Oil tanker

Iran's navy seized St Nikolas, the oil tanker associated with the Greek shipping company Empire Navigation, on Thursday in the Gulf of Oman, Iranian media reported.  The oil tanker was once at the center of a major crisis between Tehran and Washington, officials said, a seizure that further escalated tensions in the Mideast waterways.

The operator of the oil tanker St Nikolas, Greece-based Empire Navigation, said on Thursday it had lost contact with the vessel off Oman near the city of Sohar.

A spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the vessel had a crew of 19, one from Greece and 18 from the Philippines, and was carrying 145,000 metric tons of oil from Basra, Iraq, to Aliaga, Turkey.

Black Sea tankers traveling with crude oil for "Lukoil" from Novorossiysk to the "Rosenets" terminal near the Bulgarian city of Burgas are a legitimate military target of the Ukrainian army. This became clear from the words of Volodymyr Zelensky's economic advisor Oleg Ustenko.

At least four Chinese-owned supertankers are shipping Russian Urals crude to China, according to trading sources and tracking data, as Moscow seeks vessels for exports after a G7 oil price cap restricted the use of Western cargo services and insurance.

Egypt has said that it will increase transit fees for vessels, including oil-laden tankers, passing through Suez Canal, one of the world's most crucial waterways.

The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement on Sept. 17 that it will add 15 percent to the fees for tankers carrying oil and petroleum products, and 10 percent for dry bulk carriers and cruise ships.

The oil tanker could carry up to two million barrels of oil per day

Interest in the construction of new ships carrying liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas has been expressed in recent days, according to brokerage firm Intermodal.

A total of nine LNG Carriers and LPG Carriers agreements were signed last week.

Oil tankers sailing toward Venezuela have turned around and others have left the country's waters as the US considers blacklisting dozens of ships for transporting Venezuelan oil, according to shipping data and industry sources.

Iran said on Sept. 23 that a British-flagged oil tanker is "free" to leave more than two months after it was seized in the Gulf.

The United States and its allies are discussing plans to provide naval escorts for oil tankers through the Gulf, a top U.S. general said on July 11 after Iranian military vessels menaced a British tanker.