freedomofnavigation

Commercial shipping through the Hormuz Strait, which previously accounted for about a quarter of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas exports, has been virtually paralyzed for over three months due to the US and Israel's war against Iran. This past Sunday, a preliminary agreement was announced between Washington and Tehran: the deal, set to be signed on Friday, June 19, in Switzerland, aims to open the strait for shipping without fees, lift the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, and resume Iranian oil exports under partial sanctions relief.

Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for oil supplies from the Persian Gulf, could resume as early as June, as the risk of oil supply depletion increases pressure on U.S. leadership, according to JPMorgan. Fitch has projected a slightly longer timeline—but they also expect the strait to reopen this summer. Meanwhile, Moody's has warned that President Donald Trump has only a week left before "real problems" start to arise.

The Iranian regime has recently been accused of extortion and creating a threat to global energy security. The basis for such claims is that Tehran, according to reports, has started charging up to $2 million from each vessel for "safe passage" through the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. military, which monitors compliance with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, struck a ship flying the Gambian flag that was en route to one of Iran's ports in the Gulf of Oman. This was reported on Sunday, May 30, by the Central Command of the Armed Forces (CENTCOM).
It's reported that the vessel Lian Star was cruising through international waters heading towards one of Iran's ports. The U.S. military "issued over 20 warnings," informing the crew "about breaching the American blockade." "An American aircraft disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the engine room after the crew of Lian Star failed to comply with the demands. The vessel is no longer heading towards Iran," stated CENTCOM.

The Iranian armed forces opened warning fire late Thursday evening, May 28, on four commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, local news agency Mehr reported, with the message being relayed by Al Jazeera. It states that these vessels "were attempting to pass through the strait without coordination."

The ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran is largely settled, President Donald Trump announced on the evening of May 23. According to him, the deal will involve unblocking the Strait of Hormuz—a key maritime route for Middle Eastern oil supplies.

Japan, one of the largest Asian importers of energy resources from the Middle East, has announced the imminent arrival of the first batch of oil from the Persian Gulf, having passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the onset of the war in Iran. This is reported by Bloomberg.
The supertanker Idemitsu Maru, which navigated the strait at the end of April, is expected to dock as early as Monday, according to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. In a briefing document released by the agency on Friday, it is specified that the vessel, carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil, is heading to the Idemitsu Kosan Co. refinery in Aichi Prefecture.

Iraq and the UAE are ramping up plans to expand pipelines, aiming to replace the capacity lost due to the closure of the Hormuz Strait, as new data reveals their heavy dependence on the Persian Gulf. This is reported by CNBC.
Last week, the Iraqi cabinet approved plans to accelerate oil exports through the Kurdistan-Turkey pipeline network, which will more than triple existing supplies, from 220,000 barrels per day to 770,000. This route leads to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan and is set to support the oil-dependent Iraqi economy, which accounted for 53% of the country's real GDP in 2025, according to the World Bank.

Three LNG tankers and one oil tanker have sailed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, heading to China, Pakistan, and India, as reported by Reuters. The uptick in shipping traffic in the strait might signal that movement along this critical shipping route is gradually reviving amid negotiations between Iran and the U.S. regarding the extension of a fragile ceasefire, notes the Financial Times. Investor hopes for a deal have led to a 7% drop in Brent prices.

Военные США координируют десятки секретных операций по перекачке нефти с судна на судно у выхода из Ормузского пролива, используя авиацию, морские дроны и вертолеты для проводки конвоев к ожидающим танкерам. Об этом сообщает Reuters со ссылкой на источники.
Операция использует «челночную» технику, которую долгое время применял сам Иран для обхода санкций. Перекачка проходит в двух точках в Оманском заливе — у побережья Фуджейры в ОАЭ и у оманского порта Сохар. По данным судоходной статистики и спутниковых снимков, изученных Reuters, она началась в начале мая, и в ней участвовали как минимум 116 судов.
Вертолет Apache, сбитый Ираном 9 июня и спровоцировавший ответные удары США, был задействован в этой миссии, рассказали четыре источника. Представитель Минобороны США в ответ на вопросы заявил, что силы Центрального командования не участвуют в офшорных операциях по перекачке нефти.
Как это работает. Танкеры идут к точке встречи перед проливом, затем расходятся так, чтобы дистанция между ними составляла 3000–4000 метров. Транспондеры отключены, огни приглушены. Пройдя пролив, танкеры швартуются к принимающим судам, многие из которых — супертанкеры класса VLCC. Перекачка занимает от 24 до 40 часов. Пустые танкеры возвращаются через пролив, а загруженные VLCC следуют дальше.
Перекачка с судна на судно, хотя и рискованна и неэффективна, судя по всему, является частью усилий администрации Трампа по восстановлению нормальных поставок нефти из залива. Трамп заявил, что Ормузский пролив вновь откроется в пятницу в рамках рамочного мирного соглашения с Ираном, однако детали остаются неясными.
«По мере ослабления старых правил иронично, что США теперь берут на вооружение приемы из арсенала Китая, России, Северной Кореи и даже Ирана, чьи так называемые „теневые флоты“ впервые применили эти методы именно для обхода санкций США и ООН», — написал в пятничной записке Майкл Фроман, президент Совета по международным отношениям.
Значительную долю в операции занимает экспорт из ОАЭ. Шесть источников сообщили, что госкомпания ADNOC была одним из самых активных участников. Активна была и Kuwait Oil Tanker Company: 6 июня с одного из ее судов у побережья Сохара было перекачано около 2,3 млн баррелей нефти.
«Я не вижу в этом всем постоянного решения, — сказал Ноам Райдан, старший научный сотрудник Вашингтонского института. — Это временное решение в исключительные времена».
#AttacksOnTheTankerFleet , #FreedomOfNavigation , #RawMaterialsMarkets

