Hormuz traffic up to 16 vessels: Windward

Spanish Market: Crude oil, Fertilizers, Freight, Natural gas, Oil products
09/09/26

Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz rose to 16 transits on Tuesday, largely on the Iranian controlled northern lane, data from maritime security firm Windward shows.

Out of 16 vessel transits, ten crossed inbound, six on the Iranian controlled northern lane, and four using the US-assisted southern lane, Windward data shows. Of the six outbound vessels four took the northern lane and two took the southern lane.

Vessel traffic was up slightly from 15 transits the day prior but stood around 12pc of pre-war levels.

Expanded fighting around the strait at the start of the week is likely to discourage increases in vessel traffic in the near term.

The US military on Tuesday carried out strikes that destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in the Mideast Gulf and Gulf of Oman while Iran retaliated with missiles targeting a US base in Jordan. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it launched ballistic missile attacks against two US Navy destroyers and targeted multiple vessels in and around the strait of Hormuz.

The UK Maritime Trade Organization reported two incidents on vessels on Wednesday, one 28 nautical miles (nm) southeast of Al-Faw, Iraq, and one 24 nm off of Port Rashid, UAE.

By Charlotte Bawol

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09/09/26

Final 2026 nEZ auction heavily oversubscribed

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Trump's Canada trade war hits familiar snags

09/09/26

Trump's Canada trade war hits familiar snags

Washington, 9 September (Argus) — President Donald Trump's administration has dropped punitive tariffs on imported Canadian cement, toilet paper and other products after acknowledging negative impacts on US consumers. But Trump's administration doubled down on confrontation with Ottawa, introducing an outright ban on imports of Canadian alcohol and motorcycles. Trump's conflicts with US foreign trade partners have frequently featured revisions to the lists of affected products after complaints from US consumers and industrial groups. Trump's punitive tariffs on Canada and Ottawa's countermeasures do not apply to energy, potash fertilizer or critical minerals. The US on 22 August began collecting new 50pc tariffs on about $28bn of Canadian imports, including cement, plywood and paper. Trump late on Tuesday ordered modifications to the list of affected products, eliminating the 50pc tariff on Canadian cement, rock salt and toilet paper beginning on 15 September. Trump instead ordered a 50pc tariff on a variety of other Canadian imports, including iron and steel columns and some aluminum byproducts, effective from 15 September. The prohibition on imports of Canadian alcoholic beverages and Canada-manufactured motorcycles will go into effect from 29 September. "Canada walked away from a near-final trade deal that offered better treatment than any other trading partner, and instead Canada chose to embark on senseless retaliation," US trade representative Jamieson Greer said. Canada's retaliatory tariffs on US steel and aluminum went into effect on Tuesday. Canadian prime minister Mark Carney has said that trade talks between the two countries collapsed because the US had made unreasonable demands. "They wanted us to become even more reliant on them, not less," he said on Tuesday. Carney said last week he would be ready to resume trade dialogue once the US "starts being serious". The latest trade escalation is taking place as Trump is set to convene an unusual, mid-term Republican party convention in Dallas, Texas, in a bid to shore up his party's fortunes ahead of the 3 November midterm elections. The event, which Republican party officials describe as a "Trump-a-palooza", aims to highlight Trump's economic and geopolitical accomplishments since returning to office last year. "This election comes down to one simple choice: lower costs, lower taxes, secure borders, and common sense," Republican National Committee chairman Joe Gruters said on 5 September. Less than two months before the elections, polls indicate that Democrats are likely to wrest control of at least one chamber, if not both, in part because of voters' concerns over rising inflation. The US inflation rate earlier this summer reached three-year highs, largely because Trump's war with Iran pushed up US retail fuel prices. US retail gasoline prices averaged $4.16/USG in the week ended on 7 September, up by around 40pc from late February, when the US and Isreal launched an attack on Iran. Higher tariffs have also contributed to an increase in US consumer prices. Higher inflation has undermined Trump's rationale for calling on the US Federal Reserve to slash its target interest rate. Trump last week threatened to introduce import bans on key US trade partners, including Canada and the EU, unless the Fed cuts interest rates. The US Supreme Court in February ruled that Trump's 2025 decisions to arbitrarily impose tariffs on any country had been illegal. But that ruling also pointed out that Congress explicitly gave the White House the legal power to impose an outright embargo on trade with any country. Trump since then has frequently touted that newly discovered prerogative, even though he has denounced the Supreme Court's tariff decision. The import ban on select Canadian products would mark the first exercise of that prerogative. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Asian refiners prioritise crude supply security: APPEC

09/09/26

Asian refiners prioritise crude supply security: APPEC

Singapore, 9 September (Argus) — Asian refiners are shifting crude procurement strategies from margin optimisation towards supply security and flexibility, as geopolitical disruptions expose the risks of relying heavily on a single supply region, industry executives said at the S&P Global Energy APPEC 2026 conference in Singapore today. The shift is changing how refiners value crude. Buyers are increasingly considering whether a cargo can be delivered reliably, processed efficiently, and remain economic after freight, insurance, and other risks, rather than assessing it solely on purchase price. "The best crude is not always the cheapest crude," said Taejin Kim, vice-president and head of the crude oil business office at SK Trading International. What matters is which crude can reach the firm more reliably, and whether those shipments will still be economic after considering freight and market risk, Kim said. 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Australia's LNG export sector losing ground: Santos

09/09/26

Australia's LNG export sector losing ground: Santos

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US strikes Iranian tankers, Iran hits US base: Update

08/09/26

US strikes Iranian tankers, Iran hits US base: Update

Updates with details throughout. Washington, 8 September (Argus) — The US military on Tuesday carried out strikes that destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in the Mideast Gulf and Gulf of Oman while Iran retaliated with a barrage of missiles targeting a US base in Jordan. US forces destroyed the tanker Derya near Kharg Island, Iran's key oil loading hub, said Central Command (Centcom), which oversees the Middle East-based US forces. The US also destroyed the tankers Kaviz , Charminar , Horizon 1 and Riesco located in the Gulf of Oman, giving crew enough warning to abandon the vessels first, according to Centcom. US forces destroyed three Iranian tankers on 5 September. In both cases, Centcom cited Iranian missile attacks against US warships as a justification for the destruction of Iranian tankers. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday, following the latest US attacks, that it will retaliate with attacks on US bases across the region. IRGC also issued a warning to crews of all tankers located at ports or near the coast of Kuwait and Bahrain to evacuate vessels, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim, which is affiliated with IRGC. Alerts issued by the Jordanian defense authorities indicate that a US military base in that country became a target of Iranian missile attacks. So far, there has been no independent confirmation of any hits against tankers near Kuwait and Bahrain. Tehran threatened severe retaliation after the 5 September attacks. It said it struck 6 tankers across the Mideast Gulf, but there has been no independent confirmation of direct Iranian attacks on tankers since 5 September. Iran's ability to target US warships and commercial vessels passing through Hormuz counters recent US claims of having decisively eliminated Tehran's military threat and of enabling an increase in oil exports through the critical waterway. A number of energy sector facilities in the southern region of Saudi Arabia came under attack early Tuesday, according to the Saudi energy ministry, causing fires at a number of locations. Yemen's Houthi militant group has taken credit for those attacks. Iran will soon announce the establishment of a new and broader "prohibited zone" for vessels looking to cross the strait of Hormuz, Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mosen Rezaei said on Monday. Vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz rose to 15 transits on Monday from 12 the previous day but still remained well below pre-war levels, data from maritime security Windward show. October Nymex WTI was up by 2pc to settle at $93.03/bl on Tuesday. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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