Gulf Of Oman News

Most Gulf bourses ended higher on Tuesday as diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Middle East conflict gathered pace, a day after Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials held talks in Tehran. It was the first high-level contact between Iran and the three allies, who signed a mutual defence pact in August, since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered a war that spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index advanced 2.3%, led by a 2.8% jump in Al Rajhi Bank, while First Milling Company soared 9.9% after the flour miller reported a steep rise in quarterly profit.

Citi said on Thursday that near-term risks to oil prices remain skewed to the upside despite a recovery in Gulf crude exports, as shipping bottlenecks continue to keep delivered supplies tight."The normalization of Arab Gulf oil exports has been volumetric rather than logistical, with unprecedented shipping inefficiencies keeping delivered crude costs elevated," Citi saidMore than 1 million barrels per day of Gulf crude exports were moved via ship-to-ship transfers in September, equivalent to about 7.5% of regional flows, compared with virtually none before the US-Iran conflict.

Windward intelligence report highlights tanker and tug attacks, threats to subsea cables, an emerging oil spill and a sanctioned Russian tanker testing U.S. naval restrictions.Maritime security risks across the Strait of Hormuz, Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman are expanding beyond attacks on commercial tankers, with threats now extending to subsea communications infrastructure, offshore support vessels and coastal facilities. An October 22 intelligence report from Windward Maritime…

Most Gulf equities closed down on Wednesday, after Iran said there would be no talks with the US to end their conflict unless its demands are met.Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in an article published in the Financial Times on Wednesday said Iran is open to diplomacy but will defend itself.Iran told Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who was in Tehran as part of the mediation efforts, of the country's position, Iranian semi-official Nournews reported on Tuesday.Pakistan, a key US-Iran mediator, helped secure the interim Islamabad Memorandum in June.

Most Gulf stock markets ended lower on Wednesday as fighting between Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces intensified on several fronts.Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces are pushing a major offensive to retake ground lost to weeks of Houthi advances, backed by stepped-up Saudi air strikes.The Houthis struck Aden International Airport on Wednesday with ballistic missiles and explosive drones, Yemen's Transport Ministry said, marking a sharp escalation…

Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces staged a lightning advance on Monday to retake the coast around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait up to the city of Mocha, the government said, pushing the Iran-backed Houthis out of most of the areas they seized last month.The forces of the internationally recognised government, backed by heavy Saudi air strikes, reached the outskirts of Mocha late on Monday and Houthi fighters were retreating into the highlands, four government sources said. The…

Windward is publishing intelligence reports on the crisis in the Gulf as the situation develops.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched a new attack on Saudi Arabia on Monday and Gulf Arab states postponed planned talks with Iran, underscoring fears that the Middle East conflict could spread further and threaten global oil supplies.U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wanted to reach a deal with Washington, signalling a possible diplomatic opening despite the widening regional tensions."The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A.

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, tanker traffic through the key Middle Eastern waterways of the Strait of Hormuz…

Oil transfers between tankers in waters outside the Strait of Hormuz have slowed following a wave of recent attacks on vessels by Iranian forces, according to satellite analysis and sources.Since the start of the Iran war in late February, ship-to-ship (STS) transfers between tankers have helped enable oil to leave the Gulf despite the threats to commercial vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.Under the practice, tankers using one of two makeshift routes close to either…

All three missing Indian seafarers have died after a U.S. military strike on a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Thursday.The U.S. said its military carried out a "precision" strike on the vessel that failed to follow its instructions and was carrying oil from Iran.Indian sources told Reuters that New Delhi had summoned the U.S. deputy chief of mission after lodging a "strong protest" on the strike.(Reuters - Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee; Editing by YP Rajesh)

Only a month into the Iran war, Qatar-based distributor Salam Studio & Stores had already gone weeks without its regular Red Bull shipments, prompting it to test a little-used route.The conflict and effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, now in their fourth month, had scattered its products across ports in India and Sri Lanka, while Gulf hubs it typically relies on faced Iranian fire and capacity constraints.Wary of losing market share, Salam opted for an untested solution: shipping cargo to Doha via Saudi Arabia's Port of NEOM…

