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Brent crude futures retreated on Tuesday but held near $114 a barrel following fresh hostilities in the Middle East, while investors monitored developments in the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.The U.S. and Iran launched new attacks in the Gulf on Monday as they wrestled for control over the Strait of Hormuz with duelling maritime blockades, shaking a fragile truce.Brent crude futures LCOc1 eased 93 cents, or 0.8%, to $113.51 per barrel at 0719 GMT after settling up 5.8% on Monday. U.S.

California energy officials on Monday opened an investigation into the Trump administration's agreement with an offshore wind company to cancel a planned project off the state's central coast.The state said it was seeking information about the $120 million government payout to determine whether it violated the law.The refunds of offshore lease payments, in exchange for fossil fuel investments, are part of a recent strategy in President Donald Trump's year-long effort to stymie…

The U.S. military said on Monday it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as Tehran sought to thwart a new U.S. naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.U.S. President Donald Trump launched the operation, called Project Freedom, on Monday as he sought to wrest control of the critical waterway from Iran, which effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel started the conflict on February 28.U.S.

Norwegian Cruise Line cut its annual profit forecast on Monday, as the cruise operator battles surging fuel costs linked to the war in the Middle East and tepid demand for its sea voyages, sending its shares down 7% in morning trading.Global oil prices surged above $100 a barrel after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. More than $50 billion worth of crude oil supply has been lost since the start of the war, according to Reuters calculations as of mid-April.Rivals Carnival and Royal Caribbean have also highlighted potential hits from rising fuel costs…

Medics were working on Monday to evacuate two people with symptoms of the deadly hantavirus after a suspected outbreak on a luxury cruise ship held off West Africa carrying mostly British, American and Spanish passengers, officials said.Around 150 people were still stuck on the vessel after three people - a Dutch couple and a German national - died, and others fell ill, including a Briton who left the vessel and was being treated in South Africa, authorities added.Hantavirus, which can cause fatal respiratory illness, can be spread when particles from rodent droppings or urine become airborne.

There was a fire and an explosion on a vessel operated by South Korean shipper HMM in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the foreign ministry in Seoul said.The government was checking intelligence that the vessel, HMM Namu, may have been attacked, Yonhap News reported citing government officials.There were no casualties reported and authorities were investigating what caused the blaze that, HMM said, broke out in the engine room of the Panama-flagged cargo ship.Twenty-four crew members, including six Korean nationals, were on board, the company told Reuters.The U.S. military said two U.S.

The gap between supply and demand is widening as global energy systems face strain, Guyana's President Irfaan Ali said on Monday, as the Iran warenters its third month and continues to drive up oil and gas prices amid supply shortages.Energy markets have been reeling since the start of the war, which has caused damage to infrastructure across the Middle East and led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade chokepoint. Oil prices have climbed above $100 a barrel and global trade flows have shifted as some nations scramble to secure supply.

The United Arab Emirates on Monday accused Iran of attacking an empty crude oil tanker belonging to the Abu Dhabi state oil firm ADNOC with drones as it attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.ADNOC's maritime energy logistics unit said the Barakah was empty when it was attacked by two drones, and no injuries were reported."The UAE further stressed the need for Iran to halt these unprovoked attacks, ensure its full commitment to an immediate cessation of all hostilities…

The U.S. military said two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers had entered the Gulf to break an Iranian blockade and that two U.S. merchant ships had transited the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran said it had prevented a U.S. warship entering the Gulf.U.S. Central Command said its forces were supporting President Donald Trump's "Project Freedom", which aims to "guide out" commercial ships stranded in the Gulf by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, and were enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports.The intervention appeared to raise the risk of a direct confrontation between the U.S.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Monday it had received a report of an incident involving a cargo vessel about 36 nautical miles north of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.The vessel reported a fire in its engine room, the cause of which was not immediately known, UKMTO said in its advisory note, adding that all crew were safe and accounted for.In a separate incident, UKMTO said it had received another report of an incident 14 nautical miles west of United Arab Emirates' Mina Saqr.A third party informed UKMTO that a "vessel was on fire…

Guyana has asked judges at the International Court of Justice to rule that Venezuela does not have a legitimate claim on the potentially oil-rich region around the Esequibo river, which has been the subject of a dispute between the Latin American neighbours since colonial days."Facing a larger and more powerful neighbour's designs on our territory has not only threatened our peace and security, it has held back our development," Guyana's Foreign Minister Hugh Hilton Todd told judges at the start of week-long hearings at the ICJ…

President Donald Trump's administration has brought U.S.

