All posts tagged: International Seaways Inc

Strait of Hormuz toll confusion remains

Strait of Hormuz toll confusion remains

Published by Sam Flores

The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran depends on the Strait of Hormuz being opened for ships “without limitation, including tolls,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday. President Donald Trump wants the strait, which has been effectively blocked by Iran during the war, opened up “immediately, without limitation,” Leavitt said at a press briefing. She was asked if Iran would cross a “red line” by charging ships to pass through the vital oil-shipping route, as it is reportedly planning to do. Trump’s “plain language” demanding the immediate reopening of the strait “should be taken at face value,” Leavitt replied. Iranian state news agency Fars reported earlier Wednesday that oil tanker traffic through the strait has been halted following an Israeli attack on Lebanon that has shaken the hours-old ceasefire. Leavitt called that reporting “false.” “This is a case of, what they’re saying publicly is different privately,” she said. “We have seen an uptick of traffic in the strait today, and I will reiterate the president’s expectation and demand that the Strait of …

‘Don’t need to worry about it’

‘Don’t need to worry about it’

Published by Sam Flores

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday brushed aside concerns that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of the Iran war, which has spiked oil prices, would continue being a problem for the U.S. and the world for much longer. Iran has been “exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon press briefing. “We have been dealing with it, and don’t need to worry about it,” he said. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil on Friday morning was around $93 per barrel. A day before the war began on Feb. 28, a barrel of WTI was selling for about $67. Hegseth criticized media reports that claimed that before attacking Iran, the U.S. military lacked a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is the world’s most critical oil shipping choke point. “Of course, for decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage,” he said. “We planned for it. We recognize it,” Hegseth told …

U.S. Navy to escort oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz when possible, Bessent says

U.S. Navy to escort oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz when possible, Bessent says

Published by Sam Flores

The U.S. Navy will begin escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as “militarily possible,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Sky News on Thursday. “That was always in our planning, that there’s the chance that the U.S. Navy or perhaps an international coalition will be escorting oil tankers through,” Bessent said in that interview. “My belief, that as soon as it is militarily possible, the U.S. Navy and perhaps with an international coalition, will be escorting vessels through,” he said. Bessent’s comments came as the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to shipping because of the war against Iran by the U.S. and Israel that began Feb. 28. The strait is the world’s most sensitive chokepoint for oil tankers, and its closure has caused crude oil prices to spike. The Trump administration, for more than a week, has suggested that U.S. Navy vessels would escort oil tankers through the strait without that happening. Earlier Thursday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC in an interview that the Navy is not ready to escort …

Trump not worried about domestic terror attack

Trump not worried about domestic terror attack

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media next to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 11, 2026. Brian Snyder | Reuters President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he’s not worried about Iran executing a terror attack within the United States in retaliation for the ongoing war by the U.S. and Israel. “No, I don’t,” Trump told a reporter outside the White House when asked if he feared such a domestic attack. Trump also touted progress in the war against Iran, which is in its 11th day, before departing for a trip to Kentucky and Ohio. “Right now, they’ve lost their Navy, their Air Force. They have no anti-aircraft apparatus at all,” the president said. “Their leaders are gone, and we could do a lot worse.” Trump said the U.S. military is “leaving certain things” in Iran, which could be destroyed by the afternoon, if need be, and “they literally would never be able to build that country back.” He said the U.S. military had destroyed …

Chubb set as main U.S. insurer for Persian Gulf shipping amid Iran war

Chubb set as main U.S. insurer for Persian Gulf shipping amid Iran war

Published by Sam Flores

Tankers sail in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. Stringer | Reuters Insurance giant Chubb will be the lead underwriter for a U.S. government-led program to provide insurance to ships making the risky transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Chubb will work with the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., or DFC, as part of a $20 billion plan to help get oil tankers and other commercial traffic moving again amid risks from the Iran war, the agency said. Oil prices have spiked since the war began at the end of February. Brent crude traded above $91 a barrel midmorning Wednesday. Oil prices have stayed relatively high despite an announcement Wednesday that the International Energy Agency would coordinate the release of 400 million barrels from its member countries’ strategic petroleum reserves. In normal times the strait sees passage of 15 million barrels a day of oil and another 5 …

Iran warns oil tankers transiting Strait of Hormuz must be careful

Iran warns oil tankers transiting Strait of Hormuz must be careful

Published by Sam Flores

MarineTraffic map showing current ships traffic on Strait of Hormuz dislplayed on a laptop screen and MarineTraffic logo displayed on a phone screen are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on March 5, 2026. Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images Oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz “must be very careful,” the spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned on Monday. The spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, also defended Iran’s attacks on Gulf states, telling CNBC’s Dan Murphy that targeting “military bases and assets” belonging to the United States in the region is “legitimate under international law.” The price of crude oil has sharply spiked past $100 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed. “As long as the situation is insecure, I think all tankers, all maritime navigation, must be very careful,” said Baghaei, who is also head of the Center for Public Diplomacy. He said that Iran will fight against the U.S. and Israel “as long as it takes,” and that his nation is preparing for …

Israel bolsters forces in southern Lebanon

Israel bolsters forces in southern Lebanon

Published by Sam Flores

UAE says it has the right to defend itself UAE’s Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al Hashimy arrives at the second day of the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 29, 2025. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP) (Photo by PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP via Getty Images) Pablo Porciuncula | Afp | Getty Images The UAE reaffirmed its right to self defense on Tuesday, stressing that any threat to Emirati sovereignty represents a threat to the wider Gulf. Reem Al Hashimy, the country’s minister of cooperation, said in a news conference in the capital Abu Dhabi, that the Gulf Cooperation Council operates as “one system,” and that an attack on any member state endangers the entire region. All six members of the GCC, the Arab monarchies of Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, have all come under fire from Iranian missiles and drones since Saturday. Hashimy added that the UAE will not accept actions that compromise its sovereignty or security, warning that such escalations carry …

Six U.S. service members killed

Six U.S. service members killed

Published by Sam Flores

Speaker Johnson says Iran attack was ‘defensive operation’ U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to the media following a briefing for Congressional leaders on the situation in Iran, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2026. Ken Cedeno | Reuters Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Monday said following a classified briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the U.S.’s attack on Iran was a “defensive operation,” the goal of which was not regime change. “Israel was determined to act in their own defense here. With or without American support. Why? Because Israel faced what they deemed to be an existential threat,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol following the briefing. “The objective was to take out those missiles, the short and midrange missiles, and their ability to produce them,” Johnson said, adding that the second objective was to eliminate Iran’s naval capabilities. “The ayatollah is no more. That was not the mission of the U.S. to go in and take out the regime, but that happened and in my …