Zodiac car carrier on fire

Managers Zodiac Maritime said that smoke was detected onboard the Liberian-flagged, 2006-built, Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC), on June 03 in the Pacific Ocean. The USCG Alaska Division said it received a distress call on June03 reporting a fire on the vessel.

The Morning Midas was carrying 3,000 vehicles of which around 800 were electric and Zodiac and smoke was first seen emanating from a deck carrying electric vehicles.

“The crew immediately initiated emergency firefighting procedures using the vessel’s onboard fire suppression systems. However, despite their efforts, the situation could not be brought under control,” a statement from the manager said.

With the crew unable to bring the fire under control, in consultation with the US Coast Guard the decision was taken to evacuate all 22 seafarers to a nearby vessel.

The USCG said in a statement that the crew evacuated first to a liferaft and then to the vessel Cosco Hellas. According to Zodiac there were no injuries to the crew.

The USCG said in a statement that the current status of the fire was unknown but smoke was still emanating from the vessel.

“As the search and rescue portion of our response concludes, our crews are working closely with the vessel’s parent company, Zodiac Maritime, to determine the disposition of the vessel,” said Rear Admiral Megan Dean, commander of the Coast Guard’s Seventeenth District.

“We are grateful for the selfless actions of the three nearby vessels who assisted in the response and the crew of motor vessel Cosco Hellas, who helped save 22 lives.”

Zodiac said earlier, “The relevant authorities have been notified, and we are working closely with emergency responders with a tug being deployed to support salvage and firefighting operations. Our priorities are to ensure the continued safety of the crew and protect the marine environment."

The USCG Alaska district reported that the incident took place 300 miles southwest of Adak Island. Watchstanders diverted the crew of US Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) to the area, directed the launch of a C-130J Super Hercules aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, and positioned an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter aircrew in Adak.

The Morning Midas was enroute to Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico at the time of the incident.

Fires on car carriers and containerships from lithium ion batteries are growing concern to the industry and insurers due to the difficulty in bringing them under control.

 

US vetoes demand for Gaza ceasefire

The United States on Wednesday vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that demanded an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the war-torn enclave, reports Reuters.

The other 14 countries on the council voted in favor of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where famine looms and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month.

"The United States has been clear, we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza," Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote, arguing that it would also undermine US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.

Washington is Israel's biggest ally and arms supplier.

The Security Council vote came as Israel pushes ahead with an offensive in Gaza after ending a two-month truce in March. Gaza health authorities said Israeli strikes killed 45 people on Wednesday, while Israel said a soldier died in fighting.

Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward criticized the Israeli government's decisions to expand its military operations in Gaza and severely restrict humanitarian aid as "unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive."

Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the council members who voted in favor of the draft: "You chose appeasement and submission. You chose a road that does not lead to peace. Only to more terror."

Hamas condemned the US veto, describing it as showing the US administration's blind bias" towards Israel. The draft Security Council resolution had also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and others.

 

Pressure on Netanyahu to dissolve parliament

A member of Israel's right-wing coalition threatened to quit the cabinet on Wednesday and support an opposition motion to dissolve parliament tabled for next week, piling pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports Reuters.

Netanyahu's coalition of secular right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties holds an 8-seat majority in parliament. United Torah Judaism has 7 seats while its ally, Shas, the other ultra-Orthodox party, has 11.

Latest opinion polls suggest that Netanyahu's coalition would lose power if an election was held today, with many voters unhappy over the continued war in Gaza since October 2023.

United Torah Judaism, one of two ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, said it would withdraw from the government unless it secured last-minute concessions formalizing an exemption for ultra-Orthodox men from military service.

The opposition party Yesh Atid, led by former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, put forward a parliamentary vote for next week to topple the government, even as the Israeli army continues battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It would require the support of 61 out of the 120 members of the parliament to succeed.

"This Knesset (parliament) is finished. It has nowhere to go," Lapid said.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has remained silent on the looming crisis.

