BlackMask Breaking News

Shipping giant Maersk said Friday that it would divert all vessels around Africa instead of using the Red Sea and Suez Canal for the “foreseeable future” after Yemeni rebels attacked its merchant ships. The Danish company cited the highly volatile situation and noted that the security risk remains high.

“We have therefore decided that all Maersk vessels due to transit the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden will be diverted south around the Cape of Good Hope for the foreseeable future,” it said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the shipping giant said it would not resume passage on the route “until further notice” after putting it on hold over following an attack on the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou.

On Sunday, the Denmark-owned and operated container vessel, which was travelling from Singapore to Port Suez in Egypt, reported being struck by a missile while transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait. It was then attacked by four ships operated by Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels, which “engaged fire in an expected attempt to board the vessel”, the Danish shipping company said. The US military said navy helicopters sank three of the ships while the fourth fled. Since November 18, 25 commercial vessels operating in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been attacked. On Wednesday, 12 nations — led by the United States — jointly urged Yemen’s Huthi rebels for an “immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,” while warning of “consequences”. With 12 percent of world trade passing through it, according to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the Red Sea is a “crucial waterway” linking the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, and hence Europe to Asia. Some 20,000 ships pass through the Suez Canal every year, the gateway for ships entering and leaving the zone. This is the second time that Maersk has suspended shipping through the strait. In mid-December, like other global shipping giants, the Danish company halted passage of its ships through the route, following attacks by the Huthi rebels in Yemen. It announced it would resume shipping on December 24, only to suspend traffic again on December 31, one week later.  The Huthis have repeatedly targeted vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane. They say the strikes are in solidarity with Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza, which Israel has bombarded relentlessly for three months, in what it says is a campaign to destroy militant group Hamas

he United States and 12 allies issued a final warning  (ha ha ha) on Wednesday, asking them to cease their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea or face targeted military action, as reported by news agency AP. The Houthi rebels have carried out at least 23 attacks in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza since December 19. According to AP, a senior official of the Joe Biden administration declined to give details pertaining to the rules of possible engagement in case the attacks continue. The official, however, highlighted that the Iranian-backed Houthis should “not anticipate another warning” from the U.S. and its allies. The official, who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, spoke soon after the countries issued a joint statement earlier on Wednesday condemning the attacks and underscoring that international patience was strained. The joint statement was signed by the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Separately, the U.S. called on the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to take action against the Houthis, as reported by AP. In the statement, the countries also warned Iran that it has a choice to make about continuing to provide support to the rebels. “Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and the release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews,” the countries said, as quoted by AP.

“The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and the free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways,” they further stated.

For weeks, the Houthis have claimed attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports.  The attacks by rebels aimed to end the Israeli air-and-ground offensive in the Gaza Strip that was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 7 attack in southern Israel. However, the links to the ships targeted in the Houthis  assaults have grown more tenuous as the attacks continue. NN: For some reason this final warning from the toothless tigers is not working. It will take a serious escalation to stop the increasing stranglehold of one of worlds most important shipping lanes for cargo and OIL

Hamas Deputy Chief Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, in an attack by Israeli forces, the militant group’s security officials said Tuesday. Earlier, local Lebanese media reported the attack that rocked the streets of the Dahyeh district in southern Beirut and a well-known Hezbollah stronghold. Saleh al-Arouri, a founding member of Hamas’ military wing and head of operations in the West Bank, has been a significant figure in the organization’s activities. His death in an Israeli airstrike represents a significant blow to Hamas and a substantial escalation in regional conflicts with Israel.

Before the recent conflict that began on October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already expressed his intention to target al-Arouri. Israel has not yet commented on the events, nor have the Lebanese authorities.

