Crooked Bough News Round-up

+ First Trump-Class Battleship May Become Costliest U.S. Warship Ever—By Tony Capaccio (Bloomberg) The first of the Navy’s proposed “Trump-...

+ Maersk Charts First Structural Return to Red Sea After Houthi Attacks—Maersk said on Thursday that one of its services will resume using the...

+ Oil Tanker Rates Jump as US Push Into Venezuela Shifts Flows—The shipping market is being shaken up by Washington’s intervention in...

+ Greece Warns Shipping Fleet of Risks After Black Sea Drone Attacks—Greece has warned its shipping fleet to review their security measures...

+ Empire Wind Wins Court Battle as $5.3 Billion Project Pulled Back From the Brink—The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has granted Empir...

+ Battleships and Auxiliaries, An Interview with the Top US Naval Admiral—At SNA, the CNO Talked Ships, Lasers — and Finally Answered the Mercha...

+ Maersk’s Suez Return Signals a Turning Point in the Two-Year Red Sea Crisis—A.P. Moller–Maersk has confirmed the first structural return of a majo...

+ Container Rates Reverse Course as January Rally Unravels on Weak Demand—Global container shipping rates fell sharply this week, surrendering m...

+ U.S. Seizes MT Veronica in Caribbean, Expanding Operation Southern Spear Against Venezuela’s Shadow Fleet—U.S. military and Coast Guard forces carried out another pre-dawn boar...

+ US Coast Guard Updates ‘Force Design 2028’ Overhaul as Global Missions Stretch Service—The U.S. Coast Guard has released its first formal update on Force Des...

+ Europeans Prepare Military Exercises in Greenland, Trump’s Ambitions Undeterred—European countries were sending small numbers of military personnel to...

+ Maersk to Return to Red Sea as Stability Improves in Region—A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S will return to sailing regularly through the Su...

+ ONE Henry Hudson Cargo Operations Resume at Port of Los Angeles After Fire—Ocean Network Express has begun discharging the remaining containers f...

+ How Venezuela’s Ghost Fleet Is Surfacing Post-Maduro—The informal fleet of crude tankers that operated under the radar in N...

+ Turkmenistan Rescues 14 Crew From Distressed Iranian Cargo Ship in Caspian Sea—The Iranian dry cargo ship Rona issued an SOS signal in the Caspian Se...

+ Ships Drop Anchor Beyond Iran’s Ports in Precautionary Move—Dozens of commercial ships have dropped anchor at a distance outside I...

+ U.N. Renews Red Sea Reporting Mandate as Russia Needles U.S. on Venezuelan Seizures—By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS, Jan 14 (Reuters)  The U.N. Securit...

+ US Court to Weigh New York Project Challenge to Trump Offshore Wind Halt—A U.S. judge on Wednesday will consider whether to allow Norwegian off...

+ Russian-Flagged Tanker Seized By U.S. Arrives in UK Waters—An oil tanker sailing under the flag of Russia arrived in UK territori...

+ China’s Coal Imports Plunge 10% as Renewable Energy Expansion Reshapes Dry Bulk Shipping—Seaborne coal shipments to China fell 10% in 2025 as increased domesti...

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As of 1/15/26 10:27pm. Last new 1/15/26 10:27pm.

+ Kazakhstan urges US and Europe to help secure oil transport after tanker attacks in Black Sea—Kazakhstan urged the U.S. and Europe to help secure the transport of o...

+ Middle East Crude-Benchmarks rise; Qatar cuts March term price for al-Shaheen oil—Middle East crude benchmarks strengthened on Thursday, with that of Om...

+ Trump backs Venezuela staying in OPEC—President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he believes it would be ...

+ Venezuelan oil priced at a premium to competing Canadian barrels for US Gulf Coast refiners, traders say—Venezuelan crude oil was being offered this week to U.S. Gulf Coast re...

+ Chevron expected to receive expanded Venezuela license from US this week, sources say—Chevron is expected to receive an expanded Venezuela license from the ...

+ US completes first Venezuelan oil sales valued at $500 million, US official says—The U.S. has completed the first sales of Venezuelan oil that are part...

+ Russian oil output edges down 0.7% in 2025, OPEC data shows—Russian oil production dipped around 0.7% last year to 9.129 million b...

+ Canadian oil tycoon proposes aiding US in Venezuela’s oil revival—A Canadian tycoon who heads one of North Americas fastest-growing oil ...

+ US natgas output to hit record high in 2026, while demand declines, EIA says—U.S. natural gas output will rise to a record high in 2026, while dema...

+ OPEC forecasts ongoing oil demand growth for 2027—Crude Oil Price Movements In December, the OPEC Reference Basket (ORB)...

+ Dated Brent crude differential surges to 15-month high on supply crunch—The Dated Brent physical differential rose to a 15-month high on Jan. ...

+ US oil drilling to slow as prices slump, Venezuela growth could amplify pressure, EIA says—Lower oil prices are expected to cut U.S. drilling activity and reduce...

+ India’s upstream exposure in Venezuela in spotlight amid differing US, industry signals—Indian upstream investors in Venezuela are optimistic that partial san...

+ Middle East Crude-Benchmarks steady; Brent crude’s premium to Dubai widens further—Middle East crude benchmarks Oman, Dubai and Murban held steady on Wed...

+ Westwood Insight – Geothermal opportunity for onshore drilling rigs—Geothermal energy is rapidly evolving from a niche technology into a s...

