Gulf Shipping News

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander accused the U.S. Navy on Monday of defending fuel smuggling in the Gulf by trying to interfere when Iran intercepted a ship last week."On July 6th, Revolutionary Guards' Navy personnel were inspecting a ship with the name NADA 2 that was involved in smuggling Iranian oil and gas in the Persian Gulf, which the Americans sought to prevent through a series of unprofessional and risky actions," IRGC Commander Ramazan Zirrahi said in comments reported by Iran's Tasnim news agency.On July 7th…

The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday it was no longer taking part in operations by a U.S.-led task force protecting Gulf shipping, which has been subjected to renewed tanker seizures by Iranian naval forces in recent weeks.The UAE was responding to a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday which, citing U.S. and Gulf sources, said the Gulf state was frustrated by the lack of U.S. response to recent tanker seizures by Iran.This was a "mischaracterisation" of conversations between the two countries…

Iran has increased its attacks on commercial shipping in recent months and the Pentagon will begin to bolster defensive posture in the region on Friday, White House spokesperson John Kirby said.In the past two years, Iran has harassed, attacked or interfered with the navigational rights of 15 internationally flagged commercial vessels, Kirby said."Today, the Department of Defense will be making a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Arabian Gulf," Kirby told reporters in a briefing.Kirby said U.S Central Command will provide details in coming days. The U.S.

Plaintiffs seeking to recover from ship managers or the vessels they operate but lacking a direct claim against a particular vessel have developed a clever strategy under U.S. maritime law. They seize a managed vessel under Supplemental Admiralty Rule B and claim the vessel-owning company is an alter ego of the defendant with whom the dispute really exists. In this way, plaintiffs can take advantage of the relatively low evidentiary bar to delve into protracted discovery to develop…

Conrad Shipyard announced it has hired Robert A. Socha to lead the company’s sales and marketing efforts as vice president of sales and marketing. He will work collaboratively with other Conrad business groups, including business development, engineering and product development, contracts, estimating and operations.Socha has served in numerous roles of increasing responsibility with various companies in the offshore and inland marine transportation, shipbuilding, oil and gas exploration, and offshore engineering/construction industries.

Iran has moved a mock-up U.S. aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, satellite images show, suggesting it will use the look-alike vessel for target practice in war games in a Gulf shipping channel vital to world oil exports.The use of dummy American warships has become an occasional feature of training by Iran's Revolutionary Guards and its naval forces, including in 2015 when Iranian missiles hit a mock-up resembling a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.Tehran, which opposes the presence of U.S.

A disruption in global oil flows following attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities has left U.S. crude exporters without enough tankers to cover rising demand for cargoes, traders and shipping sources said.Missile attacks last Saturday temporarily cut Saudi oil production by more than 5 million barrels per day, or about half the country's output.That set off a scramble for alternative cargoes of crude, particularly in the United States, which lined up available tankers sailing from the Mediterranean, West Africa and continental Europe to pick up cargoes.

The UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is to call for more international support to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz when he meets his French and German counterparts later today (Friday, August 31) for talks about Iran. Last month, Iran seized a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait in apparent retaliation for the UK’s seizure in Gibraltar of an Iranian ship accused of violating European sanctions by taking oil to Syria.The UK joined a U.S.-led mission to escort merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz at the start of this month but Germany and France declined to take part…

Shipping companies are hiring unarmed security guards for voyages through the Middle East Gulf as an extra safeguard after a wave of attacks in the region, security companies involved said.Relations between Iran and the West are increasingly strained after Britain seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar this month. Britain also said last week that one of its warships had to fend off Iranian vessels seeking to block a UK-owned tanker from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.As the risk of escalation grows…

The United States is building a coalition with its allies to protect Gulf shipping lanes by having "eyes on all shipping", a senior U.S. State Department official said on Monday, following recent attacks on oil tankers that Washington blamed on Iran.The official told reporters en route to the United Arab Emirates that a coalition of nations would provide both material and financial contributions to the "Sentinel" program, but did not name the countries."It's about proactive deterrence, because the Iranians just want to go out and do what they want to do and say hey we didn't do it. We know what they've done," he said, adding that the deterrents would include cameras, binoculars and ships. (Reuters, Reporting by Asma Alsharif and Ghaida Ghantous, Editing by William Maclean)

APM Terminals Bahrain has launched the 'Lift' portal which allows customers to track and trace their goods, check the status of shipments and vessels and schedule deliveries - 24 hours per day, seven days a week.Lift works to optimize operations by allowing customers real-time visibility into the status of the cargo in a container facility, enabling them to manage all aspects of the terminal process and improving their business at the same time. The new system is seen as being a major step in the digitization of logistical services.Using a user-friendly interface, Lift connects users to the terminal and allows them to access up-to-date data from any device.

