Oil Tanker Approved for Entry into Libya's Zueitina Port

A general view of Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Hadad
A general view of Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Hadad
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Oil Tanker Approved for Entry into Libya's Zueitina Port

A general view of Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Hadad
A general view of Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya, August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Hadad

Oil tanker Kriti Samaria has been approved for entry into Libya's Zueitina port on Thursday evening or Friday to load 600,000 barrels of crude oil and will head to Italy, engineers told Reuters.

The tanker will be permitted to load oil from storage, the engineers said, without providing further detail.

Libya's two legislative chambers said on Tuesday they had agreed a mechanism for resolving the dispute over control of the central bank.
Libyan crude exports have been largely shut for more than a week amid a political showdown over control of the central bank, which is the sole legal depository for Libyan oil revenue and pays state salaries across the country.
Another tanker, the Front Jaguar, was loading crude from storage at Libya's Brega port, engineers told Reuters on Wednesday.

The crisis was triggered when western factions moved on Aug. 18 to oust veteran central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir, who has since fled the country. Eastern factions responded by declaring a shutdown to all oil output on Aug. 26.
The National Oil Corporation, which oversees the country's oil resources, said on Aug. 28 that total oil output had dropped by more than half from typical levels to just over 590,000 bpd. It was not immediately clear where current production stood.
A member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Libya produced about 1.18 million barrels per day of crude in July, according to OPEC, citing secondary sources.



Maersk Says Impact from Red Sea Attacks Continues to Intensify

A cargo ship boat model is pictured in front of the Maersk logo in this illustration taken March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A cargo ship boat model is pictured in front of the Maersk logo in this illustration taken March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Maersk Says Impact from Red Sea Attacks Continues to Intensify

A cargo ship boat model is pictured in front of the Maersk logo in this illustration taken March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A cargo ship boat model is pictured in front of the Maersk logo in this illustration taken March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

The negative impact on maritime shipping and global supply chains from attacks in the Red Sea continues to intensify as traffic is rerouted away from the Suez Canal, Danish shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Thursday.

Attacks in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants have disrupted a route vital to east-west trade, with prolonged rerouting of shipments, pushing freight rates higher and causing congestion in Asian and European ports.

Maersk said recent data showed that the number of ships crossing through the canal has fallen 66% since carriers began diverting their vessels around Africa. Maersk did not elaborate on the data, Reuters reported.

"These disruptions have led to service reconfigurations and volume shifts, straining infrastructure and resulting in port congestion, delays, and shortages in capacity and equipment," it added.

Maersk in July said disruption to its container shipping via the Red Sea had extended beyond trade routes between the Far East and Europe to its entire global network, and warned of a "cascading impact" causing congestion.

"The timeline for easing these disruptions and returning to 'normal' remains uncertain," it said on Thursday.

It added that demand for container shipping remains robust.