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Geopolitics and shipping: sanctions, conflicts, chokepoints and trade policy affecting merchant vessels and global sea routes.
Houthi forces struck the Saudi tanker Amzan off Yanbu on August 24, the latest strike since the group declared a naval blockade on Saudi shipping in July.
War risk insurance for southern Red Sea voyages jumped to over 1% of ship value after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in July 2026.
Two supertankers and an LNG carrier exited the Strait of Hormuz with AIS switched off before heading to India and China, a tracking gap tied to the growing shadow fleet.
The global dark fleet has swelled past 1,300 tankers as Washington blockades Venezuela’s sanctioned oil trade and seizes the tanker Marinera.
A new Ningbo-to-Felixstowe Arctic container service cuts weeks off the Suez route while entirely bypassing the Red Sea and Strait of Malacca.
A Saudi Arabia-flagged very large crude carrier was hit by what Houthi forces described as a ballistic missile strike, the latest escalation in Red Sea shipping attacks.
Iran has blacklisted 45 vessels trading through the Strait of Hormuz, threatening fines, detention, and cargo confiscation — even as Oman-Iran talks on a joint shipping corridor progress.
With freight rates rising and Cape of Good Hope diversions straining capacity, some ocean carriers are reportedly betting they can safely return to Red Sea routes.
