Tanker Market: The Switch From Clean to Dirty Tankers Is Intensifying
Tanker Market: The Switch From Clean to Dirty Tankers Is Intensifying
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Hellenic Shipping News
11/05/2026
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significant trend is underway in the tanker market, with a switch from clean to dirty tankers underway. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Gibson said that “clean to dirty switching first gathered pace in the fourth quarter of 2025 with recent geopolitical developments further accelerating dirty ups in recent months. With the outbreak of war paralysing the Middle East Gulf, approximately 2.4mbd of clean products have been removed from the tanker market.
First Qatar LNG Shipment Moves Through Hormuz Since War Started
LNG Tanker at the North Field, which lies north-east off the Qatar peninsula, is the biggest natural gasfield in the world. Image Via Qatargas
First Qatar LNG Shipment Moves Through Hormuz Since War Started
Bloomberg
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May 10, 2026
By Stephen Stapczynski and Weilun Soon (Bloomberg) A
tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from Qatar
appears to have transited the Strait of Hormuz, marking the country’s first export out of the region since the Iran war began.
The Al Kharaitiyat, which loaded at the Ras Laffan export plant earlier this month, exited the strait and is in the Gulf of Oman, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg shows. The vessel lists Pakistan as its next destination, according to the data.
The ship appears to have navigated the Tehran-approved northern route that hugs the Iranian coast through the strait, the data showed.
The effective closure of the waterway has choked off global LNG supplies, sending prices higher and causing shortages across Asia.
EU opens legal recycling route for shadow fleet tankers, sanctions maze constrains impact
EU opens legal recycling route for shadow fleet tankers, sanctions maze constrains impact
in
International Shipping News
11/05/2026
New EU rules will provide a legal channel for recycling shadow fleet tankers, according to industry participants and analysts, even though their actual impact could be limited by the complex international sanctions network.
In its 20th sanctions package against Russia, adopted April 23, Brussels announced an exemption for companies to deal with EU-sanctioned ships if they were to be sent to scrapyards.
“The scrapping clause is a constructive addition,” Dimitris Roumeliotis, a research analyst at Xclusiv Shipbrokers, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy. “Ιt creates a legitimate pathway for vessels to exit the shadow fleet through recycling.”
In recent years, Russia, Iran and Venezuela have partnered with shadow fleet operators to acquire tens of hundreds of aged tankers to maintain their energy sales in circumvention of Western sanctions.
Many shipping p
HD Hyundai Robotics Secures Order for Robotic Welding Solutions from Chouest Group, Establishing a Strategic Foothold for Global Smart Yard Expansion
HD Hyundai Robotics Secures Order for Robotic Welding Solutions from Chouest Group, Establishing a Strategic Foothold for Global Smart Yard Expansion
in
Shipbuilding News
11/05/2026
As a proven case of implementing the advancement and productivity innovation of the shipbuilding industry envisioned by the MASGA initiative, HD Hyundai Robotics, the robot manufacturing and solutions subsidiary of HD Hyundai, has made a full-scale entry into the U.S. shipyard automation market and established a strategic foothold for expanding its global shipbuilding automation business. This breakthrough was driven through HD Hyundai Robotics USA, Inc., the company’s U.S.
Shipping firms are being whipsawed by changing stances and risks as they wait for Hormuz to reopen
Shipping firms are being whipsawed by changing stances and risks as they wait for Hormuz to reopen
in
International Shipping News
11/05/2026
With hundreds of vessels still stuck in the Persian Gulf and costs piling up, shipping companies are being whipsawed by uncertainty over how and when the Strait of Hormuz might reopen more than two months into the Iran war.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced “Project Freedom,” a way for the U.S. to “guide” ships to exit the strait. Two ships made the transit, but by Tuesday Trump abruptly paused the effort to allow time for a deal to end the war.
Meanwhile, the risks for ships and crew haven’t faded.
