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Time of India
10-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Houthis terrorize sailors with fresh attacks on ships in Red Sea
Yemen's Houthi militants sank two commercial ships and killed sailors during three days of attacks in the Red Sea this week — a stark reminder to vessel owners and crews of the risks of traversing the maritime chokepoint. The Eternity C, a commodity carrier, sank Wednesday morning, two days after it came under attack, the European Union's naval force in the area said in a statement. Six crew were rescued while 19 remain 'missing,' it said. Of the 19, there are at least three fatalities, a person with knowledge of the incident said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Another, larger bulk tanker, the Magic Seas, also came under fire and sank. In both cases, the assailants employed rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. A log of distress calls from the Eternity C — described by a naval liaison to merchant shipping — showed the attack persisted for two days, while the assault on the Magic Seas lasted hours. Both had armed guards on board. 'It was extensive and with complete disregard for human life,' said Michael Bodouroglou, chief executive officer of Stem Shipping, owner of the Magic Seas. 'The crew was taking fire indiscriminately. There were rockets that were fired in the accommodation, bullets in the accommodation and the bridge.' Live Events The Houthis started targeting vessels in the Red Sea in late 2023 in protest at the war in Gaza, saying they would fire on ships that had ties to Israel. Before then, more than $2 trillion of global seaborne trade passed by the coast of Yemen every year, most of it en route to and from the Suez Canal on journeys between Europe and Asia. Traffic plunged by about 70% after the militants began their campaign, and has remained low despite a lull in attacks this year. While unnerving for any crews, it's not immediately clear the extent to which the latest attacks will deter other ships from the area. Avoiding the Red Sea route forces vessels to divert around Africa, adding thousands of miles to journeys and driving up freight costs. The Joint Maritime Information Center, which comes under the Combined Maritime Forces in Bahrain, said the owners of the Eternity C and the Magic Seas had other ships that called at Israel, at least one of which was there in early June. While the Houthis have said they're targeting vessels with a link to that country, the parameters of that threat aren't clear. The shipowners did not immediately respond to requests for comment on JMIC's research on their fleets' prior port calls. Ruthless Assault The crew of the Magic Seas was rescued by a passing ship before the Houthis blew up the vessel and sank it. The account from Stem Shipping's Bodouroglou — relayed to him by the crew — and details from JMIC paint a picture of what appears to be an increasingly ruthless Houthi approach. 'These guys are scared to death,' said Corey Ranslem, CEO of Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm. 'They're not military people; they are seafarers.' Ranslem said it would be premature to assume a change in the risk profile for shipping, though it does appear the Houthis have sharpened the precision of their attacks. Prior to this week's fatalities, four people had died in Houthi attacks in the area, according to data from JMIC. That includes three seafarers in one incident in March 2024. In addition, the US Embassy in Yemen said the militant group has kidnapped 'many surviving crew members' of the Eternity C, calling for their immediate and unconditional release. The Houthi group earlier said it rescued a number of the ship's crew members, provided them with medical care and transported them to a safe location. The latest attacks also double the number of boats sunk by the militant group. In June last year, the Houthis captured a dry-bulk carrier called the Tutor and sank it with explosives. They submerged another ship, the Rubymar, earlier that year. Stem Shipping stopped sailing through the Suez Canal after the Houthis attacked the Sounion, a Greek-operated oil tanker, last August, Bodouroglou said. The company resumed navigation after the US announced a ceasefire with the Houthis in May, but would now be 'very skeptical' of returning, he said.