A spokesperson for United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf told Reuters the party would vote in favour of dissolving parliament unless exemption legislation was passed.

With a week until the vote, Netanyahu and his allies still have time to negotiate over an issue that has dogged the coalition for months.

 

Oil prices slip on rising OPEC Plus output

Oil prices slipped in Asian trade on Wednesday on rising concerns of increasing OPEC Plus output and tariff tension that threatens the global economic outlook, though worries about Canadian supply provided a floor, reports Reuters

Brent crude futures dipped 0.4% to US$65.40 a barrel by 0318 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was also down 0.4% to US$63.16 a barrel.

Both benchmarks had climbed about 2% on Tuesday to a two-week high, driven by worries over supply disruption from Canadian wildfires and expectations that Iran would reject a US nuclear deal proposal key to easing sanctions on the major oil producer.

"Despite fears over Canadian supply and stalled Iran-US nuclear talks, oil markets are struggling to extend gains," said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute, adding that the OPEC Plus increases were capping the upside.

Ueno said hopes for progress in US-China trade talks were overshadowed by profit-taking, as investors stayed cautious over the broader economic fallout from tariffs.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are likely to speak this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating a deal to roll back tariffs and trade curbs.

On Tuesday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its global growth forecast as the fallout from Trump's trade war takes a bigger toll of the US economy.

"The current backwardation in the front of the crude oil futures curve is a result of low inventory balances observed since the beginning of the year," BofA analysts told clients in a note.

Some analysts expect the loss in Canadian supply to offset more than half the increases next month planned by OPEC Plus.

"Estimates suggest around 350,000 barrels per day have been affected and shut in," said SEB analyst Ole Hvalbye, referring to the impact of the wildfires.

"To put this in context, the disruption exceeds three-quarters of the volume OPEC Plus agreed to add to the market in July."

 

 

Panama removes over 650 ships from registry

Panama's Maritime Authority has removed from its registry more than 650 vessels since 2019 as part of an effort to fulfill US sanctions and enforce stricter rules for the ships it flags, reports Reuters.

A total of 214 vessels have been withdrawn from Panama's registry, among the world's largest with more than 8,500 ships, since it began implementing measures last year allowing it to act faster to help enforce sanctions, the authority added.

Ships cannot sail under Panama's flag once they are removed from its registry.

Panama responded to criticism by non-governmental organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which last week said Panama had not taken sufficient action against sanction violators and asked it to "immediately cease facilitating Iran's illicit oil trade" and withdraw its flag from all tankers carrying Iranian oil.

According to UANI, nearly one in five vessels suspected of transporting Iranian oil sails under Panama's flag. "This is not just a failure of Panama's registry. It's a direct threat to global sanctions compliance and regional and U.S. security," it said.

Panama in 2019 signed an agreement with other flag countries including Liberia and Marshall Islands to exchange information about vessels whose registrations were canceled or rejected due to potential sanction violations. It also began implementing measures against ships that deliberately turn off their transponders to avoid tracking.

In May, the authority said it would reinforce controls for ship-to-ship operations by Panama-flagged vessels, following an increase in the use of "dark-fleet" tankers to skirt sanctions or evade environmental requirements.

The US has increased pressure on countries with large vessel registries to help enforce sanctions. US President Donald Trump has criticized the expansion of a dark fleet of tankers moving sanctioned oil and threatened to take over the Panama Canal.

 

Saudi Arabia terms Israel blocking of Ramallah meeting extremism

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Sunday that the Israeli government’s refusal to allow a delegation of Arab ministers to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank showed its “extremism and rejection of peace,” reports the Saudi Gazette.

Addressing a press conference in Amman after attending the extraordinary meeting of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee on Gaza Strip, Prince Faisal also underscored that the creation of an independent Palestinian state is the only viable solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Prince Faisal said, "The committee praised the reform agenda that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is working on."

He stressed that the Palestinian Authority is facing a party that does not want any solutions. "The Palestinian Authority continues to fulfill its duties, and is committed to the agreements. The authority is considered the rational party in the crisis," he said.

Prince Faisal emphasized the importance of the international community's understanding of the true nature of Palestinian positions, which adopt a reformist approach to internal affairs, even in the most difficult circumstances.

 "This is aimed to fulfill their responsibilities toward the Palestinian people first, and then toward their neighbors and the international community," he said.

The Saudi minister criticized Israel's negative approach toward protecting Palestinian rights. "We see nothing but violence, and in Gaza we see nothing but a war of extermination, and in the West Bank there are successive steps clearly aimed at weakening the Palestinian cause."

He reiterated the Kingdom's position that those who adopt the approach of "no solution except through a two-state solution" must adopt positions that support this approach, including recognition of Palestine.

Prince Faisal emphasized that Israel's actions, such as the refusal of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee's entry to the Palestinian city of Ramallah, clearly demonstrate the extent of Israel's understanding of the international position on the importance of alternative solutions. In the same context, he presented a viewpoint on the rumors, emphasizing the importance of countries that adopt a public policy stating that there is no solution to the Arab-Palestinian-Israeli conflict except through a viable two-state solution, underlining this position and allowing for the recognition of Palestine. This would send a clear message to Israel about the need to move forward in finding a path to establishing this state, reconciling and coexisting with it.

Saudi foreign minister also stressed that European positions on Israel are not sufficient, saying, "As Arabs and Muslims, we will not accept any solution other than the establishment of a Palestinian state."

It is noteworthy that the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee on Gaza announced the postponement of its planned visit to Ramallah, scheduled for Sunday, due to Israel's obstruction of its mission by refusing the delegation's entry into the airspace of the occupied West Bank, which is controlled by Israel, according to a statement issued by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Jordan to attend the meeting of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee and supporting efforts to end the war and blockade on Gaza, as part of the committee's ongoing world tours.

The Saudi minister said that the Palestine issue figured highly during his meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah.

Iran Nuclear Deal: Who is dictating the terms?

According to the Saudi Gazette, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi delivered a new US proposal to Iran on Saturday in an effort to revive stalled indirect nuclear negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed. After reading the terms a question arises, who is dictating the terms? United States or Israel.

Araghchi said in a post on X that Al-Busaidi made a “short visit” to Tehran to convey “elements of a US proposal,” adding that Iran would deliver an “appropriate response” consistent with its principles, national interests, and the rights of its people.

The proposal follows the fifth round of indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, held on May 23 in Rome under Oman’s mediation.

Araghchi described that round as “one of the most professional,” highlighting that Iran had clearly expressed its positions during the discussions.

According to Araghchi, both sides exchanged views in Rome, and Oman presented its proposals, which were taken back to Washington and Tehran for review.

No date has been set for a sixth round of negotiations amid sharp divisions over Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed US officials as saying the Trump administration plans to present Iran with a formal proposal — described as a “term sheet” — demanding a halt to uranium enrichment as a precondition for a potential agreement.

One senior official reportedly warned, “If they don’t accept these terms, it’s not going to be a good day for the Iranians.”

Analysts believe the US proposal is designed to address Israeli security concerns, as Israel remains strongly opposed to any Iranian nuclear capability.

Meanwhile, earlier on Saturday, Iran dismissed a new report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that claimed Tehran has doubled its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% purity.

The IAEA estimated Iran now holds 408.6 kilograms—an amount potentially sufficient for nine nuclear weapons if further enriched.

Iran labeled the report “baseless” and accused the agency of engaging in political maneuvering.

The IAEA’s findings have heightened international concern, as tensions escalate across the region.

Israeli media have reported that Tel Aviv is preparing for potential strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

However, US President Donald Trump has reportedly urged Israel to refrain from any military action, fearing a broader regional conflict.