Wall Street Journal News

Iran can withstand a complete halt in oil exports of up to two months before being forced to curb production, analysts said, after the U.S. began blocking shipping in and out of the country's ports on April 13.The blockade could prevent roughly 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude from reaching its main buyer China.Any Iranian production shutdowns would add to more than 12 million bpd of supply already disrupted by the regional war, tightening markets further and lifting oil prices.With its exports blocked, Iran faces having to divert crude into onshore storage tanks.

More than 20 commercial ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing U.S. officials.Reuters could not immediately verify the report.Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. military's Central Command said no ships have made it past a U.S. naval blockade of Iran's ports and coastal areas, and six merchant ships have followed orders to turn back.U.S. President Donald Trump announced the blockade on Sunday after weekend peace talks in Islamabad between the U.S.

Oil prices surged on Monday as the U.S. moved to impose a blockade on Iranian shipping after the collapse of weekend peace talks, while the dollar rose and stocks and bonds fell.The U.S. move, aimed at putting pressure on Tehran, leaves a fragile ceasefire hanging in the balance and no end in sight to the choke on Middle East energy exports - though the mood on trading floors leaned toward hoping for a resolution.Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 7% at $102 a barrel - a gain of more than 40% since the war shut navigation of the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices were little changed in choppy trade on Monday, as investors awaited clarity on the status of talks between the U.S. and Iran even as they remained wary about sustained supply losses due to shipping disruptions.Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 76 cents, or 0.7%, to $109.79 a barrel at 0656 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 futures were trading 53 cents, or 0.5% lower, at $111.01 per barrel.The pricing moves in Asia trading on Monday were dwarfed by an 11% surge for WTI and an 8% rise for Brent during the previous trading session on Thursday…

Tehran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Tuesday, despite a threat by President Donald Trump that the U.S. will obliterate Iran's energy plants if it does not agree to a peace deal and open the Strait of Hormuz.Authorities in Dubai said the fire on the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi had been brought under control following a drone attack, with no oil leak and no injuries to the crew. Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship's owner, said the vessel's hull was damaged.The attack was the latest on merchant vessels in the strait…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the U.S. has been seeking control over the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, which were damaged by mysterious blast in September 2022.Explosions that destroyed the pipelines more than three years ago largely severed Russian gas transit to Europe, squeezing energy supplies on the continent although Russia had already largely stopped deliveries.Russia and Western countries have both said the incident was an act of sabotage.

Iran accused Israel of striking its facilities in the huge South Pars gas field on Wednesday in a major escalation in the U.S.-Israeli war that sent oil prices shooting higher, and retaliated by vowing attacks on oil and gas targets throughout the Gulf, firing missiles at Qatar and Saudi Arabia.Qatar's state oil giant QatarEnergy reported "extensive damage" after the Ras Laffan Industrial City, an energy-industry hub, was hit by Iranian missiles. Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted…

President Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration is talking to seven countries about helping to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, calling on them to help protect ships in the vital waterway that Tehran has mostly blocked to oil tanker traffic.With the conflict creating turmoil across the Middle East and shaking up global energy markets in its third week, Trump insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait."I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory…

A U.S. warship and a Navy supply vessel collided during refueling Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Southern Command told Reuters in an emailed statement on Thursday.The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Truxtun and the Supply-class fast combat support ship USNS Supply collided during a replenishment at sea, said the statement from the Southern Command, whose areas of responsibility include Central and South America and the Caribbean.

French shipping group CMA CGM and U.S. investment firm Stonepeak have agreed to create a joint venture valued at nearly $10 billion to operate and invest in port terminals, including in the United States, the companies said on Wednesday.CMA CGM, the world's third-largest container shipping group, last year announced plans to invest $20 billion in the United States, winning plaudits from President Donald Trump who has made reviving the U.S. shipping sector a policy priority.Under the terminal joint venture…

The Trump administration is advancing plans to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing a White House official, after U.S. President Donald Trump raised the prospect on Monday.Restoring the Department of War name for the government's largest department would likely require congressional action, but the White House is exploring alternative methods to implement the change, the report said.Republican Representative…