Force Majeure in the Age of Geopolitical Shock and Energy Security
Force Majeure in the Age of Geopolitical Shock and Energy Security
in
International Shipping News
11/05/2026
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s the Strait of Hormuz enters its eleventh week of effective closure with hundreds of vessels at anchor and roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil trade at a standstill, a recurring question asked by industry leaders globally is: does this trigger force majeure? The answer depends on the precise wording of the force majeure clause and the context in which the contract was concluded. We take a closer look at the position under English law, which governs a large proportion of the world’s shipping and energy contracts.
Ongoing Geopolitical Disruption – A New Normal
The Strait of Hormuz crisis did not arrive in a vacuum. It follows the Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, the rerouting of global trade around the Cape of Good Hope and the cascading effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on energy supply chains.
For shipowners, charterers, commodity traders and energy companie
Trump Says Iran’s Response to U.S. Peace Proposal is Unacceptable
President Donald Trump speaks with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during military operations in Iran, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. The White House/Social Media/Handout via REUTERS
Trump Says Iran’s Response to U.S. Peace Proposal is Unacceptable
Reuters
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May 10, 2026
By Nayera Abdallah (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected Iran’s response to a
U.S.
Second Qatari LNG tanker Heads Through Hormuz to Pakistan as Iran War Continues, Data Shows
A photo taken on December 5, 2025, of Al Kharaitiyat vessel, which data shows it was sailing towards the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, May 9, 2026, after departing Qatar’s Ras Laffan en route to Port Qasim in Pakistan, in this picture obtained from social media. Obtained by Reuters/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. VERIFICATION: – Location not verified – Identity of the vessel confirmed as al kharaitiyat vessel by its structure, color and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) number which matched archive images – Date confirmed by the original files metadata
Second Qatari LNG tanker Heads Through Hormuz to Pakistan as Iran War Continues, Data Shows
Reuters
Total Views: 1
May 11, 2026
By Marwa Rashad
LONDON, May 11 (Reuters) – A second Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker is transiting the Strait of Hormuz days after the first such cargo crossed under an arrangement involving Iran and Pakistan, highlighting how cargoes are crossing the waterway on a case-by-c
US, Iran Far Apart in Talks to End War and Reopen Hormuz
Iranian graphic shows alternative transit corridors near Larak Island, directing vessels away from traditional shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz amid reported mine risks.
US, Iran Far Apart in Talks to End War and Reopen Hormuz
Bloomberg
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May 11, 2026
By Salma El Wardany and Galit Altstein
May 11, 2026 (Bloomberg) –The US and Iran remain far apart on a framework to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with President Donald Trump calling the Islamic Republic’s reply to his proposed peace plan unworkable.
Tehran demanded a lifting of the US naval blockade and sanctions relief, while maintaining a degree of control over traffic through Hormuz, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information.
Iran also insisted that any agreement must result in an immediate end to fighting, including in Lebanon, where Israel is waging a parallel war against militant group Hezbollah, the person said.
“Everything we
NORDEN Warns Hormuz Disruption Is Creating a ‘Two-Tier’ Tanker Market
Oleksandr Kalinichenko / Shutterstock
NORDEN Warns Hormuz Disruption Is Creating a ‘Two-Tier’ Tanker Market
Mike Schuler
Total Views: 1
May 11, 2026
Danish shipping giant D/S NORDEN says the ongoing
Persian Gulf conflict
and disruption to the Strait of Hormuz are having sharply different effects across global shipping markets, hammering dry cargo operations while sending tanker earnings soaring.
In its first-quarter 2026 interim report released Tuesday, NORDEN said the closure and disruption of the
Strait of Hormuz
directly impacted earnings through stranded vessels, surging bunker costs, and rapidly shifting trade patterns.
“Losses in Dry cargo were driven by regional positioning as well as the Persian Gulf conflict, which directly impacted earnings through the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and one-off regional bunker premiums,” the company said.
The company said six dry cargo vessels remain stuck inside the Persian Gulf, contributing to sharply higher operational and insurance cost