+ PDVSA aligned with Machado’s proposals for Venezuela’s oil industry: advisor—Venezuelas state oil company is aligned with the proposals of longtime...

+ BP flags up to $5 billion in low-carbon energy impairments—Oil major BP BP. expects to book $4 billion to $5 billion in fourth-qu...

+ Oil climbs on concerns over potential supply disruption in Iran amid threats—Oil prices rose on Wednesday for a fifth straight session on fears of ...

+ US crude stock sees unexpected rise, indicating weaker demand—The American Petroleum Institute (API) has reported a significant incr...

+ Oil to average $65 in 2026 as supply growth ahead of demand—Oil prices are likely to fall further in 2026 before stabilising, as s...

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As of 1/15/26 10:27pm. Last new 1/15/26 4:21pm.

+ Global maritime piracy and armed robbery increased in 2025—The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported an increase in gl...

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As of 1/15/26 10:27pm. Last new 1/15/26 4:21pm.

+ China receives second Australian canola shipment, crushers remain idle—A second cargo carrying 60,000 metric tons of Australian canola arrive...

+ China’s 2025 oil imports, December inflows both hit record highs—Chinas crude oil imports rose 17% from a year earlier in December, whi...

+ Venezuelan oil exports to China set to drop as US blockade limits cargoes—Chinas oil imports from Venezuela are expected to slump starting from ...

+ China’s steel exports, iron ore imports hit record highs—Chinas steel exports hit a record monthly high in December, fuelled by...

+ Indian Oil buys its first Ecuadorean oil via tender, sources say—Indian Oil Corp IOC bought its first Ecuadorean Oriente crude cargo fo...

+ China’s Sinograin sells out soybean auction ahead of US shipments—Chinas state stockpiler Sinograin sold all 1.1 million metric tons of ...

+ Vitol, Trafigura offer Venezuelan oil to Indian, Chinese refiners for March delivery, sources say—Vitol and Trafigura have started discussions on Venezuelan crude oil s...

+ Russia’s diesel exports jump 40% in December on higher fuel output—Russias seaborne diesel and gasoil exports surged by nearly 40% in Dec...

+ Egypt ships LNG cargo from Idku plant to Canada—Egypt has exported a new cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the...

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As of 1/15/26 10:27pm. Last new 1/15/26 4:21pm.

+ ECB’s de Guindos: Fed cooperation is ‘business as usual’—The European Central Banks cooperation with the U.S. Federal Reserve w...

+ Jamie Dimon puts JPMorgan in path of his own storm—Broken records have nothing on the boss of the largest U.S. bank. Even...

+ ECB has no room for complacency as attack on Fed raises risks, Kazaks says—The European Central Bank should be on alert as the U.S. administratio...

+ German economy finally left stagnation at the end of last year—New Year’s traditions vary – ice diving, eating special cakes, or refl...

+ China’s growth set to slow to 4.5% in 2026, raising pressure on policymakers—China’s economic growth is likely to slow to 4.5% in 2026 and maintain...

+ Supreme Court tariff ruling: It’s not just about refunds. Volume of U.S. freight trade could hinge on decision—The looming U.S. Supreme Court decision on the legality of many of Pre...

+ BOJ to raise rates again to 1% or higher by end-September, possibly by July: Reuters Poll—The Bank of Japan will likely wait until July before raising its key i...

+ ECB’s De Guindos says “balanced” approach needed on Basel 3 bank rules—Defending the competitiveness of European banks requires pacing the ad...

+ Greece’s annual primary budget surplus beats target—Greece recorded a central government primary budget surplus of 8 billi...

+ Trump says no plan to fire Fed Chair Powell amid DOJ probe- Reuters interview—U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters on Wednesday he has no plans ...

+ Fed’s Kashkari upbeat on 2026, expects inflation to moderate—Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said Wedne...

+ Greenland’s history as a Danish territory and why Trump wants it—U.S. President Donald Trump has renewed his ambition to take control o...

+ Russia says NATO talk of Moscow and Beijing being a threat to Greenland is a myth to create hysteria—Russia said on Thursday that NATOs talk of Russia and China being a th...

+ China 2025 new bank loans lowest in seven years, policy support needed—Chinas new bank loans totalled 16.27 trillion yuan ($2.33 trillion) in...

+ India close to EU trade pact as US trade talks drag on—India expects talks on a long-sought trade deal with the European Unio...

+ US weekly jobless claims fall, but labor market is still in a holding pattern—The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benef...

+ US import prices increase from September to November—U.S. import prices increased 0.4% over the two months from September t...

+ Global Risks Report 2026: Geopolitical and Economic Risks Rise in New Age of Competition—The World Economic Forums Global Risks Report 2026, published today, f...

+ China is closing in on US technology lead despite constraints, AI researchers say—China can narrow its technological gap with the U.S. driven by growing...

+ US factory headcount falling despite Trump’s promised manufacturing boom—U.S. manufacturing jobs in December continued an eight-month skid that...

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As of 1/15/26 10:27pm. Last new 1/15/26 4:21pm.

+ Global maritime piracy and armed robbery increased in 2025—The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported an increase in gl...

+ Visiting a California port anytime soon?—When calling at ports in the United States (US) or transiting US water...

+ S&P reaffirms A+ rating for Gard—We are very happy about this,” said Torunn Biller White, Gard’s Chief ...

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As of 1/15/26 10:27pm. Last new 1/15/26 4:21pm.