Drones hit three tankers off the northern coast of Turkey, reported Reuters on Thursday, May 28, citing the shipping company Tribeca. According to the agency, the tanker James II, flying the Palauan flag, was attacked 80 km north of the Turkel area in the Black Sea. The tankers Altura and Velora, flying the Sierra Leone flag, also came under fire. It was specified that they were attacked during a ship-to-ship cargo transfer.

Shares of the largest global airlines and cruise operators have shown a sharp uptick following announcements from the US and Iran regarding a peace agreement. The signing is slated for this Friday, June 19. Earlier this spring, airlines faced a steep rise in expenses after the Middle East conflict nearly doubled aviation fuel prices.

Saudi Arabia gained the special guest country status at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in 2026, which runs from June 3 to 6. What is Riyadh aiming to achieve by warming up to Moscow? What are Russia's interests?
OPEC has lost a key player.
Russia and Saudi Arabia each produce 9-10 million barrels of oil per day. Together, they account for over 20% of the total global output. This gives them significant control over supply - even despite Western sanctions and price caps on Russian oil imposed after the onset of the full-scale war in Ukraine, as well as disruptions caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The cargo ship Caffa, detained by Swedish authorities in March in the Baltic Sea on suspicion of being part of Russia's "shadow fleet," will be handed over to Ukraine, ruled the district court of the Swedish city of Ystad, reported TV4 on Thursday, June 4. The judge agreed with the prosecution's argument that the arrest imposed by Swedish authorities on the vessel following a request from Ukraine is justified and that the conditions for transferring the vessel to Ukraine have been met. The main condition is that the crime for which the transfer of the vessel is requested must be punishable under Swedish law, writes the newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

Iran's crude oil and condensate exports in May fell to the lowest level in at least six years, dropping below 300,000 barrels per day, according to shipping data and analyst estimates. The decrease is primarily due to the U.S. naval blockade imposed on 13.04.

French Navy has once again intercepted an oil tanker in the Atlantic, which was en route from Russia. The vessel Tagor was halted on Sunday morning in international waters with the support of the UK and other partners, reported French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, June 1, on platform X. He attached short video clips of the operation to the post.

On Tuesday, Brent oil prices are climbing after a dip at the start of the week. U.S. military operations in southern Iran and conflicting statements from Trump about the negotiations between Tehran and Washington continue to keep traders on edge, reports CNBC.
At 10:45 AM London time, July futures for the benchmark international brand Brent surged by 3.4%, reaching $99.39 per barrel. Meanwhile, July futures for American WTI crude traded at $92.85 per barrel, down 3.9% compared to Friday's close (trading for WTI was halted on Monday due to the Memorial Day holiday in the USA).

The Russian "shadow fleet" poses a "threat to Spain and forces it to tighten control measures over its adjacent maritime space." This is stated in a report published on May 19 by the national security department of the Spanish government. It reminds us that this refers to vessels used by the Russian Federation in trading operations to circumvent international sanctions imposed by the European Union and other countries due to Russia's war against Ukraine.

In mid-May, the freight rates for tanker shipments of Urals crude oil from western ports in Russia to India took a dip. According to sources in trading and shipping circles cited by Reuters, this is due to seasonal factors, an oversupply of vessels from the 'shadow fleet', and broader shifts in global logistics.

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. reported a net loss of $86 million for Q1 ending March 31, 2026, compared to a net profit of $296 million for the same period last year.
Revenue for the three months ending March 31, 2026, dropped to $1.40 billion from $2.01 billion a year earlier.
The volume of shipments decreased to 866,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) from 944,000 TEU in Q1 2025. The average freight rate per TEU fell to $1,310 from $1,776 a year ago.