attacksonthetankerfleet

The U.S. Armed Forces resumed strikes on targets in Iran on the evening of Wednesday, June 10. "These strikes are in response to Iran's unjustified and ongoing aggression," stated the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in a post on social media X.
According to command, the operation kicked off at 5:15 PM Eastern Time (11:15 PM in Berlin). Just prior to that, new attacks on Iran were announced by the White House chief, Donald Trump. Following Trump's statements, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegset also threatened Tehran with new strikes, noting that the aim of the announced attacks is not to reignite war, but to create conditions for a deal, as reported by dpa.

The U.S. military, which monitors compliance with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, struck a ship flying the Gambian flag that was en route to one of Iran's ports in the Gulf of Oman. This was reported on Sunday, May 30, by the Central Command of the Armed Forces (CENTCOM).
It's reported that the vessel Lian Star was cruising through international waters heading towards one of Iran's ports. The U.S. military "issued over 20 warnings," informing the crew "about breaching the American blockade." "An American aircraft disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the engine room after the crew of Lian Star failed to comply with the demands. The vessel is no longer heading towards Iran," stated CENTCOM.

Drones hit three tankers off the northern coast of Turkey, reported Reuters on Thursday, May 28, citing the shipping company Tribeca. According to the agency, the tanker James II, flying the Palauan flag, was attacked 80 km north of the Turkel area in the Black Sea. The tankers Altura and Velora, flying the Sierra Leone flag, also came under fire. It was specified that they were attacked during a ship-to-ship cargo transfer.

The Iranian armed forces opened warning fire late Thursday evening, May 28, on four commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, local news agency Mehr reported, with the message being relayed by Al Jazeera. It states that these vessels "were attempting to pass through the strait without coordination."

Iraq and the UAE are ramping up plans to expand pipelines, aiming to replace the capacity lost due to the closure of the Hormuz Strait, as new data reveals their heavy dependence on the Persian Gulf. This is reported by CNBC.
Last week, the Iraqi cabinet approved plans to accelerate oil exports through the Kurdistan-Turkey pipeline network, which will more than triple existing supplies, from 220,000 barrels per day to 770,000. This route leads to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan and is set to support the oil-dependent Iraqi economy, which accounted for 53% of the country's real GDP in 2025, according to the World Bank.

In Russia, amidst the ongoing war against Ukraine, tensions are escalating in the fuel market. The pressure is coming from multiple fronts: regular strikes by Ukrainian drones on oil infrastructure are cutting refining capacities, while instability in the Middle East and risks around the Hormuz Strait are impacting global prices. Meanwhile, the summer holiday season is approaching—a time when fuel demand typically spikes, further pushing prices up, experts note.

Saudi Arabia gained the special guest country status at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in 2026, which runs from June 3 to 6. What is Riyadh aiming to achieve by warming up to Moscow? What are Russia's interests?
OPEC has lost a key player.
Russia and Saudi Arabia each produce 9-10 million barrels of oil per day. Together, they account for over 20% of the total global output. This gives them significant control over supply - even despite Western sanctions and price caps on Russian oil imposed after the onset of the full-scale war in Ukraine, as well as disruptions caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian regime has recently been accused of extortion and creating a threat to global energy security. The basis for such claims is that Tehran, according to reports, has started charging up to $2 million from each vessel for "safe passage" through the Strait of Hormuz.

French Navy has once again intercepted an oil tanker in the Atlantic, which was en route from Russia. The vessel Tagor was halted on Sunday morning in international waters with the support of the UK and other partners, reported French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, June 1, on platform X. He attached short video clips of the operation to the post.

Japan, one of the largest Asian importers of energy resources from the Middle East, has announced the imminent arrival of the first batch of oil from the Persian Gulf, having passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the onset of the war in Iran. This is reported by Bloomberg.
The supertanker Idemitsu Maru, which navigated the strait at the end of April, is expected to dock as early as Monday, according to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. In a briefing document released by the agency on Friday, it is specified that the vessel, carrying 2 million barrels of Saudi oil, is heading to the Idemitsu Kosan Co. refinery in Aichi Prefecture.

Iran has launched a Bitcoin-based insurance service for shipping companies passing through the Strait of Hormuz, reported on Monday by the semi-official Fars news agency, citing documents from the country's Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The service, called Hormuz Safe, could generate over $10 billion in revenue for Iran, according to Fars, although no timelines or operational details were provided.

Oil prices continued to pump up during the Asian trading session on Thursday, with no signs of new talks between the US and Iran, while shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz remains minimal after the attacks on vessels this week.
Oil showed some wild swings earlier in the week before closing bullish on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran. However, this was accompanied by the exit of Washington and Tehran from potential peace talks in Pakistan.

Mid-cap stocks of the crude oil tanker operator Frontline could pump up about 15% in the short term, according to Freedom Broker. Investors are underestimating how quickly the crude oil shipping market is tightening amid geopolitical tensions, analysts explain.

US President Donald Trump considers the war with Iran finished, as he informed Congress on Friday, May 1st, according to the Associated Press (AP). This day marked the deadline for Congress to approve the continuation of military conflict with Iran. "Military actions that began on February 28, 2026, are halted," Trump stated in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Acting Senate President Chuck Grassley.

In Iran, oil production has been cut due to the tightening of the US naval blockade on ports along the Strait of Hormuz, reported Bloomberg on Saturday, May 2, citing a high-ranking Iranian official and other sources. According to them, in recent weeks, oil exports from Iran have plummeted, and oil storage facilities are filling up rapidly.

Iran has established a new mechanism for managing vessel transit through the Hormuz Strait, reports Iranian TV channel Press TV on Tuesday.
The Iranian government has warned the US Navy to vacate the waters of the Hormuz Strait and announced that commercial vessels will need to coordinate any passage through this waterway with Iranian military forces.

The United States is ramping up its campaign to dismantle Iran's main financial artery, targeting private Chinese 'teapot' refineries.
According to the Wall Street Journal, independent oil refineries have become a critical tool for Beijing to circumvent international sanctions, funnelling tens of billions of dollars annually into Tehran.

An India-linked supertanker is currently attempting a risky passage through the Strait of Hormuz, signaling critically important efforts from New Delhi to mitigate the worsening internal energy deficit.
As first reported by Bloomberg, the Sarv Shakti vessel flying the Marshall Islands flag, carrying 45,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG), was spotted on Saturday making its way through the waterway towards the Gulf of Oman.

Ukrainian forces hit two tankers of Russia's "shadow fleet" near the port of Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar region, President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media on Sunday, May 3. He attached a video to the post, apparently taken from a maritime drone approaching the vessel. "These tankers were actively used for oil transportation - that's now a thing of the past," emphasized Zelensky.

Despite the drone attacks, Russia managed to maintain April's oil shipment volumes in key western ports at March levels. According to sources from Reuters, this figure may even rise in May.
At the end of March and the beginning of April, drone strikes caused temporary disruptions: shipments from Ust-Luga were halted from March 25 to April 7, and the port of Novorossiysk stopped operations for 4 days. Nevertheless, the total volume of oil exports and transit (Urals, Siberian Light, and KEBCO) from these ports and Primorsk in April was around 2.2 million barrels per day, fully in line with March's figures.