TotalEnergies CEO Says Middle East Energy Flows Will Take up to Three Months to Reset Post-Conflict
TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne said oil and LNG flows from the Middle East will need two to three months to return to normal after the regional conflict ends. The delay stems from the time required to discharge vessels and reposition them for reloading, not from restarting wells or production. He highlighted that the system, which moves about 50 tankers daily through the Strait of Hormuz, must be stabilized before full throughput resumes. Pouyanne assured investors that the company does not anticipate major restart difficulties.
Ahti Pool Brings in Mona Grannenfelt as Operations Boss After Debut Profit
Finland’s fuel‑compliance specialist Ahti Pool reported its first profit and announced the appointment of domestic strategy consultant Mona Grannenfelt as chief operating officer. The move is aimed at scaling the company’s FuelEU Maritime ship‑pooling platform as demand for emissions‑compliant shipping rises. Ahti Pool...
Somali Pirates Attack Tanker Deep in Indian Ocean
Maritime security forces reported a suspected piracy attempt on a tanker far off the Somali coast on April 29, 2026. The incident follows three ship boardings near Somalia earlier this month, indicating a new, more ambitious pirate group. The aborted...
Ardmore Shipping Inks Newbuilding Deals and Bumps Dividend as Rates Skyrocket
Ardmore Shipping announced contracts for two 40,500‑dwt handysize newbuilds at China’s Wuhu Shipyard, each priced at $44.9 million. The company’s medium‑range (MR) tanker fleet generated $33,700 per day in Q1 and is now earning $50,000 per day, with half of the...
Tanker Experts Digest Impact of UAE Exit From Opec
The United Arab Emirates announced its departure from OPEC, but experts say any impact on the global tanker market will be delayed. Even if the UAE ramps up oil exports immediately, the ongoing war in Iran limits short‑term market shifts....
OOIL Orders a Dozen LNG Dual-Fuelled Container Ships Worth $2.2bn
Orient Overseas International Ltd (OOIL) has placed a $2.2 billion order for twelve 13,600‑TEU neo‑panamax container ships powered by LNG dual‑fuel engines. The vessels will be built by Hudong‑Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a Chinese state‑owned yard under CSSC, at roughly $185 million each. The...
Mercuria Adds VLCCs and Bulkers as Year-to-Date Newbuilding Spree Reaches $1bn
Mercuria Energy Group has placed orders for two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and a series of Kamsarmax bulkers, bringing its 2026 new‑building spend to roughly $1 billion. The new contracts follow a first‑quarter push that added about $700 million in tanker...
Braemar Adjusts Tanker Models to War Footing in a World Starved of Gulf Oil
Braemar, a UK tanker broker, has introduced an “urgency fudge” to its charter rate models, reflecting charterers' willingness to pay premiums for rapid cargo delivery amid Middle East conflict. The adjustment acknowledges heightened demand for Gulf oil as supply constraints...
Who Is the 30-Year Columbia Veteran Stepping Into Mark O’Neil’s Shoes?
Columbia Group, one of the world’s largest ship managers, announced Andreas Hadjipetrou as its new chief executive officer after the abrupt exit of Mark O’Neil, who led the firm for nine years. Hadjipetrou brings three decades of experience within Columbia,...
Veteran Tamara De Gruyter Exits Wartsila as Tech Giant Extends Structural Shift
Tamara de Gruyter, a nearly three‑decade veteran of Wärtsilä, will exit the Finnish tech giant after serving as president of its marine systems division and as an executive vice‑president. Her departure comes as Wärtsilä finalises the sale of its portfolio business,...
Dirty Tanker Newbuilding Surge Spills Into the Second Quarter
Shipping companies are maintaining dirty tanker newbuilding orders into the second quarter despite recent Middle East conflict and rising shipyard prices. Brokers say the market rebounded after a brief lull following the February 28 war outbreak. Greek broker Allied QuantumSea Research...
Tanker Owners Face Lack of Physical Cargo Amid Strait of Hormuz Crisis
Tanker owners are confronting a sudden shortage of cargo as the Strait of Hormuz crisis curtails Middle East oil flows. Sentosa Ship Brokers reports most VLCCs, suezmaxes and aframaxes are now sailing in ballast, reflecting a 19% drop in crude...
Iran Fires Warning Shots at Tanker on Edge of Strait of Hormuz as Blockade Persists
Iranian coast guard fired warning shots at the 9,000‑dwt product tanker Chiron 7 near Oman’s Shinas Outer Port Limit, according to India’s shipping minister. The vessel, built in 1997, was on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz when the shots were...
IMO Chief Urges Nations to Bridge Gaps and Clinch Shipping Decarbonisation Deal
International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary‑General Arsenio Domínguez urged member states to adopt a pragmatic approach and close the gaps in negotiations on a global shipping decarbonisation deal. He warned that the landscape has shifted dramatically since the 2025 Net‑Zero Framework,...
US Navy Intercepts LPG Carrier a Day After Blacklisting by Washington
The U.S. Treasury blacklisted the 39,000‑cbm LPG carrier Sevan, and a day later the U.S. Navy intercepted the vessel. A guided‑missile destroyer, USS Pinckney, escorted Sevan toward the blockaded waters off Iran. The operation highlights Washington’s willingness to enforce sanctions in...
Wavelength Podcast: Shipping Figures Talk Carbon Cuts in Singapore
At Singapore Maritime Week, TradeWinds' Shipowners’ Forum highlighted shipping’s push toward carbon cuts despite the IMO’s pending Net‑Zero Framework. Executives from Eastern Pacific Shipping, the Poseidon Principles, and emissions‑accounting platform Zero44 outlined strategies ranging from wind‑assisted vessels to EU emissions‑credit...
