World News
Iran Seizes Singapore-Managed Maersk Container Ship In Persian Gulf
Iranian Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday boarded a Singapore-managed Maersk container ship in the Persian Gulf and redirected it to Iran's Southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to reports from several news agencies.
The MV Maersk Tigris made a distress call in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil shipping channels, after warning shots from an Iranian patrol vessel were fired off her bow.
US planes and a destroyer were said to be monitoring the situation, and a Pentagon spokesperson called the action “inappropriate”.
Iranian officials are describing the incident as a civil matter, and Mohammad Saidnejad, head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, said a Tehran court issued the order to seize the ship based on "A legal complaint from an Iranian private company.”
Reuters tracking data shows the 65,000-tonne Maersk Tigris as having sailed from Saudi Arabia's port of Jeddah bound for the United Arab Emirates port of Jebel Ali in the Gulf.
A spokesman for the Singapore-based firm that manages the Maersk Tigris, Rickmers Shipmanagement, told Danish television the vessel had been following a normal commercial route.
Cor Radings added that his company was concerned for the 24-member crew, who are mostly from eastern Europe and Asia.
The incident comes on the heels of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani insisting he will not sign a nuclear deal with the US that does not see sanctions against the country lifted immediately.
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 647.00 | 8.50 | 779.00 | 29.50 |
| Rotterdam | 608.00 | 11.00 | 764.50 | 24.50 |
| Houston | 636.50 | 8.00 | 807.50 | 5.00 |
| Fujairah | 649.50 | 4.00 | 888.50 | 11.50 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 665.50 | 6.50 | 870.50 | 14.50 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 635.50 | 3.50 | 810.00 | 17.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 725.00 | 2.50 | 925.50 | 8.00 |
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