Philippine News

March 12 ------ Instead of normal traffic patterns, ship positions are appearing in unusual clusters across the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters.   These clusters form near-perfect circles of vessel icons on maritime tracking maps, with each icon representing a real ship. However, such formations do not reflect normal maritime movement and in some cases, vessels even appear to be located over land. The irregular patterns indicate widespread disruption to GPS signals, c

March 12 ------ On Wednesday, IEA members approved a record-setting coordinated release of 400 million barrels from global reserves, helping to keep an expected increase in Brent crude prices to just five percent. Brent closed at $92 per barrel, well under the $100 benchmark and far short of the $120-per-barrel levels it approached briefly on Monday.   The continued increase in pricing reflects market expectations that the Strait of Hormuz will remained closed, pending major

March 12 ------ Three vessels have been hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime security agencies and sources said on Wednesday, as one of the strikes led to a fire onboard a ship and forced most of its crew to evacuate it.   The Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was targeted and damaged approximately 11 nautical miles north of Oman, two maritime security sources said. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said later, referring to

March 12 ------ Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) reports that one of its ultra-large container vessels has suffered a significant container incident in the Northern Pacific as it was traveling toward the United States. The OOCL Sunflower, which has a capacity of 16,828 TEU, lost 57 containers overboard with additional damage on the vessel, but the full extent of the incident will not be known until a survey can be completed once the vessel reaches port.   One of the comp

March 11 ------ According to AXSMarine, 1,061 merchant vessels remain west of the Strait of Hormuz with only seven vessels transiting the waterway from west to east over the weekend, highlighting the continued standstill in commercial traffic. The vessels that passed included five dry bulk carriers (one Handymax, three Supramax, and one Panamax) and two tankers, an oil/chemical tanker and a small asphalt or bitumen tanker. Both tankers are suspected to be associated with the

March 11 ------ The U.S. intelligence community believes that Iran has begun to set in motion a long-expected plan to mine the Strait of Hormuz, CBS reports. Minefields would effectively render the waterway off-limits for commercial shipping for days or weeks. According to CNN, Iran is laying an initial tranche of just a few dozen mines out of its vast inventory. About 90 percent of its minelayers are believed to have survived initial U.S.-Israeli strikes, officials told the

March 11 ------ The U.S. Navy has so far declined to provide Strait of Hormuz escorts for shipping, despite daily requests, multiple sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The reports contradict an earlier statement from Energy Secretary Chris Wright - since withdrawn - that a Navy vessel had escorted one tanker through the waterway. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims that no U.S. Navy warships have "dared" to come near the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning o

March 11 ------ The International Maritime Organization’s Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE) convenes for its twelfth session at IMO Headquarters in London from 9 to 13 March. The Sub-Committee on Ship Systems and Equipment (SSE) deals with a wide range of technical and operational matters related to systems and equipment on all types of ships, vessels, craft and mobile units covered by IMO instruments. This includes life-saving equipment, appliances and arrang

March 10 ------ The first week of the US-Israel military campaign against Iran has ended, but the coming weeks remain highly uncertain, according to Gibson’s latest tanker market report. The conflict has already sparked a global energy shipping crisis of epic proportions, sending shockwaves through oil markets, tanker freight and petrochemical supply chains. The most critical issue is the inability for ships to safely transit the Straits of Hormuz, and until this issue is res

March 10 ------ As Brent prices briefly surged past $100 per barrel on Monday, President Donald Trump urged foreign-flag tanker crews to accept the risks of a Hormuz transit and resume oil deliveries for Asian consumers. Iran has threatened to set any passing tankers "on fire" in retaliation for U.S. strikes, and Iranian attacks have killed at least seven seafarers to date, according to the IMO. "These [merchant] ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts

March 10 ------ The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has expressed deep concern over the wellbeing and safety of seafarers operating in the Strait of Hormuz, as escalating tensions and ongoing disruptions in the region continue to affect maritime activity. According to the organization, approximately 20,000 seafarers are currently impacted, alongside cruise ship passengers, port workers, and offshore crews. While the disruption to global trade through one of the worl

March 10 ------ Amidst a more complex and uncertain operating environment, Singapore’s MPA is charting the long-term direction for Maritime Singapore. This includes developing strategies to seize growth opportunities and strengthen Singapore’s position as a key node in global trade, while continuing to drive innovation, accelerate technology adoption, and develop a future-ready workforce. MPA is developing the Maritime Singapore Master Plan, an industry-wide blueprint to guid

March 9 ------ Seafarers must not be targets, says Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident six nautical miles north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz. Media reports indicate the deaths occurred onboard a tug assisting the container ship Safeen Prestige. Dominguez said: “I am alarmed and deeply saddened to hear of a deadly attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on 6 March 2026

March 9 ------ The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) have designated the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf as a Warlike Operations Area (WOA) following a review on 5 March by the IBF Warlike Operations Area Committee (WOAC). The designation upgrades the High Risk Area status applied to the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf on 2 March, reflecting the continuing and heightened threat to seafarers

March 9 ------ The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted oil and natural gas exports from the Middle East and forced production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq, with Kuwait announcing cuts over the weekend. Analysts predict that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will also have to cut output soon as they run out of oil storage. Below are the main energy disruptions so far: PRODUCTION SHUTDOWNS Iraqi output collapses: the country's oil production from its main southern oi

March 9 ------ The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have struck an oil tanker for failing to abide by Iran's "closure" of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran declared the strait to be shut more than a week ago, and has repeatedly attacked vessels that attempt to operate it, including one boxship and one rescue tug. Eight seafarers aboard the tug may have lost their lives, though the outcome of the attack has not been confirmed. Industry sources confirm that a small

March 8 ------ Much attention has been paid to the effects of the Strait of Hormuz shutdown on the oil and LNG markets, but there are half a dozen other commodities that will be affected in the weeks to come if a security solution isn't reached soon. The GCC states produce half of the world's traded sulfur, a large share of its phosphate, and much of its nitrogen fertilizers - all needed for industrial agriculture. They also supply methanol, ethane, propane, naphtha and other

March 8 ------ European powers said they would work together to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and send naval and other assets to protect Cyprus as the expanding U.S.–Iran war entered its sixth day. The conflict - which has widened beyond Gulf states to the Mediterranean, where a drone strike hit a British air base on Cypruson Monday, and as far afield as Asia - has convulsed global markets and sent oil and gas prices soaring. Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands will

March 7 ------ The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, has warned that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz region are currently unsafe for vessels and the thousands of seafarers who operate there. The conflict in Iran has escalated into a major regional crisis following coordinated military strikes by the United States and Israel at the end of February 2026, which killed Iran’s supreme leader, prompting fierce retaliation from Tehra

March 7 ------ The shipping disruption from conflict in the Gulf region is only just getting started, according to new data from Clarksons and forecasts from multiple shipping analysts. Between suspended port calls, canceled freight bookings, bottled-up tonnage inside the Gulf, and long route diversions, the conflict will have substantial secondary effects on shipping interests around the world. The most obvious factor is the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz to all but the m