The post explores the recent S&P rating given to West, indicating the Club's improvement in its financial strength over the past five years.

Mercuria’s High Court claim against the Baltic Exchange over TD3C raises wider questions about the reliability of freight benchmarks during severe market disruption. With TotalEnergies’ trading arm reportedly considering a similar claim, the dispute could test how benchmark providers respond when the markets they measure become distorted.

As a result of the joint Israeli and US strikes on Iran in early March, the Iranian government has taken a retaliatory step and announced the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, an extremely vital shipping route. With around 3,000 vessels passing through this important seaway each month, the disruption creates significant challenges for the global shipping industry, particularly regarding commercial shipping operations, maritime law and marine insurance risk allocation.