A Ukrainian man was arrested at a holiday bungalow in Italy on suspicion of coordinating attacks on three Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, officials said on Thursday, a breakthrough in an episode that sharpened tensions between Russia and the West.Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of sabotage, the explosions largely severed Russian gas supplies to Europe, prompting a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict and squeezing energy supplies on the continent. No one…

Three cabinet-level South Korean officials met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington for trade talks, Seoul said on Wednesday, as top business leaders were also reported to be flying in to help lobby for a deal on U.S. tariffs.South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol joined Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo, who have been in Washington since last week, for two hours of talks with Lutnick, a ministry spokesperson said in Seoul.The finance ministry spokesperson did not offer details of the discussions. U.S.

China is threatening to block the sale of more than 40 ports, owned by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, to BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) if Chinese shipping company Cosco does not get a stake, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.Reuters could not immediately verify the WSJ report.CK Hutchison, MSC, BlackRock and Cosco did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for a comment, while the Chinese government could not be immediately reached outside office hours.Chinese officials have told BlackRock…

Two senior officials at the White House National Security Council have left their roles in recent days, according to two sources familiar with the moves, the latest departures for a body that has been cut sharply in recent months.Ian Bennitt, the senior director for maritime and industrial capacity, and Brian McCormack, the NSC's chief of staff, both departed last week, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel moves.Bennitt is expected to leave for the private sector…

Germany is considering changing its foreign trade law to prevent the company running the Nord Stream 2 pipelines from being taken over, a document showed on Friday, as part of Berlin's efforts to prevent any resumption of Russian gas imports.For decades Germany relied on cheap Russian gas, but since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, it has sought alternatives.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he will ensure Nord Stream 2, which the country once backed, would not go into operation…

India's Adani Group on Monday denied "any deliberate engagement" in sanctions evasion or trade involving Iranian-origin liquefied petroleum gas, after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. prosecutors were probing whether Adani entities had imported Iranian LPG into India through their Mundra port.An Adani spokesperson called the report "baseless and mischievous" in a statement, adding: "We are not aware of any investigation by U.S. authorities on this subject."The WSJ said…

U.S.

China's top market regulator said on Sunday it was paying close attention to CK Hutchison's planned sale of most of its port operations to a BlackRock-led consortium and parties to the deal should not try to avoid an antitrust review.The sale by the Hong Kong conglomerate, which contains two ports along the strategically important Panama Canal, has become highly politicised amid intensifying U.S.-Sino trade tensions."No concentration of undertakings shall be implemented without approval…

U.S. President Donald Trump administration plans to use ongoing tariff negotiations to pressure U.S. trading partners to limit their dealings with China, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday citing people with knowledge of the conversations.U.S. officials plan to use negotiations with more than 70 nations to ask them to disallow China to ship goods through their countries and prevent Chinese firms from being located in their territories to avoid U.S. tariffs, the report added.(Reuters - Reporting by Janaki Venugopalan in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Cyber threats to maritime are increasing rapidly, and later this year Marlink will unveil a report which classifies the growing problem. From common phishing schemes to targeted attacks on command and control systems, Cedric Warde, Vice President, Global Sales – Digital, Marlink discusses the threats and the means to help avoid them.REGISTER NOW for a free to attend micro conference on new and emerging USCG Cyber Security Rules - November 13, 2024 in New Orleans - with insights on their impact to vessel owner/operators:Cyber risks continue to expand across industries…

Suggestions that Ukrainian authorities supported by Poland were behind planning and executing the sabotage attack on Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022 are groundless, the Polish president's aide said on Sunday.Germany's former intelligence chief August Hanning told Die Welt this week he believed there were agreements between presidents of Poland and Ukraine to carry out the attack."These are completely groundless insinuations," Mieszko Pawlak, head of the international policy bureau at the office of President Andrzej Duda said when asked about the allegations by Polsat broadcaster…

China's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank earlier this year, a senior U.S. defense official said on Thursday, a potential embarrassment for Beijing as it seeks to expand its military capabilities.China already has the largest navy in the world, with over 370 ships, and it has embarked on production of a new generation of nuclear-armed submarines.A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said China's new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack…