US port fees on China built vessels would hit grain exporters
Maritime historian, professor, and YouTuber, Sal Mercogliano, who rose to mainstream fame with appearances on the CNN network a year ago on the Dali incident provided comments with a deep historical context.
He pointed to decisions in the time following World War 2 (late 1940s through the late 1970s), where: “…the United States allowed its merchant marine to remain stable, while global ocean trade grew exponentially.”
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By Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) In 1883, Alfred Thayer Mahan laid out the brutal truth of global power: Whoever rules the waves rules the world. He wasn’t just talking about fleets of warships. He was talking about chokepoints—the narrow passages through which the vast majority of the world’s trade must pass. Control them, and you don’t need to launch an invasion. You can starve an economy and restrict military sealift without ever firing a shot.
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Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned the United States against any act of mischief in the region, including seizure of ships.
IRGC spokesman: Iran will respond in kind to any US action, mischief in region
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The move risks a direct clash between the US and Iranian militaries
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The United States seized an Iranian oil tanker just days before Tehran detained a tanker carrying American cargo in the Gulf of Oman, Reuters reported on Saturday.
US seized Iranian tanker days before Tehran captured US ship
An Israeli-linked oil tanker was attacked one week ago by Iranian forces, BBC Persia reported on Friday 17 February.
Iranian drone bombs Israeli oil tanker in retaliation for Isfahan explosion
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On 21 October, the Saudi-led coalition seized the oil tanker ‘Lady Sarah,’ preventing it from reaching Yemen’s port of Hodeidah despite its previous inspection in Djibouti and having permits from the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNIVM).
Saudi-led coalition seizes new emergency fuel ship headed for Yemen
The incident gets so little media attention despite the fact that Argentinian authorities detained 19 crew members at a Buenos Aires airport at the behest of Washington.
FBI behind seizure of Venezuelan plane in Argentina
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Moscow’s New Found Independence
Hudson noted, however, that “the biggest beneficiary” of Russia having been laden with sanctions is Washington. This is because Europe, which is heavily reliant on Russian energy, is faced with simultaneous energy and food crises, thus leaving it with little ability to pay attention to other matters.
“Basically, Washington doesn’t care if Russia wins the war [in Ukraine], because the US has succeeded in eliminating its competition in Europe, especially Germany.”
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The agency added that the European Union’s commitment to reduce member states’ gas consumption by 15 percent from August 2022 to March 2023 will continue to increase oil demand by about 300,000 barrels per day for the next six quarters.
The Aframax vessels are optimally-sized to dock at European docks, which often cannot fit supertankers, an analyst from E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers told Bloomberg, and the current sky-high rates should remain heightened in the months ahead so long as sanctions against Russia remain.
…
“The market consensus was too pessimistic about Russia’s capability to re-route volumes to other buyers,” IEA analysts said. “Russia’s exports adjusted towards other buyers without a serious disruption to its production.”
The Greek government has turned the whole country into a “huge US base,” a local lawmaker warned on Tuesday, amid attempts by Washington to expand its access to military zones across the European country.
All of Greece turned into ‘huge US base,’ Greek lawmaker warns
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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