Shipping

Agreement contains no restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missiles, nor does it call for regime change or surrenderMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe basic structure of the US-Iran deal reached late on Sunday – a return to the prewar status quo – has been on offer from Iran for more than a month. So has the specific architecture: an immediate unwinding of the consequences of the US-Israeli war through the reopening of the strait of Hormuz and a deferral of the actual negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme, the ostensible cause of the war. The concept of a 60-day ceasefire to resolve these issues has also been a fixture for more than a month.But it has taken the mounting pressure on the US and Iranian economies for both sides to recognise politically that a return to all-out war was unlikely to resolve the impasse, and if so, compromises would have to be struck. Continue reading...

Seventh body found near railroad tracks thought to be connected to what authorities call ‘potential human smuggling event’Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailFederal agents are investigating the deaths of at least six people thought to be immigrants found inside a shipping container at a Union Pacific rail yard near the border with Mexico in Laredo, Texas, on Sunday as a “potential human smuggling event”.Officials reportedly have also said the death of a seventh person whose body was found near railroad tracks outside San Antonio, Texas – 150 miles (241km) to the north – may be connected to the case.Guardian staff contributed reporting Continue reading...

• President Trump directed U.S. Central Command to initiate Project Freedom, a defensive operation to restart free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian threats to commercial shipping. • Secretary of War Pete Hegseth clarified the mission is temporary, focused solely on protecting innocent vessels, distinct from Operation Epic Fury, with U.S. forces establishing a protective zone as shown on operational maps. • The announcement follows President Trump's notification to Congress on Friday that hostilities starting February 28 had terminated, coinciding with the 60-day War Powers Resolution deadline.

President says US navy will ‘guide’ stranded ships out of waterway but report says warship was hit by IranMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe world’s shipping industry has questioned if vessels will be able to travel safely to and from the Gulf after Donald Trump announced his latest plan to open the strait of Hormuz.The US president wrote on Monday that the navy would “guide” stranded ships out of the waterway, writing on his social media site Truth Social that the operation, “Project Freedom”, would be a humanitarian gesture “on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries but, in particular, the Country of Iran”. Continue reading...

US president gave no details on how operation would work as Iran says it will attack any armed force entering waterwayMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe US has launched an operation to “guide” ships trapped in the Gulf by the Iran war through a southern route of the Strait of Hormuz, even as Tehran insisted that any such transits would have to be coordinated with its armed forces.The scheme was announced as “Project Freedom” on Sunday night by Donald Trump on his social media page, where he portrayed it as a humanitarian gesture to help crews on hundreds of ships which have been unable to leave the Gulf since the war began. Continue reading...

• UN International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez stated that the blockading of ships in the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Iran conflict has turned international shipping and seafarers into leverage in geopolitical disputes. • The crisis highlights how vessels and crews, not involved in the conflict, are being caught up in hostilities between the United States and Iran, disrupting global trade routes. • This development underscores critical weaknesses in global shipping networks, potentially leading to supply chain disruptions, higher costs, and risks to maritime security worldwide.

• The US Central Command issued an urgent alert Saturday concerning Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles operating in coordinated formations near major shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf, marking an escalation in regional tensions. • US Navy destroyers and coalition partners have increased surveillance operations, with officials reporting at least 15 drone incidents detected in the past 48 hours targeting commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. • The escalation follows recent US military movements in the region and threatens global oil supply routes, with shipping insurance rates rising 12% since Friday morning.

• Strait of Hormuz shipping disruptions persist post-ceasefire, exacerbating the largest global oil supply crisis since the 1970s amid US-Iran war. • Iran's effective closure followed retaliatory strikes after US-Israeli airstrikes on 28 February 2026 targeting Iranian nuclear sites and leadership. • Ceasefire fails to resolve key stumbling blocks to lasting US-Iran agreement, threatening continued economic impacts on US energy security.

