A RECENT show of force by European states detaining stateless shadow fleet* vessels appears to be pushing more operators to secure new registrations before entering EU waters, wrote editor-in-chief Richard Meade and senior reporter Joshua Minchin.

Lloyd’s List has tracked at least six sanctioned ships previously sailing under fraudulent flag registers or with no flag at all that paused outside EU waters before signalling a change of registration.

EU sanctions officials have welcomed the shift as evidence that a strengthened strategy targeting stateless vessels is working. However, many ships are simply exchanging fraudulent registrations for legal but poorly performing flags with some of the worst safety records.

Red Sea return gathers pace as Maersk restores another Suez service

Maersk has expanded its return to the Red Sea by restoring its Middle East-Indian Subcontinent-US East Coast service to the Suez Canal route, providing further evidence that major container carriers are cautiously testing conditions for a broader comeback after nearly three years of disruption, reported deputy editor Linton Nightingale, markets editor Rob Willmington and senior risk and compliance analyst Bridget Diakun.

The latest move comes just days after Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd confirmed that their Gemini Cooperation-operated AE15 Asia-Europe service would also return to the trans-Suez route, with the 18,000 teu Majestic Maersk (IMO: 9619919) poised to undertake the first voyage.

Maersk said the structural change to its standalone MECL service would cut westbound voyages by an average of seven days and eastbound sailings by around 14 days. The service will also add an eastbound call at Jeddah.

As US-Iran peace deal teeters, Wall Street sinks and tanker shares rise

The Hormuz crisis has been a rollercoaster for shipping stocks in the most directly affected segments: crude tankers, product tankers and gas carriers, wrote senior maritime reporter Greg Miller.

The past month has been particularly turbulent, with the signing of the US-Iran peace memorandum followed by a jump in Strait of Hormuz transits, interspersed with sporadic attacks from both sides.

Peace prospects appeared particularly shaky on Wednesday. The US announced more strikes on Iran after market close.

“Two steps forward and one step back,” said Fearnleys. “You could have been fooled to think we were back to normal in the past few days… but the exchange of fire underlines how fragile the situation is.”

Panama flag exodus accelerates as Washington threatens probe into Beijing’s crackdowns

The geopolitical storm engulfing the Panama ship registry risks worsening, as vessels flee the flag at a record pace while Washington threatens to investigate Beijing’s detention campaign, raising the risk of wider trade tensions and disruption to global shipping, reported Peter Guo, APAC editor Cichen Shen and senior risk and compliance analyst Bridget Diakun.

The US Federal Maritime Commission chairperson Laura DiBella said on July 7 that she remained concerned about China’s “weaponisation of port state control inspections” against Panama-flagged ships, warning that the agency could launch a probe that may lead to remedial measures against Chinese-controlled carriers in US trades. 

“Panama-flagged ships carry a meaningful share of US trade, and unwarranted, retaliatory vessel detentions could result in significant commercial and strategic consequences to US shipping,” DiBella said. “The world cannot simply normalise these ongoing detentions — this would create a highly negative precedent for the global supply chain.” 

Fresh tanker attacks sharpen crude importers’ Red Sea vs Hormuz dilemma

Just as two vessels were attacked near Oman in a suspected strike by Iran, the extreme instability gripping the Strait of Hormuz looks set to keep the Red Sea a key alternative of choice for tankers — even after a recent resurgence in piracy there, wrote senior risk and compliance analyst Bridget Diakun and senior reporter Matthew Rajendra.

Industry players told Lloyd’s List that, for all its risks, the Red Sea remains the “lesser evil”: the firepower of pirates pales in comparison with that of a sovereign nation’s military.

Central to that dynamic is Saudi Arabia, which was quick to raise flows through its East-West Pipeline when the Hormuz crisis first broke, sending loadings at the Red Sea port of Yanbu soaring to record highs.