Ukraine launched a wave of drone attacks on targets across Russia on Sunday, hitting the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk and setting it on fire, and striking a number of vessels, as it steps up attacks on energy infrastructure and other targets.Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the strikes had caused significant damage to the oil terminal port. They also hit an oil tanker, a small Russian Karakurt-class missile ship and a patrol boat in the Baltic Sea, he said on Telegram."Each such result further limits Russia’s war potential…

The Swedish Coast Guard said on Sunday it had seized a tanker in the Baltic Sea believed to be part of Russia's shadow fleet, the latest in a string of similar actions carried out in recent months by the country's authorities.The Swedish Coast Guard said in a statement that it and police had boarded the Syrian-flagged Jin Hui in Swedish territorial waters south of Trelleborg and begun a preliminary investigation into a lack of seaworthiness."The coast guard suspects that the ship is sailing under a false flag…

An Israeli court has extended by two days the detention of two activists arrested aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near Greece, their lawyer said on Sunday.Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were detained by Israeli authorities late on Wednesday and brought to Israel, while more than 100 other pro-Palestinian activists aboard the boats were taken to the Greek island of Crete.A court spokesperson…

Three people have died and one case of hantavirus has been confirmed among passengers on a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, the World Health Organization said on Sunday.Six individuals were affected in the incident, of whom three have died and one is in intensive care in South Africa, it said in a post on X.The WHO did not name the vessel or its operator, although a source familiar with the situation said it was the MV Hondius, travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde."WHO…

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States would begin an effort to free up ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday morning.Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site, gave few details about the operation, including whether the U.S. Navy would be involved. He described the effort as a "humanitarian gesture" meant only to aid neutral countries that were not involved in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran."For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States…

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said his country maintains a positive relationship with China despite being caught up in a dispute between the Asian superpower and the U.S., and defended Panama's takeover of port contracts held by Hong Kong's CK Hutchison.He spoke at a regular press conference after receiving what he called a "high-level" message from China's government acknowledging that a dispute over the port contracts will be heard by international arbitration courts, and did not constitute an issue between the Panamanian and Chinese governments.The message…

Any shipper paying tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organizations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, is at risk of punitive sanctions, the U.S. Treasury warned on Friday.The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically vital maritime routes, with about 20% of the world’s seaborne crude oil and liquefied ⁠natural gas flows passing through it.Tehran has proposed fees or tolls on vessels passing through the Strait…

The Metals Co said on Friday U.S. regulators have found its consolidated application for deep seabed mineral exploration and commercial recovery to be fully compliant with federal requirements, marking a key step toward potential approval.The company said it expects the regulatory process, including environmental review, to conclude by the end of first-quarter 2027.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined that the application submitted by its U.S. unit meets all requirements under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act…

Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Black Sea port of Tuapse on Friday for the fourth time in 16 days as authorities struggled to cope with a mounting environmental disaster from toxic black smoke clouds and oil leaking into the sea.Ukraine's SBU security service said drones had again struck the sea port and refinerythat make Tuapse an important hub for Russian oil exports.Reuters could not confirm the latest strike on the refinery, which has been hit and set ablaze at least twice…

Venezuela's oil exports rose 14% to 1.23 million barrels per day in April, the highest in more than seven years, fueled by more sales to the United States, India and Europe, shipping data and documents from state company PDVSA showed on Friday.The South American country has been draining oil inventories and recovering crude output in recent months following the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January, which led to a flagship supply pact between the governments of U.S. President Donald Trump and Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez.The agreement, coupled with U.S.

Commodity trader Mercuria is suing the Baltic Exchange, the world's top provider of benchmark shipping indices, over losses it said were caused by oil tanker pricing data that did not account for the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a court filing showed.The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28, has left hundreds of ships and 20,000 seafarers stranded inside the Gulf and unable to sail through the vital chokepoints with only a few ships willing to make the voyages daily.In a court filing dated April 30 and submitted through England's high court…