Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz came to a near standstill after US strikes on Iran, with president Donald Trump declaring the ceasefire between the two countries “over.” The escalation followed attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the strait on July 6 and 7.
Ukraine has sharply escalated its campaign against Russian shipping and oil infrastructure over the past week, striking dozens of shadow fleet tankers in the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov while long-range drones knocked out another major refinery, deepening a fuel crisis now affecting nearly every Russian region.
Taiwanese prosecutors raided the premises of Evergreen Marine as part of an insider trading investigation linked to one of the world’s largest containerlines. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office said investigators searched Evergreen Marine’s offices, the homes of nine suspects and 10 other locations on Monday. Nine people were summoned for questioning, including a person surnamed Chang, on suspicion of trading shares during a prohibited trading period.
The proposed sale of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services to Hapag-Lloyd and Israeli private equity firm FIMI is facing its most serious political challenge yet after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz came out against the deal.
The Panama Canal is preparing to tighten draught limits for neopanamax vessels againin another sign that water risk is returning to one of shipping’s most important chokepoints. The Panama Canal Authority will reduce the maximum authorised draught at its neopanamax locks to 14.94 m, or 49 ft, in tropical fresh water from July 24. A further reduction to 14.78 m, or 48.5 ft, will follow on August 15.
Sister title SplashTech has carried a lot of interesting, exclusive reports this week on AI and shipping. The Splash Wrap podcast, carried below, gives listeners the key takeaways from this reporting.
