The Week in Charts: Europe’s shadow fleet crackdown collides with legal reality and Russian retaliation threats | Yanbu tanker calls fall
- Detained tankers Smyrtos and Eventin have exposed the legal hurdles Europe faces in turning shadow fleet interdictions into permanent seizures
- Yanbu tanker calls have dropped by more than a third since the Houthi blockade was announced on July 20, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data
- South Korean shipowner Sinokor has taken delivery of 72 VLCCs since launching its secondhand acquisition programme last December
Lloyd’s List’s weekly showing of the data and figures behind our news, analysis and markets coverage
EUROPE’s campaign against Russia’s shadow fleet* is entering a more confrontational phase, but a growing number of tanker detentions have exposed a fundamental dilemma: governments are proving far more willing to stop vessels than to decide what happens after they have been stopped, reported Editor-in-Chief Richard Meade.
Three months after Royal Marines boarded the stateless tanker Smyrtos (IMO: 9389100) in what was hailed as a landmark operation against Russia’s sanctions-busting fleet, the vessel remains detained off the Dorset coast with no clear resolution in sight.
The UK Department for Transport has confirmed only that the tanker remains under detention while investigations continue. Behind the scenes, however, officials face a problem increasingly confronting European authorities: interception is relatively straightforward, but prolonged detention, confiscation or disposal of vessels and cargoes remains legally and politically fraught.
Yanbu tanker calls fall as Saudi scrambles to keep crude flowing
Large-tanker traffic at Saudi Arabia’s key Red Sea export terminal Yanbu has fallen substantially since the Houthis announced a maritime blockade on July 20, forcing the kingdom to reroute crude through Egypt’s Sumed pipeline in a complex workaround that has yet to fully restore export capacity, reported APAC editor Cichen Shen and maritime intelligence and research director Bridget Diakun.
The threat is particularly significant because Yanbu has become an important alternative outlet for Saudi crude following disruption to the Strait of Hormuz since the end of February.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows that from March through to July 19, Yanbu averaged about 14 very large crude carrier and suezmax calls a week, of which more than 85% were VLCCs.
Sinokor buying spree nears 80 VLCCs valued at over $6bn as Hormuz crisis drives up values
South Korean shipowner Sinokor has now taken delivery of 72 very large crude carriers, but its unprecedented tanker acquisition programme may still have further to run, reported markets editor Rob Willmington.
The buying spree began in December 2025 and at least five additional VLCCs previously reported sold to Sinokor have yet to be delivered. If those transactions are completed, the company’s total acquisitions could approach 80 vessels.
The latest delivery was the 2006-built Lila Jamnagar, a 299,000 dwt VLCC acquired from Anil Sharma’s shipowning arm Lila Global. Lila Global had itself only purchased the vessel from Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Shipping stocks at decade highs amid geopolitical chaos and strong demand
Stock traders often brag about fresh 52-week highs. That’s nothing compared to what’s going on in shipping equities. Shipping stocks surged far beyond this threshold on Wednesday, August 19, reported senior maritime reporter Greg Miller.
The stock of Danaos Corporation was at its highest point since 2008, before the global financial crisis. Frontline and Teekay Tankers hit their highest point in 15 years.
BW LPG traded at the highest price since it went public in 2013. Safe Bulkers hasn’t been at this level since 2014, Navios Partners since 2016, International Seaways since it went public a decade ago, Höegh Autoliners since it listed in 2021.
Syria’s ports surge back to life as sanctions ease and regional trade shifts
Syrian ports are experiencing an unprecedented recovery as the country emerges from more than a decade of conflict, drawing increasing volumes of oil, grain and container traffic, while attracting investment from some of the shipping industry’s biggest operators, reported senior reporter Ece Göksedef.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows 376 vessel calls at Syrian ports in the second quarter of 2026, up 101% year on year. Deadweight tonnage surged 172%, while first-quarter calls rose 221% compared with the same period in 2025. July alone recorded 146 port calls and more than 3.8m dwt, the highest monthly figure since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
The rebound reflects a convergence of factors: the gradual lifting of Western sanctions, major port infrastructure upgrades, the reopening of regional trade links and shifting energy flows triggered by the conflict in the Middle East Gulf.