Hindustan Times
02-07-2025
- Hindustan Times
Custodial death: Sought quashing of criminal proceedings: HC junks Bathinda cops' plea
The Punjab and Haryana high court on July 1 vacated a stay order granted to a petition filed by five Bathinda police personnel in a case of an alleged culpable homicide. The five police personnel had filed a petition in the HC on March 17, seeking the quashing of criminal proceedings initiated by a Bathinda district court on various grounds. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) After hearing a petition by the accused Punjab police inspector Navpreet Singh and others, justice Sanjay Vashisht stated that the court 'does not find any irregularity in the order passed by the magistrate (of Bathinda district), and, therefore, observe that the impugned order has been passed perfectly as per law.' After hearing the petition early this year, Justice Vashisht on April 5 had passed an interim stay order stating, 'further proceedings by the judicial magistrate first class-cum (JMIC)- illaqa magistrate, Bathinda, shall be kept in abeyance, till pronouncement of the order in the petition by this court.' After dismissing the petition yesterday, Justice Vashisht stated, 'It is held that there is no infirmity in the impugned (summon orders by the Bathinda court to the accused cops to face a trial) order dated February 18 this year which appears to have been passed in accordance with the provisions of the BNSS, 2023.' Rejecting the petitioners' argument of non-compliance of Section 231 of BNSS, 2023 (where the trial court supplies copies of statements and documents to the accused), the HC ruled that the impugned summoning order includes a description of the statements made by four relatives of the deceased. 'Statements of 12 witnesses, i.e., police officials, (Bathinda-based) advocate Surya Kant Singla, three medical officers, one forensic expert, two newspaper reports, and three nodal officers have also been recorded,' reads the court order. The five police personnel had filed a petition in the HC on March 17, seeking the quashing of criminal proceedings initiated by a Bathinda district court on various grounds. The trial court in Bathinda had served summon orders to the accused cops, who were shifted to Bathinda police lines after the judicial probe, multiple times, but they did not appear before it even once since February 27. It was alleged that the deceased, Bhinder Singh, a resident of Lakhi Jungle village in Bathinda, was picked up by the CIA-1 team for a case of allegedly possessing an illegal weapon on October 17. Though the police denied keeping him in custody, the judicial report relied upon circumstantial evidence to indict the cops. A judicial probe was initiated after the deceased's brother Satnam Singh, who was lodged in Ferozepur central prison, on October 19 last year wrote to sessions judge, Ferozepur, alleging that his brother was 'illegally detained, interrogated, and tortured to death by the police' after which the complaint was forwarded to Bathinda district and sessions judge for an inquiry. A fact-finding report by Bathinda JMIC Kuldeep Singh, filed on February 18 this year, had concluded that inspector Navpreet Singh, the then head of the crime investigating agency (CIA)-1, head constable Rajwinder Singh, constables- Gaganpreet Singh, Harjit Singh, Jaswinder Singh were responsible for Bhinder's death and attempted to cover it up with a fabricated story. The judicial probe had directed the police personnel to appear before it to face trial for murder, causing the disappearance of evidence of the offence and other offences as it concluded that Bhinder was kept by the CIA team in custody illegally in October last year and then they tried to fabricate the alleged murder into an accidental drowning. The judicial findings relied upon the digital, and forensic evidence, documents and a statement of a doctor to rubbish the police theory that Bhinder died due to drowning in a lake of the defunct Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in the city area.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Maersk Resumes Haifa Imports; Strait of Hormuz Shipping Normalizes
Less than a week after canceling its port calls to Israel's Port of Haifa amid the country's then-brewing conflict with Iran, Maersk began accepting imported cargo at the port again on Wednesday. Israel and Iran have appeared to honor a Tuesday ceasefire after the countries traded missile attacks for 12 days, likely giving the Danish ocean carrier the go-ahead to clear ships to return to Haifa. The U.S. brokered the ceasefire after intervening in the conflict with airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. More from Sourcing Journal Pakistan Slashes Port Qasim Export Fees 50% in Bid to Revive Trade, Lure Ocean Carriers China Port Volumes Hit Record Highs on US Tariff Truce US-Iran Clash Sparks Strait of Hormuz Blockade Threat Fears Maersk has yet to confirm when it will begin accepting export cargo. 'We are monitoring the situation very closely and based on the recent developments and with prospects of a ceasefire currently in place, we expect to be able to reopen export cargo acceptance once the lower safety risk of doing so has been reconfirmed,' said Maersk in a customer advisory update Thursday morning. Maersk also noted that current diversion plans and contingencies for cargo from Haifa are actively being finalized on a case-by-case basis. Throughout the conflict, the carrier had maintained operations at Israel's Port of Ashdod, with the company saying it will promptly reassess both decisions based on security assessments and maritime advisories. After the ceasefire announcement, maritime security firm Ambrey assessed that a threat to U.S.