Iran’s Alborz warship has reportedly entered the Red Sea, emerging at a time of heightened tensions in the key shipping route amid ongoing attacks on vessels in response to the Israel-Hamas war.  Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Monday that the vessel had entered the Red Sea through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, though it was unclear precisely when. Tasnim did not give details of the Alborz’s mission but said Iranian warships had been operating in open waters to secure shipping routes, combat piracy, and carry out other tasks since 2009. The Alvand class destroyer had been a part of the Iranian navy’s 34th fleet, and patrolled the Gulf of Aden, the north of the Indian Ocean and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait as far back as 2015, according to Iran’s Press TV.  The news comes as the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group – which was moved to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 invasion of Israel – is heading back to its home in Norfolk, Va. NN: Iran rushes in as the US rushes out. Runs away might be a better way to put it. Bottom line this is  clearly another major step closer to a major confrontation. US deploying World War II tactics will end in a major defeat. The days of naval escorts for protecting ships at sea in the era of smart rockets and drones will not work.

US aircraft carrier to return from deployment to Mediterranean

Crude oil production in the United States fell in the month of October, according to new data released by the Energy Information Administration on Friday. According to the latest data, average U.S. crude oil production fell from 13.252 million barrels per day in September to 13.248 million bpd in October—the first monthly decline in average daily production rates since April, but still the second-highest production rate in the history of the U.S. oil industry, behind only September. It is also 1.377 million bpd higher than pre-pandemic levels seen in January 2019. But while the daily average was down month over month, total production for October rose to 410.7 million barrels, compared to 397.6 million barrels in September—a difference of 13.1 million barrels, which roughly accounts for the extra day. While production rates were down month over month from September to October, EIA data shows an increase in production rates from January to October. U.S. crude production in January totaled 389.6 million barrels—or 12.6 million barrels per day—compared to the 410.7 million in October—or 13.2 million barrels per day. The EIA had previously forecast that U.S. crude oil production for October would average 13.257 million bpd. By state, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Alaska account for a 57,000 bpd increase in production, while the largest declines were seen in North Dakota (-31,000 bpd) and the Gulf of Mexico (-40,000 bpd), according to the EIA data.

Alleged Israeli airstrikes on the Damascus International Airport, conducted on Thursday, killed 11 members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Al Arabiya reported on Friday, citing anonymous sources.According to the report, IRGC members were waiting for a high-ranking  delegation at the airport when the attack occurred. Earlier this week, it was reported that an Israeli strike on Damascus killed Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a senior adviser in IRGC. After that, Iran warned that Israel “will pay the price for this crime.”

Syrian air defenses repel ‘Israeli air aggression’

Global gasoline consumption hit a record 26.9 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, exceeding the 2019 peak and defying estimates that the last pre-pandemic year was the time when gasoline demand worldwide would peak.  The data, reported by Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas, shows the latest figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The same agency, which has been strongly advocating for a faster energy transition for years, had predicted just this year that 2019 was the peak demand for gasoline globally.   Back in June, in its Oil 2023 annual report, the IEA said that “Growth is set to reverse after 2023 for gasoline and after 2026 for transport fuels overall.” “Gasoline demand will be disproportionately impacted as EVs progressively replace vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE),” the IEA said, adding that “This means that the fuel is likely to exhibit the earliest and most pronounced peak in demand.” And it also said that “Usage will never return to 2019 levels and the post pandemic peak could come as early as 2023. Following a brief plateau, the decline is forecast to accelerate from 2026 onwards.”

However, the IEA’s latest figures not only show that 2019 wasn’t the peak demand year for global gasoline consumption, but that demand in both 2023 and 2024 would surpass the pre-pandemic levels.

Per the latest data reported by Bloomberg’s Blas, gasoline demand globally is set to further rise next year, to top 27 million bpd.  In the June report, the IEA predicted that “Following a brief plateau, the decline is forecast to accelerate from 2026 onwards, with 2028 demand 900 kb/d below that of 2019.”  The IEA also famously said earlier this year that global demand for all three fossil fuels – oil, natural gas, and coal – is set to peak before 2030, which undermines the case for increasing investment in fossil fuels.