U.S. shipbuilder VT Halter Marine, Inc., a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems, Inc. (VT Systems), has appointed Robert A. Socha as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Estimating, effective January 30, 2017. In his role, Socha is responsible for overall management and leadership of the company’s business development and estimating departments. He will work closely with other corporate functions, including departments of engineering, production control, production…

Iran is using its sea power in the Gulf to show it will not be cowed by Washington's newly assertive Arab allies, prompting critics to accuse Tehran of destabilising the region. Iranian ships fired shots at a Singapore-flagged tanker which it said damaged an Iranian oil platform, causing the vessel to flee, and seized a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil route, over a debt row. The incidents coincided with a push by Washington to reassure Gulf Arab monarchies that their interests would not be threatened by a nuclear accord that Tehran and world powers are trying to reach by the end of June. In an escalating confrontation with Saudi Arabia over Yemen…

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards staged war games in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, including a gunboat attack on a model U.S. warship, in Tehran's latest display of military muscle in a Gulf shipping channel vital to world oil exports. The Shi'ite Muslim Islamic Republic sees the Gulf, between Iran and the Sunni Arab states, as its own backyard and believes it has a legitimate interest in expanding its influence there. A ceremony marking the exercises was attended by commanders of the Guards, an influential military force led by anti-Western hawks, as well as by parliament speaker Ali Larijani. "With attention to the situation in the region…

DGS Marine, a leading global P&I management provider and exclusive manager for the British European and Overseas (BE&O) P&I facility, has highlighted the benefits of fixed premium P&I cover for ship owners and operators in the Middle East. David Skinner, Managing Director of DGS Marine Group, was speaking at the Seatrade Middle East Maritime conference in Dubai, where DGS Marine was a leading sponsor. Discussing the growing appeal of alternative models of P&I cover to ship owners in the Middle East, Mr. Skinner said: “Middle East ship owners face the same global challenges, with tough market conditions, including low freight rates, high fuel costs and the burden of new regulations, placing pressure on balance sheets.

Marty Forson, Director of Sales, Gulf Shipping Agencies, keynote speaker at the conference. This presentation will give an overview and insight into the shipping of petcoke: "Petcoke Logistics: Costs & Concerns". It covers the role of the steamship agent, including their interaction with all parties involved in the transaction, to expedite the logistics process and minimize costs. Marty Forson has garnered extensive experience in the shipping of petcoke in his career as a steamship agent over the past 24 years.

Iraq has become a key concern for Gulf shippers, the Middle East Newsline reported. Industry sources said maritime security marked a major element in Iraqi reconstruction. They said shippers have monitored the safety of Iraqi ports and water lanes for piracy, organized crime and insurgents. According to experts, oil exports currently provide Iraq with the life-blood of its reconstruction efforts, without which the country's ability to build and regenerate will be greatly hampered. Until either a dedicated waterborne protection force is in place, or a system is developed that would allow vessels to radically minimize time at anchor, the risks may well prove too high and ship owners and operators will choose to go elsewhere. (Source: Middle East Newsline)

INTERTANKO has appointed Bill Box as Managing Editor for the Association. Bill Box (49) joins INTERTANKO after a long career within shipping and the trade press. Bill started his career in 1973 when he joined the Pomme shipping agency in Port de Bouc in France, where, over a period of four years, he spent time learning about the industry at the sharp end. He later gained experience in S&P broking, tanker chartering and scheduling with companies such as H. Clarkson, Marathon Oil, Gulf Shipping, Troodos and Teekay Shipping. This was then followed by 12 years of journalism with Seatrade and Seatrends. INTERTANKO’s Managing Director Dr. “We have known Bill for many years and are delighted to have secured his services as Managing Editor.