India said on Thursday that an Indian-flagged wooden cargo vessel had sunk while sailing through Omani waters following a fire from a suspected drone or missile strike.The vessel is the second to have been sunk in the region since the Iran conflict began on February 28. The war has left hundreds of ships stranded and 20,000 seafarers unable to leave the Strait of Hormuz waterway that leads out into the Gulf of Oman.The attack on the dhow – a vessel built of wood – happened while it was sailing to the United Arab Emirates from Somalia in the early hours of Wednesday…

China called for an end to conflict in the Gulf and said the safety of waterways should not be disturbed on Thursday, adding that it was ready to work with Southeast Asia to address energy shortages as oil markets reel from supply shocks.While the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has allowed China to cast itself as the more reliable superpower, analysts say it is wary of global energy market uncertainty, not least because it needs the resources it has been stockpiling since the late 2000s…

Windward is publishing daily intelligence reports on the crisis in the Gulf as the situation develops.The highlights of today's report are as follows:    Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains extremely limited, with only three outbound crossings recorded on March 15 and no inbound transits.Maritime security risk across the Gulf remains high, with 20 confirmed incidents involving commercial vessels and offshore infrastructure recorded since the start of the Iran war.Kharg Island remains operational despite recent strikes…

The U.S. will provide reinsurance for losses up to $20 billion in the Gulf region, to help provide confidence for oil and gas shippers during the war on Iran, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation said on Friday.President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered the DFC to provide political risk insurance and financial guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf after oil and liquefied natural gas tanker transit had ground to a halt in the Strait of Hormuz waterway off Iran…

More tankers came under attack in Gulf waters on Thursday as the U.S.–Iran war escalated, and Iranian drones entered Azerbaijan, threatening to spread the crisis to more oil producers in the region.A Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker was targeted by an Iranian remote-controlled boat laden with explosives while anchored near Iraq's Khor al Zubair port, according to initial assessments. A second tanker at anchor off Kuwait was taking on water and spilling oil after a large explosion on its port side.Nine vessels have come under attack since the conflict broke out between the U.S.…

The U.S.–Iran war widened on Wednesday after a U.S. strike hit an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, deepening a crisis that has paralysed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz for a fifth day and choked off vital Middle East oil and gas flows.The U.S. submarine strike on the Iranian vessel came as U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to provide insurance and navy escorts to ships exporting oil and gas from the Middle East in a bid to contain soaring energy prices.At least 200 ships…

London's marine insurance market has widened the area in the Gulf it deems as high risk as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, according to an advisory issued on Tuesday.Guidance from the Joint War Committee, which comprises syndicate members from the Lloyd's Market Association and representatives from the London insurance company market, is watched closely and influences underwriters' considerations over insurance premiums.The JWC added waters around Bahrain, Djibouti…

The crew of an oil products tanker are safe and the vessel is anchored off Iran's Bandar Abbas port, its manager said on Monday, after Tehran said it seized the ship in open Gulf waters last week.Iran confirmed on Saturday that its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had seized the Talara, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, over alleged cargo violations, Iranian state media reported.It was the first seizure of a tanker by Tehran since Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran in June and has raised…

Iran and Israel accused each other of endangering commercial activity in sea lanes around the Gulf and the Red Sea at the UN's shipping agency on Wednesday, as their military conflict escalated.Iran's delegation told a session of the International Maritime Organization's security committee that Israel had in recent days extended its "unlawful attacks" to include petrochemical and gas infrastructure in Asalouyeh along Iran's Gulf coast."These actions directly endanger international maritime security and the global energy supply chain…

Japan's second-largest shipping company, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), is operating as usual in the Gulf while closely monitoring the situation in the region, CEO Takeshi Hashimoto said on Tuesday."We are operating so many containers, car carriers and chemical tankers so that it is very, very difficult for us to reduce or stop with the service," Hashimoto told Reuters on the sidelines of the Energy Asia conference.Shippers re-routed via the Cape of Good Hope after Yemeni Houthis attacked ships in the Red Sea…

Frontline, the owner of Front Eagle oil tanker which was involved in a collision with Adalynn, a tanker owned by India-based Global Shipping Holding, has confirmed the collision was a navigational incident and not related to the current regional conflict between Israel and Iran.The incident occurred approximately 15 nautical off Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman, off the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at 00:15 local time on June 17, 2025.All the crew onboard the Front Eagle are reported safe…