Splash Wrap: Sanctions, spreadsheets and shipyards
The US energy secretary said the Trump administration has begun authorising the sale of sanctioned oil tankers to approved investors, who must refurbish the vessels before returning them to legitimate crude trades, amid efforts to contain freight costs during the Hormuz crisis. NATO said it is deploying additional maritime patrol aircraft, drones and radar systems to the Black Sea after deadly attacks on merchant shipping off Romania and Bulgaria. IFM Investors agreed to take control of Associated British Ports in a transaction valuing Britain’s largest ports group at more than £10bn.
Why it matters: The measure links sanctions policy directly to tanker trading and freight-market pressure, making sanctions a central theme in the week’s shipping developments.