How viable is Syria as a trade route to bypass blocked Hormuz strait?
How viable is Syria as a trade route to bypass blocked Hormuz strait?
in
International Shipping News
29/04/2026
As disruption in the Strait of Hormuz pushes governments and businesses to seek alternative routes, Syria is re-emerging as a potential trade corridor, linking Iraq to the Mediterranean and the Gulf to Europe.
Syria’s interim president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, said earlier this month that the country’s geography makes it a “safe corridor” and an “alternative route” for energy supplies and supply chains, particularly between the Gulf and Turkiye.
That role is already beginning to take shape. Under a joint agreement between Syria and Iraq, Iraqi oil exports have started moving through Syrian ports, Al-Sharaa said.
His remarks come as the regional conflict has upended longstanding energy and commercial trade routes.
When the US and Israel began joint strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran retaliated by attacking Israel and the Arab states and effectively blockading the Strait of Hormuz, a
UN shipping chief hopes for consensus over Net-Zero Framework despite divisions
UN shipping chief hopes for consensus over Net-Zero Framework despite divisions
in
International Shipping News
29/04/2026
International Maritime Organization member states could still reach a consensus on the Net-Zero Framework without a vote despite currently divided views, the UN agency’s secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez, said April 27 after what he described as “momentum” during recent technical meetings.
The framework, designed to place a cost on life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from marine energy from 2028, was first hammered through in a vote in April 2025 before its opponents successfully prevented its adoption last October by winning a separate vote to delay the negotiation by a year.
The UN agency is holding the 84th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee April 27-May 1, during which member states will have further talks over the framework as a growing number of countries are seeking to revise the previously approved text.
“The fact that they’re actually
U.S. Forces Search and Release Containership Suspected of Violating Blockade on Iran
forces board the M/V Blue Star III suspected of breaching the U.S. maritime blockade on Iran, April 28, 2026. Forces Search and Release Containership Suspected of Violating Blockade on Iran
Mike Schuler
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April 28, 2026
U.S.
Hanwha Ocean beats Q1 forecasts on LNG-led profits
Hanwha Ocean beats Q1 forecasts on LNG-led profits
in
Shipbuilding News
29/04/2026
Hanwha Ocean posted a first-quarter earnings surprise, driven by a high-margin shipbuilding portfolio centered on liquefied natural gas carriers, as demand for alternative fuels strengthened amid Middle East-driven energy volatility.
According to the company’s earnings call Monday, operating profit for the January-March period rose 70.6 percent on-year to 441.1 billion won ($300 million), while revenue edged up 2.1 percent to 3.21 trillion won.
The “Lebretha,” the 200th LNG carrier constructed by Hanwha Ocean for SK Shipping (Hanwha Ocean) The “Lebretha,” the 200th LNG carrier constructed by Hanwha Ocean for SK Shipping (Hanwha Ocean)
Hanwha Ocean posted a first-quarter earnings surprise, driven by a high-margin shipbuilding portfolio centered on liquefied natural gas carriers, as demand for alternative fuels strengthened amid Middle East-driven energy volatility.
According to the company’s earnings call
Strait of Hormuz traffic still at just 5% of pre-war levels: Why shipping remains crippled despite ceasefire
Strait of Hormuz traffic still at just 5% of pre-war levels: Why shipping remains crippled despite ceasefire
in
International Shipping News
29/04/2026
Nearly three weeks after a ceasefire between Iran and the United States, maritime activity through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted, with traffic still nowhere close to pre-conflict levels. The slowdown highlights the continued instability in one of the world’s most critical energy corridors despite a pause in direct hostilities.
Before the conflict began in March, between 130 and 140 vessels crossed the strait every 24 hours. That volume has dropped sharply, and recovery has been slow and uneven.
Ship movement remains extremely limited
Data from MarineTraffic shows that a significant number of vessels remain stuck across the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
MEPC 84: Russia seeks changes to IMO database rules
MEPC 84: Russia seeks changes to IMO database rules
in
International Shipping News
29/04/2026
Russia tabled a last-minute proposal on the opening day of MEPC 84, seeking changes to Paragraph 12 of Regulation 27 under MARPOL Annex VI.
Regulation 27 requires ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above to collect and report fuel oil consumption data to the IMO Ship Fuel Oil Consumption Database.
Paragraph 12 of this regulation states that “The Secretary-General of the Organization shall maintain an anonymized database such that identification of a specific ship will not be possible. Parties shall have access to the anonymized data strictly for their analysis and consideration.”
Russia proposed either deleting the paragraph entirely or amending it so that anonymised data could only be shared with other states with “the consent of the relevant flag state.”
The proposal was backed by several petrostates, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran and Iraq, as well as India, Thailand, Nigeria and Ghana
Atlantic demand could support VLCC rates despite oversupply worries: CMES
Atlantic demand could support VLCC rates despite oversupply worries: CMES
in
International Shipping News
29/04/2026
Rising demand from the Atlantic Basin may support VLCC freight rates despite growing concerns about a structural oversupply in the tanker market amid trade disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz, China Merchants Energy Shipping said April 27.
CMES’s Secretary of the Board of Directors, Kong Kang, said during an investor question-and-answer session that recent fears of “no oil to move” are overstated as rates on some long-haul routes begin to stabilize.
“We have seen views saying there is ‘no oil to transport,’ and spot freight outside the Gulf has corrected,” said Kong. “Personally, I believe this is mainly a short-term mismatch between vessel/cargo, and not something to worry excessively about. Recently, there have been signs that this effect is weakening, such as Atlantic long-haul freight stabilizing.”
CMES is one of the world’s largest VLCC owners and is backed by t
Trump Urges Iran to Sign a Deal After Report Suggests US May Extend Blockade
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office, with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio standing behind him, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 23, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
Trump Urges Iran to Sign a Deal After Report Suggests US May Extend Blockade
Reuters
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April 29, 2026
DUBAI/WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Iran to ‘get smart soon’ and sign a deal, following days of deadlock in efforts to end the conflict and a media report that the U.S.
Aged Oil Tanker Suggests Iran Is Bringing Back Retired Ships
A satellite image shows an oil terminal at Kharg Island, Iran, February 25, 2026. 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS
Aged Oil Tanker Suggests Iran Is Bringing Back Retired Ships
Bloomberg
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April 29, 2026
By Weilun Soon
Apr 29, 2026 (Bloomberg) –A 29-year-old Iranian supertanker has appeared at Kharg Island after years off the radar, a sign that Tehran could be using retired ships to keep loading oil as its storage space runs out.
The
Nasha
, built in 1997, is an Iran-flagged very large crude carrier. It was docked on Sunday at Kharg Island, Iran’s biggest oil-export terminal, according to satellite images reviewed by advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran and Bloomberg News.
Analysts from Vortexa and UANI said the vessel appears to have been re-mobilized after last delivering a cargo two to three years ago.
U.S. Treasury Warns Hormuz ‘Toll’ Payments to Iran Could Trigger Sanctions
The Malta-flagged tanker Agios Fanourios I, an oil tanker that sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, arrives in Iraq’s territorial waters off Basra,Iraq April 17, 2026. Treasury Warns Hormuz ‘Toll’ Payments to Iran Could Trigger Sanctions
Mike Schuler
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April 29, 2026
The U.S. Treasury Department has issued new sanctions
guidance
warning that payments to Iran or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for so-called “safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz are prohibited, adding a new compliance risk to an already fragile maritime security picture.
In Frequently Asked Question 1249 released Monday, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, said payments to the Government of Iran or the IRGC, whether direct or indirect, “would not be authorized” for U.S.