gCaptain

U.S. Central Command says the United States and its regional partners control the Strait of Hormuz, citing more than 40 commercial ships moving through the waterway in the past 24 hours, even as maritime security officials warn that attacks on merchant vessels are increasing and the threat to shipping remains severe.

DUBAI, Oct 15 (Reuters) – The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are about more than Yemen. By targeting infrastructure and disrupting investment events central to Saudi Arabia’s economic ambitions, they aim to pressure Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to both meet Houthi demands in Yemen and persuade US President Donald Trump to ease the US blockade choking Iran’s economy, according to Saudi, Iranian and regional sources.

Five people have been arrested in Norway as part of an international investigation into suspected fraud and bribery involving a company providing port services to NATO warships. The arrests were carried out Wednesday, October 14, alongside coordinated searches in Romania and Germany, according to Eurojust, the European Union’s agency for criminal justice cooperation.

(Bloomberg) — Shipowners are facing an increasingly fragmented fuel market as disruptions triggered by the Middle East conflict raise concerns about the availability and quality of supply. Ships can’t always refuel at familiar ports if they’re forced on longer journeys around Africa and diverted to the Atlantic Basin to avoid escalating hostilities near the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. That’s turned other locations into so-called bunkering hubs and driven up fuel prices.

HOUSTON/LOS ANGELES, Oct 15 (Reuters) – When the oil supertanker Esteem Explorer sails from the United States to Japan in late November, loaded with about 2 million barrels of crude, the journey will cost $81 million. The same journey would have cost $9.1 million last year, on average. The shipping cost translates into $40.50 per barrel, about nine times last year’s rate.

Britain has expanded its sanctions against Russia’s oil industry, targeting two more energy companies, a dozen shadow-fleet tankers and financial networks used to move money around Western restrictions. The measures, announced October 8 as part of a package of 38 sanctions targets, bring more than 90% of Russia’s oil production capacity under UK sanctions, according to the British government. The latest action also targets companies supplying equipment used in Russia’s missile and drone programs.

By Timothy Gardner and Jarrett Renshaw WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) – The Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on so-called shadow fleet vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from countries including Russia, Iran and Venezuela, in an effort to reduce record-high global freight rates, a US official said on Wednesday.

By Weilun Soon and Serene Cheong Oct 15, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Shipowners are facing an increasingly fragmented fuel market as disruptions triggered by the Middle East conflict raise concerns about the availability and quality of supply. Ships can’t always refuel at familiar ports if they’re forced on longer journeys around Africa and diverted to the Atlantic Basin to avoid escalating hostilities near the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

BUCHAREST, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Rescuers were searching for seven missing crew on Thursday from one of two chemical tankers that caught fire overnight just outside Romanian territorial waters in the Black Sea, after Russian drones strayed into national airspace, Romanian officials said. Romanian President Nicusor Dan said the two ships had been struck by drones, but declined to say whether they were Russian.

U.S. forces destroyed an Iranian-affiliated dhow in the Gulf of Oman on October 6 after determining that the vessel was conducting surveillance and helping target American warships, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday. According to CENTCOM, the dhow’s crew was safely removed before the vessel was destroyed. Efforts to repatriate the crew are ongoing. The military did not identify the dhow, disclose how it was destroyed or provide details about the alleged surveillance activities. “On Oct.