The latest delays threaten to add a fresh complication to global trade at a time when oil flows are already being significantly disrupted by the war in Iran.

Both U.S. and Iranian officials have been signaling in recent days that some kind of accord on Hormuz is close.

The stop-start nature of negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz in recent months means analysts and traders expect shuttling to continue in some form.

The prospect of Iran imposing transit fees in Hormuz has focused attention on the fragility of global supply chains.

The move would give the shipping and insurance industries some much-needed third-party assurance that the strait is safe after more than five months of military conflict.

Negotiations between the two countries have not involved the U.S., as the ongoing standoff between Iran and the Trump administration has intensified.

Rhine River levels measured in Western Germany in Cologne and Lobith were lower than they were at any point since records began.

The threat by Iran-backed Houthi militants to attack vessels in the Red Sea has forced shipowners to reconsider sailing through the narrow Bab el-Mandeb strait.

The drone was said to have hit a U.S. floating storage and regasification vessel, with a subsequent fire spreading to a Greek-owned LNG tanker.

More than 1,500 ships trapped in the Strait of Hormuz for months have been accumulating microbial organisms at levels unprecedented in modern maritime history.