Since the Russian invasion began in 2022, Ukraine has successfully resisted its opponents on many fronts, but its most surprising success came in a theater where few expected Ukraine to prevail: the Black Sea.In 2022, the consensus among military analysts was that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s military would most likely crush Ukrainian forces in the air, on land and at sea.
OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to extend most of its deep oil output cuts well into 2025 as the group seeks to shore up the market amid tepid demand growth, high interest rates and rising rival U.S. production.Brent crude oil prices LCOc1 have been trading near $80 per barrel in recent days, below what many OPEC+ members need to balance their budgets.
Grain ships originating from the Black Sea or bound for Iran are about the only ones still sailing through the Red Sea as Houthi militants continue to attack vessels in the area, analysts said on Friday.The attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis have disrupted global shipping since November and forced firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
Disruptions to Red Sea shipping caused by Houthi attacks will push up prices of consumer goods, an executive from port and freight operator DP World said on Tuesday as a missile struck another vessel in the region.The Iran-allied Houthi militia has threatened to expand its attacks to include U.S. ships in response to American and British strikes on its sites in Yemen.
A Panama-flagged bulk carrier that was headed to a River Danube port to load grain has hit a mine in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday.It was the latest incident of a civilian vessel hitting an explosive in the Black Sea in what Kyiv says is stepped-up Russian attacks on shipping and port infrastructure.
China will on Friday conduct sea trials for its first ocean research drilling vessel, capable of drilling at depths of more than 10,000 meters (32,800 feet), a key step towards beefing up the country's deep-sea oil and gas exploration capabilities.It is China's first vessel capable of ultra-deepwater research and drilling, Chinese state media reported on Monday.
Russia has pledged to disclose more data about the volume of its fuel refining and exports after OPEC+ asked Moscow for more transparency on classified fuel shipments from the many export points across the vast country, sources at OPEC+ and ship-tracking firms told Reuters.Russia is the only member of OPEC+ which contributes to export cuts rather than production cuts as part of its participation
A new and deadly chapter of the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict is a reality check for an ambitious trade route. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), championed by Washington last month on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi and dubbed a Western rival to China’s Belt and Road, had much to prove anyway.
A Turkish-flagged general cargo ship hit a mine on Thursday in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania and sustained minor damage but the crew was safe, maritime and security sources said.British maritime security company Ambrey, citing information it received, said the ship struck a sea mine 11 nautical miles north of Sulina in Romania, near the entrance to the Sulina Canal.
Insurance companies have notified charterers of ships operating in Russia's Black Sea ports of an increase in additional payments known as "war risk premiums", four traders said.A war risk premium was added to the common insurance costs for tankers last year after the start of Russia's military action in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation.
Dock workers on Canada's West Coast and their employers said they reached a new labor agreement, averting an immediate strike, as they sought to end a dispute that has disrupted operations at the country's busiest ports.The International Longshore and Warehouse Canada Union (ILWU) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) are recommending the ratification of the deal
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday that its Black Sea Fleet had practised firing rockets at surface targets in a live fire exercise, two days after it warned that ships heading to Ukraine's Black Sea ports could be considered military targets.Russia issued its warning earlier this week after it quit the Black Sea grain deal on Monday