As Keir Starmer continues his Gulf visit, foreign secretary says laws of the sea prevent Tehran from charging for passage of ‘international transit route’Good morning. Keir Starmer is still in the Gulf, and Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, has been doing a round of interviews this morning, ahead of delivering a speech on foreign policy this evening.As Jamie Grierson reports, Cooper has been arguing forcefully that Lebanon must be included in the US-Iran ceasefire.The starting point here is this is an international transit route. It’s international shipping that uses this. This is part of the international law of the sea. This is a a route between the high seas; it is a trading route.As part of the international maritime law, this is a transit route between the high seas.And whether you talk about Dover or Gibraltar or other straits around the world, there may be territorial waters there, but there’s also an international shipping route and an international transit route, which means that freedom of navigation principles apply and that countries cannot simply hijack those kinds of international transit routes and unilaterally apply tolls. They cannot do that as part of the laws of the sea and the United Nations conventions. Continue reading...

Analysts say doubts over stability of the ceasefire and damage to production sites mean the energy crisis is far from overMiddle East crisis – live updatesIf the US-Israeli ceasefire with Iran holds, it could offer the clearest hope of an end to the energy crisis since Iran’s Revolutionary Guards assumed control of the strait of Hormuz after the conflict began 40 days ago.But analysts fear that for hundreds of tankers stranded in the Gulf, any detente between the White House and Tehran will not be enough to return the flow of oil, gas, chemicals and other vital items to pre-crisis levels. Continue reading...

• Recent geopolitical tensions are fundamentally altering maritime shipping routes for energy commodities worldwide. • Energy shipping companies are implementing agile strategies to navigate heightened tensions and supply chain disruptions. • The shift in maritime logistics has broader implications for global energy prices and international trade networks.

US president says he is extending deadline for strait of Hormuz to reopen to 6 April; Houthis tell Lloyd’s List ‘no reason’ to prevent Saudi oil using Red Sea routeFull report: Trump extends deadline Analysis: Trump pitches peace plan but military buildups rarely veer to off-rampHello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and the consequences for the region, the world, and the global economy.Here are the latest developments:Donald Trump said he will extend – once again – his pause on his threat to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure for 10 days until 6 April, claiming that the request came from Tehran and that talks were going “very well”. The US president threatened last Saturday to would strike Iranian energy infrastructure if Tehran did not reopen the strait of Hormuz. Then, on Monday he postponed his threat for five days (until Friday), citing “very good and productive conversations” with Iran on ending the war (which Tehran dismissed as “fake news” designed to “manipulate” the oil markets). Now, he’s pushing that deadline back, again.The price of Brent crude also dropped following Trump’s latest announcement. Oil prices rose to their highest level this week, with Brent crude trading at roughly $108 a barrel after Trump’s cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday.Yemen’s Houthis have said there is no need to worry amid fears that if Donald Trump follows through on threats to seize Iran’s Kharg Island, Tehran may ask them to attack shipping in the Red Sea.A day after Tehran dismissed Trump’s 15-point ceasefire plan, the US president claimed that Iran was “begging to make a deal,” and that he wasn’t the one pushing for negotiations. Earlier, he told Tehran to “get serious soon” on negotiating a deal to end the war.Trump rejected reports that he was looking for an exit ramp, as oil prices soar and political pressure mounts to avoid the kind of drawn-out Middle East war he once spurned. “I read a story today that I’m desperate to make a deal,” Trump told reporters. “I’m the opposite of desperate. I don’t care.”A US proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is “one-sided and unfair”, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday.However, Trump said Iran is allowing some oil tankers through strait of Hormuz as a sign of good faith for talks. He said that Iran allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the strategic strait as a “present” to show it was serious about negotiations to end the war.The Pentagon is looking at sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give Trump more military options even as he weighs peace talks with Tehran, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, quoting defence department officials with knowledge of the planning.The Israel Defence Forces’ chief of staff has warned that the military will “collapse in on itself” as it faces increasing demands and a growing manpower shortage while fighting on multiple fronts, according to Israeli media reports.A Thai-flagged cargo ship that was hit by unknown projectiles in the strait of Hormuz earlier this month has run aground off Iran’s Qeshm Island, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said on Friday. Continue reading...