-affiliated merchant shipping was lowered, but acknowledged that there was a 'realistic possibility that the conflict could restart.' In the advisory, Maersk also gave updates regarding the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula. According to the ocean carrier, the Strait of Hormuz remains navigable as of Wednesday, but that the team is working out contingency plans on a case-by-case basis to adapt to any other potential changes. Worries that Iran would attempt to close off the Strait of Hormuz in some capacity appear to have subsided with the ceasefire, but security agencies dedicated to maritime risk assessment remain cautious. The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said in a Thursday advisory note that the regional threat level across the Strait of Hormuz, Arabian Gulf and Northern Arabian Sea is still 'significant,' although shipping in the strait has returned to normal levels. On Wednesday, 127 ships traversed the Strait of Hormuz, the agency said, up from 103 on June 19. Last June, 114 vessels on average transited the waterway daily. However, there are lingering threats of electronic interference that can impact a ship's navigation systems with high levels reported during dark periods, JMIC says. Angeliki Frangou, a CEO of Greece-based tanker Navios Maritime Partners, told CNBC Tuesday that many liners are only transiting during daytime because of the jamming of GPS signals of vessels. According to tracking data from maritime risk analytics firm Windward, 55 vessels between June 12-24 transmitted 101 atypical destination messages such as 'China owned' or 'Russian crude' across the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea and Red Sea as protective measures since those ships are less likely to be targeted in an attack. JMIC recommends shipping companies to adhere to security advisories and conduct detailed vessel- and voyage-specific risk assessments for any operations or transit through the region. Given the prevalence of electronic interference, the agency also said to employ enhanced visual lookouts and rely more heavily on visual, radar-based navigation. What remains to be seen in the area is whether freight rates will react to the returning cadence of ships to the strait. Ships didn't even have to enter the Strait of Hormuz for customers to feel the heat of higher prices. Rates from Shanghai to the Port of Khor Fakkan, located on the UAE's coastline on the Gulf of Oman, accelerated 76 percent over mid-May, according to data from Xeneta. As of Monday, an average 40-foot container on that route cost $3,341.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amid Israel-Iran Tensions, Shipping Slows Down in Strait of Hormuz
The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran has not had a direct impact on global freight yet, but shipping companies are growing leery of traversing through the Strait of Hormuz, the channel that connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. While the trade chokepoint remains open for business, traffic through the strait dwindled over a week's span, according to data from the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC). More from Sourcing Journal New BGMEA Chief Warns of Shipping Disruption From Iran-Israel Conflict Israel's Strikes on Iran Trigger Elevated Shipping Risks Across Middle East China-to-US Freight Rates 'No Longer Surging'-Is it All Downhill from Here? In an advisory update on Monday, JMIC illustrated that 147 cargo-carrying vessels sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on June 9, three days before Israel carried out a series of airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. By June 15, only 111 vessels were passing through. According to the JMIC, threat levels for ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz, Arabian Gulf and Northern Arabian Sea remain elevated. JMIC was clear in its advisory that 'there are no confirmed indications of an immediate threat to maritime traffic,' but confirmed reports of electronic interference affecting vessels' ability to accurately transmit positional data via automated identification systems (AIS) in both the strait and the Arabian Gulf. Jakob Larsen, head of security at international shipowners' association BIMCO, told CNBC the conflict resulted in a 'modest drop' in the number of ships sailing through the area. The attacks on Iran have created some concern that the country's military will block off access to the strait, which hosts the flow of approximately 20 percent of the world's liquid oil supply, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. But such a closure would impact container shipping operations as well, even though only 2 percent to 3 percent of estimated global container traffic passes through, according to data from Container Trade Statistics (CTS). Major Middle Eastern transshipment hubs in the UAE, including Dubai's Jebel Ali Port and Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Port, would lose access to the vessels and their cargo. These ports play a significant role in trade across the Middle Easta and facilitate large volumes of sea-to-air relay shipments, while also linking the region to markets in the Indian subcontinent and Africa. 'A ripple effect of such action would be a sharp increase in handlings in transshipment hubs outside of the Persian Gulf with high risk of a wider Asian congestion issue,' said Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, in a post on LinkedIn. 