Jefferies Steps Back Into Shipping Research Game with Seven Names
Jefferies has re‑entered shipping research after a five‑month pause, launching coverage of seven companies compared with the 28‑name portfolio previously managed by Omar Nokta. Stephanie Moore will head the new team, expressing optimism on tanker earnings while urging caution on...
Greece’s Vernicos Brothers Step up Tanker Play and Boost Tug Orderbook
Greek shipowners Dimitris and George Vernicos have completed a buyout of the remaining shares in the 39,800‑dwt MR tanker Akti A, bringing the vessel under full family control. The 2022‑built tanker is valued at approximately $52 million. In parallel, the brothers...
Wobensmith in Line for $10m Payday if Removed in Diana Shipping Takeover
Genco Shipping & Trading CEO John Wobensmith faces a potential ouster as Diana Shipping mounts a proxy fight to take control of the bulker owner. Genco disclosed that a change‑of‑control termination would trigger just over $10 million in combined severance and...
Container Shipping Remains Paralysed in Middle East Gulf as MSC Seizures Ramp up Tensions
Container shipping in the Gulf remains stalled after MSC seized two vessels, prompting operators to halt transits through the Strait of Hormuz. Maersk completed its final conventional main‑line passage with the Astrid Maersk before withdrawing. Hapag‑Lloyd’s CEO Rolf Habben Jansen says...
Clarksons Shuffles Product Tanker Assessments as Middle East War Rages On
Clarksons has updated its product tanker earnings model, moving the assumed loading point for LR2 and LR1 voyages from inside the Persian Gulf to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The shift reflects hundreds of vessels being stuck in the...
Indian Refiner Knocks Back Iranian Cargoes on Two VLCCs as US Waiver Ends
Reliance Industries rejected two Iranian oil cargoes on VLCCs Derya and Lenore as the U.S. 30‑day waiver on Iranian crude expired on Sunday. The waiver, introduced to ease price spikes after Gulf shipping bans, will not be renewed, prompting stricter...
Wavelength Podcast: Ceasefire Confusion in the Middle East
The latest Wavelength podcast highlights that a tentative ceasefire in the Middle East does not automatically reopen the Strait of Hormuz for safe commercial traffic. TradeWinds analysts discuss lingering insurance and casualty risks, even as the world’s largest marine insurer...
How to Regain US Maritime Dominance? MARAD Looks to Academy Students for the Answer
The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has launched a competition for students at federal and state maritime academies to devise a strategy for restoring American shipping dominance, echoing President Donald Trump’s executive order. Participants must propose a systemic overhaul of the...
Fight over Houthi Sinking Arrives in US Court — with an Unexpected Litigant
A Texas anesthesiologist, Dr. Hassan Chahadeh, has filed a U.S. federal lawsuit claiming the loss of the cargo vessel Rubymar, the first ship sunk by Houthi forces in the Red Sea. He alleges that Iran and a network of Chinese...
Death of Seafarer Crushed in Ro-Ro Accident Leads to Renewed Calls for UK Code of Practice
A fatal accident on the ro‑ro vessel *Laureline* on 13 July 2024 left Able Seaman Alain Canete crushed between a moving trailer and the ship’s structure. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch found that crew members did not fully understand the new vehicle‑deck safety...
Why Are 110 Certified Indian Ship Recycling Yards Frozen Out by Brussels?
The European Commission’s 15th edition of the European List of Ship Recycling Facilities names 41 approved yards, all outside South Asia, despite more than 110 Indian and 23 Bangladeshi yards holding Hong Kong Convention compliance certificates. South Asian facilities now process...
How the Strait of Hormuz Standoff Is Driving Demand for Offshore Service Vessels
The escalating standoff in the Strait of Hormuz is prompting oil producers to seek alternative logistics, driving a surge in demand for offshore service vessels. Purus, a maritime service provider, highlighted this trend as its commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV)...
Iran Hits Tanker with Drone for Violating Strait of Hormuz Passage Ban, IRGC Claims
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a drone struck a tanker that breached Tehran's newly imposed Strait of Hormuz passage ban. The IRGC claimed the attack was a defensive response to the vessel's unauthorized navigation. The incident comes as Iran's...
Wavelength Podcast: Episode 100. War Risk, Rates and Bad Planning?
Episode 100 of TradeWinds' Wavelength podcast examines the shipping fallout from the US‑Israel attacks on Iran and the broader Operation Epic Fury. It details how the conflict has driven VLCC day rates toward record levels and sparked debate over war‑risk insurance coverage in...
Middle East War Jitters See Boxship Rates Jump 20% on Asia-Europe
Container freight rates on the Asia‑to‑North‑Europe lane have jumped sharply after the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Spot rates are up roughly 20%, while forward contracts for the next weeks and months are priced 20‑30% higher. The surge...
European Defence Ministers Plot Further Russian Oil Disruption
European defence ministers convened in Krakow to discuss escalating measures against Russian seaborne oil exports. France seized the 115,600‑dwt aframax tanker Grinch, carrying 730,000 barrels of crude, and released it after the shipowner paid a €3 million fine. Ministers aim to...
Here’s How Much Shipowners Have Saved up to Invest in US-Built Tonnage
U.S. shipowners and domestic shipyards have set aside roughly $2.59 billion in tax‑deferred Capital Construction Funds earmarked for new U.S.-built vessels, according to the Trump administration’s Maritime Action Plan. The plan touts the accounts as a successful incentive mechanism designed to...
Tanker Carrying Russian Crude Heads for Cuba as US Pressure Grows
A Hong Kong‑flagged tanker loaded with Russian diesel used offshore ship‑to‑ship transfers near Cyprus and repeatedly altered its AIS data to conceal a planned delivery to Cuba. The vessel’s draft increase and route changes suggest deliberate evasion of U.S. sanctions that...