shipping

Shipping giant Maersk announced on Friday that one of its ships successfully navigated the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait for the first time in almost two years, potentially signaling a return to using the cost-effective trade route after the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen shut it down with missile and drone attacks.

Iranian forces seized an oil tanker named Talara as it transited through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday.

Rep. Andy Biggs is introducing a House resolution denouncing a U.N. plan that would establish a global tax on maritime shipping emissions, warning that it would undermine American sovereignty.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is meeting in London to vote on new rules to cut “greenhouse gases” by imposing a first-ever global tax on shipping emissions.

Threats to commercial vessels around the Arabian Peninsula are growing after U.S. airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

South Korean Acting Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il said on Sunday that his government will “swiftly take any necessary measures” to cope with economic fallout from the conflict with Iran.

A 440-foot-long cargo ship ended up in the garden of a water-front resident, but incredibly beached without waking the sleeping householder.

Radio Free Asia (RFA) on Saturday quoted reports from Chinese exporters and port officials who said traffic is visibly slowing down at China’s big port cities of Shanghai and Guangdong, while some factory production has virtually “ground to a halt.”

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) held a meeting in London on Friday at which member nations agreed to impose the world’s first global carbon tax, a fee of $380 per metric ton on “greenhouse gases” emitted by ships up to a certain limit and $100 per ton beyond that.

Visibility was as low and neither ship involved had a dedicated lookout at the time of the smash, accident investigators say. 

A badly damaged cargo ship arrived in the Scottish port of Aberdeen Friday, following a fire that lasted for nearly a week.

Russian captain of a ship that rammed into a U.S. govt-contracted jet fuel tanker off England has been arrested on a Manslaughter charge.

Foul play “not been ruled out” by White House after jet fuel-carrying tanker ship indirectly contracted to D.O.D. burns off east coast of UK.

Danish shipping giant Maersk posted an update on the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden situation on Friday that said the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Bab-el-Mandeb strait are still too dangerous for commercial vessels, despite promises by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen to discontinue their attacks.

Shipping giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd told reporters on Thursday they are not yet prepared to return to the Red Sea shipping lanes after the peace deal announced between Israel and Hamas.

President of Panama José Raúl Mulino on Thursday ruled out any possible discussions with President-elect Donald Trump about control of the Panama Canal or any reduction in the transit fees imposed to U.S. ships that pass through it, asserting that there is “nothing to talk about” regarding the matter.

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping began a week-long tour of South America on Thursday in Peru, where he joined President Dina Boularte to inaugurate a new deep-water port in Chancay that was financed with a $1.3 billion investment from China. 

Freight is piling up at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, as freight rail delays hit a two-year high, owing to record levels of imports on the West Coast, as strikes and the Houthi threat have diverted East Coast shipping.

Maersk said that disruptions to global shipping that attacks from the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen have caused are worsening. 

Canada’s much-feared railroad stoppage has begun after a last-ditch round of talks between railroad companies and unions failed.

Shipments of Russian liquified natural gas to France more than doubled the first half of this year, according to new analyses of trade data.

The Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen took responsibility on Tuesday for attacking the container ship Maersk Sentosa in the Arabian Sea.

Vincent Clerc, CEO of Danish shipping giant Maersk, informed his customers that he expects Iran-backed Houthi terrorism to continue disrupting Red Sea shipping into the third quarter of 2024, and perhaps beyond.

Representatives from China and Russia worked out a deal for safe passage with the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen.

A string of Houthi missile and drone attacks demonstrates the ineffectiveness of President Biden’s “Operation Prosperity Guardian.”

Insurance costs for Red Sea transit have risen by up to 50 percent since the Houthi terrorists began attacking commercial vessels.

The Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen launched six more anti-ship missiles into the Red Sea, defying U.S. warnings to halt their attacks.

Houthi terrorist attacks are currently blocking a ship bound for Israel carrying 14,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle from completing its voyage, leaving the crew uncertain where its live cargo sourced from Australia will be taken.

The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development reported that the volume of freight passing through the Suez Canal has dropped by 45 percent.

Chinese state media on Friday mocked the Biden administration for requesting China’s help with the Red Sea shipping crisis.

Danish shipping giant Maersk suspended U.S.-flagged Red Sea shipping after the latest Houthi missile attack.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Monday that contrary to blithe assurances from the Chinese government that everything is under control, export companies are frantically seeking “Plan B” options to cope with rising shipping costs due to terrorist attacks in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen.

Chinese exporters are feeling the pinch of rising shipping costs due to Red Sea terrorist attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen, to the point that Premier Li Qiang made an oblique reference to the crisis in his speech to the World Economic Forum (WEF). 

Iran’s “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, celebrated the terrorist Houthis of Yemen for their ongoing attacks on commercial shipping.

Shipping costs rose over 300 percent due to the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists of Yemen attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea.

The Financial Times (FT) reported on Wednesday that container ship traffic through the Red Sea and Suez Canal was down an astonishing 90 percent year-on-year for the first week of January – meaning attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist of Yemen have almost completely shut down one of the world’s most vital shipping lanes.