'It would be a major problem related to imports and exports to and from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Iraq. Likely we would see container lines not affiliated with the conflict trying to pick up the slack from those affected—same as we have seen for Red Sea transits.' As such, capacity concerns could spring up if too many vessels are instead forced to stop at other already crowded transshipment ports, whether it Shanghai, Singapore or the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka—ultimately resulting in more shipping delays. 'Any closure of the Strait of Hormuz would see services rerouted, with increased reliance on India West Coast ports for connecting the Far East to the Indian subcontinent,' said Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta. 'The inevitable disruption and port congestion, as well as the potential for higher oil prices, would cause a spike in ocean freight container shipping rates, with carriers likely also pushing for a 'security surcharge' on these trades in the coming days.' On Monday, Maersk slapped a $4,000 peak season surcharge on all containers exiting the Middle East and Indian subcontinent on the way to the North American West Coast set to go into effect July 16. Hapag-Lloyd is adding its own $1,000 surcharge on all containers shipping from those origin regions to all ports in North America, which will begin July 15. There's also the concern of spiking war-risk insurance premiums, which had been prevalent in Red Sea travels and a reason many container shipping companies havankers e still opted to avoid the waterway. Until June 13, the additional premium for a commodity's transit through the Persian Gulf was around 0.05 percent of the cargo's value for companies with annual sales of $500 million or higher, and closer to 0.1 percent for others, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. But as the conflict escalates, costs could potentially double, the firm says. As uncertainty surrounds the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East, two oil tankers collided and caught fire near the conduit on Tuesday morning. One of the tankers, the Adalynn, evacuated 24 people. Personnel on the second tanker, the Front Eagle, were reported safe. No injuries or spillage were reported. British maritime security monitor Ambrey said that the collision was 'not security related.' In the wake of the collision, Qatar asked liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels to wait outside the Strait of Hormuz until they're ready to load amid escalating tensions in the region, according to Bloomberg. Iran has interfered with container shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in the past, having seized the 14,000 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) MSC Aries ship last April. Although Iran released the crew the next month, the country still retained control of the vessel.
NDTV
26-06-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Vessels Near Strait Of Hormuz Transmit Unusual Messages To Prevent Attacks
Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz have been broadcasting unusual messages concerning nationality in a bid to avoid being attacked as doubts linger over the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, according to maritime risk analytics firm Windward and ship tracking data on Thursday. The signals have been used since conflict broke out between Israel and Iran early this month, which led the U.S. to strike Iranian nuclear sites. U.S. President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire after 12 days of war but the maritime threat remains elevated, the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said. "The perception among shipowners is that due to the convoluted nature of shipping it's hard to know or ascertain clearly a chain of ownership to nationalities which may be under higher threat in shipping, namely the UK, U.S. and Israel," said Ami Daniel, chief executive officer of Windward. Fifty-five vessels transmitted 101 atypical messages across the Gulf and Red Sea from June 12-24, Windward said, including "China owned" and "Russian crude", in the hope of preventing attacks because those countries are less likely to be targeted than Western ships. Commercial maritime traffic surged 30% on June 24, the day after the ceasefire, according to the JMIC. Roughly a fifth of the world's fuel and oil consumption moves through the Strait of Hormuz. Vessels typically broadcast their destinations or say "For Orders". Occasionally, vessels also transmit messages such as "Armed Guards on Board" to deter pirates or other attacks. Unusual messages were almost only seen in the Red Sea before June 12, said Windward's Daniel. The Red Sea had been the focus of a series of attacks by Houthi rebels since the Israel-Gaza war broke out. "I've never seen it in the Persian Gulf," Daniel said. Panama-flagged container ship Yuan Xiang Fa Zhan, bound for Pakistan, was broadcasting "PKKHI all Chinese" on Thursday as it crossed the Strait of Hormuz, according to LSEG data. China-flagged supertanker Yuan Yang Hu was broadcasting "Chinese ship" on Thursday morning while crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia to China, the signal changed to "CN NBG", the Chinese Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan, once the vessel had cleared the Strait. Singapore-flagged container ship Kota Cabar was signalling "Vsl no link Israel" as it sailed through the Red Sea. JMIC also warned of electronic interference in the region affecting Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). A jammed GNSS can cause ships to go off course, increasing the risk of collision with other vessels or obstacles.
