Today's updates........surprise attacks from Saudi Arabia, brave crews still making transits of the Strait of Hormuz and the not so rosy picture of the future for the region
Firstly, the footage from CMA CGM San Antonio answers many questions in relation to why she has not been seen on AIS for 8 days...and why she will never make it to her next port of call, Mundra. I am sure that many here who have been active or are still active with the military side of shipping will have recognised the room that was hit and the level of activity that would normally be happening in there when a ship is underway, it truly was miraculous that no-one in that room was killed. Updates on the three most seriously injured are hard to find, given the damage done, it would be quite possible that they have received life changing injuries. The ship herself is effectively dead in the water. That room is the beating heart of the ship, everything is controlled from that room. I can only hope that those injured will recover and that the rest of her crew will be able to go home, if they are not already at home. It has been confirmed that she was part of the group of ships under the protection of the USN at the time she was hit. Project Freedom was halted soon afterwards.
The Strait of Hormuz is still very active. Around 15 ships have made transit over the past 24 hours, in both directions. The line of Iranian cargo ships from Khasab to Larak / Ramchah has largely been broken. The show of defiance by the ships that have made transit is simply incredible.
This taken a few minutes ago...
The anchorages of Mina Saqr, Ras al Khaimah, Umm al Quwain, Sharjah and Dubai are still busy. The ships are not all using their AIS but there have been no overnight huddles.
The anchorages of Dibba, Khor Fakkan, Fujairah, Al Widayyat and Sohar have thinned out, the ports receiving a steady flow of ships before they depart for their various destinations.
There have been no reports via UKMTO of any attacks or suspicious sightings across the region, including Bab-el-Mandab, which is flowing freely.
There was a surprise attack against Iran in late March by Saudi Arabia. It was not reported at the time and only came to light in the last 24 hours. The attacks, along with those from the UAE, were in response to Iranian hostilities. No targets within Iran have been identified by either Saudi Arabia or UAE at this time. Saudi Arabia has also confirmed that they were attacked from Iraq in April, again no details other than the Iraqi ambassador was summoned to Riyadh to explain what was going on and no attacks from Iraqi soil have happened since.
The overland transfer of oil, gas, oil products and other cargoes is continuing via pipeline, road and rail. There are some problems being experienced in that the number of suitable rail rolling stock and trucks is not ideal but they are continuing to do the best that they can to gets supplies to the Red Sea ports, Mediteranean ports and Gulf of Oman ports.
Across the various subscribed maritime news services there is a sense of a not so bright future in relation to the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Several of the CEO's of the main shipping industry players have all stated that they do not anticipate any form of normality to return for at least 9 to 12 months and even then, it will be a very slow recovery towards pre-war levels. AP Moller / Maersk, Evergreen, Torm and many other companies are all very subdued about the future of the region. They all have vessels currently stuck in the Persian Gulf. One operator, Torm, has become very disillusioned by a practice that is affecting their company directly. They recently sold their older tankers, laid out as part of the contract of sale that the ships must not be used for Iranian or Russian shadow fleet. At least 4 of those VLCC's have entered Iran's shadow fleet and are being used to take oil out of the region. Unfortunately there are many shipping operators who have a very disillusioned outlook for the region and some have even come out strongly against the actions of Israel and the US in destabilising the region.
Pakistan and Iraq have been reportedly working with Iran to get Iranian oil and LNG out of the country. Essentially ships carrying oil, oil products, LNG and LPG are being given safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz through arrangements made tween the three countries. Iran is said to be less blocking the Strait and more controlling what passes through the Strait....on their terms. Other countries have also made deals with Iran, which maybe why there has been an increase in transits in the last 48 hours or so. The terms of transit have not been made public but all countries have strenuously stated that no tolls or fees of any kind have been paid. The US and Israel are not party to any of these deals or arrangements. Even with the various deals and arrangements in place, safe passage is still not guaranteed for those ships that run the through the Strait of Hormuz since those deals and arrangements could collapse at any time should hostilities restart.
I shall keep an eye on this and update again tomorrow.