Ship attacked in Strait
** French shipping group CMA CGM said on Wednesday that one of its vessels, the San Antonio, had been targeted in an attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in injuries among crew members and damage to the vessel. The incident, which CMA CGM said occurred on Tuesday, is the latest disruption in the crucial shipping route during the Middle East conflict.
Iran considers peace
** Iran is evaluating a new proposal from the US to end the near 10-week war between the sides, according to a person familiar with the matter, as China added its voice to global pressure to wrap up the conflict.
Venezuela boosts oil production
** Venezuela’s oil exports rose 14% in April to 1.23 million barrels per day, the country’s highest monthly export level since late 2018, according to Reuters. The increase followed a political reset after Nicolás Maduro’s January capture, a new supply arrangement, and U.S. licenses that reopened legal channels to buyers in the United States, India, and Europe.
New shipping route
** Global container shipping giant, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), has announced a new Europe-Red Sea-Middle East express service, linking key European ports with Saudi Arabia and other regional hubs. The announcement comes as companies across global supply chains respond to surging demand and mounting disruption across Middle Eastern trade routes as a result of the US-Iran conflict.
US Energy
** The Midcontinent Independent System Operator says it has enough grid resources to meet power demand this coming year, throwing cold water on the Trump administration’s insistence that the region needs to keep coal plants from retiring.
** A new report finds the CEOs of the four electric utilities serving Ohio made a combined $81 million last year even as power rates spiked 22% during that time.
** Voters in Richland County, Ohio, reject a referendum that would’ve struck down a ban on wind and solar development in 11 of the county’s 18 townships, though its narrow margin of failure suggests many Republicans voted to overturn the restriction.
** The DOJ sues Minnesota over the state’s lawsuit that seeks to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate damages, saying it intrudes on federal authority, though courts have so far rejected similar challenges to other states’ climate accountability suits.