persist for weeks.Gains in U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 outpaced Brent on Tuesday, as fears that Saudi Arabia's supply troubles were widening sent investors rushing into U.S.

Oman's Maritime Security Centre said on Tuesday that the Panama-flagged oil tanker 'EL GAIA' was being towed to an Omani port after a fire broke out in its engine room following an attack.The tanker was about 103 nautical miles northeast of Musandam when it was attacked, the centre said. An Omani naval vessel evacuated 23 crew members, while two remain missing.(Reuters - Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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

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…

Twenty-five people died in a fire aboard a foreign cargo vessel undergoing repairs at a state-owned shipyard in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao on Thursday, state media reported.The fire broke out at about 11:15 a.m. (0315 GMT) at the Qingdao Beihai shipyard during repair and inspection works, state-run Xinhua said. Of the 42 people onboard, 12 were evacuated safely and five were injured and hospitalised.The blaze was extinguished by early afternoon, state media said.A picture of the scene released by Xinhua showed the vessel involved to be the Ocean Melody.

Iran has suspended a 10% charge on freight fees for foreign vessels carrying imported or exported oil, gas and liquid petroleum products to and from Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday.A U.S. naval blockade has sharply disrupted the country's seaborne oil exports.(Reuters - Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Alex Richardson)

The Middle East war intensified on Tuesday with Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen launching strikes on several Saudi cities, further embroiling a U.S. ally in the conflict, while U.S. forces hit multiple Iranian oil tankers and Iran targeted a U.S. base in Jordan.The Houthis attacked four cities in the south of Saudi Arabia, wounding 73 people and setting oil installations ablaze in what appeared to be a major expansion of the six-month-old war.As global oil markets were pricing in the Saudi attacks, the U.S.

Hapag-Lloyd is working with the Israeli government on improvements to its proposed $4.2 billion cash purchase of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, the German shipping group said on Monday.The proposed deal has faced heavy opposition in Israel, including ZIM's workers, Defence Minister Israel Katz and other government officials, who argue that it undermines national security by transferring Israel's shipping to a foreign company."We are now developing an improved proposal designed to further strengthen Israel's maritime security and independence…

Oil prices hit multi-week highs on Tuesday after Iran-backed Houthis attacked Saudi energy facilities and Tehran threatened the United States with "economic warfare".Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up $2.00, or 2.06%, at $99.00 a barrel by 0800 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was at $94.41 a barrel, up $2.93, or 3.2%.Brent earlier rose to as much as $99.22 a barrel, its highest since July 24, while WTI reached $94.60 a barrel, its highest since June 8."The price action…

Iran threatened the United States with "economic warfare" on Tuesday and said it had fired an advanced missile at U.S. warships, underscoring the risks of further escalation in the war only days after both sides traded blows again.The six-month-old war has been marked by a cycle of pauses followed by periodic flare-ups, with the U.S. last reporting attacks on Iranian targets on Saturday, when U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers. Iranian state media on Sunday reported that Iran fired the Qassem Basir missile.Despite U.S.

An average of 10 commodity ships transited the Strait of Hormuz per day over the past 10 days, the lowest since May, according to shipping data on Monday, after U.S. and Iranian strikes on tankers.The 10-day moving average was 10 on Sunday, down from more than 15 on Friday and nearly 13 on Saturday, data from analytics firm Kpler found.Only two vessels passed through the strait on Saturday while six went through on Sunday, mostly using the Iranian route.U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, U.S.

From Canada to Argentina, oil producers across the Americas have enjoyed a windfall during the Iran war by capturing market share lost by Middle Eastern exporters. The renewed focus on energy security globally could transform this emergency response into a lasting structural change.Oil production in the Americas has become a viable alternative to the Middle East's vast hydrocarbon resources since the outbreak of the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz six months ago, which disrupted roughly a fifth of global oil supplies.

The Iran war's redrawing of the global trade map is forcing Gulf nations to retool their investment play book, ploughing capital into infrastructure, from energy pipelines to ports, to weather the fallout from the conflict.The war has highlighted the Gulf's overreliance on the Strait of Hormuz, previously a chokepoint for 20% of global oil flows but also subject for decades to Iranian threats of disruption.With the strait virtually blocked for much of the past six months, a burst…